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WORKS
Of the Right Reverend Father in God,
Ofspring Blackall, D.D
}
Late Lord Biſhop of EXETER:
Conſiſting of EIGHTY SEVEN
PRACTICAL DISCOURSES
Upon OUR SAVIOU R's
Sermon on the Mount:
Together with his
SERMONS preach'd at Boyle's Lecture,
In the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, in the Year 1700.
With ſeveral others upon PARTICULAR OCCASIONS,
Being all that were publiſhed of his Lordſhip's.
W IT H
A PREFACE giving ſome Account of the AUTHOR,
By the Moſt Reverend Father in God,
WILLIAM Lord Archbiſhop of YORK,
PRIMATE of England, and METROPOLITAN.
V O L. II.
LONDON:
Printed for Thomas Ward in the Inner-Temple Lane, 1723.
*
Τ Η Ε
CONTENT S.
ille
DISCOURSE LV.
Lead us not into Temptation, but, &c. explain’d.
MATTH. vi. 13.
And lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil.
Page 609.
DISCOURSE LVI.
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
MATTH. vi. 13.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever. Amen.
p. 616
DISCOURSE LVII.
Of the Nature and Duty of Fafting.
MATTH. vi. 16, 17, 18.
Moreover, when ye faſt, be not as the Hypocrites, of a ſad Countenance : for
they disfigure their Faces
, that they may appear unto Men to faſt. Verily
I ſay unto you, they have their Reward.
But thou, when thou faſteſt, anoint thine Head, and wash thy Face :
That thou appear not unto Men to faſt, but unto thy Father which is in ſe-
cret; and thy Father which ſeeth in ſecret, Shall reward thee openly.
p. 627.
DISCOURSE LVIII.
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
MATTH. vi. 19, 20, 21.
Lay not up for your ſelves Treafures upon Earth, where Moth and Ruſ doth
corrupt, and where Thieves break through and ſteal.
But
The CONTENT S.
But lay up for your felves Treaſures in Heaven, where neither Moth nor Ruſt
doth corrupt, and where Thieves do not break through nor ſteal.
For where your Treaſure is, there will your Heart be alſo.
P. 638.
DISCOURSE LIX.
The Light of the Body ſpiritually applied.
MATTH. vi. 22, 23.
The Light of the Body is the Eye: if therefore thine Eye be ſingle, thy whole
Body Mall be full of Light.
But if thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body ſhall be full of Darkneſs. If there-
fore the Light that is in thee be Darkneſs, how great is that Darkneſs!
p. 647
DISCOURSE LX.
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
MATTH. vi. 24.
*
No Man can ſerve two Maſters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or elſe he will hold to the one, and deſpiſe the other. Te cannot
ſerve God and Mammon.
p. 658.
{
DISCOURSE LXI.
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
MATTH. vi. 25.
Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat,
or what ye Mall drink; nor yet for your Body, what ye shall put on: Is
not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment ?
p. 670.
DISCOURSE LXII.
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
Text ibid.
p. 679.
DISCOURSE LXIII.
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
MATTH. vi. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat,
+
The CONTENT S.
l
T
or what ye ſhall drink; nor yet for your Body, what ye shall put on : Is
not the life more than meat, and the Body than raiment ?
Behold the Fowls of the Air : for they fow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into Barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they??
Which of you by taking Thought can add one Cribit unto his Stature?
And why take ye thought for Raiment ? Conſider the Lilies of the Field,
how they grow; they, toil not, neither do they Spin.
And yet I ſay into you, that even Solomon in all his Glory, was not arrayed
like one of theſe.
Wherefore if God ſo clothe the Graſs of the Field, which to Day is, and to
Morrow is caſt into the Oven, ſhall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little Faith?
Therefore take no Thought, ſaying, What ſhall we eat? or what ſhall we drink?
or wherewithal ſhall we be clothed?
(For after all theſe Things do the Gentiles ſeek) for your heavenly Father know-
eth that ye have need of all theſe Things.
p. 687.
f
DISCOURSE LXIV.
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
MATTH. vi. 33.
But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs, and all theſe
Things ſhall be added unto you.
p. 699.
7
DISCOURS: E LXV.
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life:
Text ibid.
p. 709.
DISCOURSE LXVI:
Religion a divine Security from Want.
Text ibid.
P. 720.
DISCOURSE LXVII.
Religion conſiſtent with, and conducive to temporal Intereſt.
Text ibid.
p. 730.
Vol. II.
b
DI S.
!
I
The CONTENTS
DISCOURS E LXVIII.
+
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered and cenſured.
MATTH. vi. 34.
Take therefore no Thought for the Morrow : for the Morrow ſhall take Thought
for the Things of it ſelf: ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof.
p. 742.
DISCOURSE LXIX.
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
Text ibid.
p. 752.
DISCOURS E LXX.
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
MATTH. vii. I, 2.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what Judgment ye judge, ye ſhall be judged: and with what Mea-
ſure ye mete, it ſhall be meaſured to you again.
p. 762.
DISCOURSE LXXI.
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
Text ibid.
p. 772.
DISCOURS E LXXII.
Rules for Judging of Others.
MATTH. vii. 3, 4, s.
And why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy Brother's Eye, but confider-
eſt not the Beam that is in thine own Eye?
Or how wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, Let me pull out the Mote out of thine
Eye; and behold, a Beam is in thine own Eye?
Thou Hypocrite, firſt caſt out the Beam out of thine own Eye ; and then ſalt
thou ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
P. 781,
ز
I
D IS
The
CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE LXXIII,
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
MATTH. vii. 6.
1
Give not that 'which is holy unto the Dogs, neither caſt ye your Pearls be-
fore Swine, left they trample them under their Feet, and turn again and
rent you.
Page 792.
DISCOURSE LXXIV.
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
MATTH. vii. 7, 8.
Ask, and it ſhall be given you: ſeek, and ye ſball find : knock, and it ſhall
be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that feeketh, findeth: and to
him that knocketh, it ſhall be opened.
p. 804
DISCOURSE LXXV.
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
Text ibid.
p. 813.
---
3
DISCOURS E LXXVI.
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
MATTH. yii. 9, 10, II.
I
Or what Man is there of you, whom if his Son ask Bread, will be give him
a Stone?
Or if he ask a Fiſh, will be give him a Serpent?
If ye then being Evil, know how to give good Gifts unto your Children, how
much more ſhall your Father which is in Heaven give good. Things to
them that ask him?
p. 823.
DISCOURSE LXXVII.
The Grounds of our Aflurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
Text ibid.
p. 831.
D I S-
The CONTENTS
DISCOURSE LXXVIII. .
To do, as you would be done unto, explained and recommended.
MATTH. vii. 12.
Therefore all Things whatſoever ye would that Men ſhould do to you, do ya
even fo to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets.
p. 839.
DISCOURSE LXXIX.
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
MATTH. vii. 13, 14.
Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate; for wide is the Gate, and broad is the Way
that leadeth to Deſtruction, and many there be which go in thereat :
Becuuſe ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way which leadeth unto Life,
and few there be that find it.
P. 85I.
DISCOURSE LXXX.
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life no juſt Recommendation of it.
Téxt ibid.
p. 860,
DISCOURSE LXXXI.
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
MATTH. vii. Is.
Beware of falſe Prophets, which come to you in Sheep's Clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening Wolves.
p. 869.
DISCOURSE LXXXII.
1
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
MATTH. vii. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
Ye ſhall know them by their Fruits: Do Men gather. Grapes of Thorns, or
Figs of Thiſtles?
Even to every good Tree bringeth forth good Fruit : but a corrupt Tree
bringeth forth evil Fruit.
A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit : neither can a corrupt Tree bring
forth good Fruit.
Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit, is hewen down and caft into
the Fire.
Wherefore by their Fruits ye ſhall know them.
.
P. 881,
DI S.
The CONTENTS
DISCOURSE LXXXIII.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
Text ibid.
p. 891.
DISCOURSE LXXXIV.
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works,
MATTH. yii. 21.
Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into the Kingdom
of Heaven : but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven.
p. 899.
DISCOURS E LXXXV.
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
MATTH. vii. 22, 23.
Many will ſay to me in that Day, Lord, Lord, have we not propheſied in thy
Name? and in thy Name have caſt out Devils ? and in thy Name done ma-
ny wonderful Works?
And then will I profeſs unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work Iniquity.
P. 911
DISCOURSE LXXXVI.
The Difference between the Hypocrite and the ſincere Cliriſtian,in a Day of Trial.
MATTH. vii. 24, 25, 26, 27,
Therefore, whoſoever heareth theſe Sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wiſe Man, which built his Houſe upon a Rock:
And the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the Winds blew, and beat
upon that Houſe: and it fell not, for it was founded upon a Rock.
And every one that heareth theſe Sayings of mine, and doeth them not, ſhall
be likened unto a fooliſh Man, which built his Houſe upon the Sand:
And the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the Winds blew, and beat
upon that Houſe: and it fell
, and great was the Fall thereof.
p. 922.
DISCO U R SE LXXXVII.
The Manner and Effects of our Saviour's Preaching.
MATTH. vii. 28, 29.
And it came to paſs when Jeſus had ended theſe Sayings, the People were aſto.
niſhed at his Doctrine.
For he taught them as one having Authority, and not as the Scribes.
Vol. II.
DIS
p. 932.
C
The CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE LXXXVIII.
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
LUKE xvi. 29, 30, 31.
ز
Abraham faith unto him, They have Moſes and the Prophets ; let them hear
them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, neither
will they be perſuaded, though one roſe from the Dead.
p. 940.
DISCOURSE LXXXIX.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation ; As to the Matter of it.
Text ibid.
p. 95ź.
DISCOURSE XC.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation ; As to the Proof of it. Part I.
Text ibid.
p. 965.
DISCOURSE XCI.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation; As to the Proof of it. Part II.
Text ibid.
p. 979.
DISCOURSE XCII.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation ; As to the Proof of it. Part II.
Text ibid
p. 993.
DISCOURSE CXIII.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation; As to the Proof of it. Part III.
Text ibid.
p. 1009.
DISCOURSE CXIV.
New Revelations cannot reaſonably be deſired.
Text ibid.
P. IO2S.
DISCOURSE XCV.
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
Text ibid.
p. 1038.
I
DI S
The CONTENTS
DISCOURS E XCVI.
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation. A Viſitation Sermon.
JOHN vi. 66, 67, 68.
From that Time many of his Diſciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Then ſaid Jeſus unto the twelve, Will ye alſo go away ?
Then Simon Peter anſwered him, Lord, to whom ſhall we go? thou haſt the
words of eternal Life.
p. 1053.
DISCOURSE XCVII.
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
JOHN ix. 3.
Jeſus anſwered, Neither hath this Man ſinned, nor his Parents: but that
the Works of God ſhould be made manifeſt in him. P. 1070.
DISCOURSE XCVIII.
St. Paul and St. James reconciled. A Commencement Sermon.
JAMES ii. 24.
Ye ſee then how that by Works a Man is juſtified, and not by Faith only.
p. 1082.
DISCOURSE XCIX.
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
LUKE xiii. 4, s.
Or thoſe eighteen, upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell, and flew them, think
ye that they were Sinners above all Men that dwelt in Jeruſalem?
I tell
you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh. p. 1096.
DISCOURSE C.
The Lawfulneſs and the right Manner of keeping Chriſtmas, and other Chrif-
tian Feſtivals.
ISAIAH y. II, 12.
Wo unto them that riſe up early in the Morning, that they may follow ſtrong
drink, that continue until Night, till Wine enflame them.
And the Harp and the Viol, the Tabret and Pipe, and Wine are in their Feaſts:
but they regard not the Work of the Lord, neither conſider the Operation of
his Hands.
p. IIII.
i
DIS-
The CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE CI. .
The Subjc&t's Duty.
PROY. xxiy. 21.
My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King: and meddle not with ihem that
are given to Change.
P. 1121.
DISCOURSE CII.
The Way of trying Prophets.
I JOHN iv. 1.
Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits, whether they are of God:
becauſe many falſe Prophets are gone out into the World. p. 1136.
DISCOURSE CIII.
Of Children's bearing the Iniquities of their Fathers.
LAMENT. V. 7.
Our Fathers have finned and are not, and we have born their Iniquities.
p. 1149.
DISCO U R S E CIV.
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, and the gracious Deſign of its Inſtitution.
Rom. xiii. 4.
For he is the Miniſter of God to thee for Good. But if thou do that which is
Evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the Sword in vain : for he is the Mini-
ſter of God, a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that aoeth Evil.
P. 1161.
DISCOURSE CV.
The Rules and Meaſures of Almſgiving, and the manifold Advantages of
Charity-Schools.
LUKE vi. 30.
Give to every Man that asketh of thee.
P. 1174
The Lord Biſhop of Exeter's Letter to the Clergy of his Dioceſe.
t
P. 1187.
DIS
t
609
DISCOURSE LV.
Lead us not into Temptation, but, &c.
Explain’d.
MATTH. VI. 13.
And lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from
Evil.
N the Lord's Prayer (as I have formerly obſerved) are three
principal Parts, the Preface, the Body of the Prayer, and the
Concluſion. .
I
The Preface conſiſts of a ſolemn Invocation of Almigh-
ty God, whom we are taught to ſtile, Our Father which is
in Heaven.
The Body of the Prayer conſiſts of fix diſtinct Petitions.
And the Concluſion contains a Doxology, or a ſolemn giving Glory to
God; Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever.
And of the Preface, and of five of the Petitions I have already ſpoken ;
the fixth Petition is what I am now to diſcourſe of; Lead us not into
Temptation, but deliver us from Evil.
In diſcourſing on which, I ſhall obſerve the ſame Method that I have be-
fore done in diſcourſing on the other five, i.e.
I, I ſhall explain the Meaning of the Petition, or ſhew what Senſe we
ought to have in our Minds, when we utter theſe Words in Prayer to God,
Lead us not into, &c. And,
II. I ſhall ſhew, what good Leſſons we may learn, what Duties we are
taught and inſtructed in, by our Uſe of this Petition.
I. I ſhall explain the Meaning of the Petition, and ſhew what Senſe we
ought to have in our Minds, when we utter theſe Words in Prayer to God,
Lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil
.
And this Petition conſiſts of two Parts, not exactly the ſame, and yet not
much differing in Senſe from each other. 1. Lead us not into Temptation ;
and, 2. Deliver us from Evil.
1. Lead us not into Temptation. For the underſtanding of which, we
muſt enquire, (1.) What is meant by Temptation ; and, (2.) How God may
be ſaid to lead us into it.
-(1.) What is meant by Temptation. And,
1. The Word, Temptation, moſt properly ſignifies nothing elſe but only a
Trial or Experiment made of any Perſon, to ſee of what Temper and
Diſpoſition he is, and how he is morally qualified. And thus God tempted
Abraham, when he laid upon him that hard Command of ſacrificing his only
Vol. II.
B
Son
610
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explain'd.
Jam. i. z.
Son Iſaac; by which God made a full Trial of his Faith and Obedience,
and declared himſelf fully ſatisfied therewith; as the Angel, ſpeaking in the
Name of God, and of God, after the manner of Men, teſtifies, Gen. xxii. 12.
Now I know that thou feareſt God, ſeeing thou haſt not withheld thy Son,
thine only Son, from me.
And thus all Afflictions and Adverſities that befall the Body, are Tempta
tions : 1.6. They are Trials of our Faith and Patience. My Brethren, ſays
St. James, count it all Joy when ye fall into diverſe Temptations ; i. e. when
ye are perſecuted and afflicted.
And thus, likewiſe, Proſperity is alſo a Temptation ; for 'tis a Trial of our
Sobriety, and Humility, and Truſt in God.
Thus indeed all the different States and Circumſtances, that any of us are
in, are Temptations ; i.e. They are ſuch Trials as God ſees good to make
of our Faith and Virtue ; not to ſatisfy himſelf, (for he knows before-hand
what we will do,) but to ſatisfy our felves and others, how we ſtand affected
towards him, and to make the Righteouſneſs of that Judgment which he
will paſs upon us, cither to Salvation or Damnation, evident to all the World.
Now againſt theſe, and all ſuch Teniptations as theſe in general, we ought
not to pray; for they are the neceſſary Condition of our living here in this
World ; our whole Life here being nothing elſe but a State of Trial, and
conſequently of Temptation ; ſuch as it was neceffary we ſhould be put into,
in order to make us capable of either Reward or Puniſhment. For thcre
would be no Virtue, if there were no Trial of Virtuc; and no Vice, if
there were no Temptation or Inducement to it; it being hardly to be ſuppoſed,
that any Man that believes a future State, or has any Senſe of Religion
would chuſe to commit Wickedneſs, only for its own fake, without any Pro .
ſpect of Profit or Pleaſure, or ſome other worldly Advantage. And if we
manfully reſiſt theſe Temptations that we are aſſaulted with, our Reward in
Heaven will be great, proportionably to the Power and Strength of thoſe
Temptations that we meet withal and overcome. And therefore St. James
(as I obſerved before) in the firſt Chapter of his Epiſtle, at the 20 Verſe, bids
us to count it all you when we fall into diverſe Temptations ; knowing this,
that the trying of our Faith worketh Patience. And ver. 12. Bleſſed, ſays
he, is the Man that endureth Temptation ; for when he is tried he ſhall re-
ceive the Crown of Life, which the Lord hath promiſed to them that love
him.
2. Therefore, becauſe ſometimes we do not abide thoſe Trials which God
makes of us, but ſink under them, and are overcorne by them, therefore, I
ſay,) the Word Temptation is ſometimes, and indeed moſt commonly, us’d in
a bad Senſe, for ſuch an Allurement and Inducement to Sin, as does actually
prevail with us to commit the Sin; or for ſuch a Trial of us, as is made with
a Deſign that we ſhould commit the Sin, which we are tempted to.
And thus the Devil tempts us ; that is, he allures and invites us to com-
mit Sin; he lays Baits for us of a delicious Tafte, or finely gilded over, which
hc hopeś we will catch at, and take in, and with them ſwallow down alſo
the Hook that was covered over therewith. And thus to pray that we may
not fall into Temptation, or be led into Temptation, is the ſame Thing in
effect, as to pray that we may not fall by the Temptation, or that we may
not fall into the Sin that we are tempted to, or that we may not be enſnard
and taken captive by the Devil.
But taking the Word Temptation in this Senſe, God does never tempt us;
we can't conſequently, taking the Word in this Senſe, pray that God would
not lead us into Temptation ; for he never deſigns our Sin, or Fall, by any
Trial that he makes of us ; but only our Improvement in Grace and Virtue.
And thus we are taught by St. James, Jam. i. 13. Let no Man fay, when he
+
is
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explaind
GLI
}
1
is tempted, i. e. when he actually falls into any. Sii, flet him not ſay) I am
tempted of God, i.e. I was.ſeduc'd and betray'd thereinto by God; for Gadi car-
mat be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any, Man.
But now, if it be fo, that the firſt fort of the Temptations before fpoken of z
1. e. the Tryals of our Faith and Obedience, are fach as we ought not to pray
againſt, but rather to rejoyce at, as has been thewn already : And if the laſt fore
of Temptations, thoſe which are deſign'd to enfnare uş, are ſuch as God doth
not uſe upon us, for he never deſigns to allure or invite us to commit Sin: (He
tempteth no Man, as St. James ſays) how is it that we are taught in this Petiti-
on, to pray to God that He would not lead us into Temptation ? For all God's
Temptations are defign’d for our good, for the Exerciſe of our Virtue, and the
increaſe of our Reward: And the other Temptations, thoſe which are deſign'd
for our hurt, are the Devil's Temptations, and not God's. This therefore was
the next Thing I was to give an Account of; viz,
(2.) How God may be ſaid to lead us into Temptation.
And the Caſe is this; thoʻit be the Devil that tempts us to Sin, he could do
nothing without God's Permiſſion : And ſuch is his Subtilty and Power, and
ſuch is our Eaſineſs and Weakneſs, that his Temptations muſt needs prevail againſt
us, unleſs God be pleas’d by his Grace to allift and enable us to overcome them.
So that whenever God ſuffers the Devil to tempts us above our Strength, or by
ſuch a ſtrong Temptation as can hardly but prevail; or when he does not furniſh
us with ſupernatural Strength to reſiſt ſuch Temptations; in any of all theſe
Caſes, God may, in ſome Senſe, be ſaid to lead us (becauſe he, who if he pleas'd
could eaſily hinder it, ſuffers us to be led) into Temptation.
This therefore is what, in this Petition, we pray that God would not do, that
he would not lead us into Temptation ; i.e. that he would never ſuffer us to be
tried above our Strength ; or that if the Temptation that he ſuffers us to be aſſault-
ed with, be ſuch as would prevail againſt our Weakneſs, he would be pleaſed ſo
to ſtrengthen us by his Grace, that we may be able to reſiſt it.
And this is a Petition which we have good Warrant to put up to God, becauſe
it is no more, than God, who is faithful, has promis’d, 1 Cor. X. 13. God is faith-
ful, who will not ſuffer you to be tempted above what ye are able ; but will
with the Temptation alſo make a way to eſcape, that ye may be able to bear it.
But now if this be God's Promiſe, and he, being faithful, will certainly
make it good, not to ſuffer us to be tempted above what we are able ; hercriſes
another Difficulty; viz. what need there is of our praying for that which God
will certainly do, whether we pray for it or no.
But this Difficulty will be eaſily remov'd, by conſidering theſe two Things.
1. That this Promiſe of God, that he will not ſuffer us to be tempted above
what we are able, or that he will grant us ſufficient Grace to withſtand and over-
come the Temptations we are aſſaulted with, is, like all the other Promiſes of the
Goſpel, a conditional Promiſe, to entitle us to which, there is ſomething to be
done by us: And particularly, that Prayer to God is the Condition to be per-
form’d on our Part, to give us a Right and Title to this Promiſe of God; that
Prayer to God is the Condition of our obtaining ſufficient Grace, according tº
that of our Saviour, Matth. vii. 7. Ask, and it mall be given you z by which
he plainly intimates, that unleſs we do ask we may go without it: And ſo St.
James ſays exprelly, Jam. iv. 2. Te have not, becauſe ye ask not. And yet in
this Caſe our Sin and Deſtruction may be of our ſelves, becauſe we might, for
the asking, have had ſufficient Grace to avoid them. But then it may
fider'd farther,
2. That if there were no Condition pre-requiſite for the obtaining of fuffici-
ent Grace; if we might be ſure of it without our asking, by virtue of this pro-
miſe ; yet this, as well as any other Right or Privilege which we once had a
Title to, may be forfeited by our Misbehaviour,
And
s
be con-
612
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explain'd.
God at
And this may be, and without doubt oftentimes is, the Caſe here.
firſt ſuffers us not to be tempted above our Strength, and this he does of his mere
Goodneſs, without any Condition on our Part: And ſo long as we make good
uſe of that Grace which is afforded us, ſo long our Title to a fufficient Mea-
ſure of it holds good. But if we at any time, wilfully and deliberately chuſe
the Commiſſion of a Sin, while we had ſufficient Strength to reſiſt the Tempta-
tion, we thereby forfeit all our right and claim for the future. And the fame
Goodneſs which gave us ſufficient Grace at firſt, and which would ſtill have con-
tinued to do the ſame, if we had been careful to co-operate with it, may not
give us ſufficient Grace every time afterwards that we are tempted; but rather,
our ſinning wilfully,when we had ſufficient Grace given us to keep us from ſinning,
may juſtly provoke God to leſſen or withdraw that Grace which we have ſo much
abus'd ; according to that Threatning of our Saviour, From him that hath not,
mall be taken away, even that which he hath.
And indeed beſides ; if God ſhould continue to us the ſame Meaſure of Grace
afterwards, that he had communicated to us before, (which yet is more than can
reaſonably be hop'd) 'tis to be conſider'd nevertheleſs, that ſuch a Meaſure of
Grace as was before ſufficient, may not be ſufficient afterwards ; becauſe that
Grace that was before given, might be proportion'd only to our natural Weak-
neſs; and by every wilful Sin we render our ſelves weaker and weaker, and con-
fequently needing a greater Meaſure of Grace to keep us from falling; and tho
God may be thought to be (if we may be allow'd ſo to ſpeak) under ſome
ſort of Obligation in Equity, ſo to aſſiſt our weak Nature as that we ſhould
not at firſt neceſſarily fall into a Sin, he can't be thought oblig'd upon the ſame Ac-
count to increaſe his Grace, when we come to have need of a greater Meaſure of
it than we had at firſt; becauſe, that we have now need of more Grace than we
had then, is our own fault only, who have weakened our Nature by evil Cu-
ſtom: And there is no reaſon to expect, that God's Grace ſhould abound, accor-
ding as our Sin does abound.
Now this is in Truth the Caſe; we had ſufficient Strength once, either by
Nature or by Grace, (and 'tis no Matter now by which) to have withſtood thoſe
Temptations to Sin, which God did then ſuffer us to be aſſaulted with; it was our
own Fault, therefore, that we then fell, when we had Strength to ſtand ; and
ever ſince that firſt Fall, we have fallen very frequently; (this we own'd in the
former Petition, when we pray'd for Forgiveneſs of our Treſpaſſes ;) and there-
fore having by our own Sin forfeited all claim to the Divine Grace, there is great
Reaſon that we ſhould now beg it as a Favour, ſince we can't claim it as a Due,
that God would not lead us into Temptation ; i.e. that either he would not ſuf-
fer us to be tempted above our Strength, that is, not above thoſe Remains of the
Strength of Nature that are ſtill left to us; or elſe, in Caſe he ſees fit to permit
us to be aſſaulted by more violent Temptations, that he would be pleas'd to give
us ſuch a Supply of his Grace, as may be ſufficient to ſtrengthen our Weakneſs,
and to enable us to reſiſt and conquer them.
Thus we pray that God would not lead us into Temptation, i.e. that in this
State of Tryal and Temptation, which we are now put into by the Divine Pro-
vidence, he would be pleas'd to have conſideration of our Weakneſs; viz. both
of the Weakneſs of our frail Nature, and alſo of that greater Weakneſs which
we have contracted by our former Sins, and never ſuffer us to be tempted above
what we are able. Lead us not into Temptation. But it follows in this fame
Petition,
2. But deliver us from evil; the Meaning of which Words I am now to ſhew.
And there are three Significations of the Word evil, all which are conſiſtent
together, and agreeable to the Scope and Deſign of the Place, and therefore
however we may approve any one of them more than another, I do not fce
why we ſhould exclude any of them. For,
I. By
3
1
ܚܐ܀
1
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explain'd.
613
.
1. By the Evil that we here pray to be delivered from, we may under-
ſtand the Evil of Sin, which is ſometimes in Scripture called Evil; as in
Habak. i. 13. Thou art of purer Eyes than to behold Evil. And taking the
Word in this Senſe, this Clauſe of the Petition, Deliver us from Evil, will
be the ſame in Senſe with the former, Lead us not into Temptation ; for
then, what we here pray for will be, that God would ſo aſſiſt us by his
Grace, that we may not fall by any Temptations that we are allaulted with.
Or,
2. By Evil, we may underſtand, the Evil of Puniſhment; which is like
wiſe in Scripture ſometimes expreſs'd by that Word, as in fer. xviii. In
which Verſe we have an Inſtance of the Word Evil, uſed both in this Senſe,
and in the former Senſe of it._ If, ſays God, that Nation againſt whom I
have ſpoken, turn from their Evil, (i.e. from the Evil of their Ways) I will
repent of the Evil, (i.e. of the Evil of Puniſhment) which I had thought
and threatned to do unto them. And ſo it is likewiſe ſaid in Jonah iii. 10.
That God repented of the Evil that he ſaid he would do unto Niniveh, and
he did it not ; i.e. He did not bring that Deftruction upon them which he
had ſent Jonah to denounce againſt them. And taking the Word Evil in
this Senſe, this Clauſe of the Lord's Prayer will be much the ſame in Senſe,
with the Fifth Petition, Forgive us our Treſpaſſes; for then our Sins are fór-
given us by God, when the juſt Puniſhment of them is remitted, when we
are deliver'd from that Evil which we had deſery'd to ſuffer. Or,
3. Laſtly, By Evil, we may underſtand, the Evil One, i.e. The Devil,
who is ſometimes in Scripture ſo called ; as particularly in 1 Joh. iii. 1 2. Not
as Cain, who was of that wicked One, čx Tø ovneg',' the ſame Word that is
uſed here, Deliver us from Evil, áwò ti wovnež, from the Evil One. And
he may well be called, the Evil One, becauſe he was the firſt Author of all
the Sin that has been in the World, and of all the Miſery that has been, or
ever will be cauſed thereby.
Now theſe three Senſes of the Word Evil, are (as I ſaid before) all con-
ſiſtent with, and ſubordinate one to the other, ſo that I think they may all
be well enough underſtood to be deſign’d in this Place, when we are taught
to ſay, Deliver us from Evil; for by the Evil of Sin, we render our ſelves
obnoxious to the Evil of Puniſhment, and particularly to that greateſt of all
Puniſhments, to be led Captive by the Devil here, and to be eternally tor-
mented by him hereafter.
The Senſe then that we ought to have in our Minds, when we utter the
Words of this Petition, is this, as if we ſhould ſay, « We know, O Lord,
" that we are ſet in the midſt of many and great Dangers, by reaſon of the
“ various Temptations that we are ſubject to in this mortal Life, which we
" can't reſiſt, but by thy Help; and therefore we pray thee, without whoſe
Appointment or Permiſſion, nothing can happen to us, that either thou
“ would'It not ſuffer us to be tempted ſtrongly, or elſe that thou would'ſt be
“ pleas'd to grant us ſuch a large Supply of thy Grace, that we may not fall
“ by any Temptation, how ſtrong ſoever it be; but that being by thy Help
preſerv'd from all Sin, we may alſo clearly eſcape the Puniſhment thereof,
« both in this World, and in the next. Lead us not into Temptation, but
“ deliver us from Evil.
And now, having explain'd the Meaning of this Petition, I proceed in
the Second Place, according to the Method before laid down,
CC
II. To ſhew, what good Leſſons we may learn, what Duties we are taught
and inſtructed in, in our Uſe of this Petition. And,
1. As we pray, ſo we ought to practiſe; this is a general Rule of Duty :
we ſhould never pray for any Thing, but we ſhould at the fame Time en-
Vol. II.
С
deavour
.
614
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explain’d.
!
ز
deavour, by the Uſe of all lawful Means that are in our Power, to procure
the ſame to our ſelves; for God is no Friend to Sloth and Lazineſs; he has
no where promis'd to help thoſe who will do nothing for themſelves.
Beſides, Help is but Help ; it enables thoſe that work, to perform the
Work that they ſet themſelves to, but it does not do their Work for them;
it aſlifts them that endeavour to do their Work, but it would be more than
Help and Aſſiſtance, if it did all the Work by it ſelf, without their Con-
currerice and Co-operation.
Being therefore here taught to pray to God, that we may not be led into
Temptation, it is plainly our Duty not to run our ſelves into Temptation,
but on the contrary, to uſe all the prudent Means we can, to avoid the ſame.
And this Duty we are taught by our Saviour himſelf, at the 29th and 3 oti
Verſes of the foregoing Chapter. If thy right Eye offend thee, pluck it out,
and caſt it from thee, and if thy right Hand offend thee, cut it off, and
caſt it from thee ; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy Members ſhould
periſh, and not that thy whole Body Jijould be caſt into Hell
.
'Tis in vain, 'tis indeed too late, to pray that we may not be led into Tempta-
tion, or that we may not fall by the Temptation, when we our ſelves have cho-
ſen it; for by wilfully runifing into Temptation, we conſent to our own Fall;
by chuſing what we foreſee will be the Occaſion of our ſinning, wegive Conſent
to the Sin that is occaſion'd thereby, and fully contract the Guilt of the ſinful Ac-
tion, even before the Action it ſelf is done. Nay, by chuſing the Temptation
we contract the Guilt of the Sin, altho' by ſome other Reſtraint or Impediment
accidentally coming in our Way we ſhould be hindred from doing the Act it
ſelf; ſo that whenever we give our Conſent to that which will probably be
the Cauſe or Occaſion of our committing a Sin, we do then fall into Tem-
ptation, and we do then fall by the Temptation; and when we our ſelves
are our own Tempters, 'tis no better than trifling with God, or mocking of
God, to pray, that he would not lead us into Temptation, but deliver us from
Evil.
2. From our Uſe of this Petition in the Lord's Prayer, we are farther
taught, that 'is not only our Dury to avoid Temptations as much as we can,
but likewiſe to fore-arm our ſelves as well as we can, againſt thoſe Tempta-
tions which we are liable to in this mortal State, and which, by all our Care
and Caution, we cannot wholly avoid. For 'tis a vain Thing to pray to
God for any Good, either ſpiritual or temporal, which we our ſelves will be
at no Pains to procure to our felves.' And therefore we are taught by our
Saviour, not only to pray, but likewiſe to watch againſt Temptation, Matth.
xxvi. 41. Watch and pray, that ye inter not into Temptation. And Mark
xiii. 33. Take ye heed, watch and pray ; and ver. 37. What I ſay unto you,
I ſay unto all, Watch. And to this fame Purpoſe we are alſo exhorted by
the Apoſtles; by St. James, Jam. iv. 7. Reſiſt the Devil ; by St. Peter,
1 Pet. v. 9. Be ſober, be vigilant, becauſe your Adverſary the Devil
, as a
roaring Lion, walketh about, ſeeking whom he may devour ; whom refift, ſted-
faſt in the Faith : And by St. Paul, Eph. vi. 11. Put on the whole Armour
of God, that ye may be able to ſtand againſt the Wiles of the Devil
.
And indeed, if we fet our felves with all our Strength to reſiſt Temptati-
ons, we may then reaſonably hope for ſuch an Aſliſtance of the divine Grace
as will enable us to overcome them ; but if we our ſelves give Ground, while
we are able to ſtand, there is great reaſon to fear, that God will withdraw
his Grace from us, when he ſees we do not uſe it and improve it as we
ought to do; according to that ſevere, and yet moſt juſt Threatning of our
Saviour, before cited, Matth. xiii. 12. Whoſoever hath, to him ſhall be given,
and he ſhall have more Abundance ; but whoſoever hath not, (i.e. makes not
Uſe of what he has) from him ſhall be taken away, even that which he hath.
3. Laſtly,
I
Lead us not into Temptation, &c. explain'd.
615
ز
3. Laſtly, From the Place which this Petition has, from the Order in
which it lies, in the Lord's Prayer; from its ſucceding the foregoing Peti-
tion, wherein we had beg'd Forgiveneſs of our Sins, and from its being im-
mediately ſubjoin'd thereunto, we may learn, That there is no Ground to
hope for Forgiveneſs of our paft Sins, without a firm Reſolution, and a fin-
cere Endeavour to reform our Lives. For unleſs this were neceſſary to ob-
rain a full Remiſſion of our paſt Sins, we might have put an End to our
Prayer with that Petition ; becauſe having our Sins forgiven, we ſhould by
that alone, be capable of, and entitled to, all the Promiſes of the Goſpel,
and ſo ſhould not need to be concern'd for any Thing farther. According
to that of the Pſalmiſt, Pfal. xxxii. 1, 2. Bleſſed is he whole Unrighteouſneſs
is forgiven, and whoſe Sin is covered. Bleſſed is the Man unto whom the
Lord' imputeth not Iniquity. Being therefore here taught, after we had
beg’d Pardon of our former Sins, ſtill to continue our Petition; and to beg
yet farther for divine Grace and Help, to enable us to reſiſt and overcome
Temptations for the Time to come, it hereby plainly appears, that we are
not capable of this Bleſſedneſs that the Pfalmift ſpeaks of, without a Refor-
mation of our Lives; and confcquently, that. Remiſſion of Sins, wherein
that Bleſſedneſs does conſiſt, will not be granted to us on any other Terins.
And this is agreeable to the whole Tenor of the Bible ; Repent and be con-
verted, that your Sins may be blotted out; ſo the Apoſtles preach'd, Aits iii. .
19. And repent of this thy Wickedneſs, and pray God, if perhaps the Thought
of thine Heart may be forgiven thee, was the good Advice of St. Peter
to Simon the Magician, Afts viii. 22. firſt he was to repent, and then he was
to pray for Pardon ; for a Prayer for Pardon before, or without Repentance,
the Apoſtle knew would be ineffectual: And to them who obſerve the Me-
thod there preſcrib'd by the Apoſtle; i. e. who both repent, and alſo pray
for Pardon, a moſt ſure Promiſe of Forgiveneſs is made; Ifai. 1. 16, 17, 18.
Waſh you, make
you clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from before
mine Eyés, ceaſe to do Evil, learn to do Well, ſeek Judgment, relieve the
Oppreſſed, judge the Fatherleſs, plead for the Widow. Come now, and let us
reaſon together, ſaith the Lord; tho your Sins be as Scarlet, they shall be
white as Snow, tho they be red like Crimſon, they hall be as Wool. And
to the fame Senſe is that of the Wiſe Man, Prov. xxviii. 13. He that cover.
eth his Sins ſhall not proſper, but whofo confeſſeth and forſaketh them all
have Mercy.
And now I have done with the ſecond Part of the Lord's Prayer, which
confifts of Petition to God.
The third and laſt part of it is the Concluſion, contain'd in the latter Part
of the 13th Verſe, For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for
Amen.
But I think it will be beſt to defer diſcourſing on that, to ſome other
Time
}
ever.
DISCOURSE
616
-
DISCOURSE LVI.
For thine is the Kingdom, Mc. ex-
plain'd.
1
MATTH. VI. 13:
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and
the Glory, for ever
haus
N the Lord's Prayer there are, (as I have formerly noted) three
principal Parts; 1. the Preface; 2. the Body of the Prayer;
I
and 3. the Concluſion; and of the two firſt of theſe I have
already ſpoken.
36999 The third Part of the Prayer, or the Concluſion, of which I
am now to diſcourſe, contains firſt a Doxology, or ſolemn gi-
ving Glory to God, Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory,
for ever: And ſecondly, an Expreſſion of our full Approbation of, and hearty,
Conſent to the whole foregoing Prayer, in the Word, Amen.
I ſhall now ſpeak ſomewhat of each of theſe, in the ſame Method which I
have hitherto obſerv'd in diſcourſing of all the foregoing Clauſes of this
Prayer; i.e. 1. I ſhall explain their Meaning, and ſhew what Senſe we ought
to have in our Minds when we utter theſe Words: And 2. I ſhall ſhew what
good Leſſons we are taught, what Duties we are inſtructed in, by the Uſe thereof.
And in this Method I ſhall firſt diſcourſe of the Doxology, or giving Glory
to God; For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever..
Which Words may be underſtood either, firſt, as a Recognition or Ac-
knowledgment of the Greatneſs and Majeſty of God; or ſecondly, aſſign-
ing ſome ſpecial Reaſons inducing us to ask, and which we hope will like-
wiſe induce God to grant the ſeveral Requeſts which had been before put up
to him.
1. I ſay, theſe Words may be underſtood as a ſimple Doxology; i.e. only
as a Recognition or Acknowledgment of the Greatneſs and Majcíty of God;
thus,
Thine is the Kingdom ; i.e. “ We heartily acknowledge thy fupreme Domi-
“nion over us, and the whole World; we adore and worſhip thee, as the great
King, the ſovereign Lord of all."
And, thine is the Power, i.e. “We own likewiſe, and humbly adore that
“ infinite Power, whereby thou art able to govern the World, and to order all
" the Affairs of it according to thine own Pleaſure, notwithſtanding any Oppo-
“ fition that is made to thy Will, by evil Men, or Devils, or any other created
Being."
And, thine is the Glory; i. e. “Wegive thee the Glory of thy Greatneſs and
“ Power, and of all the Things that thou doſt, and of all the Good that thou
" workeſt in us, or beſtowelt upon us."
And
ވެ
Co
1
ܬ
I I
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
617
And laſtly; We hereby acknowledge, that God always was, and ever will be
the ſame that he is at preſent ; that he changeth not, but ever was, and ever will
be, as great, as powerful, and as glorious as now; that he is infinitely and eter-
nally ſuch, the ſame Yeſterday, to Day, and for ever. Thine is the Kingdom,
the Power, and the Glory, for ever.
And, thus underſtood, this Doxology at the Concluſion of the Lord's Prayer,
is the ſame in Senſe with that larger Form of Praiſe and Thankſgiving that was
us’d by David, and is recorded in 1 Chron. xxix. 10.&c. And David Said ;
Bleſſed be thou, O Lord God of Iſrael, our Father, for ever and ever; thine, O
Lord, is the Greatneſs, and the Power, and the Glory, and the Victory, and
the Majeſty; for all that is in the Heaven and in the Earth, is thine; thine
is the Kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as Head above all. Both
Riches and Horour come of thee, and thou reigneft over all, and in thine Hand
is Power and Might, and in thine Hand it is to make great, and to give
Strength unto all; now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praiſe thy glori-
0us Name. Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory for ever; i.e.
“ We humbly acknowledge, and reverently adore the greatneſs of thy King-
« dom, the Mightineſs of thy Power, and the Gloriouſneſs of thy Majcfty,
" and the Eternity of theſe and all other thy infinite and glorious Perfc&ions.
But,
2. We may alſo, as I ſaid, underſtand theſc Words, as aſſigning ſome
ſpecial Reaſons inducing us to ask, and which we hope will likewiſe induce
God to grant the ſeveral Requeſts that we had before put up to him.
And the Connexion that is made between theſe Words, and the foregoing
Petitions by the Word, for ; For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the
Glory, ſeems to favour this Interpretation. And thus underſtood, the Senſe of
them will be this.
For thine is the Kingdom ; i. e. « We therefore beg theſc Things of thecy
" becauſe thou art our King; for thou art the ſovereign Lord of the whole
* World; and we are thy Subjects, who have our whole Dependence upon
" thee, and muſt receive all that we want froin thy riches and fulneſs. Upon
es vaich Accounts it is befitting us to ask of thee, and it is ſuitable to thy Pre-
10 arive to grant our Requeſts.
And thine alſo is the Power; i.e. « We therefore put up our Prayers to
" thee, becauſe we know, that thou, being of infinite Power, art able to grant
" all that we deſire ; and we alſo hope that thou wilt do it, becauſe the grant-
“ ing theſe our Requeſts will be an Expreſſion and Manifeſtation of the Great-
“ neſs of thy Power.”
And thine alſo is the Glory; i.e. “ By making known our Wants to thee,
" and humbly craving a Supply thereof from thy Bounty, we give thee the
“ Glory that is due unto thy Name. And this alſo is a farther Ground of Hope
to us, that thou wilt grant our Requeſts, becauſe to thee of Right will belong
" the Glory and Praiſe of all that we have, and of all that we do; ſeeing
we have nothing but from thy Bounty, and can do nothing but by thy
Help."
And thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory for ever ; 1. e.
" As it is now, ſo it ever was, and ever will be ; thy Kingdom is an everlaſting
Kingdom, and thy Dominion endureth throughout all Ages; and thy Pow-
er is unalterable, not capable of Increaſe, becauſe infinite ; nor poſſible
to be leſſen’d, becauſe ſuperior to all other Power; and thy Glory alſo is
“ eternal; and becauſe thou changeſt not, we have an entire Confidence,
" and a ſure Truſt in thee, that thou both canſt and wilt, both now, and at all
“ Times, hear the Prayers that we put up to thee.”
But theſe two Senſes of this Clauſe of the Lord's Prayer, though they are
ſomewhat different, yet are not at all diſagreeing to each other; ſo that they
Vol. II.
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nay
1
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66
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For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
(0
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nay both be well enough meant by us when we utter theſe Words. And then
the full Senſe that we ought to have in our Minds, when we ſay this Conclu-
fion of the Lord's Prayer, will be, as if we ſhould ſay.
“ And now that we have put up our Petitions to thee for what we want,
« it is but fit that we ſhould alſo render thee the Praiſe and Thanks that are
thy Due. We acknowledge therefore, that thou art a great King, whom
we ought to worſhip with the lowlieſt Reverence; and we own that
thy Power is infinite, and are therefore ſure that thou can'ít grant what
“ we have deſired ; and we confeſs that thy Glory is above all, and we there-
“ fore deſire that thou may'ſt be glorified in all the good Things that thou be-
“ ftoweſt upon us; and laſtly, we acknowledge that thy Kingdom and Power
« and Glory are for ever, that they are eternal, and immutable ; and there-
" fore we do, and ſhall at all Times, put our whole Truſt in thee, becauſe we
acknowledge that thou can'ſt never fail us.”
And this Concluſion of the Lord's Prayer is fruitful of good Inſtruction, as
well as were all the foregoing Clauſes of it;
And what Inſtructions they are that we receive from thence, was the next
Thing I was to fhew. And,
1. In general ; from this Doxology or Form of Praiſe being added by our
Lord himſelf to that Form of Prayer which he has taught us to uſe, and accord-
ing to which as a Pattern we are to compoſe all our own Prayers, we may learn,
that it is our Duty always to accompany our Petitions to God for the Mercies
we want, with Praiſes and Thankſgivings to him for the Mercies we have re-
ceived, and with joyful Acknowledgements of his Majeſty, Greatneſs, and Boun-
ty; according to thoſe Directions given by the Apoſtle, : Theſ.v. 17, 18.
Pray without ceaſing, and in every Thing give Thanks; and Phil. iv. 6. In
every Thing, by Prayer and Supplication with Thankſgiving, let your Requeſts
be made known unto God.
2. And more particularly.
From the firſt Clauſe of this Doxology, for thine is the Kingdom, we are
putin Mind that it is our Duty in all Things to ſubmit our felves to the Will of
God, and to reſign our ſelves to his Diſpoſal, whom we here acknowledge to
have the ſovereign Dominion over all.
From the ſecond Clauſe of it, thine is the Power, we are farther taught,
that it is our Duty in all our Sreights and Difficulties, to ſeek for his Grace and
Succour to direct and ſupport us, and in all our Dangers and Wants, to rely
upon his All-ſufficiency to deliver and relieve us; according to that of the
Apoſtle, in the Place juſt before cited. Be careful for nothing but in everý
Thing by Prayer and Supplication, let your Requeſts be made known un-
to God.
And from the third Clauſe of it, thine is the Glory, we are farther
taught to direct all our Actions to his Glory, to whom we here acknow-
ledge that all Glory is due; according to that of the ſame Apoſtle, in 1 Cor.
x. 13. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or what foever ye do, do all to the
Glory of God.
And laſtly, from that Eternity which we here acknowledge in all the Di-
vine Attributes and Perfections, when we ſay that this Kingdom, and Power,
and Glory are for ever, we are taught to worſhip him continually, to praiſe
him evermore, and to give divine Honours to none beſides him; becauſe he
is God from everlaſting to everlaſting, and beſides him there is no other God,
and his Glory he will not give to another.
There is only one Word of the Lord's Prayer, that now remains to be ſpoken
of, viz. Amen.
And this is an Hebrew Word, ſignifying, truly, verily, or the like: And
it is a Phraſe often us’d by our Saviour at the Beginning of his Speech ,
*
to
For thine is the Kingdom. &c. explain'd.
619
to engage the Attention and Credit of his Hearers to what he was
about to ſay. Apenivasyw ullīv, which we tranſlate, Verily I ſay unto you :
And in the Goſpel of St. John, the Word is always doubled, 'Apriv,
'Apriv, Verily, Verily, I ſay unto you ; i. e. of a Truth I ſay unto you, or, in
good Trutlı it is ſo as I ſay. And that this is the true Meaning of the Word,
appears from ſeveral Places in St. Luke's Goſpel
, parallel to ſome others in St.
Matthew, or the other Evangeliſts, where he uſes the Greek Word en Josy
the proper Signification of which is, indeed, truly, or of a Truth, where the
other Evangeliſts had uſed the Hebrew Word, Amen. Thus, in Luke ix. 27.
we read thcſc Words of our Saviour ; I tell you, dantñs, of a Truth, that
there be ſome ſtanding here, which ſhall not taſte of Death, till they ſee the
Kingdom of God; but in Matth. xvi. 28. and Mark ix. I. where this ſame Paſ-
ſage is related, the Hebrew Word 'Auniv is retain’d; ’Apeld aéyo vucu, Verily, I
ſay unto you. So again, in Luke xii. 44. 'tis ſaid, 'A2nJūs, Of a Truth, I ſay
unto you, he will make him Ruler over all that he hath; but in Matth.xxiv. 47.
'tis, 'Averin, Verily, I ſay unto you, he will make him Ruler over all his Goods.
And the ſame may be obſerv'd again, in Luke xxi. 3. where our Lord, giving
his Judgment of the poor Widow, that had caſt her two Mites into the Trea-
ſury, ſays, ’A)ntws, Of a Truth, I ſay unto yout, that this poor Widow hath
caſt in more than they all : But in Mark xii. 4-3. thc Hebrew Word is retain'd;
Ajunv, Verily I ſay unto you, this poor Widow hath caſt in more than they all.
This therefore being the proper Meaning of the Word Amen, it being an
Adverb of aſfirining, the deſign of adding it at the Concluſion of any Diſcourſe,
is to affirm all that had been ſaid before; we thereby declare and teſtify our
Approbation thercof, and Conſent thereto: And it denotes ſuch a ſort of Ap-
probation and Conſent, as, conſidering the Nature of the foregoing Diſcourſe,
was proper to be given to it.
And therefore when we repeat the Creed, we ſay Amen, at the End of
that ; by ſaying which Word there, we grant the Truth of all the Articles be-
fore rehears'd, and declare our Belief thereof; there Amen ſignifies, So it is,
this is the true Faith; or, All this I ſtedfaſtly believe.
And ſo, when at the End of every one of thoſe Curſes, which were order'd
to be pronounced upon Mount Ebal, Deut. xxvii. the People were taught to
ſay, Amen; the Deſign was, that by ſaying that Word, they ſhould teſtify, that
thoſe Curſes, upon ſuch as did the Things there ſpoken of, were juſt and de-
ſerved, and ſuch as all thoſe wicked Doers might reaſonably expect ſhould be-
fal them.
And of the like Uſe is the Word Amen, in the Commination appointed in
our Liturgy to be read upon the firſt Day of Lent; the Deſign of it (as the
Church her ſelf teaches in the Exhortation at thc beginning of that Office) is,
That the Congregation being admoniſh'd of the great Indignation of God againſt
Sinners, may be warned to flee from thoſe Vices, for which, by their laying
Amen, at the End of every Sentence, they affirm with their own Mouths the
Curſe of God to be due.
And ſo St. Paul, Rom. i. 25. after he had ſaid of the Heathens, that they
worſhiped and ſerved the Creature more than the Creator, who is bleffed for
ever, adds, Amen ; meaning thereby farther to confirm that laſt Clauſe, who
is bleſſed for ever: Amen, i.e. he is bleſſed for ever. And he adds the fame
Word upon a like Occaſion, to almoſt the fame Form of Speech, in the ninth
Chapter of that Epiſtle, at the fifth Verſe, only that as in the Words before
cited, he had ſpoken of God the Father, or the firſt Perſon in the ever blef-
fed Trinity, he here affirms the ſame of the ſecond Perſon, our Lord Jeſus
Chriſt; of whom he here ſays, that he is over all, God bleſſed for ever : Whoſe
are the Fathers, (i.e. they were Jews) and of whom as concerning the Fleſh,
Chriſt came, who, (i. e. which Chriſt,) is over all, God bleſſed for ever ; and
then
620
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain’d.
then he immediately adds the Word, Amen, in farther Affirmation of that laft
Clauſe, whercin he had affcrted the eternal Divinity of the Son; that it might
not ſeem to have been written caſually, or without good thinking; Chriſt is
over all, God bleſſed for ever: Amen; i.e. so indeed it is ; Chriſt is indeed
God bleſſed for ever. In both theſe Texts, the Word Amen, has the Force
of a Repetition, in one Word, of what had been ſaid juit before in more
Words.
And of the like Uſe and Force is the Word Amen, when 'tis added at the
End of the Creed, or of a Prayer.
When we ſay Amen, at the End of the Creed, or whenever elſe we make
Profeſſion of our Belief of any divine Truth, we mcan, by adding that Word,
to repeat over again in ſhort, all that Profeſſion of our Faith or Belief, which
we had before made in ſeveral Words, or in ſeveral Sentences. The ſaying
Amen there, is equivalent to the ſaying over again all that had been ſaid be-
fore ; it is a freſh Declaration of our Conſent thereto, and our Belief thereof.
But when the Word Amen is joined to a Prayer, or is added at the End of
a Prayer, as it is here, it then ſerves to expreſs our Wiſh or Deſire, that the
whole Matter of the Requeſt, to which it is ſubjoin’d, may be granted, or our
good Hope that the ſame will be granted. Thus in i Kings i. 36. when Da-
vid had declared his Intention that Solomon ſhould ſucceed him in the King-
dom, Benaiah the Son of Jehoiada anſwer'd the King, and ſaid, Amen, the
Lord God of my Lord the King Say ſo too. Where by this Word Amen, he
plainly meant to expreſs his Deſire that it might be ſo as the King had ſaid.
And thus alſo, in Jer. xxviii. 6. when the Prophet Hananiah had propheſied
falſly, that the Veſſels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried from Jeruſalem to
Babylon, ſhould in a ſhort Time be brought back again, the Prophet Jere-
miah ſaid, Amen; and yet he knew at the ſame time that the Prophecy was
falſe ; he could not therefore be thought, by ſaying that Word, to give his Al-
ſent to the Truth of it; but nevertheleſs, becauſe the Matter of the Prophecy
was good, and what the Prophet Jeremiah would have been as glad as any of
them all might be fulfilled, he ſaid Amen to it; i.e. he declared his own Wiſh
and Deſire, that it might be ſo as Hananiah had ſaid, altho' he knew that it
would not be ſo. And ſo he himſelf explains the Word ; Jeremiah faid, A-
men ; the Lord do ſo, the Lord perform thy Words which thou haſt prophe-
fied. And ſo, in Rev. xxii. 20. when our Lord had ſaid, Surely I come quickly,
the Apoſtle St. John, for himſelf, or in the Name of the whole Chriſtian
Church, immediately adds, Amen ; even ſo, come Lord Jeſus ; i.e. May it
be ſo as thou haſt promiſed.
And of the like Uſe is this Word Amen, when it is added at the End of
thoſe Benedictions wherewith moſt of the Epiſtles in the New Teſtament are
concluded.
If therefore the Prayer, at the Concluſion of which Amer is added, be
ſpoken by one, and the Amen be ſpoken by another, as it is commonly in our
publick Prayers, when the Miniſter only ſpeaks the whole Prayer, and all the
People at the End of it ſay, Amen; then they by ſaying Amen, ſignify their
Conſent to, and their Concurrence with, the whole Prayer that had been ut-
ter'd before by the Miniſter ; and their Meaning is the ſame as when they ſay
in the Litany, We beſeech thee to hear is, good Lord: But if the Amen be
ſaid by the ſame Perſon that ſpeaks the Prayer ; as when we ſay Amen to our
own Cloſet and private Prayers, the Amen is then a Repetition, in one Word,
of all that had been ſaid before, in all the Clauſes of the foregoing Prayer:
'Tis a freſh breathing forth of all thoſe pious Deſires or Affections of the Mind,
that had been before more largely expreſſed.
When therefore we ſay Amen at the End of the Lord's Prayer, whether
the Prayer be ſpoken by our ſelyes, or another, the Senſe we ſhould have in
our Minds is this:
If
ز
*
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
621
If we refer it to the Invocation, Our Father which art in Heaven, we ſhould
mean, “ So it is, it is our Father in Heaven, whom we put up our Prayers to,
« and no other.
If we refer it to the Petitions, we ſhould mean, " So be it, the Lord fulfil
« all our Petitions.
Or if we refer it to the Doxology immediately preceding, Thine is the
Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever; we ſhould mean, as be-
fore in the Invocation, “ So it is, thine indeed is the Kingdom, and the
“ Power, and the Glory, for ever.
But when this Word Amen is added at the End of a Prayer, the Matter
whereof we are ſure is good and agreeable to God's Will, (as moſt certainly
the Matter of this Prayer is, which was taught us by our Lord himſelf) then both
the foregoing Senſes of the Word may well be join’d together, so it is, and so
be it ; then by the Word Amen, we ſhould not only ſignify the Concurrence
of our own Wiſhes, but likewiſe our aſſured Hope that the ſame will be
granted to us.
And this is the Explication that is given of this Word in the Church Cate:
chiſm, where, after the Scholar had briefly given the Meaning of the forego-
ing Clauſes and Petitions of the Prayer ; this and this I deſire of God in this
Prayer ; he is taught to ſay, And this I truſt he will do, of his Mercy and Good-
neſs, through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt ; and therefore I Say Amen, ſo be it.
And ſo much for the Meaning of the Word, Amen.
But from the Uſe of this Word, as well as of all the foregoing Clauſes in
this Prayer, we are alſo inſtructed in our Duty. Two Things eſpecially there
are, which we may learn from hence.
1. Being here taught by our Lord himſelf, to ſay Amen, at the End of
Prayer, to teſtify thereby our Conſent thereunto, it plainly appears from hence,
that the Prayers which are at any Time put up to God in publick, ought to
be expreſs’d in ſuch a Language, and in ſuch a Stile, as may be eaſily under-
ſtood by all thoſe that are to join therein. For if they do not underſtand
what is ſaid, they can't approve of it, they can't give a rational Conſent there-
to, they can't ſay Amen to it.
It is highly expedient therefore, nay, it is abſolutely neceſſary, for the Edi-
fication of the Church, that the publick Prayers, which are deſigned for the
Uſe of all, ſhould be ſuited to the Capacities of all; i.e. ſhould be as plain,
as eaſy, as familiar as is poſſible ; that not only all high Flights, and rhetorical
Figures and Flouriſhes ſhould be therein carefully avoided, but likewiſe all
Words that are not of very eaſy Meaning, and of common Uſe.
In a Word, the publick Prayers ſhould be ſuch as the Prayers of our Church
are, the Words common, the Stile eaſy, the Sentences ſhort, and the whole
Phraſe and Compoſure ſuited to the Capacities of the meaneſt.
And this is not only a Commendation of our Liturgy in particular, that it
is ſo form’d and contriy'd, that the meaneſt of the Congregation may under-
ſtand our Prayers, and ſay Amen to them; but it is, in general, an Advantage
of
premeditated or ſet Forms of Prayer, above thoſe which are conceived
extempore, that he that pens a Prayer for publick Uſe, may take Time to ftu-
dy Plainneſs and Perſpicuity, which he that prays extempore cannot do. And
indeed I am apt to think, that one Reaſon why ſome Perſons, who are not of
the quickeſt Apprehenſions, do more admire theſe extempore 'Prayers of others,
than they do the ſtated Prayers of the Church, is becauſe they do leſs under-
ſtand them; for People are generally moſt apt to admire that which they do
leaſt underſtand. But above all, it is manifeſtly moſt abſurd and ridiculous,
that the publick Prayers, in which all are to join, ſhould be put up, as they
are in the Church of Rome, in an unknown Tongue, in a Language not un-
derſtood, perhaps, by one in twenty, it may be, not by one in an hundred of
Vol. II.
E
the
622
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain’d.
the whole Congregation. The Folly and Ridiculouſneſs of which Practice is
moſt evidently ſhewed in the fourteenth Chapter of the firſt Epiſtle to the Corin-
thians, by ſeveral Arguments, and among others by this, that no Man
can wiſely and rationally ſay Amen, to a Prayer utter'd by another in an unknown
Tongue, at the fifteenth and following Verſes. What is it then, I will pray
with
the Spirit, and I will pray with the Underſtanding alſo: I will ſing with
the Spirit, and I will ſing with the Underſtanding alſo. Elfe when thou
shalt bleſs with the Spirit, how ſmall he that occupieth the room of the
unlearned Say Amen, at thy giving of Thanks, ſeeing he underſtandeth not
what thou Sayeſt ? For thou verily, (i.e. thou thy ſelf who underſtandeſt
the Language which thou ſpeakeſt in, thou) giveft Thanks well, but the o-
ther (i. e, he who underſtands it not) is not edified. But,
2. When we ſay Amen at the End of any Prayer, or other Addreſs to
God, it is ſuppoſed, not only that we underſtood what went before, but
that we minded it, and gave good Attention to it; for when we ſay Amen
to any Thing, we thereby give our Conſent to it, and declare our Appro-
bation of it: And how can we approve of, how can we conſent to a Pray-
er that is ſpoken, if we do not attend to what is ſaid ?
This therefore is another Duty that we are plainly inſtructed in by this
Word, Amen; viz. when we are at Prayer, to keep our Mind to our Bu-
fineſs, to attend diligently to what we are about, to avoid as much as is pof-
ſible all wandring Thoughts in Prayer, to be duly affected with every
Clauſe and Sentence of that Prayer which we either ſpeak our ſelves, or
which is ſpoken by the Miniſter in the Congregation in our Names, and
to have ſuch Thoughts and Deſires in our Minds throughout the whole
Office, as the Words we are then ſpeaking ſeem to import we have. For
unleſs we do thus attend to, and are thus affected by what we ſay, our
Service will be nothing elſe but Lip-Worſhip, and will be inneither acceptable
Ifà. xxix. 13. to God nor profitable to our ſelves. For of all thoſe that draw near to
Gad with their Mouths, and honour him with their Lips, while their Heart
is removed far from him, we are told by the Prophet, that their Worſhip
of God is vain.
But if as every Clauſe and Sentence of the Prayer is uttered, we go
along with it in our Minds, and give ſuch a Conſent either of Approbation
or Deſire, as is proper to be given thereto, then the ſingle Word, Amen, at
the End of all, being utter'd with Fervency and true Devotion, will fully
comprehend in it all the Senſe of the whole foregoing Prayer, and we ſhall
pray over again in one devout Breath, as much as we prayed before
in the whole Office. And ſuch an effe&tual fervent Prayer, (as St. James
calls it) we may be ſure will avail much with God. For this (as St. John
* Joh. v. 14, fays) is the Confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any Thing
according to his Will he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us,
whatſoever we ask, we know that we have the Petitions that we deſired
of him.
And now having gone through every Part of the Lord's Prayer by it
ſelf, explaining the Meaning thereof, and declaring the Duties that we are
thereby inſtructed in and oblig'd to, I ſhall only obſerve two Things to you
concerning the Fulneſs, Perfection, and Excellency of this Prayer, and ſo
conclude. And,
1. From what has been ſaid it is eaſy to obſerve that the Lord's Prayer
is a complete Pattern of Prayer, there being in this ſhort Prayer every Thing
that can be reckon'd a Part of Prayer. For,
comp. Matth.
XV.
15.
(1.) In Prayer we are to acknowledge and adore the Divine Excellencies
and Perfections ; and this we do here ; firſt, in the Preface to the Prayer,
when
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
623
7
...-
when invoking God, we ſtile him our heavenly Father, Our Father which
art in Heaven, and then in the Concluſion of it, when we acknowledge
that his is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory for ever.
(2.) In Prayer we are humbly to thank our heavenly Father for all the
Expreſſions of his Goodneſs to us ; continue in Prayer, ſays the Apoſtle,
and watch in the ſame with Thankſgiving. And this Part of Prayer, Thanks
giving, is included likewiſe in the Preface, when we acknowledge that God
is our Father, i. e. that he bears us a fatherly Affection, and that we have
experienced his fatherly
. Kindneſs to us; and this fame is likewiſe again ex-
ercis’d and expreſs’d in the firſt Petition, hallowed be thy Name ; that Phraſe
being; (as I have formerly noted) like thoſe commonly in Ufe among us,
God be praiſed, bleſſed be God, and the like; by which, though they are
expreſs’d in the Form of a Wiſh or Petition, yet what we mean is, adually
to give Thanks and Praiſe to God; and fo it inay be underſtood there,
hallowed be thy Name; i. e. we do hallow thy Name, we praiſe and bleſs
thee for thy Goodneſs.
i
(3.) In Prayer we are humbly to requeſt of God the good Things that
we want ; this is the chief Subject of Prayer, this is what it has its Name
from; for Prayer and Petition are Words of the ſame Signification; and
this is plainly the chief Subject of the Lord's Prayer; the whole Body of
it, all but the Preface and Concluſion, being in its primary Meaning,
Petition to God for ſuch Things as we have need of (and indeed for
all Things that we have need of) both for our Souls and Bodies. But
then,
int
1
(4») Laſtly, It is not fit that vile and polluted Sinners, as we all are,
ſhould dare to approach the Preſence of God, or preſume to offer up any
Requeſt to him, without an humble Acknowledgment of our vileneſs and
unworthineſs: It becomes not Sinners to ask any thing of God without
confeſſing their Faults, and ſorrowfully owning that they are unworthy. to
receive the good Things that they ask'd: And this is Confeffion, which there-
fore ought to make a part in all our Addreſſes to God; and ſo it does
here: For when we ask God forgiveneſs (as we are taught to do in the
fifth Petition, forgive us our Treſpaſſes, as we forgive them that treſpaſs
againſt us) ſuch a Requeſt contains, by plain Implication, an Acknowledg-
ment that we are Sinners; for if we had no Sin, we ſhould need no Par-
don, and if we did not think our felves Sinners, we ſhould not think it
needful to beg Pardon.
From all which therefore it plainly appears, that this is a moſt complete
Form or Pattern of Prayer, that there is nothing eſſential to Prayer want-
ing in it.
2. What may be farther obſery'd and infer'd from all the Diſcourſes
which I have made upon this Prayer, as to the admirable Excellency and Per-
fection of it; is, that it is ſo fram'd and contriy'd, as to ſerve both for an
Expreſſion of our Devotion towards God, and for an Inſtruction to our
ſelves; that at the ſame Time, and by the ſame Words, by which we are
taught what to requeſt of God, we are alſo inſtructed in our own Duty,
and ſtrongly excited to it; upon which Account the frequent Uſe of it
muſt needs be of fingular Benefit and Advantage to us.,
You may, I ſuppoſe, have heard it ſaid, that no Perſon that is a Witch,
can repeat the Words of the Lord's Prayer throughout; that if ſuch a Per-
fon be put to repeat it, there will be always ſomewhat miſtaken in the Re-
peating it, or ſomewhat omitted. I will not warrant the Truth of this
Say.
!
624
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain'd.
ܪ
Saying or Obſervation, becauſe; as I have had no Experience of it, ſo niel-
ther can I ſee any Reaſon for it.
But this I think I may ſay with more certainty of Truth, and with more
Reaſon; that no wicked Man whatſoever, continuing in his Wickedneſs,
can ſay this Prayer, nor indeed any one Sentence or Claufc of it, with good
Attention and fervent Devotion; and that every good Man ſo ſaying it, muſt
needs by naturál Efficacy, as well as by the Divine Grace and Bleſſing, be
rendred better thereby.
1. I ſay, that a wicked Man, continuing in his Wickedneſs, can't ſay
this Prayer, nor indeed any one Sentence or Claufe of it, with good
Attention, and fervent Devotion ; he can't have ſuch inward Affections of
Mind towards God, as the Words of this Prayer do exprefs; nor an hearty
Deſire of thoſe Things which he ſeems to requeſt of God; becauſe ſuch
devout Affections and holy Deſires are directly contradictory tờ, and utterly
inconſiſtent with the Love and Practice of Sin.
For how can he preſume ſo much as to call upon God in Prayer, who
in Works denies him? Or how can he with holy Devotion call God his
Father, who has ſold himſelf to the Devil to work Wickedneſs, and con-
* Joh. v. 18.tinually exerciſes himſelf therein ? For whoſoever is born of God ſinneth not ;
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himſelf pure, and that wicked one touch-
eth him not, as the Apoſtle ſays.
How can he ſay to God, with true Devotion, hallowed be thy. Name,
who diſhonours him in his whole Life? How can he be thought ſeriouſly
and heartily to deſire that the holy Name of God may be fanctified by
all, who is himſelf by wicked' Oaths and horrid Blaſphemies, continually
prophaning and polluting it? Again,
How can he pray heartily that the Kingdom of God may come, and be
eſtabliſh'd in the World, who will not give up himſelf to be rul’d and
govern’d by him? Muſt not his Heart give his Tongue the Lye, while he
lays with his Mouth, thy Kingdom come, and yet knows himſelf to be
Job. xx. 14. in his Heart with thoſe wicked ones ſpoken of by Job, who ſay unto
God depart from us, for we defire not the Knowledge of thy Ways; What
is the Almighty that we ſhould ſerve him, and what Profit ſhould we have
if we pray unto him?
Again; we are taught in this Prayer to ſay, thy Will be done in Earth
as it is in Heaven; but how can a Man ſay this with true and fervent De-
votion, who continually oppoſes and reſiſts the divine Will, who will nei-
ther ſubmit to the Providence of God, nor obey his Precepts; who is abo-
minable and diſobedient, and to every good Work reprobate?
Again ; Give us (we are farther taught to ſay) this Day our daily Bread;
now in the Matter of this Petition, there is indeed nothing but what a
very wicked Man may agree to ; for he may deſire-as earneſtly, nay, he
does commonly deſire more paſſionately, the Things of this Life than the
good Man does : But then as to the Manner of defiring them, as to the
craving them of God, he can no more útter this Petition with true Devo-
tion than he can any of the former; becauſe he knows that he does not
depend upon God for them, nor expect them from his Bleſſing, but only
from his own Wit and Induſtry; for if he look'd for them from the divine
Bleſſing, he would not ſeek them, as now: he does, in ſuch Ways as God
has forbidden, i. e. by Fraud and Injuſtice, Extortion and Oppreſſion.
And as little can he join, with true and hearty Devotion, in the Petition
that follows, forgive us our Treſpaſſes; for though Pardon of Sins be what
he greatly wants, and what, if he has any Senſe of Religion in him, he can't
but ſecretly wiſh God would grant; yet he can't with true Devotion, and with
ſuch Aſſurance of being heard as is requiſite to render our Prayers availing,
put
ز
ز
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain’d.
625
I
put up any Petition to God, the Matter of which we our ſelves' are ſenfi-
ble is highly unreaſonable. And what can be more unreaſonable than
this? What can be more unfit for God to grant, or more prophane and
preſuming in us to ask, than this is ? viz. that he would be pleas’d to
grant Pardon to an unrepenting Sinner. For to ask this of God, is juſt
the ſame as it would be to deſire him to abrogate all his holy and rigla-
teous Laws, or to grant us a Licenſe to tranſgreſs them.
And as little can ſuch a one ſay, with a true Spirit of Devotion, and
an hearty Concurrence of his own Deſire, lead us not into Temptation,
but deliver us from Evil; for, as the Apoſtle ſays, every Man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own Luſt, and enticed: And this is what the
wicked Man chufes to be; he gives himſelf up to his own Heart's Luſts,
and delights to follow his own wicked Imaginations; ſo that to pray againſt
Temptations is to pray againſt himſelf; and he can't be ſuppoſed to join
heartily in this Petition, without ſuppoſing what is plainly impoſſible ; viz.
that a Man can at the ſame Time love and hate, chuſe and refuſe, de-
light in and abhor, the ſame Things.
And laſtly, when ſuch an one ſays, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power,
and the Glory, for ever; ſeeming thereby to acknowledge the infinite and
adorable Perfections of the divine Nature, and to intend to give him the
Praiſe and Glory that is his due; how can it be ſuppoſed that his Heart
ſhould go along with his Words, when at the ſame time that he ſays theſe
Words, it plainly appears by the whole Courſe and Tenor of his wicked
Life, that he neither owns the ſovereign Dominion of God, nor dreads his
Power, nor ſeeks his Glory?
Thus it appears, that a wicked Man, continuing ſuch, can't ſay this Pray-
er, nor indeed any Clauſe or Sentence of it, with good Attention and fer-
vent Devotion; that he can't have ſuch inward Affections of Mind towards
God as the Words of this Prayer do expreſs, nor an hearty Defire of thoſe
Things which he ſeems to requeſt of God: Or if he had, he would quickly
be a better Man than he is. And this was what I farther ſaid, viz.
2. That every good Man, every time he uſes this Prayer, with good
Attention and fervent Devotion, muſt needs by natural Efficacy, as well as
by the divine Grace and Bleſſing, be rendred better thereby.
For every time that he calls upon God as his Father, he is reminded of
that filial Love and Duty which he owes to him.
Every time that he ſays with a true Spirit of Devotion, thy Kingdom come,
he is admoniſhed to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs.
very time that he prays heartily, that God's Name may be hallowed,
his own Mind muſt needs be filled with an awful Reverence towards him.
Every time he ſays, if he ſpeaks the Words with Attention and Fervency,
thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven ; he is taught his own Duty,
viz. humbly to reſign himſelf to God's Pleaſure, and with all Readineſs and
Chearfulneſs to ſet himſelf to obey his Commands.
Whenever he deſires of God his daily Bread, he exerciſes an act of Truſt
in God's Providence, and is warn'd not to uſe any ſuch Means for the pro-
curing the good Things of this Life, as he can't in Reaſon expect, or ſo
much as defire God's Bleſſing upon.
When he begs of God Forgiveneſs of his Sins, the Devotion wherewith
the Words of this Petition ſhould be accompanied, muſt be grounded up-
on the Teſtimony of his own Conſcience, that he is truly penitent, and
that he does exerciſe ſuch Mercy and Charity towards thoſe that have
offended him, as God has made the Condition of his own receiving
Pardon
Vol. II.
F
When
626
For thine is the Kingdom, &c. explain d.
hen
When he deſires of God not to be led into Temptation, if his Deſires are
hearty, it can't be ſuppoſed that he ſhould wilfully run himſelf into thoſe
Dangers, which he earneſtly prays he may avoid or be deliver'd from.
And laſtly, when he gives Glory to God, by a ſolemn Recognition and
Acknowledgment of the divine Excellencies and Perfections, ſaying, thine is
the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever; if he be at all af-
fected by what he ſays, it muſt needs be, that every time he devoutly
repeats this Doxology, his love to God muſt be increaſed, his Faith ſtrength-
ned, and his Obedience confirm'd.
Such then being the Excellency of this Prayer, and ſuch the Benefits and
Advantages of our religiouſly and devoutly uſing it; what remains, but that
we pray unto the ſame bleſſed Jefus, who in Compaflion to our Infirmities
has taught us how to pray, that he would be pleas'd to ſend alſo his holy
Spirit to help our Infirmities in Prayer ; that ſo we may always ſpeak theſe
holy Words which he has taught us, with Attention and fervent Devotion,
and thereby be made capable of his gracious Promiſe, who has faid, that
John xiv. 15. whatſoever we ſhall ask the Father in his Name he will do for us, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.
And to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three
Perſons and one God; be given, as is moſt due, all Honour, Glory, and
Praiſe, now and for evermore.
Amen.
}
2
i
܀
.
9
:
DI S
627
DISCOURSE LVII.
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
MATTH. VI. 16, 17, 18.
Moreover, when ye faſt, be not as the Hypocrites, of
fad Countenance, for they disfigure their Faces,
that they may appear unto Men to faſt; Verily I
ſay unto you, they have their Reward.
But thou, when thou faſteſt, anoint thy Head, and waſh
thy Face;
That thou appear not unto Men to faſt, but unto thy
Father which is in ſecret; and thy Father which
feeth in ſecret, Shall reward thee openly.
1
UR Saviour, at the firſt Verſe of this Chapter, had given a
general Caution againſt ſeeking our own Praiſe and Glory by
any good Thing that we do ; Take heed that ye do not your
Righteouſneſs before Men to be ſeen of them.
And becauſe there are no Acts of Piety and Goodneſs, by
which Men are ſo apt to deſign and ſeek their own Honour,
as Alms, Prayer, and Faſting, he proceeds in the following
Verſes to apply his general Caution againſt Vain-glory, to theſe particular
Caſes. Firſt, To Alms, ver. 2, &c. Therefore when thou doeft thine Alms,
do not found a Trumpet before thee, &c. Then, to Prayer, ver. s, &c. And
when thou prayeſt, thou ſhalt not be as the Hypocrites are, who love to pray
ſtanding in the Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Street, that they may be
feen of Men, &c. And at laſt, to Faſting, in the Words which I am now
to diſcourſe of; Moreover, when ye faſt, be not as the Hypocrites, &c.
When ye faſt: The Phraſe and Manner of ſpeaking is the ſame here that it
had been at the ſecond and fifth Verſes; When thou doeſt thine Alms, and
when thou prayeſt. Thoſe Words at the 2d Verſe, when thou doeſt thine Alms,
are not a Precept or Command to give Alms; neither are thoſe at the fifth
Verſe, when thou prayeſt, a Precept or Command to make any Prayers to God;
but thoſe are both ſuppoſed to be Duties, and ſuch Duties too as none that
either have any Religion, or pretend to any, can be failing in. And upon that
Suppoſition our Saviour's Advice is grounded, wherein he gives ſuch Cautions
and Directions concerning the Manner of giving Alms, and making Prayers,
as are neceſſary to be obſerv'd, in order to the rendring the Exerciſe and Prac-
tice of theſe Duties acceptable to God, and profitable to our own Salvation.
And ſo it is here; our Saviour here gives no direct Precept or Command
concerning the Uſe of faſting, but ſeeming to ſuppoſe his Hearers already per-
+
ſuaded
628
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
1
ſuaded of the Uſefulneſs or Neceſſity of this Exerciſe, and not to be failing
therein, he only takes notice of a great and common Fault in the Manner of
doing it, or in the End and Deſign of doing it, and cautions againſt that ;
when ye faſt, be not as the Hypocrites, of a ſad Countenance, for they disfi-
gure their Faces, that they may appear unto Men to faſt ; and then, as a
Means to avoid this Fault, he directs them, when they faſted, to anoint their
Head, and waſh their Face, that they might not appear unto Men to faſt, but
unto their Father in ſecret.
And indeed, there was no need, that when our Saviour gave the former Cau-
tions againſt Vain-glory in Almſgiving and Praying, he ſhould at the ſame Time
expreſſly preſcribe the Duties of Alms and Prayer, becauſe they are Duties
which elſewhere in his other Sermons, and even in this Sermon on the Mount,
are very plainly conımanded : But in the Matter of faſting the Caſe ſeems to
be otherwiſe, there being no Text in the New Teſtament, that I know of, that
does exprcfily preſcribe and command fafting. So that if this be indeed a ne-
ceſſary Chriſtian Duty, it may ſeem an Overſight or omiſſion of our Saviour,
that he did not here preſcribe the Matter of the Duty, as well as give Direc-
tions concerning the right Manner of diſcharging it: It may be thought that
his Diſcourſe upon this Subject would have been more full and complete, if he
had firſt told his Diſciples that it was their Duty to faſt, before he had cau-
tion’d them againſt Hypocriſy in faſting. And becauſe he has not done this,
it may be thought by ſome to be a Thing altogether needleſs ever to faſt at all
And if indeed there be no Fault in never faſting, and there may be, and of-
tentimes is, a Fault in faſting, (viz. when Men faſt either in a wrong Manner,
or for a wrong End) it will moft probably be thought by a great many, the
eaſieſt, as well as the ſureſt Way to avoid all Blame, wholly, to omit this Ex-
erciſe, as altogether needleſs.
And if it be believed that it is to no purpoſe ever to faſt at all, then I'm
ſure a Diſcourſe upon theſe Words of our Saviour, wherein he cautions a-
gainſt thoſe Faults which Men are liable to in faſting, and preſcribes the Me-
thod of fafting in a right manner, will likewiſe be altogether ſuperfluous ; for
we need not be concern'd to know, what is the beſt manner of doing a Thing
which needs not to be done at all.
And therefore before I come to ſpeak of the Caution and Dire&tion here
given us by our Saviour, concerning the Manner of faſting, I think it will be
needful to ſay ſomewhat concerning the Matter of it, or the Work it ſelf, and
the Obligation that lies upon us to the Exerciſe and Diſcharge of it; which I
ſhall do in this Method,
1
1
I. I ſhall ſhew what faſting is.
II. I ſhall enquire what Obligation is laid upon us to faſt.
III. I ſhall ſhew what good Purpoſes faſting miniſters to, what good Ends
it ſerves for. And,
IV. I ſhall ſhew what are the proper Times and Occaſions of faſting.
x
1. I ſhall ſhew what faſting is. And,
1. The Word is ſometimes us’d for an Abſtinence from pleaſant Food, and
for very moderate and ſparing Feeding, even on thoſe ſorts of Meats which
are reckon'd mean and ordinary, or little nouriſhing.
And 'tis ſuppos’d by ſome, that it was ſuch a Faſt as this which was
kept by Queen Eſther, and which ſhe order'd the Jews that were in Shuſhan
to keep, Eſt. iv. 16. Go, gather together all the Jews that are preſent in
Shuhan, and faſt for me, and neither eat nor drink three Days, Day or Night,
and I alſo, and my Maidens will faft likewiſe. Neither eat nor drink for
three Days, i. e. ſays Grotius upon the Place, approving the Interpretation
+
that
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
629
ز
that Jofephus had before given of it, ſhe commanded them to abſtain from
all pleaſant or delicate Meat and Drink for that Time; for that they did
wholly abſtain from all Manner of Meat and Drink, for thrce whole Days,
Day and Night, is hardly credible. And much leſs is it crediblc, that Da-
vid, when he faſted and prayed for ſeven Days together, for the Life
of the Child which he had by the Wife of Uriah the Hittite, as it is ſaid
he did, 2 Sam. xii. 16, 18. (It is, I ſay, by no means credible, that David
in all thoſe ſeven Days, at the End of which the Child died, and after
which it is ſaid 'that he did ariſe and eat Brcad) did wholly abſtain from
taking any Food at all: But the Meaning moſt probably is, that he did cae
no ſer Mcal ; and that what he did eat was the plaineſt and coarſeſt Food, it
may be nothing but Bread and Water, and that he took cven of thoſe 110
more than was juſt abſolutely neceſſary to ſupport Life. And ſuch a Faſt as
this Daniel kept for three weeks together, Dan. X. 2, 3, In thoſe Days I
Daniel was mourning three full Weeks, I ate no pleaſant Bread, neither
came Fleſh nor Wine in my Mouth, neither did I anoint my ſelf at all, ’till
three whole Weeks were fulfilled. But this is not properly Faſting, but it
may rather be called Abſtinencc. For,
2. Faſting, if we take the Word in its ſtrictelt Senſe, is a total Forbearance
of all Mcat and Drink, during the Time that the Faſt continues; and antient-
ly the Continuance of a Faſt was from Morning until Evening. Thus Da-
vid declaring his Intention to keep a Faſt for the Death of Abner, 2 Sam.
iii. 35. expreſſes it thus ; God do fo to me, and more alſo, if I taſte Bread,
or ought elſe, 'till the Sun be down. And this is the proper Meaning of the
Greek Word that is uſed in the Text, unseúev; it ſignifies, not to eat; ſo that Exm Priv, 85
then we properly faſt, when we deny our ſelves for a Time the neceſſary
Recruits and Refreſhments of Nature. And this is clearly intimated in that
Queſtion that was put by the Scribes and Phariſees, to our Saviour, Luke v.
33. Why do the Diſciples of John faſt often, ---- and likewiſe the Phariſees,
but thine eat and drink? which in St. Mark is thus expreſſed, but thy
Diſciples faſt not ; by comparing which Places it appears, that the only
Notion they had of Faſting, was an Abſtinence from Mcat and Drink.
They that did eat and drink, whatever it was that they did eat and drink,
were not then thought to faſt: There was no ſuch Thing then known as
the keeping of a Faſt, only by forbearing to eat Fleſh, while in the mean
Time they did eat and drink to the full, of the moſt delicious Fiſh, and of
the richeſt and choiceſt Wines. But when the Faſt was only of one Day,
they abſtain'd from all Sort of Food and Drink 'till the Evening, and then
took no more of either, than was neceſſary to ſupport Nature; and that too
of ſuch Food as was leaſt palatable and nouriſhing. And it is not impro-
bable, that thoſe longer Faſts before-mention’d, of ſeven Days, and of three
Wecks, were kept after the fame Manner ; i. e. not that in all that Time
the Perſons ſpoken of, David and Daniel, did take no Suſtenance at all,
but that they kept every Day of thoſe ſeven Days, or three weeks, in ſuch
Manner as a ſinglc Faſting-day was wont to be kept ; i. e. by cating only
very ſparingiy, and of the leaſt delicious and nouriſhing Food, and of that
too not 'till the Evening, or the going down of the Sun. This was Fa-
fting; and I believe in the whole Scripture we can find no other Notion
of Faſting but this. I proceed now in the ſecond Place,
II. To ſhew what Obligation is laid upon us to faſt: When thou faſteſt,
ſays our Saviour, thou halt not do as the Hypocrites; but let thy Faſt be
in ſecret. Theſe Words, as I noted before, do not reſpect the Matter, but
only the Manner of Faſting: They do not lay an Obligation upon us to
falt
, but fuppoſe ſuch an Obligation laid upon us before. For it is nos
Vol. II.
G
ſaid,
603
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
ſaid, if ye faſt; that Way of ſpeaking might have been thought to have left
it to our Liberty, whether we would ever faſt or no : But, when ze faft.
'Tis juſt as he had ſaid before, when ye give Alms, and, when ye pray. But
now concerning Alms and Prayer there is no doubt but that they are Du-
ties; what Reaſon then can there be to think, that Faſting is not ſo too,
which according to the Scheme of Speech here uſed by our Saviour, is as
plainly ſuppos’d to be a Duty as either of them? And indeed, unleſs Faſting
be a Duty, it will be a Thing unaccountable, our Saviour's giving expreſs
Directions concerning the Manner of performing a Service, that, without in-
curring any blame at all, may be wholly omitted.
But the caſe was this; our Saviour found Faſting already practis'd among
the Jews, as duly as Alms and Prayer ; ſo that there was no need of his
laying again the Foundation which had been laid before ; it was more proper
for him, cſpecially in this place, to build upon it. And indeed it would
have been a ſufficient Approbation of the Practice of ſuch Fafting, as our
Saviour found exercis’d among the Jews, and eſteein’d by them a Piece of
Religion, and of acceptable Service to God, if having Occaſion to mention
it, he had not forbidden or condemn'd it; which certainly he would have done,
had it been a Thing ſuperſtitious, not requir’d by God, or not pleaſing
to him. But when he ſuppoſes that his Diſciples, according to the Example
of all other pious Perſons, both then and in former Times, would practiſe
Faſting; and when upon this Suppoſition, he gives them Directions how to
faſt, ſo as to make their Faſting profitable to themſelves, and acceptable to
God; this is more than a negative Approbation of it; ſuch a Direction
concerning the Manner of doing a Thing, hath in it thc Force of a Com-
mandment to do the Thing concerning which ſuch Direction is given.
Eſpecially, when the Practice of Fafting, which our Saviour found among
the Jews, was not only grounded upon expreſs Precepts given to the Jews,
particularly upon that poſitive Inſtitution of a ſolemn Faſt to be obſerved
every Year upon the tenth Day of the ſeventh Month, mention'd in Lev.
xvi. 29. and upon that more general Exhortation of the Propher Joel, en-
joyning it as a proper Expreſſion of Sorrow and Humiliation for Sin, and a
fit Exerciſe to accompany Prayer for Pardon, Joel ii. 12. Turn unto me with
all your Heart, and with Faſting, and with Veeping, and with Mourning ;
but had been alſo taught by the Light of Reaſon, to thoſe who had received
no expreſs Command concerning it. For thus we read of the Ninevites,
an Heathen Nation, that when the Prophet Jonah was ſent to them to
Jonah iii. propheſy the Deſtruction of their City, this was the Means they took to
avert the Judgment; and a very ſucceſsful Means it proy'd to them; they
humbled themſelves before God with Prayer and Faſting, Sackcloth and
Aſhes, and all other natural and uſual Tokens and Expreſſions of a ſincere
Sorrow for their former wickedneſs; and when God ſaw their work, and
that they turned from their evil Way, he repented of the Evil that he ſaid
he would do unto them, and he did it not. And of Tyre and Sidon two
Heathen Cities, who had no poſitive Precept given to them by divine Re-
velation, our Saviour ſays, Matth. xi. 21. that if the mighty Works which
had been done in Chorazin and Bethſaida, had been done among them,
they would have repented long ago in Sackcloth and Aſhes, i.e. they would
have repented with Faſting. And it has been always a Cuſtom among all
Nations, as well as among the Jews, to uſe Fafting as a proper Expreſſion
of their Repentance; and as a Means, being joyned with earneſt Prayer, to
appcaſe the Anger of God, and to avert or remove his Judgments
. Now
whence could they learn this Cuſtom but from the Light of Reaſon, when
they had no Precept given them concerning it by divine Revelation ? And
how ſhould there come to be ſuch a general Conſent and Agreement among
all
of the Nature and Duty of Fafting .
631
un
all Nations in this Practice; but only that this Way of affliding the Body
by Faſting, and ſuch like Hardſhips and Auſterities, did appear to all a very
natural Way of expreſſing and ſhewing forth the inward Sorrow and Afflic-
tion of the Mind?
When therefore the Practice of Faſting, which our Saviour found in Uro
among the Jews, had been ſo well grounded, both upon natural Reaſon,
and poſitive Inſtitution, our Saviour's ſaying to his Diſciples, when ye faſt,
do it after this Manner, was a ſufficient Intimation to them, that they
ought to continue the Cuſtom of Faſting, as well as a Command to obſerve
thoſe Directions which he gives them concerning the right Manner of
Faſting.
But this is not the only Ground of our Obligation to faſt, that it was
a Cuſtom that had been in the World long before, and which our Saviour
taking Notice of, did not reprove or condemn, but rather recomnicud, by
building an evangelical Precept thereupon concerning the right Manner of
faſting: For even from the New Teſtament it felf, though there is in it no
expreſs Precept or Command to fatt, as there is to pray, and to give Alnis,
there may yet be ſeveral Arguments drawn, to prove, that faſting, if it be per-
form'd for a good End, and after a right Manner, is a good Work, and very
acceptable to God. For,
(1.) There are in the New Teſtament ſeveral Examples of fafting mention'd,
with Commendation given thereto. For,
Thus of Anna the Propheteſs, it is recorded by St. Luke, in her Com-
mendation, Luke ii. 37. that the departed not from the Temple, but ſerved
God with Faſting and Prayer, Night and Day.
And of Cornelius the Centurion, 'tis ſaid in Acts x. 2. that he was a de-
vout Man, and one that feared God; and then, as an Inſtance of his De-
votion and Religion, it is farther mention'd, that on that Day on which he
receiv'd the heavenly Viſion to ſend for St. Peter, he was faſting until the
ninth Hour, (i. e. at three in the Afternoon, for the Jews began their Day
at fix in the Morning,) Verſe 30. Four Days ago, ſays hc, I was faſting una
til this Hour, and at the ninth Hour I prayed in my Houſe.
And St. Paul mentions it as one, of thoſe Things, wherein, if it had been
expedient for him to boaſt, he might with better Reaſon have gloried, than
ſome others did in other things, that he was in faſtings often, 2 Cor. xi. 27.
And in the ſixth Chapter of the ſame Epiſtle, Verſe s he mentions faſt-
ing among ſeveral other things, whereby he himſelf, and the other Apoſtles,
did approve themſelves as Miniſters, i. e. as the true Servants of God.
(2.) To fafting, though the ſame be not exprefly commanded, there is in
the New Teſtament a ſpecial Virtue and Efficacy attributed. For thus,
Mark ix. 29. when the Diſciples had ask'd our Saviour, why they could not
caſt forth the Devil out of the Child which had been brought to them in
his Abſence, he ſaid unto them; this Kind can come forth by nothing but
by Prayer and Faſting. By which it clearly appears, that Prayer with Faſt-
ing is more prevalent and efficacious than Prayer alone; and that there is
nothing fit for us to ask, or God to grant, but what may be obtain'd this
Way; viz. by Prayer and Faſting.
(3.) Laſtly, it may be farther obſery'd, that though faſting be not here,
nor any where elſe in the New Teſtament, expreſly enjoin'd, yet ſo much
is ſaid of it, even here in the Text, from whence it may be very ſolidly and
ſtrongly argued to be a Duty. For we are not rewarded by God for any
Thing but for the doing of our Duty, for performing ſome ſuch Service as
is pleaſing and acceptable to him : But that we ſhall be rewarded for our
fafting, if we faſt for a good End, and after a right Manner, we are here
exprefly told by our Lord; When thou faſteſt, anoint thy Head, and waſh
+
thy
632
of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
į
thy Face, that thou appear not unto Men to faſt, but unto thy Father which
is in ſecret ; and thy Father which ſeeth in ſecret, fhall reward thee openly.
Now, I think there can be no doubt, but that that is a good Work, and
acceptable to God, which he himſelf has engag'd thus to reward.
But after all that has been ſaid of the Obligation that is laid upon us to
faſt, and the acceptableneſs thereof, it muſt be granted (as the Apoſtle ſays)
1 Tim. iv. 8. that bodily Exerciſe profiteth little, but godlineſs is profitable to all Things.
Faſting therefore is no otherwiſe an acceptable piece of Service to God,
than is any other outward ſign and ſhew of Contrition, or Expreſſion of
Devotion, or Means of Virtue: i. e. 'Tis then, as all other outward Acts of
Religon are, acceptable, when there is ſuch an inward Contrition in the Mind
as we make ſhew of; when we have as much inward Devotion as we ſeem to
expreſs; and when we uſe the outward Means proper for the avoiding any
Sin, or acquiring any Virtue, with a ſincere Deſign and Intention to im-
prove our ſelves thereby in Grace and Virtue.
Faſting therefore is a Thing encourag'd and commended, not for its own
fake, but for ſomewhat elſe; 'tis not the end that we are to reſt in, but it is
to be us'd as a Means in order to ſome other End. Conſidered in it ſelf, mere-
ly as it is a forbearing to take ſo much Nouriſhment, as 'tis ordinarily requi-
fite for the Health of the Body we ſhould take, there is no Virtue or Praiſe
in it. For it is a Matter mcrcly indifferent, whether we eat, or whether we
cat not; provided that when we eat, we eat not to exceſs, and that when we
forbear eating, it be not to the prejudice of our Health. But faſting is
then good, when it miniſters to good Purpoſes, and when it ſerves for ſome
good End.
This therefore was the next Thing propounded; viz.
3. To ſhew, what good Purpoſes faſting minifters to, what good Ends it
ſerves for. By the Conſideration of which it will alſo appear, of what Sort
and Kind the Faſt ought to be, which we keep for any of the Purpoſes for
which faſting is uſeful. And,
(1.) One end and purpoſe of religious Faſting is to ſubdue the carnal
Deſires of the Fleſh, to tame the unruly Appetites of the Body. Thus St.
Paul ſays of himſelf, 1 Cor. ix. 27. I keep under my Body, and bring it into
ſubječtion. And that his frequent faſtings, which he elſewhere mentions,
were a Means which he uſed in order to this End, ſeems clearly enough
intimated at the twenty fifth Verſe of that Chapter, in thoſe Words, Every
Man that ſtriveth for the Maſtery is temperate in all Things; for then it
follows, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; So fight I, not as one that
beateth the Air ; but I keep under my Body, (viz. by Temperance or Ab-
ſtinence) and bring it into ſubjection. For there is no greater Enemy to
Chaſtity than full and plentiful feeding. When I fed them to the full, ſays
God by the Prophet
, they then committed Adultery, and aſſembled themſelves
by Troops in the Harlots Houſes, Jer. v. 7. And therefore the Apoſtle in
Rom. xiii. 13. joins together, as ſins which are ſeldom ſeparate, rioting and
drunkenneſs, chambering and wantonneſs; and as a Means to avoid the lat-
ter, viz. all the ſins of Unchaſtity, directs in the next Verſe, not to make
Proviſion for the Fleſh, to fulfil the Lufts thereof.
But he that uſes faſting as a Means of Chaſtity, muſt not think, that this
unclean Devil will be caſt forth by his now and then miſſing a meal's Meat,
while at other times he feeds to the full, or perhaps to Exceſs: No; the
proper Faſting for this purpoſe is a State of Faſting, or an habitual Faſting;
it is what may perhaps be better call’d Abſtinence than Faſting; 'tis not the
now and then miſſing a Meal, but a conſtant ſpare Diet, and that too of
ſuch ſort of Food as is leaſt delicate and nouriſhing.
ܝܢ
(2.) An-
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
633
ر
!
(2.) Another good End of religious Fafting, is to maintain the Dominion of
the Soul over the Body, and all the Cravings and Appetites thereof; to get the
Maſtery over our ſelves, by frcqucnt Acts of Self-denial.
And the Fafting proper for this purpoſe is the abſtaining, if not conſtantly,
at leaſt very frequently, from thoſe ſorts of Meats and Drinks, which are moſt
pleaſing and delightful to the Palate, which we are moſt apr to hanker after, or
indulge our ſelves in. For thus accultoming our ſelves to croſs our own Ap-
petites in ſome Things, it will be the caſier for us to croſs them in others; and
not uſing to indulge our ſelves in the Gratifications of Senſe, when we ſit at a
full Table, and may chuſe whar Diſh likes us beſt, it will be the caſier for us
to bear a Change of our Condition for the worſe, with Patience and Chear-
fulneſs.
(3.) Another good End of Faſting, or otherwiſe denying our ſelves thoſe Sa-
tisfactions which we might lawfully have taken, is to exerciſe a Revenge upon
our ſelves for our Sins. By a voluntary ſuffering of Hunger and Thirſt, in a
juſt Indignation againſt our ſelves for our former Excelles, or for any other no-
torious Tranſgreſſion of the divine Laws, we paſs Judgment on our ſelves as
unworthy of the leaſt of God's Mercies; we own, as it were, that we do not
deſerve ſo much as the Bread we eat; that if God ſhould deal with us accord-
ing to our Doings, he might juſtly withdraw from us even the Neceſſaries of
preſerving Life. And therefore in ancient Times, with Faſting they uſually
join'd other corporal Auſterities and Mortifications, to make it more afflicting
to the Body; they wore Sackcloth next their Skin, and covered their Heads
with Aſhes, and lay upon the Ground; and in all other reſpects us’d their Bo-
dies very hardly and roughly. And hence Faſting is many times in Scripture
call’d, afflicting one's ſelf. Thus, Levit. xvi. 29. where the great Faſt of Ex-
piation is inſtituted, 'tis thus expreſs’d, In the ſeventh Month, on the tenth
Day of the Month, ye ſhall afflict your Souls. And I, ſays Ezra, chap. viii.
ver. 2. proclaimed a Faſt, that we might afliet our ſelves before God. And
the Pſalmiſt, ſpeaking of himſelf, ſays, Pſal. xxxv. 1 3. I wept, and chaftned
my ſelf with Faſting.
And that this is a natural Fruit of a ſincere Sorrow for Sin, and a proper
Ex-
preſſion thereof, is clearly intimated by the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. vii. Ir. where, a-
mong other Things whereby the Sorrow of the Corinthians was manifeſted to
be a true godly Sorrow, he inſtances particularly in this Fruit or Expreſſion of
it ; Tea, what Indignation it wrought in you; yea, what Revenge? And of
thoſe that do thus judge themſelves, the ſame Apoſtle ſays, 1 Cor. xi. 3 1. that
they ſhall not be judged of the Lord. Such voluntary afflicting and chaſtning
our ſelyes, (when it is not counterfeited, but is the true Effect of a godly Sor-
row for Sin, and of a juſt Anger and Indignation againſt our ſelves for our own
Folly) tho’it be not properly propitiatory, or ſatisfactory to the Juſtice of God,
yet anſwers the End that he deſigns by temporal. Judgments, upon Sinners;
and ſo many times moves him to forbear ſending down thoſe Judgments which
otherwiſe he would have ſent, for the Manifeſtation of his Juſtice, Power,
and Providence. A notable Example of which we have in Ahab, 1 Kings
xxi. 29. And it came to paſs when Ahab heard thoſe Words ; i.e. the Judg-
ment that was given againſt him in the Name of God, by the Prophet Eli-
jah, from the nineteenth to the twenty fifth Verſes of that Chapter ; (When
Ahab heard thoſe Words) he rent his Cloaths, and put Sackcloth upon his Fleſh,
and faſted, and lay in Sackcloth, and went ſoftly? And then it follows, And
the Word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tiſbite, ſaying, Seeft thou how A-
hab humbleth himſelf before me? Becauſe he humbleth himſelf before me, I
will not bring the Evil in his Days, but in his Sons Days will I bring the
Evil upon his Houſe.
Vol. II.
Н
Now
1
ز
634
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
Now when the Faſt is intended for this purpoſe; i.e. for the Chaſtning or
Puniſhment of our ſelves, it is neceſſary that it ſhould be fuch a Forbearance
of Meats and Drinks, or other Comforts of Life, as is really in ſome good
degree painful and uneaſy to us: And the Length and Strictneſs of the Faſt
ought to be proportioned to the Heinouſneſs or Scandal of thoſe Sins for which
we mean thereby to humble and chaſten our ſelves before God.
(4.) Laſtly, Another good Purpoſe which Faſting ſerves for, is, that it is a
good Means and Help to Devotion, and gives us great Aſſiſtance in Prayer.
This Fruit we find in Fafting or Emptineſs in all other Exerciſes and Employ-
ments of the Mind, eſpecially in ſuch as require cloſe and intenſe Thinking.
Every Man finds himſelf readier and fitter for ſuch Employments, when he is
faſting, than when he is full. And therefore it has been the Cuſtom of the
Church of God in all Ages, and not only of the Church, but of thoſe out of
the Church too, who had nothing but natural Reaſon to direct them, to join
Faſting to their ſolemn Exerciſes of Devotion upon extraordinary Occaſions.
Thus did the Ninevites before ſpoken of; when Jonah had foretold the De.
ſtruction of their City, they ordered folemn Prayers for the averting of the
Judgment; and that their Prayers might be more intenſe and fervent, and ſo
the more likely to avail, they join'd Faſting with them; as you may fee,
Jonah iii. 6, 8. The ſame alſo did the Jewiſh Church, upon the like "Occa-
fions, as may be ſeen in ſeveral Places of the Old Teſtament. And the ſame
Cuſtom has been alſo continued in the Chriſtian Church, and was obſery'd by
the Apoſtles themſelves. For they faſted and prayed, when they laid Hands
on Paul and Barnabas, Acts xiii. 3. And they prayed with Faſting, when
they ordain’d Elders in the Churches of Lyſtra and Iconium, Afts xiv. 23.
And St. Paul, when he was ſtricken to the Earth by the glorious Apparition of
our Saviour, continued faſting and praying three Days, until Ananias was
ſent to comfort him, Afts ix. 9, 11. And many other places might be pro-
duc'd to the ſame purpoſe.
And ſuch Faſting as is proper for this End, is ſo much Abftinence from
Meats and Drinks, as may ſerve to keep the Head clear and awake, that ſo
when the Spirit is willing, the Fleſh alſo may be ready to do its Part, and to
keep Company with the Soul in all its Exerciſes of Devotion. And for this
purpoſe it is ſufficient that we abſtain from the ordinary Repaſts and Refreſh-
ments of Nature, till the ſolemn Office of Devotion is over; and that we
never at other Times eat or drink to Surfeiting or Drunkenneſs, or in ſuch
Abundance, as to be at any time unfit for Prayer and Devotion, whenever
there is a proper Occaſion for it.
I proceed now in the fourth and laſt Place,
4. To ſhew, what are the proper Times and Occaſions for Faſting. Our
Saviour, in the Text, only ſays, when ye faſt, but he does not ſay, when
we ſhould faſt, or how often, or to what degree. Neither indeed can there
be any Rules or Directions given concerning this, but only in general, ſuch
as theſe.
(1.) It is certainly the Duty of all the private Members of any Church to
faft, (if their Health will permit it) when general Faſting is commanded by
publick Authority. But this not being the Faſting here ſpoken of by our Savi-
our, (for it would be improper and indecent, at ſuch a Time to anoint the
Head, and to waſh the Face, that we might not appear unto Men to faſt) I
ſhall at preſent ſay no more of it.
(2.) Therefore a proper Occaſion of private Faſting (of which only 'tis that
our Saviour here ſpeaks) is, when we have at any time been overtaken by a
Temptation, and fallen into any great Sin, by which we have provok'd the
Anger of God againſt us, and for which we may juſtly fear the Effects of his
Diſplea
1
2
Of the Nature and Duty of Faſting. 635
,!
Diſpleaſure, unleſs we timely humble our ſelves before hin, 'in a Sight and
Senſe of our great Wickedneſs, and by voluntarily afflicting our ſelves, and
crying mightily for Pardon, can prevail with him to be reconcild to us, and
forgive us. And to this we are encourag'd by thoſe Words of the Apoſtle be-
fore cited, i Cor. xi. 31. If we would judge our ſelves, we ſhould not be
judged.
(3.) Publick and national Wickedneſs, if it be nor frequently or ſufficiently
enough bewaild and lamented by Falts appointed by publick Authority, is
likewiſe a juſt Occaſion for private Perſons to keep private Faſts to God.
Rivers of Waters run down mine Eyes, becauſe Men keep not thy Law, ſays
the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. cxix. 136. And indeed, when the Wickedncís of a Na-
tion is very great, and cries aloud to Heaven for Vengeance, there is no way
but this, for any private Member of it to clear himſelf from the publick Pol-
lution, and to ſave himſelf from the common Deſtruction; as we may learn
from theſe Words in Ezek. ix. 4, 5, 6. And the Lord ſaid unto him, that had
the Writer's Inkhorn by his Side, Go through the midſt of Jeruſalem, and
fet a Mark upon the Foreheads of the Men that figh, and that cry for all the
Abominations that be done in the midſt thereof; and to the others, that had
the deſtroying Weapons in their Hands, he ſaid, Go ye after him through
the City, and ſmite; let not your Eye ſpare, neither have ye Pity; ſay utter-
ly old and young --but come not near any Man upon whom is the Mark.
(4.) Faſting, either publick or private, is ſtill more feaſonable and requiſite,
when there is apparent Danger of being overtaken by the divine Judgment,
when the Judgment is threatned, or the Signs and Prognofticks of it do plainly
appear. 'Twas upon this Occaſion that Queen Esther order'd a ſolemn. Faſt to
the Jews in Shuſhan, becauſe the King's Letters were gone forth for the De-
ſtručtion of their whole Nation : That the King of Nineveh proclaim’d a Faſt
,
becauſe Jonah had foretold the Deſtruction of the City: And that David
kept a ſeven Days Faſt, becauſe his Adultery had been threatned to be puniſh-
ed with the Death of his Infant Child.
(s.) It is ſtill more neceſſary to humble our ſelves before God with Faſting,
when the Judgment that we feared is actually come upon us.
When God is
puniſhing us for our Sins, whether publick or private, national or perſonal, it
highly becomes us to humble our felves under the mighty Hand of God, that
be may exalt us in due time. 'Twas upon this Occaſion, that Nehemiah kept 1 Pet. v. 6.
a Faſt of ſeveral Days, Neb. i. 4. He had been told by Hanani, the mife-
rable State of Jeruſalem; and when I heard thoſe Words, ſays he, 1 ſat
down and wept, and mourned certain Days, and faſted and prayed before
the
God of Heaven. And 'twas upon a like Occaſion that Daniel kept a Faſt,
Dan. ix. 3. I underſtood, ſays he, by Books, that God would accompliſh ſeventy
Tears in the Deſolations of Jeruſalem; and I ſet my Face unto the Lord
God, to ſeek by Prayer and Supplication, with Faſting, and Sackcloth, and
Aſhes. And in general, that any great Loſs or Affliction is a proper Occaſion
of Faſting, is clearly intimated in thofe Words of our Saviour, Matth. ix. is,
where, to the Diſciples of John, who had queſtion’d him, why his Diſciples
then did not faſt ſo much, and ſo often, as the other Jews conimonly did?
he gives this Anſwer, Can the Children of the Bridechamber mouin as long as
the Bridegroom is with them? But the Days will come when the Bridegroom
shall be taken from them, and then fall they faſt.
(6.) Laſtly, Whenever there is Occaſion for more ſolemn Prayers and
Supplications, whether for the averting ſome Evil that we fear, or for the re-
moving ſome Evil that lies heavy upon us, or for the obtaining the divine Di-
rection, Aſſiſtance, or Bleſſing, in any Buſineſs or Affair that is of great Mo-
ment and Conſequence, to our Selves, our Friends, or the Publick, with re-
ſpect
cm
!
636
Of the Nature and Duty of Fafting.
fpect either to this Life, or to another; the ſame is alſo a good Occaſion and
a proper Opportunity for Faſting ; that ſo thereby our Souls being more humbled
before God, and our Devotions rendred more intenſe and fervent, we may
have the better Hope that our Prayers will be availing; for the effectual fer-
vent Prayer of a righteous Man, we are ſure, availeth much.
And I think it very proper, at this time, to take notice, that for this Reaſon
our Church, agreeably to the Practice of the Apoſtles before obſervd, who
faſted and prayed before they laid on Hands, and to the Cuſtom and Canons
of the ancient Church, hath wiſely appointed ſome Days in the Weeks callid
Ember-Weeks; (i.e. the Weeks before thoſe four Sundays which are deſign'd
for the folemn and publick Ordination of Miniſters), to be obſerved as Days
of Faſting or Abſtinence. For indeed there is nothing wherein the whole
Body of Chriſtians is more nearly concern’d, than in the Fitneſs and good
Qualification of thoſe Perſons who are admitted to miniſter in holy Offices;
there are conſequently no Petitions wherein 'tis more requiſite they ſhould join
with the greateſt Fervency and Devotion, than in thoſe which our Church
orders at theſe Times, to be put up unto God; riz. That he would ſo guide
and govern the Minds of his Servants, the Biſhops and Paſtors of his Flock,
that
they may lay Hands ſuddenly on no Man, but faithfully and wiſely make
Choice of fit Perſons to ſerve in the ſacred Miniſtry of his Church ; and that
to thoſe which are ordained to any holy Function, he would give his Grace and
heavenly Benediction, that both by their Life and Doctrine they may ſet forth
his Glory, and ſet forward the Salvation of all Men. So far therefore as Faſt-
ing or Abftinence is a Help to Devotion, it can never be more fitly preſcribed,
or more feaſonably practis'd, than at theſe Times.
And ſo much may ſuffice to have been ſpoken concerning the Nature of
Faſting, the Obligation that lies upon us to faſt, the good Purpoſes it ſerves for,
and the proper Seaſons and Occaſions of it.
I proceed now to diſcourſe ſomewhat concerning the Caution here given
us by our Saviour, to avoid Hypocriſy in Faſting. When ye faſt, be not as the
Hypocrites, of a ſad Countenance ; for they disfigure their Faces, that they
may appear unto Men to faſt; verily I ſay unto you, they have their Reward.
But thou, when thou faſteſt, anoint thy Head, and waſh thy Face, that thou
appear not unto Men to faſt, but unto thy Father which is in ſecret ; and thj
Father which ſeeth in ſecret ſhall reward thee openly.
And upon this Subject I ſhall not need to ſay much, becauſe this is exactly
the ſame Caution that had been given before, in general, at the firſt Verſe;
Take heed that ye do not your Righteouſneſs before Men, to be ſeen of them;
and which had been before particularly apply'd to the Caſe of Alms, at the fe-
cond Verſe, and to the Caſe of Prayer, at the fifth Verſe, and as much in the
ſame Words as the Difference of the Subjects ſpoken of would permit. [“ Sô
" that I ſuppoſe there is nothing more needful to be ſaid upon this Occaſion;
" than has been ſaid already in ſpeaking to thoſe Words; neither, I believe,
can much be ſaid to the Purpoſe, without repeating the ſame Things that
« have been ſpoken already.]
Two Things only therefore I ſhall briefly note concerning this Matter, and
fo conclude.
:
1. That the Phraſes here us'd, of hiding or disfiguring the Face, in the
time of Faſting, (which thing our Saviour here reproves,) and of anointing the
Head, and waſhing the Face, at ſuch a time, (which things he ſeems here to
command) allude to the Cuſtom and Manner of the Jews, and other Eaſtern
Nations, ordering themſelves in a time of Mourning, or in a time of Rejoic:
ing; ſo that the Senſe of theſe Phraſes is what muſt be attended to, and nor
meerly the Words or Expreſſions.
E!
(6
1
1
[pag]
They,
of the Nature and Duty of Faſting.
637
1
1.
They, in a time of Mourning, did uſe to veil, or hide their Faces; and in
a time of Rejoicing, (and indeed at all times, unleſs they were in Sorrow or
AMiction, they us'd much waſhing or anointing. So that when our Saviour
here ſeems to forbid the one, and to command tire other, his Meaning is no
more than this, That we ſhould not uſe any Artifice to make Men believe
that we are more ſorrowful and afflicted for our Sins, than we really are :
But that when we faſt, we ſhould (both as a means to avoid ſecking Praiſe and
Glory to our ſelves, by our Acts of Mortification and Self-denial, and alſo as
a Security to our ſelves, that we do not ſeek it, but that our Intentions are ho-
neſt and ſincere) hide our inward Sorrow as much as we can from the Eyes of
Men, by putting on the fame Look, and wearing the ſame Dreſs, that we do
at other times, and appearing in all other reſpects juſt as we commonly uſe
to do.
2. The other thing that I ſhall obſerve concerning this Matter, is this; that
the Caution and Direction here given by our Saviour concerning Faſting, belong
only to thoſe private and voluntary Faſts, which Men keep by themſelves;' not
to thoſe which are order'd to be kept by the publick Authoriry of the Church
or Nation to which they belong. For when general Faſting is enjoin'd by
publick Authority, then the Rules of Faſting that are given by the ſame. Autho
rity muſt alſo be obſerv'd: And 'tis then the Duty of all the private Members
of the Church or Nation, not only to faſt (if the State of their Health will
permit it,) but likewiſe to appear unto Men to faſt, and to let it be ſeen that
they do faſt; thereby both to ſhew their rcady Submiſſion to the Wiſdom
and Authority of their Superiors, and alſo to give a good Example to others.
But when we falt at other times, and upon other Occaſions, and of our
own proper Motion only, (which there may be ſometimes good Reaſon for,)
then the Caution and Direction here given by our Saviour, are to be carefully
obſervd, viz. not to endeavour to appear unto Men to faft, but unto our Fa-
ther which is in fecret: And the Benefit of ſuch Falting will be, that our
Father which ſeeth in ſecret will reward us openly.
I ſhall conclude all with a good Collect of our Church, ſuitable to the Sub-
ject I have been diſcourſing of: And appointed to be uſed at this Time.
Collect for the firſt Sunday in Lent.
O Lord, who for our fakes didſt faſt forty Days and forty Nights, give
us Grace to uſe ſuch Abſtinence, that our Fleſhs being ſubdued to the Spirit,
we may ever obey thy godly Motions, in Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs; to
thy Honour and Glory, who liveſt and reigneſt with the Father and the Holy
Ghoſt, ever one God, World without End. Amen.
Vol. II.
I
DIS
n
638
DISCOURSE LVIII.
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
7
ಆತು.
ses et
!
MATTH. VI. 19, 20, 21:
Lay not up for your felves Treaſures upon Earth,
where Moth and Ruft doth corrupt, and where
Thieves break thro' and ſteal.
But lay up for your ſelves Treaſure in Heaven, where
neither Moth, nor Ruſ doth corrupt, and where
Thieves do not break thro' nor ſteal.
For where your Treaſure is, there will your Heart be
alſo.
V
N theſe Words our Saviour begins to treat of a new Subject,
perfe&tly diſtinct from what he had been diſcourſing of in the
I former Part of the Chapter ; for hitherto his main Deſign had
been to caution his Diſciples againft Vain-glory; but what he
now cautions them againſt, is Covetoufneſs, or an inordinate
Love of the World, and of the good Things of it; and up-
on this Subject he continues his Difcourſe to the End of the Chapter; en-
joining them, 1. to mortify their Deſires of worldly Wealth and Abundance ;
lay. not up for your ſelves. Treaſures upon Earth : And, 2. to be very mo-
derate in their Care and Concern even about the Neceſſaries of Life, Meat,
Drink, and Cloaths; therefore I ſay unto youl, take no Thought for your
Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye drink; nor yet for your Body, what
ye mall put on. The former is what he does in the Words I have now
read to you, and in the following verſes to the twenty fifth; the latter in
the remaining Part of the Chapter ; urging, as he goes along, ſeveral Motives
and Arguments to enforce the Directions which he gives for the avoiding
both theſe Things ; i. e. both a coverous Defire of Wealth, and an inordinate
Care and Solicitude even about the Neceſſaries of Life. 1. He cautions us
againſt a covetous Deſire of Wealth, in the Words which I have now read to
you, and the three following verſes, lay not up, &c.-
In which Words there is,
1
I. A Prohibition, or a Sin forbidden, lay not up, &c. And this Prohi-
bition of Covetouſneſs, enforced by an Argument taken from the uncertainty
of worldly Riches; from the hazard there is of their being ſpoiled or
loft ; where Moth and Ruſt doth corrupt, and where Thieves break through
and ſteal.
II. There
*
Solicitude for this World, cenfured.
639
II. There is a contrary Duty commanded; but lay up for your ſelves Trea-
fures in Heaven ; and the Practice of this Duty enforced by an Argument
taken from the Conſideration of the certainty and durableneſs of the hea-
venly Riches; where neither Moth nor Ruſt doth corrupt, and where Thieves
do not break through and ſteal. And,
III. There is another Argument or Motive urged, reſpecting both Parts of
the foregoing Exhortation, and whereby both the Prohibition and the Com-
mand are alike enforced ; for where your Treaſure is, there will your Heart
be alfo.
I ſhall ſpeak of theſe in their order ; and firſt of the Firſt.
I. The Prohibition, or the Sin forbidden, lay not up for your ſelves Trea-
ſures upon Earth: And the proper Argument whereby this Prohibition is
enforced, taken from the Conſiderations of the uncertainty of worldly Riches,
from the hazard that there is of their being ſpoiled or loſt; where Math, &c.
And here I ſhall ſpeak,
.
I. Of the Prohibition, or the Sin forbidden, lay not up for your ſelves
Treaſures upon Earth. .
Which Words may be taken in two Senſes ; viz. either,
1. As forbidding us to eſteem as Treaſure, i. e. to ſet a high Value upon
any thing that we have, or can have, or poſſeſs here upon Earth. Or,
2. As forbidding us to make it our Deſign and Buſineſs to endeayour to
get and keep for our felves as large a Portion as we can of worldly Riches.
The former is a Fault or Error in the Judgment, the other is a Fault or
Vice in Practice, which that erroneous Judgment or Opinion does really lead
us into.
1. I ſay theſe Words of our Lord, lay nat up for your ſelves Treaſures
upon Earth, may be underſtood as forbidding a Fault or Error in the Judg-
ment; they may be underſtood as forbidding us to eſteem as Treafure, i. e.
to ſet a very high Value and Efteem upon any thing that we have, or can
have here upon Earth ; lay not up for your felves Treaſures upon Earth: In
the Greek it is peri Bromuelets, treaſure not to your ſelves earthly Treaſures :
Now we may lay up in a prudent Proviſion againſt future neceſſary Occaſions,
but to treaſure up fignifies more, a Treaſure is properly what we mean to
keep, not what we deſign to uſe; ſo that when we are forbidden to trea-
fure up to ourſelves Treaſure upon Earth; the meaning is, that we ſhould
not look upon any thing that can be ſtored up of worldly Goods, as valu-
able Treaſure, as a Thing well worth our utmoſt Diligence in gathering to-
gether and hoarding up, and our greateſt Care in keeping and preſerving :
And to this Interpretation of the Words, that Reaſon is very appoſite,
which is added in the twenty firſt verſe; for where your Treaſure is, there
will your Heart be alſo; that is, what you have a high Value for in your
Judgments, you will naturally bend your Deſign and Endeavour to obtain.
Taken in this Senſe, theſe Words of our Lord, treaſure not to your ſelves
Treaſures upon Earth, are of the ſame Meaning with thoſe of St. John,
1 Epiſt. ii. 1 s. love not the World, neither the Things that are in the World:
And the Reaſon here added to enforce the Prohibition, for where your Trea-
ſure is, there will your Heart be alſo ; is the ſame in Senſe with that, where-
by the Apoſtle there backs that Advice ; If any Man love the World, the
love of the Father is not in him ; i. . a very high Eftçem and Value for any
thing in this World, will of Courſe leſſen our Efteem and Value for thofe
good things which God hath prepared for, and promiſed to thoſe that love
him, in the other World: Placing our Happineſs in theſe earthly Enjoy-
ments,
ز
640
Solicitude for this World, cenſured.
:
ments, we ſhall reſt there, and look no farther. We ſhall have no Concern
upon us, to keep the Laws of God, (which is the Scripture Senſe of loving
God) and thereby recommending our ſelves to his Love. Or,
2. Theſe Words, lay not up for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, may be
underſtood as forbidding that Fault or Vice in Practice, which this erroneous
Judgment, this ſetting too great a Value upon earthly Treafures, docs naturally
lead to, viz. the making it our Deſign and Buſineſs; to endeavour to get and
keep for our ſelves as large a Portion as we can of worldly Riches : Lay
not up, ſtore not up, for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth.
Which Words nevertheleſs are not to be underſtood as deſigning wholly
to forbid either the Poffeflion of Riches, or the leaſt Deſire or Endeavour
to obtain the ſame.
1. I ſay, they are not to be anderſtood as deſigning wholly to forbid the
Poſſeſſion of worldly Riches.
For it is agreeable to the Will of God, that there ſhould be great Diffe-
rence in Mens Conditions ; that ſome should be higher, and others lower ;
that ſome ſhould be richer, and others poorer ; and by this Diſparity in Men's
Conditions, they are rendred more uſeful and ſerviceable to cach other, than
they could be, if they were all in the ſame Level: And by that Dependance
upon each other, which is cauſed by the Diſparity that there is in their world-
ly State, their mutual Love to each other is very much increaſed, and the
Peace and Welfare of the Society much better preſerved, than it could be in
a State of perfect Equality.
And in this Senſe thoſe Words of the Wiſe-Man may be underſtood in
Prov. xxii. 2. The Rich and Poor meet together, the Lord is the Maker of
them all ; i. e. He is not only the common Creator of all Men, of what
Condition ſoever they be, but he is alſo the Author and Contriver of that
Diſparity and Inequality that there is in their Conditions ; it is his Providence
that makes one to be rich, and another poor; as it is ſaid in 1 Sam. ii. 7.
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
Beſides, as all things in general that we have or hope for, cither in this
World, or in the other, are declared in Scripture to be the Gift of God,
and the Fruit of his Bounty and Bleſling; fo of Riches in particular, we
are told in Scripture, that they are the Bleſling of his Providence, and are
ſometimes given by him as a ſmall Reward in Hand (beſides the greater
Reward promiſed hereafter) to thoſe that truly love and fear him. Thus the
Wiſe-Man tells us, Prov. x. 22. that the Bleſſing of the Lord maketh rich :
And in Prov. iii. 16. he ſays, that Riches and Honour are the Portion of
ſuch as find Wiſdom ; i. e. of ſuch as are ſincerely religious. And of the
Man that feareth God, and delighteth greatly in his Laws, the Pſalmiſt
ſays, that Wealth and Riches ſhall be in his Houſe, Pſal. cxii. 3. Riches
therefore, if they be honeſtly come by, being the Bleſſing of God, it can-
not certainly be our Duty to ſlight and reject them, it cannot be a Sin in
11s to accept what God is pleaſed to beſtow upon us as a Gift ; but rather in
muſt be our Duty, to keep, and to uſe, and improve to the Glory of God,
that which he himſelf has been pleaſed to commit as a Talent to our Truſt,
and of which he will one Day exact of us an Account, what Good we
have done with it; to keep it, I ſay, for thoſe good Purpoſes for which it
was given, ſo long as God is pleaſed we ſhould keep it ; that is, till he him-
ſelf, by ſome Act of his Providence, takes it from us, or till we in Obedi-
ence to his Command are bound to part with it.
And that Riches (or Treaſure upon Earth, as they are here called) when
they are the Gift and Bleſling of Providence, may be lawfully retained by
thoſe that do poſleſs them, and are a Talent connitted to their Truſt
by God, by the good Ule whereof they will greatly increaſe their Reward
ز
in
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
641
.
in the other World, is clearly evident, from that Precept given by the Apo-
Atle to rich Men, concerning the Uſe and Abuſe of worldly Riches, in
1 Tim. vi. 17. Charge them that are rich in this World, that they be not
high-minded, nor truſt in uncertain Riches, but in the living God, who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy : That they do good, that they be rich in good
Works, ready to diſtribute, willing to communicate ; laying up for themſelves
in Store a good Foundation againſt the time to come, that they may hold on
eternal Life. For to what Purpoſe ſhould the Apoſtle give theſe Dire&tions
to rich Men, how to uſe their Wealth, if indeed it was altogether unlaw-
ful for them to keep their Wealth, after their Converſion to the Chriſtian
Religion? Theſe Directions therefore plainly ſuppoſe that a good Chriſtian
may be a rich Man, and that his Chriſtianity does not oblige him to diveſt
himſelf at once of all the Wealth that he is lawfully poffeffed of; for if it
did, the Apoſtle would certainly rather have given one ſhort Direction inſtead
of thoſe many; and it is no other than what, as a faithful Miniſter of
Chriſt, he ought to have given; viz. that they that were rich ſhould forth-
with part with all their Wealth, which it was unlawful for them to keep.
Nay farther,
2. It was not (as I ſaid) the Deſign of our Lord in theſe Words, lay not
rip for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, wholly to forbid even the Icart De-
fire or Endeavour to obtain for our ſelves a larger Portion of worldly Goods,
than is abſolutely neceſſary for our preſent Support : (and whatever is more
than we have preſent Need to uſe, is Treaſure ; for that's the proper
Mean
ing of the Greek Word, Insavey's, quod ribntos es duefov, that which is laid
aſide againſt tomorrow, or another Day.) I ſay then, that our Saviour in this
Prohibition, lay not up for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, did not mean
to ſay, that if we have an Opportunity put into our Hands by Providence,
of honeſtly procuring to our ſelyes a larger Portion of worldly Goods than
we have preſent need of, it is unlawful for us to lay hold of it, and improve
it, and to lay aſide what we have no Occaſion to uſe at preſent, againſt another
time, when we may want it, and when we may not perhaps have ſo good an
Opportunity of ſupplying our Wants, after they ſhall be come upon us, as we
have now of preventing them; for this is no more than common Prudence,
what natural Reaſon teaches, and the Scripture no where condemns; nay, on
the contrary, the holy Scripture it ſelf ſends thoſe unthinking and im-
provident Perſons who have it not, it ſends them, I ſay, to the brute Creatures
to learn this piece of Wiſdom; Prov. vi. 6, 7, 8. Go to the Ant, thou Slug-
gard, conſider her Ways, and be wiſe: Which having no Guide, Overſeer,
or Ruler, provideth her Meat in the Summer, and gathereth her Food in the
Harveſt. . Thus then may we lay up Treaſures upon Earth; i.e. we may,
if we have an Opportunity put into our Hands, lay up this Day what we
may have Occaſion for another Day; we may (as the Ant) provide in Sum-
mer againſt Winter, in Youth againſt old Age ; and while we have Oppor-
tunity, againſt the time when this Opportunity may fail and ceaſe. And
what Treaſure, i. e. what Proviſion we have before-hand, whether it be
the Fruit of our own honeſt Diligence, or whether it hath fallen to us by
Inheritance, or the Gift of Friends, we may lawfully keep till we have Occa-
fion to uſe it, or till we have a Command from God to part with it.
But there are five Things, which this Precept or Prohibition of our Lord,
lay, not up for your ſelves Treaſure upon Earth, was certainly meant to
forbid.
1. The getting of Riches by Injuſtice, by Fraud, or Violence, or Oppreſ-
fion. Of this there can be no doubt; for the Apoſtle ſays exprelly, that
no unrighteous Perſon ſhall enter into the Kingdom of God, í Cor. vi. 9. And
again, 1 Theſ. iv. 6. Let no Man go beyond or defraud his Brother in any
Vol. II.
K
Matter,
ز
116
642
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
.
}
Matter, becauſe that the Lord is the Avenger of all ſuch. And the ſame
Reaſon, whereby this Exhortation againſt hoarding up Treaſure is here en-
forced by our Saviour, taken from the uncertain Hold that we have of carth-
ly Riches, is frequently applied particularly to thoſe Treaſures which are un-
juſtly gotten; as in Jer. xvii. 11. As the Partridge fitteth on Eggs, and
hatcheth them not ; ſo he that getteth Riches, and not by Right, hall leave
them in the midſt of his Days, and at his End Mall be a Fool. And the
twentieth Chapter of the Book of Job is almoſt wholly ſpent upon this Sub-
ject, to ſhew the Uncertainty of thoſe Riches that are ill gotten ; That which
he hath laboured for, ſhall he reſtore, and ſhall not ſwallow it down : He
hath ſwallowed down Riches, and he ſhall vomit them up again, God ſhall
caſt them out of his Belly; there shall none of his Meat be left; there-
fore let no Man look for his Goods. And many other Paſſages there are in
thac Chapter to the ſame Purpoſe.
2. Another thing certainly meant to be here forbidden by our Saviour
was the making the getting of Riches the Deſign and Buſineſs of our
Lives; the bending of our whole Endeavour to get Wealth, as if the whole
Happineſs of our Life depended upon a fuperfluous Store of Proviſion for it ;
contrary to what we are exprelly taught by our Saviour, Luke xii. 15. where
he diſſuades from Covetouſneſs by this very Argument; Take heed, ſays he,
and beware of Covetouſneſs; for a Man's Life confifteth not in the abundance
of the things that he poßfeſſeth.
But this is the leaſt Fault of thoſe who are thus intent upon the World,
that they miſtake the Means of their true Happineſs; what is more con-
fiderable is, that ſuch an earneſt Deſire to grow rich is a moſt probable
Means of their eternal Ruin and Deſtruction ; for of him that maketh hafte
to be rich, the Wiſe-man fays, that he ſhall not be innocent,. Prov. xxviii. 20.
And to the fame Purpoſe is that of St. Paul, : Tim. vi. 9. They that will be
rich, fall into Temptation and a Snare, and into many fooliſh and hurtful Lufts,
which drown Men in Deſtruction and Perdition ; for the Love of Money is the
Root of all Evil.
3. Another thing meant hereby to be forbidden, was ſo much Carefulneſs
and Concern to get together a huge heap of earthly Treaſure, as is incon-
ſiſtent with a due Love of our Souls, and is an hindrance to us in making
ſufficient Proviſion for another Life: And then our Deſire to grow rich is
inconſiſtent with true Religion, not only when it puts us upon taking undue
Courſes to get Wealth, or when our ſecular Cares and Concerns take up
all
our time, but likewiſe when they take up ſo much of our time, that we have
not enough left for the publick and private Exerciſes of Piety: Which is the
Caſe of thoſe, whom our Saviour in Matth. xiii. 22. likens to Ground over-
run with Thorns : He that received Seed among the Thorns, ſays he, is he
that heareth the Word, and the Care of this World, and the Deceitfulneſs of
Riches, choak the Word, and it becometh unfruitful.
4. What was farther meant to be forbidden by theſe Words, lay not up
for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, is ſuch Carefulneſs and Concern to heap
up Riches, and to get Abundance and Superfluity, as would be allowable in
order to the procuring of ſuch things as are neceſſary to ſupport Life: For,
for the procuring of ſuch things as are needful for the Body, Meat, Drink, and
Cloaths, it is not only lawful, but to them who cannot otherwiſe obtain
them, it is a Duty to ſweat and toil, and take Pains, to riſe early and fit
up late, and eat the Bread of Carefulneſs : But when once the Neceſſities
of Nature are anſwered, ſo much Care and ſo much Labour for Superfluities
is unreaſonable ; having Food and Raiment, we ought to be therewith con-
tent. And if we do (as I ſuppoſe we may) even after this, continue our
Endeavours to increaſe our Store, and to make ſome Proviſion for the future;
Solicitude for this World cenfüred.
643
to
.
i
we ought however to do it with leſs Carefulneſs and Solicitude, with leſs
Toil and Wearineſs, and to be more unconcerned and indifferent about
the Succeſs of our Endeavours. Becauſe having already (as is now ſuppoſed) as
much as is neceſſary, it is not a Marter of very much Concern to us,
whether we have more or not: And therefore it is adviſed by the Wife-
Man; the ſame Wiſe-Man, who frequently in other Places of the fame Book
of Proverbs exhorts to Diligence and Induſtry, and honeſt Labour ; 'tis ad-
viſed, I ſay, by him, that we ſhould not thus labour for Riches and Abun-
dance, thoʻ we may for Neceſſaries; Prov. xxiii. 4. Labour not to be rich,
ceaſe from thine .own Wiſdom: Why wilt thou ſet thine Eyes upon that
which is not?
s. Laſtly, another thing certainly meant to be forbidden by this Precept,
lay not up for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, is too much Love and
Concern to keep together undiminiſhed that Store of worldly Goods,
which by the Providence of God is fallen to our Lot; for this is proper-
ly to lay up Treaſure; for a Man may be coverous in getting Wealth ; 1. e.
he may be too careful and folicitous
get more than is needful,
and yet at the ſame time he may deſign to ſpend it all upon himſelf as
faſt as it comes in, in high living; ſo that at the Year's end, or perhaps at
his Life's end, he may have no more Treaſure than he had at firſt : But
we may then be moſt properly ſaid to lay up, or to treaſure up Treaſures,
when we are continually adding to our Store, and cannot be perſuaded to
leffen or diminiſh it, tho' there be ever ſo reaſonable an Occaſion for our ſo
doing.
And now having ſpoken ſufficiently of the Prohibition, lay not up for
your felves Treaſures upon Earth; I proceed in the next Place,
2. To ſpeak ſomewhat of the proper Reaſon whereby it is here enforced,
taken from the Conſideration of the Uncertainty of worldly Riches, from
the great Hazard that there is of their being ſpoiled or loſt; lay not up
for your felves Treaſures upon Earth, where Moth and Ruſt doth corrupt,
and weré Thieves break through and ſteal.
It is noted by Dr. Hammond, that in this Place all thoſe things which Hom. in loc.
antiently were accounted Treaſure, and were wont to be laid up as ſuch,
are reckoned up, and the common Caſualties, which they are moſt liable to,
taken notice of. For,
1. Cloaths or Garments were antiently, and (as he obſerves) even here
among us formerly, accounted a Part of worldly Treaſure, before the Vanity of
changing Faſhions made it otherwiſe ; and this Part of earthly Treaſure is
very liable to be conſumed or very much damnified by the Moth.
2. Grain or other Proviſion for Food, hath been accounted another Part
of earthly Treaſure, and this is liable to be conſumed by Beweis, which is
rendred in our Tranſlation Ruſt; but the Word is of more large and
general Signification, and denotes eating or conſuming ; and that learned
Man thinks, we might better underſtand by it Smut or any Sort of
Vermin or Caterpillars, whereby the Fruits of the Earth are waited or des
voured. And,
3. That which both antiently, and much more latterly, hath been uſed
to be hoarded up as Treaſure, is Money, which anſwers all things; or
ſuch other things, which acquire a Value by their Rarity or Scarceneſs, and
may be contained in a ſmall Room, as Jewels and precious Stones : But
thèſe alſo, though not liable to be eaten by Moth or Vermin, nor much
damaged by Ruſt or Canker, yet are liable to Accidents of another Kind;
for they can never be laid up ſo ſecurely, but that Thieves may break
in and ſteal them away from us. But I do not think, it was our Saviour's
Deſign here, to note either all thoſe things which Men uſe to account
Treaſure
644
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
Treaſure, or all the Accidents that earthly Treaſure is liable to: I ſuppoſe
rather, that he mentioned thoſe things which are moſt common, only for
Example ſake ; ſeeing that Lands or Houſes, or other real Eſtate, may with
good Reaſon be accounted Treaſure as well as Moveables ; and there are
innumerable other Accidents and Caſualties; whereby our earthly Treaſure,
of what Sort foever it be, may be impaired or waſted, or taken from us,
beſides thoſe that are here mentioned.
What our Saviour therefore hereby meant to declare was the uncertain
Hold that we have of any thing in this World: And this is indeed a good
Reaſon, why we ſhould not ſet our Heart or Affection upon any thing
here below, or have any Confidence in, or Dependence upon any worldly
Good, or make it our main Buſineſs and Deſign to labour to obtain it;
foraſmuch as after all the Care and Thought, and Pains that we can take
about it, either our Endeavours may be ſucceſſleſs, and we may miſs of
getting what we labour for; or if we do get it, we cannot be ſure to keep
it, no, not ſo much as one Day ; but may in a Moment: of Time, even when
we leaſt fear it, be diſappointed in all the' Expectation that we had of
Happineſs in any worldly Good. Which ſame Argument is well urged
by Solomon to the ſame Purpoſe, in Prov. xxiii: s. in theſe Words, Wilt
thou ſet thine Eyes upon that which is not? (its Being and Continuance is
ſo very uncertain, that it may well be reckoned to have no Being at all;
Wilt thou ſet thine Eyes upon that which is not ?) for Riches certainly make
themſelves Wings, they fly away asi an Eagle toward Heaven.
But it is natural to Men to look forwards, and to make ſome Proviſion
for the future time: And our Saviour did not mean, when he ſays, lay not
up for your felves Treaſures upon Earth, to diffuade us from ſo doing; but
what he meant was to perſuade us, to be more wiſe and provident in this
reſpect than Men commonly are, and to look farther before us, than the Men
of the World commonly do. He is not therefore againſt our laying up any.
Treaſure againſt a time of Need; but he would have us lay up ſuch a Trea-
ſure, as we may be ſure will not fail us : And therefore he adds in the next
Clauſe of the Text, which I come now to ſpeak to,
1
II. A Command of a Duty, directly contrary to the Sin he had before
forbidden ; but lay up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven. And the Prac-
tice of this Duty he enforces by an Argument taken from the Conſidera-
tion of the Certainty and Durableneſs of the heavenly Riches; where
neither Moth nor. Ruft de corrupt, and where Thieves do not break through
nor ſteal.
Lay up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven.
And this Command may likewiſe be underſtood (as I told you the fore-
going Prohibition might be) in two Senſes; i. &. either, '1. as commanding
us to ſet a high Value and Efteem upon heavenly Treaſures: or, ſecondly,
as commanding us to make it the chief Buſineſs and Deſign of our Life to
obtain the ſame.
1. They may be underſtood às commanding us to ſet a high Value
and Eſteem upon heavenly Riches, to account them the beſt Treaſure
in which Senſe this Exhortation is parallel to that of the Apoſtle, Colos.
iii
. 2. Set your. Affection on things above, and not on things on the Earth.
Or,
2. They may be underſtood as commanding a Practice ſuitable and
correſpondent to this Opinion; that is, that we ſhould make it the
chief Buſineſs and Deſign of our Life, to obtain this heavenly Treaſure.
And how we may do this, we are clearly taught in other Places of holy
Scrip-
j
*
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
645
Scripture ; viz. I. in general, by the conſtant Tenor of a holy and
virtuous Life : and, 2. more eſpecially, by Works of Mercy and Cha-
rity.
1. In general, by the conſtant Tenor of a holy and virtuous Life. For
to lay Treaſures in Heaven is nothing elſe but to have a good Hope of
eternal Life and Happineſs; and he that hath this Hope ; i. l. he only
that can reaſonably entertain this Hope, purifieth himſelf even as God is
pure, as the Apoſtle ſays, 1 Joh. iii. 3. To lay up Treaſure in Heaven is the
ſame thing which St. Paul calls, I Tim. vi. 12. the laying hold on eternal
Life; and that, as the Apoſtle teaches us in the ſame Place, is to be done,
by fighting the good fight of Faith, by following after Righteouſneſs,
Godlineſs, Faith, Love, Patience, and Meekneſs: And therefore in another
Place, viz. 2 Tim. iv. 8. ſpeaking of himſelf then ready to depârt out of
this World, he hath theſe Words; I have fought a good Fight, I have
finiſhed my Courſe, I have kept the Faith; henceforth there is laid up for
me a Crown of Righteouſneſs, which the Lord the righteous Judge Mall
give me at that Day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his
Appearing
And thus underſtood, theſe Words of our Saviour, lay up for your ſelves
Treaſures in Heaven, are nothing elſe but a general Exhortation to a godly
and virtuous Life, and to the diligent Practice of all thoſe Chriſtian Graces,
and Virtues, which at the beginning of this Sermon on the Mount he had
annexed a Bleſſedneſs to, ſaying, Bleſſed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs
is the Kingdom of Heaven; bleſſed are they that mourn, for they ſhall be
comforted; bleſſed are the Meek, and ſo on. But,
2. And more eſpecially, we then lay up Treaſures in Heaven, when
we are free and liberal in imparting to the poor and needy the overplus of
worldly Goods which is fallen to our Lot, more than we have need to
uſe upon our felves : And thus underſtood, theſe Words of our Saviour, lay
21P for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven, are a ſpecial and particular Exhor-
tation to abound in Works of Mercy and Charity. And in this Senſe the
Words ſeem to have been underſtood by our Church, when the appoint:
ed this Text to be read, with other Portions of holy Scripture exhorting
to Charity, in the Offertory at the Communion Service; and that not-
without good Reaſon, becauſe it appears to be very probable; that our
Saviour himſelf had this Senſe chiefly in his Mind, when he uttered theſe :
Words. For in the ſixth Chapter of St. Luke, where the Evangeliſt re-
còrds ſeveral Palſages of this Sermon of our Lord upon the Mount,
and amongſt others this; he expreſſes it in theſe Words, Sell that ye
have, and give Alms ; provide your felves Bags which wax not old,
Treaſure in the Heavens that faileth not, where no Thief approacheth,
neither Moth corrupteth; for where your Treaſure is, there will your
Heart
be alſo. And ſo again in Matth. xix. 21. our Lord himſelf preſcribes this
ſame Method of obtaining Treaſures in Heaven, to the Man that came to
him on Purpoſe to be informed by him what he was to do that he might
have eternal Life; If thou wilt be perfect, ſays our Lord, go and ſell that
thou haſt, and give to the Poor, and thou ſhalt have Treaſure in Heaven.
And this fame means of obtaining heavenly Riches is preſcribed by St.
Paul to thoſe that are rich in this World, in the Place before cited, 1 Tim.
vi. 18, 19. Charge them that are rich in this world that they do good,
that they be rich in good Works, ready to diſtribute, willing to communi-
cate, laying up for themſelves a good Foundation againſt the time to come,
that they may lay hold on eternal Life,
Vol. II.
L
Thus
646
Solicitude for this World cenſured.
:
Thus you ſee what it is to lay up Treaſures in Heaven, and how this
is to be done, viz. by the conſtant Tenor of a holy and virtuous Life,
and eſpecially by Works of Mercy and Charity. For, as the Wiſe-Man
ſays in Prov. xix. 17. He that hath pity on the Poor, lendeth unto the
Lord; and that which he hath given; he will pay him again.
And to enforce this Exhortation, our Saviour adds a proper Reaſon, taken
from the Conſideration of the Certainty and Durableneſs of the heavenly
Treaſure that we lay up for our ſelves by Works of Piety and Charity : lay
up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven, where neither Moth nor Ruſt doth
corrupt, and where Thieves do not break through nor ſteal.
The Senſe of which, taken out of the Metaphor, and expreſſed in plain
Words, is this; that the Happineſs of the other World, of which, by a
patient Continuance in well-doing, we ſhall be made Partakers, is ſuch as
will fully anſwer, and much more than anſwer our greateſt Expectations ;
that we can meet with no Diſappointment either in the Acquiſition, or in
1 Pet. i. 4. the Poffeſlion and Enjoyment thereof; the Inheritance which is reſerved in
Heaven for us, being, as St. Peter ſays, incorruptible and undefiled, and ſuch
as fadeth not away;
But there is, as I obſerved, in the third Place,
III. Another Argument or Motive urged here by our Saviour, in the
twenty firſt Verſe, reſpecting both Parts of the foregoing Exhortation, and
whereby both the Prohibition of laying up Treaſures upon Earth, and the
Command to lay up Treaſures in Heaven, are alike enforced; for where
your Treaſure is, there will your Heart be alſo.
The Meaning is, that what we eſteem and value moſt, that we ſhall de-
fire moſt; and what we deſire moſt, that we ſhall chiefly bend our Endea-
vours to obtain ; ſo that conſequently, if we ſet our Affection upon any
thing here below, our Endeavour to procure the ſame if we have it not,
or to keep and preſerve it if we have it, will ſo conſume all our Time
and Labour, that we ſhall not be able to uſe ſuch Diligence in working out
our Salvation, as is neceſſary for that purpoſe. And on the contrary, that if
our Treaſure be in Heaven; i.e. if we prefer the Happineſs of Heaven,
before any earthly Satisfaction or Enjoyment, our Thoughts and Endeavours
will be ſo bent and fixed upon that, that we ſhall have little Concern upon
us, what our State and Condition in this world is.
But this Argument being (as I ſuppoſe) the ſame in Senſe, with that
which is urged to this fame Purpoſe, at the twenty fourth Verſe of this
Chapter; I ſhall ſay no more of it at preſent; but conclude all with a good
Collect of our Church, ſuitable to the Subject I have been diſcourſing cf.
Or, Coll. for 4th
Collect for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
Sunday after
Trinity, or for
4ch Sunday after O God, who declareſt thy Almighty Power, moſt chiefly in ſewing Mercy
Epiphany
and Pity, mercifully grant unto us ſuch a Meaſure of thy Grace, that we
running the Way of thy Commandments, may obtain thy gracious Promiſes,
and be made Partakers of thy heavenly Treaſure, through Jeſus Chriſt our
Lord. Amen.
:
DISCOURSE
647
.
DISCOURSE LIX.
The Light of the Body ſpiritually
applied.
)
.
MATTH. VI. 22, 23.
The Light of the Body is the Eye; if therefore thine
Eye he ſingle, thị whole Body shall be full of
Light.
But if thine Eye be evil
, thy whole Body ſhall be full
of Darkneſs: If therefore the Light that is in thee
be Darkneſs, how great is that Darkneſs?
-
دینی
HESE Words contain a Similitude between Light, and the
Eye, or rather a double Similitude, one between Light and
T
the Eye, and the other between the Eye of the Body, and
ſomewhat elſe which is of ſuch Uſe and Benefit to us in our
ſpiritual Life, as the Eye of the Body iś to us in our natural
Life: And of theſe Similitudes, one is expreſſed, the other
implied.
The Similitude expreſſed, is that which is between the Light of a Lamp
or Candle, and the bodily Eye; the Light of the Body is the Eyė, or rather,
the Eye is the Light of the Body ; i.e. as a Lamp or Candle burning in a
Room makes a clear Diſcovery of all things that are within the Room, and
is a Direction to Men what to do, and how to go about the Buſineſs that
they have to do; about which, if there were no Light in the Room, they
would be apr to commit many Miſtakes and Blunders; the ſame good Office
does the Eye of the Body perform to the reſt of the Body ; it is a Direction
to the other Parts and Members of the Body, in their ſeveral A&tions and O-
perations; and without the Benefit which the Eye imparts, the reſt of the
Members of the Body, which are all Darkneſs in themſelves, would not know
how to proceed in thoſe A&tions and Operations which they are deſigned and
fitted for ; but the Feet, which are to ſupport the Bodý, and move it from
Place to Place, would ſtumble at every Block or Stoné, of would miſtake the
Way; and the Hands, which are deſigned for Buſineſs and Action, would
do one Thing inſtead of ſome other Thing that was intended to be done; and
the Mouth, whoſe Office it is to take in Nutriment proper" for the Body,
would be to ſeek where to get it, or would take in, without diſcerning the
Difference, any thing that came in its way, and perhaps Poiſon inſtead of
wholſome Food; ſo that without the Sight of the Eye, the reſt of the Mem-
bers of the Body, tho' placed in the cleareſt Light, would be as hard
ir to do their ſeveral Offices, as if they were in the blackeſt Darkneſs.
Thus
pur to
648
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
ز
Thus the Eye is the Light of the Body. It follows, If therefore thine Eye
be ſingle, thy whole Body shall be full of Light; i. é. if the Sight of the
Eye be good, and it tranfinits true Impreſſions and Repreſentations into the
Brain, of all external Objects that are within View, 'tis as well for the Body,
(altho' the Eye be placed only in one Part of the Body, the Head; 'tis as
well, I ſay, for the Body) as if every Part and Member of the Body had the
ſame Faculty of Sight which the Eye only has; for the Feet are as well directed
by the Eye which is in the Head, as if they themſelves had the Faculty of
ſeeing; the Hands diſcern as well what they are to do, and in what manner
to go about it, as if they themſelves did ſee their own Work; and the Mouth
diſtinguiſhes as well between Food, and other Things not proper for Food, as
if it ſelf had an Eye of its own to ſee withal; and the like may be ſaid of all
other Parts of the Body: If the Sight of the Eye be good, the whole Body is
full of Light; i.e. every Part and Member thereof partakes of the Benefit of
the Light and Knowledge which is receiv'd by the Eye only.
And the contrary happens, if the Eye be evil ; for ſo it follows, ----But if
thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body ſhall be full of Darknefs'; 1. e. if the Eye
be diſeaſed, if thiç Sight of it be impaired or damaged, if it repreſents to the
Mind external Objects fallly, and as having a different Bulk, or Shape, or Co-
lour, than they really have, all the reſt of the Members are in the dark, and
know not in what manner to proceed; and then the Fcet, the Hands, the
Mouth, and the other. Parts of the Body, miſtake thc Buſineſs they are to do,
or do it after a wrong' manner; 'and it muſt needs be fo; becauſe thoſe other
Parts of the Body, having not the Faculty of ſeeing in themſelves, have no o-
ther Knowledge of the viſible Properties of the Objects they are converſant or
cxerciſed about, but only what the Eye imparts.
But the Caſe is worſe ftill, if the Eye, the only Member of the Box
dy that has the Faculty of receiving the Impreſſion of Light, be quite
put outs for then 'tis as ill for the reſt of the Body, as if there were
no Light at all in the World: And this is what our Saviour fays, in
the laſt Clauſe of the Words, If therefore the Light that is in thee be
Darkneſs, how greät is that Darkneſs? If the Light that is in thee
be Darknefs ; this manner of ſpeaking may ſeem to be improper, if the Light
be Darkneſs; but however, the Senſe meant by it is çaſy enough to be
apprehended; 'tis like the Expreſſions uſed elſewhere by our Saviour; if the
Salt have loſt its Savour ; for that it cannot do, and yet continue to be
Salt ; and, the Children of the Kingdom Mall be caſt into outer Darkneſs;
for they that are caſt into outer Darkneſs, , are not certainly the Children,
i.e. the Heirs or Inheritors of the Kingdom. But that which was once Salt,
may loſe its Savour, and ſo ceaſe to be Salt: And they that were once called
to inherit the Kingdom, as the Jews were, may, for their Misbehaviour, be
diſinherited, and ſo not be any longer Children of the Kingdom. And ſo
'tis here; the Light, while it is Light, cannot be Darkneſs; for no two things
are more contrary than Light and Darkneſs : But where Light has been,
Darkneſs may fücceed; or where it ſhould be light, it may be dark : or the
Eye, which was made to receive Light, and to communicate the Benefit
thereof to the reſt of the Body, may by ſome Diſeaſe or Accident be deprived
of its Light: And this is what our Saviour means by this Expreſſion, if the
Light that is in thee be Darkneſs; i.e. if what ſhould, and what only could
give Light to the Body, loſes this Power or Faculty, how great is that Dark-
neſs? i.e. there is no Remedy then, but that the Feet muſt ſtumble, or go
out of their Way, and the Hands miſtake their work, and the other Parts of
the Body be render'd, in great Meaſure, uſeleſs and unſerviceable, becauſe
there are none of them that can make Supply of the Want of that Light
which the Eye has loſt.
And
Matth. v. 12.
viii. 12.
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
649
Luk. iv. 23.
V. 31.
And thus the Words of the Text, conſidered only as making a Compariſon
between Light and the Eye, are plain and eaſy enough to be underſtood; the
Similitude between Light, and the Eye, being in ſeveral reſpects very obvious
to be obſerved.
But the Words thus underſtood, or thus conſidered, do only teach a natu-
ral Truth, or a Truth in natural Philoſophy; they teach us only the great
Worth, and Value, and Uſefulneſs of that part of the Body which is called
the Eye: And the only Point of Practice that we are inſtructed in from hence,
is to take all the prudent Care we can to preſerve the Sight of the Eye, which
is of ſuch very great Uſe to us in our whole Life, and the Loſs of which can
be no ways poſſibly repaired, therc being no other Part or Member of the
Body capable of performing the ſame Office to the Body, that the Eye docs.
But it is not likely that our Saviour, who came down from Heaven only to
ſhew us the Way thither, and to inſtruct us in ſpiritual Wiſdom, ſhould ſpend
any part of his Diſcourſes in teaching Men any Point of natural Prudence,
which might as well be learnt by natural Reaſon, or by the Inſtruction of
other Maſters in natural Philoſophy: Our Saviour indeed was a Phyſician ; he Matth. ix. 12.
is ſometimes called ſo in the New Teſtament ; but he was not a Phyſician of Mar. ii. 17.
the Body, but of the Soul; and the Cures which he ſometimes wrought on
the Bodies of ſuch as were diſeaſed, were not done by the Preſcription of Me-
dicines, but in a miraculous Manner, by the Word of his Mouth: And the
Deſign of his doing them, was only, by the Evidence that they gave to the
World of his being aſſiſted by a divine Power, to gain Credit to his ſpiritual
Inſtructions.
It is certain, therefore, that our Saviour, in theſe Words of the Text, meant
to teach his Diſciples inore than is expreſſed in the Words themſelves, viz.
ſome Point of ſpiritual Wiſdom, which is of ſuch Uſe and Conſequence to
us in our ſpiritual Courſe of Life, as the Preſervation of the Sight of the Eyes
is in our natural. Life.
And therefore, I ſaid at firſt, that in theſe Words, beſides the Similitude that
is herein expreſſed, between Light and the Eye, the Eye is the Light of the
Body; there is ſome other Similitude implied, between the natural Ěye of the
Body, and ſomething elſe which is of ſuch Uſe to us in our ſpiritual Walk-
ing or Actions, as thc Eye of the Body is to the Body, to direct its Goings
and Operations.
And thus far I think all Commentators upon the Place are agreed ; that the
Words of the Text, though they expreſs a true Propoſition in themſelves,
were yet meant to ſignify more than is expelled; that our Saviour-meant his
Hearers Mould ſome way or other apply this natural Truth, concerning the
Uſefulneſs and Benefit of the Eye, to their ſpiritual Concerns, though he did
not imáķe the Application himſelf, or if he did, the Evangeliſt has not recorded
it. But then, when they come to explain what our Saviour meant by the
Eye, and to ſhéw, in what manner this natural Truth is to be applied to our
ſpiritual Life, or what it is which in our ſpiritual Life and Converſation is
of the like Benefit and Advantage, and performs the ſame Office :to jus, thaç
the Eye of the Body, does to the reſt of the Body, here there is great Diſagrce-
ment. For,
1. Some following herein the Opinion of St. Auguſtin, a great and learned
Father of the Church, out of whoſe Writings ſeveral Paſſages are cited to this
Purpoſe, fuppoſe that by the Eye, our Saviour meant the Intention or End of
our Ađions; that by the ſingle Eye, he meant a right Intention; by the evil
Eye, a bad or wicked Intention; by the whole Body's being full of Light,
in caſe the Eye be ſingle, the Worthineſs and Acceptableneſs of our Services,
if they be performed with a right Intention; and by the whole Body's being
full of Darkneſs, in caſe the Eye be diſeaſed; or the Sight of it løft, the Un-
Vol. II.
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The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
worthineſs and Unacceptableneſs even of the beſt Aäions, if they be done
with a worldly, and much more if they be done with a wicked Intention.
And the Words taken in this Senſe, or thus applied, contain indeed a great
Truth, and imply a very uſeful Exhortation to us, namely this, To take care
that our Aim and Intention in all our Actions be honeſt and religious.
For ſo indeed it is, that a good Intention ſets a Worth and Value even up-
on the eaſieſt and cheapeſt Actions; for as our Saviour ſays, Whoſo gives, tho’
it be but a Cup of cold Water only, to a Diſciple of Chriſt, as ſuch, and be-
cauſe he belongs to Chriſt, ſhall not loſe his Reward.
And on the other ſide, a wicked and corrupt Intention is ſufficient to ſpoil
even the beſt A&ions: The moſt noble and heroick Acts of Virtue or Piety
ſhall loſe all their Worth, and are unfit to be rewarded by God, if they be
done for any baſe or finiſter End; and this is what our Saviour had taught
before, at the beginning of this Chapter, in the Caſe of Alms, and Prayer,
and Faſting, which though in themſelves moſt excellent Expreſſions of Vir-
tue and Religion, become nothing worth when they are done with a vain-
glorious Deſign, in order to get worldly Praiſe and Reputation to our felves
thereby
And therefore, if theſe Words of the Text had been ſubjoined immediate-
ly to thoſe Cautions before given by our Saviour, againſt ſeeking Honour to
our felves from Men by our good Actions, I think there would have been lit-
tle Reaſon to doubt, but that he had hereby meant farther to recommend to
us Purity and Sincerity of Intention in all our Adions.
But it is to be conſidered, that in the three Verſes before the Text, our
Saviour had begun a Diſcourſe upon a Subject clearly different from that;
viz. about Covetouſneſs and Worldly-mindedneſs; Lay not up for your ſelves
Treaſures upon Earth, but lay up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven'; and
that he continues his Diſcourſe upon the fame Subject, in the Words follow-
ing the Text, and to the end of the Chapter: So that theſe two Verſes of
the Text, if they be underſtood to be meant concerning a right and a wrong
Intention, are a manifeſt Digreſſion from the Matter in hand, and have no
manner of Connexion with the Words either foregoing or following:
And for this Reaſon I do not think they were meant ſo by our Saviour in
this Place.
2. There are ſome, that by the Eye, which is the Light of the Body, ſup-
poſe that our Saviour meant the Appetites, Deſires, and Affections of the
Mind; ſo that by the ſingle Eye, he meant, ſuch Appetites, Deſires, and Af-
fections, as are reaſonable and regular; and by the evil Eye, ſuch as are inor-
dinate and vicious; becauſe that ſuch as are our Deſires and Affections, ſuch,
for the moſt part, will our Adions be; if our Deſires and Affections are placed
upon heavenly Objects, the Treaſures in Heaven, ſpoken of at the twentieth
Verſe, all the Actions of our Life will be ordered to that End, we ſhall make
it our chief Buſineſs to obtain thoſe Treaſures; and on the other ſide, if our
Affections are placed upon earthly Things, the Bent of our Endeavour will be
to obtain them, and our inordinate Love and Affection to them will ſo blind
our Eyes, that we ſhall not be able to diſcern wherein our true Happineſs
confifts, and the Means to obtain the ſame.
And this likewiſe is certainly true, viz. that the Paſſions and Affections
of the Mind have indeed a very great Influence upon the Actions; that if they
be rightly placed, the Life and Converſation will be rightly ordered ; and that
if they are miſplaced, "the Life and Converſation will be vicious and irregu-
lar ; ſo that this Application of- the Similitude here uſed by our Saviour, the
Light of the Body is the Eye, ſeems to be ſomewhat more pertinent and a-
greeable to the Subject treated of in the foregoing and following Verſes, than
the former was: But then I think there is but little Agreeableneſs in the Simili-
tude
}
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The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
651
ز
tude it ſelf, I mean, that there is no Reaſon why the Paſſions and Affections
ſhould be likened to the Eye; for the Eye is that which enlightens the Body,
which gives it Knowledge of Things without it, and at a diſtance from ir
and 'tis with reſpect only to this ſeeing Faculty of the Eye, that our Saviour
here ſpeaks of the Eye, the Eye is the Light of the Body: But now what
Likeneſs is there in this reſpect between the Eye, and the Paſſions and Affec-
tions of the Mind: For the Eye is Light, and gives Light, but the Paſſions
and Affections are altogether blind and dark, they neither have Knowledge
themſelves, nor do they impart any Knowledge to the Mind; they rather help
to blind and darken the Mind, than to enlighten it; ſo that why theſe ſhould
be thought to be meant here by our Saviour, when he ſpeaks of the Eye,
which is the Light of the Body, I can ſee no good Reaſon.
3. Therefore others there are, who by the Eye, which is the Light of the Munſter. Pri-
Body, ſuppoſe that our Saviour meant the whole Inner-Man, the Will, the In-cæus.
tention, and all the inward Actions of the Soul.
And the Similitude thus underſtood and applied, contains likewiſe a true and
an uſeful Propoſition ; viz. that ſuch as the Mind is, ſuch will the outward
Life and Converſation be; that theſe, as Streams, will be of the ſame Nature
with thar Fountain from which they proceed; that theſe, as Fruits, will be
good or bad, according as the Stock or Tree is, upon which they grow; and
conſequently, that it ought to be our firſt and chiefeſt Care, to cleanſe and
purify the Heart, according to the Direction given us by the Wiſe Man, Prov.
iv. 24. Keep thy Heart with all Diligence, for out of it are the Iſues of
Life.
Nevertheleſs, I do not think that this is the right Interpretation and Appli-
cation of the Similitude; partly, becauſe the Words taken in this Senſe treat
of a Subject clearly different from what had been treated of in the Words be-
fore the Texts, and is continued to be diſcourſed of in the following Words;
and partly, becauſe if the Words be taken in this Senſe, there ſeems to be
little Likeneſs and Correſpondence between the Similitude, and the Thing
ſuppoſed to be ſignified and meant by it.
For the Eye is the Light of the Body, it ſerves to direct all the other Parts
of the Body, in their ſeveral Actions and Operations ; but the inward Actions
of the Mind, i.e. the Thoughts, do not in ſuch manner give Light and Direc-
tion to the outward Converſation ; they guide indeed and govern the outward
Man, for what the Will chuſes, the Body does, becauſe the Body moves by
the Influence and Direction of the Will; but the Will it ſelf has need of
ſome ſuch Faculty in the Soul, as the Eye is in the Body, to teach it what to
chuſe, or elſe that will be as much at a loſs, as much in the dark what to chuſe,
as the other Members of the Body would be what to do without the Light
which they receive by the Eye.
4. There is another Interpretation of theſe Words, or Application of this
Similitude, given by Dr. Hammond, and I think by none before him, who Ham. Catech.
ſuppoſes, that by the ſingle Eye, we are to underſtand Bountifulneſs or Libe-l. 3. $.5. pag.
rality; and by the evil Eye, Enviouſneſs or Covetouſneſs.
And to make out this, he produces ſeveral Inſtances in the New Teſtament, Lightfoot Har.
wherein innês, the Word here uſed, and tranſlated ſingle, ſignifies bountiful, Hebr.
or liberal; and its Derivatives, ámós, liberally, and dtórns, Liberality; and
wherein, on the other ſide, opgainuos movnegs
, the evil Eye, ſignifies Envy,
Covetouſneſs, Unſatisfiedneſs, Niggardlineſs, and all the Contraries of Libe-
rality : And he ſays that the Words chus underſtood, do plainly enough belong
to the Buſineſs in hand, viz. the laying up Treaſures upon Earth, which had
been before forbidden, and the laying up Treaſures in Heaven, which had been
before commanded; and the Inconſiſtence that there is between the Service of
God, and the Service of Mammon, which is the Subject of the following
Verſe.
$
114
*
}
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The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
Page 115.
Verſe. Becauſe [Liberality or Charity in the Heart is a ſpecial Part of Chrif-
tianity, hath a notable Influence towards the Production of all Chriſtian Vir-
tues, and a main Argument and Evidence it is of a Chriſtian to have this Grace
in him; and on the contrary, Uncharitableneſs, Worldly-mindedneſs, Unfa-
tisfiedneſs, Uncontentedneſs, Envy, Covetouſneſs, is a Sin of very ill Effect
and Conſequence, betrays a Man to all moſt unchriſtian Sins, fills him full
of all Iniquity, (according to that of St. Paul, í Tim. vi. 10. For the Love
of Money is the Root of all Evil
, &c.) and is a ſad Symptóm, wherever we
find it, of a great deal of Ill beſides.]
But this Interpretation of the Words, or Application of the Similitude here
uſed by our Saviour, ſeems to me no leſs liable to Exception, than any of the
former ; chiefly upon this Account, becauſe though it be true that Liberality
on the one ſide, or Coverouſneſs on the other ſide, have indeed a very great
Influence on the Practice in all other Points, yet this ſeems to me no ſufficient
Reaſon why they ſhould be compared or likened to the Eye, eſpecially as to
that Faculty or Uſe of the Eye which our Saviour here refers chiefly to; viz.
its giving Light to the Body. For that which our Saviour meant ſhould be
underſtood by this Similitude, is ſomewhat which is of ſuch Uſe to us in our
moral Courſe of Life, as the Eye is in our natural Life, ſomewhat which ſo
enlightens the Mind and Soul of a Man, as the bodily Eye does the Body;
and I do not ſee how Liberality does this, more than any other Virtue or Grace
whatever.
And beſides, Liberality was not the only Virtue ſpoken of in the foregoing
Verſe, neither is that the Duty particularly meant in the following Verſe; for
we lay up Treaſures in Heaven by all other good Works, as well as by Works
of Bounty and Liberality: And that Service of God, with which the Service
of Mammon is inconſiſtent, conſiſts not only in Charity and Bounty, but in an
univerſal Obedience to all the Laws of God.
I add therefore, in the fifth and laſt Place,
5. Another Interpretation of theſe Words, or another Application of this
Erafm.Paraph. Similitude, The Light of the Body is the Eye, which is given by ſome, and
which ſeems to me both to correſpond better with the Similitude, and alſo
to be more agreeable to the Context than any of the former.
And that is this, That by the Eye here, or rather, by that which is of the like
Uſe to the Soul, that the Eye is to the Body, and which gives ſuch Light to
our moral Life, as the Eye of the Body does to the natural Life ; (that by
this Eye, I ſay,) is meant, the Underſtanding or the Judgment; which does
indeed perform to the Soul the ſame Office that the Eye does to the Body,
for it enlightens the Soul, and ſhews it what it is to do, and what it is to
avoid ; what it ought to chuſe as good, and what it ought to avoid as evil:
And from this manifeſt Similitude that there is between the Eye of the Body,
with reſpect to the Light and Knowledge which it imparts to the Body, and
the Judgment and Underſtanding, which ſerves in like manner to direct the
Soul in its moral Life ; that Faculty of the Soul whereby we do apprehend
and judge of Things, is not only in common Diſcourſe, but in the Holy Scrip-
ture it ſelf ſometimes called the Eye of the Mind, or the Eye of the Under-
ſtanding, particularly in Eph.i. 18. The Eyes of your Underſtanding being en-
lightned. I ſay then, in the firſt place, that
1. Taking the Words in this Senſe, ſuppoſing that by the Eye here, our Sa.
viour meant the Eye of the Underſtanding, the whole Similitude, as ’tis ex-
preſſed in the Text, does correſpond and agree very well with the Thing ſup-
poſed to be ſignified and meant by it. As thus,
The Light of the Body is the Eye; ſo the Light of the Soul, or that which
ſerves to direct a Man in his moral Courſe of Life, is the Eye of the Under-
ſtanding, that Notion and Apprehenſion that he has of Things, that Judgment
which
:
Grot. in loc.
2
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
653
ز
which he forms of them in his Mind. By this a Man diſcerns what he is to
ſeek, and what he is to decline, and what are the proper Means in order to
attain his End.
It follows: If therefore thine Eye be ſingle, thy whole Body ſhall be full of
Light. If thine Eye be ſingle ; i.e. If the Eye of thy Underſtanding be
clear and open, if it be nor darkned by carnal and worldly Affections, but
thou ſeeſt Things as indeed they are, and judgeſt them to be ſuch, neither bet-
ter nor worſe than they are in Truth; if thou haſt a true Notion and Apprc-
.henſion of Things, and makeſt a right Judgment concerning them, then thy
whole Body ſhall be full of Light, i.e. thy Mind being thus enlightned with
a true Knowledge of Things, and thou having in thy Judgment a right Va-
luation of them, thy Affections, and Deſires, and Endeavours, will be corre-
ſpondent to thy Judgment; and then thou wilt love Things as they deſerve to
be loved, and deſire them in ſuch meaſure as they are deſirable, and beſtow,
in order to the obtaining them, ſuch Pains and Labour as is proportionable to
the Benefit thou wilt receive from the Poſſeſſion thereof: Thus thy moral
Courſe of Life will be enlightned and directed by a right underſtanding of
Things.
It follows farther; But if thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body ſhall be full of
Darkneſs: If thine Eye be evil; i.e. If the Eye of thy Underſtanding be ob-
ſcured, ſo that thou haſt a falſe Notion and Apprehenſion of Things, and
paffeſt a wrong Judgment concerning them; eſteeming that to be Good which
is Evil, and that Evil which is Good; then thy whole Body ſhall be full of
Darkneſs; i.e. the whole Courſe of thy Life and Converſation will be wicked
and corrupt; thy Affections will be miſplaced, thou wilt love that which thou
oughteſt to hate, and hate that which thou oughteſt to love ; and thy Endea-
vours will be bent to a wrong End, thou wilt ſeek that which will prove to
thy Hurt, and neglect that wherein thy true Happineſs does confiſt.
It follows in the laſt Place, If therefore the Light that is in thee be Dark-
neſs, how great is that Darkneſs? i.e. ſays Eraſmus, in his Paraphraſe upon
the Place; If thy Reaſon be blinded by Luft, ſo that it judges that to be hap-
py which indeed is miſerable, and judges that to be chiefly and above all
Things to be deſired, which in Truth ought to be deſpiſed and neglected; in-
to what a Miſt of Darkneſs will the whole Man be led, by Ambition, and
Luſt, and Covetouſneſs, and Fooliſhneſs, and Anger, and Envy, and Hatred,
and other Paſſions and Diſorders of the Mind, which in themſelves are all
dark and blind? If thy Reaſon and Judgment which was given thee (for the
ſame End that the Eye was to the Body) to guide thee and keep thee in the
right Way; if, I ſay, this diſcerning and reaſoning Faculty.does miſlead tliee,
by a falſe Notion and Opinion of Things, there is nothing elſe, no other Fa-
culty of thy Soul, that is capable of correcting thoſe Errors in Practice, which
this falſe Judgment leads thee into.
Thus, I ſay, if by the Eye we ſuppoſe our Saviour meant that diſcerning
and judging Faculty of the Soul, viz. the Underſtanding and Judgment,
whereby we apprehend the Nature, and paſs an Eſtimation upon the Value and
Worth of Things, the whole Similitude agrees well with the Thing ſignified
by it; the Judgment being in every reſpect the ſame to the Soul, that the
Eye is to the Body; and a right Judgment yielding to us the ſame Light and
Direction in our moral Courſe of Life, that a well-ſeeing Eye does in our
natural Life; and a falfe Judgment in ſpiritual Matters betraying us as certain-
ly into Miſtakes and Errors in Practice, as a diſeaſed Eye, which repreſents to
us the Things without us, as of a different Bigneſs, or Shape, or Colour, than
they really are, does lead us into the like Miſtakes in our common Life; or as
a Defect of Sight does expoſe us to the Danger of ſtumbling in our Way, or
going aſtray from it.
Vol. II.
And,
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654
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
ܪ
And, 2. As this Application of the Similitude agrees very well with the
Similitude it ſelf, ſo I think it gives a Senſe that is more pertinent and agreeable
to the Context, than any of thoſe before mentioned: For I have noted al-
ready (in diſcourſing on the three foregoing Verſes), that the Prohibition in the
nineteenth Verſe, tay not up for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth, is to be un-
derſtood as deſign’d to forbid, not only the Practice of Covetouſneſs, in ſcraping
together, and hoarding up as much of this World as we can ; but likewiſe,
and indeed much rather, the Principle and Cauſe of ſuch Covetouſneſs, which
is an Error or Miſtake in the Judgment, the having too high an Eſteem of,
the ſetting too great a Valuc upon the corruptible and periſhing Riches of this
World, the thinking them, if not the only, yet, at leaſt, the beſt Treaſure
that we can lay up for our ſelves.
And I have alſo already noted, that the contrary Command in the twen-
tieth Verſe, but lay up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven, is to be under-
ſtood as deſigned to enjoin, not only the conſtant and diligent Practice of all
Chriſtian Graces and Virtues (by which only it is that we can lay up Treaſures
in Heaven ; i. e. can obtain a good Aſſurance of a bleſſed and glorious Immor-
tality in the other World) but likewiſe, and indeed much rather, as deſigned
to enjoin that, which naturally and of courſe will engage our Diligence in ſeek-
ing theſe heavenly Treaſures, viz. a right Value and Eſtimation of them in
our Judgments; we are thereby commanded to prize and cftcem them more
than any earthly Treaſure, and to think that we ſhall be much happier in a
good Afurance of the Bleſſedneſs of Heaven, than we can be made by the
greateſt Affluence and Abundance of earthly Goods. And to this Senſe both
of the Prohibition and of the Command, I obſerved, that that Reaſon is moſt
appoſite, which is added by our Saviour, at the twenty firſt Verſe, to enforce
them both; for where your Treaſure is, there will your Heart be alſo ; i. l.
what you prize and value moſt in your Judgments, that you will, of courſe,
be nioſt diligent to procure for your ſelves; it will be natural for you, to
deſire and ſeek for that moſt, which you eſteem to be the beſt and the trueſt
Treaſure.
And to thoſe Words, theſe Words of the Text are very fitly ſubjoined, as
expreſſing the ſame Senſe, The Light of the Body is the Eye; or, The Eye
is the Light of the Body, &c. i.e. as I have before explained the Similitude:
The Judgment that you make of Things in your Minds gives Light and Di-
rection to the A&ions of your Life ; ſo that if your Judgment be rightly in-
formed, as to the true Value and Worth of Things, you will of Courſe be-
ſtow moſt Pains in ſeeking thoſe Things which are moſt worth your Pains ;
that is, you will make it your chief Buſineſs to lay up Treaſures in Heaven,
that fail not: but if your Judgment be miſinformed, your Deſires and Affec-
tions will alſo be miſplaced ; and then you will ſpend your Labour in heaping
up earthly Treaſures, which will yield you but little Profit while you have them,
and which you cannot be ſure to keep long.
So that the Words thus underſtood have the ſame Senſe and Meaning with
the Words immediately foregoing, where your Treaſure is, there will your
Heart be alſo; i. e. what you eſteem to be the beſt and trueſt Treaſure, you
will affect, and deſire, and cover moſt, and be chiefly concerned to procure
for
your ſelyes; your Affections and Endeavours will be agreeable to your Judg.
ment.
Only, whereas the foregoing Words had expreſſed this. Senſe particularly,
and with a ſpecial reſpect to the laying up Treaſures in Earth, or in Heaven,
theſe Words do expreſs the ſame Senſe more generally, and in ſuch manner as
that it may be applied to all other Caſes; it is declared in theſe Words, that
our Practice in all Points will be correſpondent to our Opinion ; that our Life
and Converſation will be in every reſpect good or bad, according as we paſs a
true or a falſe Judgment on Things.
So
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
655
1
So that the Leſſon, or good Inſtru&tion deſigned to be taught us by our
Saviour, in theſe Words, I ſuppoſe is this, to take the beſt Care we can, to
have our Judgment rightly informed concerning the Worth, and Value, and
Uſe of thoſe Things on which we ſet our Affections, or about which we be-
ftow our Pains; that ſo we may not affect, or deſire, or labour for any thing
more than it deſeryes, nor diſeſteem and neglect thoſe Things wherein our true
Happineſs conſiſts, or upon which it depends.
And this Leſſon, or good Inſtruction, our Saviour himſelf gives in the ſame
metaphorical Expreſſion which he uſes here) in Luke xi. 35. Take heed there-
fore, that the Light which is in thee be not Darkneſs; i.e. take heed that
the Eye of thy Underſtanding diſcern well the Nature of thoſe Things, in
the obtaining or avoiding of which thou art to exerciſe thy ſelf in thy moral
Courſe of Life.
And if now it be enquired, what Care we are to take about this? or how
we may be beſt enabled to judge rightly of Good and Evil, with the ſpiritual
Eye of the Underſtanding? it will be eaſy to give the Directions proper
for
this Purpoſe, by only obſerving what Courſe we take to have a true Notion
of thoſe Things which we look upon with our bodily Eye. For,
r. That we may not be deceived and impoſed upon in the Objects of our
Sight, we take Care to keep the Sight of our Eye clean, and free from all
Motes, Duſt, Diſeaſes, and other Impediments of Sight.
And the ſame Courſe we muſt take to prevent being deceived in fpiritual
Things; we muſt take Care that the Eye of our Judgment or Underſtanding
be not darkened by Luſt, or Paſſion, or Senſuality, which do as naturally
hinder us from diſcerning between Good and Evil, as Duft, or Film, or ſome
other Fault in the natural Eye of the Body, hinders that from a right Appre-
hènſion of the Objcct that is placed before it. And to this Purpoſe we are
exhorted by the Apoſtle, not to walk as the Gentiles walked, in the Vanity of
their Mind, Eph. iv. 17. And of them that ſo walked, he ſays in the next
Verſe. that they had their Underſtanding darkned, being alienated from the Life
of God, through the Ignorance that was in them, becauſe of the Blindneſs of
their Heart; ſo that being paſt feeling, they gave themſelves over unto Laſ
civiouſneſs, to work all Uncleanneſs with Greedineſs
.
2. That we may diſcern well with our bodily Eye the Objects that are be-
fore us, it is neceſſary, not only that the Eye be good, but that the Object alſo
be placed in a true Light.
And ſo it is here; the Judgment, which is the Eye of the Soul, be it ever
ſo clear in it felf, can no more apprehend rightly, and form a true Notion of
ſpiritual Things, without a good Light, than the Eye of the Body can diſcern
Things that are placed in Darkneſs, or in a falſe Light.
And therefore, in order to the forming a right Judgment of Things, it is
neceſſary, that the Eye of the Underſtanding be it ſelf enlightned by ſome
other Light, thro' which, as thro' a proper Medium, it may behold the Ob-
jects which it is to paſs Judgment upon.
And there are two ſorts of Light, by the Help of which the Eye of the Un-
derſtanding may form a right Notion of ſpiritual Things; which are both of
them true Lights, but only one is more dim and obſcure, like the Light of
a Candle; the other more bright and ſhining, like the Light of the Sun; the
firſt is the Light of Reaſon, the other is the Light of Scripture.
1. The Light of natural Reaſon, though, in Compariſon with the other
it be ſmall and dim, like the Light of a Candle, is vet a true Light, and of
great Uſe to enable us to form a right Notion of Things, and to diſcern be-
tween Good and Evil. And by this Light only, a great many of the wiſer
among the Heathens, did clearly diſcern, that the Happineſs of Man did not
confilt in worldly Riches and Honours, or in bodily Delights and Satisfactions,
but
1
bar
I
1
656
The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
ز
but in Peace of Mind and Conſcience, and in the ſpiritual Pleaſures that at-
tended a virtuous Courſe of Life. But by this Light only, though they ſaw
clearly what they did ſee; they could not ſee very far before them; they
could not diſcern fully thoſe good Things, ſuch as Eye hath not ſeen, nor Ear
heard, nor hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive, which God hath
laid up in the other World, for them that love him; and therefore 'tis no
Wonder, that by that imperfect Notion which they had of true Happineſs by
this Light only, they were not perfe&tly inſtructed in the Way to Happineſs,
nor ſufficiently encouraged to keep on ſteadily in a Courſe of Virtue.
But God hath revealed theſe Things to us by his Spirit :
This therefore is that other Light before ſpoken of, which is more bright
and ſhining, like the Light of the Sun, which diſcovers Things afar off as
well as near hand; I mean, the Light of Revelation, or of the holy Scripture;
by the Help of which, if the Eye of the Judgment and Underſtanding be
open and clear, we may make ſuch a true and certain Judgment of Good and
Evil, of what is deſirable, and what is not, as is abundantly ſufficient to di-
rect us in our ſpiritual Courſe of Life: For by this, and eſpecially by the Light
of the holy Goſpel
, which from Chriſt the Sun of Righteouſneſs is diſperſed
throughout the World, and hath ſhined into our Hearts ; by this Light, I
ſay, we may clearly ſee, that there is no ſolid or fatisfying Happineſs to be
had in earthly Riches, or in any worldly Enjoyments; that the only Happi-
neſs adequate to the Deſires of a rational Soul, is to be had in the Poſſeſſion
of the heavenly Riches, and in the Enjoyment of God, the Fountain of all
Good. And being perſuaded of this, it will be eaſy and natural for us to
deſpiſe theſe lower Pleaſures of Senſe, and to aſpire after, and to bend our
whole Endeavour towards the obtaining of the Inheritance that is reſerved in
Heaven for us, which is incorruptible, and undefiled, and fadeth not away.
And becauſe the divine Revelation makes ſuch a clear Diſcovery of theſe
Things to us, yielding that Help and Benefit to the ſpiritual Eye of the Un-
derſtanding, which the Light of the Sun does to the natural Eye of the Body,
Pfal. xix. 8. it is therefore often in Scripture ftiled Light. Thus, The Commandment of
- cxix. 105. the Lord is pure, enlightning the Eyes, lays the Pſalmiſt. And again, Thy
Word is a Lamp unto my Feet, and a Light unto my Path: through thy
Prov. vi. 23. Precepts I get Underſtanding, therefore I hate every falſe Way. And, The
Commandment is a Lamp, and the Law is Light, ſays the Wiſe-Man. And
2 Tim. i. 10.of the Holy Goſpel in particular, the Apoſtle ſays, that Life and Immortality
Ejere brought to Light by it. And our Saviour ſays of himſelf, John xii. 46.
I am come a Light into the World, that whoſoever believeth on me ſhould
not abide in Darkneſs.
That therefore we may have a right Notion and Apprehenſion of ſpiritual
Things, that we may clearly diſcern between Good and Evil, it is neceſſary
that we behold them in that Light which the Scripture affords to us; and in
order to this, it is neceſſary, that we be diligent in the reading and ſtudy of
the holy Scripture; and that we readily receive and embrace thoſe Notions of
Things which are taught us therein. But,
3. Even the beſt diſpoſed Eye cannot judge rightly of thoſe Objects which
are placed before it in the cleareſt Light, eſpecially if they be at a great Dif-
tance, in caſe it looks upon them only with a tranſient Glance, unleſs it looks
upon them attently, unleſs the Sight be fixed for ſome Time upon them.
And ſo it is in our ſpiritual Sight; be the Eye of the Judgment ever ſo
clear and good, and the Objects thereof ever ſo clearly repreſented to us by
the Light of Reaſon and Scripture, we ſhall yet be in great Danger of mil-
taking them, and of paſſing a wrong Judgment concerning them, unleſs we
yiew them narrowly and attently, and fix our Mind upon them by ſerious Me-
ditation.
106.
I
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The Light of the Body Spiritually applied.
657
6
It is not enough therefore for the Direction of our Practice, it is not ſuffi-
cient to take off and diſengage our Affections from the good Things of this
World, only to learn from Reaſon or Scripture, that all the good Things of
this Life are tranſient and periſhing, and unſatisfactory; nor, on the other
fide, is it ſufficient to make us fix our Affc&tions and Deſires upon heavenly Ob-
jects, only to be told, as we are in Scripture, that the Things which are not
ſeen are eternal; that in the Preſence of God there is fulneſs of Foy, and that
at his Right Hand there are Pleaſures for evermore: But it is moreover ne-
ceſſary, that we conſider theſe Things attently and ſeriouſly, that we weigh and
ponder them well in our Minds, that we take ſome Time to exerciſe our Me-
ditations thereupon, that we wiſely compare together the good and evil Things
of this World, with the good and evil Things of the other World, and ſeri-
ouſly conſider the infinite Difference that there is between a Moment and E-
ternity. But,
4. Laſtly, As every good and perfect Gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of Lights, ſo of this ſpiritual Wiſdom in particular, we are
told in Scripture, that it is the Gift of God; and therefore it is directed by
St. James, chap. i. ver. 5. that if any Man lacks Wiſdom, he ſhould ask it of
God.
It is neceſſary, therefore, that to our own Endeavours to obtain a right
Judgment in ſpiritual Things, by the Eye of our own Underſtanding, enlight-
ned by Realon and Scripture, and looking narrowly and attently. upon thoſe
Things concerning which we are to form a Judgment : It is neceſſary, I ſay,
that to theſe Endeavours of our own we alſo add our hearty Prayers to God
for the Light of his holy Spirit to inſtruct us, and for the AMiltance of his
Grace to direct and guide us in the Choice and Perſuit of our truc Happineſs ;
praying for our ſelves, in ſuch manner as St. Paul does for the Epheſians,
Eph. i. 17, 18. That the God of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt
, the Father of Glory,
would give unto us the Spirit of Wiſdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of
him: That the Eyes of our Underſtanding being enlightned, we may know
what is the Hope of his Calling, and what are the Riches of the Glory of
his Inheritance in the Saints. Or elſe we may put up the ſame Petition, in
the Prayer that is ſometimes taught us by our own Church, and with which
I ſhall conclude:
Collect for Whitſunday.
1
3
O God, who didſt teach the Hearts of thy faithful People, by ſending to
them the Light of thy holy Spirit ; grant us, by the ſame Spirit, to have a right
Judgment in all Things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy Comfort, through
the Merits of Chriſt Jeſus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with Thee,
in the Unity of the ſame Spirit, One God, World without End. Amen.
Vol. II.
O
DIS
658
DISCOURSE LX.
The Service of God and Mammon
compared.
MATTH. VI. 24.
:
No Man can ſerve two Maſters; for either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or elſe he will hold
to the one, and deſpiſe the other. Te cannot ſerve
God and Mammon.
U R Saviour ſtill continues his Diſcourſe upon the ſame
Subject which he had entred upon at the ninth Verſe
of this Chapter, viz. Covetouſneſs and Worldly-mind-
edneſs, or the ſetting a very high Value and Eſteem
upon earthly Riches.
And by the Connexion of theſe words with the fore-
going, it ſeems as if they were deſigned by our Saviour for an Anſwer to an
Objection, which ſome might be ready to make, againſt thoſe Precepts which he
had given at the nineteenth and twentieth Verſes; lay not up for your ſelves
Treaſures upon Earth, - but lay up for your ſelves Treaſures in Heaven.
For what need, might they ſay, is there of our neglecting the Perſuit of
earthly Riches, in order to our obtaining Treaſures in Heaven? For ad-
mit, might they ſay, that thoſe are not ſo much worth as theſe, yet why
may we not ſeek_thoſe and theſe too? Why may we not divide our
Thoughts and our Time between them ; ſo treaſuring up earthly Riches, as
at the ſame time not to neglect the laying up Treaſures in Heaven too?
And this is what all covetous and worldly-minded Men are apt to plead
in their own Juſtification or Excuſe ; viz. that though they do indeed love
the World very well, yet they hope they love God too at the ſame time;
that though they are indeed very induſtrious in heaping up worldly Riches,
yet they do not therefore quit or abandon God's Service; that they do
not mean by ſetting their Affections on things upon Earth, to take them
wholly off from the things of Heaven ; but that what they mean is, at the
ſame time, to get as large a Portion for themſelves as they can of the good
things both of this world and alſo of the next.
This Plea therefore, or Objection, our Saviour anſwers in theſe Words, by
declaring, that the thing which they propoſe to do is impracticable; by ſhew-
ing that thoſe two Ends or Deſigns, which they ſay they do proſecute both at
thie
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
659
the ſame time, are inconſiſtent, ſo that they cannot carry on, to good Pur-
poſc, both of them at once. And this he does by citing a common prover-
bial Expreſſion, and applying it to the Matter in Hand. No Man, ſays he,
can ſerve two Maſters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other,
or elſe he will hold to the one, and deſpiſe the other : This general prover-
bial Truth, our Saviour here takes for granted, as being evident in it ſelf,
and needing no Proof; and then he applies it to the Matter in Hand in
the following Words, Te cannot ſerve God and Mammon.
In diſcourſing on which Words, I ſhall,
I. Conſider the general proverbial Speech or Expreſſion, No Man can ſerve
two Maſters; and ſhow in what Senſe it is to be underſtood. And,
II. I ſhall conſider the Doctrine or Concluſion which our Saviour here
lays down, (drawing it from the Application of that general proverbial Speech
to the particular Matter which he had been before diſcourſing of,) le cannot
ſerve God and Mammon.
I. I ſhall conſider the general proverbial Speech or Expreſſion, No Man
can ſerve two Maſters ; and ſhow in what Senſe this Saying is to be under-
ſtood.
And 'tis Ground and Reaſon enough for any Saying to be received and
to paſs current as a Proverb, if it be true for the moſt Part; if there are very
few Exceptions to it; if there are very few Inſtances in which it fails.
And ſo it is here ; this Sentence, No Man can ſerve two Maſters, has a
proverbial Truth in it; and yet ſome few Exceptions may be made thereto.
Particularly,
1. There is no Inconſiſtence in ſerving two Maſters that are ſubordinate the
one to the other. For thus a Servant, who, out of Conſcience towards
God, is diligent and faithful in that worldly Buſineſs which his earthly Mafter
fets him to, is thereby a good Servant to his earthly Maſter, and yet at the
ſame time, and even by the very ſame Adions, performs acceptable Service
to his heavenly Maſter too, who has commanded Servants to be obedient in all
Things to their Maſters. And therefore the Apoſtle in Eph. vi. s. preſſing
the Duties of Servants to their Maſters, does it by this Argument, that in
yielding dụe Obedience to their earthly Maſters, they do alſo perform the
Will of God. Servants, be obedient to them that are your Maſters accord-
ing to the Fleſh, with Fear and Trembling, in Singleneſs of Heart, as unto
Chriſt; not with Eye-ſervice as Men-pleaſers, but as the Servants of Chriſt,
doing the Will of God from the Heart; with good Will daing Service, as
to the Lord, and not to Men.
2. There is no Inconſiſtence in ſerving two Mafters, though ſuppos’d of
equal Authority, in caſe their Wills are always exactly the ſame. And there-
fore though the ſacred Perſons of the ever-bleſſed Trinity are truly diſtinct ;
(For there is one Perſon of the Father, another of the Son, and another of
the Holy Ghoſt;) and though we profeſs to believe, that in this Trinity none
is afore or after other, none is greater or leſs than another, but the whole
three Perſons are co-eternal together and co-equal; yet there is no Inconfi-
ſtence in performing that Service to all theſe three Perſons, which at our
Baptiſm we undertook, when we were baptiſed in the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt: And the Reaſon is, becauſe tho’
they are three in Perſon, they are but one in Efence; and therefore, to be
ſure, but one in Will; (for the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghoſt, is all one ;) ſo that whatever Worſhip or Service is
given or perform’d to one, is given or perform’d to them all. And there-
fore, becauſe the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, our
Saviour
660
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
Saviour ſays, Joh. v. 23. that he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not
the Father. And,
3. There is no Inconſiſtence in ſerving two Maſters (though they have dif-
ferent or contrary Wills) ſucceſſively, i. e. at ſevcral Times. Thus the Apoſtle
writing to the Romans, Rom. vi. 17. hath theſe Words ; Te were the Servants
of Sin, i.e. ye were ſo once: For then it follows, But ye have obeyed from
the Heart that Form of Doctrine which was delivered you. Being then
made free from Sin, ye became the Servants of Righteouſneſs.
But notwithſtanding theſe Exceptions, it may well enough be uttered and
received as a general Truth, that no Man can ſerve two Maſters; for ſo it is,
if, limiting our Speech to one and the ſame Time, by two Maſters we under-
ſtand two diſtinct Perſons, that do each of them claim a Right to the whole
Service of their Vaſſal; and if by the two Maſters we alſo underſtand two
that are diſtinct, not only in Perſon, but in Will; ſo that it is not impoſſible
that they ſhould command their Servant different or contrary things, (for
in theſe Caſes it is impoſſible that a Man ſhould be the Servant of two
Maſters at once; i. e. that he ſhould at the ſame time give up himſelf per-
fectly and entirely to the Will and Pleaſure of two diſtinct Perſons that
have different Wills, and ſo may, and 'tis probable ſometimes will, com-
mand different if not contrary things,) in theſe Caſes a Man can no
divide his Service between two ſuch Maſters, than he can multiply himſelf;
But lie müſt (as our Saviour here ſays, either hate the one, and love the other;
or hold to the one, and deſpiſe the other.
I proceed now in the ſecond Place,
more
7
II. To conſider the Doctrine or Concluſion which our Saviour here lays
down, (drawing it from the Application of that general proverbial Speech to
the Matter' he had been before diſcourſing of,) ye cannot ſerve God and Mam-
And here,
}
mon.
7
>
*
1. I ſhall enquire, what is meant by Mammon ?
2. I ſhall ſhew, what it is to be a Servant of Mammon?
3. I ſhall'ſhew, what it is to be a Servant of God?
4. Laſtly, I ſhall endeavour to make appear the Truth of the Doctrine here
delivered by our Saviour, viz. that a Man cannot at the ſame time be a Ser-
vant both of God and of Mammon ; ye cannot ſerve God and Mammon.
1. I ſhall enquire, what is meant by Mammon?
And ’tis agreed, I think, by all, that the Word Mammon is a Syriac Word,
ſignifying Riches or Treaſure; and in this Senſe it ſeems uſed by our Saviour,
in Luke xvi. 9. Make to your felves Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteouſ-
neſs, i. e. of your falſe and deceitful Riches; make to your ſelves Friends of
them; i. e. by beſtowing them in Works of Mercy and Charity. And ſo
again at the eleventh Verſe of that Chapter, If ye have not been faithful in
the unrighteous Mammon, i. e. if ye have not been faithful Stewards of thoſe
worldly Riches which God has committed to your Truſt, who will commit to
your Truſt the true Riches? where the Oppoſition that is made between the
true Riches, 1. 6. 'the Treaſures in Heaven which fail not, and the unrigh-
teous Mammon, or unrighteous Riches, confirms the Interpretation before
given of the Word unrighteous, viz. that it ſignifies the ſame as falſe, deceit-
ful, and periſhing; ſuch as all the Riches of this World indeed are, which are
liable to be loſt by a thouſand Accidents, and which while enjoyed, do not ſa-
tisfy the Deſires, nor anſwer the Expectations of thoſe that have them, or that
labour for them.
But here in this place, the Word Mammon is plainly uſed in a fomewhat
different Senſe, viz. as ſignifying not a Thing, but a Perſon ; Mammon is here
plainly
2
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
661
plainly ſpoken of as a God, i. e. as an Idol or falſe God, ſet up in the Place
of the true God, and by ſome Men worſhiped and ſerved as the truc God only
ought to be ; ye cannot ſerve God and Mammon.
And accordingly it is obſerved by ſome out of Tertullian, that thc Numen or Walerus de
Deity that was accounted by the antient Heathens the God of Money, being, Antiq. Nun.
as they thought, the God in whoſe Power it was to beſtow Riches, and which mis Hebr,
was call’d by the Egyptians, Serapis, or Oſyris, and by the Greeks, Pluto,
was by others called Mammon.
To which Notion or Opinion of the Heathens our Saviour here accommo-
dates his Diſcourſe ; thereby to ſet forth after a more lively Manner the Incon-
ſiſtence of covetouſneſs with truc Religion ; to which purpoſe he repreſenis the
covetous Man (frequently elſewhere in Scripture called an Idolater) as a Perſon
devoted to the Service of the Idol called Mammon, in whoſe Power, he thinks,
it is to give Wealth ; as on the other ſide, the truly religious and good Man is
here repreſented as one that is entirely devoted to the Service of God, in whoſe
Power it certainly is to give the true and heavenly Riches, i. e. cternal Life and
Happineſs.
So that by Mammon we are here to underſtand the Devil, who is ſometimes
in Scripturc called the God of this World; and who ſaid of himſelf, when
he would have tempted our Saviour to worſhip him, and in order to that had
ſhewed him all the Kingdoms of the World; all this Power will I give thee,
and the Glory of them, for that is delivered to me, and to whomſoever I will
I give it. Luke iv. 6.
Not that this was indeed true; not that the Devil has indeed ſuch a full and
abſolute Power to diſpoſe of worldly Wealth to whom he will, as he there pre-
tended to have ; for in Truth 'tis God only that gives Power to get Wealth. Deut. viii, 18.
But however, this is Matter of Fact, that worldly Riches do very often, by
the Diſpoſition of God's Providence, fall to the Lor of the vileſt and worſt of
Men, and that they are ſometimes obtained by the Practice of the greateſt Sins ;
and therefore, becauſe in that Cafe they cannot be thought to be given by God,
as a Bleſſing or Reward, to ſuch wicked Men, they may well enough be ſaid to
be the Devil's Gifts; and the Devil, or Mammon, conſidered according to the
Heathens Notion, as the God of worldly Wealth and Riches, may be ſaid to
be the God whom they ſerve, in order to obtain worldly Wealth.
This therefore was the ſecond thing I propoſed to do, viz.
2. To ſhew, what it is to be a Servant of Mammon. And Mammon being
here ſpoken of perſonally, according to the Notion which the Heathens had of
the Idol which they called by that Name, i.e. as the God of Wealth, as the
God that had Power to give as much Wealth as he pleaſed to his Servants and Vo-
taries, but who had nothing elſe to beſtow upon them; and it being neceſſary,
not only in order to true Religion and the Worſhip of God, but likewiſe in
order to Idolatry, or the Worſhip of a falſe God, that a Man ſhould believe
that the God or Idol which he worſhips will be a Rewarder of thoſe that ſerve
and worſhip him: it is plain, that if the Caſe were really ſo, as it is here re-
preſented in Figure; that is, if there were indeed any God or Idol named
Mammon, that could give what Wealth he pleaſed to his faithful Servants, but
could give them nothing elſe, no Man would chuſe to be a Worſhiper or
Servant of this God, or Idol, but he only who reckoned that Riches (the
only Good this God had to give) was a greater Good than any
that
any
other
God had to beſtow upon ſuch as worſhiped him: For if he thought that any
other God could reward his Worſhipers better than Mammon, he would
certainly chuſe to be a Servant of that God rather than of Mammon; there
being no Man in his Wits, that, if he muſt be a Servant, would not chuſe
to be a Servant to that Maſter, who, he thinks, will give the moſt Wages,
and reward in the beſt Manner thoſe that do Service to him,
Vol. II,
Р
A Ser
*
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
662
ز
A Servant of Mammon, therefore, is one who thinks that worldly Riches
(the only Reward that Mammon has to give his Servants) is the greateſt Good
that any God has to beſtow upon his Worſhipers: He is one that thinks
Wealth the Summum Bonum, the greateſt and higheſt Happineſs that a Man
is capable of. In conſequence of which Opinion, he naturally makes the
attainment of Riches his chief and ultimate End; Wealth is that to which he
bends all his Study and Endeavour ; that, which if he can by any Means ob-
tain, he ſhall, he thinks, be as happy as God can make him ; that, which if
he ſhould miſs or come ſhort of, he ſhall, in his own Opinion, be the moſt
wretched and miſerable among Men. And having this Notion of Riches, it
is not to be ſuppoſed that he will let paſs any Opportunity, or neglect any pro-
bable Means of growing rich: Having Riches in his Eye as the laſt and ultimate
End to which he tends, he will make his beſt and neareſt Way to it; he will
account nothing good, or worth his Regard, that lies croſs to his Deſign, and
hinders him from attaining that which he thinks the chiefeft Good, in Com-
pariſon with which all other Goods are to be neglected and diſregarded ; and
he will account nothing Evil, that any ways promotes and furthers his grand
Deſign of growing rich: So that he that is a Servant of Mammon readily does
any thing that Mammon bids him do; i. e. any thing that he is perſuaded will
conduce to the increaſe of his Wealth: He knows no Virtue or Praiſe but
Riches, and no ſin but Poverty.
In plain Words, a Servant of Mammon is a covetous Man, one whoſe
Heart and Mind is ſet upon Riches, one that, in the Phraſe of the Apoſtle,
will be rich, i. e. who is reſolved to be rich at any Rate, and whatever it coſts
him, and whatever he loſes or ſuffers in order to it; and who, if he be rich
already, hugs and pleaſes himſelf in his Store, and puts an entire Truſt in his
Riches
, making Gold his Hope, and ſaying to the fine Gold, thou art my Con-
fidence, and looks down with a ſcornful Pity upon all thoſe that are in a poor
and low Condition, as the moſt deſpicable Creatures upon the Face of the
Earth.
I proceed now in the third Place
3. To ſhew, what it is to be a Servant of God. And he that cometh to God
muſt believe that he is, and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently
ſeek him ; as the Apoſtle ſays, Heb. xi. 6. But now the only Reward that God
has promiſed to his faithful Worſhipers is in the other World, an eter-
nity of Life and Glory in Heaven. He gives indeed other good things, as
it were by the bye, viz. Food and Raiment, and whatever elſe is needful
for this Life ; and ſometimes alſo he gives Honour, Wealth and Abundance;
but I ſay, the only proper Reward of Virtue and Godlineſs, the only Good
that the beſt Men can be fully aſſured not to fail of, is the Happineſs of the
other World.
He therefore that is the Servant of God, he that chuſes the Service of God
rather than of Mammon, or of any other Maſter, muſt be one that likes this
Reward or Wages, which God offers to give to his Servants, better than the
beſt Gifts that Mammon can beſtow. For he would not chufe God for his
Maſter if he did not like his Pay, if he thought any other Maſter could give
better Wages.
A Servant of God therefore is one that has his Eye always fixed upon Hea-
ven, and has his converſation in Heaven; he reckons, that neither the good
things of this Life, nor the Sufferings of it, are worthy to be compared with
that Glory that ſhall be revealed : He eſteems the Happineſs of Heaven the
Summum Bonum, the chief Felicity, the only thing worth aiming at, and
ftriving for, and in Compariſon with which all other Goods ought to be neg.
lected and ſet light by. And in purſuance of this great Deſign, he readily and
chearfully fets himſelf to the diſcharge of all thoſe Duties of Piety, Juſtice,
+
Charity,
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
663
no matter
Charity, and Sobriety, which are required by God as the Condition of ob-
taining this eternal Happineſs. The Law of God is to him (as it was to the
Pſalmiſt) better than thouſands of Gold and Silver ; and he loves the Com-Pfal, cxix. 92,
mandments of God above Gold, yea above fine Gold: Nay he eſteems (as 127,
Moſes did) even the Reproach of Chriſt greater Riches than the Treaſures of Heb, xi, 26.
Egypt; having Reſpect unto the Recompence of the Reward. And laſtly,
whatever Accidents befal him in this Life, he endeavours the beſt he can to
turn them to his own ſpiritual Advantage, and to improve them for the Increaſe
of his future Happineſs. If God gives him, (as ſometimes he does to his obe-
dient Servants) worldly Plenty and Proſperity, he receives it as the Gift of
God, and is thankful to his Benefactor ; but he is not high-minded, he puts
no Truſt in theſe uncertain Riches, he makes Friends to himſelf in Heaven of
this Mammon of unrighteouſneſs, and by beſtowing his worldly Wealth in
Works of Mercy and Charity, turns Dirt into Gold, and converts (by a Sort
of ſpiritual Chymiſtry) thcle periſhing Riches into the heavenly Treaſures that
will never fail him. And on the other Side, if his Circumſtances in the
World are mean and low, he ſubmits chearfully to his Lot, and is content
with his Condition; and in the Want of many Conveniences, or even of the
Neceſſaries of this Life, comforts himſelf with an aſſured Hope, that having
ſuch a ſcanty Share of good things in this World, he has a larger Portion re-
ſerv'd for him in Heaven; and ſo that he may but at laſt attain to that Ho-
nour, and Glory, and Immortality, which he looks for there, he values nor
through what Difficulties and Hardſhips in this World he is forced to make
his Way to it.
And now, having ſhewn in what Notion we are here to underſtand the
Word Mammon, and what it is to be a Servant of Mammon, and what it
is to be a Servant of God, I proceed to the fourth and laſt Thing propounded,
which was
4. To endeavour to make appear the Truth of the Concluſion here laid
down, or the Doctrine here taught by our Saviour, viz. that a Man cannot be
a Servant of God and of Mammon both at the ſanie time. No Man can
ſerve two Maſters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or elſe he
will hold to the one and deſpiſe the other : ye cannot ſerve God and Mammon.
And the Truth of this Doctrine, that a Man cannot ferve God and Mam-
mon, and alſo how rightly this Concluſion is drawn from the Premiſes,
viz. from that general proverbial Speech at the Beginning of the Verſe,No Man
can ſerve two Maſters, in the Senſe wherein (as I have already intimated) it
ought to be underſtood, will, I ſuppoſe clearly appear, if theſe two things be
conſidered. (1.) That God and Mammon, the two Maſters here ſpoken of, do
both of them require that their Servants ſhould be wholly addicted and devoted
to them only. And, (2.) That they are two ſuch Maſters, whoſe Wills are not
only diſtinct and different, but in many Inſtances directly contrary to each other.
(1.) I ſay, that God and Mammon, the two Maſters here ſpoken of, do both
of them require that their Servants ſhould be wholly addicted and devoted
to them only; God requires the whole Man, and ſo does Mammon; and there-
fore no Man can be a Servant to both of them, unleſs he could multiply himſelf
and become two Men.
1. I ſay, God requires the whole Man. He that is the Servant of God, muſt
love the Lord his God with all his Heart, and with all his Soul, and with all
his Mind, and with all his Strength; and whoſo thus loves God can have no
Place in his Heart for any thing elſe. The Servant of Gad muſt glorify God in
his Body and in his Spirit, and with all the Powers and Faculties of both; and
whoſo is thus entirely addicted to God's Service, will have no Power or Faculty
left free for any other Service. And, ,
2. Mammon likewiſe requires of his Servants, that they be wholly and entire-
ly
i
)
-
664
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
are
ly at his Devotion. For there are not more, nay, I believe I may ſay, there are
not ordinarily ſuch great Difficulties, and ſo many Impediments, in the Way
of Virtue and Religion, as there are in the Way of worldly Riches: So that
he that is rcſolved to be rich, muſt apply himſelf wholly to this onc Buſineſs,
or elſe it is great odds but he will fail of his Deſign; he muit have his Mind con-
ſtantly intent upon this End, and his Wits continually working to bring it
about, and his Hands always ready to execute the Means whereby it may be
compaſſed.
In a Word, the labour of Religion, and the labour of growing rich,
either of them alone a ſufficient Employment for a Man; they are either of
them alone enough to take up all his Thoughts, and Care, and Time: So that
he who thinks to divide himſelf between theſe two things, will in Truth mind
neither of them to any good Purpoſe. Having two ſuch great and ſuch very
different Deſigns both carrying on at once, it is moſt probable he will miſcarry
in both of them; becauſe whatever Care or Time is beſtowed on one, muſt be
taken from the other, and what remains will not be ſufficient for that.
For the moſt Care that a Servant of God (who makes Heaven the End, and
Religion the Buſineſs of his Life) can ſpare from this great Concern, will be
no more than is commonly requiſite for the procuring of the Neceſſaries or
great Conveniences of Life. And the moſt that a Seryant of Mammon, (who
makes Riches his End, and the Cares of this World his main Employment)
will be able to ſpare from his great Deſign of growing rich, will be no more
than will juſt ſuffice to make ſuch a ſhew of Religion, as may be of uſe to him
to carry on his worldly Deſigns. But he that is only moderately careful for Ne-
ceſſaries (which indeed a good Man and a true Servant of God may be) will
hardly ever attain to great Riches, unleſs it be by a wonderful Chance, or an
extraordinary Providence. A moderate Care is not ſufficient for this purpoſe,
according to the common Courſe of things. And on the other Side, he that
has only ſo much Religion as is neceſſary to make a Shew of, (which a Mammo-
niſt may have) or who makes a ſhew of Religion only to promote and farther
his ſecular Deſigns, is not a true Servant of God, nor will be ever own'd and
rewarded by him in the other World as ſuch. Our Saviour himſelf ſays at the
firſt Verſe of this Chapter, that they that do their Righteouſneſs before Men to
be ſeen of them, have no Reward of their Father which is in Heaven. So
that for a Man to deſign both theſe Ends, and to proſecute them both with good
Effect, is as impoſſible as it is for a Traveller to direct his Courſe to two Places
that are far wide of each other, and to go at once in the ſeveral Ways leading to
both of them. But,
(2.) The Inconſiſtence of Covetouſneſs with true Religion, or the Impoſſi-
bility of being a Servant of God and of Mammon at the ſame time, will farther
appear, if we conſider, that theſe are two ſuch Maſters, whoſe Wills are not
only diſtinct and different, but in many Inſtances directiy contrary to each
other.
Now if their Wills were only diſtinct and different, if they did not always
both command the ſame things, there would be a Neceſſity, at leaſt ſometimes,
of diſregarding the one, while we held to the other : But when their Wills are
clearly contrary the one to the other, when one commands what the other for-
bids, the holding to one is more than a mere Slight or Diſreſpect, it is indeed
an Act of downright Diſobedience to the other : In this Caſe it is ſo far
from being poſſible to love and ſerve them both, that the Love of the one
neceſſarily implies a perfect Hatred and Averſion to the other. And that's the
Caſe here.
For God commands us to ſet our Affections on things above; Mammon, to
place them only upon the things below: God commands us to ſeek rather the
Kingdom of God; Mammon, to look no farther than to the Kingdoms of this
World,
I
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
665
$
IO.
World, and the Glory of them : God commands us to aim at the Happineſs
of the other World, to make that our ultimate End, and to direct all our En-
deavours to obtain that; Mammon, on the contrary, tells us, there is no other
Happineſs but in Riches; that he that is great in this World, is as great as he
can be, or as he can wiſh to be ; that he that is rich is every thing that can be de-
fired, and needs nothing elſe to make him completely happy. So that it is as
impoſſible to obey both theſe at once, as it is to have two ultimate Ends,
two principal Deſigns, and to tend upwards and downwards both at the ſame
Time.
And the Means whereby God commands us to ſeek his Kingdom, and
whereby Mammon commands us to get Riches, are in moſt Inſtances no leſs
contrary, than the Ends are which they ſeverally command us to aim at. Prov. xxviii.
And therefore the Wiſe-man tells us, that he that maketh hafte to be rich 20,
1 Tim. vi. 9.
ſhall not be innocent: And the Apoſtle, that the love of Money is the Root
of all Evil; and that they that will be rich, fall into Temptation and a Snare,
and into many fooliſh and hurtful Lufts, which drown Men in Deſtruction and
Perdition.
There is indeed no command of God, but which upon ſome Occaſion
or other a Servant of Mammon muſt break, or elſe he is not true to his
own Maſter ; but there are a great many, which he muſt needs live in the
conſtant and daily tranſgreſſion of.
For God commands us to mind and attend to, daily and conſtantly, the
Duties of his Worſhip and Service; to be diligent in the Study of the holy
Scripture, and frequent in Prayer, and to ſpend a conſiderable Portion of our
time in religious Exerciſes: But Mammon, on the other ſide, if he will ſuf-
fer his Servants to have ſo much of a Form of Godlineſs, and to make
ſo much Shew of Religion, as is neceſſary to give them a Credit, and
Reputation in the World, that's the moſt he will allow; for the Law of
Mammon in general is to worſhip no other God but himſelf, and the
Golden Image that he ſets up; to have no
have no more Godlineſs than we
can make a Gain of; and whatever Love we ſhew to God with our Mouth,
to let our Heart, at the ſame time, go after our Covetouſneſs.
Again, God commands us to be true and juſt in all our Dealings, and to
do no wrong to any Man in Word or Deed : But the contrary Law of Mam-
mon is ; get all you can, no matter by what Means you get it; look well to
your own Profit, and never trouble your Head about other Men's Lofles ;
your Buſineſs is to be rich, therein conſiſts your Happiņeſs; and there is no-
thing in the World that does ſo much croſs this Deſign as a ſcrupulous Conſci-
ence ; let your firſt Care therefore, in order to your growing rich, be to cart
away that ; rob, cheat, cozen, lye, forſwear your ſelf, any thing to get
Money; and if you do but take Care to eſcape the Laws, all is well: The
Money you get by theſe Means will wear as long, and do you as much good,
as if you had come honeſtly by it.
Again, God commands us to give of our Goods to the Poor, to ſtretch
forth our Hands to the Needy, to ſend our Treaſure before us to Heaven
in Works of Charity, and to make to our felves Friends of the Mammon of
Unrighteouſneſs, who, when we fail
, may receive us into everlaſting Habi.
tations : Mammon, on the other ſide, commands us, to oppreſs the Poor to
increaſe our own Riches; to get as much as we can by any Means, and to
keep all we can get; to believe that the unrighteoris Mammon will be a
better Friend to us, than any we can make to our ſelves by parting with it ;
and never to run the Hazard of making our ſelves poor by dealing out our
Bread to others.
Again, commands us to make our Boaſt in the Lord, and to put
our whole Truſt and Confidence in him, and to caſt all our worldly Care
Vol. II.
Q
upon
ز
har
666
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
1
Ver. 33
upon him, believing that he careth for us: Mammon, on the other Side, ſays,
that he has the moft Cauſe to Glory who can boaſt himſelf in the multi-
tude' of 'hîs Riches', that the rich Man's Wealth is his ſtrong City; and
that the beſt Way is to take Care of our Bodies our ſelyes, and if we muſt
truſt God with any thing, to truſt him rather with our Souls; that the pre-
Tent Life is to be minded at preſent, and that if there be any Life hereaf-
ter, it will be time enough hereafter to provide for that.
Laſtly, to name no more; God commands us, to deny our felves to take
up oir Croſs and follow Chrift; he tells us, that through much Tribulation
we muſt enter into the Kingdom of God; that all that will live godly in
Chriſt Jeſus hall ſuffer Perſecution : And that even ſuch as are not adually
Luke xiv. 26. called to Suffering, "muſt yet be of a Mind ready prepared to undergo the
greateſt Sufferings and Loffes for a good Conſcience. Our Saviour ſays, if
any Man will come to me, and hate not Father and Mother, and Wife and
Children, and Brethren and Siſters, yea, and his own Life alſo, he cannot
be my Diſciple
. And, whoſoever be be of you, that forſaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my Diſciple. And he that is a Servant of God,
and a Diſciple of Chriſt upon theſe Terms, how can he be a Şervant of Mam-
mon? Can any two‘Commands be more contrary, than this evangelical Pre-
cept, enjoining us to fit thus looſe from the World, is, to the prime Law
of Mammon, commanding us to love the World, and the good things of it,
and to place all our Happineſs therein ?
Thus, I hope, it appears, that we cannot ſerve God and Mammon ; i. e.
that Covetouſneſs and true Religion are perfectly inconſiſtent. Which is the
fame Do&trine, that we are alſo taught by St. John, 1 Joh. ii. 15. Love
not the World, neither the things that are in the World'; if any Man love
the World, the Love of the Father is not in him: And by St. James, Jam.
iv. Know ye not that the friendſhip of the World is Enmity with
God? Whofoever therefore will be a Friend of the World is the Enemy
of God.
And now the moſt proper Concluſion to this Diſcourſe, I ſuppoſe, will be
by addreſſing my ſelf to you in ſuch manner as Elijah, did to the Iſra-
elites, 1 Kings xviij. 21. How long halt ye between two Opinions ? If the
Lord bé God, follow him; but if Baal (if Mammon be God) then follow
him: Qr'as Joſhua had done before, Joſh. xxiv. 15. Chuſe you this Day
whom you will ſerve, whether God or Mammon; for both, you ſee, you
cannot ſervę ; and if you ſhould attempt to ſerve them both, you will do
it in ſuch a Manner as to be acceptable to neither. You may perhaps have
ſo much 'Religion as may be fome Hindrance to your Gain ; but unleſs
you are entirely God's Servants, you will not have Religion enough to
carry you to Heaven; and ſo by graſping and catching at two things at
once, you will loſe them both. Chuſe you then, I ſay, whom you will
ſerve, whether God or Mammon: And that you may make a wiſe Choice,
conſider well, and compare together the Propoſals that are made on both
Sides, and take him for your Maſter, whoſe Service is the eaſieſt, and who
will pay you beſt for your Work.
Mammon, on the one Side, offers you Riches, and ſeems to direct you
to the ready Means of attaining them ; but then you are to conſider, that
the Devil was a Lyar. from the Beginning, and that he feldom makes good
his Promiſes. He told our firſt Parents, that upon eating the forbidden
Fruit they would become as Gods; but it proved quite otherwiſe, for there-
upon, of immortal and happy, they were immediately made mortal and
miſerable. And an infinite Number of theſe Servants of Mammon, who
have taken thoſe Courſes, which he adviſed to, for the Attainment of
Wealth, have met with a like fad Diſappointment; and inſtead of that
Abundance
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
667
ز
Pfal. xxxix, 6.
Abundance of Riches which they hoped for by theſe Means, have thereby
been reduced to the extremeſt Poverty, have been brought to live upon
the Basket, and to end their Lives in a Jayl, or have forfeited them to the
Law.
But if Mammon were always as good as his Word, yet ſtill it is to be
conſidered that he can do no more than he is able; and ſuppoſing
hiin to be the God of Wealth, yet he is not the God of Life: And for
the Attainment of Riches, time is as neceſſary as any thing elſe ; ſo that
you cannot be ſure you ſhall not be diſappointed for want of that. For how
many are there, that when they are in the beſt Way of thriving, and have
the fạireſt Proſpect of a great Eftate, are taken off by Death in thc middle
of their Courſe, and ſo never attain to their deſired End? According to that
Saying of the Pſalmiſt
, which we often ſee verified; bloody and deceitful Pfal. lv. 23.
Men ſhall not live out half their Days: And that of the Prophet, he that
getteth Riches and not by Right, ſhat leave them in the midſt of his Days, Jer. xvii. 11.
and at bis End ſhall be a Fool.
Or if there were no fear of Diſappointment in this reſpect ; if the Mam-
moniſt were ſure to obtain his End, and to be as rich'as he hoped to be,
yet this is farther to be conſidered, that he cannot be ſure he ſhall lóng poſ-
ſels his Wealth ; either that may be taken from him, or be from that, before
they have well met together; a Moth or Ruſt may corrupt his Treaſure, or
a Thief may take it from him; or it may be, that that very Night after he
has filled his Barns, his own Soul may be required of him; and then whoſe
ſhall all thoſe things be that he has laboured for? Docs not the Pſalmiſt ſay
very well, Surely every Man walketh in a vain Shew, ſurely be is diſquiet-
ed in vain; ke heapeth up Riches, and knoweth not' who ſhall gather
them.
Byr if the Mammoniſt were likewiſe ſure of this, that he ſhould keep his
Riches to the laſt, and live many Years to enjoy them; you will do well how-
ever to conſider farther, what'there is in the Poſſeſſion of a great Eſtate, that
can render a Man happy. For what is there to be enjoyed in a great Eſtate
more than in a Competency? What can a very rich Man uſe upon himſelf
more than another that has not ſo much? He may take indeed what he wants
to uſe, out of a greater Heap than the other does; but if he needs no more
than the other, and the other has as much as he needs, the other is as happy
as he: And what he has more than the other, if it be kept, is no better to
him than uſeleſs Lumber; or, if it be ſpent, it muſt be uſed and conſumed
by others, and he himſelf will be no better for it, than if he had ir not. And
this is the Obſervation of the Wiſe-Man, Ecclef. v. 10, 11. He that loveth
Silver ſhall not be ſatisfied with Silver, nor he that loveth Abundance with
Increaſe
. And, when Goods increaſe, they are increaſed that eat them;
and what good is there to the Owners thereof, ſaving the beholding them
with their Eyes?
And laſtly, there is yet another fore Evil, well worth your Confideration,
which the ſame: Wife-man, at the thirteenth Verſe of that Chapter, tells us
he had ſeen under the Sun; namely, Riches kept for the Owners thereof to
their Hurt. It many times happens, that a great Eſtate is ſo far from con-
tributing to the Happineſs of the Poffeffor thereof, that it is the Cauſe of
his Miſery and Ruin. Many a Man has fallen a Sacrifice to the Covetouf-
neſs, Ambition, or Envy of other Men, only becauſe he was rich; who if
he had not been ſo rich, would not have been a Mark fit to be aimed at, but
might have paſſed his Days in Peace and Plenty; and with the good Will of all.
Thus
you
ſee whar Reward Mammon propoſes to his Servants; and how
flender and unſatisfactory it is at the beſt, and how uncertain they are to ob-
tain it, who are the moſt diligent in his Service,
See
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3
668
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
I Tim. iv, 8.
7
3
See now briefly on the other Side, the Reward that God propoſes to
his Servants; how great it is in it felf, and what a good Aſſurance they have
thereof.
And godlineſs (as the Apoſtle ſays) is profitable into all things, having the
Promiſe of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come.
1. It has the Promiſe of this Life ; not indeed of ſuch things' as Mammon
promiſes, the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them; not of Plenty
and Abundance, not of Dainties and Delicacies; but of the Neceſſaries and
Conveniences of this Life. Seek ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouf-
nefs, i and all theſe things ſhall be added unto you, ſays. our Saviour, at
the thirty third Verſe of this Chapter; all theſe things, i. e. what you have
need of to eat and drink and put on ; for of theſe things, and theſe only,
our Saviour had been before ſpeaking.
But the Things of this Life which God gives to his Servants, in whatſo-
ever Meaſure he gives them, are rather to be reckoned as Subſiſtence-Moncy,
than as Pay; they are neceſſary to carry us comfortably through this world to
the other, and for that Reaſon only they are given, it is upon that Account
only that they are deſirable. For,
2. Our Reward is with God in Heaven; it is the Promiſe of the Life
that is .to come, that is the chief Encouragement that God gives to his Ser-
vants, and that to which his only true and faithful Servants have Regard.
And the Happineſs of Heaven, wherewith God has promiſed to reward
the Obedience of his faithful Servants, does not conſiſt, as the Happineſs of
the Mammoniſt does, in uſeleſs and periſhing Treaſure, but in ſubſtantial
Riches; the Inheritance that is reſerved in Heaven for us, is incorruptible
and undefiled, and fadeth not away: It is a Happineſs that-will not fail, but
1 Cor. ii. 9. rather will much out-do their greateſt Expectations ; for Eye hath not ſeen,
nor Ear heard, neither have entred into the Heart of Man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him.
What that Happineſs is, we know not well yet, becauſe we ſee but thro'
a Glaſs darkly; but this we know, that it is pure and unmixed; that when
Rev, xxi, 4.
we ſhall be once admitted into it, all Tears Mall be wiped from our Eyes;
that there ſhall be no more Death, neither Sorrow nor Crying ; neither ſhall
there be any more Pain. And this we likewiſe know, that the fulneſs of Joy
that there is in the Preſence of God, and thoſe Pleaſures that are at his right
Hand, are for evermore ; that being once poſſeſſed of this Happineſs we can
never loſe it, and that there will never be any Diminution or Decreaſe of it.
Let the Mammoniſt have all that his Heart can wiſh, and let him keep it
to the laſt, and let him enjoy as much Pleaſure therein as he could ever hope
for, ſtill his Happineſs can be but ſhort-liv’d, for he muſt foon die, and leave
Eccluſ. xli. 1. all his Riches for others: And, O Death, how bitter is the Remembrance of
thee, to a Man that liveth at Reſt in his Poſſeſſions, that hath nothing to
vex him, and that hath Proſperity in all things? And therefore, methinks,
this Conſideration alone (if we knew not, nor could conceive any other Dif-
ference between the Happineſs of this world and of the next) ſhould be ſuf-
ficient to put it out of all doubt, which we ought to chuſe; that the things
which are ſeen are temporal, but the things which are not ſeen are eternal.
I only add farther, that of this great and eternal Recompence of Reward
which God has promiſed to his Servants, we have the greateſt Aſſurance por-
fible, infinitely greater than Mammon can give of earth?y Riches to thoſe that
are moſt diligent in his Service; for we have the ſure Promiſe of God for it,
confirmed to us by the Blood of his Son ; we have his Promiſe for it who is
Truth it ſelf, and for whom it is impoſſible to lye, and who is the ſame yeſter-
day, to Day, and for ever; ſo that though Heaven and Earth may pafs away,
his Word cannot paſs away or fail.
But
The Service of God and Mammon compared.
669
But I have not time now to enlarge farther upon this Subject, neither, I
hope, is it needful. The Conſideration of that little which has been already
ſaid upon it, is, I hope, ſufficient to determine our Choice, and to engage
every one of us to join not only with our Mouth, but with our Heart, and
with Truth and Sincerity, in thoſe Words of the Ifraelites, before ſpoken of 1 Kings xviii.
to Elijah and to Joſhua, the Lord he is God, the Lord he is God: And, Joth. xxiv, 25.
the Lord our God will we ſerve, and his Voice will we obey.
Which that we may always do, let us humbly beſeech him, that as by Colleet for
his ſpecial Grace preventing us, he does put into our Mind good Deſires, Eafter-Day.
ſo by his continual Help we may bring the ſame to good Effect, through
Jeſus Chriſt our Lord: To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoſt, be
all Honour and Glory now and for ever.
Amen.
TEAM HU
MA
masomo
Vol. II.
R
DISCOURSE
670
DISCOURSE LIX.
Worldly Cares not abſolutely for-
bidden.
MATTH. VI. 25.
Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no Thought for your
Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink;
nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put on.
HERE is nothing more contrary to the divine and heavenly
Life, than an inordinate Love of this World, nor any greater
Hindrance to the Practice of Holineſs and Virtue, than an
T
immoderate Care for the good Things of this Life: And our
X Love of theſe Things, and our Care about them, are then in-
ordinate and immoderate, when they exceed the juſt Bounds
which both Reaſon and Religion have ſet thereunto: i.e. Either, 1. when
the Object of our Care and Deſire is greater than it ought to be, when we
deſire more than is neceſſary and convenient, and cannot be ſatisfied with
what is enough ; and this is properly called Covetouſneſs. Or clſe, 2. when
tho what we are careful about, and ſolicitous to procure, be no more than
what we might fairly wiſh for ; viz. neceſſary Meat, Drink, and Cloaths, ſuch
Things, without which we cannot live at all, or not with any Comfort, our
Deſire thereof is more paſſionate, and our Care and Endeavour to procure the
ſame more anxious and ſolicitous, than 'tis reaſonable they ſhould be.
1. When the Object of our Care and Deſire is greater than it ought to be,
when we deſire more than is neceſſary and convenient, and cannot be ſatisfied
with what is enough: And this Branch of worldly Care our Saviour had for-
bidden at the nineteenth Verſe of this Chapter, in theſe Words, Lay not up
for your ſelves Treaſures upon Earth; i.e. do not ſet your Heart upon Riches
,
nor make it the Deſign of your Life to obtain them. And how inconſiſtent
ſuch Covetouſneſs is with true Religion, he ſhews in the Verſe before the
Text, by applying a common proverbial Speech, generally acknowledged and
aſſented to, to this Caſe; No Man, ſays he, can ſerve two Maſters, for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or elſe he will hold to the one, and
deſpiſe the other : ye cannot ſerve God and Marnion; i.e. ye cannot be tlie
true Servants of God, not ſo conſtant and ſincere in his Worſhip, not ſo ſtrictly
obedient to his Precepts as you ought to be, ſo long as your Mind is ſet upon
Wealth, and your chief Deſire and Deſign is to be rich, and your
Heart
go
eth after your Covetouſneſs. But this now is what few will own, that they
are covetous; provident, it may be, they will grant they are, and careful; but
then 'tis not, they ſay, Abundance and Superfluities that they are ſo concerned
about,
*
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
671
about, but only Neceſſaries; only becauſe they do not kħow whether hereafter
they ſhall be ſo well able to provide for themſelves, as they are now, they are,
they confeſs, for treaſuring up what they can now, againſt a Time of Need:
But then the Deſign of their treaſuring up, is not, they ſay, the ſame with that
of covetous Men, who are for hoarding up more than they can uſe, or ever
intend to uſe, and who love Moncy only to look upon it; for all that they
mean and deſign, is only to have wherewithal to ſupport Nature, Meat,
Drink and Cloaths. And in this they hope there is no harm.
And indeed, if the Care that we excrciſc about this be moderate, and we
labour for theſe Neceſſaries of Life, in a Dependance upon God's Providence ;
and if we have not Means at preſent to make Proviſion for the future Time,
can truſt in God, that he will ſupply us hercafter with ſuch Things as we ſhall
hereafter have need of ; I ſuppoſe our Carc about theſe Things is moderate
and law ful.
But nevertheleſs, as I obſerved before, there may be ſometimes a Fault,
even in this neceſſary Care; and there is ſo, when altho' what we are careful
about, and ſolicitous to procurc, be no morc than what we may fairly and rea-
ſonably delire ; viz. neceſſary Meat, Drink, and Cloaths ; ſuch Things as either
we can't live without, or not with any Comfort; our Deſire thereof is more
paſſionate, and our Care and Endeavour to procure the ſame more anxious
and folicitous, than ’ris reaſonable they ſhould be.
And 'tis this ſort of inordinate Deſire of, and Carefulneſs for the Things of
this World, that we are in particular forbidden, and diſſuaded from by our Sa-
viour, in the Words which I have now read to you. Therefore I ſay unto
you, Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink,
nor_yet for your Body, what ye shall put on.
For here the ſubject Matter ſpoken of, is not unprofitable Treaſures, but
needful Proviſion: Not Honour or Greatneſs, not the Vanities or Superflui-
ties of Life, (which are the proper Objects of Ambition or Covetouſneſs) but
only the meer Neceſſaries of Life, thoſe Things without which Life it felf
cannot be maintained; what we have Occaſion for, to eat, drink, and put on;
in our Deſign and Endeavour after which, we may nevertheleſs be guilty of
Exccſs: And by the Connexion that is made between theſe words and the
foregoing, by the Word, Therefore; Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no Thought
for your Life, &c. it is clearly implied, that a Man may be a Servant of Mam-
mon, who is inmoderately careful even for Neceſſaries; as well as he is, who
fets his Heart upon Riches, and is careful for Unneceſſaries and Superfluities.
le cannot ſerve God ana Mammon. Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no
Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink; nor yet
for your Body, what ye ſhall put on.
In diſcourſing on which Words, I ſhall do theſe three Things.
0
1. I ſhall enquire whether it be reaſonable to underſtand this and ſuch like
general Prohibitions of worldly Care, in the utmoſt Latitude and Extent; i.e.
whether all Carefulneſs and Concern about this Life, and the neceſſary Means
of ſupporting and maintaining it, was deſigned to be forbidden by our Savi-
our in this place.
II. I ſhall ſhew what Carefulneſs and Concern about them is without doubt
inordinate and exceſſive, and was, moſt certainly, intended to be hereby for-
bidden.
III. Laſtly, I ſhall endeavour to ſhew the Sinfulneſs and Unreaſonableneſs of
ſuch Care, and to diſſuade from it.
I. I ſhall enquire, Whether it be reaſonable to underſtand this and ſuch like
general Prohibitions of worldly Care, in the utmoſt Latitude and Extent ;
i, e
672
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
Y
1.8. Whether all Carefulneſs and Concern about this Life, and the neceſſary
Means of ſupporting and maintaining it, was meant to be forbidden by our
Saviour in this place. Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or
what ye Mall drink; nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put on. And
taking the Words as they found in our Tranſlation, and as they may be un-
derſtood, it ſhould ſeem as if it were our Duty to live perfectly without Care;
to eat the Meat that falls down before us, as the Manna did to the Iſraelites
in the Wilderneſs; or to take the Fruits which thc Earth brings forth of its
ſelf, and to drink of the Brook that is in our Way; and to cover our Na-
kedneſs with Fig-leaves taken from the next Tree; or with the Skins of a
Beaſt that we happen to find by chance : But neither to ſow nor plant, nei-
ther to weave nor ſpin, to have neither Store-houſe nor Barn; and if no Pro-
viſion comes of it ſelf in our Way, to ſit down contentedly and die.
But that it was not our Saviour's Deſign to command ſuch Careleſsneſs as
this, will, I ſuppoſe, ſufficiently appear, if theſe following Things be con-
fidered.
1. That the Words of the Text, taken in the ſtricteſt Senſe, and even as
they are expreſs'd in our Tranſlation, Take no Thought for your Life, do not
forbid ſuch Labour as is neceſſary to procure the Things that are ncedful for
the Preſervation of Life; the moſt that they can be thought to forbid is a
Carefulneſs, and Concern, and Solicitude about it; but now theſe two Things
are manifeſtly diſtinct and different, and ſuch as may be ſeparated, viz. La-
bour and Care, Pains and Thoughtfulneſs, the Work of the Body, and the
Working of the Mind: A Man may labour as much as is necdful to provide
Neceflaries for Life, and yet not be much concerned about his Life; be
very indifferent whether it be long or ſhort ; be very willing to go out of
the World whenever God pleaſes, and by what Way he pleaſes: So that theſe
Words, taken in the utmoſt Extent, are no Prohibition of bodily Labour, no
Command of Sloth and Idleneſs.
It may be farther conſidered that the Words in the Original do not ſig.
nify ſo much as ſecms to be expreſſed in our Tranſlation ; for the Words in
the Original are, μη μεριμνάτε, but now μερίμνε, if it be expounded according
to its ſuppoſed Derivation, is that which may be ſaid uelisey všv, i. l. ſuch
Care and Thoughtfulneſs only, as does divide and diſtract the Mind, and takes
it off from the Care of other Things, about which it ſhould be concerned:
But all worldly Care does not do this, but only ſuch Care as is cxceſlive or
unreaſonable ; ſuch Care as is grounded upon Infidelity, or is an Hindrance
to the Practice and Exerciſe of Religion: If therefore our Care for the Body
be not of this kind, if it be neither the Effect nor the Cauſe of Irreligion,
then it is not that beluvo, that taking Thought for the Life, that is here pro-
nibited.
3. This Expoſition of the Words is farther confirmed, by a Place parallel
to the Text, in Luke xii. 29. Seek not what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall
drink, neither be ye of doubtful Mind; for there, tho' the Prohibition in the
former part of the Verſe be univerſal and unlimited, ſeek not what ye ſhall
eat, or what ye ſhall drink; yet there is a plain Reſtriction or Limitation in
the latter Part, neither be ye of doubtful Mind; i. e. live not in careful Su-
ſpence, be not anxious and troubled in your Minds about the neceſſary Means
of preſerving your Life, Meat, Drink and Cloaths.
Now there is manifeſtly a great and wide Difference, between barely ſeek-
ing, in the diligent Exerciſe of ſome lawful Calling, to procure the Neceſſa-
ries of Life, and being anxious and ſolicitous thereabouts; for we may take
ſuch Pains, and uſe ſuch Means, as are neceſſary to ſupply our temporal Wants,
and yet not vex and diſquiet our Minds with the Thoughts thereof: And there-
fore it being this only which our Saviour forbids in the latter Clauſe of that
Verſe,
2.
*
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
673
2
Verſe, it is reaſonable to ſuppoſe that he meant to forbid nothing more in the
former ; for it is by no means agreeable to the Uſe and Cuſtom of Speech,
firſt to forbid more, and immediately after to forbid leſs; firſt to forbid a
Thing in the whole, and then immediately after to forbid it only in part: Bue
it is evident, that in the latter Clauſe of thoſe Words, (be not of doubtfuil
Mind,) our Saviour forbids only ſuch Care, as is accompanied with Anxiety of
Mind, or a Diſtruſt of God's Goodneſs and Providence. And what need was
there of his forbidding ſuch Care as this, if it be ſuppoſed that in the former
Clauſe he had forbidden all manner of worldly Care whatſoever ? For the ge-
neral Prohibition of all Care, would have included in it a Prohibition of this
particular kind of Care altho' it had not been expreſſly named. It is more
reaſonable therefore to ſuppoſe, that our Saviour, by that latter Clauſc, (nei-
ther be ye of doubtful Mind,) intended to explain, and to lay a Reliriction upon
the former, which otherwiſe might have been underſtood in a more gencral
and univerſal Senſe than he intended it : As if he had ſaid, ſeek not what ye
mall eat, or what ye ſhall drink; that is, I do not mean that ye ſhould not
deſire nor ſeek for theſe Things at all, but only that ye ſhould not do it with
a doubtful Mind, with careful Suſpence, with troubleſome Anxiety.
And that this is a true Account of the Meaning both of thoſe words and
of the Text, may farther appear in the fourth Place:
4. By conſidering ſome other Texts of Scripture, wherein the Nature of
that worldly Care, which we are to avoid, is more plainly expreſſed:
As particularly, that at the thirty firſt Verſe of this Chapter ; Take no Thought,
ſaying, what ſhall we eat, or what ſhall we drink, or wherewithal ſhall we
be cloathed? Which are plainly the Words of a Man, that doubts of, or di-
ſtruſts the divine Providence, and is afraid, that when he has done all, he can,
or ought in Prudence and Conſcience to do, in order to the procuring of thoſe
Things which are neceſſary for the Body, he ſhall nevertheleſs not be able to
obtain a Competency thereof, but ſhall periſh for want of them. To which
may be added, that in Phil. iv. 6. Be careful for nothing, but in every thing
by Prayer and Supplication, with Thankſgiving, let your Requeſts be made
known unto God: Where the Carefulneſs, which the Apoſtle forbids, is plainly
ſuch, as takes off our Dependence upon God, and is grounded upon a Dif-
belief of God's Providence; and implies too great Confidence in our own En-
deavours. To which may be added, ſome other Places, where to the Prohi-
bition of worldly Care, there is immediately added a Command to ſet our
Love
upon, or exerciſe our Care about, ſome other Matter.
Thus, in Luke xii. 31. after our Saviour had ſaid, Seek not what
eat, or what ye ſball drink, neither be ye of doubtful Mind; for all theſe Things
do the Nations of the World ſeek after, and your Father knoweth that ye
have need of all theſe Things; he immediately adds, but rather ſeek ye the
Kingdom of God: Where the Command to ſeek this rather, manifeſtly im-
plies that we may ſeek the other Things too, provided that we do it with
leſs Carefulneſs and Concern than we ſeek this.
Thus alſo, in John vi. 27. it is ſaid, Labour not for the Meat that periſh-
eth, but for that Meat which endureth unto everlaſting Life: Labour not
for that, but labour for this, i.e. plainly, do not labour ſo much for that, be
not ſo much concerned for that as for this. Some Pains therefore we may
take, ſome ſmall Concern we may have about that; but only it muſt not be
fo
great for the Meat that periſheth, as for that which endureth unto ever-
laſting Life.
And ſo again, in Col. iii. 2. Set your Affections on Things above, and not
on Things on the Earth; i.e. ſet them on thoſe, rather than on theſe: For
’tis not only lawful, but our neceſſary Duty, to beſtow ſome part of our Af-
fection upon ſome of the Things on Earth, as namely, our Friends, our Rela-
Vol. II.
S
tions,
ye fall
}
674
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
tions, our Country, and the like, and to love them in due Meaſure; but then
our Love to theſe Things, or even to our Life it ſelf, muſt be ſo moderate, as
that in Compariſon with our Love of heavenly Things, which ought to be
far greater, it may be accounted as none at all.
But this is moſt clearly of all intimated in that Oppoſition which is made
between worldly and ſpiritual Care, at the thirty firſt and thirty third Verſes
of this Chapter; Take no. Thought, ſaying, what ſhall we eat, or what ſhall
we drink, or wherewithal ſhall we be cloathed? But ſeek ye firſt the King -
dom of God, and his Righteouſneſs. By which it appears, that it was not our
Saviour's Deſign, in this univerſal Prohibition, take no Thought, to forbid all
manner of worldly Care, and even the leaſt Degree of it ; for if it had, he
would not have ſaid in the following Words, ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God;
but rather, ſeek that, and ſeek nothing elſe. But by bidding us ſeek the
Kingdom of God firſt, i.e. primarily and chiefly, he plainly gives us leave to
ſeek the other Things too, but only with a lefs, with a ſubordinate, with a
ſecondary Care
It is not, therefore, all Care for the Body which our Saviour condemns,
but ſuch a Care only as is irregular and exorbitant, ſuch a Care as is inconſiſtent
with, or doth greatly hinder us in our neceſſary Care about other Matters,
which are of infinitely greater Importance to us.
For the farther Proof of which, it may be conſidered in the fifth Place:
s. That this Prohibition of worldly Care, underſtood in that Extent, as if
it forbad all Care for the Body, and the Things belonging to it and neceſſary
for its Support, would be perfe&ly contradictory to ſeveral expreſs Commands
in holy Scripture, wherein we are enjoined to be diligent and induſtrious in
our lawful Callings, for the Maintenance of our ſelves, and thoſe that belong
Thus, in Eph. iv. 28. Let him that ſtole (ſays the Apoſtle) ſteal no more;
but rather let. him labour, working with his Hands the Thing that is good;
(i.e. being exerciſed in ſome lawful Trade or Profeſſion; and this not only
for his own Support, but alſo for the Relief of others, that are not able to
work; for ſo it follows) that he may have to give to him that needs.
And this even the Apoſtles themſelves did, who yet certainly well underſtood
our Lord's Meaning; and who, if any, might reaſonably be thought exempted
from. labouring; and they did it, not merely for their own Support, but partly
alſo to ſhew a good Example to others: Thus, Aets xx. 34, 35. Ye your ſelves,
ſays St. Paul, know, that theſe Hands have miniſtred unto my Neceſſities,
and to them that were with me: I have jbewed you all Things, how that
fo labouring ye ought to ſupport the Weak.
And indeed, there is ſcarcely any. Thing that the fame Apoſtle, in his E-
piſtles, enjoins more ſtrictly, than that all Men, according to their Abilities,
and in the Callings they were in, ſhould be diligent and induſtrious, doing
their own Buſineſs, and working with their own Hands, that ſo they might
walk honeſtly towards thoſe that were without, i.e. that the unbelieving
Jews and Gentiles might not be ſcandaliz’d at the Chriſtian Religion, as if it
taught or encouraged Men in Sloth and Idleneſs, and made them, after their Con-
verſion to it, become uſeleſs. Drones, and unprofitable Members of the World.
That was one Reaſon why he enjoined them Labour: The other was that
they might have Lack of nothing; as you may fee; 1 Theff. iv. 12. plainly
intimating, that if they would not labour, they might lack even Neceſſaries,
notwithſtanding all the Promiſes of God to take care of and ſupply them with
necdful Things; thoſe Promiſes being all conditional, and made only to ſuch
as are not wanting to themſelves.
to LIS.
And
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
675
:
And in 2 Theff. iii. 6. he calls all thoſe who were idle, and followed no Em-
ployment, diſorderly Walkers, Itrictly enjoining, that ſuch as, being able, would
not labour for their own Support, ſhould be rather luffered to ſtarve, thai
have any Rclief given them by others. We command you, ſays he, in the
Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that ye withdraw your ſelves from every
Brother that walketh diſorderly, and not after the Tradition which he received
of us: For ye your ſelves know how ye ought to follow us ; for we behaved
not our ſelves diſorderly among you, neither did we eat any Man's Bread for
nought, but wrought with Labour and Travel Night and Day. The Apoſtle,
you fee, was far enough from diſcouraging honeſt Labour and Induſtry. And .
this, he ſays in the tenth Verſe, was agreeable to the Command which he
had formerly given them, that if any Mon was lazy, and would not work, nei-
ther ſhould be eat; which Command he now repeats again, becauſe he had
heard that there were ſome diſorderly Walkers among them, who worked not
at all; whom he therefore commands and exhorts by the Lord Jefus Chriſt,
that with Quietneſs they work, and eat their own Bread, ver. II. Morcover,
6. It is not reaſonable to ſuppoſe that our Saviour defigned in theſe Words,
to forbid wholly all worldly Care and Labour whatſoever, becauſe ordinarily
our Life is ſelf cannot be maintained, without ſome caring and labouring for
thoſe Things which are neceſſary to ſupport it; ſo that by wholly neglecting
the Care of our Life, we ſhould in Conſequence neglcct alſo the Care of our
Souls, and deprive our ſelyes of Space and Opportunity to make ſuch Pro-
viſion for a future State as we are bound to do; ſo that conſequently, a Com-
mand to ſeek the Kingdom of God, to work out our own Salvation, to la-
bour for that Meat which endureth unto everlaſting Life, and the like, is ſo
far from forbidding all worldly Care, that it rather includes in it a Command
to have ſome Care for this Life; and alſo to be at ſome Pains and Labour to
maintain and prolong it: Becauſe whenever this Life fails us, we can no longer
ſeek the Kingdom of God, or work out our Salvation, or labour for that Meat
which endureth unto everlaſting Life; for when we ceaſe to live here, we
enter immediately into an unalterable State, and 'twill be too late then to make
Proviſion for a future State, when all that Time in which we were to do it
is expired. Now, while this Life laſts, we may work, but when the Night
cames no Man can work: There is no working in the Grave (as the Wiſe-Man
fays) whither we are going; and whither indecd we muſt quickly go, if we
take po Thought for our Life ; for ever fince the Ground was curſed for our
Sin, it hath been likewiſe a Curſe entailed upon the whole Race of Mankind,
from which there are none altogether exempted, that in the Sweat of their
Brows they muſt eat their Bread. So that Care and Labour is now, by the
divine Appointment, the only Way and Means, whereby we can maintain our
felves in Life ; and we can no more, without offending God, neglect the ne-
ceffary Means of preſerving Life, than we can defert our Station without his
Leave who placed us in it; or throw up, or give away our Lives, (otherwiſe
than at God's Command) before he who gave us Life, is pleaſed himſelf to
take it from us again, by an ordinary and natural Death.
It being therefore, our Duty to maintain and prolong this temporal Life as
long as we can, in Obedience to God's Command, and that we may have the
more Time to work out our Salvation in, it muſt needs alſo be our Duty to
take ſome Care, and to be at fome Pains for this Purpoſe, becauſe it cannot
be done without Care and Pains; for 'tis unreaſonable to expect, that God
fhould provide for us in a wonderful and miraculous Way, when we wilfully
neglect thofe Means, which he has ordained and appointed, and which are or-
dinarily ſufficient for that Purpofe.
In a Time of Famine indeed, he was pleaſed once to order the Ravens
(the moſt unlikely of all Birds to perform ſuch a Meſſage faithfully) to bring
Bread
I
676
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbiddeni.
4, 6.
...
1 Kings xvii. Bread and Fleſh to his Prophet Elijah; and at another Time he was pleaſed
to multiply the Widow's Oil, for the Suſtenance of him, and her, and her Fa-
mily. And ſo alſo when his People of Iſrael were kept forty Years in a bar-
ren Wilderneſs, he was pleaſed to rain down Bread from Heaven for their
Suſtenance: But it is expreſſly noted, 70fh. v. 1 2. that as ſoon as cver they
were ſo far poſſeſſed of the Land of Canaan, as that the Fruit of the Country,
which is brought forth with the Help of Man's Labour, was ſufficient for their
Suſtenance, the Manna ceaſed on the Morrore, after they had eaten of the old
Corn of the Land, neither had the Children of Iſrael Manna any more.
And as then the Earth did not bring forth her Fruit without their Tillage,
ſo neither is it to be expected that it ſhould do ſo now; and therefore ſo far
is all worldly Care and Pains from being unlawful, that the Neglect thereof is
a Sin: And if we periſh for want of Neceſſaries, when the only Cauſe of
our Want of them, is becauſe we will be at no Care and Pains to procure them,
we ſhall in right Reaſon and the Judgment of God be deemed Murderers of
our felves.
Nay, it is not only an unreaſonable, but a wicked Expectation, to look
that God ſhould provide for us by a Miracle, when he has put it in our Power,
by honeſt Labour and Induſtry, with the Bleſſing of his ordinary Providence,
to provide for our ſelves: For this is to tempt God, a Sin which we are fre-
quently warned againſt in the holy Scripture; it is to make a Trial whether he
will do a Thing for us which it is unbecoming his Wiſdom to do; whether
he will work a Miracle when there is no need of it: For this our Saviour
himſelf calls a tempting of God, as you may ſee in Math.iv. 6,7. For there
the Devil, in his Temptation of our Saviour, moved him to caſt himſelf
down from a Pinacle of the Temple, telling him, that if he was the Son of
God, he might do it without Danger, and citing a Text of Scripture to prove
it; for it is written, ſays he, he ſhall give his Angels Charge concerning thee,
and in their Hands they ſhall bear thee up, leſt at any time thou daſh thy Foot
againſt a Stone. And the Devil's Argument ſeems to be a very good one;
for this Promiſe of God, which the Devil cites out of the ninety firſt Pſalm,
was a general Promiſe of the divine Care and Protection of good Men: And
if God had ſuch Care of all good Men, who are his Sons only by Adoption
and Grace, much more might our Saviour, if he was (as he gave out he was)
the Only Begotten Son of God, fafely depend upon it, that he would have
a greater Care of hin, to keep him from any Hurt, what Danger ſoever he
caſt himſelf into. If therefore thou be the Son of God, caſt thy ſelf down,
ſays the Devil; there's no Danger of thy getting any Hurt by the Fall, if thou
art ſo dear to him as the Son of God moſt certainly is to his Father. But
this Temptation of the Devil, our Saviour puts off, by citing another Place of
Scripture, whereby he ſhews that it is altogether unwarrantable to run our
ſelves into Danger which we may avoid, in a Dependence upon the Providence
of God to deliver us out of it ; Jeſus ſaid unto him, It is written again,
Thou ſhalt not tempt the Lord thy God: As if he had ſaid, God has pro-
miſed indeed to take care of, and protect his faithful Servants, to watch over
them by his Providence, to keep them from Danger, and to deliver them out
of it; but this Promiſe ſuppoſes, that they are prudently careful of themſelves,
that they do not neglect the Means of their own Safety, that they do not run
themſelves into needleſs Dangers ; and if they are wilfully wanting to them.
ſelves, they are no longer under the divine Protection. And to expect that
God ſhould work a Miracle for their Preſervation, when they might have been
preſerved by the Bleſſing of his ordinary Providence, upon their own prudent
Care of themſelves, is a tempting of God; i.e. it is putting upon God to do
a Thing which it is unworthy of God to do; it is a trying of him, whether
he will countenance our Folly and Raſhneſs, whether he will do that for us
I
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Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
677
1
in a miraculous Way, which we will not do for our ſelves by our own Endea-
vours, proſpered and ſucceeded by the Bleſſing of his ordinary Providence ;
this is tempting of God.
And it is ſo, by the ſame Reaſon, to neglect the Means of our own Pre-
fervation, by providing for our ſelves, according as we are able, in an honeſt
Way, ſuch Things as are neceſſary for the Preſervation of Life, and then to
expect that God ſhould provide for us by a Miracle ; for what is this but to
tempt God? to try whether he will countenance our Sloth and Idleneſs? whe-
ther he will give his Approbation to our Neglect of thoſe Means, which he
himſelf has appointed, and in the ordinary Courſe of his Providence made ne-
ceſſary, for the Support of this temporal Life?
When therefore we are here commanded by our Saviour, to take no
Thought for our Life; and by the Apoſtle, to caſt all our Care upon God, who
careth for us ; the Meaning is not, that we ſhould caft upon him the Care
of the Means, which he has appointed us to uſe, but only that we ſhould caſt
upon him the Care of the Event, which is perfectly in his Diſpoſal : Not
that we ſhould have no Thought about what is the Matter of our own Duty,
(and ſuch it is to be honeſtly induſtrious in ſome lawful Calling to get a Liv-
ing) but that we ſhould not be thoughtful about the Succeſs of our Endea-
vours, but leave it to God, to order for us ſuch a Portion as he thinks beſt
13
believing that he knows what is beſt, and that he will do what is beſt for us.
And theſe Conſiderations are, I ſuppoſe, ſufficient to ſhew, that the De-
ſign of our Saviour, in this ſeemingly univerſal Prohibition of all worldly
Care and Labour, Take no Thought for your Life, what ye fall eat, or what
ye ſhall drink, nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put on, was not to coun-
tenance or encourage Sloth and Idleneſs, was not wholly to forbid ſuch Thought
as is neceſſary for, and does actually conduce towards, the procuring of ſuch
Proviſion for the Body as is needful for its Support; but only to regulate and
moderate our worldly Care, and to reſtrain and keep it within juſt Bounds.
And the Reaſon of my inſiſting ſo long upon this point, is chiefly for the
Satisfaction of ſome ſcrupulous Perſons, whoſe hard Circumſtances in the
World oblige them to riſe early, and to fit up late, and to eat the Bread of
Carefulneſs; i.e. to undergo hard and almoſt continual Labour, for the Main-
tenance of themſelves and Families; and all little enough; being perhaps,
after all, ſcarcely able to make a ſhift to live: And while they have ſo much
worldly Care upon them, and are conſtrained to ſpend ſo much Time in pro-
viding Neceifaries for themſelves and thoſe that depend upon them, they can-
not ſpare ſo much as they would do, and as they think they ought to do,
for the Duties and Exerciſes of Religion. And this ſome ſcrupulous Perſons
not only bewail as a Calamity, but are likewiſe apt to cenſure in themſelves
as a Fault: But, I think, without any Reaſon.
It is true, indeed, he is too buſy for the World, be his Circumſtances ever
ſo hard, who can ſpare no Time for Religion ; but it is a Miſtake to think,
that Religion conſiſts only in reading, and hearing, and praying, and other
Exerciſes of Devotion ; for theſe are but a Part of Religion; and another
Part of it, and which God deſigned ſhould take up the greater Share of moſt
Mens Time, is ſerving our Generation according to the Will of God, by Di.
ligence and Honeſty in our Callings, and a conſtant Carefulneſs to diſcharge
the Duties of all thoſe. Relations wherein we ſtand to others. And as he
who neglects the Duties and Offices of Devotion, in their proper Seaſon, may
reaſonably be thought an Atheiſt or an Infidel, to have little or no Religion
in him ; ſo, on the other ſide, we are told by St. Paul, 1 Tim. V. 8. that he
that provideth not for his own, and eſpecially for thoſe of his own Houſe,
hath denied the Faith, and is worſe than an Infidel.
Vol. II.
T
Les
--
678
Worldly Cares not abſolutely forbidden.
Let not any Man therefore think that Care ſuperfluous or finful, which he
is forced to be at to ſupport his Family ; for at the ſame Time that he la-
bours for their Support, in the Exerciſe of a lawful Calling, he is truly labour-
ing alſo to very good Purpoſe for himſelf, and working.our his own Salvation;
honeſt Labour being to thoſe that have not otherwiſe wherewith to live; a
Duty no leſs neceſſary, even than the Worſhip of God is. And if a Man's
Circumſtances are ſuch, and the Charge that he has to maintain be ſo great;
that he cannot ſpend ſo much Time in Acts of Worſhip and Devotion, as they
may do who have more Leiſure, and fewer worldly Cares; and leſs need to
labour ;
for that very Reaſon it will not be required or expected from him;
that he ſhould read ſo much, or pray ſo often, or be ſo long in his Devotions,
as they may and ought to be, who have grcater Leiſure, and fewer worldly
Avocations'; for 'tis a ſtanding Rule of the Goſpel, that when there is not
Time and Opportunity for both, God will have Mercy, and not Sacrifice.
But this, I ſuppoſe, is a Point that moſt Men will be eaſily enough con-
vinced of, viz. that they may lawfully beſtow ſome Care and Pains in making
ſome Proviſion for this Life: The great Difficulty of all, I preſume, will be,
to convince them, that it is poflible for them to ſpend too much Care, and
Pains, and Time about it.
But certainly, if theſe Words of the Text are a part of the Goſpel, and
they were ſpoken with any Deſign at all; take no Thought for your Life, what
ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink; the Meaning thereof 'muſt at leaft be this,
that there is an Exceſs of Carefulneſs, even about the moſt neceſſary Things
of Life, which it is our Duty to avoid.
This therefore was the ſecond Thing which I propounded to do, in ſpeak-
ing to theſe Words, viz.
II. To ſhew, what Carefulneſs and Concern about theſc Matters is inordinate
and exceſſive, and was moſt certainly intended to be forbidden by our Saviour
in theſe Words. But the handling of this Head will be Matter enough for
another Diſcourſe, the next Opportunity.
S
BE
2
DIS
1
679
DISCOURSE LXII.
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
1
3
(0000000000000000000
MATTH. VI. 25.
Therefore I ſay unto you, take no Thought for
your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall
drink, nor yet för your Body, what ye ſhall put
on.
?
S23
N diſcourſing on theſe' Words, I have already propoſed to do
theſe three things.
I
1. To enquire, whether it be reaſonable to underſtand this
and ſuch like general' Prohibitions of worldly Care, in the
utmoſt Latitude and Extent; i. e. whether all Carefulneſs and
Concern about this Life, and the neceſſary Means of ſupporting and maintain-
ing it, was deſigned to be forbidden by our Saviour in this place.
II. To ſhew, what Carefulneſs and Concern about them is without doubt
inordinate and exceſſive, and was moſt certainly intended to be hereby for-
bidden. And,
III. Laſtly, to endeavour to ſhew the ſinfulneſs and Unreaſonableneſs of
ſuch Care, and to diſſuade from it.
The firſt of theſe Heads I have already ſpoken to; and have ſhéwed, I
ſuppoſe, plainly enough, that the Deſign of our Saviour in this ſeemingly
univerſal Prohibition of all worldly Care and Labour ; Take no Thought for
your Life, what ye mall eat, and what ye Mall drink, nor yet for your
Body what ye ſhall put on; was not to countenance or encourage Sloth
and Idleneſs, was not wholly to forbid ſuch Thought, as is neceſſary for, and
does actually conduce towards, the procuring of ſuch Proviſion for the Body
as is needful for its Support.
But this I ſuppoſe is a Point that moſt Men will be eaſily enough con-
vinced of, viz. that they may lawfully beſtow fome Care and Pains in ma-
king competent Proviſion for this Life: The great Difficulty of all, I pre-
ſume, will be, to convince them, that it is pollible for them to ſpend too
much Care and Pains about it: This, I ſay, is a Point, that I doubt, Meni
will more hardly be perſuaded of.
I
But
680
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
But certainly, if theſe Words of the Text, are a Part of the Goſpel, and
if they were ſpoken with any Meaning or Deſign at all; take no Thought
for your Life, what ye fall eat, and what ye Mall drink; or if thoſe other
parallel Places mentioned the laſt time; ſeek not what ye ſhall eat, or what
ye ſhall drink; labour not for the Meat that periſheth, and the' like, were
uttered by our Saviour to any Purpoſe, and he meant to forbid any thing
thereby; the Meaning thereof muſt at leaſt be this, that there is an Exceſs of
Carefulneſs, even about the moſt neceſſary things of Life, which it is our
Duty to avoid.
And indeed there was great Need, and good Reaſon, why we ſhould be
cautioned to avoid it; becauſe it is a thing that Men are exceeding prone to,
to be more thoughtful about theſe Matters, than is conſiſtent with a firm Belief
of God's Goodneſs and Providence, and a due Care of their greater Con-
cerns, the Welfare of their Souls, and the Proviſion for a future Life.
And this they are, not only when they trouble themſelves needleſſly, about
more than they can ever probably have real Occaſion to uſe; but alſo, altho
the Subject of their thoughtfulneſs, be only the Neceſſaries of Life, what
they ſhall eat, and drink, and put on: For unleſs this were a Matter where-
in Men might be too thoughtful and ſolicitous, there would have been no
Ground nor Reaſon for our Saviour to forbid them to be fo.
And befides, the only good Reaſon of our deſiring and labouring even for
Neceſſaries, is in order to the maintaining and prolonging our own Life,
and the Lives of thoſe that depend upon us : But we may be too fond
even of Wife and Children ; and there are ſome Caſes, wherein it is, ra-
ther our Duty to hate and forſake them ; nay, we may love even our own
Life too much, for there are ſome caſes wherein we ought willingly to loſe
or lay it down: And therefore, if we may be too much concerned and
folicitous about the End, we may certainly be ſo likewiſe about the Means ;
which are in no other Reſpect the juſt Objects of our Care and Concern,
but only as they are the neceſſary Means of obtaining our End.
From what hath been ſaid therefore it plainly appears, that we may be
guilty of an Exceſs, and commit a Sin, in caring even for the moſt necef-
ſary Proviſions of Life ; that we may deſire and ſeek even them too much :
So that though there be no Fault in the Object of our Deſire (for we may
ſurely deſire thoſe things, without which we cannot live, neceſſary Meat,
Drink, and Cloaths, and the like,) yet there may be an Exceſs and Inordi-
nateneſs in the Degree of our deſiring them.
And this leads me to the ſecond thing propoſed, which was,
on.
II. To ſhew, what Carefulneſs and Concern about theſe Matters is cer-
tainly inordinate and exceſſive, and was undoubtedly intended to be forbid-
den by our Saviour in theſe Words ; take no Thought for your Life, what
ge ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink, nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put
And,
1. Firſt of all, we are hereby plainly forbidden to be more careful about
theſe Matters, than it is needful we ſhould be in order to procure them.
And then we may truly be ſaid to be more careful about theſe things
than needs, when we are careful about them with ſuch a sort of Care and
Solicirude, as does no good, and produces no real Effect. Take no Thought,
ren mehevõte, do not trouble your Heads, and be ſolicitous about it. For
mere thoughtfulneſs about a Thing does or works nothing of its ſelf ; it is
only the putting in Practice thoſe Means, that are proper for the accompliſh-
ing our Deſign, that muſt accompliſh it. To follow our Buſineſs cloſe, while
we are at it, is a proper Way to effect it; but to be perpetually muſing and
thinking the fame things over and over again, when we have no Oppor-
tunity
I
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
681
tunity of A&tion, is nothing elſe but an idle Miſpence of Time. For it is
the diligent Hand as Solomon ſays, (not the thoughtful Head, which does
nothing but think) that maketh rich. While we are employed about any
neceſſary Work and Buſineſs, it is indeed fit and reaſonable that we ſhould
mind it, becauſe we cannot do it without minding it ; but when our Work
is done, it is as reaſonable then to take our Minds alſo from it, becauſe then
our Thoughtfulneſs fignifies nothing towards it, but is rather only an Hind-
rance to us from taking in Hand ſuch other Buſineſs as we ought then to fet
our ſelves to.
They therefore do manifeſtly tranſgreſs the Precept of the Text, which
forbids us to be thoughtful what we ſhall eat, and drink, and put on, who
arc ever, Night and Day, thinking of the World and the Buſineſs of it;
whoſe Heads, even ſleeping as well as waking, are never clear of world-
ly Care and Thoughtfulneſs; who are ever plodding upon Buſineſs, even
then when they have neither Time nor Ability to act, but think to as little
Purpoſe as if they had not thought at all; their Thoughtfulneſs being rather
a deep and ſtupid Melancholy, than a wiſe Forecaſt, or prudent Contrivance
of Matters.
2. Our Care even for the moſt neceſſary things of Life, Meat, Drink, and
Cloaths, is then a ſinful Care, when it is unfeaſonable ; for there is, as Solo-
mon ſays, a Time for all Things; there is therefore a Time to work, and Eccl, iii.
there is alſo a Time to ceaſe from Work: And to mind our worldly Buſi-
neſſes, at thoſe times wherein we ought to be minding other things, is moſt
certainly onę Inſtance of that Thoughtfulneſs about the World, that was
meant to be forbidden by our Saviour in this place.
And if it be asked, what Times in particular are unſeaſonable to mind
our worldly Buſineſs in the Anſwer is eaſy, viz. thoſe Times, which are
already allotted and ſet apart to the Uſes of Religion. Six Days ſhalt thou
Labour (ſays God in the fourth Commandment) and do all thy Work
but the ſeventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou ſhalt
not do any Work, thou, nor thy Son, nor thy Daughter, thy Man-ſervant,
nor thy Maid ſervant, nor thy Cattle, nor thy Stranger, that is within thy
Gates.
It is then therefore, moſt certainly, unſeaſonable to be minding our world-
ly Buſineſs, when we ſhould be at Church worſhiping of God; and it is
then yet rather more unſeaſonable to mind it, when we are at Church, wor-
ſhiping God, or hearing his holy Word. For this, beſides the other Fault
of it, is groſs Hypocriſy, and a mocking of God, thinking to pleaſe him
with the Lip, or Knee, or bodily Worſhip, without the Worſhip of the
Soul, with which God, as he is a Spirit, is moſt delighted; for as our Savi-
our ſays, in John iv. 23. The Hour cometh, and now is, when the true
Worſhipers, (ž. e. the only Perſons that worſhip him acceptably,) mall
worſhip the Father in Spirit and in Truth ; for the Father ſeeketh ſuch to
worſhip him: And the Reaſon follows in the next Verſe, God is a: Spirit,
and they that worſhip him, muft worſhip him in Spirit and in Truthi And
our Saviour again, in Matth. xv, 8. declares the Worſhip of thoſe Mén to
be vain and altogether unacceptable to God, who draw near to him with their
Mouths, and honour him with their Lips, while their Heart is far from him.
And it is mentioned in Ezek. xxxiii. 31. as a notorious Inſtance of the great
Wickedneſs of the Jews, that when they were, to outward Appearance, worſhip-
ing God, or hearing his Word, their Minds were all the while taken up with
Thoughts of the World. They come unto thee (ſays God there to the Prophet) as
the People cometh, and they fit before thee as my People, and they hear thy
Words, but they will not do them; for with their Mouth they imewe much
Love, but their Heart goeth after their Covetouſneſs.
Vol. II.
U
9
3. Our
682
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
3. Our worldly Care is alſo then plainly exceſſive and inordinate, and
ſuch as was meant to be forbidden by our Saviour in this Placc, when it
is not juſtly proportioned to the true Worth and Value of thoſe things
that we are careful about.
For the leaſt that can poſſibly be meant, when we are bidden in univer-
ſal Terms, not to lay up Treaſures upon Earth, nay, not to ſeek what we
Shall eat, and what we mall drink; and when we are forbidden, without any
Exception, to labour for the Meat that periſheth, or to take any Thought
for our Life ; (the leaſt, I ſay, that can poſſibly be meant by theſe and ſuch
like Texts) muſt be this; that our Care and Concern about this temporal
Life, and the neceſſary Means of preſerving it, ought to be in Meaſure and
Proportion leſs, than that which we are in the ſame Text commanded to
have, about other things which we are there commanded to ſeek and to la-
bour for ; as is alſo plain from the Oppoſition that is made between them ;
labour not for the Meat that periſheth, but for that Meat which endu-
reth unto everlaſting Life; i.e. at leaſt, labour not ſo much for that as
for this, be not ſo much concerned about that as about this. So again
in Luke xii. 29, 31. Seek not what ye ſhall eat, or what ye mall drink,
but feek rather the Kingdom of God. And ſo again at the thirty firſt and
thirty third Verſes of this Chapter ; Take no Thought, ſaying, what fall
we eat, or what ſhall we drink, or wherewithal Mall we be cloathed?
But ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God; i.e. ſeek the Kingdom of God rather :
Seek the King dom of God firſt; it is plainly as if he had ſaid, if you do
ſeek at all for other Things, as what ye fall eat, and drink, and put on,
you ought however to ſeek them leſs, to be leſs concerned and folicitous
about them, than you are about this.
So that if our Care for this World be more and greater than our Care
for the next World, i. e. if we are more concerned and folicitous to make
eaſy and pleaſant, and to prolong, this temporal Life, than we are to re-
cure our everlaſting Happineſs in the other World; and are more careful
for the Preſervation of the Body, than we are for the Welfare of the Soul,
we cannot but in Reaſon be thought to tranſgreſs this Precept. And from
hence alſo it plainly follows farther, in the fourth Place,
4. That our worldly Care is then likewiſe inordinate and exceſſive, and
more than it ought to be, even although it be only for the mere Necef-
ſaries of Life, what we fall eat, and drink, and put on; when it is ſuch
a Care as hinders us from taking a due Care of our ſpiritual Concerns,
which deſerve our Care a great deal more ; i. e. when we are ſo wholly
taken up with worldly Care, as to have no Leiſure, or not enough, lefe
for the Care of our Souls, and ſo are forced either wholly to neglect Mat-
ters of infinitely greater Concern to us, or elſe to poſtpone and put by
them to the laſt, which ought to have been the firſt and chiefeſt in our
Thoughts.
And this indeed ſeems to be the thing chiefly meant here by our Sa-
viour in this Prohibition of worldly Care; as appears by that oppoſite Com-
mand, which both here, at the thirty third Verſe of this Chapter, and alſo
in Luke xii. he immediately ſubjoins thereunto; but ſeek ye firſt, or, rather
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs. That therefore is certain-
ly too much Care for the Body, which puts by another Care which ought
to be before it.
And indeed what more notorious Inſtance of Folly can there be, than
to be exceedingly concerned and ſolicitous about Trifles, neglecting at the
ſame time Matters of far greater Importance? Do we not in our worldly
Affairs and Concerns proceed quite otherwiſe? Having two Buſineſſes on
our Hands, do we not always concern our felves moſt about that, which
deſeryes
ſeek ye
-
2
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
683
۳
deſerves it moſt ? And if we doubt whether we ſhall have time enough for
both, do we not always take that in Hand firſt, which is of the greateſt
Concern, and put off that till the laft, which may with the leaſt Loſs be
left undone, in caſe our time ſhould happen to fail us?
s. Our worldly Care is yet more plainly a ſinful Care, and ſuch as was
deſigned to be forbidden by our Saviour in this Place, when it is ſuch
as betrays us to the Commiſſion of Sin, i. e, when to get a Livelihood, we
uſe any unlawful Means; exerciſe our ſelves in any unlawful Trade; do
any Ways aſſiſt or promote the Sins of other Men; are unjuſt in our Deal-
ings ; fraudulent in our Contracts; or go beyond or over-reach our Brother
in any Matter.
For our Life it ſelf is not worth the keeping, any longer than we can
keep it without ſinning; and it is the greateſt Folly and Madneſs in the
World, by ſeeking to preſerve it by unlawful Means, to forfeit the Love and
Favour of Almighty God, which is better than Life it ſelf.
Beſides, Death is a Debr which we owe to Nature, and which we muſt
all certainly pay ſome time or other : What great Matter is it then, whe-
ther we pay it to-Day or to-Morrow? or whether it be by Want or Hup-
ger, or by a Diſeaſe?
Nay, in Caſe we were ſure to periſh for want of Neceſſaries, unleſs
we uſed ſome ſinful Courſe to procure them, this is what we ought rather
chcarfully to ſuffer, than by any unwprantable Means endeavour to decline :
For thus to die, i. e. for want of ſucti things as we cannot honeſtly obtain,
but might in all probability procure by finful and indirect Courſes, is a
Kind of Martyrdom; for it is laying down our Lives, in Teſtimony of
our Belief, that God is able to pay us well for our Loſs, and that he will
moſt certainly reward abundantly all thoſe who are faithful and obedient to
him even unto Death: Whereas on the contrary, to ſeek to prolong our
Lives by the Commiſſion of any Sin, and thereby provoking God's Dif-
pleaſure againſt us, is to prefer the living comfortably a few Years here,
before the endleſs Happineſs of an immortal Life in Heaven.
But the Truth is, that they who are honeſtly induſtrious in their Buſineſs,
and careful above all things to pleaſe God, have no-Reaſon at all to fear
that they ſhall ever be left deſtitute of Neceſſaries for this Life; nay,
the very ſuppoſing or fearing this, is another thing that our Saviour plainly
deſigned to prohibit in theſe Words. For,
6. There is nothing more clearly contrary to this Precept of our Lord;
take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye hall drink,
or what ye ſhall put on, (I ſay, there is nothing more contrary to 'this) than
ſuch Carefulneſs and ſolicitude, as is grounded upon, and accompanied with,
a Diſtruſt of God's fatherly Care and Providence.
And that ſuch Thoughtfulneſs as this was particularly, and in an eſpecial
Manner, meant to be here forbidden by our Saviour, appears plainly from
the Conſideration of thoſe Arguments and Motives, whereby he, himſelf,
both here in ſeveral Verſes following the Text, and likewiſe in St. Luke,
backs his Advice; moſt of which are taken from the Obſervation of the
Divine Care, in making ample Proviſion for all his Creatures.
So that the plain Senſe of this Precept, expounded with Analogy to thoſe
Reaſons whereby in the following Verſes it is enforced, is as if our Savi.
viour had faid; be not you ſo careful about the Things of this Life, as
if the Care thereof reſted wholly upon you; as if either you, of your ſelyes,
were able to procure them by your own Care and Induſtry alone, without
God's Bleſſing; or as if God was not able, without your own Over-care
and Thoughtfulneſs
, to ſupply you with them.
7. Another
684
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
7. Another ſort of worldly Care intended to be forbidden by our Savi-
our in theſe Words ; take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or
what ye ſhall drink, nor yet for your Body what ye ſhall put on; is a Care
extending it ſelf to times too far off, to a farther Time yet to come, than
it is any ways necdful we ſhould be at preſent much concerned about ; there
being Space ſufficient, and (as we may reaſonably hope) Opportunities enough,
between this and then, to make Proviſion againſt it ſhall come.
And this ſecms to be more eſpecially the Deſign of our Saviour in thoſe
Words which we meet with at the thirty fourth Verſe of this Chapter ;
where our Lord concludes his whole Diſcourſe upon this Subject thus ; take
therefore no Thought for the Morrow, for the Morrow ſhall take Thought for
the Things of it ſelf.
Where by the Morrow, we are not to underſtand ſtrictly, juſt the very
next Day after the preſent; as if we might not ſo much as think of one
Day's Proviſion before-hand: For in the State we are now in, it is neceſ-
ſary, if we have Opportunity, to make ſome Proviſion for the future Time,
becauſe all ncedful Proviſion for this Life cannot be made at all Timcs :
For if the Husbandman would have a Crop in Harveſt, he muſt ſow his
Seed, the Winter, or at leaſt the Spring before ; and if he would be fed in
the Winter, he muſt gather in his Corn in the Harveſt, when it is ripe,
and while the Weather ſerves for it, and before it rots upon the Ground, which
the moſt part of it certainly will do, if he reaps and ins it no faſter than he has
preſent Occaſion to uſe it.
Such Forecaſt and Providence as this therefore our Saviour cannot rea-
ſonably be thought to condemn; it being no more than we are elſewhere
directed and commanded to uſe; particularly in Prov. vi. 6. Go to the Ant,
thou Sluggard, conſider her Ways, and be wiſe
, which provideth her Meat
in the Summer, and gathereth her Food in the Harveſt.
By the Morrow therefore in that Place, we muſt underſtand ſuch a fu-
ture time, as is at ſuch a remote Diſtance from the preſent, as that it is
either unlikely that we ſhould live to it; or if we fhould, it is more
than probable, that by God's Bleſſing and our own Induſtry, we ſhall be
able to make ſufficient Proviſion againſt it, in the mean Seaſon.
Not that even in that Caſe neither, it is our Duty, if we have an Op-
portunity now put into our Hands, which we may not have another time,
wherein we may with greater Eaſe provide againſt all future Wants and
Accidents, than it is reaſonable to hope we fhall ever be able to do at
any time hereafter ; not, I ſay, that it is our Duty in this Caſe, to neg.
lect and let Nip ſuch an Opportunity. This certainly was not our Savi-
our's Meaning when he faid, take no Thought for To-morrow; but what
he meant was only to teach and declare, that if we have enough for the
preſent, we ought not then to be very thoughtful before-hand, againft ſuch
a future time as is at a great Diſtance from us ; but that we ought then
to reſt ſatisfied; and to be well contented with ſuch things as we have;
truſting that the fame--Divine Goodneſs which has ſupplied our Wants hi-
therto, will go on to ſupply them, if we be not wanting to our felves :
And that if we cannot make fuch good Provifion for any nearer future
Time as we could wiſh, without neglect of our preſent Duty, we ought in
that Caſe to continue doing our Duty nevertheleſs, truſting and depending
upon the Divine Bleſfing and Providence for our future Support, rather
than ſuffer our Care for the future, even though it be but for the very next
Day' juſt before us, to hinder us from the Performance of thoſe Duties
of Religion, which are at preſent incumbent upon us.
Thus
{
685
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
1
ز
Thus we are to take no Thought for To-morrow ; (i. e. not for ſo much
as one Day before us) unleſs we have ſpare Time enough to Day to do
it in ; i. e. unleſs we can do it conſiſtently with that Care which we ought
to take every Day, to fit our ſelves for another Life: Becauſe whether we
ſhall live ſo long as we have propoſed to our felves, is uncertain ; nay,
whether we ſhall live one Day longer or no, we know not; but this we
know certainly, that when once this Life is ended we ſhall enter immedi-
ately upon an everlaſting State, of unſpcakable Happineſs or intolerable
Torment.
Seeing therefore the time of our Life is uncertain, and we cannot tell,
whether we ſhall have ſpace enough left, both to lay in a Stock of world-
ly Goods againſt old Age, or for the time long before us, and alſo to ſe-
cure our eternal Welfare in the other World, in caſe we ſhould die ſooner,
as it is highly probable we ſhall; it is reaſonable that this, being a Buli-
neſs of infinitely greater Concern to us than the other, ſhould be taken
Care of, as much as it can be, before the other. Doing thus, we may
reaſonably hope (truſting in the Divine Goodneſs and Providence) that we
ſhall have time and leiſure enough hereafter, to ſupply all our future world-
ly Wants. Whereas, on the other Sidc, be we cver ſo ill provided with
worldly Things, againſt To-morrow, or the future Time, yet if we ſuffer
our fecular Cares to engroſs all our preſent time, and purpoſely dclay the
Care of our Souls, till we are morally aſſured, that our Bodies are ſufficient-
ly provided for, we may juſtly fear the Doom of that rich Fool, ſpoken
of in Luke xii. 20. who by proceeding in this prepoſterous Method, loft
both his Soul and his Goods too, having that required of him before his
Accounts were ready ; thou Fool, this Night ſhall thy Soul be required of
thee; and having thoſe taken from him and given to another Owner, be-
fore ever he had begun to uſe them; this Night Mall thy Soul be requi-
red of thee; and then, whoſe ſhall all thoſe Things be, which thou haſt
provided? and ſo, ſays our Saviour, at the twenty firſt Verſe of that
Chapter, is every one who layeth up Treaſure for himſelf, and is not rich
towards God.
8. Laſtly, our Care even for the Neceſſaries of this Life, what we ſhall
eat, and drink, and put on, is then alſo inordinate and exceſſive, and ſuch
as was deſigned to be forbidden by our Saviour in theſe Words ; when it
is ſuch a Care as is vexatious and troubleſome to our felves; when our
fear of future Want, and our ſolicitude to prevent it, does ſo take up,
poſteſs, and torment our Minds, as that we cannot with any Comfort uſe
and enjoy what the kind Providence of God has already afforded us for our
preſent Needs and Occaſions ; when our Thoughts are as troubled and per-
plexed, and our Carefulneſs for the future does as much vex and torment
us, as if the Want, which we only fear, were actually preſent, and we had
not a Meals Meat to ſatisfy our preſent Hunger.
And this ſeems to be the Meaning of that Clauſe in St. Luke, imme-
diately ſubjoined to that Precept parallel to the Text; neither be ye of doubt-
ful Mind, or live not in careful Suſpence; but is more plainly the Senſe of
the afore-cited Text at the laſt Verſe of this Chapter ; where one of the
Reaſons given why we ſhould not be thoughtful againſt the Morrow, is, becauſe
the Evil of the Day is ſufficient for its ſelf : Sufficient unto the Day is
the Evil thereof; i. e. the Pain, and Trouble, and Vexation, which every
Day brings along with it ; ſo that we ſhall not need to anticipate our Mi-
ſery, and to add the Evil of the future Time to the Evil of the preſent,
which is of its ſelf ſufficient, and ever will be ſo.
And indeed what can be more unreaſonable, than that our exceeding ear-
neſt Deſire to prolong this temporal Life, ſhould be a Means of ſhortning
Vol. II.
X
ir ?
686
What worldly Cares are prohibited.
it? And there is certainly nothing that does more conſume and waſte it,
than anxious and vexatious Cares. Or what can be more abſurd, than that
our very Deſire to render our Life eaſy by a plentiful Proviſion, ſhould ren-
der it more vexatious and troubleſome than it needs to be, or than even
a ſlender Proviſion would make it? Is it not enough to be pinched when
we are in Want, and to be uneaſy when we are in Pain ? why then ſhould
we want what we have? and by anticipating the Miſery that we fear, feel
it before it comes ; and voluntarily bring it upon our ſelves by our Fears,
when perhaps otherwiſe it never would have come at all ?
And now, having ſhewn, that our Saviour's Deſign in this place was not
to prohibit all Care for ſuch things as are needful for the Body; and
having alſo ſhewn, what Care and Solicitude about this preſent Life, and
the neceſſary Means of ſupporting it, it is, that our Saviour deſigned to
forbid in theſe Words ; take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat,
or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your Body what ye ſhall put on: I ſhall
proceed, as I propoſed, in the third and laſt Place, to ſhew the Sinfulneſs and
Unreaſonableneſs of ſuch Care as is here forbidden, and to endeavour to dif-
fuade from it. But this is what our Saviour himſelf has done in ſeveral
Verſes following the Text, on which therefore I purpoſe to diſcourſe the
next time.
9100006
VA
OON
002
I
DI SO
687
DISCOURSE LXIII.
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
+
MATTH. VI. 25, to 33.
Therefore I ſay unto you, Take no Thought for your
Life, what ye shall eat, or what ye hatt drink ;
nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put on. Is
not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than
Raiment?
Behold the Fowls of the Air; for they fow not, nei
ther do they reap, nor gather into Barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?
Which of you by taking Thought can add one Cubit un-
to his Stature?
And why take ye Thought for Raiment ? Conſider the
Lillies of the Field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they ſpin:
And yet I ſay unto you, that even Solomon in all his
Glory was not arrayed like one of theſe.
Wherefore if God ſo cloath the Graſs of the Field,
which to Day is, and to Morrow is caft into the
Oven ; Shall he not much more cloath you, O ye of
little Faith?
Therefore take no Thought, ſaying, what ſhall we
eat? or what Shall we drink or wherewithal ſhall
we be cloathed?
(For after all theſe Things do the Gentiles ſeek). For
your heavenly Father knoweth, that ye have Need of
all theſe Things.
UPON
more
688
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
Will
PON the former Part of the firſt of theſe cight Verſes,
I have heretofore diſcourſed in this place; and taking
Notice of the Connexion between them and thoſe im-
mediately foregoing at the twenty fourth Verſe ; ye can-
not ſerve God and Mammon: Therefore, I ſay unto yout,
Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or
drink, or put on; I obſerv'd from thence, that a Man may
poſſibly be a Servant of Mammon, (that is, too covetous
and worldly-minded) even altho' he ſeeks and labours only for ſuch Things
as are neceſſary for the comfortable Support of this Life: And conſequently,
thar (ſince a Man can't be a Servant both of God and Mammon) there is a
worldly Care, even for the Neceſſaries of Life, that is inconſiſtent with true
Rcligion.
And yet on the other ſide, ſuch is the general Lot of Men in this mor-
tal Life, that unleſs they will work, they muſt ſtarve; which Neceflity is laid
upon us by the divine Providence; and it is our Duty, to endeavour to keep
our ſelves in Life as long as we can, if it were only that we may have the
more Time to work out our Salvation in.
And therefore in diſcourſing upon thoſe Words, I propoſed,
I. To enquire, whether all Care for this Life, and the neceſſary Means of
ſupporting and maintaining it, was deſigned to be forbidden by our Savi-
our in thoſe Words, Take no Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, and
wehat ye ſhall drink, nor yet for your Body, what ye shall put on. And I have
ſhewed that it was not.
II. To ſhew, what Carefulneſs and Concern about theſe Things, even about
the neceſſary Things of Life, is inordinate and exceffive, and was moſt cer-
tainly intended to be forbidden by our Saviour, in thoſe Words. And I
have ſhowed, that our Care, even though it be about the Neceſſaries of Life,
is then inordinate and finful; I. when it is more than is needful ; 2. when
it is unſeaſonable ; 3. when it is greater than thoſe Things, or even Life it
ſelf do deſerve. 4. when it hinders us from taking due Care of our ſpiritual
Concerns; s. when it betrays us to the Commiſlion of any Sin ; 6. when it
is grounded upon, or accompanied with a Diſtruſt of God's fatherly Goodneſs
and Providence ; 7. when it extends to Times too far off; and laſtly, when
it is ſuch as is vexatious and troubleſome to our ſelves.
III. The third and laſt Thing propounded was, to ſhew the Sinfulneſs and
Unreaſonableneſs of ſuch Care for this Life, and the Neceſſaries thereof, as is
there forbidden, and to endeavour to diſſuade from it.
But this (as I told you) is what our Saviour himſelf has done, in that and
the ſeven following Verſes. So that in ſpeaking to this Head, I ſhould need
to do nothing elſe, but only to explain and preſs thoſe Arguments, whereby
our Saviour himſelf has enforced his Prohibition of worldly Care.
This therefore is what I intend now to do; running over, as briefly as may
be, thoſe eight Verſes which I have now read to you as niy Text; and en-
deavouring to ſhew the Force and Strength of the ſeveral Arguments, where-
by our Saviour here diſſuades his Diſciples from worldly Care. Take no
Thought for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, and what ye ſhall drink ; nor yet
for your Body, what ye mall put on.
I. And the firſt Argument that our Saviour here urges to diſſuade us from
an inordinate Care about this Life, and for Meat, Drink, and Cloaths,
the neceſſary Means of ſupporting it, is in the latter part of the twenty
fifth
op!
به
1
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care. .
689
fifth Verſe ; Is not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment?
Here our Saviour calls upon us to conſider, what God has done for us al-
ready; there being certainly no better Ground of Truſt in the Goodneſs and
Providence of God, than our former Experience of the ſame Goodneſs and
Providence; eſpecially, if we have already experienced it in a greater Matter
than we are now to truſt him for. And that's the Caſe here, Is not the
Life more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment? It is as if he had
ſaid; who was it that gave you that Life which you are ſo ſolicitous to pre-
ſerve? was it not God? and who was it that created, framed, and faſhion'd
that Body, which you are ſo concerned to get Cloathing for? was it not God?
what Reaſon then can you have to fear, that the ſame God, who has done
this already, either cannot, or will not, ſupply you with Food and Raiment
neceſſary to preſerve that Life which he has given? you have, you can have;
no Reaſon to fear this, unleſs you diſtruſt either his Power or his Goodneſs :
And the Conſideration of what he has done for you already is abundantly
fufficient to convince you, that there can be no Defect in either of theſe.
For,
(1.) What he has done for you already is abundantly ſufficient to ſatisfy
you, that there can be no Defect of Power in God, to ſupply you with all
Things neceſſary for the Preſervation of Life. For to give Life is more.
than to preſerve Life ; to create a Body is a greater Thing than it is to
uphold it; and to do a thing alone is a Token of greater Power, than to
do the ſame thing with the Help and Concurrence of other Cauſes.
Foraſmuch therefore as God has already, by his own ſingle Power only,
without any Help of others, nay, and even without your own Concurrence,
created out of nothing that whole Subſtance of which you conſilt ; forming
then your Body out of the Earth, and enlivening the ſame with a ſpiritu-
al and immortal Soul; it cannot be ſo difficult to preſerve this Union
between the Soul and Body, as it was to make it at firſt ; nor to nouriſh
your Body with Food proper for its Nouriſhment, as it was at firſt to form
it ; nor to cloath your Body with a Garment, as it was at firſt to cloath
your Soul with a Body. It cannot be ſo difficult for him to preſerve Life,
as it was to give it ; eſpecially when he has preſcribed you Means to uſe,
which have a natural Efficacy to procure ſuch things for your ſelves as arę
neceſſary to ſupport and preſerve you. He therefore, who has already done
that which is more, cannot with any Reaſon be thought unable to do that
which is leſs.
And if he can do it, there is no Ground to think, that he will not do
it; for that is to ſuſpect a Defect in the Goodneſs of God; which can with
no more Reaſon be ſuſpected than his want of Power. For,
(2) The Life is more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment. We
have already had Experience of the Goodneſs as well as of the Power of God;
and that too when there was leſs Ground to expect it than there is now.
For before he had made us, and while as yet we had no Being, it could
not be ſaid that we were the Objects of his Goodneſs; nothing could
not be pitied or loved by him : But now that we are brought into Being
by him, we are proper Objects of his Love and Goodneſs. For as the
wiſe Hebrew argues; thou loveſt all the Things that are, and' abhorreſt wiſd, xi. 24,
nothing thou haſt made ; for never wouldſt thou have made any thing, if thou
hadſt hated it. And, the Lord is good to all
, and his tender Mercies are
over all his Works, ſays the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. cxlv. 9. It may therefore now
well be expected from his Goodneſs, that as he has made us, he will pre-
ſerve us; becauſe by his very Creation of us, he has contracted a Relation
to us, whereby he is engaged to love us, and to do well to us ; unleſs
we forfeit his Kindneſs by our Misbehaviour. His fornier Goodneſs in
Vol. II.
Y
creating
690
The Sinfulneſs of exceljeve Care.
crcating us, lays a Sort of Obligacion upon him, to continue his Goodneſs
to us, while we continue proper Objects of it. Having therefore been ſo
kind to us already, as, to bring us into a Being, which we had not before;
it cannot be doubted, but that he will provide Means for our Continu-
ance in Being, for ſo long as it ſhall be for his Glory and our Good.:
This is our Saviour's firſt Argument to engage our Truſt in God, for a
Supply of ſuch Things as are needful to us for this Life ; taken from the
Conſideration of that Power and Goodneſs of God, which we have already
had Experience of, in giving us Life, and in cloathing us with a Body. The
Life is more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment.
2. His ſecond Argument to this purpoſe is in the twentyſixth Verſe, sin
theſe Words, Behold the Fowls of the Air; for they fow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into Barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are not ye much better than they?
Our Saviour had ſaid before; take no Thought for your Life. And the
two chief Neceſſaries of Life being Food and Raiments Meat and Drink
to ſupport and ſuſtain the Body againſt inward Decay, and Raiment to de-
fend it againſt outward Hurt from the Injuries of Weather; he afterwards
inſtances in both theſe; take no Thought, what ye shall eat, or what
ye Mall drink ; nor yet for your Body what ye ſhall put on. And his first
enforcement of this Precept, of which I have now already ſpoken, was
ſuited to both Parts of it. But this ſecond reſpects chiefly the firſt part of
it; take no Thought, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye fball drink.
And to enforce particularly that Part of the Precept, our Saviour here
calls upon us, to conſider the Fowls of the Air, and the Proviſion of Food
that is made for them by the Divine Providence only : For, they fow not
(ſays our Saviour,) neither do they reap, nor gather into Barns; and get
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye much better than they?
There is Argument in almoſt every Word of this whole Paſſage.
Behold the Fowls. Our Saviour might have brought greater Examples
than this of God's Providence in preſerving or providing Food for his
Exod. xxxiv. Creatures. He might have produced the Example of - Mofes, preſerved forty
1 Kings xvii. Days and forty Nights in Mount Sinai
, without either Meat or Drinks
or of Elijah, who, likely for a longer Time, was fed with Bread and
Fleſh brought to him duly every Morning and Evening by Ravens; and
was afterwards ſupported by a poor Widow of Sareptha, who was enabled
thereto by a prodigious Increaſe of a little Meal and Oil, which ſhe had
by her, not at firſt more than enough for one Meal's Meat; or of the
Exod. xvi. 35. Ifraelites in the barren Wilderneſs, who having there no Support from the
Earth, had it from Heaven; and were fed with Bread from thence
for forty Years together : But againſt theſe Examples it might have been
objected ; that theſe were plainly miraculous Preſervations, and that Mira-
cles are not ordinarily to be expected : It might alſo have been ſaid, that
theſe were Perſons for whom God appears to have had extraordinary Kind-
neſs; ſo that conſequently, from what he did for them, we cannot argue
that he will do the like for us, who have no Reafon to think our ſelyes in
ſuch high Favour with him. Our Saviour therefore, waving theſe and all
ſuch like Inſtances, chuſes rather to argue from the Obſervation of God's
ordinary Providence, and that too in taking Care of Creatures of a meaner
Species, of Creatures which are plainly of teſs Worth and Dignity than
Man is ; and conſequently, not likely to be ſo much favoured or regarded
by him. Behold the Fowls.
But even of the Fowls there are fome, viz. thoſe which we call tame
Fowls, that are more immediately under the Care of Men, and could
hardly live of themſelves, without a Supply of Food -from us; ſo that the
Proviſion
6.
The Sinfulneſs of exceſive Care.
691
Cat.
1
I
Proviſion of neceſſary Food that is made for them may be attributed, in
fome Meaſure, to the Care and Providence of Mena and is not ſuch an
cvident Proof of a Divine Care and Providence. Our Saviour therefore,
not mentioning theſe, but rather excluding them from his · Argument, calls
upon us to confider thofe Creatures that have nothing elſe to depend upon
for a Supply of neceffary Food, but only the Divine Providence : Behold
the Fowls of the Air. And St. Luke, in his Relation of this ſame Argu-
ment, in Luke xii. 24. mentions particularly the Ravens ; confider, ſays
he, the Ravens, for they neither ſow nor reap, &C. Concerning which
there is clear Intimation given, not only there, but in other Places of holy
Scripture, that there is a more viſible Hand of. Providence in ſupplying
them with Food, than other:Creatures, or even than other Fowls of the
Air. : For thus, in Job xxxviii. 41. the Queſtion is asked 706 by God him-
ſelf; who provideth for the Raven his Food? when his young ones cry unto
God, then wander for lack of Meat. And fo in Pſal. cxlvii. 9. Among
other Proofs of a Divine Providence, the Care that God takes to ſupply
Food for the Ravens is particularly noted : He giveth to the Beaft his Foad,
and to the young Ravens that cry. Of which the learned Dr. Hammond Ham. Prack.
gives this Account ; and I ſuppoſe what he ſays was not mere Conjecture,
bur well-grounded upon Obſervation. Naturalifts, ſays he, have obſerved Ham, in loc. .
of the Raven, that it expoſeth the young ones, as ſoon as they are hatched,
leaves them meatleſs and fatherleſs, to ſtruggle with Hunger as ſoon as
they are gotten into the World: And zehether by Dew from Heaven, a
kind of Manna dropped into their Mouths when they gape, (and as the
Pſalmiſt ſays, call upon God) or whether by Flies flying into their Mouths,
or whether by Worins bred in their. Nefts (as ſome think,) or by what other
Means, God knows ; God feedeth them.
But without laying too much frels upon this Obſervation, which perhaps
may not be ſtrictly true; this is certainly true, (and it is true not only of
the young Ravens, but of the old ones too ; and it is true not only of the
Ravens, but in general of all the Fowls of Heaven) that they live without
Care and Solicitude ; and alſo without that provident Fore-caft, which is
obſervable in ſome other Creatures ; particularly in the Ant and Bee, which
in the Warmth and Plenty of Summer lay up a Stock of Proviſion againſt
the Cold and Scarcity of Winter ; and yet theſe Fowls of the Air are fed
as well as they. The Eyes of all wait upon God, and he giveth them their
Meat in due Seafon : He openeth his Hand, as the Pſalmiſt peaks, and Pfal. cxlv. 15.
filleth all things living with Plenteouſneſs. Even theſe Creatures, the 16.
Fowls of the Air, which think not a Day before-hand, are as certainly, and
as amply, provided for by God's Providence, as thofe which take the moſt
Pains, and ſeem to have the moſt Thought about it.
And, are not ye, ſays our Saviour, much better than they? Certainly then,
if God takes ſuch Care of the inferior Creatures, which feem to be made
only for the Uſe and Service of Men; he does take much more. Care of
us, whom he hath made little lower than the Angels, whom he hath
crowned with Glory and Honour ; whom he hath made to have Dominion
over the Works of his Hands, and under whofe Feet he bath put all things
in Subjection; all Sheep and O.xen, yea and the Beaſts of the Field ; the
Fowls of the Air, and the Fiſh of the Sea, and whatſoever paſſeth thrio'
the Paths of the Seas; as the Pfalmift fpeaks, P:fal. viii. s, doci
If therefore God provideth for the Fowls; if not ſo much as a Sparrow
falls to the Ground without God, as our Saviour ſays, Matth.x. 29. much
lefs can it be ſuppoſed, that any Man does ever die or periſh for want of
Neceſſaries, through any Defé&t or Overſight of the Divine Providence.
He that provides ſo well for the loweſt and meaneſt of his Creatures, will
certainly
ز
692
The Sinfulneſs of exceſive Care.
!
1
certainly provide much rather for the moſt noble and moſt excellent of all
thoſe Creatures which he has placed upon this Earth; and he that can
ſupply-them with all things needful, can as well, nay, I may ſay more, can
better and more eaſily ſupply us.
For-- this is what feems to be farther intimated in that Clauſe, where
our Saviour obſerves concerning the Fowls of the Air, that they do nei-
ther. fow; nor reap, nor gather into Barns; that is, that they contribute
nothing at all towards their own Support: They are indeed enducd with a
natural Inſtinct, whereby they ſeem to know what is proper for their Food,
and whither to go for it, when they need it'; but they have no. Thought
about providing; it before-hand; they take no Care to get it ready for them-
ſelves againſt they want it.
they want it. But this now is what we may do; nay, this
is what, if we have Opportunity, we ought to do. We may till and cul-
tivate the Earth, which of it ſelf would bring forth only Briars, Thorns,
and Weeds, and ſo put it into a Condition of bringing forth, by the
Bleſſing of Heaven, Fruit fit for our Food. We may fow our Land in
the proper Seaſon, and when the Corn is grown ripe we may reap it, and
lay it op in Barns or Store-houſes for our Uſe. So that there is not or-
dinarily ſo much Miracle in that Proviſion which is made by Providence
for thoſe Men, who are honeſtly laborious and induſtrious in their Callings
to get a Living, as there is in that which is made for the inferior Crea-
tures.
And this renders our Saviour's Argument ſtronger ſtill. . Are not ye
much better than they? For, if for thoſe Creatures, which are worſe, God
is pleaſed to be as it were at the Expence of a Miracle for their Sup-
port, furniſhing them as it were with his own Hand with all things need-
ful; while they themſelves fit ſtill, are at no Pains, and take no Care about
it: Much rather may it be reaſonably preſumed, that he will furniſh us,
who are more excellent Creatures, and conſequently dearer to him, with
all the ſame. necdful Things, if we do fow, and reap, and gather into
Barns,' as he means we ſhoulds when he may do this for us without a
Miracle; in the ordinary Courſe of his Providence, by only granting his
Bleſſing to our honeſt Labours, and giving good Succeſs to thoſe Means,
which he himſelf has appointed, and commanded us to uſe to ſupply our
ſelves.
But this Motive to engage us to truſt in God for a Supply of ſuch things
as are needful to us for this Life, is yet farther ſtrengthned by what our
Saviour adds in the next Clauſe of the Words; they neither ſow, nor
reap, nor gather into Barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. He does
not ſay, which in Senſe would have been the ſame, yet God. feedeth them; tho
that be true, for God and our heavenly Father are the ſame, and if the Argu-
ment had been ſo expreffed, it would have been a very good one : But, I
ſay, it is better and ſtronger by being expreſſed as it is here; your heaven-
ly Father feedeth them. Our Saviour's here expreſſing God by a Phraſe
implying a nearer Relation, and that implying in it a ſtronger Affection to
us than he has to other Creatures, makes it ſtill more reaſonable for us to
truſt, that ſince he takes ſuch Care of them, to which he has not ſo near
a Relation, to which conſequently he cannot be ſuppoſed to be ſo kindly
affected, as he is to us; he will not certainly leave, forſake, or diſregard us.
He will not, be ſure, let us be unprovided for, when no other of his Crea-
tures are left deſtitute : Eſpecially, if we are diligent in the Uſe of
thoſe Means which he has appointed, and look up to him for a Bleſſing
upon our honeſt Endeavours. He is our Father, he is not theirs; yet he
takes Care for them; will he not rather be careful for us? He takes Care
for them which are not his Children; will he not rather be careful for his
Children?
.
>
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
693
1 Theft. ii. 12,
159
him up
Children? may not it reaſonably be expected, that a Father ſhould rather pro-
vidc Food for his Children, than for others ?
Eſpecially, ſtill, if he be their Father, not only by Creation, but likewiſe
by Adoption ? And that's our Caſe; whom he hath begotten again unto a 1 Pet. i. 3.
lively Hope, by the Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt from the Dead; whom, of
his ſpecial Grace, he hath called unto his Kingdom and Glory.
Having therefore received of God the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Rom. vii.
Abba, Father; the Spirit it ſelf alſo bearing Witneſs with our Spirit, that
we are the Children of God; and if Children, then Heirs; Heirs of God,
and Joint-Heirs with Chriſt: What Reaſon can we have to diſtruſt his Good-
neſs, or to make any Doubt of his fatherly Kindneſs to us in all Rcfpects ?
He that deſigns us, the higheſt Favours, will not, certainly, leave us deſtitute
of neceſſary Proviſion. He that has prepared for us a Kingdom, will not,
ſurely, deny us Brcad. He that ſpared not his own Son, but
gave
for us all; how ſhall be not with him alfa freely give us all Things? as the
Apoſtle argues, Rom. viji. 3 2. Can it be ſuppoſed that a great King, who has
Plenty of all Things, and makes abundant Proviſion for all his Houſhold;
who takes Care, not only of the meaneſt and unworthieſt of his Servants,
but alſo of his Beaſts and Fowls, ſhould yet ſuffer to ſtarve, or to want necd-
ful Things, his Son and Heir, for whom he deſigns his Kingdom: And this
is the very Caſe here: God is the Great King over all the Earth ; all Things
that are in the Earth are his; and the Care of his Providence extends to the
vileſt and worthleſleſt of his Creatures; he giveth'to the Beaſt his Food, and
to the Ravens when they cry: Can it be ſuppos’d then that he will ſtarve
his Children? Can it be imagin'd that he will deny Means to prolong this
temporal Life (ſo long as it ſhall be for their Good to have it prolong’d) to
thoſe, for whom, when this Life is over, he hath prepared a Kingdom, and
Glory, and Immortality in the Heavens Tour heavenly Father feedeth
them, are not ye much better than they? This is our Saviour's ſecond Ar-
gument to engage us to a firm Truſt and Dependence upon God, for the
Supply of all our worldly Neceſſities, taken from the Conſideration of his
Care and Providence, in ſupplying, in a manner, miraculouſly the Wants of
other Creatures, which are both of leſs Worth in themſelves, and leſs dear
to God than Men are.
3. Our Saviour's third Reaſon to enforce the foregoing Precept againſt
Over-thoughtfulneſs for this Life, is in the next Words, at the twenty fe-
venth Verſe; Which of you by taking Thought can add one Cubit unto his
Stature?
Here our Saviour diſſuades us from anxious and diſtruftful Carefulneſs
about the Things of this Life, by ſhewing the Vanity and Unprofitableneſs
of ſuch Care, by obſerving that it does no Good, that it ſignifies and avails
nothing.
From whence therefore, by the way, it is evident, (as I have before ob-
ſerv’d) that our Saviour, in the foregoing Precept againſt Carefulneſs, did not
mean to forbid honeſt Labour, or to command Careleſſneſs, Sloth, and Idle-
neſs. For though anxious Care and Solicitude contributes nothing at all to-
wards our obtaining ſuch Things as we want; yet Labour and Induſtry,
with the Bleſſing of God thereupon, do contribute very much towards it.
Theſe are the Means which God himſelf has appointed us to uſe; and to
which he rarely fails to give good Succeſs. And therefore the Wiſe-man
delivers it as a Proverb, i.e. he lays it down, as a generally acknowledged
Truth, to which there are very few or no Exceptions, that the Hand of
the Diligent maketh rich, Prov. x. 4. and that the Soul of the Diligent
ſhall be made fat, Prov. xiii. 4. But then that this alone ſignifics nothing,
Vol. II.
Z
without
694
The Sinfulneſs of exceſive Care.
without the Concurrence of the divine Bleſſing, we are taught by the ſame
Wife-man, Prov. X. 22. The Bleſſing of the Lord it maketh rich; i.e. the
Bleſſing of God upon our Diligence.
And this alſo is what our Saviour teaches us in this Place: Which of you
by taking Thought can add one Cubit to his Stature? As if he had ſaid, 'To
what purpoſe is it for you to weary your felves with Toil and Care? What
will you be the better for all your Carking and Thoughtfulneſs? What will
your vexing and diſquieting your ſelves with anxious Solicitude about the Fu-
turc profit you? Can you ſo much as add the leaſt Meaſure to your Heighth
by this Means? Nay, can you, by your Thoughtfulneſs, fo, much as make
one ſingle Hair to grow upon your Head ; or, which ſeems leſs, to grow of
what Colour you would have it? After all your Carking and Solicitude,
will not thcſe Things be juſt as God pleaſes? When you grew the faſteſt,
which was in your Infancy and Childhood, you had then no Care nor
Thought at all about it; but God gave you a Body as it pleaſed him; and
made it to grow, without your thinking, to 'that Magnitude which he de-
ſigned; ſince which Time it has not been, nor will it ever be, in your Power,
to add a Hair's Breadth to your Státure.
If then re 'be not able to do that Thing which is leaft, why take ye Thought
for the reji? ſays our Saviour, coinpleting the Argument, Luke xii. 26.
i. e. if you can't do the leaſt Thing by your taking Thought about it, how
can you hope to do that which is more? After all therefore that you can
do or contrive, you muſt at laſt depend upon God's Providence; without
whoſe Bleſſing, all your Toil and Labour, and much more all your Thought
and Carefulneſs, will be in vain : Your beſt way therefore, is to eaſe your
ſelves of this unprofitable Trouble; to do your own Duty in your Place and
Calling, and to be diligent in the Work which you have to do; and then
I Pet. v. 7. with Quietneſs to leave the iſſue to God: To be careful for nothing; but
to caſt all your Care upón God, who careth for you; and in every thing by
Prayer and Supplication, with Thankfgiving, to let your Requeſts be made
known unto him.
4. A fourth Argument urged by our Saviour, to diſſuade us from anxi-
ous and ſolicitous Care about this Life, is in the twenty eighth, twenty ninth,
and thirtieth Verſes, in theſe Words; And why take ye Thought for Rai-
ment? conſider the Lillies of the Field how they grow; they toil not, nei-
ther do they ſpin; and yet I ſay unto you, that even Solomon, in all his
Glory, was not arrayed like one of theſe. Wherefore, if God ſo cloath the
Graſs of the Field, which to Day is, and to Morrow is caſt into the Oven;
mall be not much more cloath you, O ye of little Faith?
This Argument is of the ſame Kind with that which he had urged at
the twenty fixth Verfe; and is drawn from the ſame Topick: Behold the
Fowls of the Air ; for they fow not, neither do they reap; yet your hea-
venly Father feedeth them ; are not ye better than they? They are both, I
ſay, drawn from the Confideration of God's Care and Providence about
Creatures of leſs Worth than Man is. Only, whereas this Argument, as
urged at the twenty fixth Verſe, reſpected chiefly the firſt part of the forego-
ing Precept; Take no Thought what ye mall eat, or what ye ſhall drink ;
as it is here urged, it reſpects chiefly "the lartér Part of that Precept ; nor
yet for your Body, what ye mall put on. Why take ye Thought for Raiment ?
Conſider the Lillies of the Field, how they grow, &c. .
Our Saviour here calls upon us to conſider the Lillies of the Field; that is,
the Flowers which grow wild, and of themſelves, rather than ſuch as grow
in Gardens ; becauſe it may be thought that the Labour and Skill of Man
contributes ſomewhat to the Growth and Beauty of Garden-Flowers ; but
the
Phil. iv. 6.
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
695
the Growth and Beauty of thoſe Flowers which grow wild in the Fields,
are merely the Products of Nature and Providence; as Man does not, ſo
neither do they themſelves any thing towards it. For ſo it follows;
Conſider the Lillies of the Field, how they grow; they toil not, neither
do they ſpin. Nevertheleſs, it can't be ſuppoſed, that our Saviour's Meaning
in this Clauſe, more than in the former, they neither fow nor reap, was to
command or cncourage Idleneſs; or to condemn the Uſe of thoſe Means
which God has appointed us to uſe in order to the providing Neceſſaries for
our ſelves: No; but his only Meaning was, to ſhew the exceeding Unrea-
ſonableneſs of our diſtruſting the Goodneſs and Providence of Almighty God:
As if he who provides for other Creatures without any Labour or Care of
thcirs, could not as well (could not, I may ſay, more eaſily ; thar is, by a leſs
miraculous Providence) ſupply us with all needful Things, by giving his Blef-
ſing to our honeſt Labours and Endeavours to procure theſe Things for our
felves. They neither toil nor ſpin; and yet they are cloached by God; what
Rcaſon then have we to fear that he will not alſo cloath us, who, according
to his Appointment, do toil and Spin? If he cloaths them without their La-
bour, much rather may we reaſonably hope that he will alſo cloath us, by
proſpering to us the Work and Labour of our Hands. And eſpecially, if
without their Labour, he not only covers, but likewiſe adorns and beautifies
them; much more may we reaſonably truſt, that he will, by ſucceeding our
honeſt Endeavours, provide for us ſuch Raiment as, if not fine, gay, and
beautiful, yet ſhall, at leaſt, be ſuch as is neceſſary for us; ſuch as will anſwer
the End of Cloaths ; ſuch as ſhall be fit both for Warmth and Covering.
And this is what I take to be imply'd in the next Clauſe of the Words;
they neither toil nor ſpin ; and yet I ſay unto you, that even Solomon, in all
his Glory, was not arrayed like one of theſe.
But the Conſideration of this laſt Clauſe might be urged to a farther Pur-
poſe, were it not a Digreſſion, viz. to reprove the Vanity of thoſe Perſons
who affcet Fineneſs and Gaiety of Apparel, unbecoming their Place and Con-
dition: And eſpecially of thoſe who are proud of their finie Dreſs; and have
a greater reſpect for themſelves, as well as they look to be much more re-
ſpected by others, when and becauſe they are gaily cloathed.
For what is there in Fineneſs and Gaiety of Apparel that can reaſonably
be much affected or deſired? What good End or Uſe of Cloaths does a fine
Garment anſwer more than another that is more mean and ordinary would
do? Does a Coat keep the Body e'er the warmer, becauſe it is cut out accord-
ing to the neweſt Mode? or does it cover it e'er the better, becauſe it is of
a gay, beautiful or faſhionable Colour?
But be that as it will; (for I ſuppoſe there is no Hurt in any Perſon's
wearing, or chuſing to wear ſuch Cloaths as are fine or faſhionable ; provided
they be honeſtly paid for; if they are not above his Rank and Condition :)
Yet what is there in Cloaths, to be proud of : for after all a Man's Care to
dreſs and adorn himſelf, he can't be ſo gay and glorious as a Flower: Even
Solomon, in all his Glory, was not arrayed like one of them. And is it rea-
fonable that a Man ſhould be proud of that, wherein he is exceeded by a
Flower of the Field
With much more Reaſon might the Flower it ſelf, (if that could think)
be proud of its own Finery; which is native and inherent, and a Part of ir
felf: With much more Reaſon, I ſay, might that be proud, which ſhines with
its own Beauty, and is glorious in its own Colours. Whereas that Beauty,
that Fineneſs, that Gaiety of Dreſs, which weak and filly People are apt to be
proud of, and to value themſelves upon, is none of their own; no Part of
themſelves; but is all borrow'd from the Beaſts, or Birds, or Flowers, or
from the Earth? They are not therefore the Perſons themſelves which are fine;
but
696
The Sinfulneſs of exceſive Care.
but all that can truly be ſaid, is that the Wool, or the Hair of the Beaſt are
fine; or that the Feathers of the Bird are wonderfully gay; or that the Dye
and Colour of the Herb or Drug is extremely beautiful; or that the gliſtering
of the Diamond, which was dug out of the Earth, is very glorious: But
what's all this to the Perſons that wear them: Take from them their bor-
rowed Ornaments, and then they are no better than other Mortals; perhaps
not ſo well to look upon, as thoſe whom they, when they are dreſs’d up in
their glorious Attire, do diſdain to caſt an Eyc upon, or to change a Word
with.
But I am ſenſible, as I ſaid before, that this juſt Reproof of the Vanity
and Pride of Apparel, however it may be otherwiſe ſeaſonable, is a Digreſſion
from the main Subject which I was upon; and therefore will perſue it no
farther: For the Deſign of our Saviour in this Place, in preferring the Beauty
of a Flower before the fineſt Attire, before the Array of Solomon, in all his
Glory, was plainly to ſhow the great Reaſon that we have to truſt in God,
who beſtows ſuch Ornaments even upon Flowers; that he will not, unleſs
we be wanting to our ſelves, leave us deſtitute of ſuch Raiment, as, whether
it be fine or not, may be fit for our Uſe, and anſwer the true Ends of Cloaths,
Warmth and Covering. For to this Purpoſe he applies the Obſervation in
the following Words; Wherefore, if God ſo cloath the Graſs of the Field,
which to Day is, and to Morrow is caſt into the Oven, shall be not much
more cloath you?
Here again our Saviour argues, as he had done before at the twenty fixth
Verſe, from the greater Worth and Dignity of Mankind' than of the other
inferior Creatures. Are not ye much better than they? he had ſaid before,
when he had taken Notice of the Providence of God in ſupplying Meat to
the Fowls of the Air: And having here taken farther Notice of the ſame
Providence, in cloathing the Graſs and the Flowers; he argues again from
the ſame Topick, ſhall be not much more cloath you? Thc Řcalon of both
is the ſame; that we are better, i. e. more excellent Creatures of God, than
either, Fowls, or Flowers; and that it may well be expected from a Being of
infinite Wiſdom, as God is, that he will not negle& Things that are of more
Worth, while he takes ſuch Care to provide ſuitably for Things that are of
leſs Value.
Well then might our Lord ſay, (as he does at the Concluſion of that
Verſe) to thoſe who can't be perſuaded to put their Truſt in God, when
they have plainly ſuch great and manifold Reaſon to truſt him, O ye of little
Faith! For had the Scripture ſaid nothing to us of the Providence of God;
had it given us no Aſſurance of his Kindneſs and Goodneſs to us; yet, as
the Apoſtle obſerves, Rom. i. 10. The inviſible Things of him from the Crea-
tion of the World, are clearly ſeen, being underſtood by the Things that are
made, even his eternal Power and Godhead. So that, if we ſee them not,
we are without Excuſe: And, if we do fee and conſider them; if we obſerve
how the Ravens, and other Fowls are fed, and how the Lillies and Flowers
of the Field are cloathed and beautified, by the divine Providence; if we
Pf.cxlv.15,16.
conſider how (as the Pſalmiſt obſerves) the Eyes of all do wait upon
how he giveth them their Meat in due Seafon; how he openeth his Hand,
and ſatisfieth the Defire of every living Thing; we muſt be of very little
Faith indeed, if we think, that in that ample Proviſion which he has made for
all his other Creatures, he will overlook or neglect us Men, whom he has
viii. 5,6,7. made but little lower than the Angels, whom he has crowned with Glory and
Honour ; and under whoſe Feet he has put all Things in Subjection. If after
ſuch plain Demonſtrations, as we have every Day from our own Obſervation,
of the Goodneſs and Bounty of Providence, we are ſtill in any Doubt whe-
ther he can, or (if we are diligent in our own Duity) will, provide for us ſuch
+
Things
God
ز
on Twith
haaaaut
The Sinfulnefs of exceffive Care.
697
I
;
Things as are needful ; it muſt not be, becauſe we have not Reaſon enough
to truſt him, but becauſe we are unreaſonably incredulous and diſtruſtful: Shall
be not much more cloath you, O ye of little Faith?
And now our Saviour having enforc'd his Diſſuaſive from ſolicitous and
diſtruſtful Care for the Things of this Life, by theſe four Arguments, which
I have alrcady explain'd; before he proceeds to add any more, repeats over
again his former Advice, and almoſt in the ſame Words, at the thirty firſt
Verſe, Therefore take no Thought, ſaying, what ſhall we eat? or what all
we drink? or wherewithal Mall we be cloathed? Only here, from his Way
of expreſſing himſelf, it appears yet more plainly than it did before, that the
Deſign of our Lord, in this Prohibition of Care and Thought for the Body,
was not to forbid honeſt Labour, or prudent Forecaſt and Providence; but
only anxious and diſtruſtful Solicitude. Take no Thought, ſaying, What ſhall
jwe eat? or, what ſhall we drink? or, wherewithal Mall we be cloathed?
Theſe Words do very livelily expreſs the Paſſion and Concern that a Man
is in, who has nothing to cat, and fears he ſhall have nothing, becauſe he
conſiders not the Power and Goodneſs of God. Borh theſe Things there-
fore, (i. e. both the Power and Goodneſs of God) being plainly prov'd, from
thoſe Obſervations upon which our Saviour had grounded the Arguments
againſt Care, which he had before inſiſted upon; he might well draw this In-
ference from the whole; Therefore take no Thought, ſaying, what ſhall we
eat, &c. i. e. let not ſuch Words as theſe, the natural Expreſſions of Dif-
truſt and Infidelity, cver come from your Mouth: Let not ſuch a Thought aś
this ever enter into your Heart.
And then our Saviour adds farther, at the thirty ſecond Verſe, For after all
theſe Things do the Gentiles ſeek. Which Words contain another
5. A fifth Reaſon why we ought not to be overthoughtful for this Life, of
diſtruſtful of God's Providence. For in theſe Words it is implicd, that tho'
the Gentiles, who had nothing to build their Faith in God's Providence upon,
but only their Obſervation of that plentiful Proviſion which Providence had
made for all other Creatures, might perhaps be thought not ſo much to blainė
(and yet even they were to blame) if they were not thereby convinc'd of the
Power, Goodneſs, and Providence of God; yet the Jews to whom our Sa-
viour ſpake, who had the Writings of Moſes and the Prophets, could not be
excus'd upon that Account: And therefore we Chriſtians, who are farther in-
ſtructed by the preaching of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, ſhall be yet more inex-
cuſable, if we are not fully eſtabliſh'd in the Belief of thoſe Truths, by the
many plain Declarations and Examples of a powerful, wife and good Provi-
dence, which we meet with every where in the holy Scripture.
Or elſe the Argument may be thus taken: The Gentiles, who know no-
thing of another Life, are very ſolicitous to continue this Life as long as they
And it is no Wonder that they are ; becauſe they have no Expectation
beyond this Life : But you, to whom Life and Immortality is brought to
light by the Goſpel ; you, who are taught that you are but Pilgrims and
Strangers upon Earth; you, who look for another Country in Heaven, and are
taught to eſteem that your Home; you will be much more to blame, if
you are concern’d and ſolicitous about this Life, in ſuch a Manner as they are.
You ought to conſider that your Time here is but ſhort; and that if you do
but arrive ſafe to Heaven at laſt, where there is no Want of any Thing, nor
Fear of future Want; it will be no great matter thro' what Scarcity, or Hard-
ſhip, or Difficulty you get thither.
6. The ſixth and laſt Reaſon urg'd here in the Text by our Saviour, to en-
force his Diffuaſive from worldly Care and Thoughtfulneſs, is in the latter
Clauſe of the ſame Verſe, in theſe Words ; før your heavenly Father knoweth
that you have Need of all theſe Things,
Vol. II.
Аа
The
can.
698
The Sinfulneſs of exceſſive Care.
The foregoing Arguments, deſign’d to beger in us a firm Belief of God's
Providence, and a ſure Truſt and Confidence therein, had been taken from
the Conſideration of God's Power and Goodncſs: But it may poſſibly be,
that one that has Power enough to ſupply all our Wants, and Goodneſs
enough to incline him to do ſo, ſhould yet leave us unſupply'd, for want of
knowing what our Wants arc. He may think us not ſo deftitute of Necef-
ſaries as we really are; or may believe us better able to ſupply our own Wants
than we find our ſelves to be. And this, doubtleſs, is many Times the Rea-
ſon why ſome poor People are almoſt ſuffered to ſtarve, altho' there are many
living near them, that have both Ability and Charity enough to ſupply their
Nceds. But the Care is, that the others do not know how much theſe Per-
ſons are in Need; and theſe are, it may be, too modeſt, or perhaps, too
proud, to make known their low and needy Condition.
Here therefore our Saviour fhews, that there is no more Dcfect of Know-
ledge in God, than there is of Power and Goodneſs; that as he is able and
willing to provide Neceſſaries for us, ſo alſo he knows what Proviſion is nc-
ceſſary. He that made our Body, underſtands the Frame, Nature and Con-
Nitution of it; he knows that without a continual Supply of Meat, Drink,
and other Neceſſaries, it can't ſubſiſt ; and he knows likewiſe what Store, or
what Scarcity of Proviſion we have already, and how far our own honeſt La-
bour will go towards the making a future Supply thereof.
Foraſmuch therefore as God perfectly knows all theſe Things, and as he is
our Father, bears us a kind Affection; and as he is our heavenly Father, is
able to do for us what he pleaſes; there is plainly no Reaſon that we ſhould
ever diſtruſt him. We need no better Aſſurance, that we ſhall never want
any thing that is good and neceſſary for us (ſo long as we are not wanting in
our own Dury, and honeſt Diligence) than this; that our heavenly Father
knoweth that we have Need of all theſe Things.
But beſides thoſe Reaſons and Enforcements of our Lord's Prohibition of
anxious, diſtruſtful, and immoderate Care, which I have now already explain'd;
there ſeems to be another imply'd in the thirty third Verſe, Seek firſt the
Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs; and all theſe Things ſhall be added
And another ſtill, in the thirty fourth Verſe, The Morrow ſhall
take Thought for the Things of it ſelf; and ſufficient unto the Day is the
Evil thereof.
But as I did not propoſe to ſay any Thing of them at this Time, (they be-
ing without the Compaſs of my Text;) ſo neither, if I had, could I now
have done it, without treſpaſſing upon your Patience.
unto you.
TE
>
DIS.
699
DISCOURSE LXIV.
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
(000000
MATTH. VI. 33.
But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righ-
teouſneſs, and all theſe Things ſhall be added unto
you.
UR Saviour had been endeavouring in the foregoing Ver-
ſes, (on which I diſcourſed the laſt time) by many weighty
Arguments, to take off his Diſciples from too great Care
and Thoughtfulneſs about the things of this Life, what they
ſhould eat, and drink, and put on; and in the Text directs
them to another Object, on which to fix their Deſire, and
about which to exerciſe their Care and Concern; viz. the Kingdom of
God and his Righteouſneſs; the ſeeking after and labouring for which, as
it is upon many Accounts more neceſſary and profitable than our worldly
Care can be, (as I ſhall ſhew hereafter) ſo it will likewiſe (as our Saviour
here ſays) render this other Care in a Manneş needleſs; becauſe to them
who labour as they ought to do for the obtaining of the heavenly Riches,
thoſe earthly good Things which other Men ſpend their whole Life and
Strength about, will be thrown in over and above : Seek firſt, &c.
Which Precept nevertheleſs we are not ſo to underſtand, as if our Savi-
our would have his Diſciples altogether negligent about their worldly Con-
cerns; for then it would contradict many other Texts of holy Scripture,
wherein Diligence and Induſtry in our reſpective Callings is not only com-
mended, as a likely Means of obtaining for our ſelves the Neceſſaries and
Conveniences of this Life, but alſo commanded as a Point of neceſſary Du-
ty, as one Part of that Condition, on the faithful Performance whereof our
eternal Happineſs does depend.
Beſides, it is a Curſe entailed upon the whole. Race of Mankind, that in
the Sweat of their Brows they ſhall eat their Bread: It is the Command of St.
Paul to the Theſſalonians, that ſuch as would not work ſhould not eat: And
Solomon has told us, that as the diligent Hand does make rich, ſo Drowſineſs
will cloath a Man with Rags. Seeing therefore we are not now to expect
that the Earth ſhould bear Fruit fit for Food without Tillage, or that the
+
Eaſt-
700
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life. .
Eaſt-Wind Mould bring up Quails, or that God ſhould feed is (as once he
did the Iſraelites, when they were in a barren Wilderneſs) with Bread
from Heaven, it cannot be reaſonable to underſtand our Saviour's Words
here as if he intended to encourage his Diſciples in Sloth and Carleſſneſs.
And that he did not, is farther evident from the Text it ſelf; for had he
deſigned, either in the Text, or even in the foregoing Verſes, by thoſe
Phraſes, Take no Thought for your Life; and, take no Thought what ye ſhall
eat, or drink, or put on; to forbid all Manner, and even the leaſt Mcafüre of
worldly Care; he would not have ſaid in the Text, ſeek firſt the Kingdom
of God, or (as it is expreſſed in St. Luke) ſeek ye rather the Kingdom of God:
By which Way of ſpeaking he ſeems plainly to give us leave to ſeck for other
things after this, and ſubordinately thereto: But he would rather have
ſaid, ſeek ye nothing elſe but only the Kingdom of God and his Righteous-
neſs: It was not therefore, I ſay, our Saviour's Deſign, wholly to prohibit all
worldly Care, but only to regulate and moderate it : And the Care for the
Body and the things belonging to it, which he here condemns, is only ſuch
a Care as is irregular and exorbitant, ſuch a Care as is inconſiſtent with, or
does greatly hinder, the Care of our Souls, and ſuch Proviſion as is neceſſary
to be made for a future State. Seek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righ-
teouſneſs, and all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you.
In diſcourſing on which Words, I ſhall do theſe three Things.
1
I. I ſhall briefly explain the Nature of the Duty here enjoined; Seek firſt
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs.
II. I ſhall endeavour to perſuade and enforce the Practice of this Duty,
by ſome Conſiderations, ſhewing the Neceſſity and Reaſonableneſs of it.
And,
III. Laſtly, I ſhall explain the Meaning, and endeavour to manifeſt the
Truth of the Motive here urged by our Saviour himſelf to enforce it; all theſe
Thing's ſhall be added unto you.
1
I. I ſhall briefly explain the Nature of the Duty here enjoyned: Seek firſt
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs.
And this I ſhall do by enquiring,
1. What we are here to underſtand by the Kingdom, and what by the
Righteouſneſs of God.
2. What it is to ſeek them. And,
3. What it is to ſeek them firſt. Seek firſt the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs.
1. I ſhall enquire what we are here to underſtand by the Kingdom, and
what by the Righteouſneſs of God.
(1.) What is here meant by the Kingdom of God. And of this Phraſe
there are ſeveral Significations in holy Scripture; with the Mention of which
I ſhall not need now to trouble you, becauſe I think it is plain, that by the
Kingdom of God in the Text, nothing can be ſo fairly and naturally under-
ſtood, as the Glory and Happineſs which God has prepared for good Men
in another Life ; ſeeing the feeking of this is here moſt plainly oppoſed to
worldly Care, and preferred before it. Juſt as our Saviour himſelf exhorts
in another Place, Labour not for the Meat that periſheth, but for that Meat
which endureth unto everlaſting Life: And the Apoſtle
, Set your Affections
on Things above, and not on Things
of the Earth. So here ; Take no Thought,
ſaying, what mall we eat? or what ſhall we drink? or wherevithal jall
we be cloathed? For after all theſe Things do the Gentiles ſeek; and your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all theſe Things. But ſeek
+
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Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
701
ye firſt the Kingdom of God. After all thoſe things do the Gentiles ſeek;
i. e. they employ their Minds wholly about theſe worldly Matters ; and they
are ſomewhat excuſable for ſo doing, who have no certain Knowledge of a
future State: But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God; i. e. ye, to wliom Life
and Immortality is brought to light by the Goſpel, have Buſineſs of
greater Concernment to mind; your Welfare to all Eternity deſerves your
Care and Conſideration, much rather than the Maintenance of
your preſent
State: Seek ye therefore the Kingdom of God. It follows,
(2.) And his Righteouſneſs. Which Words we cannot, I think, here
underſtand in their proper Senſe, for the perſonal and inherent Righteoul-
neſs and Purity of God, becauſe it cannot be conceived how that ſhould be
the Object of our Deſire and Care: But we muſt underſtand thereby that
Righteouſneſs which is required of us; but which being wrought in us by
the Spirit of God, though not without our own Co-operation, or which
being ſuch as God is graciouſly pleaſed to accept and reward, may therc-
fore not improperly be called, the Righteouſneſs of God.
So that the Difference, as I conceive, between the Kingdom and the
Righteouſneſs of God, which are both here propoſed as the Objects of
our Deſire and Care, is this ; that the firſt, viz. the Kingdom of God, is
what we are to aim at as our End; the ſecond, viz. the Righteouſneſs of
God, is what we are to endeavour after as the neceſſary Mcans, as the in.
diſpenſable Condition of obtaining our End. The end is eternal Life and
Happineſs; the neceſſary Means or Condition is Righteouſneſs; for with-
out Holineſs no Man ſhall ſee the Lord, Heb. xii. 14. and no unrigh-
teous Perſon ſhall enter into the Kingdom of God, as we are told, 1 Cor.
vi. 9.
And now from hence it will be eaſy. to give an Account, what it is to
ſeek theſe Things: Which was the ſecond Thing to be enquired into.
2. For though the Word be but one, once ſpoken, but to be referred
to both the Subjects here mentioned, ſeek the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs; yet it is plain it muſt be differently underſtood, when re-
ferred to the Kingdom of God, and when referred to the Righteouſneſs of
God; for that being (as was ſaid before) the End, to ſeek the Kingdom of
God is plainly to make that the Object of our Deſire; and this being the
Means of obtaining it, to ſeek the Righteouſneſs of God, is to make this
the Subject of our Endeavour. To seek the Kingdom of God is to aim at
that as our chief End; and to ſeek his Righteouſneſs, is carefully to prac-
tiſe that Righteouſneſs, which God has required as the Condition of our
obtaining it.
And this one Thing more may be obſerved farther, that when we are
bid to ſeek theſe things, the Meaning is not, that we ſhould deſire them
faintly, or perſue them careleſly ; but we are commanded so to ſeek theſe
Things, as we were before forbidden to ſeek other Things; as is moſt
clearly evident from the parallel Texts in St. Luke's Goſpel; where the very
ſame Word is uſed with reference to both, uni Intéte Ti péynti, Seek noț Luke xii. 29,
what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink, &c. tehinin Entãte, but ſeek ye the 3".
Kingdom of God, &c. Seek not what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink,
i. e. do not ſeek or endeavour after even the moſt neceſſary Things of
Life, with Thoughtfulneſs and Solicitude, with Trouble and Anxiety ; but
ſeek ye the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, i. e. be as thoughtful
and ſolicitous about theſe Things as you can be ; you cannot be too much
concerned about them, you cannot ſeek them more earneſtly than it is
needful and reaſonable you ſhould do. And this leads me to the third Thing
which I propoſed to enquire into, viz.
ز
Vol. II.
Вь
3, What
702
Religion the Chief Buſineſs of Life.
3. What it is to feck them firſt. Seek firſt the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs.
And two Interpretations there are that may be given of this Word, both
very agreeable to our Saviour's Deſign in this place: For,
(1.) Seek firſt the Kingdom of God, may fignify, ſeek it very early, in
the Prime of your Life, in the Days of your Youth and Vigor, when you
are young, healthy, and active, and fit for Buſineſs. Do not put off this
neceſſary Work, this one thing neceſſary, to your old Age, and allot that
Time only for God and his Service, when you think you ſhall be paſt
ſerving the Devil, the World, and your own Luſts: But let your Care of
this Buſineſs be timely and ſeaſonable; and do not then 'firſt think of pro-
viding for your Soul (which ought to have been the firſt thing in your
Thoughts) when your Body is juſt tumbling into the Grave.
And if we take the Words in this Senſe, they contain very good and
uſeful Advice, and ſuch as is at all Times very ſeaſonable; I am ſure it
is ſo in the Days wherein we live. For if we look abroad into the
World, we cannot but obſerve that the greateſt Part, even of Chriſtians,
do live and act quite otherwiſe than is here preſcribed; ſpending for the
moſt Part their Youth in Vanity and Pleaſures, and their Manhood altoge-
ther in Carking for this Life, and hardly ever entertaining one ſerious
Thought of Rcligion till they find themſelves decaying; and when the
cvil Days are come upon them, wherein they can no longer reliſh thoſe
ſenſual Pleaſures which they before delighted in, and are unfit for any other Bu-
ſineſs in this World, then perhaps, becauſe they have nothing elſe to do, you
may find them with a Bible and a Prayer-Book.
And yet, what has been now ſaid, is not to be ſo underſtood, as if we
could take ſufficient Care for our Soul in one Day, or Week, or Year,
ſo as that we need never trouble our Heads more about it afterwards,
live we ever ſo long; for the Truth is, Religion is not the Work of a
Day, or a Year, but of a whole Life ; and it muſt be minded both to
Day and to Morrow, and the next Day, and every Day while we live.
Neither yet on the other Side is it ſo to be underſtood, as if we might
not at all in our younger Days ſpend any Time in fecking after ſuch Things
as are neceſſary for the Body, and the Preſervation of this Life: For if we
want neceſſary Proviſions for our preſent Support, we muſt give to our ſe-
cular Thoughts and Employments, ſo much of every Day, as is ſufficient
for the procuring thoſe neceſſary Things for the Body which we ſtand
in preſent need of; and this we muſt do, even although we have not
as yet made ſuch Proficiency in Religion, as we ought to have
done for the time paſt, and much leſs as we hope we ſhall do if we
live longer ; we muſt, I fay, notwithſtanding this, nevertheleſs beſtow
ſome Time and Care in providing for the Body ſuch Things as
neceſſary for its Support, though it be ſome preſent Hindrance to our other
Care; becauſe without this, that Time in which we are to work out our
Salvation would fail us.
The Meaning therefore of this Precept, Seek ye firſt the Kingdom of God,
if it be underſtood with reference to the Time of our Life, is this; that
we ought to begin this Work very early, and to loſe as little time from
it as is poſſible; that be the Neceſſities of our Bodiès ever ſo preſſing and
urgent, we ought not however to poſtpone the Care of our Souls till ſuch
time as our Bodies are ſufficiently provided för, but ſhould mind both to-
gether as well as we can. But this not being that
But this not being that Senſe of the Words
which I ſuppoſe our Saviour chiefly deſigned, I ſhall not inſiſt farther on it.
For,
are
(2.) When
*
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
703
(2.) When our Lord here bids us to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God, I
believe his Meaning was, that we ſhould ſeek it more ; ſeek rather the
Kingdom of God; ſo it is expreſſed in St. Luke ; i. e. that we ſhould ſeek
it with greater Concern and Earneſtneſs than we are allowed to have about
any thing in this World, even about our Life it ſelf, and the neceſſary
Means of ſupporting it: That whereas in the Perſuit of our worldly In-
tereſts we ought to be cool and calm, and content ſometimes to incet
with Diſappointment and bad Succeſs, we may, nay we ought to be as anxi-
ous and ſolicitous as ever we can, about this great and weighty Affair, leſt
we ſhould unhappily miſcarry in it, and ſo miſs of that Happineſs which
we deſire and aim at.
In ſhort therefore, by theſe Words, ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God,
as they are connected with the foregoing Words at the thirty firſt Verſe,
Take no Thought, Saying, what ſhall we eat? or what fall we drink?
&c. we are enjoyned to be very careful for, and thoughtful about, our fu-
ture State ; to learn our Duty and to practiſe it, to acquaint our ſelves
with the Will of God, and to order our Lives and Converſations accord-
ing to it. The thing here commanded is to make Religion the chicf
Buſineſs of our Lives; whether we eat or drink, or whatſoever we do, to
do all to the Glory of God; to have an Eye to Heaven in every thing,
and to make the obtaining eternal Happineſs in the other World our
main Deſign, which we ſhould have always in our Mind; and then what
time we can ſpare, we may lawfully enough employ in providing for the
Body, and in procuring for our ſelves a competent Meaſure of the Ne-
ceſſaries and Conveniences of this Life. But ſtill our Care about theſe
Matters muſt always be ſubordinate to the other; and if we cannot get much
of this World, without greater Care and Solicitude than it deſerves, or not
without making Shipwreck of a good Conſcience, and hazarding the Sal-
vation of our Souls, we muſt ſit down quietly, and reſt contented with-
out it.
This is the Duty here enjoyned, if it be not improper to call thát a Dury,
which comprehends all our Duties, as this, you ſee plainly, does : Seek firſt
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs.
But the great Difficulty of all lies, not in underſtanding what it is that
we are here commanded, but in practiſing according to it. And yet, if we
would but wiſely conſider Things, there would be no great Difficulty in that
neither ; for the very great Reaſonableneſs of it would make it appear eaſy,
and be ſufficient to engage us to it, notwithſtanding any Difficulties that we
might meet with in it.
This therefore was what I propoſed to do in the ſecond Place, and come
now to; viz.
ز
!
II. To endeavour to perſuade and enforce the Practice of this Duty, by
ſome Conſiderations fhewing the Neceſſity and Reaſonableneſs of it. And
here it may be conſidered,
1. That the Care which is here commanded of ſceking the Kingdom of
God and his Righteouſneſs, that is, of ſtudying to ſecure our everlaſting
Happineſs in the other World, by living ſoberly, righteouſly, and godly in
this Life, is moſt abſolutely neceſſary ; whereas it is not ſo neceſſary that we
ſhould be careful and concerned about other Matters; ſo that it is highly reaſonable
that we ſhould ſeek this firſt; i.e. be more careful and induſtrious about this, than
about any other Buſineſs, ſeeing the greateſt Care and Concern is no more than is
neceſſary to fit us for Heaven, whercas a moderate Care is enough for this
Vorld. For this is moſt evidently a Rule of Prudence, to beſtow on
every thing ſo much Care as is needful, and no more; becauſe if we be-
ftow
704
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
ftow leſs than is needful, we ſhall not attain our End; and if we beſtow
more, it will be beſtowed unprofitably; and not only ſo, but inay prove
an Hindrance to us in ſome other Affair.
I ſay then, that the grcateſt Care and Concern is no more than what
is needful to fit us for Heaven ; whereas a leſs and a more moderate Care
is ſufficient for this Life; I mean for all the Neceſſaries and Conveniences
of it, I do not mean for the Vanities, Superfluities, and Extravagancies of
it. For he that will be rich at any Rate, whoſe Mind and Heart is ſet
upon worldly Greatneſs, and who is reſolved, if it be poſſible, to raiſe
himſelf above the common Pitch: He, I ſay, that propoſes theſe great
things to himſelf, and will be contented with nothing leſs, muſt, it may be,
be forced to uſe grear Thoughtfulneſs, and much Pains to accompliſh his De-
figns ; but then, I ſay, that all ſuch Thoughtfulneſs is unneceſſary, becauſe
the End it ſelf, which he aims at is ſo ; ſeeing a Man might live as well,
more at his Eaſe, and at leaſt as much to his own Content and Satisfac-
tion without ſuch Things, as he can do with them, after all his Toils and
Sweat to obtain them.
For what is any Man really the better or the happier for a great Multi-
tude of Servants and Attendants? Is it not rather an Increaſe of, and an Ad-
dition to his Trouble, to have ſo many beſides himſelf to look after, and
to take Care of? or what rcal Benefit or Advantage does there accrue to
any Man from the outward Reſpect that is paid him, being in an high
Station, by thoſe who perhaps inwardly hate and envy him, and heartily
with his Deſtruction ? theſe are great things in Shew and Appearance,
but they are very little in Subſtance and Reality. And ſo again; what
great Matter is it, whether our Furniture be brought from the Indies, or
was made at the next Village, if one be as uſeful and convenient as the
other? or what real Advantage is it to any Man to have his Rooms adorned
with Pictures drawn by the beſt Hands? will they cauſe him to ſleep ever
the founder? will they cure the Head ach? will they prevent or remove
any one Pain or evil Incident to our mortal Nature, or procure us ſo much
as one Moment's Reſpite from the Grave? Now if they will do none of
all theſe Things, I do not ſee why he who has them ſhould be ac-
counted a ſo much happier Man than he who has them not. And ſo for
the Table; what does it ſignify whether it be ſpread with variety of Dain-
ties, or furniſhed only with what is ſufficient ? for a Man can eat, but till
he is ſatisfied; or if he does eat more, he'll be fick of it, and have Cauſe
to repent; and what he leaves, be it much or little, was ſo much more
than enough, and he had done as well every whit without it.
Let us then ſubftract theſe unneceſſary Things, and ſee what remains ;
and we ſhall find, that nothing elſe but wholeſomc Food, and warm Rai-
ment, and Protection from the Weather, is abſolutely neceſſary, either for
the Support or Comfort of Life. And that it is no very hard Matter to
procure theſe Things, may appear from hence, becauſe there are ſo very few
without them; except ſuch, I mean, as either by their Sin, or Imprudence,
or Prodigality, do bring themſelves into this Condition: And yet if we
take in theſe too, how ſmall and inconſiderable is the Number of thoſe
who periſh for want of Neceſſaries? I am ſure it is far leſs than theirs is,
who die by having too much, whoſe Surfeiting and Intemperance halten
their End, and bring them to their Graves before their time.
But though it ſhould be granted, that in the low and unhappy Circum-
ſtances that ſome Men are in, the Maintenance of this preſent Life does
neceſſarily require much of their bodily Labour, yet however it requires
but little of their Thoughtfulneſs and Concern: for theſe Things are per-
fectly diſtinct, the Labour of the Hands, and the Anxiety of the Mind;
for
i
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
705
ſ
for a Man may ſpend a good Portion of his Time, if Need be, in pro-
viding for this Life, and yet not be very thoughtful for it ; and a Man may
uſe all neceſſary and prudent Means of betrering his worldly Condition, and
yet not be niuch concernd or folicitous about the Event: Now it is this
laſt only, viz. the Anxiety and Thoughtfulneſs of the Mind about the Things
relating to this Life, which our Saviour deſign’d to prohibit in the forego-
ing Verſes of this Chapter ; and it is this only which is inconſiſtent with a
due Care of the Soul, and a juft Concern and Thoughtfulneſs about the
Affairs of another Life.
Seeing then that fo little Care, in compariſon, is necdful about theſe earth-
ly Matters, why fhould we, to no purpoſe, ſpend it about them? Why
ſhould we not rather beſtow it upon our ſpiritual Concerns, about which,
as I ſaid, the greateſt Care we can take is no more than neceffary?
For it is not an idle Wiſh, or a faint Endeavour, that will be ſufficient to
carry us to Heaven: The Kingdom of God, and that Righteouſneſs which
is the indiſpenſiblc Condition of obtaining it, will not bc attain'd, unleſs
with great Earneſtneſs and indefatigable Diligence we feek and ſtrive for
them. The Kingdom of God, fays our Saviour, fuffereth Violence, and the
Violent take it by Force.
And therefore a good and holy Life is oftentimes in Scripture compar'd to
running, wreſtling, fighting, and ſuch like Exerciſes, which require great
Strength and Vigor, Conſtancy and Reſolution, for their Performance.
Thus in 1 Cor. ix. 24. Know ye not, ſays the Apoſtle, that they which run
in a Race, run all; but one receiveth the Prize. One, i.e. one of a
great many that ſtrive and run, for it ; for the Race is tedious and difficult,
and very few have Strength and Reſolution enough to hold out to the End.
So run, therefore, ſays he, that ye may obtain. And, ver. 26. ſpeaking of
himſelf, he ſays, I therefore fo run, not as uncertainly; so fight 1, not as
one that beateth the Air ; but I keep under my Body, and bring it into Sub-
jection. And there are many more Texts of Scripture to the ſame Purpoſe;
but that of our Saviour ſhall ſerve for all, in Matth. vii, 14. Strive to enter
in at the ſtrait Gate ; for ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the way that
leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it : Or, as the ſame Text is
expreſs’d in St. Luke, Many, I ſay unto you, shall ſeek to enter in, and
ſhall not be able. In which Words it is plainly declared to us, that a godly
Life, meant there by the Gate and Way to Heaven, is 'not ſuch an eaſy
Matter as many are apt to imagine it.
And that it is not ſo, will farther appear, if we conſider a little the two
main Branches of it, which are, to depart from Evil, and to do Good.
1. We muſt depart from Evil: And this alone is a Buſineſs that will coſt
us much Pains ; the beſt of us all having a vaſt Catalogue of Sins to be
repented of. Now we muſt firſt diligently fift and examine our ſelves, en-
quiring, as well as we can, how often we have finned, and wherein we have
tranſgreſſed, or fallen ſhort of our Duty, before we can be duly ſenſible of,
and truly ſorrowful for, all our Sins; and they are ſo many, that even
this alone can't be done in an Inſtant: But when this is done, when we
know how ſinful we are, the hardeſt Part of Repentance is ſtill behind,
viz. to forſake our Sins; to leave off thoſe vicious Cuſtoms which we have
liv'd in a great while; to forbear thoſe wicked Practices to which our own
corrupt Nature does ſtrongly incline us, or which are by a long and unin-
terrupted Habit become in a manner natural to us; and not only to forbear
them, but alſo to wean our Affections from our moſt beloved Lufts, and to
hate and abhor thoſe Things which we formerly delighted in. And yet nei-
ther is this all we have to do; for,
Vol. II.
Сс
2. We
706
Religion the Chief Buſineſs of Life.
2. We muſt not only depart from Evil, but we muſt do Good: And
here, if we conſider how iarge our Duty is, and how many Things are to
be learned and done by us ; and that it is not the keeping of any one, or of
ſome few of the Commandments very carefully, but an univerſal Obedience
that is required of us; and conſequently, how many Ways we may come
ſhort of our End, we ſhall plainly perceive, that the grcateſt Care and Watch-
fulneſs will be no more than is neceſſary.
Eſpecially, if to what has been ſaid, we alſo add, that we have many
potent and ſubtle Adverſaries, who do all they can to hinder us in, and to
divert us from the Proſecution of our good Purpoſes. For, as St. Paul
tells us, Eph. vi. 12. We wreſtle not againſt Fleſh and Blood, i.e. not
againſt then only, but againſt Principalities, againſt Powers, againſt the
Rulers of the Darkneſs of this World, againſt ſpiritual Wickedneſſes in
high Places. And therefore we have Need, as he there adviſes, to take
unto us the whole Armour of God, that we may be able to withſtand in
the evil Day, and having done all to ſtand.
And accordingly we engaged at our Baptiſm, to fight manfully under
Chriſt's Banner, againſt the Fleſh, the World, and the Devil, three power-
ful and crafty Enemies, that are daily plotting our Ruin, and ever laying
Snares to entrap us; againſt whom we muſt maintain a perpetual and con-
ſtant War, becauſe they will be always fighting and troubling us while we
continue in this State of Trial; ſo that it is neceſſary for us, on the other
ſide, to be always upon our Guard, and to ſtrengthen and fortify our
felves as well as we can, left at any Time, by Surprize or by open Aſſault,
they ſhould prevail againſt us, and overcome us : And for the Maintenance
of this War, the earlieſt Preparations, and the moſt conſtant Care and
Watchfulneſs, and the ſtrongeſt Endeavours, are no more than is neceſſary.
And this which I have now ſaid, I conceive might be ſufficient to prove,
that the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs muſt be ſought after ;
that they will not be attained without much Care and Trouble; a little of
which, in compariſon, is enough for the Attainment of all Things neceſſary,
or highly expedient for this Life.
But then it may be conſider'd farther, that our Care for theſe earthly
Things is not abſolutely neceſſary till we want them, at leaſt not till we are
in a near Proſpect of wanting them: But our ſpiritual Concerns, and the
Affairs of another Life, muſt be minded beforehand; otherwiſe our Care
will come too late, and do us no Good. Take no Thought, ſays our Sa-
viour, in the Verſe following the Text, for to Morrow ; for the Morrow
mall take Thought for the Things of it ſelf. The Senſe of which words,
if they be underſtood as ſpeaking of worldly Care, is this, that our worldly
Proviſion comes timely enough if we have it juſt when we need it; that our
Food and our Raiment are not neceſſary, till we are hungry, or cold, or
naked; that it is no Matter whether we have them in Store beforehand, if
they do but come ſoon enough to ſatisfy our preſent Deſires, and ſupply our
preſent Wants. And accordingly, our Saviour has taught us to pray, not
that our Barns may be full, and that we may always have Goods laid up for
many Years, or even for many Days, before we ſhall have Occaſion to uſe
them ; but only for Neceſſaries to ſupply the preſent Needs, and to anſwer
the preſent Cravings of Nature; Give us this Day, or Day by Day, our
daily Bread; i. e. give it us as we want it; we deſire no more; this is all
that a good Chriſtian is taught to requeſt of God.
And yet if we take a ſhort View of the World, we may obſerve, that
the generality even of Chriſtians are employed, and that to the great Ha-
zard of their Souls, upon a far different Account; not to get Meat for
their Hunger, or Cloaths for their Nakedneſs, but to raiſe Families, and
2
to
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
707
+
to get a great Name in the World. They walk in a vain Shadow, as
the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, and diſquiet themſelves in vain, in heaping up Riches,
which they have no Foreſight or Intention of ever enjoying themſelves,
and cannot tell who fall gather. Their Labour is not for Neceſſaries,
but for Superfluities ; not that they may have a good deal to enjoy, but
that they may leave a good deal behind them, and lay up Goods in Store
for many Generations to come ; neglecting in the mean time their Souls,
which, for ought they know, may the very next Night be required of
them. Like Martha, they are careful and troubled about many Things,
which might as well be let alone, and which they will be little or nothing
the better for; and are in the mean time very unmindful of, and careleſs
about the one Thing needful.
And yet what has been now ſaid, is not to be ſo underſtood as if all
Care and Proviſion for the future, or even for Poſterity, were to be
found Fault with; for in this Matter we are directed in the holy Scrip-
ture it ſelf, to take Example by the Ant, Prov. vi. 6. Go to the Ant,
thou Sluggard, conſider her Ways and be wiſe, which provideth her Meat
in the Summer, and gathereth her Food in the Harveſt. In imitation of
which wiſe Creature, it is therefore a piece of commendable Prudence, to
lay hold on preſent Opportunities, and in Youth to provide againſt the
Infirmities and Needs of Old-age: i. e. if a moderate Care be ſufficient
for it; for ſome Men have a great Advantage above others in this reſpect;
and there is ſuch Variety in Men's Parts, Educations, and Callings, that
one Man may with greater Eaſe and leſs Anxiety get an Eſtate, than ano-
ther can his daily Bread; ſo that, I ſay, if a Man's Circumſtances and Op-
portunities be ſuch, as that he can obtain a plentiful Portion of worldly
good Things, without hazarding his Soul, or ſpending too much Time,
and beſtowing too much Care in the Perſuit of Wealth, to the neglect
of other Matters of far greater Importance; this Advantage is to be eſteem-
ed a Bleſling of God, which he may lawfully enough make uſe of, nay,
which he cannot in Prudence paſs by. But if a Man's Caſe be otherwiſe,
then let him take Care only for to Day, and leave the Morrow to take
Care of it ſelf. For he is certainly a moſt notorious Fool, that ſpends his
Days wholly in making Proviſion for this tranſitory Life ; and much more,
if he ſends his own Soul to Hell, only that his Poſterity may live at Eaſe,
and wear fine Cloaths, and inherit Titles of Honour, without being at any
Pains themſelves to purchaſe them.
This Difference then, you ſee, there is between the Proviſion that is to
be made for this Life, and for the next; it is not neceſſary that we ſhould
have any of theſe Things till we are to make uſe of them, and we can
eaſily foreſee when that will be; and if our Proviſion comes timely enough
to anſwer our Needs, it is as well as if we had had it in Store many
Years before-hand. But in the Proviſion for our Souls and againſt ano-
ther Life, we muſt proceed in another Method, becauſe we cannot tell
how ſoon we may have Occaſion to uſe that ; ſo that we muſt do every
Thing that can be done at preſent in order to it, and leave nothing to be
done till to Morrow, which might have been done to Day, becauſe we
know not but one Day may be our laſt; and if, with the fooliſh Virgins,
we ever ſuffer our Lamps to go out, it will be too late to think of buy-
ing Oil when the Bridegroom is come, which perhaps may be at that very
inſtant.
Again ; it may be conſidered farther, that as to theſe outward Things,
the beſt and happieſt Condition of Life conſiſts in the moderate Enjoy-
ment of them, and that a Man may have too much as well as too little of
this World. It is indeed hard to ſay which Perſon of the two is the moſt
wretched
708
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
wretched and miſerable, the indigent and neceſſitous, or the great and
wealthy; for ordinarily the Want of the one is not more troubleſome
than the Abundance of the other; the firſt is not more uneaſy in his
Hunger and Cold, than the other is in the Hurry and Noiſe which con-
ftantly attends him. Seeing therefore true Happineſs, fo far as any worldly
Enjoyments contribute towards it, conſiſts in the Mean between the two
Extremes, why ſhould any Man be laborious only to increaſe his Trouble
and Sorrow, and to make his Life more vexatious and unpleaſant ? why
ſhould he ſweat and toyl, when all the Fruit of it will be only to live
afterwards more uneaſy than he may do now? what can be more fooliſh,
than for a Man to go on and lade himſelf with thick Clay, when the
Burden of what he has already on his Back, is as great as he can well
bear
But we cannot labour too much for the heavenly Riches; a little Care
will not, as I have already ſhewn, be ſufficient; and the greateſt we can
take will be fully and plentifully rewarded; there being in Heaven many
Manſions ; i. e. different Degrees of Glory and Happineſs in the other
World; ſo that our greateſt Endeavours ſhall not fail of a ſuitable and
plentiful Reward; and the more Treaſure we lay up now, the richer
and the happier ſhall we be when we come to Heaven.
The Sum of what has been hitherto ſaid is this: That feeing leſs Care
and Concern is requiſite for this World than for the next, and it is ordi-
narily an eaſier Matter to ſupply this Life with Neceſſaries, than to pur-
chaſe a good Aſſurance of everlaſting Happineſs; and ſeeing, beſides, theſe
Things may be cared for and provided every Day, as we have Occaſion
for them, but the Affairs of our Soul muft be minded before-hand, becauſe
we cannot tell how ſoon that may be required of us, and there is no
working in the Grave; and ſeeing, laſtly, we may labour too much for
theſe Things, and the providing more of them than is needful, does, for
the moſt part, only increaſe our Trouble and Sorrow ; but we cannot be
too careful and ſolicitous about our future State, becauſe the more we ſow,
the more we ſhall reap, and our Reward will be proportioned to the Sin-
cerity and Earneſtneſs of our Endeavours; it is highly reaſonable, that we
ſhould ſeek the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, in the firſt Place,
1. e. with the greateſt Diligence and Concern; and theſe other Things
only as it were by the by, and with due Subordination to that great Af-
fair: For it is manifeſtly fooliſh, to beſtow our greateſt Care about ſuch
Things as need but a little of it, and to be, in the mean time, careleſs or
unmindful of ſome other weightier Buſineſs, in the minding whereof all
our Care and Labour would be well employed, and for which a little will
not be ſufficicnt.
But there are ſome other Conſiderations, whereby the Neceſſity and Rea-
ſonableneſs of ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs,
might be farther ſhewed ; which having not Time to ſpeak to now, I muſt
defer the Mention of to another Opportunity.
DI S-
709
DISCOURSE LXV.
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
MATTH. VI. 33
But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs, and all theſe Things ſhall be added
unto you.
HAVE already begun á Diſcourſe on theſe Words,
wherein I propos’d;
A
nung WHITE
I. To explain the Nature of the Duty here enjoin’d.
II. To preſs the Practice of it by ſome Conſiderations,
ſhewing the Neceflity and Reaſonableneſs of it. And,
III. To explain the Meaning, and to ſhew the Force of the Motive here
adjoin’d; all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you.
I. To explain the Nature of the Duty here enjoin'd; ſeek ye firſt the
Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs. And here I told you,
That by the Kingdom of God, in this Place, (for it has other Significations
elſewhere) it is moſt reaſonable to underſtand, that Kingdom in Heaven, which
God has prepar’d for good Men; and conſequently, by his Righteouſneſs,
that Purity of Life and Manners, which God has made the indiſpenſable Con-
dition of obtaining that Happineſs.
And that when we are bid to ſeek theſe, the Meaning is, that we ſhould
aim at that, I mean the eternal Salvation of our Souls, as our End; and en-
deavour after this, viz. that Righteouſneſs which is requir’d, as the neceſſary
Means of attaining that End.
And, laſtly, that when we are bid to ſeek theſe Things firſt, the Meaning
is, that our Deſire of that Happineſs ſhould be more ardent and paſlionate,
than of any earthly Good whatever; and that we ſhould ſeek it, and endea-
vour to obtain it, in the Way of Righteouſneſs, with greater Earneſtneſs and
Solicitude than is allowable in the Perſuit of Honours, Riches, or Pleaſures,
or even of our neceffary Food and Raiment.
In ſhort, what we are enjoin'd in theſe Words is, to make Religion the
chief Buſineſs of our Lives ; to be careful, above all Things, to approve our
ſelves to God, by a good Life, and a holy Converſation ; and to make our
Care, even for the moſt neceſſary Things of this Life, ſubordinate to that as
onr principal Concern.
Vol. II.
D.
This
>
gro
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
de
This is the Nature of the Duty here enjoin'd, if at leaſt it be proper to
call that a Duty which comprehends all our Duties, as this plainly docs: For
it is not; you ſee, a ſingle Act of one Virtue only, that is here com-
manded, but an habitual Holineſs and Virtue, or the conſtant and daily Prac-
tice of all our Duties to God, our Neighbour, and our ſelves. For it is only
by a patient Continuance in all well-doing, that we do, or can, effcctually
ſeek for this Glory, and Honour, and Immortality.
II. The ſecond Thing therefore, which I propos’d to do, was, to endca-
vour to perſuade and enforce the Practice of the Duty here enjoin'd, by ſome
Conſiderations, fliewing how abſolutely neceſſary, and how highly reaſonable
it is, that we ſhould be thus more zealouſly and earneſtly concern'd about
our everlaſting Salvation, and the neceſſary Mçans thereof, than about any
Thing in this Life, or even Life it ſelf.
And one very weighty Conſideration I have already urg'd to this Pur-
poſe, viz. that the greateſt Care we can take, is no more than is neceſſary
for Heaven; whereas moderate Caré is abundantly ſufficient for this
World; i. e. for all the Neceſſaries of it; and about Unneceſſaries and Su-
perfluities (which are oftentimes too rather Burthens than Conveniences) we
need not be much concern'd. Now it is an approv'd Rule of Prudence,
to beſtow on every Thing that we take in hand, ſuch Care as is needful
or expedient, and no more ; becauſe if we beſtow leſs than is need
ful, we ſhall fail of our End ; and if we beſtow more than is expedient,
it will be needleſſly beſtow'd, and may prove an Hindrancé to us in ſome
other Affair.
I proceed now to preſs this Duty, by ſome other Conſiderations. And,
2. The Reaſonableneſs of ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righ-
teouſneſs, will farther appear, if it be conſidered, that the chief End of our
being ſent into, and living in this World at all, was, that we might pre-
pare our ſelves for another and a better State; ſo that if we make Reli-
gion our chief Buſineſs, we beſtow our Endeavours upon that which is
noſt ſuitable to our Nature and Faculties, and was deſign'd by God for
our chief Employment ; whereas on the contrary, we ſhall mightily miſ-
ſpend our Time, and miſ-uſe our Faculties, which were given us for a
more noble Purpoſe, if our chief or only Care be to ſupport this Life, as
long, and with as much Confort as we can ; which at the beſt is ſo full
of Trouble and Miſery, that it would not be worth taking any Care
at all of, or endeavouring to prolong in the leaſt, were it not in order to
a better.
And what I have now ſaid, has been the conſtant Opinion of all thoſe
wiſe Men who have compar'd our Life to a Way, a Journey, a Race,
an Inn, and the like ; plainly ſignifying by ſuch Expreſſions, that our
complete Happineſs can't be attain'd in this State, but that ſomething far
more excellent is to be expected and fought for. For Men do not uſe to
take up their Habitation in an Inn, or to undertake a troubleſome Journey,
without propoſing to themſelves ſome End of their Travel.
And this is no more than what the Apoſtle alſo has taught us, in Heb.
xiii. 4. Here have we no continuing City, but we ſeek one to come. And,
as he obſerves in the ſame Epiſtle, the wiſeſt Men, even the Ancient Pa-
triarchs, have ſaid the ſame, confefling, that they were Strangers and Pil-
griins upon the Earth: And they that ſay ſuch Things, declare plainly that
they ſeek a Country, Heb. xi. 13, 14.
And indeed, if we do but conſider the Nature of Man, and the proper
Uſe of thoſe Powers and Faculties wherein he excels the inferior Creatures,
we Mhall plainly fee, that God has contriy'd, and conſequently did deſign us
)
I
for
Religion the chief Buſinefs of Life.
711
(
ز
for ſome more excellent Purpoſe than he did them. We have Senſe in
common with the Beaſts ; and had we nothing better, our chief Happi-
neſs would confiſt, as theirs does, in enjoying the Pleaſures of Senſe: The
greateſt Epicure would then be the wiſeſt and the happieſt Man; and
there could be no better Doétrine than that of the ſenſual Atheiſt, in the
Book of Wiſdom; Come on, let us enjoy the good Things that are pre-Wiſa
. ii. 6,6mc.
ſent, for this is our Portion, and our Lot is this. Or had we been
contrived only for a ſhort Life here, they would not be much to blame,
who ſay, Let us eat and drink, for to Morrow we die. But God has
been more liberal towards us, and endued us with ſuch Faculties, of which,
in order to this Life, we can have but little Uſe; and given us a rațional
Soul, capable of, and naturally deſirous of ſome other Happineſs, than any
it can meet with here : So that if he has not deſign'd us for ſome other
End than purely to.eat, and to drink, and to taſte theſe bodily Delights,
to what Purpoſe, may we well ask, do theſe Faculties ſerve? God may ſeem
to us to have been too laviſh of his Gifts, and to have beſtow'd them
where there was no Need. For, as far as we can judgc, by the beſt Ob;
fervations we can make, the Beaſts do taſte and ſmell, and uſe their other
bodily Senſes with as great Pleaſure as we can į they alſo provide Meat for
themſelves, and maintain their Life as caſily as we do, , without any of that
Reaſon that we are endued with; ſo that thus far, we are ſo far from being
better than they, that they have plainly the Advantage of us; for the Fowls
of the Air, which neither fow nor reap, are yet as well provided for with
neceſſary Food, without their Labour, as we are with it. And the Lillies
of the Field, which neither toil nor spin, are yet (as our Saviour obſerves)
arrayed far better than Solomon in all his Glory ; fo that in this reſpect their
Lot is better than ours,
Nay, if we conſider farther, how mạch Trouble and Sorrow we do
ordinarily endure in this preſent Life, which the Birds and Beaſts taſte no-
thing of; and that merely by means of that Reaſon wherein we excel
them, (for 'tis only as rational and thinking Creatures, that we diſquiet our
ſelves with the Fear of Evil before it comes, and anticipate our Miſery ;
whereas they can ſuffer only thoſe Evils which are preſent upon them ;
conſidering this, I ſay) we might, if there were no other Happineſs to be
expected, even wiſh our ſelves Brutes ; we ſhould have ſome Reaſon to
envy their Happineſs above our own, and might ſay of our ſelves, and
of all Mankind, what the Apoſtle ſays of the Primitive Chriſtians, in
the Times of Perſecution, varying the Phraſe but a little, that if in this
Life only we had Hope, we were of all Creatures moſt miſerable.
But Thanks be to God, we have Hope beyond this Life ;, for it can't
be conceived, that God who has ſo richly furniſh'd us with Abilities, Pow-
ers and Capacities above our Fellow Creatures, could intend that our Em-
ployment ſhould be the ſame with theirs, only to provide for, and main-
tain this Life; or that our Happineſs ſhould be no other than theirs, only
in the Pleaſures of the Body; for which Purpoſes Senſe alone would have
done as well.
Seeing therefore, od has not provided for us any Happineſs in this
Life, ſuitable to our Nature, or adequate to our Deſires and Capacities,
we do plainly debaſe and degrade our Nature, if we ſuffer our chief Care
to be ſpent in providing for this Life ; we miſuſe our Faculties, and
fooliſhly miſemploy our Time, which were given us for better Purpoſes ;
if our chief Aim be to purchaſe the fenfual Delights and Satisfactions of
this World: And, laſtly, ſeeing there is a better and more folid Hap-
pineſs deſign'd for us, than any we can attain to here, it is highly reaſonable,
that deſpiſing theſe lower Pleaſures of Senſe, we ſhould aſpire and endea-
your
712
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
•
vour after that, and make it our chief Concern, by Piety and Virtue to ſeek
that Kingdom which is above, where only true Joys are to be found.
3. It may be farther conſidered, that the Care and Labour that we en-
ploy in ſeeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, will bring us
in more Profit, and turn to better Account, than our worldly Care can do:
The Kingdom of God, which is the End we aim at, being infinitely more
worth our Labour and Concern, than any thing that this World can afford :
For, by the Kingdom of God, as I ſaid before, we are to underſtand
the eternal Salvation of our Souls; whereas all our worldly Care tends only
to provide for the Eaſe of our Bodies, and the Comfort of this ſhort and
momentary Life: So that it is plainly highly reaſonable to make that our
chief Care and Concern, upon theſe two Accounts; (1.) becauſe by that
we provide for our Soul, whereas by our earthly Care we only provide for
the Body : And, (2.) becauſe this ſerves only to provide for a ſhort and un-
certain Life; that for an eternal State.
(1.) I ſay, by ſeeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, we
provide for our Soul, whereas by our earthly Care we only provide for the
Body; and therefore there is good Reaſon that we ſhould make that our
chief Buſineſs and Concern : For if the Soul be of greater Worth and
Dignity than the Body, it is plainly reaſonable that we ſhould beſtow
more Care about that than about this. For it is manifeſtly a piece of
Prudence, to proportion our Care and Concern about any thing to the
Worth and Value of it; and on the other Side, to be hugely concerned
and ſolicitous about Trifles, neglecting in the mean time, or careleſlly per-
ſuing Matters of greater Moment, is a moſt notorious Inſtance of Folly.
And in our temporal Affairs we uſe to go by this Rule, prizing and eſteem-
ing Things that are of Worth and great Uſe; and in Compariſon with
them, neglecting ſuch Things as we think more uſeleſs, or of leſs Value.
Now the Soul does certainly deſerve our greateſt Care and Concern,
far greater than any Thing elſe, becauſe the Soul is indeed the Man
himſelf; and we ſpeak improperly, when we ſay, that the Soul and Body
make up a Man ; for in Truth the Soul only is the whole Man: For it
is the Soul only, that thinks, and reaſons, and that perceives either Pain
or Pleaſure ; and the Body is only the Inſtrument by which it cxerts its
Operations, or receives Notice of Things from without. While the Soul
lives, the Man is alive, though the Body he once had ſhould be dead
and turned to Earth: The Soul is the rational, nay, and the ſenſitive Be-
ing too, which apprehends, perceives, and judges Things; and the Body,
though it be more nearly related to him than any Thing elſe, yet is ftill
ſomething without him, only an Inſtrument that the Soul makes uſe of,
a Place where ſhe is forced for ſome Time to dwell, but can ſcarcely be
more properly ſaid to be a Part of the Man, than an Inſtrument might be
ſaid to be a Part of the Muſician, or an Houſe a Part of the Inhabitant.
For when the Soul is parted from the Body by Death, though it will not
perhaps be able then to perform all thoſe Actions which it does now by
the Help of the Body, it will nevertheleſs ſtill continue to be a rational,
ſenſitive, and active Being. Nay, when our Souls ſhall be freed from this
Lump of Clay, we hope we ſhall be, in ſome reſpects, more perfect than
we are now in this State of Conjunction, and more able to exerciſe our
ſpiritual, intellectual, and manly Faculties, to which this heavy lumpiſh Body
is rather an Hindrance than an Help.
So that when I ſay, that by ſeeking the Kingdom of God we pro-
vide for our Souls, and by our earthly Care only for our Bodies, it is all
one as if I had ſaid, That by that we take Care of our ſelves, and
ſeek our own Happineſs and Welfare ; or, as Solomon ſpeaks, we are wiſe
2
for
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
713
for our ſelves, which he ſays is the trueſt Wiſdom, Prov. ix. i 2. If thou
be wiſe thou ſhalt be wiſe. for thy ſelf: Whereas by our worldly Carë,
we only make Proviſion for ſomething without us, wherein we are not
ſo much concern’d. By that we make our Souls, i.e. our ſelves, who
now live in Houſes of Clay, whoſe Habitation is in the Duſt, meer In-
habitants for more glorifica Bodies, and for the heavenly Ferriſalem; the
City that is above, in which no unclean Thing can dwell: But all that
we do by our earthly Care, is only to make this preſent Habitation, where-
in we now dwell, a little more pleaſant and delightful. All our preſent
Care and Labour ſerves only to beautify and adorn an old tottering Clay
Building, which yet will in ſpite of all our Care, in a very few Years,
crumble and moulder into Dust; and if our Care reaches no farther, what
ſhall we do when this Houſe fails us? is it not plainly more reaſonable,
and infinitely more worth our Pains, while we live in this earthly Tabcr-
nacle, to provide for our ſelves a better Habitation againſt the Time that
we muſt leave this, than to ſpend our chief Pains and Care in repairing,
beautifying, and furniſhing this, which we muſt ſoon part with ? And this
Icads me to the other Reaſon that I mentioned, why the Kingdom of God
deſerves more to be ſought after than any earthly Thing, viz.
2. Becauſc by ſeeking that, we provide for an eternal State; wliercas all
our worldly Care is ſpent about ſuch Things as are but of very ſhort and un-
certain Continuance. For the Riches, the Honours, and the pleaſures of
this World are ſubject to a thouſand Caſualties; or if they ſhould eſcape,
yet we can enjoy them no longer than while we live here; when we die,
all that we have periſhes with us, and we can no more taſte any Pleaſure,
or reap any Advantage from all the Labour that we took under the Sun;
for he that has the greateſt Share of worldly Goods, cannot carry the Icaſt
Parcel of them with him into the other World; but as he came forth out
of his Mother's Womb, naked fall he return, to go as he came, and ſhall
take nothing of his Labour, which he may carry away in his Hand. And
this alſo, ſays the wife Man, is a fore Evil, that in all Points as he came
fo ſhall be go; and what Profit hath he that hath laboured for the Wind?
For the Wind indeed; for Things ſo fickle and uncertain, and at the beſt
of ſo ſhort a Continuance as a Man's Life: For what is our Life? It is, as
St. James ſays, but a Vapour, which appeareth for a little while, and then
vaniſheth away? The Days of our Age, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, are three-
ſcore Tears and ten; and if by reaſon of Strength they be four ſcore Tears,
yet is their Strength but Labour and Sorrow, for it is foon cut off, and
we flee away. And beſides, if we ſhould reach to this (as we fooliſhly call
it) great Age, we ſhould, it is likely, then be paſt taſting the Delights and
Pleaſures of this World; I am this Day fourſcore Tears old, ſaid Barzil-
lai to King David, 2 Sam. xix. 35. and can I diſcern between Good and
Evil? can thy Servant taſte what I eat or what I drink? can I hear
any more the Voice of ſinging Men and ſinging Women? And yet this is
too great an Age for any Man reaſonably to hope for : For if we conſider
how very few there are that die of pure old Age, in compariſon with the
far greater Number that are ſnatched away by a violent or untimely Death,
it muſt be an unreaſonable Expectation in any Man to truſt that he ſhall
be one of that ſmall Number. And yet, if he was ſure of this, and alſo
of retaining his Senſes to the very laſt, yet what are fourſcore, nay, what are a
thouſand Years, if compared to an eternal Duration ? they are not ſo much
to it as one Drop of Water to the Sea, or one ſingle ſmalleſt Duſt to
the Bulk of the whole Earth.
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Vol. II.
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Seeing
714
Religion the Chief Buſineſs of Life.
Seeing then by ſeeking the Kingdom of God we take Care for
our Souls, whereas all our earthly Care only provides for the Body ; and
eſpecially, ſeeing that tends to make our Souls, yea and Bodies too, ever-
laſtingly happy, whereas this can at moſt procure only the ſhort and fading
Pleaſures of one Moment ; let us not be ſo fooliſh, as to prefer Tin before
Gold, or a Piece of Dirt, Your Body is no more) before our precious Soul,
which is more worth than the whole World: Let us not be ſuch notorious
Prodigals, as for one ſmall Mite in preſent Poſſeſſion, to forfeit our Right
to the Reverſion of ſuch a fair and durable Eſtate as is reſerved in Heaven
for us, if we will be at the Pains to ſeek for it.
4. Laſtly, another Conſideration which may ſhew farther, how highly
reaſonable it is to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs,
is this; that if we make thoſe the chief Objects of our Deſire and Endea-
vour, we ſhall certainly reap the Fruit of our Labour to our abundant Sa-
tisfaction; whereas all the Care and Pains that we can beſtow on worldly
Matters, may be, and is very often, perfectly vain and to no Purpoſe.
Now our Labour for any Thing is then in vain, either when, not-
withſtanding all our Pains, we miſs of gaining what we laboured for; or
elſe, when thoſe things which we ſpend our Pains about, though obtained,
do not yield us that Content and Satisfaction which we expect from them.
And then, on the other Side, our Labour is to good Purpoſe, when it
procures what we fought for by it; and when what we fought for proves
in the Poſſeſſion and Enjoyment, as great a Good as it before appeared
to be, and no ways deceives our Expectation concerning it. In both which
reſpects we ſhall find it true, that the Pains and Care, which we beſtow in
ſeeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, cannot but be to good
purpoſe ; and that all our worldly Care and Labour is moſt commonly, if
not always, in vain.
(1.) If we conſider the Uncertainty of gaining what we labour for, by
Reaſon of the Inſufficiency of our beſt Endeavours, either to get, or to keep
Poſſeſſion of the good Things of this world.
For, firſt, there is hardly ever any thing in this world to be got without
venturing; and it often happens, that he who ventures out his Stock in
Hope to increaſe it, never ſees again ſo much as he ventured out.
Again : Pains and Induſtry are not the only Things requiſite to make us
thrive and flouriſh in the World, but it depends upon many other Things,
which after all our Care may fail us, or in which after our utmoſt Cau-
tion we may be deceived; as the Honeſty and Sufficiency of thoſe we deal
with, the Fidelity of Servants, the Peaceableneſs of Neighbours, a healthful
and active Conſtitution of Body, and a Soul able to underſtand and ma-
nage Buſineſs; theſe are Things altogether as neceſſary to our thriving, as
any Care or Labour of our own; and yet theſe are Things either not at
all, or very little in our Power.
And when all theſe Things, and whatever elſe is requiſite, have met to-
gether, and we are ſet into a fair Way of growing rich, how eaſily may
all our Hopes be daſhed on a ſudden? how many things are there, beyond
our Skill to foreſce, or our Power to prevent, which may in a Moment
put us backwarder than when we began at firſt; as the Malice of Enemies,
the Treachery of Friends, a civil War, or a foreign Invaſion, the Violence
of Robbers, or an accidental Fire: Any of theſe, (and many ſuch ill Ac-
cidents there are) will be ſufficient to defeat our Hopes and ſpoil our Deſigns
of growing rich.
And then beſides (which indeed is chiefly to be conſidered and regard-
ed) all our Thoughtfulneſs and Solicitude ſignify nothing, towards the
gaining
2
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
915
1
gaining the Riches or Honours, or other good Things of this Life, unleſs
the Bleſſing of God be with us; for theſe Things are wholly at his Diſpo-
ſal, and he gives them to whom he pleaſes ; and, except the Lord build
the Houſe, their Labour is but loſt that build it; without this, it is in vain
that Men riſe up early, and take Reft late, and eat the Bread of Careful-
nefs: And though Labour be the ordinary and natural Means of acquiring
theſe Things, and the diligent Hand does uſually make rich; yét, as the Race
is not always to the ſwift, nor the Battle to the ſtrong, ſo God who diſpenſes
theſe Things as he plcaſes, has no where promiſed that he will always be-
ftow them on thoſe that take moft Pains for them ; and if he be not pleaſed
to give them, all our Labour for them muſt needs be in vain : Which of
jou, ſays our Saviour, can, by taking Thought, add one Cubit to his Stature?
If ye then be not able to do thoſe Things which are leaſt, why take yé
Thought for the reſt? Luke xii. 26.
The Husbandman may toil and drudge, he may take care to plow his
Land, and to low his Seed in due Seaſon; but when he has done this;
he has done all he can do, he has no more Power left; and if the Earth
be barren or curſed of God, or if the Heavens give no Rain, or pour
out in too great a Meaſure, he cannot by his own Skill and Power only,
make ſo much as one Stalk to grow up and bring forth Fruit; and then
what does he reap from all his Care and Pains, but Sorrow and Diſap-
pointment !
And ſo, though the Merchant may lade his Ship with ſuch Goods as
are likely to bring him in a profitable Return ; yet this is all he can do;
for it is not in his Power to hinder the Winds from blowing, or the
Seas from raging; he is not able, by all his Prudence and Foreſight, to
ſecure his Goods
from Storm and Tempeſt, Pirates and Shipwreck, and ſuch
like Accidents.
Or if his Ship ſhould come home ſafe, and he ſhould fell his Wares to
good Advantage, and begin to ſay to his Soul, with the rich Man in the
Goſpel, Soul, take now thine Eaſe, thou haſt Goods laid up for many Years 3
yet he can be no more ſure of keeping one Moment by his own Providence
only, than he was before of getting his Wealth ; for there are a thouſand
Caſualties to which it is obnoxious, which he has no more Power to prevent
or ayoid, than he had before to make the Winds and Seas obedient to his
Command. All his Treaſure, when hoarded up, as he thinks, moſt ſafely,
is liable either to be ſpoild or taken from him ; a Moth or Ruſt may cor-
rupt it, or a Thief may break through and ſteal it; or elſe his Riches may
(as Solomon ſays they ſometimes do) make themſelves Wings, and flee' away;
as an Eagle towards Heaven, i.e. dwindle away, and conſume, and come
to nothing, no Body knows how.
Thus you ſee how uncertain all worldly Goods are in their Acquiſition;
how incompetent and inſufficient our Care and Induſtry alone is, either to
procure or keep them; in which reſpect therefore our Labour for them may
eaſily happen to prove in vain. Let us now, in the ſecond Place, ſuppoſe
that the Man gets what he deſired, and keeps Poſſeſſion of it to the laſt
Minute of his Life; yet, I ſay,
(2.) It is great odds, that he will not meet with that Pleaſure and Satiſ-
faction, in the Poſſeſſion and Enjoyment of what he took ſuck Pains for,
which he expected to reap from it; and conſequently in this reſpect his La-
bour may be in vain too, he may have laboured for the Wind.
For, firſt of all, it is a great Chance (it ſeldom happens otherwiſe) if his
Deſires do not encreaſe with his Riches; in which Caſe he will be able to
take no Pleaſure in what he has already, becauſe he will be covering after,
and labouring for more ; but as a Dog (it is Seneca's Compariſon) when he
has
:
716
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
1
jora venerunt.
Sen.
tum.
has ſtood a good while gaping, and expecting from his Maſter a bit of
Meat, fiallows it down whole without so much as taſting it, and imme-
diately opens his Mouth for another; so will he ſwallow doren, without
any Pleaſure, whatever Fortune has already throcen to him, and being big
with Expectation of more, will ſcarcely be able to taſte the Sweetneſs of
what he has already.
And that it ſhould be ſo, I mcan that his Deſires ſhould increaſe, rather
than be afſwaged, by what he gets, is no unreaſonable Suppoſition, though
in it ſelf it might ſeem ſo; becauſe daily Obſervation affords us ſo many Ex-
amples of it. Indeed there is not any Thing that has been more commonly
Eo majora cu-noted by all than this; that the richer and the older Men grow, i.e. the
pimus,quo ma-
more they have already, and the leſs they can want or have Occaſion for,
the more deſirous they generally are to increaſe their Store.
Nay, that it ſhould be thus, though it be very unreaſonable, is not yet
very wonderful; becauſe Contentment is a virtuous Diſpoſition of the Mind,
which whoſo has, will be ſatisfied with a little as well as with a great deal ;
and whoſo has not, in a mean and low Eftate, cannot, by only bettering his
Eſtate, attain to; for ftill his Mind may be the ſame ; and if it be, he will
be ſtill covering what he has not.
Ambitio non
There are indeed no Bounds to be ſet to his Appetites, who nieaſures not
patitur quen-his Wants by the Neceſſities and Conveniences of Nature, but by Fancy and
menfura honom Humour; but ſuch an one, after all his Gain and Purchaſc, will find some-
rum conquief-thing that he wants ſtill, becauſe he will want every Thing that comes into
cere,quæ quon-his Head, that he has not, and he will not have every Thing that he can
impudens vo think of ; ſo that when he is arrived to ſuch a Fortune, as he could not once,
Sen. de without great Vanity, have ever ſo much as hoped for, or propoſed to him-
Vit. Bear. C.27. felf, he will ſtill want another Servant, or another Houſe, or another pleaſant
Garden ; his Neighbour's Houſe or Farm will ſeem to ſtand in his Way, or
Naboth's Vineyard will be placed conveniently for his Uſe; and if he thinks
fo, he will, like Ahab, be able neither to cat, nor flcep, nor take any Reſt,
till he has purchas'd it.
The greateſt Kings, if of a craving and covcting Temper, are fill ſeeking
to add new Kingdoms to their Dominions; and I ſuppoſe you may have
heard it reported of Alexander the Great, that when he had conquer'd almoſt
all that he knew of this World, he wept becauſe there were no more Worlds
for him to conquer,
Indeed all the Difference between a poor and a rich Man, both of the
like craving Temper, lies in this, that the firſt thinks he ſhould have enough
and be ſatisfied, if he had but a ſingle Houſe, and finall Spor of Land,
which he could call his own; whereas the other ſtands in great need of a
Lordſhip, or a Kingdom.
But farther : If the. Man we are now ſpeaking of, who is ſo ſolicitous
about this World, be ſuppoſed to have attained all that ever he propoſed to
himſelf; and that being reſolved to ſtop here, he is really lo conſtant to his
Purpoſe, as not to trouble his Head, or diſquiet his Reft by endeavouring to
get more ; yet he will find ſo little Satisfaction in the Enjoyment of this
great Eſtate, that it will no ways anſwer the Pains he was at to acquire it.
For theſe worldly and ſenſual Pleaſures, which are all he can rcap from it,
are the Pleaſures of the Beaſt, and not of the Man;, they are not ſuch as
will ſatisfy a ſpiritual and rational Soul; but that will ſtill be deſirous of ſome
other Happineſs, which it will not be able to find in theſe Enjoyments.
Beſides, what is it that the Man will have got for himſelf
, after this great
Augmentation of his Eſtate, which he had not before? I ſay, for himſelf;
and they that are ſo: ſolicitous about the World, ſeldom are ſo with'a Deſign
to do Good to others. What then, I ſay, is he himſelf really the better for
7
?
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
717
J
all this? For though he has a great deal, he himſelf can uſe but a little ; lie
can eat and drink no more than he did formerly; or if he does, it will be
Pain and a Diſeaſe to him; and though Ire has many Changes of Raiment,
he can wear but one at once; and the reſt, while they lie by him, will do
him no Good. So that upon a juſt Computation of what he has gained, it
will be found that almoſt all that he has laboured ſo much for, is (what he,
good Man, never intended) to feed and cloath other People. So true
So true is that
of all rich Men, which Seneca ſays of Curius Lentulus ; Divitiarum maxi- DeBenef.2.27.
mum Exemplum, quater millies Seftertiúm ſuum vidit ; propriè dixi, nihil
enim amplius quam vidit : Which I cannot tranſlate better than in thoſe
Words of the Wife-Man, Eccleſ. v. II. When Goods increaſe they are increaf-
ed that eat them; and what Good is there to the Owner's thereof, Save the
beholding them with their Eyes? The beholding them with their Eyes:
This, he ſays, (and he could not but well know what he ſaid) is all the Fruit
that the great Purchaſers of Riches reap to themſelves. A very poor and
ſorry Reward for the Diligence and Care that thcy beſtowed in ſecking them.
Nay farther, if rich Men, as they have better Means of procuring what-
ever can pleaſure them in this World, had alſo their Capacities enlarg’d, and
were capable of receiving more worldly Pleaſures than others; yet fill it is
to be conſidered, that all the Pleaſures of Senſe ares at the beſt, exceeding
mean and low; and always mixed with ſome Pain or Diſquier, going before
or following them, by which they are very much allayed and leffened. For
beſides the Trouble of getting an Eſtate, and the conſtant Care that attends
the keeping it, even thoſe bodily Pleaſures, which are the only Benefit Men
reap by it, have always ſome Pain going before them, or leave a Sting behind
them. For the Pleaſure that we take in all worldly Enjoyments, conſiſts
chiefly in the eaſing or removing ſome preſent Pain; Hunger and Thirſt, and
the Craying of our carnal Appetites, giving them a Reliſh, and making them
delightful to us, which otherwiſe would be flat and inſipid; and yet as ſoon
as ever the Pleaſure is over, i. e. the Pain, ſuppoſe of Hunger and Thirſt, are
remov'd, (in the removing whereof the chief Pleaſure of eating and drinking
does conſiſt) we are very often no better, ſometimes we are in worſe Pain
than before; an aching Head, or a ſick Stomach, or ſome Uneaſineſs or
other, commonly foon following thereupon: And whereas the Pleaſure was
ſhort, and ſoon over, the pain that follows it is oftentimes more laſting.
But, laſtly, admitting alſo that theſe Pleaſures of Senſe, the only Fruit that
can be hop'd for from worldly Care, might be enjoy'd without any Mixture
of Pain ; yet ordinarily before a Man can attain to this State, his Life will be
well nigh ſpent and worn out; and the Conſideration of what a little Time
he has left to enjoy the Fruit of a whole Life's Toil and Care, will be a very
melancholick Reflection: And the Thoughts that he muſt be forc'd to part
with: ſo ſoon; what he has been ſo long labouring to get, will be ſufficient
to embitter all his Enjoyments, to be ſure will hinder him from taking ſuch
pure and ſolid Delight therein, as he might otherwiſe be ſuppos'd to do. ·
O Death, ſays the wiſe Son of Sirachi: how bitter is the Remembrance of
thee, to a Man that liveth' at Reſt in his Polesions; that has nothing to
vex him, and has Proſperity in all Things? Indeed the more proſperous a
Man's Condition is, the more unwilling he muſt needs be to alter it, the
more bitter and doleful will the Conſideration of parting with it be to him;
and yet he will not be able to forbear often thinking of that which he is ſo
much afraid of, even for that very Reaſon; viz. becauſe he is ſo afraid
of it.
From all that has been ſaid, therefore; l' hope it fufficiently appears, that
he that makes it his chief Buſineſs to procure the good Things of this Life,
is very likely to ſpend his Labour in vain ; both becauſe he may ſo eaſily fail
Vol. II.
Ff
of
718
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
loc.
of getting them, and becauſe they are ſo empty and unſatisfactory when he
has them
But the Caſe of thoſe who ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righ-
teouſneſs, is very different in both theſe reſpects ; for they need not fear mil-
ſing what they labour for ; and they may be ſure to find their greateſt Ex-
pectations fully anſwered in the Poſſeſſion thereof. Bleſſed are they, ſays our
Saviour, that hunger and thirſt after Righteouſneſs, for they fall be filled;
Dr. Ham, in i. e. they ſhall be ſure both to obtain what they perſue, and to be fully fa-
tisfied in the Acquiſition.
(1.) They that make it their chief Care to ſeek after heavenly Things,
need not fear miſſing that which they labour for; becauſe God is faithful,
who has promis'd that he will give eternal Life to them, who by patient
Continuance in well-doing look for it: So that the Reward of our Obedi-
ence is as ſure as God is true ; and if we ſet our Affections on Things above,
and not on Things of the Earth, we ſhall not fail of gaining what we deſire;
but when Chriſt, who is our Life, ſhall appear, then ſhall we alſo appear
with him in Glory.
The only Danger is on our Part; and here indeed there would be great
Danger, if we were left to our ſelves, and had nothing but our own natural
Strength, to combat with all our mighty ſpiritual Adverſaries, and to overcome
all thoſe Difficulties that we may meer with in our Way to Heaven. But,
Thanks be to God, we are not left thus deſtitute; but he has alſo promiſed
to give the Aſſiſtance of his holy Spirit to them that ask it. And if God
be ſo ready and willing to aſſiſt us, the weakeſt of us all may be able to ſay
with St. Paul, I can do all Things through Chriſt that ſtrengthneth me.
Though our Enemies be ſtrong and mighty, yet if God be for us, we ſhall
be ſtronger and mightier than they; and nothing will be able to hinder our
Progreſs in Piery and Virtue, till at length we receive the End of our La-
bours, the Salvation of our Souls, in the Day of our Lord Jeſus.
And when once we ſhall have attained this Kingdom, we ſhall be in no
Danger, nor ſo much as in a Poſſibility of ever loſing it again. For the
Riches that we lay up in Heaven, by Works of Piety and Mercy, are not
ſuch frail, fickle, and uncertain Things as our earthly Treaſures are; neither
Moth nor Ruſt can corrupt them, neither can Thieves break through, and
ſteal them from us; but the Inheritance reſerved in Heaven, for all thoſe
that diligently ſeek it, is, as St. Peter ſays, incorruptible, undefiled, and fad.
eth not away, 1 Pet. i. 4.
And as through the Grace of Almighty God we ſhall thus, if we be not
wanting to our ſelves, be able to conquer all Oppoſition from Sin and the
Devil, and to attain God's Kingdom, ſo that in this reſpect, our Labour will
not be in vain : So,
(2.) When we have attained it, we need not fear but we ſhall find all our
Expectations fully ſatisfied; for it is nothing leſs than the Salvation of our
Souls; it is Joy unſpeakable ; it is the Enjoyment of all thoſe Delights and
Pleaſures that our Nature will be then capable of, which will alſo then be
much more pure, and refined, and enlarged than now it is. And all this
Happineſs we ſhall poſſeſs pure and unmixed, without the leaſt Alloy of
Grief, or Trouble, or Pain. For, as it is ſaid, Rev. vii. 16. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirſt any more, neither ſhall the Sun light on them, nor any
Heat; for the Lamb which is in the midſt of the Throne ſhall feed them,
and ſhall lead them unto living Fountains of Water. And, God ſhall wipe
away all Tears from their Eyes; and there shall be no more Death, neither
Sorrow, nor Crying, neither ſhall there be any more Pain; as it is ſaid,
Rev. xxi. 4.
I
Thus
Religion the chief Buſineſs of Life.
719
bod
Thus, you ſee, if we make it our chief Care to ſeek firſt the Kingdom
of God, and his Righteouſneſs, we ſhall certainly reap the Fruit of our La-
bour to our abundant Satisfaction ; whereas all the Pains that we can take in
ſeeking after temporal good Things, proves often to no Pupole ; qwe may;
after all'our Care, eaſily miſs of gaining themi ; or if not, they may prove
very unſatisfactory when we have them. Seeing therefore there is not any
greater Inſtance of Folly than to labour in vain, it is highly reaſonable that
we ſhould alter the Drift of our Care and Endeavour, and not labour any
longer, ſo much for that Meat which periſheth, as for that-Meat which-en-
dureth unto everlaſting. Life, which the Son of Man will give us.
But to all that has been ſaid, perhaps it will be objected, that ſhould we
be thus ſolicitous about our ſpiritual Concerns, and ſo neglectful, as we muſt
then needs be, of our temporal, we might poſſibly be unprovided with Food
and Raiment, and other Neceſſaries for the Preſervation of this Life; which
yet it is neceſſary for us to prolong as much as we can, if it were only that
ſo we might the better take Care for another, which we cannot do, when
once this Life is over.
But this Objection our Saviour himſelf has obviated, in the laſt Clauſe of
the Text; all theſe Things shall be added unto you.
To explain the Meaning, and to ſhew the Force of which Motive, to en-
gage us to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs
; is what I
ſhould now have proceeded to do, if the Time would have permitted it:
But I fear I have already tired your Patience.
3
}
1
Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three Per-
fons, and one God, be given, as is moſt due, all Honour and Glory, now and
for ever. Amen.
5
}
whers
DI S
720
1
3
مم
DISCOURSE LXVI,
IA
.
Religion a Divine Security from
Want.
}
1
000000000000000000000000
1
MATTH. VL. 33
f
But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righ-
teouſneſs, and all theſe things ſhall be added unto
you.
N diſcourſing on theſe Words I have formerly propoſed to do
theſe three Things.
I. To explain the Nature of the Duty here enjoined ;
and that I told you was, to make Religion the chief Con-
cern and Buſineſs of our Lives; to deſire the everlaſting
Welfare and Happineſs of our Souls with a more fervent and paſſionate
Deſire than we do any earthly Good whatſoever, and to ſeek it and endea-
vour to obtain it in the Way of Righteouſneſs, with grcater Earneſtneſs and
Solicitude than is allowable in the Perſuit of the Honours, Riches, or Plea-
ſures of this Life, or even of our neceſſary Food and Raiment. For this
Precept, Seek ye firſt the Kingdom of God." is plainly oppoſed to thoſe Pro-
hibitions in the foregoing Verſes; take no Thought, what ye Mall eat, or
what ye mall drink, or wherewithal ye. ſhall be cloathed; from whence there-
fore it clearly appears, that the Deſign of this
. Text is to put us upon ſuch
a kind of Care and Thoughtfulneſs about our faturę Life, as we had been
before forbidden to ule about our temporal. Life, or any thing belonging to
it ; fo that, whereas in our Deſire of, and Endeayour after any worldly Good,
we ought to be cool and moderate, and content ſometimes to meet with
Diſappointments and bad Succeſs, we may and ought, in our Deſire of and
Endeavour after this Happineſs, and in uſing the neceſſary Means to attain
it, to be as anxious and ſolicitous as ever we can, this being an Affair of
ſuch great Importance to us, that we cannot poſſibly exerciſe too much Care
and Concern about it.
And therefore that I might perſuade and enforce the Practice of this
Duty, I propoſed in the ſecond Place,
II. To endeavour by ſome Arguments and Conſiderations to ſhew, how
abſolutely neceſſary, and how highly reaſonable it is, that we ſhould be thus
I
more
Religion a divine Security from Want.
721
more zealouſly and earneſtly concerned about our everlaſting Salvation in the
other World, and the neceſſary Means of attaining it, than about any thing
in this Life, or even the Maintenance of Life it ſelf. And to this purpose
I have formerly urged theſe four Conſiderations.
1. That the greateſt Care we can take is no more than neceſſary for
Heaven; whereas a more moderate Care is abundantly ſufficient for this
World ; i. e. for all the Neceſſaries of Life ; and about Unneceſſaries and
Superfluities, which are oftentimes rather Burthens than Conveniences, we
need not be much concerned, ſeeing we may do well enough without
them.
2. That in making that our chief Care we act agreeably to our Nature,
and to the Deſign of God in ſending us into this World; which was not
that we might paſs a few Years here in ſenſual Pleaſures and Delights, but
that by the good Uſe and Improvement of this ſhort time, we might, thro'
the Mercy of God, obtain for our ſelves a bleſſed Immortality.
3. That the Care and Labour that we beſtow in ſeeking the Kingdom of
God and his Righteouſneſs, will bring us in more Profit, and turn to
better Account to us by far than our worldly Care can do: The Kingdom
of God, which is the End we aim at, being infinitely more worth our Pains
and Concern, than any thing that this World can afford; and that for theſe
two plain Reaſons. 1. Becauſe by that we provide for our Soul, where-
as by our earthly Care we only provide for the Body; and, 2. becauſe this
ſerves only to provide for a ſhort and uncertain Life; that for an eternal State.
4. Laſtly, that if we make the King dom of God and his Righteouſneſs
the chief Objects of our Care and Endeavour, we ſhall certainly reap the
Fruits of our Labour, to our abundant Satisfaction; whereas all the Care
and Pains, which we can beſtow on worldly Matters, may be beſtowed in
vain. For though we ſeck theſe things ever ſo earneſtly and induſtriouſly,
we may miſs of gaining them ; or if we ſhould not, yet it is almoſt cer-
tain, that when we have them, they will not yield us that Content and Satis-
faction which we expected from them: whereas
, on the contrary, if we
ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, we ſhall certainly,
through his Aſſiſtance and Bleſſing, obtain what we labour for ; and when
we have it, it will certainly prove, in the Pofeſſion and Enjoyment, as
great a Good as it before appeared to us to be; it will no ways deceive,
but rather infinitely exceed all our Expectations concerning it; for Eye hath
not ſeen, nor Ear heard, nor hath it entred into the Heart of Man to
conceive, the Things that God has prepared for them that love him.
Theſe Conſiderations are, I think, of great Weight and Moment, and
fufficient to engage us to the Practice of this Duty, of ſeeking firſt the
Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs.
All therefore that now remains needful to be done is, only to anſwer
an Objection that will readily be made againſt it; namely, this,
That our preſent State and Condition of Life will not ſuffer us to be
fo neglectful of our worldly Concerns, as we muſt needs be, if we ſhould
follow the Direction that is given us in the Text, and make Religion our
chief Buſineſs; becauſe if we ſhould do ſo, we ſhould be deſtitute of Food
and Raiment, and other Neceſſaries for the Preſervation of this Life; which
yer it is neceſſary ſhould be preſerved and prolonged as much as we can, if it
were only that thereby we might make the better Proviſion for another
Life; ſeeing all the Proviſion that can be made for our future State, muſt be
made while this Life is prolonged and continued to us.
But now this Objection our Saviour himſelf has obviated in the laſt Clauſe
of the Text; all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you. · Seek ye firſt the
Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs
, and all theſe Things shall be added
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Religion a divine Security from Want.
unto you.
And this was the point which I propoſed to diſcourſe of in the
third Place, and come now to ſpeak to. Namely,
III. To explain the Meaning, and to ſhew the Force of the Motive where-
by our Saviour himſelf enforces the Duty here enjoyned; ſeek ye firſt the
Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, and then, ſays our Saviour, at theſe
Things ſhall be added unto you.
Which Words, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you, are not how-
ever, as I have formerly intimated, ſo properly a Motive to the Dury, as
an Anſwer to an Objection which may be made againſt the Practice of it;
for it is not therefore our Duty, it is not therefore ſo very much our Inte-
reſt, to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God, becauſe by ſo doing we ſhall be provided
with the Things of this Life; for the Kingdom of God is to be firſt ſought
for, for its own ſake, becauſe therein, i. e, in the Happineſs of the other
World, conſiſts the higheſt and moſt conſummate Happineſs that we are
capable of; and the Propoſal of a leſſer Good is by no Means a proper
Motive to perſuade us to aim at a greater. But nevertheleſs, it may well
be propoſed to us as an Advantage, and as ſome farther Encouragement to
us, to ſeek after that greateſt Good, that by ſeeking that, we ſhall be no
Loſers or Sufferers in any other reſpect; and that we ſhall not be, if while
we are ſeeking firſt, with the moſt Earneſtneſs and Concern, the Kingdom
of God and his Righteouſneſs, other good Things that we have need of
ſhall be thrown in to us over and above. The Aſſurance that is here given
us, that making Religion our chief Buſineſs, we ſhall want nothing that is
needful for the Body in this Life, is not properly a Reaſon, why we
ſhould make Religion our chief Buſineſs; for we ought to make it ſo in
Proſpect of the great Recompence of Reward which is promiſed to good
Men in the other World,“ how ill foever we fared in this; becauſe, as
Chriſtians, we ſhould walk by Faith, not by Sight, we ſhould not look at
the Things which are ſeen, but the Things which are not ſeen; for the
Things which are ſeen are temporal, but the Things which are not ſeen are
eternal. Theſe temporal Things are therefore by no Means fit Objects of
our Care and Endeavour, to whom far greater Things, even eternal Life
and Happineſs are propoſed, which while we aim at, we ſhould overlook
and deſpiſe every thing which is leſs; and there is nothing in this World,
not even Food and Raiment, not even Life it ſelf, but is infinitely leſs :
but it is our Infirmity, that we cannot overlook and flight theſe temporal
things ſo much as we ſhould. It would (and we cannot help it) be ſome
Diſcouragement to us in our Paſſage to Heaven, to want neceſſary Proviſi-
ons in our Way thither; and therefore it muſt needs be a good additional
Encouragement to us, to be aſſured that there is no Reaſon to fear our want
of any thing by the Way, to be told that Godlineſs has the Promiſe of
this Life, as well as that which is to come, and ſo is profitable for all
Things. This fully anſwers all Objections which we might have in our
Minds againſt the Practice of it.
For I think there is nothing which can be objected againſt the Practice
of the Precept in the Text, but only this, that ſuch Care and Solicitude as
is required in the former Part of the Text, in ſeeking the Kingdom of God
and his Righteouſneſs, would be a probable Means of ſhortening, or at leaſt
rendring very uncomfortable this preſent Life, by the want of Neceſſaries to
ſupport it. To this Objection therefore our Saviour here fully replies in
the latter Part of the Text, by aſſuring us, that the ſeeking firſt the King-
dom of God and his Righteouſneſs, i. e. the making of the eternal Happi-
neſs of the other Life our chief Aim, and Religion or keeping a good
Conſcience in all things our main Buſineſs, will be ſo far from being an
Hindrance
Religion a divine Security from Want.
723
i
Hindrance to us in the Acquiſition of ſuch other things, ás are needful for
the Support and Comfort of this Life, that it will rather be a Furtherance
thereto. All theſe Things, ſays he, ſhall be added unto you. It is as if
he had ſaid; if you only labour for this World you may fail of Succeſs,
you may be left quite deſtitute, even of thoſe Things wherein you ſeek to
abound; for theſe Things are at God's Diſpoſal, and he gives them to
whom he pleaſes, and in what Meaſure he pleaſes; and has no where pro-
miſed to give the largeſt Portion of them to ſuch as ſeek moſt for them,
and labour moſt diligently to obtain them: But, if perſuing theſe things
with a moderate Care, you make it your chief Buſineſs and Concern to
ſeek the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, you ſhall not only
have what you chiefly ſeek, but theſe other Things ſhall by the divine
Bleſſing be added to you over and above.
over and above. You ſhall certainly not only
attain what you labour chiefly for, the Salvation of your Souls, but you
ſhall beſides have all Things neceſſary for this Life thrown in to you, into
the Bargain.
This therefore is the point which I am now to endeavour to make good,
viz. not only that ſeeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs firſt, is
very conſiſtent with all ſuch Care as is needful for this Life ; but alſo, that
by ſeeking that chiefly and in the firſt Place, and theſe other Things only
with a Care which is more moderate and ſubordinate to that, we ſhall,
both according to the ordinary Courſe of Things, and alſo by the Promiſe
and Providence of God, be much better ſecured againſt temporal Want,
than we could be by employing our whole Care and Concern about providing
for this Life only.
But before I proceed to the Proof of this point, it will be needful 'firſt
to ſtate the Caſe truly, and to explain à little more fully the Meaning of
the Promiſe, that is here made to ſuch as ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and
his Righteouſneſs, leſt otherwiſe miſtaking its Senſe, and expecting more
than is promiſed, we ſhould, upon the failing of our own Expectations, be
tempted to charge God with unfaithfulneſs.
All theſe Things, ſays our Saviour, shall be added unto you. Here then
we may take Notice,
1. What it is that is here promiſed, all theſe Things, i. e. all ſuch things
as our Saviour had been before ſpeaking of, that is, luch Things as we have
need of to eat, and drinks and put on all theſe Things shall be added ;
ž. e. not Riches and Honours, not Plenty and Abundance. Theſe are things
which God does indeed ſometimes throw in to gcod Men, of his free
Bounty and Liberality, bůt they are not the Matter of this promiſe ; what
things he has here. engaged his Word to ſupply them with are only neceſſary
Meat, Drink, and Cloaths, ſuch things as we cannot live without, or not
with any tolerable Comfort. It is not promiſed to all ſuch as ſeek firſt
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſnefs, that they ſhall be Princes, or
gréat Men; that they ſhall always live in great State and Splendor; but
only that they ſhall not be deftiture of Neceffaries :
It is not pro-
miſed, that they ſhall liye în Plenty, but only that they ſhall live well
enough.
2. When it is: ſaid, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you, we are
not to underſtand thoſe Words, they shall be added, as if God did hereby
engage, that ſuch Men, as ňade Religion their chief Buſineſs, ſhould be
provided for, by a ſpecial and miraculous Providence, with Food and Rai-
ment, and all the other Neceſſaries of Life, without taking any Care,
or being at any. Pains at all about them. God never makes any ſuch un-
conditional Promiſes of any kind : But rather this Promiſe, made to ſuch
as do.ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, ſuppoſes that
they
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724
Religion a divine Security from Want.
they do alſo ſeek for ſuch other things as they may have need of, with a
ſecondary and ſubordinate Care; it ſuppoſes them induſtrious to get their
own Living in thoſe lawful Callings, which they have been bred up to, or
are able to exerciſe.
For indeed, if they be truly good Men, ſo they will, ſo they muſt do;
they muſt be diligent in the Work of ſome lawful Trade, or Calling, to
earn their own Living, or elſe they will be ſuch as the Apoſtle ſtyles diſor-
derly Walkers. And fo far is God from being obliged in Promiſe to provide
Food and Raiment, and other Neceſſaries for ſuch Men by a miraculous
Providence, that he has expreſly forbidden us to give any Relief at all to
ſuch Men; i. li to ſuch as are able to work, but will not, 2 Theſſ. iii. 6.
Now we command you, Brethren, in the Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt,
that
ye withdraw your felves from every Brother that walketh diſorderly,
and not after the Tradition which he received of us, ver. 10. For even
when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not
work, neither ſhould be eat, ver. 11. For we hear that there are ſome
which walk among you diſorderly, working not at all ; now them that are
ſuch we command and exhort, by our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that with quiet-
nefs they work, and eat their own Bread, ver. 12. And in this fame
Senſe thoſe Words of the ſame Apoſtle in Tit. iii. 8. are commonly un-
derſtood. This is a faithful Saying, and theſe Things I will that thou
affirm conſtantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful
to maintain good Works; i. e. to profeſs honeſt Trades; and again ver. 11.
Let ours alſo learn to maintain good Works for neceſſary Uſes, that they
be not unfruitful.
This then is what we have to do to entitle us to this Promiſe; we muſt
not only ſeek the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, but likewife
labour in ſome honeſt Calling to maintain our ſelves; upon which Terms we
may reaſonably truſt, that we ſhall not want any thing that is needful for
the Body, while it is needful for it; all theſe Things Mall be added unto
you. But then farther,
3. It is alſo to be noted and conſidered, that no teniporal Promiſe, no
Proiniſe of any worldly Good whatever, can in any Reaſon be under-
food, as promiſing an Eternity of it; for if it did, it would be improper
to call it a temporal Promiſe. Now ſuch is the Promiſe in the Text; it
is a temporal Promiſe, it is a Promiſe only of ſuch things as are needful
for the Body in this temporal Life. Theſe Words therefore, all theſe
Things mall be added unto you, cannot, in any fair Conſtruction, be under-
food to ſignify more, than as if it had been ſaid; all thoſe things, which
are neceſſary for the Support of this temporal Life, ſhall be added, and
continued to you, for ſo long time as God ſhall ſee good to continue you
here in this World. But that will not be always; for he deſigns, and has
prepared for thoſe that love him, and ſeek his Kingdom, a better Portion
than this: What he gives to them here, is given to them only for their
preſent Subſiſtence; what he deſigns for their Pay, or Reward, will not
be given them till after this Life is over. The beſt Men therefore muſt
dye; and the ſooner God takes them out of this miſerable World, the bet-
ter it is for them: And when God is pleaſed to take a good Man out of
this World, he may take him away by what Death he pleaſes, by Famine,
as well as by Gout, or Stone, or Fever, or Impoſtume, or any other Diſ-
cafe or Caſualty. Good Men and bad Men, all dye alike of all Diſtempers,
and by every kind of Accident: And therefore there being, without doubt,
many other more painful Ways of dying than by Want, a good Man
cannot in any Reaſon think himſelf exempted from this, rather than from
any other way of dying ; and the Promiſe in the Text is in its true Senſe
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Religion a divine Security from Want.
725
and Meaning made good to him, if by the Bleſſing and Providence of
God he be ſupplied with all Things neceſſary for this Life, for ſo long
time as it ſhall be good for him to live in this World; and when once
he is gone from hence, he will have lack of nothing that this World
afforded.
4. It is to be farther conſidered, that there is one Exception, with which
all the temporal Promiſes of God, and therefore this as well as others, are
to be underſtood; and that is the Caſe of Perſecution. We are, I ſay, to
underſtand all the temporal Promiſes in Scripture, as made with this Ex-
ception ; viz. unleſs God ſhall think fit, for his own Glory, and the Be-
nefit of the World, to make us Examples of Suffering and Patience ; and
that this Exception is ſometimes expremly made, is Reaſon enough for us
to think it always intended, though it be not always expreſſly mentioned.
And this Exception is moſt plainly made in Mark x. 30. where our Savi-
our promiſes to thoſe who loſe any thing for his ſakė, that they mall re-
ceive an hundred Fold now in this preſent time; but then he adds, with
Perſecution; i. e. ſo far as is conſiſtent with that State of Perſecution,
which God may ſometimes ſee fit to put his moſt faithful Servants into.
And accordingly we may obſerve, that the ſame Apoſtle, who in 1 Tim.
iv. 8. ſays, that Godlineſs has the Promiſe of this Life, ſays alſo in 2 Tim. iii.
12. that all that will live godly in Chriſt Jeſus muſt ſuffer Perſecution ;
i. e. they muſt not think that any of God's Promiſes of temporal Good are
to be underſtood, as promiſing an Exemption from Perſecution. And our
Saviour himſelf, who promiſes in the Text, that all the neceſſary things of
Life ſhall be added, and thrown in to thoſe, that ſeek firſt the Kingdom
of God and his Righteouſneſs, ſays elſewhere, Luke xiv. 26. that if any
Man comes to him, and hates not Father and Mother, Wife and Children,
yea and his own Life alſo, i. e. who is not ready, if God ſees good
to put him to the Trial, to loſe every thing in this World for Chriſt's
fake; he cannot be his Diſciple.
But then to abate ſomewhat the Force of this Objection, ſo far as the
Promiſe in the Text ſeems to be affected by it, it may be conſidered, that
it is what rarely or perhaps never happens, even in a Time of Perſecution,
that any Man by keeping ſtrictly to his Duty is, while ſuffered to live,
both ſo clearly ſtripped of all as to be left deſtitute even of Neceſſaries, and
alſo deprived of all Means of obtaining them. He may, indeed, (that is
what has often happened at ſuch times) incur the Loſs of all which he
has already gathered and laid up, or of all which was left him by Friends,
which he hoped would have ſerved to maintain him as long as he lived ;
but the Cruelty of Perſecutors, if it ſpares the Life, ſeldom goes ſo far, as
to diſable thoſe, whom they ſpoil of all, from being ever after in a Capa-
city of earning a living for themſelves : And therefore I ſay, if the Loſs
which a good Man ſuſtains by Perſecution, be other ways ſupplied and made
up to him ; if after all that he had is taken from him, he be able from
his Labour and Induſtry to gain more; or if by the Kindneſs of Friends,
or even by begging, if he be not able to work, he is ſtill ſupplied with
all ſuch Things as are neceſſary for Life; with theſe he may, and with
theſe, if he be truly a good Man, he will be contented. For, as our Savi-
our ſays, Luke xii. 15. A Man's Life conſiſteth not in the Abundance of
the Things that he polleſeth. Some Men may be, and are contented, and
conſequently happy, with a very little, while others, being ſtill gaping for,
and reaching after more, may be, and really are, very miſerable in the great-
eſt Affluence and Abundance. Nay, as the Apoſtle ſays, 1 Tim. vi. 6. God-
lineſs with Contentment is great Gain. If a good Man, though he does
not live in ſuch Plenty as he has formerly done, yet may and does, 110€-
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withſtanding
726
Religion a divine Security from Want, .
!
withſtanding his Scarcity, live with Comfort and Peace in his own Mind;
the Promiſe of the Text, though it ſeems not to be performed in the
Stri&neſs of the Letter, is yet made good to him, according to its true In-
tent and Meaning; which is only, that it ſhall be well with good Men,
even while they live here. For it is indeed well with them, if in all
their Wants and Diſtreſſes they can be content and chearful ; much better
than it is with thoſe, who cannot be ſo in all their Plenty and Affluence.
If no greater Affliction is laid upon them than they can well endure, of
whatever kind the Affliction is they may well endure it, conſidering how
much their enduring it will conduce to the Encreaſe of their Reward in
Heaven : For, as the Apoſtle ſays, 2 Cor. iv. 17. Our light Affliction, which
is but for a Moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
Weight of Glory.
The Súm then of that Encouragement, which is here given by our Savi-
our, to the ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs, is this,
that if we are careful above all things to approve our felves to God, by
a religious, ſober and righteous Converſation, we ſhall not need to fear the
ever wanting any thing which is neceſſary for our Support and Comfort
here in this World, ſo long as it ſhall be good for us to be here ; for that
God will either ſo bleſs our honeſt Labours, or elſe other Ways will fo
ſupply us with theſe Things, and withal indue us with ſuch Contentment
and Satisfaction of Mind in our Condition of Life, whatſoever it is, as
that upon the whole we ſhall be, even in this World, while we continue
in it, ſufficiently happy; and much happier ſtill ſhall we be, when we ſhall
be taken out of it, in what Way foever we ſhall be taken. This is the
Meaning of the Promiſe, all theſe Things shall be added unto you.
I proceed now to ſhew the Truth of it ; or what Reaſon we have to
truſt, that if we are diligent and careful above all Things to obtain the Fa-
vour of God, he will ſo order it by his wiſe and good Providence, as that
either by our own Labour, if we be not wanting to our ſelves; or if we
are not able to work, by the Bounty and Liberality of others whom he
will ſtir up to be kind to us ; or elſe by an extraordinary Providence, ſome
way or other, we ſhall be ſufficiently provided for with all Things need-
ful for the Support of this Life, ſo long as God ſhall ſee good to continue
us in it.
And we have great Reaſon to truſt that it will be thus with us, from
the Conſideration of the Goodneſs of God, and of the many expreſs Pro-
miſes which he has made to this purpoſe in the holy Scripture.
We have, on the contrary, no Reaſon to fear, that ſeeking firſt the King-
dom of God and his Righteouſneſs, other Things ſhould be wanted by us;
becauſe Religion and Virtue have no tendency at all, naturally to bring us to
want, but rather the contrary.
1. I ſay, the chief and beſt Aſſurance we have that our neceſſary Care
about Matters of Religion ſhall be attended with a Competency of all ſuch
things as are needful for the Support and Comfort of this temporal Life, is,
partly from the Conſideration of God's Goodneſs and Providence, and
partly from the many expreſs Promiſes thereof made in the holy Scripture.
(1.) I ſay, we might be ſufficiently aſſured, that ſeeking firſt the Kingdom
of God and his Righteouſneſs
, all other Things ſhould be added unto us,
only from the Conſideration of God's Goodneſs and Providence in general,
altho' he had not made any expreſs Promiſe thercof.
And this Argument is very well and largely urged by our Saviour himſelf,
in the Verſes before the Text, to beget in' us a firm Truſt in God's Provi-
dence, that if we are not wanting in our Duty to him, he will not be wanting in
taking ſuch Care of us, as that we ſhall not be deftitute of any thing which
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Religion a divine Security from Want.
727
is needful for this Life ; and this too, although we are not anxious and ſo-
licitous about it. For theſe are his Words from the twenty fifth Verſe of this
Chapter, to the Words of the Text. I ſay unto you, take no Thought for
your Life, what ye ſhall eat or what ye ſhall drink; nor yet for your Body,
what ye ſhall put on. Is not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than
Raiment? Behold the Fowls of the Air ; for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into Barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: Are je
not much better than they? Which of you by taking Thought can add one Cu-
bit to his Stature? And why take ye Thought for Raiment ? Conſider the Lil-
lies of the Field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they ſpin, and yet
I ſay unto you, that even Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of
theſe. Wherefore if God ſo cloath the Graſs of the Field, which to Day is,
and to Morrow is caſt into the Oven, ſhall be not much more cloath you, Oye
of little Faith? Therefore take no Thought, ſaying, what ſhall we eat? or,
what ſhall we drink? or, wherewithal Mall we be cloathed? (for after all
theſe Things do the Gentiles ſeek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that
ye
have need of all theſe Things, ver. 25, to the 3 2. And then it follows; but ſeek
ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs ; and then all theſe Things
mall be added unto you, i. e. you can have no reaſonable. Cauſe to doubt,
when you conſider and reflect upon the providential Care 'of God about other
Marters, but that it will much rather furniſh and fupply you with all ſuch
Things as ye have need of for the Body.
But having already ſpoken at large to this Argument, Thewing the Reaſon-
ableneſs of truſting in God for all Things which we ſhall have need of for
this Life, in a late Diſcourſe upon thoſe Words of our Saviour which I have
now cited ; I ſhall ſay no more of it now : Eſpecially, becauſe altho' from
the Conſideration of God's Goodneſs alone we might have been ſufficiently
aſſured of this, altho' it had not been expreſſly promiſed ; yet, as I ſaid in the
ſecond Place,
2. The cleareſt and fulleſt Aſſurance which is given us of this, is from the
many expreſs Promiſes which God has made in the holy Scripture, that he
will provide for the needful Support of all ſuch as are diligent in the Dif-
charge of their Duty to him ; ſo that, God having engaged his Word for it,
upon the whole Matter, every good Man who makes it his chief Care to
pleaſe God, and to keep a good Conſcience in every Thing, has indeed a
much better Aſſurance of all Things neceſſary for this Life, than he could
have by ſpending all his Time and Thought in caring for this Life only.
And indeed the Promiſes of God to this purpoſe in the holy Scripture are
fo many, that it would be almoſt endleſs to mention them all ; I ſhall there-
fore content my ſelf, with only naming two or three which are very expreſs.
Such is that in Pſalm xxxiii. 18. The Eye of the Lord is upon them that
fear him, upon them that hope in his Mercy, to deliver their Soul from Death,
and to keep them alive in Famine. Such is that in Pſalm xxxiv. 10. The
Lions do lack and ſuffer Hunger ; but they that ſeek the Lord ſhall not want
any good Thing ; and ſuch is that in Pſalm xxxvii. 18, 19. The Lord know-
eth the Days of the Upright, and their Inheritance ſhall be for ever. They
ſhall not be aſhamed in the evil Time, and in the Days of Famine they Mall
be ſatisfied; and many more which might be mentioned.
And left it ſhould be ſaid, that theſe are old Teſtament Promiſes, and ſo
do not belong to us; it may be conſidered, that God has been pleaſed alſo
in the new Teſtament to renew them, and to give us freſh Aſurances of his
fatherly Care in protecting and providing for good Men, even in this Life.
For theſe Words of our Saviour in the Text, were plainly ſpoken to his
Diſciples as Chriſtians, and not as Jews and the Children of Abraham ac-
cording to the Fleſh, to whom the Promiſes of an earthly Canaan were made.
And
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Religion a divine Security from Want.
And St. Paul, who writing only to Chriſtians, can't be ſuppoſed to have
encouraged them to their Duty by ſuch Promiſes of temporal Bleſſings as did
not belong to them, yet ſays expreſlly, 1 Tim. iv. 8. that Godlineſs is profit -
able unto all Things, having promiſe of the Life that now is, as well as of
that which is to come.
And that even the temporal Promiſes of the old Teſtament are not now out-
dated, but do belong to us Chriſtians, as well as they did to the Jews before
our Saviour's Time, we are clearly taught by the Author to the Hebrews,
Heb. xiii. s. where he declares that the Promiſe made to Joſhua, I will ne-
ver leave thee nor forſake thee, altho', at the firſt making of it, it ſeemed to
be a particular and perſonal Promiſe made to Joſhua alone, is yet to be un-
derſtood as an evangelical Promiſe made to every good Chriſtian. Let your
Converſation be without Covetouſneſs, ſays the Apoſtle, and be content with
Such Things as you have ; for he hath ſaid, I will never leave thee, nor
forſake thee.
And that not this one Promiſe only, but likewiſe all ſuch other temporal
Promiſes in the Book of Pſalms, and by the ſame Reaſon elſewhere in
the old Teſtament, do belong to us Chriſtians, no leſs than they did to the
pious Iſraelites, the ſame Apoſtle plainly enough intimates in the next Words
to thoſe before cited, viz. ver. 6. by his citing a Text from thence, which
he ſays, we alſo may apply to our ſelves; for theſe are the Apoſtle's Words;
so that we may boldly ſay, the Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what
Man fall do unto me.
All which places, and I might cite many more Promiſes of God of the
like kind, if I thought it needful) are, I hope, ſufficient to ſhew, that God's
Providence does take ſpecial Care of good Men, even in reference to this
Life, to maintain them with Comfort, and to provide for them all things that
are neceſſary; inſomuch that he has many times put himſelf to the Expence
of a Miracle for their Suſtenance, as he did for a conſiderable Space of Time
in the Caſe of Elijah ; and for forty Years together, while he fed his Peo-
ple of Iſrael with Manna in the Wilderneſs.
But the Story of Solomon is ſo very remarkable to this purpoſe, that I can't
forbear taking Notice of it, eſpecially becauſe it is ſuppoſed by ſome, that
our Saviour, in the Text, had an Eye and Reſpect to it. You may read it
at large in the third Chapter of Kings; but the Sum of it is this.
God appeared to him in a Dream, and bad him ask what he would ;
and all that he asked was, that he might have Wiſdom to diſcharge well
that great Truſt which was repoſed in him : With which Petition of his, it
is there obſerved, God was ſo well pleaſed, that he thereupon aſſured him,
not only of that which he asked, but added likewiſe of his own free Bounty
(being not by his Promiſe thereto obliged) what he had not asked, Riches,
and Honour, and length of Days; ver. 16, &c. And the Speech pleaſed the
Lord, that Solomon had asked this Thing ; and God ſaid unto him, becauſe
thou haſt asked this Thing, and haſt not asked for thy ſelf long Life, nei-
ther haſt asked Riches for thy felf, nor haft asked the Life of thine Enemies,
but haſt asked for thy ſelf Underſtanding to diſcern Judgment; behold I have
done according to thy Words: Lo I have given thee a wiſe and an underſtanding
Heart, ſo that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee Mall
any ariſe like unto thee: And I have alſo given thee that which thou haft
not asked, both Riches and Honour, so that there ſhall not be any among the
Kings like unto thee all thy Days. And if thou wilt walk in my Ways, to
keep my Statutes and my Commandments, as thy Father David did walk,
then will I lengthen thy Days. Which Hiſtory is a Verification of our
Saviour's Words here in the Text, in the higheſt and fulleſt Senſe; that they,
who ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, ſhall have all other
Things added unto them.
Never-
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Religion a divine Security from Want.
DAS
Nevertheleſs I do not bring this Story of Solomon as a Proof, that God
will deal out theſe worldly good Things, in ſo plentiful a Meaſure, to all
who do in like Manner make it their chief Care to pleaſe God, and to do
their Duty; I only bring it as an Evidence and Proof of diyine Providence,
and to ſhew that God docs take particular Care of good Meny; ſo that if they
Seek firſt his Kingdom, and the Righteouſneſs thereof; i.e. are careful above
all things to ſeek the Love and Favour of God, by doing thoſe things which
are pleaſing to him, they may be ſure that they ſhall obtain it ; and conſe
quently having him, who has all Power in his Hand, for their Friend, ſhall
not need to fear ever wanting any thing which is neceſſary or expedient, even
for this Life, for ſo long time as God ſhall be pleaſed to continue them in
it: For that, as I have thewed before, is all that is here promiſed, only ſuch
things as are needful to carry them thro' this World, to a better. All theſe
Things ſhall be added unto you.
And indeed beſides, if ſo much as this had not been promiſed, and with-
out recurring to a ſpecial and extraordinary Providence, there would be no
juſt Reaſon to fear, that our taking ſuch Care as is neceſſary about Matters
of Religion, called here in the Text, ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and
his Righteouſneſs, ſhould ever expoſe us to the Danger of temporal Want.
And this was what I propounded to make good in the ſecond Plaçe, byira
that I may not be tedious, I ſhall defer it to another Tiniç.
mano
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DISCOURSE LXVII.
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Religion conſiſtent with, and condu-
cive to temporal Intereſt, ,
MATTH. VI. 33.
But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs
, and all theſe Things ſhall be added
unto you.
N diſcourſing on theſe Words, I have formcrly propoſed
to do theſe three Things.
I. To explain the Nature of the Duty herc enjoin'd; by
ſhewing what is here meant by the Kingdom of God, what
by the Righteouſneſs of God, what it is to ſeek them,
and what it is to ſeek them firſt.
II. To endeavour to cnforce and perſuade the Praâice
of this Duty by ſome Conſiderations, ſhewing the Neceflity and the Rea-
fonableneſs thereof. And,
III. To explain the Meaning, and thew the Force, and manifeſt the Truth
of the Motive to this Duty, which is annexed by our Saviour himſelf in the
Text, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you. And to endeavour from
thence to ſhew how void of all Excuſe they are, who while thcy are careful
and troubled about other Things, do neglect, or take too little Care of this
one Thing needful.
And the two firſt of theſe Heads I have formerly ſpoken to; and the laſt
Time I entered upon the third, which was,
III. To explain the Meaning, to ſhew the Force, and to manifeſt the
Truth of the Motive to this Duty, which is here, by our Saviour himſelf,
urged in the Text, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you.
Which Clauſe nevertheleſs, as I have already intimated, is not ſo properly a
Motive to the Practice of this Duty, or a Reaſon why we ſhould ſeek firſt
the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs; but may better be conſidered
as an Anſwer to the only plauſible Objection which can be made againſt the
doing it. For the Kingdom of God, that is, the Happineſs of the other World,
cxceeding all which Eye hath ſeen, or Ear heard, or the Heart of Man cair
Now
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
731
i
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:
now conceive, is in it ſelf ſo well worth our ſeeking for, that there needs
no other Motive to induce us to ſeek for it, but only an Aſſurance, that if
we do ſeek for it, we ſhall obtain it. But nevertheleſs, it may be objected
againſt the Practice of this Duty, (and the Conſideration thereof may be
ſome little Balk and Diſcouragement to us) that if we are ſo very careful
and ſolicitous as we are here commanded to be, about our everlaſting
Well-being in the other World, we may be thereby hindered from making
ſuch Proviſion as is neceſſary for this preſent Life.
To this Objection therefore our Saviour here fully replies, by aſſuring us, that
our ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, will be ſo far
from being an Hindrance to us in our acquiring ſuch Things as are needful
for the Support of this Life, that it will rather be a Furtherance thereto ;
for that, if we ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs,
ſhall not only attain what we ſeck chiefly for, viz. the Salvation of our
Souls, but ſhall have beſides, all ſuch Things as are needful for this preſent
Life, thrown in to us, as it were into the Bargain, by God's Bounty and
Goodneſs; all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you.
In order to the explaining. more fully the Nature of which Promiſe, I
noted, the laſt Time, theſe four Things:
1. That the Things here promiſed, all theſe Things, are only ſuch Things
as are really needful for the Body; that is, Meat, Drink, and Cloaths ; not
Dainties, not Superfluities, but ſuch Things only as we cannot live without.
So that the very mean and low Condition, in this World, of ſome good
Perſons, is no Objection to the Truth of this Promiſe.
2. I farther noted, that even theſe Things, the needful Things of Life,
are not promiſed unconditionally to good Men; but it is ſuppoſed, that they
are honeſtly induſtrious to get their own Living; as indeed, if they be really
good Men, they muſt and will be. So that if an idle Man ſuffers Want,
whatever Opinion he may have of his own Goodneſs, he muſt not charge
God with Unfaithfulneſs, nor caſt any Blame upon Providence; ſeeing he
himſelf only is to blame, who neglects to uſe the Means which God has ap-
pointed, for the procuring of ſuch Things as we need, for the Support of
this temporal Life. And for a Man who neglects the Means which are put
into his own Power, for his own Support, to look to be ſupported by Mi-
racle, is a groundleſs and unreaſonable Expectation; this is not to truſt in
God, but to tempt him.
3. I farther noted, that no Promiſe of any worldly Good can in reaſon
be underſtood as promiſing an Eternity of it. When therefore it is ſaid, all
theſe Things ſhall be added unto you, it is not meant, they ſhall be added
to you for ever, but they ſhall be added to you for ſo long Time as God
ſhall ſee good to continue you in this World ; ſo that when a good Man has
finiſhed his Courſe here, and God is pleaſed to take him to himſelf, he
may, as conſiſtently with the Truth of this Promiſe, take him out of this
World by Hunger or Want, as by any other Diſeaſe or Caſualty.
4. Laſtly, I alſo noted, that this, as well as all the other temporal Pro-
miſes of God, muſt be underſtood with an Exception of the Caſe of Perſe-
cution; ſo that conſequently, whenever God ſees good to make Trial of the
Faith and Obedience of a good Man, or to make him an Example to the
World of Suffering and Patience, he may make Trial of him by Hunger
and Want, as well as by Stripes, or Impriſonment, or Death.
The Sum therefore of that Encouragement which was meant to be given
by this Promiſe, is this; that if we are careful above all Things to approve
our felves to God by a ſincere Obedience, we ſhall not need to fear the
ever wanting any Thing which is neceſſary for our Support and Comfort
here in this World, for ſo long as it ſhall be good for us to be here ;
2
for
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Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
for that God will either ſo bieſs our honeſt Labours, or elſe will other
ways ſo ſupply us with thcſc Things, and withal endue us with ſuch Peace
and Contentment of Mind, in our Condition of Life, whatſoever it is, as
that upon the whole we ſhall be, cven in this World, while we continue
here, ſufficiently happy; and much happier ſhall we be, which we ſhall be
taken out of it, in what Way ſoever we ſhall be taken.
And having thus explained the Meaning of this Promiſe, I then proceeded
to ſhow the Truth of it, or to declare the Reaſon we have to truſt that it
will be made good to us.
And the beſt Allurance which we have of this was, I told you, from
the Conſideration of the Goodneſs of God, and of the many cxprefs De-
clarations and Promiſes, which he has made in Scripture, of his fatherly Care
and Providence over good Men. And this Point I have already ſpoken
largely to. But,
2. I ſaid alſo farther, that although this had not been expreſſly promiſed,
and without recurring to a ſpecial and extraordinary Providence, there would
be no juſt Reaſon to fear, that our taking ſuch Care as is needful about
Matters of Religion, called in the Text, ſecking firſt the Kingdom of God
and his Righteouſneſs, ſhould ever expoſe us to the Danger of temporal
Want. And this is the Point I am now to ſpeak to.
And that there is no Danger of our ever being reduced to Want in this
World, by our ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs;
that is, by the Práctice and Exerciſe of Religion; will, I ſuppoſe, ſufficiently
appear, if theſe three Things be conſidered.
1. That ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs, is very
conſiſtent with all ſuch Care as is needful for the Body.
2. That many of the Duties of Religion, by the Practice whereof it is that
we do ſeek the Kingdom of God, do alſo manifeſtly tend to promote our
temporal Intereſt. And,
3. That there are none of the Duties of Religion, the Practice and Exer-
ciſe whercof has a natural Tendency to reduce us to Want and Beggary.
1. I ſay, that the Duty here commanded, of ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of
God and his Righteouſneſs, is very conſiſtent with all ſuch Care as is needful
for the Body; ſo that there is no Cauſe to fear, that by the Practice of it
we ſhould at all impair our Condition in this World. For the pooreſt
Man living may ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteouſneſs; that
is, may make it his firſt and greateſt Care to be a good Chriſtian, and to
do his Duty; and yet be careful enough about the World, and have Time
enough to ſpend in making all needful Proviſion for himſelf, and thoſe who
depend upon him. For Rcligion does not oblige Men to leave their Trades
and Profeſſions, but only to be honeſt and induſtrious in them; not wholly
to neglect this World, but only not to ſet their Affections upon it, and to
ſeck for ſomewhat beyond it. It is not neceſſary, in order to our obtaining
God's Kingdom, that we ſhould be always at Church, or upon our Knees;
but only that we ſhould maintain a conſtant Senſe of Religion in our
Minds, and expreſs the ſame at all reaſonable Times in folemn Acts of De-
votion. So that there is no Man whatſoever, but who may ſerve God, both
in the Church, and in his Cloſet; may pray to him as much and as often
as he is enjoined to do; may give due Attendance to the hearing and read.
ing of his holy Word, and perform whatever elſe is required of him, with-
out any Hindrance to his worldly Buſineſs, if he be but careful to lay out
his Time and his Buſineſs well beforehand.
Nay;
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Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
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Nay (as I have formerly obſerved in treating on thcle Words) ſo far is Rc.
ligion from taking us off from ſuch Care and Labour as is neceſary for this
World, that it commands its one part of the Duty which is laid upon us by
our Rcligion, being to attend with Diligence to our particular Callings ; ac-
cording to that of the Apoſtle, 2 Thef. iii. 12. Now them that are ſuch,
that is, who are idle, and work not at all, (for of them the Apoſtlc had
been juſt before ſpeaking) we command and exhort by our Lord Jeſus Chriſt,
that with Quietneſs they work, and eat their own Bread. This therefore
being a Duty laid upon us by our Religion, we do, by honeſt Labour and
Induſtry in our lawful Callings, at proper and ſeaſonable Times, as truly feck
the Kingdom of God, as we do by any Acts of Picty and Devotion in thcir
proper Seaſon. .
Let not any Man therefore pretend, that he cannot be ſo careful as he
ſhould be for this Life and for the next too ; for he may be both, if he
will himſelf; and neither of thcſc Buſineſſes is really any Hindrance to the
other.
Ler not, for inſtance, the poor Scryant, or the labouring Man who gets
his Living by hard Work ; let not them, I ſay, pretend, (and yet they may,
of all Perſons, with moſt Appearance of Truth, pretend it,) that the Works,
which they are forced to let themſelves to, to carn their Bread, do ſo en-
groſs and take up all their Time, that they cannot diſcharge thc Duty of
the Texr, of ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God; or that if they ſhould, it
muſt be with Neglect of their Maſter's Buſineſs. For what is there, which
if they had all their Time to themſelves, they would do more than they
may
do now? Would they then allot ſome Time in every Day, for private
Prayer and Reading? So they may do now; and if they cannot take it
from their leiſure Time, from that Time in which they are not held to
Work, they may take it from their Sleep. Or would they, if all their Time
were their own, conſtantly attend the publick Worſhip of God in the Church,
on the Days appointed for Religion? This alſo they may do now, if not
conſtantly, at leaſt very frequently; and when they are by Neceſſity detained
at Home, they may ſpend the Church-time, or a good Part of it at leaſt,
in Prayer, and Reading, and private Meditation; which, by the Bleſſing of
God, may be as profitable to them who can do no more, as the publick
Exerciſes of Religion may be to others : Or if what detains them at Home
be ſome ſuch Work as will alſo neceſſarily employ them there, as the look-
ing after Children, or the Care of the Sick; yet even ſuch Works as theſe,
though they employ their Bodies, leave the Minds for the moſt part at Li-
berty for devout Thoughts and pious Meditations. To which may be added,
that Charity is as proper a Work for an holy Day as Devotion; and there-
fore they need not fear that it is any Neglect of their Duty to God, if they
are forced to ſpend thar Time in doing good Offices to the weak and ſick,
which, if it had not been for that Neceflity, they would have ſpent in
fome Exerciſe of Religion : For in ſuch an Exigency as this, Mercy is more
pleaſing to God than Sacrifice.
What is it then, I ſay, that a Servant or a Day-Labourer may not do,
which another Man not ſo tied to Work might do, in order to the attaining
the Kingdom of God?
For if the other may be devout and religious, ſo I have ſhewed may he
be too: He, I ſay, may have as much inward Piery and Devotion towards
God as another Man; and if he do not, becauſe he cannot, ſpend ſo much
of his Time in the folemn Exerciſes of Devotion, that will not be im-
puted to him as a Fault, ſo long as he ſpends therein as much of his Time
as he can.
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Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt
He may alſo be as ftri&ly juſt and honeſt in all his Dealings as another
Man ; and if he be, his Virtue will be the greater and the more highly re-
warded, becauſe by reaſon of his Poverty he lay under a greater Temptation
to Diſhoneſty.
He
may
alſo be as charitable as another Man; I do not mean, that he
can give away ſo much as they who have more may do; but he may give a
little, and what he gives, he may give with a good Will; and if he does,
his Work of Bounty will be accepted according to what he has, and not
according to what he has not.
And laſtly, he alſo may be as ſober and temperate as any other Man; nay,
indeed the Neceflity which lies upon him to work, and the Need which he
has of all his Earnings, to find himſelf, and thoſe who depend upon him,
with Neceſſaries, do really make the Virtue of Temperance caſier to him,
than it is to others.
Now in theſe Inſtances the ſeeking the Kingdom of God conſiſts, i.e. in
Piety, Honeſty, Charity, and Sobriety; and therefore ſeeing he, who is moſt
tied to Labour, may nevertheleſs perform all theſe Duties, it is plain that the
neceſſary Care for the Things of this Life is no Hindrance to the Practice of
the Duty of the Text; nor, on the other ſide, is ſeeking firſt the Kingdom
of God, any ways inconſiſtent with ſuch Works as are neceſſary for the Sup-
port of this Life.
The Truth is, ſeeking the Kingdom of God is not ſo much a Buſineſs of
Time, as of Concern and Thought, of Watchfulneſs and Reſolution ; lo
that we may and do truly practiſe the Duty of the Text, even when we are
moſt induſtrious in any honeſt worldly Employment, provided that we al-
ways keep ſtriály to the Rules of Juſtice in our Dealings, and do not ſet our
Heart and Affection upon this World. Even the Servant, or he who is hired
to work, needs not think that Day miſpent in which he keeps cloſe to his
Work; or that becauſe he is then buſily employed in ſome Matter relating
to this Life, as plowing, ſowing, reaping, buying, felling, or the like, he
does therefore all that while neglect or intermite the working out his own Sal-
vation ; for on the contrary, he is truly ſerving God all the while that he is
ſerving his earthly Maſter : If, I ſay, he be careful, and honeſt, and induſtri-
ous in his Mafter's Service, or in the Work and Employment which he is
hired to, he ſerves his earthly Maſter and his heavenly Maſter both under
one ; and at the ſame Time, and by the very fame Labour of his Hands by
which he earns Bread for the Support of this Life, he alſo makes a good
Proviſion for another Life; according to that of the Apoſtle, Col. iii. 22. Ser-
vants, obey in all Things your Maſters according to the Fleſh, not with Eye-
ſervice, as Men-pleafers; but in Singleneſs of Heart fearing God. And
what foever ye do, do it heartily, unto the Lord, and not unto Men; know..
ing that of the Lord ye ſhall receive the Reward of the Inheritance; for
ye ſerve the Lord Chriſt.
So that you ſee, the diligent following of our worldly Employments is no
Breach at all of the Duty of the Text, nor any Hindrance thereto; pro-
vided that we take care to fpiritualiſe our bodily Works, and do, in the Pro-
ſecution of our worldly Buſineſs, always keep our ſelves in a devout and re-
ligious Frame of Mind. And this we always may do, though our Work be
ever ſo hard, and though it requires ever ſo cloſe an Attendance. For we
may, even while our Hands are employed in the Works of our Callings,
have our Minds raiſed above this World, and the Pleaſures of Senſe; we
niay, even while we are earning Neceſſaries for this Life, in our Hearts and
Deſires aſpire after Heaven, and the Enjoyment of God; we may have an
Eye to his Glory, and our eternal Welfare, as the principal End even of
theſe ſecular Employments; and this is to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and
his Righteouſneſs.
In
I
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
735
In fine, the Deſign of this Precept is not to take us wholly off from, or to
make us negligent about our worldly Intereſts and Concerns; but only to re-
gulate our Endeavours, and to moderate our Deſires after them, and to per-
ſuade us to mind theſe Things with leſs Carefulneſs and Concern, than we
do thoſe Things which appertain to another Life; and that we may do, and
yet mind them enough. And therefore ſecing ſeeking the Kingdom of God firſt
is ſo plainly conſiſtent with all ſuch Care and Labour as is needful for this
Life; the preſent Neceſſity which lies upon any of us to provide for the
Body, is manifeſtly no Objection againſt our practiſing this Duty. Eſpecially
if it be conſidered farther, in the ſecond Place,
2. That the Duties of Religion, or of an holy and virtuous Life, by the
Practice whereof it is that we do seek the Kingdom of God, are, many of
them, ſuch as do alſo plainly tend to promote our temporal Intereſts, to in-
creaſe oiir worldly Store, or at leaſt to preſerve it from Waſting and Dimi-
nution.
For a good Part of our Religion conſiſts in abſtaining from the ſinful Plea-
ſures and Vanities of the World, which are commonly very expenſive, both
of our Time and of our Money: For what are the common Cauſes of Men's
falling into Decay and Want? are they not, for the moſt part, Intemperance
or Prodigality, or a riotous Courſe of Living? is it not the ſpending what
they have, either in Gaming, or Drinking, or in keeping Company with lewd,
Women: or elſe, is it not becauſe they are idle and lazy, and neglect their
Buſineſs? Theſe, I ſay, are the common Cauſes of Poverty; and therefore
a good Man, and one who fears God, and makes it his chief Deſign to pleaſe
him, is manifeſtly in leſs Danger of coming to Want than another ; becauſe
all theſe Courſes by which it is that Men are commonly reduced to Want,
are alſo Breaches of his Duty to God, which he, as being a good Man, can
by no means allow himſelf in.
And as for the reſt of our Duties, ſuch as Meekneſs and Humility, the
Love of God and of our Neighbour, Juſtice and Peace, and the like, toge-
ther with the external Fruits and Exerciſes thereof; theſe, if they do ever hin-
der us from any Gain, or put us to any Charge, or coſt us any Time, yet it
is not ſo much as the contrary Vices would do.
Thus it appears, that many of the Duties of Religion are ſuch as do plainly
tend to preſerve at leaſt, if not to increaſe our Store; and therefore it is evi-
dent, that thus far the neceſſary Care which we are bound to take for this
Life, is no Objection againſt ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God; ſeeing that
at the ſame Time, and by the ſame Acts of Virtue by which we ſeek this,
we do alſo take the beſt Care we can for that.
Some few Duties of Religion indeed there are, which may ſeem an Hin-
drance to our thriving in the World, which may be thought to reſtrain us from
making ſuch good Proviſion for this Life, as we might otherwiſe do; or may
be reckoned chargeable or expenſive, and conſequently ſuch as may expoſe
us to the Danger of Want; as namely, firſt, all religious Exerciſes, which
cannot be performed but in Time; and that Time being taken from our
worldly Buſineſs muſt needs be ſome Hindrance to it; ſecondly, the ſtrict
Obſervation of the Rules of Juſtice in our Dealings, which muſt needs hin-
der us from making ſo much Gain, as other Men may do, who have no ſuch
Reſtraint upon them; and, thirdly, above all, the Pra&ice of Charity, which
(if of Things neceſſary to be done one may be judged more neceſſary than
another,) is a Duty of all others the moſt neceſſary for the obtaining God's
Kingdom : But now to part with what we have to the Poor, who are not
able to requite us, is plainly to waſte and leffen our Stock, and the ready
Way to come to Want our ſelyes.
In
.:
736
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
1
i
In anſwer to which Objections, I therefore propoſed to ſhew, in the
third Placc.
3. That there are none of the Duties of Religion, the Practice and Ex-
erciſe whereof have a natural Tendency to reduce us to Want and Beggary ;
no, not thoſe three before mentioned, which of all others do ſeem the moſt
contrary to our worldly Intereſts, and the moſt likely to keep us from thriya
ing, or to endanger our coming to Want.
(1.) Then, againſt what has been ſaid ; that the Practice of Virtue and
Religion, by which it is that we ſeek the Kingdom of God, is in no Inſtance
prejudicial to our ſecular Intereſts; it may be objected, that we are obliged,
by the Rules of our Religion, to ſpend much of our Time in Prayer and
Meditation, in hearing and reading the Word of God, and ſuch other Du-
ties as are properly called Exerciſes of Religion, the taking away which
Time from our worldly Buſineſs muſt needs be ſome Hindrance to it; becauſe
we cannot attend to theſe Duties as we ought, without ſeparating our felves
at ſuch Times wholly from the World, and withdrawing not only our Hearts,
but our Hands too, from our ſecular Einployments.
But in Anſwer to this, it may be ſufficient to conſider, how very little
that Time is which we are bound to ſpend in ſuch Exerciſes, in compariſon
with what the moſt bufied Man may ſpare from Matters altogether uſeleſs
and unneceſſary.
For it is not the ſerving God, but our own Careleſſneſs and Negligence,
which robs us of our Time; when we ſpend thoſe Hours and Days to no
Purpoſe, or in ſinful or immoderate Pleaſures, or in exceſſive and carking
Cares, or in melancholick Fancies and waking Dreams, or in impertinent
Viſits and idle Talk, or even in doing nothing at all, which might have been
employed in the Works of our Calling, or in Acts of Piety and Devotion.
What is it, now and then, in the midſt of our worldly Buſineſs, to cart
up an Eye to Heaven, and ſend up a grateful Acknowledgment, a ſhort Pe-
tition, or ſome pious Ejaculation thither? What is it to allot ſome little Time
every Day for our Morning and Evening Sacrifices of Devotion, or one Day
in ſeven for our publick Worſhip and Service! All this would be but a very
ſmall and inſenſible Hindrance to our worldly Concerns, if we were careful
not to ſquander away the reſt of our Time. And all this, and more, if
Need were, might ordinarily well enough be ſpared from our Sleep, from our
long Meals, and Exceſs in eating and drinking, from our Recreation, nay
more, I fear I may add, from our Sin. And I believe there is not any Man
ſo neceſſitous, but who, if he would husband his Time well, and be careful
to loſe none of it, might find enough for all the Duties of Religion, and yet
be as induſtrious in his Calling, to get a Living, as he is now. But,
(2.) It was farther objected, that the ſtrict Obſervation of the Rules of Juf-
tice in our Dealings, muſt needs hinder us from making ſuch Gain, as we
might do, if we had no ſuch Reſtraint upon us.
In anſwer to which therefore it may be conſidered, that the Text (all theſe
Things fall be added unto you) does not ſay, neither do I affirm, that a
Courſe of Juſtice and Honeſty is a probable Way of growing rich ſo ſud-
denly as ſome Men do by Fraud and Extortion : But all that I affirm, and
all that I have Ground from the Text to affirm, is only, that a juſt and ho-
neſt Man needs not fear that his Honeſty will ever be a Means of reducing
him to Want. And this daily Experience and Obſervation do ſufficiently
atteſt the Truth of, viz. that Juſtice and fair Dealing, though it be not al-
ways ſo quick, is always a more laſting Way of getting. The Oppreſſer and
unjuſt Dealer may perhaps get more in a little Time at firſt ; but when he
is once diſcovered, (and his Knavery cannot be long, will not be always hide)
his Gain, to be ſure, is then at an end. Nay and it often happens that he
1
is
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
737
1
is forced to diſgorge at once all his ill-gotten Wealth, and ſo is driven ever
after, for want of Friends and Reputation, to live in cxtreme Want. Where-
as the juſt and honeſt Dealer, who is content with moderate Gains, though
lie will not probably, without ſome great Hit, ever get together ſuch a great
Hcap as the other may do; yet ſuns no ſuch Hazard as the other docs of
being undone, and ſtripped of all, and is conſequently much more probable
to be exempt from extreme Poverty. Bür,
3. The greateſt Objection of all againſt what has been ſaid, that the Prac-
tice of Virtue and Religion is in no Inſtance prejudicial to our worldly Inte-
reſts, is the Precept of Charity. For what can ſeem a more ready Way to
Want, than to be continually giving away what we are juſtly and honeſtly
poſeſſed of, to ſuch as are never able to requite us?
But to this it may be anſwered,
(1.) That no Man is obliged to give away to others, more than he can
ſpare from himſelf ; except in ſome extraordinary Cafes : As when he has a
particular Command to do it; which was the Caſe of the young Man in the
Goſpel, whom our Saviour commanded to ſell all, and give to the Poir;
or when the Number of the Poor is ſo very great, and their Neceſſities fo
preſſing, that nothing leſs will ſuffice to ſupply their Needs, than the ſtripping
our felves of all; which was the Caſe of the firſt Chriſtians, who therefore
had all Things common ; and of whom as many as bad Lands and Houſes
Fold them, and brought the Price, and laid it at the Apoſtles Feet, that Dif-
tribution might be made to every Man out of it as there was Need. But
this was plainly an extraordinary Caſe; this was indeed a great Trial of the
Faith of thoſe new Converts in this Promiſe of our Saviour, all theſe Thing's
ſhall be added unto you: But they believed him, and the Promiſe was made
good to them ; for though they gave away all, yet they wanted nothing after-
wards which they had given away: So it is particularly noted by St. Luke,
Acts iv. 34. Neither was there any among them that lacked. They who
thus parted with their whole Eſtates at once to Charity, the Exigency of the
Times then requiring it, fared afterwards, if not quite ſo well as before, yet
well enough ; they wanted nothing.
But this, as I ſaid before, was an extraordinary Caſe : For ordinarily no
Man is obliged to impoveriſh himſelf. for the Maintenance of others; be-
cauſe a leſs Charity is ſufficient for that Purpoſe. And if a Man gives away
no more than he can ſpare, he may be the poorer for his Charity, but he
will never bring himſelf to Want by this means. Nay,
(2.) As he may order the Matter, he may give away a good deal, and yet
not be the poorer for it; that is, I mean, by allotting and laying aſide weekly,
monthly, or yearly, as it comes in, ſuch a certain Part of his Gain for cha-
ritable Uſes, and by computing and reckoning his Income at ſo much leſs,
and ſo ordering his Expences as he would really do, in caſe his Gains or Re-
ceipts were indeed ſo much abated.
For there are very few, except ſuch as are themſelves Objects of Charity,
and ſuch are not much concerned in the Precept of giving Alms; there are,
I ſay, I believe, very few, if any, beſides ſuch, but who; if they can and do
live within Compaſs upon their preſent Income, whatever it is, might alſo
and would live within Compaſs, in caſe their preſent Income were leſſened,
or abated, by a tenth or a twentieth Part; or, in caſe as their Income now is,
they are able to maintain themſelves and Families to their Content, and
likewiſe to lay up ſomewhat for Sickneſs, or old Age, or Children, they
would likewiſe be able to do the ſame, although their Gains were a tenth or
a twentieth Part leſs than they are. So that if, as their Receipts come in,
they ſhould lay aſide fuch a certain Part or Portion thereof for charitable Uſes,
and reckon only the remaining Parts as their own, it would be eaſy for them,
Vol. II.
L 1
by
738
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
by cutting off ſomewhat out of every Head or Article of their Expences,
and abating ſomewhat in their way of living in every reſpect; ſo to order
Matters, as that, notwithſtanding this Abatement of their Income by what
they lay aſide for Charity, they might, at the Year's End, be as rich, as if
they had given away nothing. Or,
(3.) If it be ſuppoſed that the charitable Man, who diſperſes abroad, and
gives to the Poor, will not be ſo rich as another Man in the ſame way of
getting may be, who gives away nothing ; yet ſtill this is no Objection againſt
the Truth of this Promiſe, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you: The
Meaning of which, as I have already frequently hinted, is not, that they
who ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God ſhall be richer than others; but only
that they ſhall not, ſuppoſing them careful and induſtrious, be miſerably poor:
And that any Man ſhould become ſo, by giving away to the Poor what he
nay, if he will, fave out of his own Expences, is not at all probable.
So far from that, that, conſidering the divine Bleſſing which does always
attend ſuch Men, they do uſually thrive much better than others; according
to that Obſervation of the holy Pſalmiſt, Pſal. xxxvii. 35. I have been young,
and now am old, yet have I not ſeen the Righteous forſaken, nor his
Seed begging their Bread. Which ſame Obſervation is alſo made by
Solomon, Prov. xi. 24. There is that ſcattereth,
There is that ſcattereth, and yet increaſeth;
and there is that with-holdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to Po-
verty.
And indeed beſides, if we only conſider the Nature of Men, and the
common Courſe of Things, it is almoſt impoſſible that a charitable Man
ſhould ever be ſo neceſſitouſly poor as any rich Man may come to be, who
gives away nothing.
For fuppoſing, as the Wiſe-Man obſerves, that Time and Chance happen
to all alike, and that a good and charitable Man nay, by ſome great Loſs
or Misfortune, or Unſucceſsfulneſs in his Buſineſs, come to loſe all he has
yet ſtill this is no more than what may, and what does often befal ſuch as
are moſt ſolicitous for the World, and never part with any Thing which
they have, for the Relief of others; theſe Men alſo do meet with Lofles
and Diſappointments, and are ſometimes, notwithſtanding all their Care and
Saving, reduced to extreme Neceſſity. Now, I ſay, when this Caſe hap-
pens to both of them, as it may do, and at leaſt as probably to the latter as
to the former; the charitable Man will have a great Advantage of the
other, who is then in the ſame low Circumſtances; becauſe he by his for-
mer Charity will have made himſelf many Friends againſt ſuch a Time of
Need: For it is not unlikely that many of thoſe whom he has formerly
obliged will be then in a Condition to Thew the like Kindneſs to him. Or
if there be none ſuch, yet every one will think himſelf obliged to take
Care of him, who was himſelf, while able, a generous Benefactor to others.
Whereas the covetous Miſer, who, when he was in a Condition to be kind
to others in Want, hoarded up and kept all to hiniſelf; if ever he ſhould
come to Want, will be deſerted and unpitied by all.
Thus, I hope, I have ſhewn, that if we are careful to ſeek firſt the King-
dom of God and his Righteouſneſs, we have no Reaſon to doubt, but that
all other Things Mall be added unto us. For beſides the Aflurance which
we have of this from the Goodneſs and Promiſes of God, (which Point I
have formerly inſiſted upon) I have now alſo ſhewn, that, without recurring
to an extraordinary Providence, there is no Danger of our ever being brought to
Want by the Practice of Religion and Virtue ; becauſe the neceſſary Care
about Matters of Religion is very conſiſtent with all ſuch Care and Labour
as is needful for the Body; and becauſe many of the Duties of Religion are
ſuch as do manifeſtly tend to promote our temporal Intereſts; and becauſe
there
j
2 2
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
739
there are none of them, the Practice and Exerciſe whereof has a natural Ten-
dency to reduce us to Want and Beggary.
But to all that has been ſaid, ſome perhaps will be ready to object their
own Experience, who though they now ſpend their whole Time, Sundays as well
as Working-Days, in caring for this Life, and improve it as much as ever
they can for this Purpoſe, by embracing all Opportunities, whether lawful or
unlawful, of cnriching themſelves; and alſo keep whatever they can get to
their own Uſe, never parting with any Thing to the Poor and Needy, can
yet make but a very hard Shift to live : And this is to them a Demonſtra-
tion, that if they ſhould practiſe the Duty of the Text, and ſeek firſt the
Kingdom of God, that is, if they ſhould beltow leſs Time and Care on theſe
Things than they do, or be ſo nice as to keep ſtrictly to all the Rules of Ju-
ſtice and Honeſty, or cver part with any Thing to others, they ſhould not
be able to get, or ſhould not have enough left, wherewithal to maintain
themſelves.
In anſwer to which, I will not deny but that this Matter of Fact may be
ſometimes true ; that is, that many of thoſe who have no Care at all but for
this Life, do nevertheleſs live in great Streights or Wants.
But then I ſay, that the Inference or Concluſion drawn from thence is not
true, viz. that if they ſhould take leſs Care for the World, their Wants
would certainly be greater than they are: But the Truth of the Caſe may be
this, that their too great Care and their too little Conſcience may be the Reaſon
that they thrive no more; and that poſſibly they might be able to maintain them-
ſelves more comfortably, if they were not ſo anxious and ſolicitous about it as
now they are. For the Race is not always to the ſwift, nor the Battel to the
ſtrong ; but there is a God above who over-rules all theſe Things, and diſpoſes of
Events as he pleaſes; who gives to one Man Power to get Wealth, and not
to another; and without whoſe Bleſling upon Men's Labours, it is in vain
that they riſe up early, and take their Reſt late, and eat the Bread of Care-
fulneſs.
If therefore it be true, as they themſelves now own, that their Minds are
ſo wholly taken up with worldly Cares, that they have no Leiſure at all for
the Worſhip and Service of God; and if it be true, that they make no
Conſcience of obſerving thoſe Rules of Juſtice in their Dealings which he
has preſcribed, and that they never, or very rarely, upon any Occaſion, part
with any thing to the Poor ; the hard Shift which they are put to, to live,
is no more than they ought in reaſon to expect. For they can have no
Claim to the Promiſe of the Text, who do not perform the Condition of it ;
neither are they proper Objects of God's Care and Bleſſing, who do ſo plain-
ly diſtruſt his Power and Providence, and reject or reſiſt his Authority.
Seeing therefore the Method they have hitherto taken has been ſo ſuc-
celeſs, this is plainly no Reaſon why they ſhould continue it; but rather,
it is a good Reaſon why they ſhould try another, even that which is
here preſcribed, of ſeeking firſt the Kingdom of God and his Righteoul-
nefs.
And if they would be perſuaded to take their Thoughts a little from the
World, and to allot ſome Portions of their Time for God's Worſhip, and
to ſeek his Bleſſing by a careful Diſcharge of all their Duties to him, and
the conſtant Exerciſe of Juſtice and Charity, it is likely this Way would ſuc-
ceed better. Let them but take this Courſe, and then they may reaſonably
hope with leſs Care and Solicitude for the World, to live better in it than
they do now. For it is not the Care and Labour of Man aione which can
make him thrive without God's Bleſſing, but that, with leſs Care and Labour,
may be ſufficient to do it; nay and that will do it. Seek firſt the Kingdom
of God and his Righteouſneſs, and all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you.
But
ز
740
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
2
But they would have God beforc-liand with them; and if he would but
give them in hand ſuch Store of all Things needful for this Life as they can
ever have occaſion to uſe; then, they ſay, having no other Care lying up-
on them, they would apply themſelves to Religion, and ſet themſelves with
all Diligence to ſeek the Kingdom of God.
But is it ſo then, that God has loſt, as I may ſay, his Credit ſo much with
lis that he may not be truſted? Is he indeed, is he known to be, ſo bad a
Paymaſter, as that we cannot prudently underrake his Work unleſs we have
our Wages beforehand:
But ſuppoſe, for once, that God ſhould anſwer the unreaſonable Deſire of
thefe Men, and grant them all thoſe Things beforchand which our Saviour
here promiſes ſhall be added to thoſe who make Religion their main Con-
cern; what more Reaſon would they have then to ſet themſelves to ſeek the
King dom of God than they have now?
Perhaps they may ſay, that then they ſhould be bound in Gratitude to do
it; but are they not, are we not all of us, bound in that reſpect already ?
Let us conſider what great Things he has already done for us undeſerving,
and how much Good he beſtowed upon us before we had done him any
Service: For he has given us Life, which is more than Food and Raiment;
and he has moſt tenderly preſerved our Life, though we have been hitherto
very
unmindful of his Kindneſs. How then can we think that he will uſe
us worſe, when, if I may be allowed fo to ſpeak, we ſhall deſerve better?
How can we imagine, that when in a due Senſe of what he has done already
for Lis, we ſhall heartily devote our ſelves to his faithful Service, he will then
forſake us!
But perhaps it will be ſaid by theſe Men, that if they were once, by the
Bounty of Providence, freed from theſe worldly Carcs, and from the Fear
of future Want, the Glory of the other World alonc, without any other Conſi-
deration, would then be ſufficient to engage them to feck for it : But then I
may ask what Aſſurance they have, that by ſeeking the Kingdom of God they
ſhall obtain it? For they can have no other Security of this, but from the
Goodneſs and Promiſe of God; and the ſame Goodneſs and the like Pro-
miſe of God they have, that if they ſet themſelves heartily to ſerve and
obey him, they ſhall not want any thing which is needful, even in this Life.
How then is it to be thought that they would truſt him, for beſtowing up-
on them the Bleſſing of Heaven and eternal Happineſs, which is the
greateſt Bleſſing and Gift that he can beſtow, when they are afraid to
truſt him for theſe earthly Things which are far leſs? Certainly, if their
Faith be ſo little that they cannot truſt him for the Performance of this
Promiſe, all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you ; the ſame Infidelity
would much rather make them diſtruſt his Performance of the other. So
that I cannot but think, that if God, in Condeſcenſion to the Weakneſs of
theſe Men's Faith, ſhould ſupply them with all Things needful for the
Body, both for the preſent and for the future Time of their Life, they
would be then every whit as backward to the Duties of Religion as they
are now; they would then, through the ſame Diſtruſt of the divine Good-
neſs and Promiſes, be for having Heaven alſo in preſent Poſſeſſion, before
they would ſet themſelves to perform the Condition required of them to
intitle them to it. This, I am ſure, is Matter of daily Obſervation; that
they who have the leaſt need of worldly Cares, are not the moſt free from
them; nay, I believe I may ſay, they are commonly moſt oppreſſed with
them: And it is our Saviour's own Obſervation, that the poor of this
World are for the moſt part in a better Diſpoſition and Preparation for the
Kingdom of Heaven, than the rich.
*
Their
Religion conducive to temporal Intereſt.
741
Their Pretence therefore is manifeſtly vain and groundleſs, who ſay they
cannot ſo apply themſelves to Religion and the Service of God as they would
do, becauſe they are poor and low in the World ; for rather, their hard
and low Circumſtances in this preſent Life ought to make them the leſs
fond of it, and the leſs careful about it, and the more concerned to ob-
tain a happy and glorious Immortality in the other World. Being morally
certain that they cannot, by any Thing they can do, raiſe themſelves to
worldly Greatneſs, they ſhould the rather make it their earneſt Endeavour,
to ſeek for the higheſt Glory and Honour in Heaven, of which they are as
capable as any other Perſons whatſoever ; eſpecially being here alfo farther
aſſured by our Saviour, that if they ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God, they
ſhall not only obtain that, but alſo have all theſe Things added unto them.
Now to God the Father, God the Son, &c.
ma
Vol. II.
M m
DI S-
742
;
t
DISCOURSE LXVIII.
Anxiety for the Things of the Mor-
row conſidered and cenſured.
(00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
MATTH. VI. 34.
:
Take therefore no Thought for the Morrow; for the
Morrow ſhall take Thought for the Things of it
ſelf; ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof.
UR Saviour, in ſeveral Verſes foregoing the Text, had
been labouring to free his Diſciples from over-much Care-
fulneſs for the Things pertaining to this Life; not only
thoſe Things which are ſuperfluous and unneceſſary, as
Wealth, Honour and Abundance, (about which never-
theleſs the greateſt Part of Mankind do moſtly diſquiet
and torment themſelves) but even thoſe Things which
are moſt neceſſary for the Support and Comfort of this preſent Life, Food
and Raiment. We may be too carcful even about theſe Things; Take no
Thought, ſays he, ver. 25. for your Life, what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall
drink; nor yet for your Body, what ye ſhall put on : Having enforced which
Exhortation, in that and the ſeven following Verſes, by ſeveral weighty and
convincing Reaſons ; he proceeds in the Verſe before the Text (on which I
diſcourſed the laſt Time) to direct us rather to beſtow our principal Care in
providing our ſelves for another Life, by a conſcientious Diſcharge of all
thoſe Duties which God requires of us; becauſe that by ſo doing, we ſhall
farther engage the Goodneſs and Providence of God to ſupply us with all
Things for our neceſſary Support. But ſeek ye firſt the Kingdom of God
and his Righteouſneſs, and all theſe Things ſhall be added unto you. And
then follow immediately the Words of the Text: Take therefore no Thought
for the Morrow; for the Morrow ſhall take Thought for the Things of it
Self ; ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof.
Which Words therefore may be expounded in two Senſes; for,
1. If we take the Phraſc here uſed, Take 920 Thought, in the ſame Senſe
in which it had been uſed at the twenty fifth and thirty firſt Verſes, "then
theſe Words contain only a Repetition and Reinforcement of the ſame Ex-
hortation which our Saviour had made before; viz. that we ſhould not be
over-careful and folicitous in providing for our future State and Subſiſtence
in this World; preſſed by this farther Argument, that if any ſuch Care and
Solicitude
*
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
743
ز
Solicitude be neceſſary, at leaſt it is not neceſſary yet a while; and that it
will be ſoon enough for us to be anxiouſly ſolicitous about theſe Things,
when the Time comes that we ſhall have need of them for preſent Uſe.
Take no Thought for the Morrow ; for the Morrow Mall take Thought for
the things of it ſelf. Or elſe,
2. We may underſtand that Phraſe, len leerjevsonls sis * xícrov, thus; be not
thoughtful againſt the Morrow ; i. e. be not perplexed, and troubled, and diſ-
quieted before-hand, with the Thoughts of any Evil which may befall you to
Morrow, or at any Time hereafter in this World ; be not in Pain now, for
the Pain which you may poſſibly undergo another time.
And this Senſe of this Precept ſeems to me to correſpond better with the
laſt Clauſe of the Words ; ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof; and
is beſides very appoſite to what our Saviour had been diſcourſing of in the
foregoing Verſes. For if we take the Words in this Senſe, they plainly re-
move that which is the Ground and Reaſon of Men's Over-carefulneſs and Soli-
citude about the Means of their preſent Subſiſtence; viz. an unreaſonable and
exceſſive Fear of future Evils. For that which chiefly prompts Men to be
ſo ſolicitouſly careful, as worldly Men generally are, about theſe Things,
even about Meat, Drink and Cloaths, is a ſad and fearful Apprehenſion of
the Miſery of wanting them; the Foreſight of which puts them to as much
Pain, and creates as much Trouble and Diſquietude in their Minds, as the
real Want of them would do. Now this, our Saviour here ſays, is very
fooliſh and unreaſonable ; take no Thought for the Morrow; i. e. be not
thus pain’d and diſquieted before-hand, by the Fear, Foreſight, or Pre-appre-
henſion of future Pain and Miſery; for the Morrow ſhall take Thought for
the Things of it ſelf; i. e. when thoſe Evils come, which you have this
Proſpect and Pre-apprehenſion of, then indeed you cannot chuſe but be grieved
and troubled: And ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof; i. e. the
preſent Pain and Miſery of ſuch Evils, when they do come (if ever they
ſhould happen) will be a ſufficient Load and Burthen to you; you will be
miſerable enough when they ſhall be actually preſent; why then ſhould you
anticipate your Miſery, and torment your felves before the Time?
And this is that Senſe of the Words, wherein I intend at preſent to dif-
courſe of them; take no Thought for the Morrow, for the Morrow ſhall
take Thought for the Things of it ſelf; fufficient unto the Day is the Evil
thereof. Only in diſcourſing upon this Subject, I intend not to confine
my ſelf to thoſe Particulars which our Saviour here eſpecially refers to;
but fall endeavour to ſhew more generally, the Folly and Unreaſonable-
neſs of tormenting and diſquieting our ſelves before-hand with unneceſſary
Fears and diſmal Pre-apprehenſions : Whether of thoſe, or of any other
Evils and Calamities, which are incident to Men, while they live in this
World. Take no Thought for the Morrow; i. e. be not before-hand troubled
and diſquieted with the Thought of any Pain which you may endure, or any
Evil or Calamity which may befall you in this World, to Morrow, or at any
Time hereafter.
In diſcourſing on which Words I ſhall do theſe four Things.
ز
!
i
I. I ſhall fhew, what Thoughtfulneſs about the future was not meant to be
here forbidden.
II. What Thoughtfulneſs about the Evils which may befall us hereafter is
unlawful and unreaſonable.
III. I ſhall endeavour to repreſent to you the Vanity and Unreaſonable-
neſs
4
744
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
neſs of ſuch Fear and Diſquiet about our future State in this World, as is here
forbidden. And,
IV. Laſtly, I ſhall propoſe fome Remedies for the Cure of it.
mi
I. I ſhall ſhew, what Thoughtfulneſs about the Evils which may befall us
hereafter in this World, was not meant to be forbidden in this general Pro-
hibition : Take no Thought for the Morrow. And,
1. Firſt of all, we are not to underſtand theſe Words, as if it was our
Duty to live in this World in a State of perfect Security. Though we are
now in Health and Peace, though we now enjoy great Plenty and Proſpe-
rity, we are not bound to preſume, that we ſhall always continue in this
happy Condition: Nay, indeed we are not at any Time to think, that the
State of human Affairs is ſo firm and immutable, ſo fixed and ſettled, as
that no Change can poſſibly happen. For, ,
(1.) Firſt of all; ſuch an Opinion of the Certainty of any thing in this
World is very falſe and ungrounded, and it cannot be our Duty to believe
a Lye ; for the Hiſtories of all Ages, and every Day's Experience and Ob-
fervation, may abundantly aſſure us, that there is nothing at all certain in
this World. It is therefore an unreaſonable Vanity and Preſumption, for any
Man to promiſe himſelf an Exemption from thoſe Chances and Changes,
which he daily ſees all other Men and all human Affairs are liable to.
He
who is in perfect Health to Day, may to Morrow be confined to a Bed of
Sickneſs, from whence he may never riſe again ; and what may befall another,
may befall
. me. He, who has now more Wealth than he can uſe, cannot
tell how foon he may be reduced to the extrémeſt Poverty; and therefore
it is a Folly for any Man, how wealthy ſoever, to truſt in uncertain Riches,
which, as the Wiſe Man ſays, make themſelves Wings and fly away. And
the like may be ſaid of worldly Honour and Greatneſs, or whatever elſe
conduces either to the real or imaginary Happineſs of this preſent Life. Eve-
ry thing here below is fickle, and uncertain, and tranſient; and therefore
for a Man to flatter himſelf, that he ſhall always certainly continue in the
ſame State of Proſperity which he is in at preſent, is as unreaſonable an
Expectation, as it would be to preſume, that the Wind ſhall always conti-
nue in the ſame Corner. For Man is born unto Trouble, as the Sparks fly
upwards; as it is ſaid, Job v. 7.
You have read in the Book of Eſther the Story of Haman, the prime
Favourite of the great King Ahaſuerus, whom the fame Sun beheld feaſt-
ing with the King and Queen alone at a royal Banquet, and hanging on
a Gibbet. And as ſudden, and almoſt as great, was the Change of Job's
Condition ; in the Morning bleſſed with ten hopeful Children, poffefſed of
ſeven thouſand Sheep, three thouſand Camels, five hundred Yoke of Oxen,
five hundred ſhe Affes, and a very great Houſhold, ſo that he was then
the greateſt of all the Men of the Eaſt; and in the Evening deprived of
all, and ſtripped as naked as he came from his Mother's Womb; and within
a very little while after full of fore and noiſome Boils, and ſcraping him-
ſelf with a Potſherd upon a Dunghil. Here we have an Example in Ha
man of a very bad, in Job of a very good Man, both alike falling in al-
moſt an inſtant of Time, from the Top of worldly Greatneſs, to the loweſt De-
gree of Poverty and Contempt. In ſuch Uncertainty therefore of all hu-
man Affairs, it cannot be any Man's Duty to be ſecure of what he enjoys,
or to preſume that his State is unalterable. Nay farther,
(2.) Such Security is ſo far from being a Duty, that it is a very great Fault,
and what we are in Scripture particularly warned againſt. Charge them that
are rich in this World, ſays the Apoſtle, 1 Tim. vi. 17. that they truſt not
*
in
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
745
1
in uncertain Riches, but in the living God. And the Pride and Security of
ſome wicked Men in the holy Pſalmiſt's time, is mentioned by him in the
tenth Pſalm, as a great Aggravation of their Wickedneſs. His Ways are
always grievous ; thy Fudgments are far above out of his Sight; and as for
all his Enemies he puffeth at them, ver. 5. i. e. he is ſo confident of his
own Wit and Strength, that he never dreams of meeting with any Change
in his Fortune, or Diſappointment in his Deſigns. He hath ſaid in his
Heart, I ſhall never be moved, I ſhall never be in Adverſity, ver. 6. More.
over,
(3.) Such Security, ſuch Preſumption, and Confidence of the Fixedneſs
and Immutability of our preſent worldly Stare, has very often engaged
God to convince Men of their Vanity and Miſtake, by making them Ex-
amples both to themſelves and others, of the Fickleneſs and uncertainty of
all worldly Enjoyments. When Men Say Peace and Safety, then, as the
Apoſtle obſerves, i Theſ. v. 3. ſudden Deſtruction cometh upon them.
them. The
rich Man in the Goſpel, Luke xii. 16, &c. who had filled his Barns, and
laid up Goods for many Years, might probably have lived longer to enjoy
them, if he had not fooliſhly promiſed himſelf ſuch a ſure and laſting Por-
ieſlion of them: But when he was too confident and ſecure, and thought
himſelf out of the Reach of Fortune, God thought fit to ſhew him the Va-
nity of ſuch Security, by ſummoning his Soul that very Night into another
World; and then, ſays God, whojë ſhall thoſe Things be which thou haſt
provided? ver. 20. And when the holy Pſalmiſt, after the End of his War
with the Houſe of Saul, thought himſelf now in ſo ſecure a Poſſeſſion of
the Throne, that there was no Manner of Danger of any farther Trouble,
when he had ſaid in his Proſperity, I ſhall never be moved, thou, Lord, of
thy Goodneſs haſt made my Hill ſo ſtrong! No ſooner had he ſaid the Words
but he was convinced of the Vanity of that his Preſumption ; for God hid
his Face, and he was troubled, as it is ſaid Pfal. xxx. 7. God was pleaſed
to inſtruct him thereby, by what Tenure it was that he held his Peace and
Proſperity, viz. merely by God's continued Favour and Bounty, not by his
own Strength, not by any Certainty and Immutability in the Nature of Things.
(4.) Laſtly; as this vain Security and Confidence of the Unalterableneſs of
our preſent State, is a likely Means to cauſe a ſudden Change, ſo is it apt to render
any ſuch Change of our Condition for the worſe much more grievous and in-
tolerable than otherwiſe it would be; partly becauſe whatever Calamity befalls us,
while we are thus ſecure and confident, muſt needs be very ſudden and ſurprizing,
and it is a very great Addition to the Grievouſneſs of any Evil or Calamity, if it
comes upon us unexpectedly, when we think our ſelves fecure, when we do
not
ſo much as dream that any ſuch Calamity is either likely, or ſo much as poſſible
to befall us ; partly becauſe whenever any Evil comes upon us a unexpectedly, it
finds us unprovided to bear it, and alſo renders us incapable of uſing our
Reaſon, either to furniſh our Minds with ſuch wife Conſiderations as might
help us to ſuſtain it, or to find out, and put in Execution, the probable Means
of delivering our ſelves from it.
It is good Advice therefore to all Men, even when they are moſt in Health
and Safety, and in the moſt b flouriſhing and proſperous Condition, often to
1
:
* Incertum quid agam, quia præter fpem, atque incredibilc hoc mihi obtigit :
Ita fum irritatus, animum ut nequeam ad cogitandum inſtituere, Terent. Phorm.
Quamobrem omnes, cùm ſecundæ res ſunt maximè, tum maxiniè
Meditari fecum oportet, quo pacto advorſam ærumnam ferant.
Pericla, damna, exilia peregrè rediens femper cogitet,
Aut filii peccatum, aut uxoris mortem, aut morbum filiæ :
Communia efle hæc; fieri poffe; ut ne quid animo ſit noyum :
Quidquid præter fpem eveniat, omne id deputare efle in lucro.
this.
ز
Vol. II.
N
conſider
?
nemo
740
Anxiety for the Things of the .Morrow conſidered.
Or
conſider of the Uncertainty and Mutability of their Starc; that though they
are now rich, they may be poor; that though they are now in Health, they
may be fick; that though they are now honourable, they may be deſpiſed;
that though they are now compaſſed about with many loving Friends and
Relations, they may very ſoon be left quite deſolate, or thoſe Friends
may turn to be their Enemies : Communia eſe hac; that theſe are ſuch ill
Accidents as are common to Men, ſuch as have befallen many, and ſuch as
may befall any Man
Man. Becauſe that when a Man has uſed himſelf to ſuch
Thoughts and Meditations as theſe, nothing new or unexpected can ever be-
fall him. When he has enured himſelf to the Contemplation of the Vani.
ty and Uncertainty of all worldly Enjoyments, no ill Accident will ever a-
maze or ſurpriſe him. When he returns home after a Journey, and is wel-
comed with the fad News of the Death of a Friend, or the Miſcarriage of
a Relation, or ſome great Loſs which has befallen him in his Eſtate, he will
not be at all aſtoniſhed, though he may be grieved to hear it ; becauſe it was
no more than he knew night happen, it was no more than might have hap-
pened much ſooner. If a Man be told, that a Glaſs or an earthen Veſſel is
broken, he may be concerned a little for the Loſs, but he won't wonder at
all at the Accident, viz. that a brittle Thing ſhould be broken; and he
will no more wonder at it that a mortal Man is dead, for it is no more
than what may at any time be looked for; or that a Ship is caft
away,
for he knew when he ſent it out that it might miſcarry ;
that a Houſe is burnt, for he knew that it was built of combuſtible
Materials. And on the other ſide, if things do not happen ſo ill as
they might have done, his daily Eſcapes will be a freſh Ground of daily Re-
joycing, and he will receive the Continuance of his proſperous State as a new
Bleſſing, and with the ſame Gladneſs of Mind, which he would have done
a Deliverance from ſome ſore Calamity. This is the firſt Thing; when our
Saviour bids us to take no Thought for the Morrow; i. e. not to be over-
concerned and ſolicitous about future Events, it was not his Intention to make
Men ſecure, and confident of the Continuance of their preſent Enjoyments.
Neither,
2. Was it his Meaning hereby to forbid Men to make uſe of their Eyes to
ſee before them, or to make a judgment by the Skill which they may have
gotten, either from their own Obſervation, or the Hiſtories of paſt Times;
what Evil Events are likely to happen. It is a prudent Way of Reaſoning
thus ; Such and ſuch Cauſes have uſually produced ſuch and ſuch Effects;; if
therefore theſe Cauſes are now viſibly in being, it is probable enough-that
the ſame Effects will follow. So when a Man ſees the Clouds gathering from
all the Quarters of Heaven, and the Air on a ſudden grow thick and dark;
he cannot but conclude thar a Storm is likely to enſue; thougli-after all, it is
poſſible, that one Wind may ſo over-power the reſt as to diſperſe or carry
off the Vapours, ſo that the Sky may clear up, and the Sun Break forth again.
But yet nevertheleſs, becauſe contrary Winds and a ſudden Blackneſs do uſe
to portend a Storm, no wiſe Man could have concluded otherwiſe but that
a Storm was probable ; and no wiſe. Man, in ſuch a probable Danger of a
Storm, but would have provided as well as he could againſt it. And there-
fore I add farther in the third Place,
3. That when we are forbidden to be thoughtful againſt the Morrow, we
are not ſo to underſtand theſe Words, as if it were our Duty to be altoge-
ther careleſs and unconcerned, when we ſee, as we think, any Evil coming
to us ; neither are we forbidden to uſe all lawful and prudent Means to avert
thoſe Evils which are otherwiſe likely to happen, but may poſſibly by our
prudent Foreſight and honeſt Diligence be prevented or to preſerve and
keep
i
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
747
keep our felves unhurt by thoſe Evils, whoſe coming we cannot altogether
hinder. A prudent Man, (ſays Solomon, Prov. xxii. 3.) foreſeeth the Evil,
and hideth himſelf; but the ſimple paſs on and are puniſhed. Neither,
4. Laſtly, are we to think that our Saviour hereby intended to forbid us
to arm and provide our ſelyes, either in general againſt any Evil which may
poſſibly befall us, whether Poverty or Diſgrace, Pain or Sickneſs, Loſs of
Goods, or the Death of Friends, or any the like evil Accident; or in par-
ticular againſt thoſe Calamities which we foreſee are probable to come upon
us: For, on the contrary, a great Part of his holy Goſpel is ſpent in giving
us Rules and Directions preparatory to Affliction ; ſuch are, in particular, all
the Precepts of Patience, Self denial, taking up the Croſs, Reſignation to
God's Will, Contempt of this World, and the likes which Prccepts we ought
to learn before-hand, even when we are in the moſt proſperous and flouriſh-
ing Condition, and in no probable Danger of any Calamity; thar ſo the evil
Day of Adverſity and Affiliation may never come upon us ſuddenly, nor find
us unprovided. But eſpecially when we have a Foreſight of any particular
Evil, which is very likely to befall us, and which cannot by any lawful Means
which we can uſe be prevented, it is then, I ſay, more eſpecially both our
Duty and our Prudence, to fortify our Minds before hand by wiſe and reli-
gious Conſiderations, that we may not be overwhelmed and caſt down by
it when it happens, but may be able to bear it like Men and like Chriſti-
Such Inſtances of Thoughtfulneſs concerning the future, or for the Mor-
row, as theſe which I have now mentioned, it was not, I ſuppoſe, our Sa-
viour's Deſign to prohibit in theſe Words: Take no Thought for the Morrow.
I proceed now in the ſecond Place,
!
ans.
II. To ſhew, what Thoughtfulneſs about any worldly Evils which may
befall us hereafter is unreaſonable and unlawful.
And I ſuppoſe that all which our Saviour here meant to forbid, all, I
think, which right Reaſon condemns in this Affair, is an exceſſive Fear of,
or Concern about ſuch future Evils; and then our Fear of them, or Con-
cern about them, is unreaſonable and exceſſive: 1. When it exceeds our
Faith: 2. When it puts us upon uſing any unlawful or unwarrantable Means
to prevent them; and, 3. when it does as much difquiet and diſcompoſe our
Minds, and make us as uneaſy, as if the Evil which we fear were actually
preſent.
1. Our Fear of any future worldly Evil is unreaſonable and exceſſive, when
our Fear exceeds our Faith; that is, when we think the Evil we are afraid
of is ſo certain and unavoidable, that God Almighty himſelf is not able to
hinder it; or when we think it would be ſo grievous and intolerable, that
God Almighty either cannot, or will not, enable us to ſupport it. The firſt
argues a Diſtruſt of God's Power and Providence ; the ſecond implies a Dir.
belief of his Goodneſs, or of the Truth of his Promiſes.
Of the firſt of theſe we have a remarkable Inſtance, in the ſeventh Chap-
ter of the ſecond Book of Kings. When there had been a long and grie-
vous Famine in Samaria, inſomuch thar Women were forced to eat their
own Children, and there was great Reaſon to fear that it would every Day
increaſe, becauſe they were cloſely beſieged by a very great Army, and there
was no armed Force in readineſs to relieve them; Elina propheſied in the
Name of the Lord, that the very next Day there ſhould be as great Plenty
of all Sorts of Proviſions, as there had been before a Scarcity. Nay, ſays a
Lord, on whoſe Hand the King leaned, that cannot be; if God ſhould make
Windows in Heaven, and rain down Proviſion, it, is impoſlible it ſhould be
ſo cheap and plentiful as you have ſaid: The Prophecy was ſo ſtrange and ſo
unlikely
.
*
748
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
unlikely to come to paſs, that he could not belicvc that God himſelf was able
to make it good.
Now, I ſay, when our Fear of any temporal Evil is ſo great, as to mako
us give over our Truſt in God's Providence, it is very unreaſonable ; becauſe
there is nothing which can be too hard for God, a Being of infinite Strength
and Power, and whom no Creature is able to reſiſt; and it is exceflive, be-
cauſe it puts us beſides our Duty, and makes us ceale our Dependence upon
him, on whom we are commanded to caſt all our Care, becauſe he careth
for us; and who has given us in all Ages abundant Proofs of his Care and Pro-
tection over Men, in the remarkable Deliverances which he has given to his
faithful Servants from thoſe Evils which ſeemed inevitably coming upon
them: A very memorable Example of which we have in the Book of Eſt-
her, in the Deliverance of the Jews from the Deſtruction which was con-
trived againſt them by Haman, at the Time when his malicious Project was
juſt upon the Point of being put in Execution.
And ſo likewiſe, when we apprehend the Evil which we are afraid of to
be fo grievous and intolerable, that we think it impoflible that we ſhould be
able to bear it, then our Fear of it is unreaſonable, and exceeds the juſt Mea-
ſures; becauſe God has aſſured us, and he is faithful to all his Promiſes, that
he will not ſuffer us to be tempted above what we are able, but will with the
Temptation alſo make a Way to eſcape, that we may be able to bear it.
And there can be no Reaſon to diſtruſt cither his Power or Goodneſs, or to
queſtion the Truth of his Promiſe, which he has ſo abundantly made good to
his Servants in all Ages.
You have heard of the Patience of Job under the foreſt Afflictions, and
thoſe accompanied with the moſt aggravating Circumſtances; for from the
greateſt Plenty and Proſperity he was reduced to the extremeſ Miſery, and
(not now to mention all the Particulars of it) ſuffered both in his Body, in
his Relations, and in his Eſtate, the foreſt and moſt grievous Afflictions,
which the Subtlety and Malice of the Devil himſelf could invent, who by
God's ſpecial Permiſſion was ſuffered to do him all the Hurt he could : And
theſe Afflictions came upon him, when he had no Reaſon to fear or ſuſpect
them; and they came alſo upon him ſo quick one after another, that he had
no Space of Time to recollect himſelf; for no ſooner had one Meſſenger
finiſhed his ſad Story, but he was followed cloſe at the Heels by another,
the Meſſenger of a fadder; and while the ſecond was yer ſpeaking, there
comes in a third, with a ſtill more lamentable Relation; and immediately
after him a fourth, with the ſaddeſt Meſſage of all, the Death of all his Chil-
dren, by the Fall of an Houſe upon their Heads. Theſe were ſore Trials
indeed, and ſuch as it might well be thought human Nature could not but
funk under: And yet when all theſe Meſſengers had related their ſeveral Sto-
ries, and the good Man perceived himſelf, of the happieſt to be become in
almost a Moment of Time the moſt miſerable and afflicted Perſon upon
Earth, the worſt Words which the Senſe of his moſt miſerable Condition did
extort from him were theſe ; The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away,
bleſſed be the Name of the Lord,
You have heard nioreover, I ſuppoſe, of the Patience and Conſtancy of
the Apoſtles, and other primitive Saints and Martyrs, under the fevereſt Per-
ſecutions; for they had Trials of cruel Mockings and Scourgings; yed, more-
over of Bonds and Impriſonments; they were ſtoned, they were fawn afun-
der, were tempted, were ſlain with the Sword, were burned alive, were torn
in pieces by wild Beaſts; in ſhort, they ſuffered all the Torments which the
Malice of cruel Men and Devils could think of; and they ſuffered them all
patiently and meekly, without Shrieks or Groans, without any Tokens of
Anger
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
.
749
1
1
ز
Anger or Impatience. Nay even the Women, and the Children ſcarcely
grown up to Youth, were as forward to undergo, and did endure, with as
much Patience and Courage as the ſtouteſt Men, whatever Torments their
cruel Perfecutors were pleaſed to inflict.
Now if God could, if in fact he did, enable theſe Perſons to bear patiently,
and without lamentable Complaints, ſuch Crueltics, as human Nature, not al-
fifted by Strength from above, muft neceſſarily have ſunk under, why ſhould
we doubt either of his Power or Readineſs to afford us the like Strength and
Courage, to enable us to bear any Affliction which he ſhall pleaſe at any
time to lay upon us? And if he can ſupport Men under ſuch Afflictions as
theſe, much rather may we truſt, that he will empower us to bear any of
thofe Calamities which are common to Men, and not ſo very terrible to our
preſent Apprehenſions ; ſuch as Poverty and Diſgrace, Pain and Sickneſs,
temporal Loſes, or the Death of Friends, and the like; and therefore we
ought not to be unreaſonably and unmeaſurably terrified by the Foreſight and
Pre-apprehenſion of any ſuch Things. But,
2. Then our Fear of any temporal Evil and Calamity, which may poſli-
bly befall us, is unreaſonable and exceſſive, when it puts us upon uſing any
unlawful and unwarrantable Means to prevent its coming upon us ; for,
Firſt of all, ſuch a Fear of any future worldly Calamity, as engages us in
any evil Act to prevent it, does plainly imply a Disbelief of God's over-ruling
Providence. For if we did believe what we are abundantly aſſured of in
the holy Scripture ; that no Evil or Calamity does or ever can befall any Man
unknown to God; nay, that nothing does ever happen to any of us by Chance,
but always by his ſpecial Order or Permiſſion ; for Affliction cometh not forth
out of the Duſt, neither doth Trouble Spring out of the Ground, Job. v. 6.
and the Prophet afſures us, Amos iii. 6. that there is no Evil in the City
which the Lord hath not done; and our Saviour ſays, that not a Sparrow
falls to the Ground without him; and that the very Hairs of the Head are
numbred; (And accordingly holy Job, tho' Part of his Affliction was imme-
diately cauſed by the Villany of Men, as the driving away of his Carrel, and
the Slaughter of his Servants by the Sabeans and Chaldeans ; Part ſeemingly
by the more immediate Hand of God; the Fire of God, ſays the Meſſenger,
is fallen from Heaven, and hath burnt up the Sheep and the Servants ; Part
by what we uſually call Chance or Accident, as the Death of his Sons and
Daughters by the Fall of an Houſe upon their Heads; yet aſcribes the
whole of his Affliction, all that ever he ſuffered, to God's over-ruling Provi.
dence; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away) if, I ſay, we did be.
lieve that nothing does ever befall us but by God's Providence; and more-
over, that he never ſends any Affliction upon Men but for ſome very good
Reaſon, either for the Trial of their Faith, or the Puniſhment of their Sins;
we could not think the Commiſſion of any Sin a likely. Means to hinder
any Evil that we fear is coming upon us; but rather, at ſuch a Time, we
ſhould be more than ordinarily afraid of doing any Thing which might anger
and diſpleaſe him : We ſhould be then more eſpecially careful to avoid all
manner of Sin, becauſe the increaſing of our Guilt by the Addition of any
new Iniquity muſt needs be a more likely Means to häſten and aſcertain the
Evil which we fear, than to prevent
Beſides ; ſuch a Fear of any future Evil, as engages us in any ſinful Prac-
tice to prevent or avoid it, plainly argues a Diſtruſt of God's infinite Power :
For if we thought him of ſufficient Ability to preſerve us from it, we ſhould
not ſeek to the Devil, his greateſt Enemy, for Help and Deliverance; but ra-
ther, as the Apoſtle exhorts, in every Thing by Prayer and Supplication, with
Thankſgiving, let our Requeſts be made known unto God; and truſt to him,
whoſe Wiſdom and Power do infinitely exceed our Conceptions of them, to
Vol. II.
find
it.
.
Oo
750
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow confidered.
find out ſome Expedient for our Safety, and to deal with us, and do for us,
as ſeemeth him good.
Again ; ſuch a Dread of any Calamity which can befall us in this World,
as puts us upon uſing any unlawful Means to hinder it from coming upon us,
is moſt highly unreaſonable ; becauſe Sin is the greateſt Evil in the World,
and what we ought in reaſon to be more afraid of than any Thing beſides ; and
nothing can be more fooliſh, than to chuſe a greater Evil to avoid a leſs. But
for a Man to fear a littlc Pain and Sickneſs, Loſs or Trouble, or even Death
it ſelf and not to fear eternal Damnation much more; for a Man to chuſe this,
that he may avoid any of thoſe, is the ſame, or infinitely greater Madneſs
than it would be to fear a ſlight Scratch in the upper Skin more than a mor-
tal Wound in the Heart, or to drink a Cup of deadly Poiſon to prevent a
future Thirſt. But,
3. Laſtly; Then our Fear of any temporal Evil which may come upon us
to Morrow, or at any Time hereafter, exceeds the juſt Bounds which both
Reaſon and Religion have ſet to this Paſſion, when it puts us to a preſent
Pain ; when we do not only fear, but do alſo in a Manner feel thoſe Evils
and Calamities, which are not yet come, and which perhaps may never come
upon us; when we are ſo diſturbed, and ſo put out of Order by a Fore-
fight of future Miſeries, and our Spirits are ſo overwhelmed, and caſt down
by a Pre-apprehenſion of what we may ſuffer, to Morrow, or the next
Week or Year, that we are able to take no Pleaſure or Comfort in the
Enjoyment of thoſe Bleſſings, which the Bounty and good Providence of
God affords us for our preſent Eaſe and Delight.
For what a palpable Folly and Madneſs is it, needleſſly, to no Purpoſe,
and for no Good, thus to diſquiet and torinent our ſelves? For, as what is
preſent is not the proper Object of Fear (we ceaſe to fear when we actually
feel an Evil) ſo what is abſent, what is not yet come, what perhaps may
never come, cannot be a juſt Ground of prefent Pain and Diſquiet, becauſe
as yet it has no Being. And yet this is the Folly and Miſery of Mankind,
whom God has endued with Reaſon, that they might be the happieſt of all
his Creatures; and they make uſe of this Reaſon chiefly to vex and torment
themſelves, and ſo render themſelves the moſt unhappy and miſerable Part
of the whole Creation. For other Creatures not being able to reflect on the
paſt, or to contemplate the future, enjoy with Comfort that Portion of
Things, which the kind Providence of God has allotted to them; and when
they are at any Time in Pain and Trouble they endure every Moment
only the Pain and Trouble of the preſent Moment. They fear no
Sickneſs till it ſeizes them; and tho' while it is upon them they groan and howl,
yet as ſoon as it is over they forget it again, and are as eaſy and happy as they
were before. But we; to whom God has given Reaſon to enable us to bear,
without any bitter Groans or fad Complaints, whatever Evils ſhall befall us,
inſtead of thereby eaſing, do only increaſe our Pain; we draw upon our ſelves
now, by our own diſmal Fears and Apprehenſions, Evils which perhaps
would never have come,
have come, at leaſt not till many Years hence; and the
Pain which we endure while we fear, is oftentimes greater than the Pain
ir ſelf when it comes. We are afraid ſuch Evils will befall us, and by our
Fear we pull them down upon our own Heads; we draw towards us, and
haſten on, that forrów which we would avoid ; we anticipate that Miſery which
yet we think will be too greivous to be born; and are as much diſturbed
and uneaſy before it comes, as we ſhall be when it is come uponi us. Nay,
oftentimes, as I ſaid, 'the Pain of Fear is greater than the Pain of the Evil
it ſelf; becauſe by our Fears we feel all that Pain at once, which will
come upon us only by degrees, and between every Part of which there may
be long Intervals of Comfort; and moreover we endure all this very often,
good
2
over
Anxiety for the Things of the Morrow conſidered.
751
over and over again, before it comes, which will be really preſent but once;
and yet this Anticipation does not prevent its coming, nor render us eaſier un-
der it when it is preſent; and as ſoon as one Evil is gone and paſt, we com-
monly begin to trouble and vex our felves with the Fear and Foreſight of
another.
And this is what our Saviour ſeems more eſpecially to have deſigned to
prohibit in this Place, where he bids us not to be careful and anxious againſt
the Morrow; becauſe, ſays he, the Morrow ſhall take Thought for the
Things of it ſelf; ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof: That is, the
Miſery of human Life is of it ſelf ſufficiently great, you ſhall not need there-
fore to add to it, and increaſe it, by your own Fancies and Imaginations;
and it will come upon you ſoon enough, you ſhall not need therefore to
haſten it by your Fears; and when it is come, you cannot chuſe but be un-
eaſy; why then ſhould you be uneaſy both now and then too? Will it not
be ſufficient to be pained and diſturbed when the Evil is preſent? but muſt
you needs be in Pain when it is not preſent too? what is Folly and Madneſs,
if this be not?
And this ſhould lead me to the third Thing, which I propoſed to do in
ſpeaking to theſe Words, which was to repreſent to you the Vanity, and
Unreafonableneſs of fuch Fear and Diſquietude about our future State and
Condition in this World, as was here meant to be forbidden; but I muſt
defer this to another Time.
1
WA
carshkruh EU UN i
BILLEDER
ឯពី
tous les
DI S
752
DISCOURSE LXIX.
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies
of Anxiety.
i
MATTH. VI. 34.
Take therefore no Thought for the Morrow; for the
Morrow ſhall take Thought for the Things of it
Self ; Sufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof.
HESE Words, as I have formerly obſerved, may be in-
terpreted in two Senſes; for
1. Take no Thought, may be underſtood in the ſame
Senſe here, in which the ſame Phraſe had been uſed in
the twenty fifth and thirty firſt Verſes ; and then the
Rule or Advice in the Text will be the ſame in Senſe with
what had been there given, viz. that we ſhould not be
over-careful and ſolicitous about the Means of our future
Subſiſtence in this World ; Take no Thought for the Morrow, what ye shall
eat, and drink, and put on.
Or elſe, 2. we may underſtand the Words thus ; Take no Thought for the
Morrow, i.e. be not fearful now, of what perhaps may befall you to Mor-
row; be not diſturbed and diſquieted beforehand, with the Thoughts of any
temporal Evil, Hunger, Thirſt, Nakedneſs, or any Thing elſe which may
conie upon you at any Time hereafter.
And this laſt Senſe of the Words, beſides that it is very appoſite to what
our Saviour had been diſcourſing of before, becauſe it removes the very
Foundation of Men's extreme Solicitude in providing for the future ; ſeems
alſo more agreeable than the former to thoſe Reaſons by which our Saviour
here backs his Advice; for the Morrow ſhall take Thought for the Things of
it ſelf; and ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof. For the Morrow
jhall take Thought for the Things of it ſelf; that is, when any Evil does be-
fall you, then indeed you cannot chuſe but be in ſome meaſure pained and
diſquieted, according to the Grievouſneſs of it; but it is too much to be
troubled both now and then too, both when the Evil is preſent and when
it is not preſent; for ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof; that is,
you will be wretched enough, when the Evil which you fear is come upon
you; therefore why ſhould you anticipate your Miſery? why ſhould you tor-
ment your ſelves before the Time? why ſhould you be more miſerable than
necds muſt?
+
And
1
de
awarkan
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
753
And this is the Senſe of the Words wherein I propounded to diſcourſe of
them; only, as I ſaid, I would not confine my ſelf juſt to thoſe Particulars
which our Saviour ſeems here more eſpecially to have referred to, viz. the
Fear of Hunger, Thirſt and Nakedneſs, or temporal Want; but ſhall cr-
deavour to ſhew more generally, the Folly and Unreaſonableneſs of vexing
and diſquieting our ſelves beforehand with unneceſſary Fears, and diſinal Pre-
apprehenſions of any ſort of Evil or Calamity whatſoever, to which Men are
liable, while they continue in this world. Take no Thought for the Morrow.
And I have already propounded to do theſe four Things;
I. To ſhew, what Thoughtfulneſs about the future was not meant to be
here forbidden.
II. To ſhew, what Thoughtfulneſs about the Evils which may befall us
hereafter is unlawful and unreaſonable.
III. To repreſent to you the Vanity and Unreaſonableneſs of ſuch Fear-
fulneſs and Concern about our future State in this world, as is here forbidden.
And,
IV. Laſtly, To propoſe ſome Remedies for the Cure of it.
And the two firſt of theſe I have already done ; what I am next to
do, is,
III. To repreſent to you the Vanity and Unreaſonableneſs of ſuch Fear-
fulneſs and Concern about our future State in this World, as as is here forbid-
den; that is, eſpecially of being ſo diſturbed and diſquiered by ſuch Fears,
as not to be able to take Comfort in our preſent Enjoyments.
It is good for a Man to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the Good of all
his Labour that he taketh under the Sun, all the Days of his Life which
God giveth him; for it is his Portion. Every Man alſo to whom God has
given Riches and Wealth, and has given him Power to eat thereof, and to
take his Portion, and to rejoice in his Labour ; this is the Gift of God. So
ſays Solomon, Eccleſ. v. 18, 19. But, on the other ſide, to be perpetually
diſquieting our ſelves with unreaſonable and ungrounded Fears, to be ever
in Anxiety about our future State and Condition in this World, to be al-
ways boding the worſt, and aggravating in our Imaginations every worldly
Evil which may poſſibly befall us ; this, I ſay, is unaccountable Vanity and
Madneſs. For
1. If the Evil, which we have, a Proſpect of, be ſmall and trifling, there
is not ſufficient Ground to be much troubled and diſquieted about it before-
hand; for why ſhould a Man be exceſſively afraid of that, which, if ever it
ſhould befall him, will not be very painful and grievous to be born? Why
fhould he be out of meaſure diſturbed, by the Foreſight and Pre-apprehen-
fion of an Eyil, which, when it is actually preſent, will not much diſturb
and diſquiet him? But now many, nay, I believe I may fay, moſt of the
Evils; which Men are ſo diſmally afraid of, and with the Imagination and Pre-
apprehenſion whereof they tornient themſelves, and render their whole Life un-
eaſy and uncomfortable, are of this nature; they are generally ſmall and
triffing Evils
, and, as I ſhall fhew hereafter, nothing near ſo terrible and
grievous in themſelves, as they are in the Idea and Contemplation. For, as
Epictetus truly obſerves, it is not the Thing it ſelf, which generally diſturbs
and affrights Men, but the falſe Notion and Opinion which they have of
it; they judge it to be a great Evil when it is not, or to be a much more
grievous Evil than it really is. Juſt as a fearful Man, when he is travelling in
the Night, and ſees, as he thinks, a Perſon in the Road, making towards
him, of a gigantick Proportion, and armed with all the Inſtruments of Death,
Vol. II.
Рp
ſtarts
754
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
ſtarts aſide, and turns about to flee away, and has ſcarce Courage enough to
look back, to ſee whether he be perſued or no; becauſe he takes it for
granted, that the Perſon, whom his fearful Imagination had dreſſed up ſo for-
midably, could have no other Deſign, but to rob at leaſt, if not to kill him;
whereas indeed if he had kept boldly on his Way, he would have found
this terrible Mormo, which he was ſo horribly afraid of, to have been only a
Baſh, or a Tree, or perhaps a Shadow. But,
2. Suppoſe we are not miſtaken in the Nature of that Evil which we have
a Proſpect of, but that it is indeed very ſore and gricvous, and ſuch ås, when
it does come upon us, muſt needs make us uneaſy: yet I ſay, nevertheleſs
it is very fooliſh and unreaſonable, to be out of meaſure diſturbed and diſ-
quiered beforehand by a fearful Apprehenſion of it. For this is certain, that
when ſuch an Evil is actually come upon us, it will not be a whit the leſs
grievous and troubleſome, becauſe we feared it ſo much before ; I ſay, our
paſt Anxiety and Diſquietude, while we did contemplate it as coming, will
not then, when it is come, in the leaſt mitigate or aſſuage our preſent Pain.
So that it is evident, that ſuch Anxiety and Diſquietude about it beforehand
is at leaſt altogether vain, and to no purpoſe. But that is not all;
For if Fear it ſelf be a troubleſome and painful Paſſion, as I ſuppoſe every
one, who knows what it is, will readily grant it to be; it is moreover evident,
that by exceſſively fcaring any Calamity which may hereafter befall us, we
do only render our ſelyes more unhappy than the Evil alone would have
made us, and make a voluntary Addition to our own Miſery; for though
we could not chuſe but be miſerable whien the Evil came, we needed not
to have been miſerable till then. · And I think it is not poſſible to conceive
any more notorious Inſtance of Folly than this ; becauſe the Calamity it ſelf
will be very grievous, therefore to make it more grievous; becauſe of it ſelf,
and by the Courſe of Things, it will come ſoon enough, ſooner than we
could have wiſhed, therefore to begin our Pain .preſently, and not to take
that Reſpite which we might have had ; becaufe we ſee, we cannot always
be at Eaſe and Quiet, but that ſomething will fall out to diſturb our Tran-
quillity, therefore not to be at Eafe and Quiet, when and whilſt we may.
This is the very · Argument by which the Vanity and Folly of ſuch Fears
are demonſtrated in the Text; Take no Thought for the Morrow; for fuffi-
cient unto the Day is the Evil thereof. And, after all,
3. Perhaps what we fear is only poſſible, a Thing that may indeed hap-
pen, but which is not at all likely to come to paſs. Now if ſo, it is plainly
very unreaſonable to be much diſquieted beforehand by the Thoughti oft it;
for if it be only poſſible to fall-out, it is more probable that it will not ;: fo
that there is manifeſtly greater Ground for Hope than for Fear : And when
we torment our felves with the Fear of a barėly poſſible Evil, we volunta-
rily endure a certain Pain at preſent, 'when what cauſes our Pain is an Event
which is never like to happen.
Beſides, if it be reaſonable to fear any Evil which is barely poſfible, by
the ſame Reaſon we ſhould do wiſely always to live in Fear of all poſſible
Evils; and if we ſhould do ſo, we ſhould never enjoy one comfortable Mo-
ment in our whole Lives, becauſe we can never be fecīre againſt all poſſi-
ble Dangers. For no Man certainly was ever, to Appearance, in leſs Danger
of being knocked on the Head than the Poet Æſchylus was, when he fat
all alone, on a clear Sun-ſhiny Day, in the middle of a large Field; and yet
the Event ſhewed, that he was not then. fo ſafe as he thought himſelf: For
an Eagle, which at that Tine chanced to hover over him; miſtaking his
bald Head for a Stone, let fall a Shell-fiſh to be cracked upon it, which by
the Weight of its Fall broke through the poor Man's Skull
. So that if we
ſhould be perpetually afraid of all-the Evils then poſible to befäll us, and
ſhould
*
"
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
755
j
ſhould act accordingly, we muſt neither ſtay at home nor go abroad, we
mult abide neither in the City nor in the Field, we inuſt be neither upon
the Land nor upon the Water ; in a Word, we muſt ſtay no where, we
muſt move no whither, we muſt do nothing; for wherever we ſtay, where-
eyer we go, or whatever we do, we are always in Danger of ſome Evil or
other befalling us : And if nothing elſe ſhould, our own Fears alone would
certainly kill us in a very ſhort Time. But,
4. Suppoſe the Evil we are afraid of be not only very grievous, but alſo
very probable, there is no good Rcafon however, that we ſhould be very
melancholick and diſturbed at preſent by the Foreſight of it; for an infi-
nire Number of very probable Things have never come to paſs, and it is
poſſible this may not, it is uncertain whether it will or no: So that when
we diſquiet and rorment our felves with the Fear of it, we put our felves to
a preſent certain Pain, for fear of one that is future and uncertain.
And beſides, our exceſſive Dread of any Calamity likely to befall us is ſo
far from being a probable means of averting it, that it is the moſt likely
way to make it certain ; inaſmuch as it hinders us from uſing our Reaſon
freely, in finding out and judging fairly, by what means the Evil may pro-
bably be put by or avoided; and alſo diſables us from putting in Execution
ſuch Expedients, as our own Reaſon, or the Counſel of wiſe Men might
ſuggeſt to us as likely Means of our Safety. For when a Man is in a great
Confternation by reaſon of an imminent Danger, he neither is able to ſee
his Way to eſcape, nor, if it be ſhewed him, is he able to take it; but he
ſtands ſtill in an Amaze, till the Evil overtakes him : Fear being, as the wiſe
Hebrew. obſerves, Wiſd. xvii. 12. nothing elſe but a betraying of the Suçcours
which Reaſon offers. Nay, not only ſo, but a great Dread and Confterna-
tion many times makes Men pull down upon themſelves immediately thoſe
very Evils which they fear, and which perhaps otherwiſe would not have be-
fallen them at all, at leaſt not ſo ſoon. For ſo the rich Miſer endures all his
Life-time the real Inconveniences of Poverty, for fear that he ſhould one
Day come to Wants and many Men have died, and ſome have made away
themſelves for fear of dying. But,
5. Laſtly, Admit the moſt that can be ſuppoſed, viz. that the Evil or
Calamity, with the Foreſight whercof we are at any Time diſturbed, is not
only very grievous, but withal fo certain too, that there is no poſſible Means
of eſcaping it, (though, by the way, this can hardly be ſuppoſed concerning
any Evil which can befall us in this Life, Death only excepted, the Provi-
dence of God having very often found out Ways for the Deliverance of
Men from ſuch imminent Dangers, as to human Apprehenfion were altoge-
ther unavoidable; for hardly any thing can ever appear more certain than was
the Deſtruction of the Jews in the Reign of King Ahaſuerus, , when the
Royal Decree was gone forth for that Purpoſe, and the very Day fet, and
that Day almoſt come; and yet the good Providence of God fo ordered it,
that on that very Day, inſtead of being deſtroyed themſelves, they had Li-
berty given them to deſtroy all thoſe Men who ſought their Ruin. But,
I ſay, admit the Suppofition, viz. that the Pain or Calamity we are at any
Time afraid of, is both grievous and certain, yet, I ſay, it will be eaſy to
ſhew the Vanity and Unreaſonableneſs of being beforehand tormented and diſ-
quieted thereby,
For if it be ſuppoſed certain, then it is plain, our Thoughtfulneſs will not
prevent it; and if it be indeed grievous in it felf, our Fore-taſte of it cannot
make it eaſy. And if it will do neither, then it is manifeſtly vain and to no
purpoſe to difquiet our felves about it, but we had better fet our Hearts ar
Reſt, and think as little of it as we can.
!
:
More-
1
756
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
Moreover, if the Evil be both grievous and unavoidable, it is unreaſonable
and fooliſh to make a voluntary Addition to it; the Evil, when it comes,
will be ſufficient, and it will come ſoon enough ; we ſhall not need there-
fore to begin it fooner, and make it greater.
But the wiſeſt Courſe we can take, in ſuch a Caſe, is in the mean time
to be fitting and preparing our felves to undergo what we cannot avoid, by
laying in a Stock of Comfort, and by furniſhing our Minds beforehand with
thoſe wiſe Conſiderations which both Reaſon and Religion afford us, to
enable us to endure, with Patience at leaſt, if not with ſome Meaſure of
Chearfulneſs, whatever Affliction or Adverſity may poſli bly befall us while we
live in this world.
Thus I have endeavoured to ſhew the Vanity and Unreaſonableneſs of
Men's diſquieting and tormenting themſelves, and making their Lives uncom-
fortable by the Foreſight and Contemplation of any Evil which may befall
them in this World, whether it be ſmall or great, whether it be only poſſi-
ble, or very likely, or altogether certain and unavoidable. In all theſe Caſes
it is good Advice, Take no Thought for the Morrow ; for the Morrow ſhall
take Thought for the Things of it ſelf ; ſufficient unto the Day is the Evil
thereof. And this was the third Thing I propoſed to do.
But though this Advice may be acknowledged to be good and reaſonable,
it may be thought perhaps hardly practicable ; becauſe the Paſſion of Fear is
natural, and a Man cannot forbear being concerned and diſcompoſed, when
he has a Proſpect of any fore Evil like to befall him ; although all the while
his own Reaſon tells him, and he is fully ſatisfied in his Judgment, that
his Fear will do him no Good. It is as natural for the Mind to fear an Evil
foreſeen, as it is for the Eye to wink when any Thing is ſuddenly moved be-
fore it, and one might be as well forbidden as the other.
But for all this, I do not believe, but that God has given our Reaſon
Power to command and ſubdue our Paſſions, or that Fear is ſuch an unruly
and diſorderly Paſſion, that it cannot be moderated and governed by Rea.
ſon, or that there is any Man naturally of ſuch a timorous Temper, as that
by right Reaſon and religious Conſiderations he may not be brought to be
not very much concerned about any Thing that may befall him in this World;
but ſo as that after he has faithfully diſcharged his own Duty, and uſed all
prudent and lawful Means for his own Safety and Welfare, he may be able
to leave the Succeſs to God, and to expect all future Events with great Calm-
neſs, and Evenneſs, and Indifferency of Spirit, and with perfect Reſignation
to the divine Will ; ſaying, as old Eli did, when the Deſtruction of his
whole Family had been foretold him by the Prophet Samuel, It is the Lord,
let him do what ſeemeth him Good. And this brings me to the fourth and
laſt Thing which I promiſed to do, viz.
IV. To ſhew by what means this may be done ; or to propoſe ſome Re-
medies for the Cure of unreaſonable and troubleſome Fears of any temporal
Evil or Adverſity, which may befall us while we are in this world. And,
1. Firſt of all, it would do a great deal towards the curing of ſuch Fears,
and the begetting in Men a great Calmneſs and Evenneſs of Spirit
, to learn
them a true Notion of thoſe Things which they are generally moſt afraid of;
which are either Diſgrace, or Poverty, or Pain, or Death ; ſome or other of
theſe likely to befall either themſelves, or ſome other Perſon whom they
have a Kindneſs for. For to theſe four Heads, I believe, may be reduced
all the worldly Evils which Men either feel or fear, which the Subtilty of the
Devil, or the Malice of wicked Men can inflict, and with the Foreſight
whereof Men are moſt apt to be diſquieted.
Now
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
757
Now tho' the Stoicks went certainly too far, when they affirmed theſe or
the like Evils to be Things merely indifferent, and ſuch as could not make a
wife Man leſs happy than he would be otherwiſe ; yet I believe it may be
truly ſaid, that they are not quite ſo great Evils as Men generally take them
to be; but that what * Seneca ſays in the Caſe is very true, that we are ge-
nerally more afraid than hurt, and are oftner diſturbed by our own falſe Opi-
nions of Things, than by any real Evil in the Things themſelves. For,
(1.) What is Diſgrace? I mean undeſerved Diſgrace: for it is in our
Power not to do any Thing which may deſerve it, and we ſhall not need to
torment our felves with the Fear of what is in our own Power to prevent :
What, I ſay, is undeſerved Diſgrace, but the vain and falſe Opinion and Talk
of a Company of ignorant and fooliſh People concerning us? And would it
not be a greater Evil to be commended and applauded by ſuch might we
not, if we had the good Word of all ſuch, reaſonably think that we were
like them, as vain and ſilly as they? and would not this be a much more
reaſonable Ground of inward Vexation and Diſquier to a wiſe Man, than ir
is to be ſpoken meanly of by ſuch whoſe Judgment he has no Cauſe to va-
lue, whoſe Commendations would be a more real Reproach Again,
(2.) What is Poverty, with the Fear whereof a great many Men, who
have not the leaſt Reaſon to fear it, do greatly torment themſelves. What is
it, I ſay, but the paring away of ſome uſeleſs Superfluities? The Table, it
may be, will not be ſo well ſpread as it is now, but ſtill there may be enough
to ſatisfy Nature; a little is enough for that; and then there will be leſs Dan-
ger of ſurfeiting, which deſtroys many more than Hunger and Want. The
Fare, it may be, will not be ſo delicate and coſtly as now; but no great mat-
ter for that, ſo long as it is as wholeſome, ſo long as it nouriſhes as well.
The Cloaths, it may be, will not be ſo fine, and gay, and faſhionable, as
now; but however, they may fit as cloſe upon us, and keep us as warm. The
Houſe, it may be, will not be ſo large and well adorned as that we now
live in ; but the great Uſe of an Houſe is to ſhelter from the Weather; and
for that Purpoſe a leſs Houſe, or a worſe furniſhed one may do as well. The
Attendants, it may be, will not be ſo many as they now are ; but then
there will be leſs Need of ſo many, and a few will be more eaſily kept in
good Order. The neceſſary Proviſions of Nature will not, it may be, come
in ſo eaſily as now, will not be procured, it may be, without Sweat and La-
bour; but then this very Labour will create an Appetite, which will give a
better Reliſh, even to homely Fare, and make it digeſt much kindlier, than
all the Arts of Cookery.
And now, after all, what is there in a low Condition of Life ſo very
much to be feared ? For that what has been ſaid is not mere empty Spe-
culation, and idle Talk, any Man may be ſoon ſatisfied by his own Ob-
ſervation. Do but deign to caſt your Eyes a little upon thoſe, who are in
that mean Condition which you are ſo horribly afraid of being reduced to,
and ſee if they do not eat their Meat with as good an Appetite, whether
they are not as free from Diſeaſes, whether they do not live as long as other
Men ; ſee whether they do not ſleep as foundly, whether they do not look
as chearfully, whether they do not paſs their Days as contentedly, whether
they are not conſequently in all Reſpects almoſt as happy, as they who have
more, except only in the vain Opinion of the World. Nay, are they nor
in many Reſpects truly happier ? generally not ſo greedy and ambitious, freer
from Cares and Diſeaſes, in leſs Danger of Violence and Robbery, not ſo li-
able to be falſly accuſed or baſely flattered? They know who are their Friends
* Plura funt quæ nos terrent quàm quæ premunt; & fæpius opinione quàm re laboramus.
Vol. II.
QI
and
759
Y
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
are.
and whom they may truſt, which the great and wealthy can never know ;
and in fine, (which is no ſmall Advantage) they are free from the torment-
ing Fears of Poyerty, being ſure that they cannot fall much lower than they
And I believe indeed, it would be a real kindneſs to ſome covcrous
Men, who cannot take any Comfort in what they have for fear of coming to
Want, if by the Providence of God they were brought a little nearer to this Scare-
crow Poverty, that they might view it more clearly and diſtinctly; for then
they would perceive, that it is not that formidable Thing which it appeared
to them to be, when they behcld it at a greater Diſtance, and in a little
time would learn to contemn, what they have a long Time ſo much dreaded.
(3.) In the next Place; What is Pain? I will not ſay with the Stoicks,
it is no Evil; or that a wiſe Man under a ſevere Fit of the Gout, or Stone,
or Cholic, or tormented in Phalaris's Bull, may be able to ſay, O quàm dulce
eft! How pleaſant and delightful is it to be thus tormented! But yet this
may truly ſay, that no bodily Pain is ſo great an Evil, as that it ſhould be
reaſonable to live our whole Life in a conſtant Pain for fear of it: For if
it be ſmall it may be eaſily born, it is not conſequently worth being much
afraid of; and if it be very ſore and grievous, it cannot be very long and
ļaſting; for when Pain grows extremely violent, it takes the Head, and ſtu-
pifies the Senſes, or it quickly cnds in Death.
But this, it may be, you'll ſay, is but ſmall Comfort; for this ſame Death
is the very King of Terrors ; it is that which of all other Things does moſt
terrify and affright Men. But that is not now the Queſtion, whether Men
are generally afraid of it or no; but whether they have Reaſon to be ſo
very much afraid of it as they are. Let us thereforç,
(4.) Examine the Thing calmly and without Prejudice: What is Death,
through the Fear whereof a great many Men are all their Life time ſubjeet
unto Bondage? What, I ſay, is Death, but the parting of two old Friends,
or rather of two old Enemies, the Body and the Soul, which could never
agree well together, which were always quarrelling and contending for the
Maſtery; the Fleſh luſting againſt the Spirit, and the Spirit againſt the
Fleſh, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks ? What is Death, but the freeing of a pure,
ethereal, and heaven-born Soul from a Lump of Clay, to which it was un-
happily united, and which very much hindred the frce Exerciſe of its intel-
lectual and rational Faculties? What is it to dye, but to become like An-
gels? to make an Eſcape out of a noyſome Priſon to knock off our Chains
and Fetters to ſhake off that Weight which clogged us, and kept us down
here in this lower World, and to fly up to the pure and celeſtial Region of
Spirits? This is Death; and if this be a Thing to be feared, what is there to
deſired and if Death be not this to all that dye, it is through their own
Fault only, and becauſe they are wanting to themſelves; for it is in every.
Man's Power, through the Aſſiſtance of the divine Grace, to make Death a
very good and deſirable Thing, the End of all
, Pain and Miſery, and the
Beginning of an endleſs Happineſs. And therefore the Wiſe-man, ſpeaking of
the Dçath of a good Perſon, in Ecclef. vii
. 1. ſays, that the Day of Death
is better than the Day of one's Birth. But,
2. If, we cannot philoſophiſe ſo much as to perſuade our ſelves, that theſe
Evils, incident to us in this mortal Life, are not ſuch very dreadful Things
as Men generally apprehend them to be; Religion, however may teach us,
(even while we retain the vụlgar Notion concerning them) not to be un-
reaſonably and exceſſively afraid of them; for thereby we are affured of theſe
following Particulars, which, if duly conſidered by us, will be ſufficient to
ſupport our Spirits, to diſcharge all unreaſonable Fears, and to enable us, ha-
ving been faithful in the Performance of our own Duty, to expect with very
great Indifference the Event of Things.
(1.) We
ز.
1
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
759
A
1
(1.) We are aſſured that God governs the World, and conſequently that no-
thing does ever fall out unknown to him, nay, not without his ſpecial Order
or Permiſſion; and therefore ſeeing he is an infinitely wiſe and good Being,
we may be ſure that whatever does happen in the World is, all Things con-
ſidered, beſt, and what we our felves ſhould perceive to be ſo, if we were
as wiſe as he.
(2.) We are farther aſſured, that in the Adminiſtration of the Affairs of
this lower World, God has a peculiar Regard to and Care of Mankind;
nay, that his watchful and powerful Providence extends to every individual
Perſon in the whole World; for ſo our Saviour argues at the twenty fixth
and twenty eighth Verſes of this Chapter, where he calls upon us to contem-
plate the Providence of God, even towards the Fowls of the Air and the
Lillies of the Field; and are not ye, ſays he, much better than they? And
in Chap. x. yer. 29, &c. Are not two Sparrows ſold for a Farthing, and
not one of them ſhall fall to the Ground without your Father ? bút the very
Hairs of your Head are all numbred: Fear ye not therefore ; ye are of more
Value than many Sparrows. Moreover,
(3.) We are alſo aſſured, that this powerful and wiſe Diſpoſer of all Things
has a true Love to every individual Man in the wholc World; which as
he has abundantly manifeſted other ways, ſo eſpecially has he done it by
ſending his own Son into the World, for the Redemption of all; or, as the
Apoſtle ſays, to taſte Death for every Man. And therefore from a Being
ſo infinitely loving to us, we need not fear any thing which is hurtful; we
may reaſonably expect every thing which is for our Good. So the' Apoſtle
argues, Rom. viii. 32. He who Spared not his own Son, büt deliver
ed him up for us all, how shall be not with him alſo freely give us all
Things?
(4.) We are alſo plainly and particularly aſſured, that this wife and good
Being, by whoſe Providence all Things in this World are ordered, takes 'no
Delight in putting Men to Grief and Pain, that he never affli&ts but for ſome
very good Reaſon; he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the Children of
Men, Lam. iii. 33. Nay farther, that he never ſends any' Afflictions' upon
Men, but when moved thereto by his fatherly Love and Kindneſs; and that
the very Afflictions which he ſends are an Argument thereof: For fo the
Apoſtle ſays, Heb. xii. 6, 7. Whom the Lord loveth he chaſtneth, and fcourg-
eth
every Son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chaſtning, God dealeth with
you as with Sons ; for what Son is he whom the Father chaſtneth not? And
conſequently that the temporal Afflictions, which we may poſſibly undergo,
are not, how grievous foever, a reaſonable Cauſe of Fear, but rather'of Re-
joicing. My Brethren, ſays St. James, Chap. i. ver. 2. count it all foy
when ye fall into diverſe Temptations, knowing this, that the Trial of your
Faith worketh Patience. And to the ſame Purpoſe we are told by the
Author to the Hebrews, in the fore cited Chapter, ver: 11. that though no
chaftning for the preſent ſeemeth to be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheleſs af
terwards it yieldeth the peaceable Fruits of Righteouſnefs to them that are
exerciſed thereby. From whence he makes this Inference at the twelfth
Verſe; Wherefore lift up the Hands which' hang down, and the feeble Knees;
that is
, let this Conſideration of the Benefits and Advantages of Amiętions,
and of the fatherly Love of God in ſending them upon Men, inſpire you
with Courage and Reſolution, that you may neither be daunted by the Fore-
fight, nor ſink under the Weight of any temporal Adverſity.
And indeed, when we conſider all theſe Things together, viz. that Al-
mighty God, by whoſe wiſe and powerful Providence all Things in this
World are ordered, has a peculiar Care of Men, and bears to them a father-
ly Love and Kindneſs, and never chaſtens them but for their Good: we can
have
3
**
760
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety.
Patrick in loc.
have no juſt Reaſon to fear or be diſmayed, by the Fore-thought of any
thing which may befall us; we cannot but think our ſelvcs much ſafer un-
der his Protection, than we ſhould be if he was pleaſed to permit every
Man, to chuſe for himſelf what State and Condition of Life he thought boſt :
For it is certain we ſhould not chuſe ſo wiſely, we ſhould not deal ſo well
by our felves, as we may be ſure he will, who knows what is good for us
better than we do, and has promiſed to do what is beſt for all them who
are careful to pleaſe him: For we know, ſays the Apoſtle, Rom. viii. 28. (i. e.
we may be confidently aſſured of this) that all Things (being order'd and
diſpoſed by God) ſhall work together for Good to them that love him. And
therefore I add, in the third Place,
3. That the beſt Remedy againſt the Fear of any Evil or Calamity, which
may befall us in this World, is a good Conſcience, to be obtained only by
the conſtant Practice of all the Duties of a holy Life. For indeed ſo long
as Men continue Enemies to God through wicked Works, they have very
great Reaſon to be always afraid ; they cannot, unleſs they grow blind and
ſtupid and ſottiſh, but live in a perpetual Fcar and Dread. For Wickedneſs,
as the wife Hebrew obſerves, being condemned by her own Witneſs, is very
timorous ; and being preſſed with Conſcience, always forecaſteth grie-
vous Things, Wiſd. xvii. II. And ſo ſays Eliphaz, in the Book of Yob,
Chap. xv. 20, &c. The wicked Man travelleth with Pain all his Days
, a
dreadful Sound is ever in his Ears; that is, even in Proſperity he does not
think himſelf in Safety; he believeth not that he ſhall return out of
Darkneſs, and he is waited for of the Sword; that is, “ when he lies
“ down to ſleep, he is afraid he ſhall be killed before Morning; and he
« dreams he is encompaſſed by naked Swords. To which agrees that
Saying of the Wiſe-man, Prov. xxviii. 1. The Wicked flee when no Man
perfueth : An evil Conſcience makes them ſo timorous, that they never think
themſelves out of Danger. But, on the other ſide, a good Man, he ſays, is
not eaſily affrighted, a ſmall Danger will not ſcare him; and be the Danger
ever ſo great, he will be able, being embolden'd by Innocence and a good
Conſcience, not only quietly to expect it, but to go forth and meet it, with
undaunted Courage; the Wicked flee, when no Man perſileth; but the
Righteous is bold as a Lion. And great Reaſon indeed he has to be ſo,
eſpecially upon theſe two Accounts ;
(1.) Becauſe God is his fure Friend; ye are my Friends, fays our Saviour,
when ye do what I command you. And he, who has God for his Friend,
has no Reaſon to be afraid of any Calamity, becauſe no evil can befall him
but by God's ſpecial Permiſſion; he needs not be afraid of any evil Tidings,
whoſe Heart is fixed truſting in the Lord. In the moſt perillous Times
and in the greateſt Dangers he may be able to ſay with the holy Pſalmiſt;
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom then ſhall I fear ? the
Lord is the Strength of my Life, of whom then shall I be afraid? Though
an Hoſt of Men ſhould encamp againſt me, my Heart ſhall not fear; and
though there roſe up War againſt me, yet will I put my Truſt in him. I
will not be afraid of ten thouſands of the People that have ſet themſelves
againſt me round about. Nay, ſeeing he is my Refuge and Strength, a
very preſent Help in Trouble, I will not fear though the a Earth be re-
moved, and though the Mountains be carried into the midſt of the Sea; tho'
the Waters thereof roar and be troubled, and though the Mountains ſhake
with the ſwelling thereof.
*
a Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinz,
(2.) Such
The Unreaſonableneſs and Remedies of Anxiety. .
76!
to
(2.) Such an one can have no Reaſon to fear, or to be inuch concerned
about any thing that may happen to himn in this World, becauſe his main
Concern is ſecured ; ſo that though he may poſſibly meet with contrary
Winds, and tempeſtuous Weather, and a rough Sea, yet he is ſure of coming
at laſt to his deſired Haven, if he holds on his Courſe with Patience; and the
Foreſight of that unſpeakable Happineſs, which not long hence he ſhall en-
joy, will make him not much regard, ſcarcely to be ſenſible of, thoſe Difficul-
tics which he meets with in his Paſſage to it; .cſpecially being moreover well
aſſured that every Difficulty or Hardſhip which he meets with here will help
creaſe his Happineſs in the other World; according to that of the Apoſtle,
in 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. For which Cauſe we faint not, but though our outward
Man periſh, yet the inward Man is renewed Day by Day. For our light
Affliction which is but for a Moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal Weight of Glory. But,
4. Laſtly, If what has bcen already ſaid be not ſufficient, to arm us againſt
the Fear of any Affliction or Adverſity which may befall us in this World,
whether Poverty or Diſgrace, Pain or Sickneſs, or even Death it ſelf; there
is ſtill one Remedy left, which, if duly applied, will not fail to cure, even
ſuch as are moſt cowardly and timorous, of all unreaſonable Fears of tein-
poral Evils ; that is, let them drive out one Fear by another, a leſs by a
greater. Let them fear as much as ever they can; but then let them (as- in
Reaſon they ought) fear that moſt, which is moſt to be feared ; ' let them 'fear
God, and his Wrath, and that eternal Puniſhment which he will inflict up-
on all wicked Men, and then they cannot be very much concerned at thoſe
light Afflictions which are but for a Moment.
And this is the very Remedy which our Saviour preſcribed to his Apoſtles,
who were naturally of a very cowardly Temper ; Luke xii. 4. where he be-
gins his Diſcourſe concerning the Hardſhips and Perſecutions which they
were like to ſuffer for his Sake, with this Advice; I ſay unto you, my Friends,
be not afraid of them that kill the Body, and after that have no more that
they can do; but I will forewarn you whom ye ſhall fear; fear him who af.
ter he hath killed hath Power to caſt into Hell; yea, I ſay unto you, fear
him. Let us but proportion our Fear to the Greatneſs and Certainty of what
we are, or have Cauſe to be afraid of, and we cannot fear too much, unleſs
our Fear ſhould degenerate into Deſpair. And a lively Senſe and Apprehen-
fion of the Wrath of God will find us ſo full Employment, in taking care to
avoid it, that we ſhall have no Leiſure to trouble our Heads much about any
Evil which may befall us in this World.
.
Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three
Perſons and one God, be given, as is moſt due, all Honour, Glory and Praiſe.
now and for ever. Amen.
}
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DIS
762
DISCOURSE. LXX.
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and
ſtated.
5
MATTH. VII. 1, 2.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. .
For with what Judgment ye judge, ye ſhall be judged;
and with what Meaſure ye mete, it shall be mea-
fured to you again
5
Caus
Have already gone through the two former of the three
Chapters, wherein is contained our Lord's Sermon on the
Mount : I go on now to the third, beginning with the
Words which I have now read to you; which, as they
are the Beginning of a Chapter, ſo, I conceive, they are
likewiſe the Beginning of a new Subjeđ, and have no
Connexion with; or Dependence upon the foregoing
Words in the former Chapter: Só that in order to the
right Underſtanding of them we ſhall only need to conſider the Meaning of
the Words wherein the Precept is exprefled, and the Forée of the Reaſon
whereby the Obſervation thereof is perſuaded.
Now the proper Meaning of the Word saw, here uſed, is truly expref-
fed in our Tranflation, by the. Word, Fudges: but then the Engliſh Word,
Judge, as well as the Greek Word, may be taken either in a good or in a
bad Senſe: For in judging, that is, when we judge according to Truth,
and when we have Warrant and Authority to judge, there is manifeſtly no
Fault at all. But though the Word be capable of a good Senſe, it is moſt
commonly uſed in a bad one, where ever in Scripture the Judgment of
Men is ſpoken of; and without doubt our Saviour here meant fome ill
Thing by judging, when he ſo univerſally forbids it; Judge not :
alſo farther appear from Luke vi. 37. where repeating this Precept, Judge not,
and ye ſhall not be judged; he immediately adds as explicatory thereof, Con-
demn not, and ye ſhall not be condemned.
But though the Prohibition be univerſal, it' muſt yet neceſſarily be under-
ſtood with ſome reaſonable Reſtrictions and Limitations; and judge not, or
condemn not, can fignify no more than as if it had been ſaid, judge not, or
condemn
As may
ز
t
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
763
condemn not, without Reaſon, or without Authority to judge or condemn;
For where we have Authority to judge,' and when the Judgment which
we give is according to Truth andi Realon, it is not only allowable to
judge, but in ſome Caſes it is alſo our neceſſary Duty, as I ſhall ſhow. by
and by
The Subject therefore of my Diſcourſe upon theſe Words, "llvall? be to
ſhew,
1
1. When, and in what Cafes, and upon what Occaſions, and concçrn-
ing what Things or Perſons, we may, without Blame, make or give out
Judgment; that is, what judging was not meant to be forbidden by our
Saviour in theſe Words, Judge not.
II. To ſhow, what judging is unlawful, and was certainly meant to be here
forbidden by our Saviour.
+
III. I ſhall then by ſome general Arguments and Conſiderations thew
both the Sinfulneſs and Folly of ſuch judging of others as was meant here
to be forbidden. And,
:
IV. Laſtly, I ſhall propoſe ſome Remedies for the Prevention and Cure
of that gencral Proneneſs, which is, in Men, to judge and cenſure one
another.
1
1
+
I. I ſhall 'ſhew, when, and in what Caſes, and upon what Occaſions, and
concerning what Things or Perſons, ir is lawful for us to make or to give
our Judgment: I ſay, to make or to give our Judgment; for the Word xeivo
comprehends both theſe. For wc then judge, when we make á Judgment
of any Thing or Perſon in our Minds; and we then alſo judge, when we de-
clare our Judgment thereof to others.
Now that all kind of judging, whether of: Things or of Perſons, was not
meant to be here forbidden by our Saviour in this univerſal Prohibition of
all judging, is evident. For,
1. 'As to Things; that is, 'as to Matters of Truth and Fallhood; or of
Good' or Evil, there is manifeſtly no Sin in making or declaring our Judg.
ment thereof.
Nay, ſo far is this from being ſinful, that it is our Duty, it is that for
which chiefly our Reaſon was given us by God, that we might diftern between
Trath and Falfhood, and between Good and Evil, in ordér to our chúſing and
cleaving to the one, and to our ſhunning and avoiding the other. Why even of
your ſelves do ye not judge what is Right? ſays our Saviour, Luke xii. 57. And
that Precept of the Apoſtle, 1 Thel. v. 21. Prove all Things, and hold faft
that which is good, plainly implies, that it is our Duty, after we have carefully
examined the Reaſons on both ſides of any controverted Opinion or Prac-
tice, then to form a wiſe and true Judgment thereof in out own Minids,
and to believe and practiſe accordingly..
'
And when we have úpon good Reaſons formed a Judgment to our
ſelves concerning any ſuch Point, there'is manifeſtly to Harm in 'déclaring
this our fudgment to orhers.; 'nay, this alfo is in 'miany Cafes what we
are bound to do: Particularly, if the Opinion which upon good Grounds,
as we conceive, we have found to be falfe, be alſo ſuch as we believe
will hazard the Salvation of thoſe who hold it, by betraying them into
fome ſinful Practice; or if the Practice which we condemn in our own judg-
ments be ſuch, as we conceive will be damnable to thofe who allow
themſelves
!
I
764
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
themſelves in it. But this Caſe is ſo manifeſtly not included in this Pre-
cept of our Saviour, Judge not, that, I ſuppoſe, I ſhall not need to ſpend
any more Time in the Proof it : For the judging which our Saviour
here forbids, is plainly the judging concerning the Perſons or the A&tions
of Men.
And yet neither was all ſuch Judgment meant to be hereby forbidden;
for,
It is evident, that it was not our Saviour's Intention hereby to forbid
Men to judge of themſelves, and to blame, and cenſure, and condemn
their own Actions, whereinſoever they are conſcious they have done
amiſs. For to do this, is ſo far from being a Fault, that it is a Duty,
and a very good Means of Improvement in Virtue, and the Way to ef-
cape the Puniſhment of God, juſtly due to us for our Sins; according to
that of the Apoſtle, i Cor. xi. 31. If we would judge our felves, we ſhould
not be judged. Where you ſee there is a Promiſe made to thoſe that
judge themſelves, directly oppoſite to the Threatning here made to that
Judgment which our Saviour here prohibits; if ye judge, ye ſhall be judg-
ed, ſays our Saviour here; but the Apoſtle ſays there, if we judge our
ſelves, we shall not be judged. It is plain therefore, that the judging which
is here forbidden is only the making or giving a Judgment concerning the
Perſons or Actions of other Men.
And yet neither is all ſuch judging, that is, all cenſuring or blaming, or
condemning the Perſons or Actions of others, altogether unlawful, or meant
to be here forbidden. For,
3. It is evident that our Saviour meant not hereby to forbid the judici-
al Proceedings of the Civil Magiſtrate ; that is, his calling before him
ſuch as walk unruly and diſorderly in their Stations; and examining into
their Actions, and upon good Proof made of the Crimes they are charged
with, condemning them to undergo ſuch Puniſhment as their Crimes de-
ſerve. The abſolute Neceſſity of ſuch judicial Proceedings, in order to
the Preſervation of Peace and Juſtice among Men, makes it abundantly
evident that it was not our Saviour's Deſign in theſe Words to forbid
thein.
Nay, on the other ſide, ſo far is ſuch Judgment from being unlawful
that to thoſe who are placed in Power and Authority it is a neceſſary
Duty; and they would be failing in the Truſt that is committed to them
by God, if they ſhould not, to the beſt of their Skill and Power, endea-
vour to preſerve Peace and Juſtice among their Subjects, by inflicting de-
ſerved Puniſhment upon all thoſe who walk diſorderly within their Socie-
ty; and in order to which it is neceſſary, that they ſhould firſt diligently
enquire into their Behaviour, and paſs a true Judgment thereupon. The
Powers that be are ordained of God, ſays the Apoſtle, Rom. xiii. 1. And,
ver. 3. Rulers are not a Terror to good Works, but to the Evil; and ver.
4. He is the Miniſter of God to thee for good; if therefore thou do that
which is evil
, be afraid, for he beareth not the Sword in vain; for he is
the Miniſter of God, a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doth
evil.
And therefore this ſort of Judgment, i. e. the Judgment of the Magi-
ſtrate, is not properly the Judgment of Man, but the Judgment of God,
whoſe Miniſter and Deputy the Magiſtrate is, as Moſes tells the Judges in
his Time, Deut. i. 17. Hear the Cauſes between your Brethren, and judge
righteouſly between every Man and his Brother, and be not afraid of the Face
of Man, for the Judgment is God's. The Sentence paſſed by the Magi-
ſtrate upon Criminals, is God's Sentence; and the Puniſhment inflicted by the
I
Magi-
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated. .
765
Magiſtrate upon the Diſturbers of the publick Peace, is God's Puniſhment inflicted
by the Magiſtrate's Hand. And ſo Jehoſaphat tells the Judges which he had
appointed throughout all the Cities of Jadah, 2 Chro:l. xix. 6. Take heed,
ſays he, what you do; for ye judge not for Mian, but for the Lord, who is
with you in Fudgment. It is evident therefore, that this ſort of Judgment
was not here meant to be forbidden by our Saviour ; the only Judgment
which he intended to prohibit, was the Judgment of private Perſons. And
yet,
4. Neither was all private Judgment meant to be forbidden in this uni-
verſal Prohibition ; Judge not : For there are ſome caſes which right Rea-
fon tcaches us, and which the holy Scripture it ſelf watrants us to cxcept
out of it; particularly theſe three.
(1.) Where both the Fact and the Crime are evident and notorious ;
for in this Caſe it is no Act of Uncharitableneſs, to condemn in our own
Judgments that which God himſelf has plainly condemned. Charity indeed
obliges us not to judge beyond what we ſec; but it does not oblige us
not to ſee what is plainly before our Eyes: Neither does it oblige us, in
Contradiction to our Senſes and to right Reaſon, to judge him to be a
fober Man whom we know to be a Drunkard; or him to be chaſt,
whoſe Incontinency is notorious ; or him to be juſt, who practiſes his Injuſtice
fo openly, that all who ſee him muſt needs obſerve it. Charity covers all thoſe
Faults of others which can be covered, and which we are not obliged, either in Ju-
ftice or Charity, to reveal ; but if any Man practiſes his Wickedncfs ſo openly, as
that he ſeems reſolved that all ſhould take notice of it, no Charity can oblige us
to go with our Eyes ſhut ; and of what we cannot but ſee, we cannot but
form fome Judgment in our Minds, either approving or condemning it.
And therefore if the Fact be ſuch as muſt and ought in right Reaſon to be
condemned, it is ſo far from being our Duty to judge well of it, and to
call it by a good Name, that it is a great Sin fo to do, and againſt which
a ſevere Woe is moſt deſervedly pronounced by the Prophet, Iſaiah v. 20.
Woe unto them that call Evil Good, and Good Evil; that put Darkneſs
for Light, and Light for Darkneſs; that put Bitter for Sweet, and Sweet
for Bitter.
(2.) It is not always an uncharitable Judgment of others, to ſuſpect or
fear worſe of them than we fee; I mean when the Reaſon of this Suſpi-
cion is not any ill Will towards them, but an hearty Deſire of their Wel-
fare and Happineſs, and that we may caution and adviſe them to beware
of thoſe Snares of the Devil, which we fear they are in Danger of. Thus
a wiſe and good Father, though he knows not certainly any ill in his
Children, though he is not fure they have committed any Fault; yet if
there be any Ground at all but to ſuſpect it, is apt to ſuſpect and fear
the worſt : Not becauſe he hates them, but becauſe he loves them; be-
cauſe he has a tender Care of their Welfare. And therefore, before he is
ſure that they take any ill Courſes, if he only fears or ſuſpects it, he takes
occaſion to admoniſh them before-hand to beware thereof, knowing that
ſuch an Admonition before is more probable to do them good, than
a Reproof or Correction afterwards; and that if it be as he fears and ſuſpects,
i. e. if they have indeed committed the Fault which he ſuſpects and fears
they have, it will be much eaſier to reclaim them by a gentle early Ad-
monition, than it will be afterwards by a more ſevere Correction. Thus
it is obſerved of Fob, Chap. i. s. that whenever his Sons and his Daugh-
ters had been feaſting together, though he knew not certainly that their
Mirth had been exceffive or extravagant, yet fearing that it might have been ſo,
he always ſent and Sanétified them, and riſing up early in the Morning,
offered Burnt offerings according to the Number of them; for he füid, it
Vol. II.
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766
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
may be that my Sons have finned and curſed God in their Hearts. And
thus St. Paul ſays of himſelf, 2 Cor. xi. 2. that he was jealous over the
Corinthians with a godly Jealouſy ; that is, he was not uncharitably ſuſpi.
cious of them; he did not ſuſpect worſe of them than he had evident
Ground for, out of Hatred or ill Will; but merely out of Tenderneſs
and Love to them, and in order to warn and admoniſh them againſt ſuch
evil Practices as he feared they had been guilty of, or were in danger of
falling into : I fear, ſays he, ver. 3. left by any Means, as the Serpent be-
guiled Eve thro
' his Subtilty, ſo your Minds ſhould be corrupted from the
Simplicity that is in Chriſt.
And ſuch Jealouſy and Suſpicion as this is ſo far from being a Sin in
thoſe who have the Charge and Overſight of others committed to them,
that it is a great Commendation ; being the Effect of the heartieſt Love
and Good-will to them. And therefore foraſmuch as every Man is in
ſome ſort made by God an Inſpector over the Behaviour of all his Bre-
thren, ſo far as not to ſuffer Sin upon them, but to reprove them; it is
no Uncharitableneſs in any Man, in order to the Diſcharge of this chari-
table Office of Reproof, to judge worſe of his Brother than he has evi-
dent Grounds for ; i.e. I mean, not that we are to think or believe that
he is guilty of any Fault which we do not certainly know him to be guil-
ty of, and thereupon to entertain a hard Opinion of him ; but only up-
on Suppoſition that he may be guilty, when we have ſome little Grounds
to ſuſpect it, ſo to order our Admonition and Reproof, as that if he be
really guilty of the Fault we ſuſpect, it may ſerye to reclaim him
from it.
3. Another Sort of private Judgment not meant to be hereby forbidden
by our Saviour, is a Judgment of Caution and Prudence; which we may
be allowed to ground even upon Suſpicion and Conjecture only. As, to
give you an Inſtance of it.
I have heard, ſuppoſe, of ſuch a Man, that he is a Knave, or a Cheat;
that he has wronged or defrauded ſeveral who have dealt with him, or
truſted to him; but now who it was that told me this, perhaps, I do not
remember, nor what Reaſon he had to ſay this of him. I ought not
therefore, upon ſuch a ſlender Ground as this, to paſs a Judgment upon
him ſo much as in my own Mind, or to condemn him as an unjuſt Per-
ſon; and much leſs am I hereby warranted to repreſent him as ſuch to
others; this would be an uncharitable Judgment: But nevertheleſs, be-
cauſe I have been told this of him, and becauſe I do not know but that
my Information might be true, I may paſs Judgment according to Evi-
dence; i. e. I may judge it not improbable or unlikely that he may be ſuch
a bad Man as he has been repreſented to be; and thereupon I may very
juſtly be cautious in ny Dealings with him, and more watchful not to be
cheated by him, than I would have been in dealing with another Man, of
whom I ſuſpected no ill, nor had any Reaſon to ſuſpect any.
And the Reaſon of this is plain, namely, becauſe ſo long as I do not
upon this ſlender Suſpicion conclude him to be an unjuſt Man, I am not
uncharitable in my Judgment; and ſo long as I do not repreſent him as
ſuch to others, I am not unjuſt towards him : But all the Effect, which
my Suſpicion of him has, is, that it makes me more cautious in dealing
with him, than perhaps I ſhould otherwiſe have been ; yet however not morc
cautious than I might fairly and juſtly have been in dealing with any Man, of
whoſe Honeſty I was not very well aſſured.
Nay, if in Conſequence of my Suſpicion, though ſo ſlenderly grounded,
I ſhould decline dealing with him at all; and chuſe rather to deal with
fome other Perſon of the ſame Trade or Buſineſs, of whom I had never
heard
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
767
.
heard any ill, there would be no Injuſtice in this; for there is no Injuſtice
in chuſing one Man to deal with rather than another, though there be no
Reaſon at all for ſuch a Choice; and much leſs if there be any Reaſon
for it, though it be ever fo linall. But if there be any wrong done to
the Perſon whom upon this Account I avoid trading with, it was done by
him who gave me that Information of him, which made me ſuſpicious of
his Honeſty ; and if he had no good Ground for the Evil Report which he
gave of him, he was indeed unjuſt in giving it; but if I had never heard
that Report, I might nevertheleſs, have dealt with another rather than
with him; and my having heard ſome ill Things of him, though I know
not from whom, nor upon what Grounds, cannot be thought to lay an
Obligation upon me to trade with him.
Thus I have ſhewn, what ſort of Judgment was not meant to be for-
bidden by our Saviour, in this general Prohibition ; Judge not: viz. I.
Not a Judgment of Things ; not the judging that to be good, which is
plainly good; and that to be evil, which is manifeſtly cvil. 2. Not the
judging our felves, and cenſuring and condemning our ſelves, 'for any
thing which we know we have done amiſs. 3. Not the Judgment of the
Magiſtrate upon ſuch Perſons as are brought before him to be judged:
Nor yet, 4. and laſtly, all private Judgment ; particularly not a Judgment
in notorious Caſes ; not a Judgment of Charity, a charitable Jealouſy over
others in order to their Good; nor laſtly, a Judgment of Prudence and Cau-
tion. I proceed now in the ſecond Place,
II. To ſhew, what Judging of others is unlawful, and was intended to
be forbidden by our Saviour, in this Precept; Judge not, that ye be not
judged.
1. And firſt of all, this Precept of our Saviour muſt neceſſarily be un-
derſtood, as meaning at leaſt to forbid all falſe Judgment concerning others,
the cenſuring and condemning them without Cauſe; the conceiving an ill
Opinion of them without any Ground; and the judging of them as Re-
probates, though we know nothing ill by them. This Judgment of others
is therefore finful, becauſe it is falſe; and alſo becauſe it is highly injuri.
ous to our Neighbour, nouriſhing in us Hatred and Averſion towards him.
And it is likewiſe as fooliſh as it is finful, rendring our Judgment in other
Caſes, even when we do judge right, leſs regarded. For as a Man who is
notorious for Lying is never believed, no not when he ſpeaks Truth; ſo
he who is known to have paſſed a wrong Judgment upon ſome Perſons,
does thereby very much leſſen the Value of his Judgment in other Caſes ;
ſo that even when he does judge truly, yet Men will be afraid to rely or
reſt
upon his Judgment. But,
2. Not only falſe, but alſo allraſh Judgment, was hereby doubtleſs
meant to be forbidden by our Saviour; i.e. when though not quite
without Ground, yet without good and ſufficient Ground, we judge harſh-
ly and uncharitably of our Neighbour, conceiving in our Minds a worſe
Opinion of him than we have a juſt Cauſe for.
And we may be guilty of raſh Judgment ſeveral Ways;
as for In-
Itance.
(1.) We judge raſhly, when we judge hardly and uncharitably of our
Neighbour only from uncertain Report : And ſuch Judgment of our Neigh-
bour is therefore finful, becauſe it
becauſe it is very like to be falſe; for moſt
of the ill Reports which go about are fo, either in whole or in Part.
Oftentimes the whole Report is falſe, raiſed by ſome one who bore him
Ill-will, and had a Mind to diſgrace him; but it rarely happens that the
whole Report is true, and that the Matter of Fact is barely and truly related,
without
I
768
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
without the Reflections and Judgments which have been paſſed upon it by
ſuch as have related it; which Reflections, as the Story paſſes from one to
another, come, in time, to be related as Part of the Story it ſelf. And
it rarely fails, but that, if we take the Pains to fift to the Bortom any
ill Report which is ſpread about concerning others, and follow it to its
firſt Head, we find the Report a great deal worſe, than the Thing it ſelf
was which gave Occaſion to it. Seeing therefore we cannot judge with
any Certainty only from Report, we ought not to make any Judgment,
orher than a Judgment of Caution, from that only; and if we do, we are
guilty of raſh Judgment, becauſe we cannot be ſure that our Judgment is
right, it being much more probable to be wrong. And this is intimated
in that Advice given by our Saviour to the Jews, John vii. 24. Judge not
according to Appearance, but judge righteous Judgment.
(2.) We are guilty of raſh Judgment, when we cenſure any Man, or paſs
Sentence againſt him, only upon hearing his Accuſation, without hearing
what he hath to ſay in his own Defence; either to diſprove the Charge
brought againſt him, or to extenuate the Crime laid to his Charge. For
it is but reaſonable, that he who is beſt acquainted with his own Actions,
and knows better than any one elſe, by what Motives and Inducements
he was perſuaded thereto, and what End and Deſign he had therein, ſhould
be heard as to what he has to ſay, as well as that we ſhould hear others
who know not ſo much: For the better a Man knows any thing, the more
able he is to give full Evidence.
All that can be feared is, that a Man giving Evidence in his own Cauſe ſhould
be partial to himſelf, and repreſent Things to the beſt Advantage. But if he
ſhould do ſo, if he ſhould relate his Caſeſo fairly and plauſibly, as to deceive the
Hearers into a better Opinion of him than he deſerves; it is not ſo bad
however to be miſtaken on the charitable, as it is to be on the unchari-
table Side ; it is better of the two to acquit a Criminal than to condemn
the Innocent. For it is manifeſt Injuſtice in a Judge to have his Ears
open only on one Side, to hear only what a Man's Adverſaries have to ſay
againit him, who it is likely are as partial in their Accuſation as he can
be in his Defence; and thereupon to paſs Sentence of Condemnation up-
on him, without hearing what he has to ſay to clear himſelf. And there-
fore this was a Law, or at leaſt a conſtant Practice among the Romans,
grounded upon great Equity, to give a full Hearing to both Sides before
they condemned any Man; as we are told in Acts xxv. 16. It is not the
Manner of the Romans to deliver any Man to die, before he which is ac-
cuſed have the Accuſers Face to Face, and have Licence to anſwer for
himſelf, concerning the Crime laid againſt him.
(3.) We are guilty of raſh Judgment, and are uncharitable in our Cen-
ſures of our Neighbour, when his Words or Actions being capable of a
good as well as of a bad Senſe, we put the worſt Interpretation upon
them, and take them in the worſt Senſe; and condemn him for that, for
which perhaps God and his own Conſcience neither do nor will ever
condemn him. Such was Michal's Judgment of King David, 2 Sam. vi.
16. who when ſhe ſaw him leaping and dancing before the Lord, when
he brought up the Ark from the Houſe of Obed Edom to the City of
David, deſpiſed him in her Heart, eſteeming him to be a light, wan-
ron, and ſhameleſs Man, for what he had done; as ſhe tells him at the
twentieth verſe, How glorious was the King of Iſrael to Day, who un-
covered bimſelf to Day in the Eyes of the Handmaids of his Servants,
as one of the vain Fellows mameleſly uncovereth himſelf? She reckoned
his fo Icaping and dancing before the Ark, was the Effect of a too wanton
and airy Temper, and unbecoming the Majeſty of a King; when as in-
ܪ
I
deed
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
769
:
deed it was the Effect of a juſt and exceeding great Joy, for that great
Bleſling which God had vouchſafed him, in permitting him to bring up the
Ark of God, the Symbol of his divine Preſence, into his own City, and
the Place which he had provided for it.
Now that ſuch raſh judging or cenſuring as this is a ſinful and uncharit-
able Judgment is evident; for Charity (as the Apoſtle ſays in i Cor. xiii. 5,6,
7.) thinketh no Evil; Charity believeth all Things, and hopeth all Things.
He who is candid and charitable in his Cenſures puts the beſt Senſe and
Interpretation upon any doubtful A&tion of his Neighbour that it is capable
of; and if it might be done with a good Deſign and Meaning, will
ſuppoſe that it was ſo done, unleſs the contrary be evident and undeniable.
(4.) Another ſort of raſh and uncharitable Judgment, of like Nature
with the former, is, when at the ſame Time that we pretend to judge of any
Fault which our Neighbour has been guilty of, we do alſo in our own Minds
act the Part of a Counſel againſt him, aggravating and heightening his Crime
as much as we can, and determining to what Degree he is guilty. And this
is manifeſtly a raſh Judgment, becauſe though his Crime be, as is now ſup-
poſed, evident and notorious ; yet we know not what Excuſes or Ex-
tenuations it is capable of ; and he who takes upon him to be a Judge,
ſhould be rather Counſel for than againſt the Criminal : And therefore, if
he knows not certainly that the Crime was committed knowingly and wil-
fully, he ſhould rather preſume that it was done ignorantly or by ſurprize:
And if he is not ſure that it was a deliberate Sin, he ſhould rather ſup-
poſe that the Man was hurried to it by a ſudden Paſſion, or a ſtrong and
violent Temptation: And if it be not evident that it was done with an ill
Meaning, he ſhould rather think that the Man's Intention was good, though
his Action was nought. Thus Charity will incline us to judge of others,
extenuating their Crimes as much as we can, ſuppoſing the beſt of them
that can be ſuppoſed, judging them criminal to as ſmall a Degree as is pof-
ſible, and preſuming that they were betrayed to the Commiſſion of thoſe
Sins which they have been guilty of, through Ignorance and Inadvertency 3
unleſs the Malice and Wilfulneſs thereof be ſo very evident, that it can-
not but be ſeen and taken notice of. For there are abundance of Cir-
cumſtances which do much leſſen and diminiſh any Crime, both in right
Reaſon and in the Judgment of God; and if without notorious Evidence
we ſuppoſe it to be cloathed with the worſt Circumſtances, our Judgment
is raſh and ungrounded, and, as it may happen, may be falſe and unjuſt;
and the Man, though he has indeed committed a Fault, yet may not be
near ſo faulty and criminal as we take him to be.
(s.) Another Inſtance of raſh and uncharitable Judgment, is when we paſs
Judgment upon our Neighbour, from one or two ſingle Actions of his
Life, and not from the general Tenor of his whole Life and Converſation.
As for Inſtance; when from an Act we infer a Habit, or from ſome few
things that muſt be condemned in the Man, condemn the Man himſelf,
and cenſure him as a Reprobate and Caſt-away.
Now this ſort of Judgment is ralh and uncharitable, becauſe it is built
upon too ſlender Grounds. For the beſt of Men may and do fall ſome-
times, and there is no Man altogether without Fault. And therefore, to
conclude, for Inſtance ; that becauſe a Man has been known to have been
once overtaken with Drink, therefore he is a Drunkard; or becauſe he has
once committed ſuch a Sin, that therefore he makes a common Trade
and Practice of it, is a Judgment wherein we may very eaſily be mi-
ſtaken; and wherein, whether we are miſtaken or no, ſtill our Judgment is
raſh and uncharitable, becauſe it might not have been as we ſuppoſed
Vol. II,
Tt
it
!
.
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
770
/
it was: And in any doubtful Cafe, Charity obliges us to think as favou-
rably as we can of one another.
But it is yet rather more raſh and uncharitable, when from ſome things
which we ſee in our Neighbour which muſt be condemned, we proceed
to condemn the Man himſelf, and to cenſure him as a vile Sinner, as a
Reprobate and Caft-away. For the beſt of Men, and ſuch as we are ſure
were the elect and choſen of God, have ſometimes, in ſome few Inſtances,
fallen very foully, and have riſen again by Repentance; ſeveral Examples
whereof the holy Scripture it ſelf furniſheth us with, as in juſt Lot, in
righteous Noah, and David a Man after God's own Heart, and diverſe
others. And therefore if we know any one of our Neighbours who has
fallen in like manner as they did, we ought not immediately thereupon to
paſs Sentence of Condemnation againſt him, and judge him as a Reprobate;
becauſe though the Sin it ſelf was ſuch as muſt need be condemned, yet
we know not but that the Man may have ſince heartily and ſincerely re-
pented of it, and ſo in judging him, we may condemn a Man whom God
has pardoned and abſolved.
In ſhort, whether our Judgment in this caſe be true or falſe, it is never-
theleſs a raſh and unwarrantable Judgment; and we judge of Matters which
do no ways belong to us to judge of, and which God has reſerved entirely
to himſelf
. And ſo we are taught by the Apoſtle, Rom. xiv. 4. Who art thou,
that judgefſt another Man's Servant? To his own Maſter he ſtandeth or
falleth ; yea, he ſhall be holden up, for God is able to make him ſtand.
(6.) Another Inſtance of raſh Judgment is, when we pretend to judge of
the inward Thoughts and Intentions of Men, farther than the ſame are de-
clared in plain Words, or by Actions of a certain Signification. For it is
the incommunicable Property of God only, to ſearch the Heart, and to
try the Reins, and to know what is in Man. But when we pretend to
know, and to give our Judgment thereof, our Judgment, if it be not al-
ways falſe, is always raſh and ungrounded; becauſe the very fame Actions
may be done by ſeveral Men, with very different Deſigns; and unleſs we
could judge certainly of the Intention and Deſign, we are by no means
competent Judges of the Action ; becauſe the moral Nature of any Action
depends in great meaſure upon the Reaſons and Motives of it; and upon
the End and Intention which we had in it, of which none is able to judge
truly, but God only. And this Argument againſt judging others is well
urged by the Apoſtle, i Cor. iv. s. Judge nothing before the Time, until
the Lord come, who both will bring to Light the hidden Things of Dark-
neſs, and will make manifeſt the Counſels of the Heart.
Laſtly, we are then alſo guilty of raſh Judgment, when we judge
of the Qualifications of Men; that is of the Good or Evil which is in
them, and what their State and Condition towards God is, by the good
or evil Things which befall them in this world. There is no ſort of raſh
Judgment of others more common than this, and none in the World
more likely to be falſe; the Diſpenſations of God's Providence to Men
in this World being ſo very uncertain, that, as the Wiſe-man ſays, Eccl. ix. I.
We cannot know either Love or Hatred by all that is before us; i. e.
cannot judge with any Certainty, how God ſtands affected towards any
Man by the good or evil Things which happen to him in this Life.
And this ſort of raſh Judgment, viz. the judging Men to be wicked,
becauſe afflicted; or great Sinners, becauſe grievouſly afflicted; our Saviour
reproves at large in Luke xiii. at the Beginning; where ſome having told
him of the Galileans, whoſe Blood Pilate had mingled with their Sa-
crifices, our Saviour perceiving what their Intention was in telling him that
Story;
(7.)
1
we
2
The Caſe of Judging conſidered and ſtated.
771
Story; viz. that they conceived it to be a Judgment of God upon them,
and an Argument that they were very vile and wicked Men, ſeeing
God had ſuffered them to fall into ſuch a Calamity ; our Saviour, I ſay,
takes Occaſion from thence to declare at large the Raſhneſs of all ſuch Judg-
ment as is paſt upon Men, from what befalls them," in theſe Words; Jeſús an-
ſwering, ſaid unto them; ſuppoſe ye that theſe Galileans were Sinners above
all the Galileans, becauſe they ſuffered ſuch Things? I tell you, nay.
Or
thoſe eighteen upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell, and ſlew them; think
ye that they were Sinners above all Men that dwelt in Jeruſalem? I tell
you, nay; but except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſ.
Thus I have ſhewn, what Judgment was not meant to be forbidden here
by our Saviour ; and in Part alſo, what Judgment it was his Deſign here
to prohibit; particularly, I. all falſe, and, 2. all raſh Judgment of others;
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
But there are ſome other things alſo which I ſuppoſe it was our Savi.
our's Intention to prohibit by theſe Words ; the ſpeaking to which, and to
the other Heads which I propoſed to diſcourſe of, in treating on this Sub-
ject, I ſhall defer to another Opportunity.
DIS
772
1
1
DISCOURSE LXXI.
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
you
MATTH. VII. 1, 2.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what Judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged;
and with what Meafure ye mete, it ſhall be mea-
ſured to you again.
HEN I began to diſcourſe on theſe Words, I propound-
ed to do theſe four Things.
W
I. To fhew what Judging was not meant to be forbid-
den by our Saviour in theſe Words.
II. To ſhew what Judging is unlawful, and was cer-
tainly meant to be hereby forbidden.
III. By ſome general Arguments and Conſiderations, to
ſhew both the Sinfulneſs and Folly of ſuch Judging of others as was meant
here to be forbidden. And,
IV. Laſtly, To propoſe ſome Remedies for the Prevention and Cure of
that general Proneneſs which is in Men to judge and cenſure one another.
ment.
I. To ſhew what Judging was not meant to be forbidden by our Saviour in
theſe Words; or, when, and in what Caſes, and upon what Occaſions, and
concerning what Things or Perſons, we may without Blame give our fudg.
For tho' the Prohibition be expreſſed as univerſally as it could be if
all Judging had been intended to be thereby forbidden; Judge not ; yet the
Thing it felf, i.e. the making a Judgment in our Minds, of Things, or Per-
ſons, and declaring the ſame, is not always evil. And therefore though
there be no Exception or Limitation added in the Text it felf, yet we are
plainly enough taught, both by Reaſon, and by other Texts of holy Scripture,
to underſtand this univerſal Prohibition with due Reſtrictions and Limitati-
ons; and ſeeing all Judging is not in it ſelf unlawful, to underſtand theſe
Words, as deſigning to forbid only ſuch Judging as is unlawful ; as the Judg.
ment of Falfhood, of Pride, of Idleneſs, of Curioſity, of Harſhneſs and Un-
charitableneſs, and the like.
After this I proceeded, in the ſecond Place,
2
II. To
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
773
II. To ſhew, what Judging of others was hereby meant to be forbidden ;
Judge not, that
ye be not judged; and two kinds of unlawful and prohibited
Judgment, I have already mentioned, viz. 1. Falſe Judgment, i.e. when
without any Ground we judge our Neighbour to be guilty of any Fault; or
condemn him as a Reprobate, though we know no Ill by him: And, 2. Rach
Judgment, i.e. when we judge beyond Evidence, and cenſure more harſhly
and ſeverely than we have juſt Grounds for. But,
3. It was the Deſign of our Saviour in theſe Words, to forbid not only
falſe and rafh Judgment, but alſo all needleſſly paſſing or giving our Judg.
ment concerning others. Theſe Words, judge not, forbid us to judge at
all concerning our Neighbour, unleſs when either that Place and Office,
which the Providence of God has fixed us in, obliges us to it, or when
ſome good and charitable Deſign puts us upon it. Theſe Words, judge not,
forbid in general that Proneneſs and Aptneſs which there is in almoſt all
Men to judge and condemn others; proceeding either from Pride and Af-
fection of ſuperiority, or from Malice and Hatred, or from ſome other vi-
cious and corrupt Principle. Who art thou that judgeſt another, ſays the
Apoſtle? Jam. iv. 1 2. It is as if he had ſaid; ſhew thy Warrant and Au-
thority to execute this Office, or elſe thy aſſuming it is an unjuſt Uſur-
pation. For to judge is manifeſtly an Act of Authority, of Juriſdiction
and Power.
He only can warrantably judge of another Man's Behavi-
our, who has the Charge of him, the Inſpection over him, and who has
Power to correct and puniſh him when he does amiſs : But this no Mån hath
over his Equals, and much leſs over his Superiors. And yet Meh are géne-
rally as apt to paſs their Cenſures on ſuch as are in no reſpect ſubject to theni,
nay on ſuch as are placed in Authority over them, their Parents, their Go-
vernors, their Maſters, and the like, as they are upon thoſe who are under
their Care and Charge. By which, they do not only uſurp an Authority
which they have no Right to, but they likewiſe aſſume an Office which they
are by no means qualified to diſcharge ; they judge and ſpeak evil of Things
which they underſtand not; they cenſure and blame ſuch Adminiſtrations of
their Governors and Superiors, as, for any thing they know, may deſerve
Commendation rather than Blame.
But however, whether they judge right or wrong, their judging alone is a
Fault; for when they judge their Superiors, they aſſumé an Authority which
is not given them ; and whenever they paſs Judgment concerning others
without Warrant and Authority, they needleſlly buſy and incumber themſelves
with other Men's Concerns, to the great Neglect of their own Buſinefs.
4. Even in thofe Caſes wherein we are allowed to make a Judgment in
our own Minds, concerning the Perſons and Actions of other Men; as, in
notorious Caſes, when both the Action and the Crime of it are evident, or
in any other of the Caſes formerly mentioned; even in theſe Caſes, I fay,
this Precept of our Saviour, Judge not, may reaſonably be underſtood as de-
figned to forbid the needleſfly declaring our Judgment thereof to others: And
then we may be ſaid to declare our Judgment needleſſly, when we are not
obliged to do it, either by Juſtice or Charity to our ſelves or others.
Thus, for Infance, if I'fee my Neighbour committing any Sin, I cannot
but judge him guilty of it in my Mind; I cannot but believe my ſelf, what
I ſee with my own Eyes; and what I know to be a Sin, I cannot but con-
demn as ſuch. But nevertheleſs, it is inconſiſtent with that Love and Cha-
rity which I ought to bear to him, whom I am commanded to love as my
felf, without good Reafon moving me to it, forthwith to publiſh his Crime,
to blaze abroad his Shame, and procure him to be judged and condemned
by the reſt of his Neighbours; for Charity, as the Apoſtle ſays, covereth a
Vol. II.
multitude
U 1
774
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
}
ز
multitude of Sins. We always endeavour, as much as we can to hide and
conceal the Faults of thoſe whom we love; ſo that a Proneneſs and Deliglit
to publiſh and divulge all the ill Things which we know of our Neighbours,
muſt needs proceed from want of Charity and Goodwill towards them. And
therefore, as here we are forbidden to judge, ſo we are frequently in other
Places of holy Scripture forbidden to ſpeak Evil of others; and that this was
meant to be here forbidden by our Saviour, is evident from James iv. 11,
12. where the Apoſtle repeating this Precept of our Saviour againſt judging,
expreſſes it by Speaking evil of others: Speak not evil, ſays he, one of another,
Brethren; for he that Speaketh evil of his Brother, and judgeth his Brother,
Speaketh evil of the Law, and judgeth the Law; but if thou judge the Law",
thou art not a Doer of the Law, but a fudge. There is one Law.giver,
who is able to ſave and to deſtroy; who art thou that judgeſt another?
5. Laſtly; another Thing meant to be forbidden by our Saviour in this
Precept, Judge not; is a needleſs and over-curious Inquiſitiveneſs into the
Faults of others. It is true indeed, this is not properly judging, but it is nie-
ceſſarily preparatory thereto, and it is what a Proneneſs and Aptneſs to judge
others does naturally put us upon; for he, who is prone and diſpoſed to cen-
ſure and find fault, cannot forbear to deſire Matter of Cenſure, and to wiſh
to ſee ſomewhat that he may find Fault with. So that the ſame unchari-
table Temper which diſpoſes us to judge harſhly and ſeverely of our Ncigh-
bours, muſt need alſo diſpoſe us to pry into, and examine their Behaviour
more narrowly than belongs to us to do, if we have no Authority or Jurif-
diction over them. And it is indeed our judging and cenſuring ſuch Actions
of our Neighbours as theſe, which was here chiefly deſigned to be forbidden.
For what offers it felf to our Senſes, we cannot but take notice of; and if it
be evidently bad, we cannot but cenſure it as an ill Thing: But we do then
moſt of all tranſgreſs this Precept, when we ſearch out Matter for Cenſure;
when the open Behaviour of our Neighbour not affording us Ground enough
to condemn him, we ſearch and pry into all his ſecret Faults, and ſet our
ſelves to find out ſomewhat more, that we may tax and cenſure him for:
When rather than not blame him for ſomewhat, we examine ſo narrowly
into his Life, as not to overlook the leaſt Miſcarriage ; and pry into him ſo
nearly and exactly, as that if there be but the leaft Mote in his Eye, we ſhall
be ſure to diſcover it.
Such Inquiſitiveneſs as this being, I ſay, the neceſſary Conſequence of a
Pronenėſs to judge and cenfure others, it may well be ſuppoſed that the Pro-
hibition of this was meant to be comprehended under the Prohibition of
Judging: And ſo our Saviour himſelf ſeems to expound his Meaning in the
Words following the Text, where he immediately adds theſe Words; and
why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy Brother's Eye, but conſidereſt not
the Beam that is in thine own Eye? By which Words immediately ſubjoin-
cd to this Prohibition of Judging, it ſeems that our applying our felves to ſcan,
and fift into, and find out all the little Faults and Failings of others, is either
a Part, or ſuch a neceſſary and never failing Concomitant of that Judging
others, which he here forbids, as that it muſt needs be included under the
ſame Prohibition.
Thus I have ſhewn you, what Judging was not, and what Judging was
meant to be forbidden by our Saviour, in this general Prohibition, Judge not,
that ye be not judged.
I proceed now to the third Thing propoſed, which was,
III. To endeavour to diſſuade you from the Practice of ſuch judging as is
here forbidden, by ſome general Arguments and Conſiderations, ſhewing both
the Sinfulneſs, and the Folly thereof.
1. I
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
775
1
1. I ſhall repreſent to you the Sinfulneſs of it; and here it may be con-
fidered,
(1.) That this Precept of our Saviour, Judge not, is a Precept very eaſy
to be obſerved; for which Reaſon the Tranfgreſſion thercof is a greater Sin,
than if it had been a Command which we could not have kept without great
Difficulty. For what Preccpt can be caſier than this is? A Precept which
injoins us no Labour ; which puts us to no Coſt; which lays upon us no
Burthen ; which only commands us to be eaſy and quict; not to incddle
with things which do not belong to us; not to thruſt our ſelves into Buſi-
neſs which is none of ours? Had indeed the quite contrary to this been com-
manded; had we been bidden to pry into and examinc, to judge and paſs
Sentence upon, all the Adions of our Neighbour, we might then very juſtly
have complained of the troubleſom Office which we were put into ; and with
much better Reaſon might we then have declined the taking it upon us: But
when we are only bid to be quiet and filent, the Tranſgreſſion of ſuch an
eaſy Command of God as this is a Sin capable of no Excuſe.
(2.) It may be conſidered farther, that the Practice of judging and cenſur-
ing thoſe, who are not put into Subjection under us, is an Uſurpation on
God's Right. For to him Judgment and Vengeance do moſt properly be-
long: They fo belong to him, that no other Perſon can either paſs Judgment,
or inflict Puniſhment, on any of his Fellow-Creatures, unleſs he hath re-
ceived Commiſſion from God to do it. Who art thou that judgeſt another
Man's Servant? ſays the Apoſtle, Rom. xiv. 4. To his own Mafter he ſtand-
eth or falleth. And again, ver. 10. Why doſt thou judge thy Brother, or
why doſt thou ſet at nought thy Brother; for we shall all ſtand before the
Judgment-Seat of Chriſt? Whoever therefore thou art that judgeſt another
without Authority, thou takeſt too much upon thee; thou invadeft God's Of-
fice; thou uſurpelt upon his Right; thou ſetteſt thy ſelf in God's Place, and
allumeſt an Honour which is due only to him: Thou art conſequently guilty
of the higheſt Arrogance and Preſumption ; yea, of no leſs a Crime than
High-Treaſon againſt the Sovereign Majeſty of Heaven and Earth; an Indig-
nity which God cannot but reſent moſt highly, and puniſh moſt ſevercly ; for
he' has folemnly declared, that he will not give his Honour to another.
(3.) As the Practice of judging and cenſuring each other is an Act of
high Injuſtice towards God, ſo it is alſo towards Men, who by Nature are
all equal
, and by the Law of their Creation are ſubject to God only, and
to thoſe to whom he delegates a Part of his Authority, and makes his De-
puties and Viceroys here upon Earth. It is therefore moſt manifeſtly an un-
juft Ufurpation upon our Neighbour, to meddle in his Affairs, and to draw
him under our Juriſdiction, when we have no legal Authority over him ;
for none hath in himſelf Authority to judge, but he only who hath Autho-
rity to make Lawss there is one Law-giver, ſays the Apoſtle, who is able to
fave and to deſtroy; who art thou that judgeſt another? If therefore we
have not Authority to oblige others to obey our Commands, we have no
Authority to judge them for their Faults; nor to puniſh them in their Reputa-
tion by blaſting their Fame, any more than we have in their Bodies or
Goods.
The Practice of judging is likewiſe unjuſt, as being moſt contrary to that
golden Rule of Juſtice of doing as we would be done unto.
For there is no-
thing which we take greater Offence at, than when any of our Neighbours
take upon them to cenſure our Actions, or condemn our Perſons; when it
is our own Caſe, and we our felves are judged and cenſured by any other
Perfon, we have always ready at hand that Queſtion put to Moſes by the If
raelite which had done his Neighbour wrong, Exod. ii. 14. Who made thee
a Prince and a Judge? Wherefore doſt thou meddle in Matters which thou
+
haft
1
776
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
ز
haſt nothing to do with ? and what haſt thou to do to judge thoſe who
are not ſubject to thy Juriſdiction? And if this Reproof be reaſonable,
when others take upon them to judge us, it is no leſs reaſonable, when
we take upon us to judge them: For whatſoever we would that Men ſhould
do unto us, the ſame ſhould we do unto them; as we are taught by our Sa-
viour, at the twelfth Verſe of this Chapter.
(4.) The Practice of judging and cenſuring our Brethren, is alſo as un-
charitable as it is unjuſt; it argues a moſt culpablc Defect of Love to-
wards them. For whom we love, we are always inclined to favour ; we
put the beſt Interpretation we can upon every Thing they ſay or do.
Charity thinketh no Evil, as the Apoſtle ſays, 1 Cor. xiii. s. Moreover,
whom we love, we always endeavour to repreſent as fair and lovely as we
can to others. Charity beareth all Things, ſays the Apoſtle, at the ſeventh
Verſe of that Chapter; závlx ségu, it covereth or concealeth all Things:
i. e. it is very induſtrious to hide from the Knowledge of others, whatever
is bad in the Perſon beloved. There are moſt natural Fruits or Effects of
Charity; and thus we always expreſs our Love towards our ſelves; we in-
terpret all our own A&tions in the beſt Senſe, we make the faireſt Apologies
which we can for them: And if they are manifeſtly culpable, we however
Arive what we can to extenuate or excuſe them; and by all Ways in our
Power, endeavour to render our ſelves as lovely, and as well eſteemed as
we can poſlibly do. So that when, on the contrary, we expound our
Neighbour's Actions in the worſt Senſe, when inſtead of extenuating and
excuſing his Faults, we load him with the greateſt Aggravations, and publiſh
and declare to others that harſh Judgment which we have formed of him
in our own Minds, endeavouring thereby to render him as odious and deſpi-
cable to others, as we have repreſented him to our ſelves; this is a moſt ma-
nifeſt Brcach of that Law of Charity, that ſecond great Commandment in
the Law, comprehending under it all the Duties which we owe to our
Neighbour ; thou ſhalt love thy Neighbour as thy ſelf.
Hitherto I have endeavoured to ſhew the great Šinfulneſs of this too com-
nion Pra&ice of judging and cenſuring one another.
2. I proceed now very briefly to thew alſo the great Folly of it. And,
(1.) If there were nothing more in it than only this, that while we buſy
our ſelves in prying into the Behaviour of others, and paſſing our Judgment
upon them, we neglected our own Buſineſs, as we muſt needs do ; this
alone would be Folly enough. For what does it concern us to enquire,
what does it profit us to know, what this or the other Neighbour has done
amiſs? or what Advantage do we reap to our ſelves, from paſſing a harſh
Sentence againſt them? And yet while we are buſied in theſe Things which
concern us not at all, our precious Time paſſes away, and our own neceſſary
Buſineſs is left undone. For it is a moſt true Obſervation, that they who
are moſt concerned about other Men's Lives, are commonly leaſt careful of
their own.
And it muſt needs be ſo, becauſe being ſo much abroad, they
cannot be ſo much at home as they ſhould be: Directing their Sight to
Things at a Diſtance from them, they muſt needs overlook Things that are
nearer ; ſpending the greateſt Part of their Time in prying into and ſcanning
the Behaviour of others, they have not enough left to examine, as they fhould,
their own. And what can be more fooliſh than this? For he that is truly
wiſe, is wife for himſelf, as Solomon obferyes, Prov. ix. 12. True Wiſdom
fhews it ſelf in being moſt concerned about Things which are of the greateſt
and neareft Concern to us. And in Matters relating to this Life, we ſhould
account him a fooliſh Man who was ſo very officious in doing Buſineſs for
other Men, though it was in doing them real Kindneſſes, as thereby to
neglect his own Buſineſs, and ſo ſuffer himſelf and his Family to come to
t
Want
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
777
Want; becauſe, as we uſe to ſay, Charity begins at home ; and it is no Cha-
rity to do Kindneſſes to Strangers, to the very great Prejudice or utter Un-
doing of our ſelves, and thoſe whom we are in Juſtice, as well as Charity,
more ſtrongly obliged to provide for, and to take Care of. But thic Practice
of judging and cenſuring others is a much greater Inſtance of Folly than
that ; for when we ſpend our Time in ſifting out our Neighbour's Faults,
we do not deſign, neither do we really do thoni any Good, but rather,
as I Thewed before, we do them great Injury; and yet by doing this we
loſe that Time which God has given us to fit and prepare our ſelves for E-
ternity, and neglect that Buſineſs which is of the greateſt Concern in the
World to us, the Care of our own immortal Souls.
(2.) The Folly of this Practice will farther appear, from the Conſidera-
tion of the Miſchiefs which do thence accrue to our ſelves. For it is a great
Inſtance of Folly to labour in vain, and to take a great deal of Pains to no
good Purpoſe ; but it is a much greater to ſpend our Time and Pains only
in working Miſchief to our ſelves, in procuring our ſelves to be hated and
fpoken Evil of by all that know us. And there is nothing which does
more certainly produce theſe evil Effects, than the Practice of raſhly judg-
ing, and harſhly cenſuring others; nothing doth more excite the Hatred
of Men againſt us than this : Becauſe they look upon it, and that not with-
out Realon, as a certain Argument of our Hatred and Ill.will towards them;
and it is as natural to hate thoſe who hate us, as it is to loyc thoſe who
love us.
It is not therefore to be expected that they ſhould bear us Good-
will, to whom we ſhew ſuch Hatred and Ill-will; ſo that the Practice of
judging others doth not only provoke, but (conſidering the corrupt Nature
of Man) doth in a manner authoriſe them to judge us with the like Se-
verity, and to requite us in the ſame Kinds it ſeeming but Juſtice, that
hc who intends or pra&iſes Miſchief to others, ſhould ſuffer the like Mil-
chief himſelf.
And this deſerves the more to be conſidered, becauſe there is nothing
in the World more eaſy, than for our Neighbours to revenge this Injury
in Kind, and to judge and cenſure us as ſeverely as we did judge and cen-
ſure then.
And this is the Argument whereby our Saviour himſelf is ſuppoſed by
fome to diſſuade from this Practice, here in the Text; Judge not, that
ye be not judged; for, ſays he, with what Judgment ye judge ye ſhall be
judged, and with what Meaſure you mete it ſhall be meaſured to you
again. That is, you muſt look to be ſo dealt with by others, as you deal
with them. You cannot reaſonably expect Favour from thoſe to whom your
This is an Event which may juſtly be expected, and which
rarely fails to come to paſs.
But I ſuppoſe the Judgment here meant by our Saviour was rather the
Judgment of God, than the Judgment of Men; Judge not, that ye be not
judged; i.e. that ye be not judged by God.
be not judged by God. And then theſe Words ſug-
geſt to us another Conſideration, whereby the Folly of this Practice, of
raſhly and harſhly judging others, will more fully appear. Namely,
(3.) Becauſe by this Practice, which is highly injurious to our Neighbour,
and of no Benefit or Advantage to our felves, even in this World, but
rather the contrary ; we juſtly provoke God to judge us with the ſame
Judgment wherewith we judge others. Bleſſed are the Merciful, ſays
our Saviour, Matth. v. 7. which Words may be underſtood of ſuch as
are candid and merciful in their Cenſures of others, as well as of
thoſe who are merciful in other reſpects : Bleſſed are the Merciful; for
they shall obtain Mercy. And on the other Side, it is expreſly threat-
Vol. II.
ened,
ſhew none.
X x
2
778
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
::
ened, in Jam. ii. 13. that he mall have Judgment without Mercy,
that hath Thewed no Mercy. This is the righteous Judgment of God, to
deal in ſuch manner by us, as we deal by our Brethren. Not that if we
judge others raſhly, and condemn them without Cauſe, God alſo will
judge us rafhly, and condemn us undeſervingly; no, far be this from
God; Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? But the Meaning
of that Threatning is, that God will not be favourablc in his Judgment
of us ; that he will be ſevere with us in what we do amiſs; that he
will judge us without Mercy, and ſtrictly repay us according to our de-
ſerving, in caſe we are unmerciful and uncharitable in our Cenſures of our
Brethren. And what can be more equal than this? For ought not we
to have Pity on our Fellow-Servants, over whom we have no Authority,
if we look that our Lord and Maſter, againſt whom our Offences are in-
numerable, ſhould have Pity on us? And if we will ſhew no Favour to
a Man like our ſelves, to one of our Fellow-Sinners, to one who is in
the ſame Condemnation; how can we deſerve Favour: with what Rea-
ſon can we hope for any: For in condemning him, we condemn our
ſelves, who are guilty of many Sins as well as he; ſo that there is no-
thing more needful to condemn us, but only that God ſhould judge us
out of our own Mouth. And upon this Ground the Apoſtle St. Pauz
argues againſt, and diſſuades from, this practice, Rom. ii. 1, 2, 3. There-
fore thou art inexcuſable, 0 Man, whoſoever thou art that judgeft,
for wherein thou judgeſt another thou condemneft thy ſelf ; for thout
that judgeſt, doſt the ſame Things ;
doſt the ſame Things ; i. e. Thou art a Sinner againſt
God no leſs than he, though perhaps not guilty of juſt the ſame Faults.
And thinkeſt thou this, O Man, that judgeſt them which do ſuch
Things, and doft the ſame, that thou shalt eſcape the Judgment of
God?
And theſe Conſidérations will, I hope, be ſufficient to diſſuade you
from the Practice here forbidden ; judge not, that ye be not judged.
I proceed now, in the fourth and laſt Place, very briefly
IV. To propoſe ſome Remedies for the Prevention and Cure of this vile
Diſpoſition, and too common Prađice of judging and cenſuring one an-
other. And I ſhall but name them. . And,
i. The moſt ſure and effectual Means to prevent all harſh and forbid-
den judging of others, is to be in Charity with all Men, and to love our
Neighbour as our ſelves; which if we do, there will be no Difficulty at
all in forbearing to judge harſhly of him. For whom we love, we are
naturally apt to think and believe well of. Love fees no Faults in the Per-
ſon beloved; or if they are ſo plain that they cannot but be feen, it dir-
poſes us, however, to extenuate, abate, connive at, and ſee as little of them
as is poſſible. Hatred ſtirreth up Strife, but Love covereth all Sins,
ſays the Wiſe-man, Prov. x. 1 2.
2. Therefore, in order to the avoiding that harſh and uncharitable judg-
ing of others which is here forbidden, we ſhould do well never to paſs
any Judgment at all, no,
all, no, not in our own Minds, ſo far as we can for-
bear it; at leaſt, never to declare and tell to others our Judgment, con-
cerning either the Perſon or the Actions of any Man, between whom
and us there hath been any Strife, upon any Account. For he is by no
means qualified to be a Judge, but may fairly be excepted againſt, who
is at Enmity with the Perſon whom he is to judge; becauſe it may
well be ſuppoſed, that that Prejudice or Averſion, which he has already
conceived againſt him in his Mind, will ſo biaſs his Judgment, and ſo
incline
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
779
ever,
incline him to Harſhneſs and Severity, that he will not examine the Cauſe
fairly, nor judge of it impartially.
And the Reaſon is the ſame in private Judgments. Of him, who is
our Adverſary, it is great Odds that we ſhall not judge ſo candidly and
impartially, as we ought to do. So that the only ſure Means to avoid
the Guilt of falſe or raſh Judgment in ſuch a Caſe, is by wholly de-
clining both to make and to give our Judgment concerning any Perſon
whom we are at Enmity with.
3. In order to the avoiding falſe and raſh Judgment, it is neceſſary, that
even in thoſe Caſes wherein we may judge, as in evident and notorious
Caſes; or wherein we are obliged to judge, as when we have the Charge
and Inſpection of others committed to us; we ſhould nevertheleſs be very
flow in making our Judgment concerning them. For how clear foever the
Caſe may appear to us at the firſt Sight, there can be 'no Harm in taking
more Time to examine and conſider it, before we paſs Sentence: For
that which is true to Day, will be as true to Morrow ; ſo that it will be
at leaſt as well to delay the declaring our Judgment till then; and by tak-
ing ſo much more Time to conſider, we ſhall often fee Cauſe to give a
different Judgment then, from what we ſhould have given now. How-
we can hardly ever be ſure that we underſtand the Caſe fully at
the firſt Sight; and of what we are not ſure we underſtand fully, we
ought not to give or declare our Judgment: For he that anſwereth a
Matter before he heareth it, it is both a Folly and a Shame unto him;
as the Wiſe-man ſays, Prov. xviii. 13.
4. Another moſt excellent Means to avoid falſe and raſh Judgment
is, often calling to Mind the Miſtakes which we have already commit-
ted, in making or giving our Judgment concerning others. For when
we conſider that we have often already been deceived in our Judg-
ment, and have many Times, through Raſhneſs and Precipitancy in giv-
ing Judgment, condemned thoſe whom afterwards we have ſeen Cauſe
to acquit, this will make us more cautious in giving Judgment for the
future, and perſuade us to take more Time to conſider Things, and ne-
ver again to declare our Judgment, till we are very ſure that we under-
ſtand the Caſe fully.
s. There is nothing that would more effectually cure and prevent falſe
and raſh Judgment of others, than a firm Reſolution not to make the
Lives and Actions of our Neighbours the Subject of our Talk; never to
ſpeak what Ill we know of others, unleſs we are either in Juſtice or Cha-
rity obliged to it; and never to declare our Judgment concerning them,
if it be ill, unleſs we are in Duty bound to declare it; for we ſhould
hardly ever care to trouble our ſelves to make a Judgment concerning
others, if when we had made it we were obliged to keep it to our ſelves.
6. And laſtly, Let us frequently and ſeriouſly reflect upon our own
Faults and Miſcarriages, and that will effectually cure us of our Proneneſs
to judge others: For we know our ſelyes a great deal better than we do
others; and there is no Man but who, if he ſeriouſly examines his own
Life, will know more Ill by himſelf, than he does of any of his Neigh-
bours.
And if we are conſcious of our own Faults and Imperfections, and
as ſenſible, as we ought to be, of our own Need of the divine Mercy and
Forgiveneſs, we ſhall not be over-forward to judge and condemn our Neigh-
bours. We ſhall find our ſelves Work enough at home, to pull out the
Beam that is in our own Eye, to correct our own Faults, and to amend
our own Lives; and ſhall have no Time to ſpare from that, and from
the neceſſary Affairs of Life, needleſly to pry into, to ſcan, and cenſure
the Misbehaviour of other Men.
f
Beſides;
:
780
The Sinfulneſs and Folly of Judging.
Beſides, being by a juſt Sight and Senſe of our own manifold Sins, made
humble and lowly in our own Conceits, we ſhall ſee that it does by no
means become us, who are great Criminals our ſelves, to take upon us
to be Judges of others, who perhaps are not ſo great Sinners as we are ;
of whom, at leaſt, we do not certainly know ſo much Ill as we do of our
ſelves. And conſidering that we our ſelyes muſt ſhortly appear before God's
Tribunal, to give an Account of our own Adions, and that if he ſhould
enter into ſtrict Judgment with us, we ſhould not be able to abide before
him, we ſhall be very ſhie of paſſing a harſh and ſeverc Cenſure upon our
Neighbour, left God ſhould turn the fame upon us, as moſt juſtly he may,
and as we have great Reaſon to fear he will do.
!
Judge not therefore, that ye be not judged ; condemn not, that ye be
not condemned; for we muſt all ſtand before the Judgment Seat of Chriſt ;
and with the Same Meaſure that we mete withal, it Mall be meaſured to
us again.
sz
>
DIS
1
781
DISCOURSE LXXII.
Rules for Judging of others.
800.000
MATTH. VII. 3, 4, 5.
And why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy Bro-
ther's Eye, but conſidereft not the Beam that is in
thine own Eye?
Or how wilt thou ſay to thy Brother; let me pull out
the Mote out of thine Eye; and behold a Beam is
in thine own Eye?
Thou Hypocrite, firſt caſt out the Beam out of thine
own Eye, and then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt
out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
N the Words immediately foregoing, on which I have for-
merly diſcourſed, our Saviour had forbidden a Practice which
Mankind are generally exceeding prompt to, viz. the judg-
ing and cenſuring others; which he had diffuaded from,
chiefly, by the Conſideration of its expoſing thoſe who prac-
tiſe it, to be judged, both by God and Men, with the ſame
Severity wherewith they do judge others; Judge not, that ye
be not judg-
ed; for with what Judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what
Meaſure ye mete, it ſhall be meaſured to you again. The Meaning is, firſt,
that they who are ſevere and unmerciful in their Cenſures of others, may
juſtly fear, that other Men 'will be as ſevere and unmerciful in cenſuring
them ; there being ſeemingly a ſort of Equity in it, that a Man ſhould be
dealt with as he himſelf deals with others; there being manifeſtly no juſt
Cauſe for any Man to complain, if what he ſuffers from others be no more
than they or others have before fuffered from him; and not only ſo, but,
ſecondly, they who are prone to judge others may likewiſe juftly fear,
that God alſo will judge them without Mercy; and that he will be very
fevere in marking whatever they do amiſs, when they are ſo rigorous and
fevere in the Cenſures which they paſs upon their Neighbours ; according
to that of the Apoſtle, fames ii. 13. He ſhall have Judgment without Mer-
cy, that hath thewed no Mercy.
And
YY
782
Rules for Judging of others.
And the Words which I have now read to you, and am at this time to
diſcourſe of, do plainly belong to the ſame Subject; and ſo may well be
underſtood,
I. As urging another good Argument to diſſuade us from judging :
and,
II. As preſcribing an excellent Means to cure us of this Fault.
1. This may be underſtood as urging another good Argument to diſſuade
us from judging ; why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy Brother's
Eye, but conſidereft not the Beam that is in thine own Eye? Which Ar-
gument is taken from our own Incompetency to diſcharge well this Of-
fice; for it is indecent and incongruous for a Man who is himſelf a Crimi-
nal, to take upon him, eſpecially without good Warrant and Authority
from his Superiors, to fit in Judgment upon his Fellow-Criminal. And
that is the Caſe of us all, even of the beſt of us; for we have all great
Faults of our own, we are all highly guilty before God, ſome, it may be,
of ſome Sins and ſome of others, but all of them capital and damnable :
No matter therefore at preſent which is the greater, or which is the leſſer
Sinner of the two; for ſo long as both of them are Sinners, neither of
them is fit to be a Judge of the other. For it is not fit that a Thief
ſhould fit in Judgment, though upon a Murtherer; and much leſs that a
Murtherer ſhould fit in Judgment upon a Thicf; for they are both Crimi-
nals, and the proper Place for both of them is to ſtand at the Bar; there
let them both do the beſt they can to clear themſelves of the Crimes whereof
they are ſeverally accuſed ; but until they can do that, it is a bold Pre-
fumption in cither of them to offer to ſit upon the Bench, and to paſs up-
on the other that Sentence of Death, which he himſelf has deſerved no
leſs than the other, though perhaps not for juſt the fame Crime. And this
Argument againſt judging others is well urged by the Apoſtle in Rom. xiy. 10.
Why doſt thou judge thy Brother, or why doſt thou ſet at nought thy Bro-
ther? we ſhall all ſtand before the Judgment-Seat of Chriſt. i. e.
all Criminals, and we muſt all be judged by Chriſt for our own Faults ;
and therefore it is not becoming us, who muſt paſs under Judgment our
ſelves, to take upon us to give Judgment upon others.
we are
II. In theſe Words, our Saviour likewiſe preſcribes an excellent Means
to cure us of this common Fault of judging others ; viz. by directing iis
to look into our ſelves, and to buſy our ſelyes at home in amending what
wc ſhall find amiſs in our ſelves; which if we do, we ſhall have little or
no leiſure Time to ſpend in ſcanning and ſifting the Lives and Manners
of other Men: Or if we have any Time to ſpare, and are in Duty obliged
to have an Overſight and Inſpection over others, and to judge and cenſure
them in order to their Amendment, we ſhall be then in a better Capacity
than we are now, to diſcharge this Duty faithfully and wiſely : Firſt caſt out
the Beam that is in thine own Eye, and then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt
out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye. Firſt caſt out the Beam that is in
thine own Eye ; that ought to be every Man's firſt and chiefeſt Care; for
cvcry Man is nearer to himſelf than he is to his Neighbour, and hath a
greater Concern in his own Welfare than in any other Man's; and Cha-
rity, as we uſe to ſay, begins at home. And in our worldly Concerns we
always practiſe according to this Maxim. In Caſe of Fire, our firſt Care
is to ſave our own Perſons and Goods, and when that is done, we think
it Time enough then to help our Neighbours; and in any other Danger,
our firſt Thoughts always reſpect our felves, our greateſt Concern is to re-
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3
cure our ſelves, and till that be done, we think our felves under no Obli-
gation to aſſiſt in the reſcuing others from the ſame Danger.
And ſhould we take the ſame Courſe in our ſpiritual Concerns, as it is
certainly highly reaſonable we ſhould do; for the Salvation of our Souls is
a Matter of much greater Importance to us, than the Preſervation of our
Goods, or Care of our Lives; ſhould we, I fay, take the ſame Courſe in
our ſpiritual Concerns, and make it our firſt Care to correct our own Faults
and Miſcarriages, this firſt Care would ſo fully employ us, that we ſhould
have little Tinic, and leſs Mind, to buſy our felves in other Men's Mar-
ters, farther than our own Duty obliged us to it.
And how good a Preſervative this would be to keep us from ever
raſhly or needleſſly judging others, we may learn from that Paſſage of Hi-
ſtory which we meet with in John viii. 3, &c. where it is ſaid ; The Scribes
and Phariſees brought unto Jeſus a Woman taken in Adultery, and when
they had ſet her in the midſt, they ſay unto him, Maſter, Moſes in the Law
commanded that ſuch ſhould be ſtoned, but what ſayeſt thou? Now this (as the
Evangeliſt obſerves) they ſaid, tempting him, that they might have to ac-
cuſe him ; for if he had acquitted her, they would have accuſed him to their
Nation, as one that had broken the Law of Moſes by giving Judgment con-
trary to it; and if he had condemned her, if he had warranted them to
execute upon her the Sentence that was given by the Law of Moſes againſt
Adultery, they would then have had whereof to accuſe him before the Ro-
man Governor, as one that took upon him, without Commiſſion from the
Roman Emperor, to whom the Nation of the Jews was then in 'Subjec-
tion, to be a Judge in Matters of Life and Death. Our Saviour therefore
did neither of theſe, he neither acquitted her whoſe Crime was ſo noto.
rious, neither did he condemn her to Death, where he had no legal Au-
thority ſo to do; but he at once defeated the wicked Deſign which theſe
Men had againſt himſelf, and likewiſe put an effe&ual Stop to their malici-
ous Proſecution of the Criminal, by only ſaying, as you may fee at the ſe-
venth Verſe of that Chapter ; he that is without Sin among you, let him
firſt caſt a Stone at her; for theſe Words of our Lord brought to the Re-
membrance of every one of them, the Sins, perhaps of the ſame Kind, it
may be of a more heinous Nature, that he himſelf had been guilty of; the
Conſequence of which was, that being every one of them convicted by their
own Conſciences, they went out, one by one, beginning at the eldeſt, even
unto the laſt, till Jeſus and the Criminal were left alone.
And this would be a general Conſequence of Men's reflecting, as they
ought to do, upon themſelves, and examining their own Behaviour ;
they would ſee ſo many, and ſuch great Faults in themſelves which
needed Amendment, that they would have little time left to pry in-
to the Faults of other Men's Lives ; and being convicted by their own Con-
ſciences, would quickly diſcern, that it was a Matter of much greater and
ncarer Concern to them, to reform their own Lives, than it was to be
Judges of other Men's; and ſo would be eaſily perſuaded at leaſt to let
chis alone, till that were firſt done, i. l. not to take upon them to judge
and cenſure others, till, after having amended whatever was amiſs in them-
ſelves, they had more Leiſure than they yet had, to look abroad, and were
in a better Capacity than they yet were, to 'reform others.
But this Argument againſt raſh and uncharitable Judgment, and likewiſe
this Preſervative againſt it, I have already ſpoken ſomewhat of in my for-
mer Diſcourſes on the two foregoing Verfes; and therefore ſhall not now
enlarge farther thereupon; but ſhall confine my preſent Diſcourſe to theſe
other Points which the Text offers to our Conſideration; namely, 1. that
they who are prone to judge and cenſure others are commonly worſe Men
than
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Rules for Judging of others.
than thoſc whom they cenſure ; -why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy
Brother's Eye, but conſidereſt not the Beam that is thine own Eye? 2. That
every Man's firſt and chiefel Care ought to be to ſpy out and to correct
his own Faults; thou Hypocrite, caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own
Eye. 3. That they eſpecially which take upon them to reprove and correct
others for their Faults, ought to be very careful thar thcir own Bchaviour
be in all Points blameleſs and unreproveable. How wilt thou ſay to thy
Brother, let me pull out the Mote out of thine Eye, and behold a Beam is
in thine own Eye? Caft out firſt the Beam out of thine own Eye, and then
Jhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
1. It is implied in theſe Words, that they who are prone to judge and
cenſure others, are comunqnly worſe Men than thoſe whom they cenſure:
This is implied in the firſt Worøs of the Text; why beholdeſt thou the
Mote that is in thy Brother's Eye, but conſidereft not the Beam that is
in thine own Eye? For a Mote is a little Straw or a finali Duſt, ſuch as is
apt to be blown into the Eye by the Wind, which mrakcs it ſmart for the
preſent, and hinders the free Uſe of the Sight for a fiort While, but is
with little Diſficulty waſhed out again, after which the Eye fees as well as it
did before: But a Beam is a great Piece of Wood, ſuch as if by any chance
it ſhould be ſtricken againſt the Eye, would not only pain it, would not
only hinder the Sight, but is ſufficient to daſh the Eye quite our, or ſo to
ſpoil it that it will never ſee more: When therefore the Faults of thoſe
who are judged and conſured are here called Motes, and the Faults of thoſe
who do judge and cenſure ophers are likened to a Beam in the Eye, it ſecnis
as if our Saviour deſigned hereby to ſignify, that they who are prone to
judge and cenſure others, are, generally ſpeaking, greater Sinners than thoſe
whom they paſs their Judgment and Cenſure upon.
And tha; thus it conimonly is will appear, if we conſider firſt, on the one
ſide, whạt thoſe Faults are which are the common Subjects of Cenſure and
raſh judgment; and ſecondly, on the other ſide, what Sins are included and
comprehended in raſh and uncharitable Judgment: By comparing which to-
gether it will appear, as I ſaid, that he who is guilty of raſh and unchari-
table Judgment, is commonly a worſe Man than he who is rafhly judged
and uncharitably cenſured by him.
For, firſt, the Sins included and comprehended in raſh and uncharitable
Judgmçnt of others, are Pride, Malice, Envy, and the like; Vices of the
worſt Sort, which argue the worſt and vileſt Temper of the Mind, and which
are' naturally productive of the worſt Fruits in the outward Life and Con-
yerſation : But, on the other ſide, the Things which are commonly the Sub-
jects of raſh Cenſure, are either no Faults at all, or if they be, they are com-
monly lefſer Sins, either Sins of Ignorance and Weakneſs, or ſome finall Fail-
ings in ſuch Men as are in the main blameleſs, and unreproveable, or elſe
perhaps ſome Matters of private Opinion, wherein Men do differ from one
another; whịch one Man is ſatisfied of the Lawfulneſs of, and another Man
doubts of or diſallows, and therefore cenſures all thoſe as great Sinners who
pracliſe the ſame without Scruple.
Ne Man was ever more ſeverely çenſured, than our bleſſed Saviour was
by the Scribes and Phariſees; but whạt was it for? was it for ſome great
Sin? for ſome notorious Scandal for ſome manifeſt Vice and Immorality
in his Practice. No ſurely; for in him, as we are told, there was no Sin;
but they cenſured him as guilty of very great Faults, when indeed there
was no Fault in him, bụt only a Miſtake in themſelves.
Thus they çenſured him as a Sabbath-breaker, only becauſe he under-
ſtood the Meaning of the fourth Commandment better than they did; and
kept it according to its true Senſe and Deſign, and not according to the ri-
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785
gorous Interpretation which their Superſtition had put upon it : Thcy cen-
ſured him, I ſay, as a Sabbath-breaker, becauſe he did good upon the Sab-
bath; whereas they fooliſhly thought, that the Reſt of the Sabbath was in-
ficuted merely for Reft's ſake. But he underſtood the Law betrer than they
did; he knew that the Reſt of the Sabbath, i. e. the çcaſing from the or-
dinary Works and Labours of Life, was enjoined only that Men might be
the more at leiſure for Works of Devotion and Charity; he knew, that
the Sabbath was made for Man, and not Man for the Sabbath; and that
he kept the Day beſt who did most Good upon it; and that Mercy' was
more acceptable to God than Sacrifice : Which Saying had they known the
Meaning of, they would not have condemned the Guiltleſs, as he ſays, Matt.
xii, 7. ſpeaking of this very Macter.
Thus alſo they ccnſured him as a Man gluttonous, and a Wine-bibber,
and as a Friend of Publicans and Sinners, Matt. ii. 19. the former, only
becauſe his Way of Life was free and familiar; the latter, becauſe he dc-
clined not the Company of the worſt of Men, when there was an Oppor-
tunity of doing them Good by his Inſtruction and Advice. Now theſe were
really no Faults in him ; but their Cenſure of him was grounded only upon
their own Miſtake, who placed Religion in the Choice of Meats and Drinks,
and in abſtaining from Things which God had not forbidden; and thought
there was not ſo much Piery and Charity in converting a Sinner from the
Error of his Ways, as there was in a ſupercilious Diſdain of his Perſon, and
keeping off at a Diſtance from him, according to the Example of their Pre-
deceffors in the Prophet Iſaiah's time, who ſaid, Stand by thy ſelf, come not
near to me, for I am holier than thou. Ifa. lxv. 5.
And yet theſe fame Scribes and Phariſees cenſured St. John Baptiſt as a
Man that was lunatick, and beſides himſelf; becauſe his Way of Life was
of different Sort from our Saviour's, becauſe he was very abſtemious and
reſerved ; becauſe he lived in the Wilderneſs, and converſed but little in the
World, Matth. ii. 18. John the Baptiſt came neither eating nor drinking ;
and they ſay, he hath a Devil.
Another Example we have of this raſh cenſuring and judging others among
the Romans, to whom St. Paul ſent his Epiſtle ; Rom. xiv. 2. One believeth
that he may eat all Things ; another who is weak eateth Herbs : And, ver.
5. One Man eſteemeth one Day above another; another efteemeth every Day
alike. Such difference in Opinion there was even among the firſt Chriſtians
and in the Churches which the Apoſtles themſelves had planted ; and had it
reſted there, and had each Side practiſed according to their private Opinion,
there had been no great Harm in it; for Meat (as the ſame Apoſtle ſaith)
commendeth us not to God; for neither if we eat, are we the better ;; nei-
ther if we eat not, are we the worſe ; and again ; the Kingdom of God, is
not Meat and Drink, but Righteouſneſs, and Peace, and for in the Holy
Ghoſt: But they not rightly underſtanding this, cenſured and judged thoſe
that differed from themſelves in theſe Opinions of ſmall Importance, and
who acted accordingly, as very great Sinners; he that made no great diffe-
rence in Meats judged him who did as weak and ſuperſtitious ; and he that
did make a difference, judged the other as prophane and irreligious ; and thus
when neither of them were indeed much to blame for their Opinion only,
whether it was true or falſe, nor yet for acting according to their Opinion;
both of them became exceeding guilty, by rafhly cenſuring and judging each
other
And thus, I ſay, it is moſt commonly; the Matters for which Men are
moſt
apt to be judged and cenſured by others, are either ſmall Faults, fuch
as the wiſeft and beſt Men are ſeldom clear of; or very often, they are only
ſuppoſed Faults; i. e. either ſuch Practices as are indifferent in themſelves,
Vol. II.
Z z
and
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and are judged to be Faults only by thoſe which have not formed a righe
Judgment of Things in their own Minds; or elſe they are ſuch Practices as
though they be really vicious in thoſe that do them, the Perſons judged guil-
ty thercof are not certainly known to have done. For as to Matters which
are manifeſtly ſinful, and which any Perſon does openly allow himſelf in the
Practice of, theſe are not properly Subjects of Cenſure or Judgmerit, but ra-
ther of Sight and Knowledge; for it is improper to ſay, that we judge a Man
to be an Adulterer, when his Adultery is notorious and manifeft; or that
we judge'a Man to be a Drunkard, when we and all the Neighbourhood
know him to be fo; and when he practiſes his Sin ſo openly, that none
who know him can be ignorant of it: This, I ſay, is not properly Judg-
ment, but Knowledge ; for we then only can be properly ſaid to make a
Judgment of a Man, when from what we ſee in him. we argue and infer a
Thing which we do not ſee. The Matters therefore, I ſay, for which Men
are commonly judged and çenſured by others, being only ſuppoſed Faults,
i. e. ſuch Things as it is not certain they have done, or which if they have
done, it is not certain that they did ill in doing them; and, on the other
fide, the Principles and Cauſes of raſh and uncharitable Judgment being ſo
manifeſtly evil, it plainly appears, that they who are guilty of raſh and un-
charitable Judgment, are commonly worſe Men than thoſe who are raſhly
judged, and uncharitably cenſured by them. Why beholdeſt thou the Mote
(that ſmall Duft or Straw) that is in thy Brother's Eye, and conſidereft not
the Beam (that much greater Thing) that is in thine own Eye? Nay,
farther,
(2.) If the Things for which we judge and cenſure others are manifeſtly
evil, and the Men are manifeſtly guilty thereof, yet it may truly enough be
faith in the general, that they are but Motes, in Compariſon with thoſe grear-
er Sins which are included and comprehended in raſh and uncharitable Judg,
ment; becauſe they are ſuch Faults, as the Men who are guilty of them may
more eafily be brought to a Sight and Senſe of, and to Repentance for, than
they who are prone to judge, and cenſure others can be, of and for thoſe
Faults and Vices of the Mind which diſpoſe them to uncharitable Judgment.
And thus our Saviour obſerves, Matth. xxi. 31. ſpeaking to the Scribes and
Phariſees, who were proud and conceited of themſelves
, and ſevere Judges
and Cenſurers of others; Verily I ſay unto you, that the Publicans and the
Harlots
go into the Kingdom of God before you ; for John came unto you
in
the Way of Righteouſneſs, and ye believed him not, but the Publicans and
the Harlots believed him; and ye, when ye had ſeen it, repented not after-
wards, that ye might believe him. And he deſigned the ſame Thing in that
Parable of the Phariſee and the Publican, which we meet with in Luke xviii.
9,&c. He ſpake this Parable, ſays the Evangeliſt, untoʻcertain which truſt-
ed in themſelves that they were righteous, and deſpiſed others. Two Men
went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Phariſee, and the other a Pub-
lican; the Phariſee ſtood and prayed thus with himſelf; God, I thank thee
that I am not as other Men are, Extortioners, Unjuſt, Adulterers, or even as
this Publican ; I faft twice in the Week, I give Tithes of all that I pofſefs.
And the Publican ſtanding afar off, would not lift up so much as his Eyes
unto Heaven, but (mote upon his Breaſt, ſaying, God be merciful to me a Šin-
I tell you this Man went down to his Houſe juſtified rather than the
other. The Meaning of which laſt Words is not, that an Extortioner, an
unjuft Man, or an Adulterer, ſuch as the Publican is there ſuppoſed to be,
could be juſtified by God while he continued in the Practice of thoſe noto-
rious Sins; for God will not juſtify the Wicked; but that ſuch Enormities in
Practice are more readily diſcerned, and are conſequently more eaſy, and more
like to be reformed, than Pride and Arrogance, Enyy and Malice, Self-conceit
and
ner.
Rules for Iudging of others.
787
and Hypocriſy, and ſuch other Vices of the Mind; which, like inward Ul
cers in the Body, thouglı of all the moſt dangerous and deadly, yet lie not
ſo open to be ſearched and examined into, and cannot be ſo caſily reached
by ſuch Medicines as are proper for their Cure, as outward Sores and Mala-
dies may be. And therefore how bad a Man foever he be, who is judged and
reprobated by others, though he be really as bad, as the Phariſee ſuppoſed
this Publican to be; and though he has not yer repented of thoſe enormous
Crimes which he has been guilty of, yet he can hardly be a worſe Man than
the Phariſee ; he can hardly be worſe than they are, who are prone to judge
and reprobate others; i. e. who are proud, and envious, and malicious, and
highly uncharitable ; for if they were not ſo, they would not take upon them
to judge of others without Warrant and Commiſſion ſo to do; or at leaſt
they would be more candid and charitable in their Cenſures. Or if the
vile Publican be indeed at preſent as bad a Man as the conceited and hy.
pocritical Phariſee, yet in this reſpect at leaſt he is the better Man of the
two, that he may more eaſily be convicted' of his Sins by the Checks of his
own Conſcience, and the charitable Reproofs of his Neighbour, than the
other can be, and is conſequently in a more likely Way of being reformed
than the other is. Well therefore might our Saviour preſcribe to ſuch as are
apt to judge and cenſure others uncharitably, that they ſhould rather ſpend
their Judgments upon themſelves, than upon their Neighbours: Thou Hypo-
crite, caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own Eye. And this leads me to
the ſecond Point I was to ſpeak to, viz.
2. That every Man's firſt and chiefeſt Care ought to be, to ſpy out and .
to correct his own Faults; caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own Eye.
And the Reaſon of this I have already hinted at, viz. becauſe every Man
is nearer to himſelf than he is to his Neighbour, and has a greater Intereſt
and Concern in his own well-doing, and well-being, than in any other
Man's; and Charity ſhould begin at home, Nay indeed, true Charity
will moſt certainly begin at home ; for it is not in our Power, if
we would ever ſo fain do it, to love another better than we love our ſelves,
or to deſire another's Welfare more than we do our own. And therefore
if any Man be very curious in ſpying out other Men's Faults, and very of-
ficious in offering his Help to reform and amend them, and yet at the ſame
time neglects himſelf; his Zeal to reform others may proceed from Pride and
Self-Conceit, or it may be the Fruits of a pragmatical Temper, which loves
to be meddling in other Men's Matters, or of a Deſire of Superiority and
Authority over others; or the Man may have a worldly Intçreſt and Deſign
carrying on, which he thinks may be beſt promoted by a Shew of great Zeal
for Godlineſs and Religion, and he may think that a Zeal to reform others
may be more ſeen and talked of, and make a greater Shew and Noiſe in the
World than the greateſt Exactneſs in his own Life and Converſation would do 3
but it is certain that it is not true Charity to the Souls of his Neighbours,
which prompts him to it, and puts him upon it. For it is not credible that
any Man ſhould do that out of true Love to his Neighbour, which he will
not do out of Love to himſelf; for, whatever he may pretend, all the
World will believe that he loves himſelf better than he does any other Man;
and therefore if he does that for his Neighbour which he will not do for
himſelf; they muſt conclude that he does it not out of Love and Kindneſs
to his Neighbour, but either to gratify his own malicious Humour, or to pro-
mote his own worldly Intereſt. But,
3. As it is every Man's greateſt Concern to reform and amend his own
Life, to caſt out the Beam out of his own Eye; ſo it is in a more eſpecial
Manner neceſſary, that they ſhould, above all Things, be careful to do this,
who take upon them to reprove, correct, and reform others. And this was the
third Thing, which I ſaid the Text ſuggeſts to our Thoughts, particularly in
the
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ز
the ſecond and third Verſes of the Text, How wilt thou ſay to thy Bro-
ther, let me pull out the Mote out of thine Eye, and behold a Beam is in
thine own Eye ¿ Thou Hypocrite, caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own
Eye, and then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's
Eye.
How wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me pull out the Mote out of thine
Eye? How wilt thou ſay it? i, e. with what Face, or with what Pretence,
or what Hope of good Succeſs, doſt thou, or canſt thou offer thy Help to
correct his Faults, when thou thy ſelf haſt as great, perhaps much greater
Faults of thine own, than thoſe which thou wouldīt correct in him?
(1.) How wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me pull out thy Mote? i. e,
with what Face canſt thou ſay to him theſe or the like Words? How canft
thou, without bluſhing, pretend to ſee Faults in him, when thou ſeeſt not
thine own, which are as great or greater than his; which to all indifferent
Perſons appear as plain or plainer than his do; at leaſt, which thou thy ſelf
knoweſt, or mayeſt know, more certainly than thou canſt do his? How canft
thou then, being convicted by thine own Conſcience; how canſt thou, with-
out bctraying thine own Guilt by thy Looks, offer to reprove or correct thy
Brother, who deſerves not thy Reproof or Correâion more than thou deſer-
veſt his? As therefore thou would think of him, if he whom thou judgeſt
ſo ill of ſhould offer to reprove thee, ſo believe that he now thinks of thee,
who takeſt upon thee to correct him: he cannot but think that the Office
thou undertakeſt is ſuch, as is of all the unfitteſt for thee to undertake ; he
cannot but ſtand amazed, to fee Vice fo bold in correcting Sin. Conſider
therefore well thoſe Words of the Apoſtle, and they will not only make
thee bluſh, but tremble, in Rom. ii. 1, 2, 3. Therefore thou art inexcuſable,
O Man, whoſoever thou art, that judgeſt; for wherein thou judgeſt another,
thou condemneſt thy ſelf; for thou that judgeſt doeft the ſame Things. But
we are ſure that the Judgment of God is according to Truth, againſt them
which commit fuch Things. And thinkeſt thou this, O Man, that judgeſt
them which do ſuch Things, and doft the ſame, that thou ſhalt eſcape the
Fudgment of God? But,
(2.) Howe wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me pull out the Mote out of
thine Eye? i. e. with what Pretence canſt thou ſpeak after this Manner? what
Reaſon canſt thou offer for thy undertaking this Office : wilt thou own (as
it is moſt probable the Truth is) that thou doſt it out of Pride and Arro-
gance, and Self-Conceit? that thou endeavoureſt to put him to Shame, that
ſo he and others may think the better of thee? or that thou chuſeft this as
the eaſieſt Way of making ſome Shew and Appearance of Religion ; it be-
ing much eaſier to find Faults in others, than it is to avoid them our ſelves?
Thele Reaſons of thy offering to pull the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye,
though it is moſt likely they are the true Reaſons of it, yet are ſuch as, I
preſume, thou wilt not own : What plauſible Reaſon then canſt thou pretend
for it? for if thou ſayeſt thou doeft it out of a Zeal for God's Honour, it
will be obvious to reply, that he who diſhonours God himſelf, as every wick-
ed Man does, of what Sort or Kind foever his Wickedneſs be, cannot be
reaſonably ſuppoſed to have a true Concern for his Honour : or if thou
ſayeſt, which is, I think, the other only plauſible Pretence for it, that thou
doelt it in Diſcharge of thy own Dury, and out of true Charity to thy Neigh-
bour, the Falſeneſs and Vanity of this Pretence is no leſs manifeſt than of
the other; for who can believe a Man truly conſcientious in the Diſcharge
of one ſingle Duty, when he ſees him notoriouſly negligent in many others?
or who can believe that any Man loves his Neighbour more truly and cor-
dially than he loves himſelf; which yet it muſt be ſuppoſed thou doft, if
indeed thy Reproof and Correction of thy Neighbour be the Effect of thy
Charity
I
Rules for Judging of others.
789
Charity to his Soul, while yet thou haſt not ſo much Charity for thine
own Soul, as to take any Care, or to be at any Pains to ſave it from eternal
Ruin. Or,
(3.) How wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me pull out the Mote out of
thine Eye? Theſe Words may be thus underſtood, viz. as if our Saviour had
laid, with what Hope of good Succeſs doſt thou take upon thee to reprove
and correct others for thoſe Faults of which thou thy ſelf art no leſs guil-
ty than thcy; or while thou thy ſelf art guilty of any other, as great or
greater Sins, than thoſe which thou wouldſt reform in them? what good
Effect, I ſay, can it be hoped thy Reproof ſhould have upon them who
will endure a Phyſician undertaking his Cure, who is himſelf ſick of the
ſame Diſeaſe? or what other Anſwer canſt thou expect to thy Reproofs,
but ſuch Words as theſe, who made thee a Judge ? Phyſician, heal thy
felf; or thoſe Words of the Apoſtle, Rom. ii. 19, to 24. Thou art confi-
dent that thou thy ſelf art a Guide of the Blind, a Light of them that
are in Darkneſs, an Inſtructor of the Fooliſh, a Teacher of Babes, which
haft a Form of Knowledge and of Truth in the Law. Thou, therefore,
which teacheſt another, teacheſi thou not thy ſelf? thou that teacheſt a
Man, ſhould not ſteal; doſt thou ſteal? thou that ſayeſt, a Man jould not
commit Adultery ; doſt thou commit Adultery ? thou that abhorreft Idols,
doſt thou commit Sacrilege? thou that makeſt thy Boaſt of the Law, thro
breaking the Law diſhonoureſt thou God? For the Name of God' is blaf-
phemed among the Gentiles through you. And this indeed is the Fruit and
Effect, that the juſteſt Reproof or Admonition, out of the Mouth of a
Man who is guilty of the ſame, or has great Faults himſelf, as thoſe which
he corrects in others, is like to have. It not only renders the Reprover
himſelf ridiculous, and more liable to Cenſure than he would otherwiſe be,
but it reflects alſo a Reproach upon Religion; it makes the Enemies
of God to blaſpheme; it opens the Mouths of Atheiſts to cry down all
Religion as Trick and Cheat, as a Form taken up only to keep Fools in
Awe, and to ſerve a Turn.
Thus it appears, that though it be indeed a Matter of the greateſt Con-
cern to all, to keep, in all Things, a Conſcience void of Offence, both to-
wards God and towards Man, there being no juft Ground of rejoicing in
our own Minds, or of entertaining a good Confidence towards God, but
only the Teſtimony of our Conſcience, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity
we have had our Converſation in the World; yet that it is a Duty more
eſpecially incumbent upon them who take upon them to reprove and cor-
rect others, to take ſpecial Care that their own Behaviour be in all Points
blameleſs and unreproveable. How wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me
pull out the Mote out of thine Eye, and behold a Beam is in thine own Eye?
And this was the third Thing which I noted from the Text.
And from what hath been ſaid on this Head, we may obſerve, by way
of Inference,
1. The ſtrict Obligation which lies on Miniſters to ſhew themſelves ex-
emplary in their Life and Behaviour, and to walk ſo prudently and cauti-
ouſly that they may not juſtly be upbraided with any Fault; and that for
this Reaſon, becauſe it is their Duty, a great Part it is of their Office, to
inſtruct others, and, as there is Occaſion, either ſecretly or openly to re-
prove and rebuke them; but their Inſtructions will be of little Uſe, and
their Reproofs, how juſt and ſeaſonable foever, will be all loft and thrown
away, or elſe redound to their own Shame and Reproach, unleſs they take
heed to their Life, as well as to their Doctrine, and are careful to Thew
themſelves, in all Things, Patterns of good Works. For the ſame Reaſon
alſo,
Vol. II.
i
}
Ааа
2. AL
790
Rules for Judging of others.
2. All Magiſtrates, and Officers of Juſtice, are bound to ſhew good Ex-
ample to all under their Charge; for it is their ſpecial Duty, and that for
which Governors and Government were ordained by God; to puniſh all
Vice and Wickedneſs in their Subjects, to be a Terror to evil Docrs, and
to cut off with the Sword of Juſtice ſuch as are intolerable for their Vio-
lence and Injuſtice, and will not be perſuaded to lead quiet and peaceable
Lives, in Godlineſs and Honeſty. But with what Face can Magiſtrates cor-
rect and puniſh thoſe Vices and Immoralities in their Subjects, of which
they themſelves do give them Example: how can they, without trembling,
make Uſe of the Sword of Juſtice wherewith they are intruſted, to cut off
the Workers of Iniquity, when they conſider that they themſelves have done
the ſame Things, and do deſerve no leſs to be cut off; and that that God,
who has committed the Uſe of the Sword to them for a ſhort time, has
fill reſerved the Propriety thereof to himſelf; that they are as anſwerable
for all their Crime: to him, as their Subjects are to them, and that there is
no Reſpect of Perſons with God. Again,
3. From hence likewiſe all Parents, all Maſters and Heads of Families,
may learn, how ſtrictly they alſo are, for the ſame Reaſon, obliged to be-
have themſelves wiſely and unblameably before their Children and Servants.
For if they ſuffer any Wickedneſs in their Families, which it is in their
Power to prevent, the Blame thereof will, in great Meaſure, lie upon them.
An Example of God's Juſtice, upon which Account you may ſee, in old
Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 13. I have told him, ſays God, that I will judge his Houſe
for ever; for the Iniquity which he knoweth, becauſe his Šons made them.
ſelves vile, and he reſtrained them not. But how ſhould a Maſter of a Fa-
mily reſtrain his Children or his Servants, from doing vile and wicked
Things, while he himſelf is as vile as they ? how can a Father, with a good
Face, I had almoſt ſaid with a good Conſcience, rebuke his Son for that
Drunkenneſs or Intemperance, that Swearing or Prophaneneſs, which he firſt
learned from his Example? or how can a Mafter be angry with his Servant
for cheating hiin, for his own Advantage, when he himſelf had before in-
ſtructed and incouraged him to cheat and defraud others for his Maſter's
Profit ? All Reproof is unbecoming out of the Mouth of a wicked Perſon ;
and when once a Man debaſes himſelf, to do vile and wicked Things in
the Preſence of his Inferiors, he forthwith loſes all that Authority over them
which God and Nature had given him. But,
4. Laſtly, the Conſideration of what hath been ſaid is yet of more gene-
ral Uſe; for from hence we may all learn, whatever our Place and Station
in the World is, or whatever Relation we bear to others; from hence,
I ſay, we may learn, how neceſſary it is for us to lead our Lives unblame-
ably and unreproveably. For it is every Man's Duty, as he has Opportuni-
ty, to reprove his Brother, and not to ſuffer Sin upon him; and by not
reproving others for their Sins, when there is a proper Time and Seaſon for
it, we become Partakers with them in their Sins: But no Man can ever re-
prove another with Authority and Efficacy, while he is liable to have his
Reproof turned upon himſelf, and to have that Blame, whether for the
ſame or for any other Crimes, retorted back upon him, which he throws
upon others.
For this, by the Way, muſt be noted, and with noting it I ſhall put
an End to my Diſcourſe upon theſe Words; that after all which hath
been ſaid now, or in any former Diſcourſe, againſt judging and cenſuring
others; nothing which hath been ſaid is to be conſtrued as if it were a
Sin to reprove others, as well our Equals as our Inferiors; nay, and if
Need be, and a proper Opportunity be offered, our Superiors too.
So far
is this from being a Sin, that it is a neceſſary and indiſpenſable Duty, and
oftentimes
I
Rules for Judging of others.
797
oftentimes the only Method we can take to avoid being acceſſory to thoſe
Sins of others which 'we have Knowledge of. It was not therefore our
Saviour's Deſign, in this Prohibition of uncharitable judging, to diſcourage
the moſt charitable and Chriſtian Duty of Reproof; but what he meant
was to put us into the beſt Method of diſcharging it with Credit and
Authority, and good Succeſs; and this we ſhall do, if we obſerve the Di-
rection which he gives in the laſt Verſe of the Text: Firſt caſt out the
Beam out of thine. own Eye, and then fhalt thou fee clearly to caſt out
the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
CLOUDY. IT WIR
DI S.
792
DISCOURSE. LXXIII.
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
putere to the chose de la gente en este mes de todos
Wyre te
MATTH. VII. 6.
Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither
caft ye your Pearls before Swine, left they tram-
ple them under their Feet, and turn again and
rent you.
YO
UR Saviour, in the five foregoing Verſes of this Chap-
ter, had been treating of raſh and uncharitable judging
and cenſuring others : This he did, in the former Part
of the firſt Verſe, univerſally prohibit
, judge not; and in the
latter part of that, and in the following Verſes, he firſt
enforced his Prohibition of judging by two Arguments :
The firſt taken from the Conſideration of the Danger to
which raſh and uncharitable Judgment expoſes thoſe who
are guilty of it, of being themſelves ſeverely judged both by God and Men;
judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what Judgment ye judge, ye
ſhall be judged; and with what Meaſure je mete, it ſhall be meaſured to
you again : The other, from our Incompetency to be Judges of others, who
are our felves guilty before God, and muſt our felves undergo his Judg.
ment; why beholdeſt thou the Mote that is in thy Brother's Eye, but con-
fidereft not the Beam that is in thine own Eye?' And after this, he had
preſcribed, both as a neceſſary Duty in it ſelf, and alſo as a good Means or
Rennedy to cure our Proneneſs to judge others, that we thould examine
well our own Behaviour, make juſt Reflections upon our own Life, and uſe
our utmoſt Endeavour to amend and reform that ; the Conſequence of
which will be, that, firſt, we ſhall have little Time or Leiſure left to trouble
our ſelves about other Mens Lives, farther than our own Duty obliges us to
it: And, ſecondly, that having firſt reformed our ſelves, we ſhall be in a bet-
ter Capacity to diſcern what Faults there are in our Brother which need
Amendment, and by what Means we may beſt be helpful to him in amend-
ing the ſame: How wilt thou ſay to thy Brother, let me pull out the Mote
01lt of thine Eye, and behold a Beam is in thine own Eye? Thou Hypocrite,
firſt caſt out the Beam out of thine own Eye, and then ſhalt thou ſee clear-
ly to caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
And
*
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
793
2
!
ز
And that Advice of our Saviour's, ſubjoined to his univerſal Prohibition
of raſh and uncharitable judging; that Advice, I ſay, of our Saviour's, firſt
caſt out the Beam out of thine own Eye, together with the Reaſon where-
by it is enforced, then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote out of thy
Brother's Eye, gave me occaſion to note, as I did, at the Concluſion of my
Diſcourſe the laſt Time upon thoſe Words; that tho' it be a Sin to judge
and cenſure our Brother rafhly or uncharitably, it is not a Sin to endea-
vour his Reformation and Amendment. Charity indeed reſtrains us from
judging our Brother guilty of thoſe Sins which we do not fee, or which we
are not fully aſſured he has been guilty of : Charity alſo reſtrains us from
magnifying and aggravating thoſe Faults which we do ſee, or are fully al-
ſured of; and what Faults foever he hath done, and how many and great
ſoever they be, Charity will not permit us to judge and reprobate him, or
to paſs Sentence of Condemnation upon him; whom, as being our Brother,
we ſhould rather heartily commend to the Grace and Favour of Almighty
God, earneſtly praying that he may obtain Repentance and Pardon. But
Charity does not oblige us not to ſee the Faults which our Brother hathi
committed, if they be open and manifeft: It does not oblige us, when we
do ſee them, to concern our felves no farther about thein; but rather, it ob-
liges us to do what we can to convince him of the Danger he is in, while he
continues in his Sin; to perſuade him to Repentance, and to aſſiſt him in it.
This is clearly intimated in thoſe Words of our Saviour, then ſhalt thou
ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye ; it is plainly inti-
mated, I ſay, in thoſe Words, that we may, if we are in a Capacity of do-
ing it, endeavour to pull the Mote out of our Brother's Eye; i. e. to amend
and reform even the leaſt Miſcarriages which we happen to ſpy out in the
Life and Converſation of our Brother, and much rather, that we may, as
the Apoſtle expreſſes it, pull out of the Fire thoſe who are in imminent
Danger of being conſumed by it; i.e. uſe our utmoſt Endeavour to bring
to a Sight and Senſe of their Sin and Danger, ſuch as live in a Courſe of
notorious and ſcandalous Sin, of whom, if they ſhould perfiſt and die in the
wicked Courſe they are in, we could not entertain any good Hope.
But then, that we may be able to diſcharge well this Duty of the greateſt
Charity to the Souls of others, our Saviour here gives us two Cautions ;
one reſpecting our ſelves, the other thoſe whom we undertake the Reforma-
tion of.
The Caution reſpecting our ſelves, is, that before we undertake to re-
form others, we ſhould be very careful that our own Life and Converſation
be unblamcable and unreproveable; and this Caution he gives in the Verſe
before the Text, on which I diſcourſed the laſt Time ; thou Hypocrite, firſt
caſt out the Beam out of thine own Eye, and then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to
caſt out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye. In which Words it is implied,
1. That the greateſt Shew and Appearance of Zeal to reform and amend
others, while yet at the ſame Time we neglect our ſelyes, or allow our ſelves
in the Practice of any known Sin, is not the Effect of true Religion; i. e.
either of Piety towards God, or of Charity towards our Neighbour; but is
mere Diflimulation and Hypocriſy, a Form of Godlineſs, without the Power
of it: Thou Hypocrite, caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own Eye. And,
2. Thạt till we have well reformed our ſelyes, we are not like to under-
take the Reformation of others to any good Purpoſe; but that when we
have firſt amended all which was amiſs in our felves, we ſhall be then in a
good Capacity to undertake the Reformation of others, and may undertake it
with good Hope of Succeſs; then ſhalt thou ſee clearly to caſt out the Mote
out of thy Brother's Eye.
ܪ
Vol. II.
В ьь
The
794
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
The other Caution here given us, and which reſpects thoſe whom we
undertake the Reformation of, is in the Words of the Text, of which I
am now to diſcourſe ; Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither
caſt ye your Pearls before Swine, left they trample them under their Feet, and
turn again and rent you.
The Meaning of which Words, if we underſtand them in the moſt re-
ſtrained Senſe, in that Senſe which, according to the Connexion that is be-
tween them and the foregoing Words, ſeems to be primarily intended, is
this ; that though it be a general Duty of Charity to pull out the Mote out
of our Brother's Eye, that is, to endeavour his Reformation and Amendment;
we are not, however, obliged to beſtow this Labour of Love on thoſe upon
whom we are ſatisfied it will do no Good; eſpecially, if their Temper be
ſuch that we may very reaſonably think that our Endeavours to reform them
will, not only do them no Good, but provoke them to do us Harm; Give
not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither caſt ye your Pearls before
Swine, left they trample them under their Feet, and turn again and rent
you. Or,
2. We may underſtand the Words in a ſomewhat larger Senſe, viz. as
mcaning, by the mention of this one Inſtance of Prudence in our Reproof
or Admonition of an offending Brother, to preſcribe the general Uſe of
Prudence in this Matter; and that we ſhould always take care ſo to ſuit thoſe
Methods which we take to reform others, to the Temper and Diſpoſition of
thoſe whom we ſeek to reform, as that, if it be poſſible, we may effect
their Reformation; becauſe otherwiſe, i. e. if we have not a prudent Con-
fideration of their Tempers and Diſpoſitions, the Labour which we beſtow
in endeavouring to correct their Faults, may have a quite contrary Effect to
what we hoped ; i.e. may harden them in their Sin, inſtead of bringing them
to Repentance; and may likewiſe provoke them to treat us as their Enemies,
while they interpret our indiſcreet Zeal to reform them as an Expreſſion of
our Hatred and Enmity to them. Or,
3. And laſtly, The Words of the Text being a general proverbial Expreſ-
fion, cited indeed by our Saviour upon a particular Occaſion, but not by him
expreſſly applied, much leſs appropriated thereto : For the Application thereof,
to the Purpoſe for which he uſed it, being ſo very eaſy, it was enough for
him only to mention the Proverb it ſelf
, leaving it to his Hearers to make
the Application ; Give not that which is holy unto Dogs, neither caſt ye
your Pearls before Swine. The Advice, I ſay, being given only in a general
proverbial Expreſſion, and the Nature of Proverbs being generally ſuch, that
they may be fitly uſed upon ſeveral Occaſions, and aptly applied to more Pur-
poſes than one; it is reaſonable to underſtand the Words of the Text in a
ſtill larger Senſe; viz. as deſigned to order and command us to have a like
prudent Conſideration of the Temper and Diſpoſition of the Perſons we have
to deal with, in all other Matters and Caſes wherein Religion is concerned,
as well as in the Caſe of Reproof or Correction of an offending Brother;
and ſo to order our Converſation when we happen to be in Company, or
to have to deal with ſuch Men as are here meant, by Dogs, and Swine, as
neither to expoſe Religion to Contempt, nor our ſelves to needleſs Dangers
and Perſecutions. Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither caft
ye your Pearls before Swine, left they trample them under their Feet, and
turn again and rent you.
I ſhall briefly ſpeak to the Words taken in each of theſe three Senſes.
I. Then ; Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither caſt ye your
Pearls before Swine. The ſtrict Meaning of theſe Words, (if we underſtand
them in the moſt reſtrained Senſe, in that Senſe which, according to the Con-
nexion
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
795
:
1
nexion that is between them and the foregoing Words, ſeems to be prima-
rily intended,) I told you, is this; that though it be a general Duty of Cha-
rity, to pull out the More out of our Brother's Eye, that is, to endeavour his
Reformation and Amendment ; we are not, however, obliged to beſtow this
Labour of Love upon thoſe Men, on whom we are ſatisfied it will do no
Good; eſpecially if their Tempers are ſuch, that we may not only reaſon-
ably deſpair of their Recovery, but likewiſe juſtly fear that our Endeavours
to reform them will provoke them to do us Hurt ; left they trample them
under their Feet, and turn again and rent you.
This, I ſay, ſeems to be the prime Meaning of the Words ; for our Sa-
viour, in the Words juſt before, had not only granted that we may, ſo far
as our Abilities extends, endeavour to reform the Lives and Manners of other
Men, as well as our own; but had preſcribed an excellent Means to put us
into the beſt Capacity of doing it with good Succeſs; viz. by beginning
firſt with our ſelves; Caſt out firſt the Beam out of thine own Eye, and then
ſhalt thou ſee clearly to pull out the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye. And
then it follows immediately, give not that which is holy unto the Dogs,
neither caſt ye your Pearls before Swine.
It is plain, therefore, (ſuppoſing theſe Words to belong to the fame Sub-
ject which had been juſt before ſpoken of,) that the holy Thing which we are
not to give unto the Dogs, and the Pearls which we are not to caſt before
Swine, are good Advice, wholſome Admonition, friendly Reproof, or what-
ever other Means are proper to be taken and uſed by us, in order to the re-
forming our Brother. It only remains then that we enquire, who are the
Swine before whom we are not to caſt theſe Pearls, and who are the Dogs
to whom we are not to give theſe holy Things; becauſe if we do the for-
mer, they will trample the Pearls under their Feet; and if we do the latter,
the Dogs will turn again and rent us. And,
1. By the Swine, before whom we are not to caſt theſe Pearls, it is moſt
obvious to underſtand thoſe Men, who, as Swine, whoſe Nature it is to de-
light to wallow in the Mire, and who have no Underſtanding or Apprehen-
fion of any Thing which is better or more excellent than that filthy Mire
which they wallow in; thoſe Men, I ſay, who, in this reſpect like Swine,
are led Captive by their Lufts, and can be made to have no Senſe or Reliſh
of any Pleaſure, but ſuch as is brutiſh and ſenſual ; who, by a long Cuſtom
of finning, have made it to become their Nature, and by the open and no-
torious Wickedneſs of their Lives, have their Modeſty quite worn off, and
their Conſciences feared, as it were with an hot Iron. On ſuch as theſe we
need not beſtow any Pains in adviſing, admoniſhing, or reprehending them,
becauſe all the Pains we can beſtow will be to no Purpoſe ; for Swine will
be Swine, and there is no Remedy for it. The proper Method to be taken
with ſuch as theſe, if they be not in the Church, is to neglect them: or if
they are in the Church, i.e. do make an outward Profeſſion of the Chriſtian
Faith, and have been admitted within the Pale of the Church by the Sacra-
ment of Baptiſm; the beſt Courſe to be taken with them, for their Amend-
ment, if their Amendment be poſſible, or, if it be not, then to hinder the
Infection from proceeding farther, is to exerciſe the Diſcipline of the Church
upon them, and to caſt them out of the Church as rotten Members, by
the Sentence of Excommunication. Or if this piece of ancient Diſcipline
cannot be duly exerciſed, as it were much to be wiſhed it could be; then
to note ſuch Men, and to have no Company with them, that ſo both they
may be aſhamed, if they be not quite paft Shame, of thoſe evil Deeds which
they ſee make them unfit for the Company and Converſation of the wiſe and
ſober Part of Mankind; and others, who have an Inclination to follow the
fame evil Courſes, may be deterred and kept back from doing it, by the Con-
ſideration
@
1
::
796
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
1
:
7
fideration of that Shạme and Reproach which it will bring upon them. And
to this Purpoſe the Apoſtle gives this Advice to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. v. II.
I have written unto yoù not to keep Company; if any Man that is called a
Brother be a Fornicator, or Covetous, or an Idolater, or a Railer, or a
Drunkard, or an Extortioner, with ſuch an one, no not to eat; i.e. at lcaſt,
if he was notorious for theſe Sins, if he practiſed them openly, and without
Shame, and was deaf to all Admonition and good Advice : After this, the
proper Courfe to be taken with ſuch an one, was to caſt him out of the
Church; and, till that was done, to fhun his Company, and have no Con-
verſation: ör Dealing with him. And to the ſame Purpoſe our Saviour di-
rects, in Matth. xviii. 17. that if any Man continued obftinate and incorri-
gible, after all fit Methods had been uſed to reclaim him, both by private
Reproof and publick Admonition, we ſhould concern our ſelves no farther
about him, unleſs it were to avoid his Company. If he negle&t to hear the
Church, let him be unto thee as an Heather Man, and a Publican. Such
obſtinate and hardned Sinners may perhaps, being delivered up unto Satan,
(as the Apoſtle ſpeaks of Hymenæus and Alexander, 1 Tim i. 20. whoni he
had excommunicated,) learn not to blafpheme: Or though their Conſciences
at preſent are hard and callous, yet they may hereafter be foftened by Af-
fli&ion; or though at preſent they are ſo ſtupid and lethargical as to be in-
ſenſible of any thing which is ſpoken or done to them, they may yet, ſome
Time hence, be rouſed and awakened by a heavy Judgment of God; and
whenever they ſhall ſeem capable of hearing Reaſon, it will be proper then
to try to convince them of the Folly and Danger of their Sin, and to bring
them to Repentance : But till then our Labour will be loſt. upon them,
and we had better not throw away that Pains upon them which may be bet-
ter beſtowed elſewhere. While they continue Swine, they will do as Swine
do, they will trample under their Feet the moſt precious and valuable Things,
while at the fame Time they ſuck in, and ſnuff up, the nafty Mire which
they wallow in, with Greedineſs and Delight. Caft not your Pearls before
Swine, left they trample them under their Feet. And,
2. By thoſe Dogs, to whom we are not to give holy Things, it is like-
wife very obyious to underſtand, ſuch Men as are of a fierce and fiery Diſpo-
ſition, and who cannot bear with any Patience the leaſt Thing, which they
account a Slight or Diſreſpect, and are withal ſo wedded to their Luſts, and
ſo conceited of the Wiſdom of their own Ways, that they reckon thoſe their
greateſt Enemies who plainly tell them the Truth; and as they account them,
ſo they deal with them, grinning and ſnarling, like Dogs, at any who give
them good Advice; and if that will not make them leave, then falling upon
them with Violence, endeavouring to tear and rend them, and ſtirring up,
and ſetting on others to perſecute and deſtroy them.
Such Dogs were, for the moſt part, the unbelieving Jews in our Saviour's
and his Apoſtles Times, who are therefore ſometimes in Scripture called
Dogs, Phil
. iii. 2. for their Lives were filthy and impure, and therefore they
would not endure found. Doctrine, Rev. xxii. 15. And they not only re-
jected the Goſpel themſelves, killing the Lord Jeſus, and their own Pro-
phets, and perſecuting the Apoſtles, 1 Theff. ii. 15. but they likewiſe forbad
them to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be ſaved, to fill up their Sins
alway. And whenever the Apoſtles had any where preached to the Gentiles
with good Succeſs, the Jews always ſtirred up the Magiſtrates and the Peo.
ple againſt them, perſecuting them from City to City, and permitting them
no where to abide quietly. Several Inſtances of which are noted by St. Luke,
in the Acts of the Apoſtles. Thus it was at Antioch, Acts xiii. 5o: when
many Gentiles had been converted by the Preaching of St. Paul, the Jewus
ſtirred up the devout and honourable Women, and the chief Men of the City,
+
and
1
1
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
797
4
and raiſed Perfecution againſt Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out
of their Coafts. Thus alſo it was at Iconium, whither they next went, Aets
xiv. 2. When the Apoſtles had ſo ſpake in the Synagogue, that a great Mul-
titude both of the Jews, and alſo of the Gentiles, believed; the unbelieving
Fews ſtirred up the Gentiles, and made their Minds evil affected towards
the Brethren. And the ſame happened again at Lyſtra, the next Place
they went to, as you may ſee at the nineteenth Verſe of that Chapter:
There came thither certain fews from Antioch and Iconium, who perſuaded
the People to ſtone. Paul: And afterwards, at Theſſalonica, Acs xvii. 5.
where it is ſaid, that many believed, and conſorted with Paul and Silas,
and of the devout Greeks a great Multitude, and of the chief Women not
a few; but the Jews which believed not; moved with Envy, took unto
them certain lewd Fellows of the baſer Sort, and gathered a Company, and
ſet all the City on an Uproar. And many other Inſtances there are, in that
Hiſtory, of the Rage and Malice of the Jews againſt the Apoſtles, for no
other Reaſon, but only becauſe their Do&rine was too pure and ſpiritual to
be reliſhed or enterrained by ſuch a carnal, ſenſual, and worldly People as
they were.
Thus did they truly reſemble the Dogs here ſpoken of, who underſtand-
ing not the Value and Excellency of holy Things, not only refuſe to receive
them when offered, but are enraged at thoſe who offer them. And there.
fore, according to the Direction here given by our Saviour, give not that
which is holy unto the Dogs: So the Apoſtles practiſed : They firſt indeed
offered the Words of Life to the Jews in every place where they came,
but finding how perverſe and obftinate, and how fierce and furious they ge-
nerally were, they quickly gave them over, and directed their Diſcourſe to
others who were in better Diſpoſition to receive it. Thus, Afts xiii. 45, 46.
When the Jews ſaw the Multitudes, they were filled with Envy, and Spake
againſt thoſe Things which were spoken by Paul, contradiéting and blaf-
pheming; then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and ſaid, It was neceſſary
that the Word of God jould firſt have been ſpoken to you, but ſeeing ye
put it from you, and judge your ſelves unworthy of everlaſting Life, lo we
turn to the Gentiles. And thus again, Aits xviii. 6. when the Jews op-
poſed themſelves, and blafphemed, Paul shook his Raiment, and ſaid unto
them, Tour Blood be upon your own Heads; I am cléaň, from henceforth I
will
go unto the Gentiles.
And ſuch as the Jews generally were, in the Apoſtles Times, deſervedly
called Dogs, becauſe they had no Reliſh of that heavenly Doctrine which
was preached by the Apoſtles, and were violently enraged againſt thoſe who
endeavoured to convince them of their Errors, and to bring them to Re-
pentance; ſuch are, at all Times, Men of the ſame corrupt Minds, and
fierce and furious Temper which they were of; who in Scripture are often
expreſſed by the Name of Scorners: Upon ſuch Men, while they continue
of that Temper, all good Advice or Reproof will be thrown away ; and
therefore it is to no Purpoſe to give it. Such, the more Pains we take to
reform them, will be but the more furious and enraged againft us; they will
but turn again, and rent us, for offering them that which of all Things they
have the greateſt Averſion to; and therefore it is the wiſeſt Way to let them
alone to themſelves, to gnaw their Bones, and to ſwallow up again their own
Vomit; for Dogs they are, and as Dogs they will do.
And thus it was
obſerved by Solomon long before, Prov. xxiii. 9. Speak not in the Ears of
Fool, for he will deſpiſe the Wiſdom of thy Words. And again, Prov.ix.
7, 8. He that reproveth a Scorner, getteth himſelf Shame, and he that re-
buketh a wicked Man, getteth bimſelf a Blot. Reprove not a Scorner, left
he hate thee.
Vol. II,
Ссҫ
But
798
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
ز
But here now perhaps it will be asked, how the Caution here given us,
not to give that which is holy into the Dogs, nor to caſt our Pearls before
Swine, if it be underſtood as meant of Reproof and good Advice, not to be
given to ſuch as are not capable of receiving it; is conſiſtent with ſome other
Precepts in holy Scripture, which ſeem to enjoin the contrary ; ſuch as that
given to Timothy, by St. Paul, in 2 Tim. ii. 25. In Meekneſs inſtruct thoſe
that oppoſe themſelves ; if God peradventure will give them Repentance to
the Acknowledgment of the Truth; and that they may recover themſelves
Oilt of the Snare of the Devil, who are taken Captive by him at his Will.
For by this Precept it ſhould ſeem, that we ought never to deſpair of
any Man's Recovery, nor conſequently ever give over our Endeavours to re-
forin him; for who can be worſe, or leſs likely to be wrought upon, than
ſuch as the Apoſtle there deſcribes, who were entangled in the Snare of the
Devil, who were taken Captive by him at his Will; and not only ſo, but
who did alſo ſet themſelves to oppoſe the Truth, and any good Advice or
ſober Admonition which could be given them? And yet theſe the Apoſtle
directs Timothy to inſtrućt with all Meekneſs, if God peradventure will give
them Repentance to the Acknowledgment of the Truth. The Apoſtles indeed,
who, with diverſe other miraculous Gifts, had alſo that of diſcerning Spirits,
i Cor. xii. 10. and were often made acquainted, by ſpecial Revelation, with
the inward Tempers and Diſpoſitions of thoſe whom they preached to, AEts
xxii. 18. had Reaſon not to loſe Time with thoſe, upon whom they certainly
knew before-hand all their Labour would be loft; but we, who have not this
Knowledge, ſhould believe and hope the beft of every Man, and ſo make it
our Buſineſs, as St. Paul exhorts Timothy, 2 Tim. iv. 2. to be inſtant in Sea-
Son and out of Seaſon, and to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all Long-
Suffering ; according to that general Rule of Prudence, given by the Wiſe-man,
Ecclef. xi. 6. which it is as reaſonable to obſerve in this, as in other Caſes;
In the Morning row thy Seed, and in the Evening with-hold not thine
Hand; for thou knoweft not whether ſhall proſper, either this or that, or
whether they both fall be alike good.
And thus much indeed muſt be granted, that whereas if we knew before-
hand what would be the Succeſs of our Advice or Reproof, we ſhould not
need ever to give it to ſuch as we were aſſured would not receive it. Now
that we do not know this before-hand, we ought to hope the beſt, and, ac-
cording to the Direction before cited, ſhould reprove, rebuke, and exhort
with all Long-ſuffering ; i.e. it is not reaſonable that we ſhould give over our
Endeavour to reform our Brother, only becauſe it has been once, or twice,
or thrice ſucccſlleſs; for the ſame Admonition which has availed nothing at
one Time, may avail much at another. We are not therefore, I ſay, to
preſume that any Man's Caſe is deſperate, till after we have made long and
frequent Trial of him; and we are alſo to make a Difference between thoſe
who will hear Advice, though they do not follow it; and thoſe who reject,
with Scorn and Diſdain, whatever is ſaid to them that is ſober and ſerious :
Between thoſe who will take Reproof, tho' they are not yet reformed by it,
and perhaps never will; and thoſe who, if you offer to reprove them for
any thing, tho' never ſo deſervedly, have no Patience to bear it, but imme-
diately fly in the Face of their Reprover, and return Hatred to him, in all
the worſt Expreſſions of it, for his great good Will to them. And thoſe of
the firſt ſort, i.e. who will hear Advice, and who will take Reproof, are not
to be neglected or given over, but are to be admoniſhed with all Meekneſs
and Long-ſuffering, tho’they ſhew, as yet, no Signs of real Amendment :
But as for thoſe of the latter Sort, who receive whatever is ſaid to them wich
Scorn and Diſdain, who declare themſelves reſolved not to alter their wicked
Courſe, and ſeem bent upon doing a!l the Miſchief they can to thoſe who
expreſs
ز
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
799
expreſs the greateſt Kindneſs to them; ſuch as theſe may well be given over
as deſperate, and it is but a Miſpence of Time, and a Loſs of Labour, to at-
tempt their Reformation, while they continue of this refractory, incorrigible,
and furious Temper. To beſtow good Advice, or grave Reproof, upon ſuch
as theſe, is no better, nor to any more purpoſe, than to caſt Pearls before
Swine, who, knowing not their Worth, will tread them under their Feet ;
or than to give that which is holy unto the Dogs, who finding it not ſuch
a Thing as they expe&ted, will be enraged by the Diſappointment, and turn
back, and furiouſly fly upon and tcar the Perſon who threw it to them. And
ſo much may ſerve to have been ſpoken of the Words taken in their prime
Meaning, viz. as directing us to have ſome Conſideration of the Nature and
Temper of the Perſons whom we endeavour to reform, and not to beſtow
our Labour where there is no Hope of Succeſs.
But I noted farther, in the ſecond Place,
II. That we may underſtand the Words in a ſomewhat larger Senſe, viz.
as deſigning, by the Mention of this one Inſtance of Prudence in our Re-
proof or Admonition of an offending Brother, to preſcribe the general Uſe
of Prudence in this Matter ; and that we ſhould always take care fo to ſuit
thoſe Methods which we take to reform others, to the Temper and Diſpo-
ſition of thoſe whom we ſeek to reform, as that, if it be poſſible, we may
effect their Reformation; becauſe otherwiſe, i.e. if we have not a prudent
Conſideration of their Tempers and Diſpoſitions, the Labour which we be-
ſtow in endeavouring to corrcét their Faults, may have a quite contrary Effect
to what we hoped, may harden them in their Sin, inſtead of bringing them
to Repentance; and may likewiſe provoke them to treat us as their Enemies,
while they interpret our indiſcreet Zeal to reform them, as an Inſtance and
Expreſſion of our Hatred and Enmity to them.
It is good to be zealouſly affected always in a good Thing, as the Apoſtle
ſays; and there is nothing which in Reaſon we ought to be more zealous
for, next to the Reformation of our own ſelyes, than to reform, ſo far as lies
in us, the Lives and Manners of other Men. But then we ought to take
Care that our Zeal do not out-run our Diſcretion, and that we chuſe ſuch
Means for the Attainment of the good End we aim at, as are moſt proper
and likely to effect it; particularly, for to mention all the Rules of Prudence
and Diſcretion proper to be obſerved in the Reproof or Correction of others,
would be Matter enough for a whole Diſcourſe ; I ſhall at preſent mention
only this one, which the Words of the Text do readily ſuggeſt to us; viz.
that we ſhould not give holy Things to Dogs, nor caſt Pearls before Swine ;
ſo by the ſame Reaſon we ſhould not uſe as Swine, nor treat as Dogs, thoſe
Men, who, tho' Sinners, yet are not Sinners to ſuch a degree, as that they
may juſtly be called Swine, or Dogs.
I mean this: We ſhould not treat a young, a yet modeſt Sinner, in ſuch
a manner as we would do an old and incorrigible Offender; but at the ſame
Time that we ſeek to reform him, we ſhould have a due Regard to his
good Name and Reputation, and endeavour, by all means, to preſerve in him
that Senſe and Fear of Shame which he has yet upon him: And the Way to
preſerve in him thoſe Remains of Modeſty and Shamefacedneſs which are ſtill
left, is not to put him to Shame, if it can poſſibly be avoided; not to make
his Crime more publick by our Reproof or Admonition, or by any other
Method that we take to reform him, than it was in its firſt Commiſſion.
Thoſe indeed who fin openly, are to be openly reproved and admoniſhed;
and thoſe who are profligate and ſhameleſs, ſhould be publickly puniſhed for
an Example and Terror to others, according to the Apoſtle's Direction, 1 Tim.
V. 20. Then that fin, i. e. who are ſcandalous and notorious for their ſinful
Life,
2
800
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
Lifé; rebuke before all, that others alſo may fear; and indeed, the Correction
or Puniſhment of a hardned Sinner, ſeldom ſerves for any other Purpoſe, bur
only for Example and Terror to others; for there is little Hope that he him-
felf will be bettered by it, who, if he had not been incorrigible before,
would hardly ever have finned himſelf, as he has done, paſt all Shame: And
now that he is grown Nameleſs, is in a much more hopeleſs and deſperate
Eſtate than ever he was before. But the Caſe is otherwiſe with thoſe who are
young Beginners: Of theſe, therefore, as St. Jude ſpeaks, Jude 22. we ſhould
have Compaſſion, making a Difference. And as the End that is propoſed in
reproying ſuch, is different from that which is deſigned in the Puniſhment of
obftinate and hardned Sinners, ſo the Means whereby it muſt be attained is
different from that which is uſed, when the Puniſhment of one Man is chiefly
deſigned for Example to others, that others alſo mar fear. For ſhould the
ſame Courſe be taken with a young Beginner, that is proper to be taken with
an old and ſhameleſs Offender; ſhould he, for his firſt or ſecond Offence,
which perhaps were committed ſecretly, have a publick Note, or Mark of
Infamy, ſet upon him, the Means which are taken to correct him would pro-
bably do more towards the confirming and hardening him in his Wicked-
neſs, than even a long Continuance in the ſame Wickedneſs would have done:
For the moſt deſperate Condition of a Sinner, is when he becomes ſhameleſs;
and a Man naturally becomes ſhameleſs, by being put to open Shame. So that
this is a Courſe never to be taken with any but ſuch as are paſt Shame alrea-
dy. But the proper Method to be obſerved by thoſe who undertake the
Reformation of others, out of a true Zeal for God and Goodneſs, and a hearty.
Love and Charity to the Souls of their Brethren, is that which is preſcribed
by our Saviour himſelf, in Matth.xviii. 15, &c. If thy Brother ſhall treſpaſs
againſt thee, i.e. if he ſhall be an Offence or Scandal to thee by any notori-
ous Act of Sin, go and tell him his Fault between thee and him alone, 1. ks
admoniſh lini privately, and as privately as thou canſt, of his Fault; this is
the likelieſt Method to reclaim him, while as yet he is modeſt and ſhame-
faced, while as yet his Conſcience is ſoft and tender; and, ſays our Saviour,
if he mall hear thee, thou haſt gained thy Brother. And then it follows;
but if he will not hear, i e. if afrer this thy private Admonition of him, he
fill continues in the Practice of the ſame Sin, thou mayeſt admoniſh him
more publickly, but ſtill with a tender Regard to his Modeſty, and ſo as not
to ſhame him more than is abſolutely neceſſary ; then, ſays our Saviour, taka
with thee one or two more, that in the Mouth of two or three Witneſſes every
Word may be eſtabliſhed : For it is likely enough, that when two or three join
together in this private Reproof of an offending Brother, their Reproof may
be more effectual than a ſingle Man's was. And then it follows, and if he
fball neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church, i.e. if he ſtill continues
in the ſame Sin, thou mayeſt then acquaint the Elders and Governors of the
Church with it, who may admoniſh him with more Authority, and confe-
quently more Efficacy, than any private Members of it could do; and to then
ir belongs properly to judge of what Nature his Crime is, and what Courſe
is fit to be taken with him, either for his Reformation, if he be corrigible,
or for his Puniſhment, if he be not. And then it follows, in the laſt Place,
but if he will neglect to hear the Church, i. e. if he be ſo hardened in his
Wickedneſs, as not to be reformed even by publick Admonitions, or Church-
Cenſures, then let him be unto thee as an Heathen Man and a Publican ;
ii e. thou mayeſt then give over the Care of him, thou needeſt not any more
admoniſh him as a Brother; for he then ſhews himſelf to be ſuch an one as
the Text deſigns by Swine and Dogs, before whom it is improper to caſt
Pearls and holy Things.
*
This
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
801
This Method here preſcribed by our Saviour, if :we obſerve in our En-
deavours to reform our offending Brethren, it may probably be with good
Succeſs; and not only ſo, but we may alſo reaſonably hope that our tender
Charity to them will provoke them to make a Return of Love to us. This
it will certainly do, if, by the prudent Care that we take about then, we
can bring them to Repentance and Amendment ; for then they will not be
able not to love thoſe who have been ſo very inſtrumental in ſaving their
Souls from eternal Deſtruction. But if thro' an imprudent and over-haſty Zeal
we invert this Method, and begin at the wrong End of it, i.e. if we expoſe
every Brother who is overtaken in a Fault (if we expoſe him, I ſay;) for his
firſt Offence, to the higheſt Cenſures of the Church, if that could be done,
or to the Correction of the Whipping-Poſt, or the Stocks, to any ignominious
and ſhameful Puniſhment, thereby publiſhing that Fault, which before was
not publick; it may reaſonably be feared that the quite contrary Effects will
follow, i: e. that we ſhall neither work his Reformation, nor gain his Love,
by this means, but rather both harden him in his Wickedneſs, and provoke
him to treat us as his Enemics. For to expoſe to Shame a Man who has
not yet finned himſelf paſt Shame, is the ready Courſe to make him impudent
and ſhameleſs, and conſequently much harder to be reformed, than he yet is,
while he retains, in ſome good Degree, his natural Modeſty, and ſo may be
reſtrained from proceeding in his Wickedneſs, by the Fear of that Shame which
it is very likely it will bring him to: For when once that is actually come up-
on a Man, which he before feared, he then ceaſes to fear it; ſo that the
Fear of it can then be no longer any Reſtraint upon him. And he who is
handled ſo very ſeverely for his firſt or ſecond Offence, by a Perſon who pre-
tends it is his Defire and Deſign to reform him, will hardly believe his Pre-
tence, he will hardly be perſuaded that it was true Charity which put
him
up-
on uſing ſuch great Severity, when gentler Means and Methods had been ma-
nifeſtly more likely to effect his Deſign: He will rather think it was Spite,
or Malice, or Revenge, which prompted him to it, and ſo will be much more
likely to revenge it as an Injury, than to acknowledge it as a Kindneſs. It
is good Advice therefore, which the Apoſtle gives, Gal. vi, 1. with which I
ſhall conclude this Head : Brethren, if any Man be overtaken in a Fault, ye,
which are ſpiritual, reſtore ſuch an one in the Spirit of Meekneſs, conſidera
ing thy ſelf; left thou alſo be tempted. But,
III. And laſtly, The Words of the Text being a general proverbial Ex-
preflion, cited indeed by our Saviour, upon a particular Occaſion, but noș
by him expreſſly applied, much leſs appropriated thereto: (For the Application
thereof, to that Purpoſe for which he uſed it, being ſo very eaſy; it was
enough for him only to mention the Proverb, Give not that which is holy
unto Dogs, neither caſt ye your Pearls before Swine, leaving it to his Hearers
to make the Application; the Advice, I ſay, being given only in a general
proverbial Expreſſion, and the Nature of Proverbs being generally ſuch, that
they may be fitly uſed upon ſeveral Occaſions, and be aptly applied to more
Purpoſes than one; it is reaſonable to underſtand the Words of the Text in
a ftill larger Senſe; viz. as deſigned by our Saviour to order and command
us to have a prudent Conſideration of the Temper and Diſpoſition of the Per-
fons we have to deal with, in all other Matters or Caſes wherein Religion is
concerned, as well as in the Caſe of Reproof or Correction of an offending
Brother; and ſo to order our Converſation when we happen to be in Com-
pany, or to have to deal with ſuch Men as are here meant, by Dogs and
Swine, as neither to expoſe Religion to Contempt, nor our ſelves to needleſs
Dangers and Perſecutions. Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, nei-
Vol. II.
Ddd
ther
802
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
wn
ther caſt ye your Pearls before Swine, left they trample them under their Feet,
and turn again and rent you.
The Time will not permit me now to enlarge much upon this Head; and
therefore at preſent I ſhall only juſt briefly mention ſome few other Things,
which, as well as brotherly Reproof and Admonition, may be juſtly deemed
boly Things, and Pearls, and are therefore not to be thrown to Dogs, or
caft before Swine, who underſtand not their Worth, nor will be at all bene-
fited thereby, but rather the more enraged againſt us. And,
1. Such is the holy Word of God, or the Doctrine of the Goſpel, which
therefore tho' commanded by our Saviour himſelf to be preached to all,
Mark xvi. 15. Go ye into all the World, and preach the Goſpel to every Crea-
ture ; yet is not to be forced nor preſſed upon any, but ſuch as are diſpoſed
and willing to reccive it. And therefore to this general Commiſſion there
given by our Saviour to his Apoftles, to preach the Goſpel to all, he in other
Places adds ſome Reſtrictions and Limitations, as in Matth. X. 11, &c. Into
whatſoever City or Town ye enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and when
ye come into an Houſe, falute it; and if the Houſe be worthy, let your
Peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your Peace return to yout.
And whoſoever ſhall not receive you, and hear your Words, when ye depart
out of that Houſe or City, ſake off the Duſt of your Feet. And according
to this Rule the Apoſtles practiſed, as has been already noted; for thus, when
the Jews at Antioch had contradicted and blaſphemed the Things ſpoken by
St. Paul, he left them, and turned to the Gentiles. They judged themſelves
unworthy of everlaſting Life, and he approved their Judgment, and as ſuch
he left them; and when he went thence, Mook off the Duſt of his Feet, as
you may fee, Atts xiii. 45, 46, SI. And the like he did at Corinth, when
the Jews oppoſed themſelves and blaſphemed, he ſhook his Raiment, and
faid unto them, your Blood be upon your own Heads, Acts xviii. 6.
2. Such eſpecially are the ſublime and myſterious Doctrines of the Goſpel,
as the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God, and
the like ; they are Do&trines eaſy to be received and embraced, upon the Cre-
dit of plain divine Revelation, by ſuch as are modeft and docible ; but it is
Knowledge; who think themſelves too wiſe to be taught by God, and will
not be perſuaded to believe any thing but what they can fathom, and fully
comprehend, or give Account of by natural Reaſon. To preach theſe Doc-
trines to ſuch, is no better than to caſt Pearls before Swine and only gives
them Occaſion to open their Mouths wider in Reproach and Blaſphemy.
3. The Sacraments of the Goſpel are likewiſe holy Things, of ſingular
Uſe and Comfort to ſuch as are piouſly and well diſpoſed, and conſider well
the Grace of God which accompanies his own holy Inſtitutions; but they
are of no Ufe nor Benefit at all to thoſe who look no farther in the Sacra
inents than to the outward Signs, and deſpiſe them as uſeleſs, and inſig.
nificant Ceremonies. They ſee not what Good the Soul can receive by the
Body's being waſhed with Water; and they diſcern not 'the Lord's Body in
the confecrated Bread and Wine: Such therefore as have no other Norion
of theſe holy Rites, than only 'as of common waſhing, or ordinary eating
and drinking, are not to be invited, nor, if it can be avoided, are they to be
admitted to partake of the holy Sacraments, till they are better inſtructed in
the Nature of them ; becauſe till then they will be of no more Uſe to them,
than Pearls are to. Szine ; which, not diſtinguiſhing them from common
Pebbles, they boldly trample under their Feet.
4. And laſtly, The Words thus generally underſtood, Give not that which
is holy unto the Dog's; neither-caſt ye your Pearls before Swine, may be taken
as meaning to adviſe us to uſe a prudent Caution in the publick Profeſſion and
+
Exerciſe
Cautions requiſite in Reproving.
803
Exerciſe of our Religion in general. Thus, for Inſtance, we muſt be pre-
pared patiently to undergo any Perſecutions, which cannot be avoided, for the
kecping of a good Conſcience; but we are not bound to expoſe our ſclves to
Perſecutions which may be avoided; but being perfecuted in one City, we
may, as our Saviour directs, flee into another; much leſs are we bound by
any imprudent and unſeaſonable Expreſſions of our Zcal for the Truth, to
invite Men to perſecute and afflict us. This is nothing elſc but to provoke the
Dog's to tear and rend us ; and that we need not do, for they will be for-
ward enough to fall upon us, without our proyòking and enraging them to do
it. And thus again we ought, as St. Peter directs, 1 Epiſt. iii. 15. to be ready
always to give an Anſwer to every Man that asketh us a Reaſon of the Hope
that is in us, with Meekneſs and Fear ; i.e. whenever we are called to it,
we ſhould make a bold and open Confeſſion of our Faith and Religion,
whatever may be the Conſequence of it. But at other Times, when we are
not called to it, and when our publick owning the Faith and Religion we are
of, is not likely to do Good, and may probably be Occaſion of much Harm
to our felves, or to our Chriſtian Brethren, or to our Religion ; it may be
better to conceal what we are; I mean not by Denial, or any finful Com-
pliance, but only by-Silence and Secrecy, till a better Opportunity fliall be
offered of making a publick Profeffion thercof.
And feveral other Caſes of the like Nature I might inſtance in, if the Time
would permit; but the Sum of all which needs to be ſaid upon this Head,
is fully comprehended in thoſe Words of our Saviour, Matth. X. 16. Beħold I
ſend you forth as Sheep in the midſt of Wolves; be ye therefore wife as Ser.
pents; and harmleſs as Doves'; i.e. our firſt and chiefeſt Care ought always
to be, to be innocent as Doves; i. e. never to omit a neceffary Dutờ in its
proper Seaſon, nor. by any worldly Fears or Hopes to be drawn into any fin-
ful Compliance. But after that Care is taken, we may uſe all the Art and
Policy we are Maſters of, that is conſiſtent with Innocence, to ſave our ſelves
from Harm; we may likewiſe be wife as Serpents; for it is not only our
Pruļence, but our Dutý, not to give that which is holy' unto the Dogs, nor
to caſt our Pearls before Swine, left they trample ther under their feet, and
turn again and rent us. And fo much may ſeryé to have been ſpoken on theſe
Words.
ز
Now to God the Father, God the Son; and God the Holy Ghoſt, three
Perſons and one God, be all Honour and Glorj, now and for ever. Amen.
$
DI S.
804
DISCOURSE LXXIV.
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
porno
1
MATTH. VII. 7, 8.
Ask, and it ſhall be given you; ſeek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you :
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that
ſeeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it ſhall
be opened.
}
4
-
T is hard to obſerve or conceive any Connexion between
theſe Words and the foregoing, and I ſuppoſe there is
none; but that our Saviour here began to treat of a new
Subject, and deſigned to inſtruct his Hearers in the Na-
ture, and to perſuade them to the due and conſtant Ex-
erciſe, of the great Duty of Prayer. And the ſame ſhall
be alſo my Deſign in diſcourſing upon them Ask, and
it mall be given you ; ſeek, and ye mall find, &c.
In diſcourſing on theſe Words, I ſhall
,
5
I. Speak ſomewhat, in general, concerning the Duty of Prayer, and our
Obligation to practiſe it. Ask, and it ſhall be given you.
II. I ſhall diſcourſe more particularly concerning thoſe two Qualifications
of a prevailing Prayer, which are intimated in the Text; viz. 1. that it be
earneſt and urgent: and 2. that it be conſtant and importunate. The former
is implied in the Word ſeek; ſeek and ye ſhall find; for to ſeek a Thing,
implies greater Earnettneſs and Deſire to have it, than is implied juſt in
asking for it : And the latter is implied in the Word knock; knock, and it
fhall be opened unto you; for when a Man knocks at the Door of an
Houſe, he does not uſe to give one Knock only, and ſo go his way, but
he continues knocking till the Door be opened. And,
III. I ſhall diſcourſe ſomewhat concerning the Succeſs and Efficacy of ur-
gent and importunate Prayer ; ask, and it ſhall be given you ; ſeek, and ye
jhall find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh,
receiveth ; &c.
+
I. I
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
805
I. I ſhall diſcourſe ſomewhat in general, concerning the Duty of Prayer,
and our Obligation to practiſe it; ask, ſeek, and knock. Ask, and it ſhall be
given you, &c.
And what I think needful to ſay, concerning the Duty of Prayer in gene-
ral, I ſhall reduce to theſe following Heads.
1. I ſhall briefly declare the Nature of Prayer, or ſhew what Prayer is.
2. I ſhall ſhew the Obligation which lies upon us to practiſe the Duty.
And,
3. I ſhall then briefly mention the ſeveral Sorts and Kinds of Prayer,
and ſubjoin the particular Rcaſons obliging to each of them.
1. I lhall briefly declare the Nature of Prayer, or thew what Prayer is.
And all Acts of divine Worſhip, Invocation, Confeſſion, and Thankſgiving,
as well as Petition, are uſually comprehended under the Word Prayer.
But nevertheleſs, what is properly mcant by the Word, and what the Text
leads me to diſcourſe chiefly of, is only Petition.
And Petition is the Deſire of our Soul, for the obtaining of ſome good
Thing which we want, directed to God, whom we believe able to beſtow
the ſame upon us.
This is the Definition of Prayer, properly ſo called
the Parts of which Definition being briefly explained, will be a ſufficient
Account of the Nature of Prayer in general.
(1 ) Then, I ſay, that Prayer is the Deſire of the Soul; and this Part of
the Definition declares the Form of the Effence of Prayer, that it conſiſts
in an inward Deſire of the Thing prayed for ; and not in Words, Place or
Poſture, or any other outward Expreſſion or Circumſtance of Devotion.
For a Man may be upon his Knees, the Poſture of praying, or he may
be in the Church, the Houſe of Prayer, for a whole Hour together, and
yet not be praying one ſingle Minute of that time: Nay, he may be all
the while reading or repeating over, a Form of Words, drawn up in the
Form of a Prayer or Petition to God, and yet not be praying at all. For
he is no longer praying, than while his Heart goes along with his Tongue,
and while he inwardly deſires thoſe Things which he outwardly asks for.
And on the other ſide, though a Man utters no Words at all, nor uſes any
Sign or Poſture of Devotion, and whatever Place he is in, in a Field, in
his Shop, or in his Cloſet, if he inwardly deſires any Thing of God, this
is praying. An Ejaculation of the Mind alone is a Prayer, but no Words
or Expreſſions, without a Deſire of the Mind accompanying them, are
fo.
And this is a Point which ſhould be well conſidered by us, to prevent,
ſo far as is poflible, all wandring Thoughts in Prayer, and that we may
not reſt in, nor ſatisfy our ſelves only with the outward Shew of Devotion.
For there are very few ſo void of all Religion, as not to be perſuaded that
Prayer is a neceſſary Duty ; but then there are a great many, who call that
praying, which is not ſo; nay, and who perſuade themſelves that they
have fully diſcharged their Duty in this point, whereas in Truth they have
not performed it at all: For they have, it may be, been at the Church, or
upon their Knccs, and there they heard the Miniſter read or ſay over the
Words of a very good Prayer; or perhaps they themſelves, at home, or in
their Cloſets, and in the fanie praying Pofture, have read or repeated over
the ſame with their own Mouths; and one or the other of theſe they have
donc, it may be, very regularly and conſtantly, two or three times every
Day, and therefore they think they cannot be blamed as deficient in their
Duty. But, for all this, they may have been very deficient in it; nay,
they may have done all this very regularly and conſtantly, and yet not have
Еее
performed
Vol. II.
800 Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer. .
anc Essentia neno
And thus much may ſerve for the firſt Thing, which was to explain the
performed the Duty at all: For if while with their Mouths they repeated
over tlie Words of a Prayer, their Minds were taken up with other
Thougfits; or if while they were preſent at the publick Prayers, they only
heard them, as they would have done a Chapter or a Sermon, juſt attend-
ing to the Senſe of them, or obſerving the Expreſſions thereof; if when they
repeated the Words of a Prayer, their Heart did not go along with their Tongue ;
or if, when they were preſent at the publick Prayers, they did not join therewith
in their Minds, and ſay an inward Amen thereto; they may be ſaid to have
been reading, or ſpeaking, or hearing, but they cannot be ſaid to have
been praying: Becauſe the very Form and Errence of Prayer, is an inward
Deſire of the Things prayed for, and that was wholly wanting.
(2.)“The next Thing declared in the Definition of Prayer, which I have
before given, is the Subject Matter of Prayer. Prayer, I ſaid, is the Deſire
of the Soul, for the obtaining of ſome good Thing which we want.
The geiteral Subject of Prayer is ſome good Thing; ž. e. what either is
really good for us, or what we apprehend to be ſo; for we cannot deſire
anly Tkitig; but under the Notion of Good. But then, in order to our de-
firing it, it is alſo requiſite that we want it; that is, that it be ſome good
Thing which we have not already, and alſo that we are ſenſible of the
Need we have of it. For what we have already we cannot deſire, unleſs
it be only the Continuance of it, and unleſs we are perſuaded that we
ħåve Need of it, i. e. that it would contribute much to our Welfare and
Happineſs to have it, we cannot earneſtly deſire it: For be the Thing in
it felf ever ſo good, yet unleſs we conceive it would do us good we
Thall be indifferent whether we have it or no. Whatever therefore we
conceive would conduce to the Welfare either of our Souls or Bodies, either in
this Eife or in the next, is the proper Mårter or Subject of Prayer.
(3.) The next Thing to be taken Notice of in the Definition of Prayer
before given, is the object of Prayer, or the Perſon to whom our Deſire
of any good Thing which we want, muſt be directed or ſignified; and
that is Göd. Prayer, I told you, is the Deſire of the Soul, for the ob-
taining of ſome good Thing which we want, directed or ſignified to God.
For when we ask or beg of a Man, or any other created Being, ſuch Help
for Afiſtånce as he is able to give us, or any good Thing which we think
it is in his power to beſtow upon us, this may indeed be called Prayer ;
but it is not what we mean by religious Prayer, which is the only Subject
I am now ſpeaking of. For a religious Prayer muſt be directed to God,
and to God only, and if we put up a Prayer to any other Being, for the
bcſto'wing upon us any good Thing, which is only in the Power of God
to bchów, we make that Being a God, and ſo become guilty of Idolatry.
· But then,
(42) And laſtly;' in order to the exciting in us ſuch a Deſire of any
good Thing as •is properly meant by Prayer, - it is requiſite, not only that
we befenſible' of our own Want of what we deſire, but likewiſe that we
be perſuaded, that he of whom we deſire it, is able to beſtow it upon
uts ;elſe our Defire of it is not properly à Prayer, but rather only a random
Wifl. And therefore I added in the Definition of Prayer before given,
that chis Deſire of the good Things we want muſt be directed to God,
as able to beſtow the ſame upon us. For unleſs we think him able to
'fupply our Wanits, we ſhall have no Encouragement to direct or ſignify
out Defires to him, but may as well keep them within our own Breaſts.
1
de
Nature of Prayer in general, or to ſhew what Prayer is. I proceed now in,
the fecond Place,
2. To ſhew the Obligation which lies upon us to practiſe this Duty, and
thereby
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
807
thereby to perſuade us to it. And here, not to mention the Benefits and
Advantages of Prayer, whiich I ſhall have Occaſion to ſpcak ſomewhat of
by and by, I ſhall at preſent obſerve only theſe two Things: (1.) That to
pray to God is a very reaſonable Duty in it ſelf; and, (2.) that it is ex-
preſſly required and commanded by God, as the Condition of our obtain-
ing from him ſuch Things as we ſtand in Need of.
(1.) That to pray to God for ſuch Things as we want is a very rea-
ſonablc Duty ; it is indeed what Reaſon alone would have taught us, and
prompted us to, though it had been no where commanded; for it is natural
to defire what we want. This is what needs not be preſcribed, becauſe
it is what we cannot avoid doing: And therefore fince God, and he only,
is able to ſupply all our Wants, what can be a more reaſonable Duty
than that we ſhould direct our Deſires, and put up our Petitions to him?
This is what natural Reaſon alone has taught the moſt ignorant and ſavage
People upon Earth, that ſeeing they need a great many Things which they
are not able to ſupply themſelves withal, they ought to cndeavour to get
their Wants ſupplied by imploring the Aid and Aſliſtance of ſome Being
that is more mighty and powerful than themſelves's and the moſt barba-
rous Nations in the World have had a Notion and Perſuaſion that there
is fome ſuch Being; a Being infinitely ſuperior to themſelves; and on
whom they have a neceſſary Dependence, and who is able to do for them
all that they can deſire. Indeed, who this Being is, ſome Perſons, and
ſome whole Nations too, have been ignorant of; and therefore have been
greatly miſtaken in the Object of their Worſhip, and have directed their
Prayers to Devils, or the Souls of deceaſed Men, inſtead of God who made
Heaven and Earth, and all Things therein. But in the general Notion of
the Being of a God, and that he ought to be worſhiped and prayed to,
there has been an univerſal Agreement among all People and Nations of
the World ; to that Prayer may well be reckoned one of the firſt Dutjes
which natural Reaſon reaches which thercfore, if we neglect to practiſe,
we Thew ourſelves not only deſtitute of Religion, but void of Reaſon
too.
And if to this it ſhould be objçeted, that ſeeing God himſelf knows
what Things we ftand in need of, without our telling him, there is no
Need that we ſhould acquaint him with our Wants ; and that ſeeing he is
an infinitely good and kind Being, more ready to give than we are cither
to ask or to receive, there is no Need of our urging and foliciting him to
do'what his own innate Goodneſs will prompt him to do for us, altho' we
do not ask it: The Anſwer is eaſy, viz.
That theſe two Attributes of God, his Knowledge and his Goodneſs,
are ſo far from rendring it unreaſonable to pray to him for ſuch Things
as we want, that it is indeed chiefly the Confideration of theſe Attributes
of God, which thew it to be a reaſonable Duty to pray to him. For,
Firſt, As to his Knowledge. If he did not know every Thing, we
ſhould want that good Encouragement which we now have to put up our
Prayers to him, becauſe then we could not be ſure that he would hear our
Prayers. And his knowing what we want, before we declare our Wants
to him, is no Reaſon at all why we ſhould not declare them : For ſtill,
though we do not tell him any thing which he knew not before, it is but
- fit and reaſonable however, that as we are really in Want, we fhould
own our Wants to him ; that, as we are really dependent upon him, we
ſhould acknowledge our. Dependence upon him." In a Words that we
are indigent and impotent ; that we need many Things, and what Things
they are which we need; that we cannot ſupply our own Needs, and that
God
!
808
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
God alone is able to ſupply them : All theſe Things, God knows as well,
or indecd, rather much better than we do: But for all that, it is but fit
and becoming us, that we ſhould profeſs and own what we know to be
true, and freely declare the Senſe we have of our own Weakneſs, and of the
Power of God. And,
Secondly, As to the Goodneſs of God. If we did not believe him to
be a good, benign, and bountiful Being, we ſhould have no good Encou-
ragenient to entreat him to be kind to us. And on the other ſide, our
knowing that he is ſo, i. e. that he is ready and willing to do us good,
is a very good Reaſon to induce us to pray him to
to pray him to be kind to us,
becauſe it gives us good Aſſurance that our Prayers will be ſucceſsful.
But what Need, you will ſay, is there of our praying to him for that,
which he, being a kind and merciful Bcing, will beſtow upon us without
asking?
I anſwer; although we were ſure that he would do for us all that
we ask, without out asking; though indeed upon this Suppoſition our Pray-
crs would not be ſo neceſſary as now they are, yet even then it would be
a reaſonable and neceſſary Duty to pray to God. For it is but reaſonable,
that a 'Son ſhould ask his Father for Bread when he wants it, although he
knows his Father's Goodneſs and Love to him are ſuch, that he would
give it 'him without asking; for by his asking it he acknowledges his De-
pendence upon his Father. And this is a very juſt and reaſonable Acknow-
ledgment on the Son's Part; it is an Acknowledgment which the Son ought
to make of his own accord, although his Father did not expreſſly require
him to make it.
But then, I ſay, farther, that it is a miſtaken Notion of God's Good-
neſs, which makes us think he will give us every Thing we want with-
out our asking. It is true indeed, he might always do thus if he pleaſed
and he does daily do us a great deal of Good without asking, and by his
Bounty prevents our Petitions: But that he always does, or that he always
will do thus, we have no Reaſon to conclude, only from the Conſidera-
tion of the divine Goodneſs. For though the Goodneſs of God be infi-
nite, ſo that we cannot ſet Bounds to it, it may nevertheleſs be truly ſaid,
that it is limited and bounded by his own Wiſdom and Juſtice; he is as
good and gracious as an infinitely juſt and wiſe Being can be, and that is
infinite Goodneſs, but he is not good and gracious beyond what is juſt
and wiſe. And therefore in many caſes, though our Prayers are not necef-
ſary to niove him to Compaſſion, they may be neceſſary to move him to
cxpreſs and exerciſe his Compaſſion towards us; becauſe if he ſhould give
us every Thing which we wanted, without asking, this might not be agree-
able to his Wiſdom; becauſe then Men would not be ſo ſenſible of their
Dependence upon God, but they would be more apt to attribute the good
Things they received to Chance, or to the natural Courſe of Things:
Whereas now, while good Things are in great Meaſure with-held from
Men, till they pray for them, and then are given them upon their Petition ;
by this they ſee who it is that does them good; by this they are con-
vinced how highly it concerns them to endeavour to procure his Favour and
Good-will towards them. But,
If there were no Reaſon to be given of this Duty, no Reaſon, I
mean, why God ſhould exact and require it of us; it is a Reaſon abun-
dantly ſufficient to oblige us to the careful and conſtant Practice of it, that
it is expreſſly required and commanded by God, to whom we owe an
abſolute and entire Obedience in whatſoever he commands; and that our
Performance thereof is made by the divine Will, the Condition upon which
only
2.
2
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer. 809
only we can be aſſured of having our Wants ſupplied by God. Ask, and
it mall be given yout.
And, I ſuppoſe, I ſhall not need to cite any Texts of Scripture for
the Proof of this, becauſe I cannot ſuppoſe any Perſon here preſent ſo un-
acquainted with Scripture, as nor in the reading or hearing it to have met
with ſeveral Places moſt ftrictly enjoyning this Duty. And that our Neg-
lect to practiſe this Duty as we ought, is the only Reaſon that we have
not every Thing which we want, and can reaſonably deſire; every Thing
which is really good for us, we are plainly told by St. James, Ch. iy. ver.
2. Ye have not, becauſe ye ask not.
Suppoſing therefore that enough hath been already ſaid to explain the
Nature of Prayer, and to ſhow our general Obligation to the Practice of
it, both from Reaſon and Scripture, I proceed to the next Thing propoſed,
which was,
3. To mention the ſeveral Sorts and Kinds of Prayer, and to ſubjoin the
particular Reaſons obliging to each of them.
And here, conſidering the Matter of Prayer, I might diſtinguiſh it into
Prayer for Spiritual, and Prayer for temporal good Things; or into Prayer
for our ſelves, or Interceſſion for others.
Or conſidering the Manner of Prayer, I might diſtinguiſh it into mental
or vocal Prayer; mental Prayer being when we only pray in our
Hearts, without uttering or expreſſing any Words; and vocal Prayer,
when we expreſs in Words, and utter with our Móuth the Deſires of our
Hearts.
But the only Diſtinction which I ſhall at preſent inſiſt upon, ſhall be
that of publick, and ſecret Prayer : Publick Prayer being when we join
with others in putting up our common Petitions to God; and ſecret Prayer,
when being retired from all Company, we put up our private Petitions to
him. And theſe, though for Subſtance and Matter they are the ſame, and
differ only in the Circumſtance of Place, or Company, are yet really two
diſtinct Duties, and both of them ſo neceſſary upon ſeveral Accounts to be
performed in their proper Seaſon and Opportunity, that the doing of the
one will not wholly excuſe the doing of the other.
It is true indeed, that the more Opportunities we haye for publick Pray-
er, the leſs Time we ſhall be obliged to ſpend in our private Devotions ;
but
yet ſome Time muſt nevertheleſs be ſpent in private Prayer, or elſe
how much Time foever we ſpend in our publick Devotion, we ſhall be
deficient in a neceſſary Duty. For though, whenever we put up any Pray-
er to God, whether in publick or in ſecret, we perform the Duty of
Prayer, and diſcharge the Condition upon which God has promiſed his
Bleſſing; yet there are ſome Ends which may be ſerved by publick Prayer,
which cannot be ſerved by private; and ſome again that may be ſerved by
private Prayer, which cannot be ſerved by publick: There are conſequent-
ly particular and peculiar Reaſons obliging to each of them. And there-
fore, though the general End of Prayer is ſerved by either of them, whe-
ther private or publick; upon which Account, when we have not Oppor-
tunity for the one, the other may for the moſt Part ſerve inſtead of it;
yet ſince all the Ends of Prayer are not, nor can be, ſerved by either of
them alone, we are obliged to practiſe both, each of them at all conveni-
ent and proper Seaſons. For,
(1.) By publick Prayer, when we join with others in putting up our
common Petitions to God, we do.moſt Honour to God and Religion :
By this alſo .we Thew a good Example to the World, and help to kindlc
Devotion in others: And laſtly; theſe Prayers are the moſt certain of good
Vol. II.
Fff
Succeſs,
2 2
810
of the Nature, and Duty of Prayer.
Succeſs, being encouraged by a ſpecial Promiſe of our Saviour, Matth. xviii.
20. Where tivo or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in
the midſt of them
This therefore is a Duty by it ſelf, which our private Devotions will not
feryc inſtead of, or ſuffice to excuſe us from. For as we are obliged to ac-
knowledge to God himſelf our Dependence upon him, ſo we are obliged alſo
to own the ſame to thc World; as we arc bound to put up Prayers to God
for our ſelves, ſo we are alſo bound to interccde with him for others; as it
is our Duty to glorify God in our Heart, ſo it is likcwiſe our Duty to
glorify him with our Mouth; and as we ought to edify our felves, ſo we
ought alſo, as we are able, to endeavour to cdify others. And all theſe
Ends of Prayer are beſt ſerved by publick Prayer; and the more publick our
publick Prayers are, the better do they ſerve and promote the Ends of publick
Prayer. And therefore the moſt publick Prayers of all being thoſe in the
Church,' when the whole Pariſh or Neighbourhood, by publick Appoint-
ment, ñcet together to worſhip God, theſe Opportunities ought by no Means
to be negle&cd by us ; eſpecially not on the Lord's Day, the Day of the
ſolemn Aſſemblics, the Day dedicated and ſet apart on purpoſe for this Uſe.
For if (having no juſt Objection to the Prayers which are uſed in publick,)
when we are not hindred, as ſometimes perhaps we may be, by a very
reaſonable Excuſe, we omit to join with our Brethren in the publick Wor-
fhip of God; whatever Pretences we may make of Picty and Religion, our
Omiſſion of this moſt neceſſary Duty is a certain Argument that we are
clearly deſtitute of it; and that, whatever we pretend, we have no real
Regard either to the Honour of God, or the Edification of his Church. It
is poſſible indeed, that a Man who makes a great Shew of Religion in pub-
lick, and who duly frequents the Church, may yet have no true Senſe of
Religion in his Mind; but it is not poſſible that a Man, who is truly reli-
gious, ſhould not make a Show and Profeſſion of it ; becauſe the outward
Shew and Profeſſion of Rcligion is it ſelf a Part, and a neceſſary Duty of
Rcligion. So that though there may be a Shew of Picty, where there is no
rcal Piety, there can be no true Piety where there is not a Shew of it; and the
greater the Show, provided there be true Piety at the Bottom, the greater
the Piety.
I ſay therefore again, as I ſaid before, the more publick our publick Prayers
are, the better; and if they could always be offered up in the Church, and in
the Aſſembly of the Faithful, on the Week-days, as well as on Sundays, it
would be beſt of all; but ſince all have not Opportunity for this, the next
moſt publick Sort of Prayer is in the Family : This therefore, where there
is not Opportunity for the other, ſhould be practiſed in the room of it ;
and if we cannot mcet together in as great Numbers as we ought, to wor-
ſhip God, we ought however to meet in as great Numbers as we can.
And to this kind of publick Worſhip are annexed the ſame Advantages,
and the famie Promiſes, as to the other, only in a leſs Degree ; for hereby
alſo wc publickly glorify God, we own and profeſs to the World our Dc-
pendence upon him, we give a good Example, we quicken the Devotion
oi others, and we ſhall alſo receive a gracious Anſwer to theſe Petitions,
according to the Promiſe of our Saviour before-cited, that where any, tho’
they be but two or three, are gathered together in his Name, he will be
there in the inidſt of them. But,
(2.) As publick Praver is a Duty by it ſelf, ſo is private Prayer alſo a
Dury by it ſelf, which our publick Prayers, though we have ever ſo fre-
quent Opportunities for them, will not excuſe us from ; but which, how-
ever, we ought to be more regular and conſtant in the Practice of, when
the
2
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
811
:
the Opportunities of publick Devotion are i but few, and return but ſeldom.
For we are guilty of a great many Sins which are not ſo proper to be
made the Matter of a publick Confeſſion, becauſe that muſt be made in
gencral Words, ſuch as every one in the Congregation may join in; theſe
Sins therefore we ought to mourn for, and to confeſs to God in private, in
our Cloſet, or ſome fecrct Retirement.
Some Petitions alſo there are more peculiar to every Man's own ſelf,
which therefore he ought to put up to God when he is by himſelf, becauſe
they are not ſo proper to be put up in Company.
Nay, and even the moſt common Petitions, ſuch as we may, and when
we have Opportunity we ought to put up in Company with others, join-
ing with us in the ſame Petitions; I ſay, even theſe Petitions we ought alſo
at other times to put up by our ſelves in private; to teſtify thereby our
Belief of God's Omniſcience, and to allure our ſelves thereby of our own.
Sincerity; according to that expreſs Command of our Saviour, in Matth. vi. 5,
6. When thoil prayeft, thou ſhalt not be as the Hypocrites are, for they love
to pray ſtanding in the Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Streets, that
they may be ſeen of Men. This was the Caſe of the Phariſees; they were
a People much given to Prayer, and, as our Saviour obſerves in another
Place, they uſed to make very long Prayers too, but they prayed only in
publick, in the Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Streets, where they
night be ſeen by others; and thus they choſe to pray, becauſe that was
their chief Deſign in praying, that they might be taken for very devout and
religious Perſons ; ſo that with the faireſt Shew of Religion, they were, in
trurh, the vileſt of Hypocrites.
And this may be any Man's Caſe, who ſeldom or never prays but in
Company; he may deceive others, nay and he may deceive himſelf too,
with à Shew and Appearance of Piety, and yet be all the while but an
Hypocrite: Or though he be ſincere, yet he cannot be ſure of his own
Sincerity; he cannot be ſure that the Deſire of Praiſe from Men is not the
prevailing Ingredient in his Deyotions.
But a Man may be more certain of his Sincerity, when he makes a Con-
ſcience of praying to God in ſecret, when no Eye ſees but God's, and when
no Perſon in the World knows what he is doing but God only. For
true Religion muſt needs be, I do not ſay, the prevailing, but the only Mo-
tive to ſecret Devotion, becauſe there is no other End to be ſerved by it.
And as the Ends of publick Prayer are beſt ſerved, the more publick the
Prayer is; ſo the Ends of private Prayer are moſt promoted by the greateſt
Privacy and Secrecy in the Performance of the Dury; and therefore it is
our Saviour's Direction in the Words immediately following thoſe afore-cited ;
brit thou, when thou prayeft, enter into thy Cloſet, and when thou haſt shut
The Door, pray to thy Father which is in ſecret ; and thy Father, which
ſeeth in ſecret, hall reward thee openly.
In a Word; publick Prayer is, in ſeveral Reſpects, better than private;
and private Prayer is likewiſe, in ſeveral Reſpects, better than publick; i.e.
they are both beſt in their proper Seaſon; they are conſequently, though in
Matter the ſame, yet really two diſtinct Duties, and will be each of them re-
warded by God; 1. e. I mean, if our Prayers are ſo qualified as they ought
to be; and how that is, we are taught in the Text; where, after the general
Exhortation to Prayer, Ask, and it ſhall be given you; it is added, ſeek, and
je fall find ; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you.
In which Words, as I have already obſerved, there are two Qualifications
of prevailing Prayer clearly intimated : 1. That it be earneſt and urgent ;
feek, and ye ſhall find; for to ſeek a Thing, implies greater Earneſtneſs
and
ز
3
812
Of the Nature and Duty of Prayer.
and Deſire to have it, than is implied juſt in asking for it : And, 2. that
it be conſtant and importunate; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you. For
when a Man knocks at the Door of an Houſe, he does not uſe to give one
Knock only, and ſo go his Way, but he continues knocking, till the Door
be opened.
But to ſpeak of theſe two Qualifications, or Conditions of prevailing Pray-
er, which was the ſecond, and of the Succeſs and Efficacy of urgent and im-
portunate Prayer, which was the third general Head propounded to be
ſpoken to, will be Matter enough for another Diſcourſe ; and ſo I ſhall
defer it to a farther Opportunity.
DIS
813
1
DISCOURSE LXXV.
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
ఆక్రతుకులు ప్రజలు - ప్రతుకు
པ་
བྱ་སྨི ཝ བགྱི་
MATTH. VII.
7, 8.
Ask, and it ſhall be given you; ſeek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it Jhall be opened unto you :
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he thai
ſeeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it all
be opened.
CHE
!
UR Saviour's Deſign, in theſe Words, was to inſtruct his
Hearers in the Nature, and to perſuade them to the due
and conſtant Exerciſe of the great Duty of Prayer; in
perſuance of which ſame Deſign I have therefore propoſed,
in diſcourſing upon them, to do theſe three Things.
het
į
I. To ſpeak ſomewhat in general concerning the Duty
of Prayer, and our Obligation to practiſe it. Ask, and
it all be given you.
II. To ſpeak more particularly concerning thoſe two Conditions or Qua-
lifications of prevailing Prayer which are intimated in the Text, viz. 1. That
it be earneſt and urgent: Ånd, 2. That it be conſtant and importunate. Seek,
and ye ſhall find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you. And,
III. To diſcourſe ſomewhat concerning the Succeſs and Efficacy of urgent
and importunate Prayer. Every one that asketh, receiveth; &c.
I. I propoſed to ſpeak ſomewhat in general concerning the Nature of
Prayer, and our Obligation to practiſe it ; ask, and it ſhall be given you. And
I have already, in a former Diſcourſe on the Words, ſaid as much as I thought
was needful on this Head; having ſhewn what Prayer is, our Obligation to
pray, and the Neceſſity of doing it, both in publick with others, and in pri-
vate by our ſelves.
II. The ſecond Thing propoſed, was to ſpeak ſomewhat more particularly
concerning thoſe two Conditions or Qualifications of prevailing Prayer, which
are intimated in the Text; viz. I. That it be earneſt and urgent : And,
2. That-it be conſtant and importunate. The former is implied in the Word
ſeek; ſeek, and ye ſhall find : For to ſeek a Thing implies greater Earneſt-
Vol. II.
G
ز
ners
814
Of the qualifications of Prayer.
܀
/
neſs and Deſire to have it, than is implied juſt in asking for it. And the
latter is implied in the Word knock ; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you:
That Word, I ſay, implies a frequent Repetition of, a conſtant Continuance
in, the Duty. For when a Man knocks at the Door of an Houſe, he does
not uſe to give one Knock only, and fo go his Way, in caſe the People who
are within do not anſwer preſently; but ſo long as he knows they are wichin,
he continues knocking, until the Door be opened to him.
1. Then, I am to fhew what Fervency or Earneſtneſs in Prayer is requiſite
to make it ayailing; ſeek, and ye ſhall find. Now to ſeek for a Thing, is,
as I obſerved before, more than barely to ask for it: To ſeek, implics an
earneſt Deſire to have the Thing which we ſeek for.
And in general, that Fervency or Earneſtneſs which is requiſite to make
our Petitions to God for any Mercy availing, is an inward hearty Deſire ac-
companying our outward Expreſſions; the ſaying an inward hearty Aren, to
every Petition which we put up to God with our Lips: We are then fervent
in Prayer, when our Lips and our Heart move together in the ſame Peti-
tion. So St. James, ſpeaking of the Prophet Elijah, Fam. v. 17. ſays of him,
agroeuxñ a gooničato, he prayed in his Prayer ; we tranſlate it, he prayed ear-
neſtly." His Deſires wcre" lively, vehement, and paſſionate, for the obtaining
of that which he prayed for ; and ſo muſt ours be, whenever we put up any
Petition to God for any Thing, or elſe our Prayers will not avail us any
thing; we muſt not only ask for what we want, but we muſt diligently and
earneſtly ſeek it, if ever we hope to find it; ſeek, and ye ſhall find.
For even our bleſſed Saviour himſelf, the well-beloved Son of the Father,
was heard by him upon no other Terms ; even his Prayer, if it had not been
fervent, would not have been availing; and therefore the Author to the He-
brews obſerves, Heb. v. 7. that when in the Days of his Fleſh he offered up
Prayers and Supplications unto him that was able to ſave him from Death;
he did it with ſtrong Crying and Tears. And to the Warmth and Fervency
of his Prayer is attributed the good Succeſs of it, in the Words immediately
following; he was heard, in that he feared.
And ſuch muſt our Prayers to God be, if we hope for Succeſs from them;
they muſt be offered up with ſtrong Crying, i.e. not with a loud Voice, but
with an earneſt Deſire; not with paſſionate Expreſlions, but with a fervent
Devotion; with a Mind fixed and attent to the Buſineſs we are about, and
in an humble Senſe of our own Wants and Weakneſs, and with a firm Be-
lief of God's Power and Goodneſs.
Such Fervency in Prayer as this, is what our Saviour in the Text means
by ſeeking ; ſeek, and ye ſhall find. And this is the firſt neceſſary Condition
or Qualification of a prevailing Prayer, it muſt be earneſt or fervent.
2. The other neceſſary Condition or Qualification of a prevailing Prayer,
intimated by our Saviour in the Text, is, that it be conſtant and importunate;
knock, ſays our Saviour, and it ſhall be opened unto you.
And there are ſeveral other Phraſes, by which this is expreſſed and en-
joined in the holy Scripture, which it may not be amiſs to conſider ; becauſe
tho' they have all the fame Senſe and Meaning with this in the Text, knock,
and it ſhall be opened unto you ; yet by comparing them all together, we ſhall
beſt be inſtructed what our Duty is in this Matter, or what Conſtancy or Im-
portunity in Prayer is requiſite for the obtaining of our Petitions. There are,
ſay, ſeveral other Phraſes, by which this is expreſſed and enjoined in the
holy Scripture; Watch and pray always, ſays our Saviour, Luke xxi. 36.
And, to this purpoſe he ſpake a Parable, ſays St. Luke, that Men ought al-
ways to pray, and not to faint, Luke xviii. 1. And, continue in Prayer,
and watch in the ſame, ſays St. Paul, Col. iv. 2. And again, continue in-
ſtant in Prayer, Rom. xii. 12. And again, pray always with all Prayer and
Suppli-
Of the qualifications of Prayer.
815
Supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all Perſeverance, Eph.
vi. 18. And, pray without ceaſing, i Thefl: v. 17. And, I will that Men
pray every where, ſays the ſanie Apoſtle, i Tim. ii. 8. And of her who is a
Widow indeed, the fame Apoſtle ſays, I Tim. v. 5. that ſhe continues in
Supplications and Prayers, Night and Day. Give him no Reft, ſays the
Prophet Iſaiah, chap. lxii. 7. And the holy Pſalmiſt, deſcribing the Practice
of himſelf, and other devout Perſons in his Time, thus expreſſes it, Pfal.
cxxiii. 2. Behold, as the Eyes of Servants look unto the Hand of their Ma-
ſters, and as the Eyes of a Maiden unto the Hand of her Miſtreſs, ſo our
Eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have Mercy upon us.
By theſe, and ſuch like Phraſes, Conſtancy and Importunity in Prayer is
expreſſed and enjoined in the holy Scripture. The Meaning of which
was very much miſunderſtood by ſome Hereticks in the ancient Church,
who thought themſelves obliged thereby to ſpend their whole Time in pray-
ing, to the Neglect of all other Duties, and even of ſuch Care and Labour
as was neceſſary for the Support of Life.
But theſe did not err ſo much on the one Hand, as the Generality of Men
do now err on the other Hand, who notwithſtanding theſe Precepts enjoining
ſuch Attendance to, and Aſſiduity in this Duty, do nevertheleſs paſs away
whole Days, a great many perhaps whole Weeks, without ſo much as once
ſeriouſly recommending themſelves to God's Care, and craving his Bleſſing.
For,
(1.) The leaſt which can poſſibly be meant by a Precept, enjoining us to
do a Thing always or continually, is that we ſhould do it very often, that
we ſhould not ſuffer any great Space of Time to paſs in the Intermiflion of
it. And therefore they who never, or very feldom, never perhaps but when
they are under ſome ſore Affliction, or in ſome great Danger, do think upon
God, and ſet themſelves to ſeek his Favour, as they are manifeſtly guilty
of the Breach of thoſe Precepts which command a Conſtancy and Conti-
nuedneſs in Prayer ; ſo they have no Reaſon to expect that thoſe Prayers
which they do put up in their Affliction or Diſtreſs ſhould avail them much;
becauſe they do not then think upon God by Choice, but by Conſtraint, and
becauſe they cannot help it: They ſeek his Aid then, only becauſe they have
nothing elſe to truſt to, or depend upon.
And there is little Reaſon to ex-
pect that God ſhould think upon them in the Time of their Adverſity and
Diſtreſs, who lived in a conſtant Forgetfulneſs of God all the Time of their
Wealth and Proſperity. Becauſe I have called, ſays God, and ye refuſed, I
have ſtretched out my Hands, and no Man regarded: I alſo will laugh at
your Calamity, and mock when your Fear cometh. When your Fear cometh
as Deſolation, and your Deſtruction cometh as a Whirlwind, when Diſtreſs
and Anguiſh cometh upon you. Then ſhall they call upon me, but I will not
anſwer ; they ſhall ſeek me early, but they shall not find me, Prov. i. 24, &c.
(2.) To pray always, or to pray continually, implies at leaſt that we ſhould
make Prayer a Part of our Task and Buſineſs; that we ſhould ſet about it
not only at leiſure Times, and when we have nothing elſe to employ our
ſelves about, but that we ſhould allot and ſet apart ſome Times on purpoſe
for it ; even though it be to the Neglect of other Buſineſs: This being in-
deed as neceſſary a Buſineſs in its Seaſon, as any other Work which we
can at any time employ our ſelves about ; a Buſineſs ſo very neceſſary, that
while we neglect it, we cannot reaſonably hope for good Succeſs in
Enterpriſe which we take in Hand. For we cannot be ſaid to do a Thing
always and continually, if we never fet about it, but only when we have
nothing elſe to employ our ſelves in ; if we do it only as it were by Chance,
and by the by; and, in Caſe ſuch a leiſure Time had not happened, ſhould
not have done it at all.
+
(3.) The
any other
.
816
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
(3.) The Precepts commanding us to pray continually, and without cca-
fing, do farther enjoin, that at leaſt, we ſhould not neglect thoſe Times
and Seaſons of diſcharging this Duty which are ſet apart for this purpoſe,
either by divine Appointment, or by publick Authority: Such in particular
are the Lord's Day, and thc other Feafts and Faſts of the Church. To
omit praying at other Times beſides thcſc, is indeed a culpable Omiſſion,
and an Argument of great Coldneſs and Indifference in the Worſhip of God;
but to omit it at theſe ſet and ſtared Times, argues a Contempt of the Duty,
and a perfect Want of Religion. When we do not of our own Accord
put our felves upon the Duty, and ſeek Occaſions for it, it is an Argument
of great Careleſſneſs of our own good, and of want of Love to God: But
when we refuſe to pray, although we are called upon and invited to it by
the Company of the Faithful, who ſay to us, Come now, and let us go up
into the Houſe of God; when, I ſay, we refuſe to accept of this Invitation,
and purpoſely ſet our felves to do our own Works, at thoſe Times which
are hallowed and ſet apart for God's Worſhip, we do in Effect, and by
fair Interpretation, deny that there is a God, and diſown that there is
any Being above us to whom we owe any Worſhip or Homage. Nay,
farther,
(4.) Theſe ſolemn and ſtated Times of publick Worſhip coming but ſel-
dom, we cannot in any reaſonable Senſe be ſaid to pray continually, and
without ceaſing, unleſs we alſo embrace all other fit Occaſions of diſcharg-
ing this neceſſary Piece of Service. And what are fit Occaſions, I ſhall
not need to tell you; for as to Times and Seaſons, all are alike to God.
Our God never is
, as Elijah ſaid mockingly to the Prieſts and Worſhipers
of Baal concerning their God; our God, I ſay, never is, either talking; or
perſuing, or in a fourney, or aſleep, ſo that his Worſhipers may ſometimes
happen to ſpend their Breath to no purpoſe when they call upon him; but
his Ears are always open to the devout Prayers of his humble Supplicants :
And therefore whenſoever we are ſenſible of our Need of any Thing, that
is a proper Time to put up a Petition to God for it
. And our Wants
are ſo many, and our Needs do ſo often return upon us, that if we did
but pray as often as we have Need to pray, we ſhould fulfil the Apoſtle's
Precept' in the literal and fricteſt Senſe
, we ſhould indeed pray without
ceaſing, and without Intermiſſion ; we ſhould be ſo often at our Prayers,
that we ſhould ſcarcely find Time cnough to ſpend in any other Matters;
we ſhould, to be ſure, have none to ſpare, to paſs away in Idleneſs, or to
fpend in the Works of Sin and the Devil.
(s.) Our Wants being ſo many, and ſo continual, and returning upon
us every Day, we ought at leaſt every Day to put up our Petition to God
for the supply of them; and the Intermiſſion of Prayer, but for one Day
only, is a manifeſt Breach of thoſe apoſtolical Precepts whereby we are en-
joined to pray always, and to pray without ceaſing. And that to pray to
God at leaſt every Day is our moſt neceſſary and indiſpenſable Duty, is far-
ther clearly intimated in that Pattern or Form of Prayer which our Savi-
our himſelf hath taught us ; one Petition whereof is, Give us this Day
our daily Bread; which Expreſſion plainly
ſuppoſes, that we are to put up
this Petition (and conſequently all other neceſſary Petitions) to God every Day
Day. For we need our daily Bread, i. e. all the Neceſſaries of Life, every
we live ; and God has not promiſed to ſupply us with them, unleſs we pray
for them. And therefore being, in this Prayer of our Lord's own making,
taught to pray only for the Neceſſaries of this preſent Day, this clearly im-
plies that it is our indiſpenſable Duty to repeat this Petition, and to renew
this Requeſt to God every Day ; and if this, then other Requeſts too ;
for
ز
ܛ
this
Of the Qualifications of Prayer
817
3
this is but one of a great many Petitions, which we are taught in that ſame
Prayer. But then farther,
(6.) There being a remarkable Diviſion of Time into two parts, viz.
the Day and the Night, the former deſigned for Buſineſs, and the latter for
Reſt; and each of theſe Seaſons having its peculiar Wants; for the proper
Wants of the Day are, an Ability to go about and diſcharge the Work
which God hath ſet us, and his Bleſſing upon our Endeavours, and his
Grace to keep us from Temptations, or to enable us to overcome them;
and the proper and more peculiar Wants of the Night are the Care and
Protection of the divine Providence, to guard and defend us from all Evil's
and Dangers; which, though indeed we do always ſtand in need of, and
cannot live without one Moment ; for it is in God, as the Apoſtle ſays, that
we live, and move, and have our Being ; yet we then ſeem to want more
eſpecially,' when our Powers and Faculties are all bound up by Sleep,
and we are not able to take any Care at all of our ſelyes. Each of theſe
Seaſons therefore, I ſay, the Day and the Night, having its peculiar Wants,
it is highly reaſonable that we ſhould ſeverally addreſs our ſelyes to God for
the Supply of them ; that is, that every Morning, when we riſe, we ſhould
implore his Grace to aſſiſt and ſtrengthen us in our Works, and his Blef-
fing to proſper our Labours : And that cvery Night, before we go to Bed,
we ſhould ſolemnly commit our ſelves to his Protection.
And thus thoſe Precepts of praying without ceaſing, and praying conti-
nually, are expounded by ſome, viz. as extending no farther than in Propor-
tion to the daily Sacrifices among the Jews, which were conſtantly offered
every Morning and Evening; but they are by none conceived interpretable to
any lower Proportion. So that we cannot in Reaſon be ſaid: to pray con-
tinually, unleſs our Prayers be offered as continually as the daily Sacrifice
was ; i. e, at leaſt every Morning and Evening I ſay, at leaſt every Morning
and Evening: For indeed,
(7.) And laſtly; the Phraſes uſed in Scripture, to enjoin a Conſtancy
, in
this Dury, ſeem to imply much more; they ſeem to imply, that there ought
to be no Intermiſſion of it, that we ought to be always praying. And ſee-
ing in this Senſe the Precepts are pračticable, I ſee no Reaſon why we
ſhould not think our ſelves obliged to practiſe accordingly. I do not mean
that we ought to be, or that we can be, always actually upon our Knees, and
offering up ſolemn Prayers to God; for this can be done only at ſome
Seaſons: But we may and ought to be always in a praying Temper ; we may
and ought to live in a conſtant and continual Senſe of our Dependence upon
God for all that we have or want, and to, acknowiedge the ſame, when we
cannot do it in a ſet Prayer, at leaſt in ſhort Ejaculations, and Petitions of
our Heart to God. And thus we may, even in a literal Senſe, pray conti-
nually, and without cealing; there being no Buſineſs of our Life which we
ſet our felves to, or employ our ſelves in, to which it will be any Hindrance,
to caft up now and then an Eye to Heaven, and to ſend up a ſhort Wiſh
or Petition to the Throne of Grace. Thus, I ſay, we may, and thus we
ought to be ever praying, though we cannot be always what we call at
Prayers. And thus praying always, and praying continually, will be ſo far from
being an Hindrance to our other Works and Buſineſs, that it will rather
greatly promote the ſame, and yield us much Comfort therein.
The Sum of what has been ſaid on this Head, is this: It was not the
Deſign of our Saviour in the Text, where he bids us knock that it may be
opened to us ;
nor is it thc Meaning of thoſe other Places of Scripture which
enjoin continual Prayer, and command us to pray without ceaſing, that we
ſhould ſpend our whole Time in Prayer, and do nothing elſe, for that is im-
poſſible; and beſides, it is inconſiſtent with our Obligation to other Duties.
Vol. II.
Hhh
But
818
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
But thus much moſt certainly they do enjoin, that we ſhould not be ſo
taken up with other Employments as to leave no room for this; but on the
contrary,
that we ſhould be at Leiſure for this, as much and as often as we
can; and that whether we have Leiſure or not, and even tho' it be to the Neg.
lect of other Buſineſs, we ſhould ſet apart ſome conſiderable Portion of our
Time every Day for this Purpoſe. For certainly, when we are bid to pray
always, and to pray without ceaſing, the Meaning cannot be leſs than this,
that we ſhould pray often.
But if it be asked, how often at the leaſt it is our neceſſary Duty to ad-
dreſs our ſelves to God in a folemn and fer Prayer, ſo that if we fail of do-
ing it, how urgent ſoever our other Buſineſs and Occaſions are, we commit
a Sin; I know no Text of Scripture which hath determined that Point pre-
ciſely.
But beſides what hath been already ſaid for the Reſolution of Conſcience
in this Matter, we have in Scripture the Examples of good and holy Men ſet
before us, which may give us ſome farther Direction therein. For of Daniel
it is noted, Dan. vi. 10. that he kneeled on his Knees three times a Day, and
prayed and
gave Thanks before his God. And this Practice he would not in-
termit, even when he ran the Hazard of his Life by it. And the holy Pſal-
miſt ſays of himſelf, Pſal. lv. 18. At Evening, and Morning, and at Noon-
day, will I pray, and cry aloud.
Theſe Exaniples therefore if we follow, we need not queſtion but we ſhall
fully obſerve thoſe Precepts which require us to pray inceſſantly, according to
the true Intent and Meaning of them. But on the contrary, if we fall much
ſhort of theſe Examples, as we cannot in any good Senſe be ſaid to pray in-
ceſſantly; (for no Man can reaſonably be ſaid to do a Thing conſtantly, or
always, which he doth not at leaſt do frequently, at convenient Times, at
Times not much diſtant from one another) ſo it is a sign that our Piety and
Devotion is much more cold than was that of theſe holy Men in primitive
*Times, and therefore it is no Wonder if we do not receive fuch large Re-
turns from the divine Bounty.
Thus then we are to be conſtant in our Prayers; i. e. very frequent in the
Practice of the Duty of Prayer in general ; knock, that it may be opened unto
you. But the Conſtancy or Importunity in Prayer, required in Scripture, and
particularly by the Phraſe here uſed in the Text, knock, and it shall be opened,
imports ſtill ſomewhat more than this,' viz. that we ſhould be frequent in
purting up the ſame Petitions, and making the ſame Requeſts; that we ſhould
ask of God the ſame Things over and over again, and not leave off asking
till our Requeſt be granted : That is to ſay, if we are ſatisfied that the Thing
we ask for is agreeable to God's Will to grant; if it be ſuch a Thing as he
has promiſed he will give, if we ask him for it. · Thus it is ſaid in the Place
before cited, Luke xviii. 1. that our Saviour ſpake a Parable to this purpoſe,
that Men ought always to pray, and not to faint ; i.e. not to be diſcouraged,
not to give over asking if their Suit be not preſently granted, but to preſs
the ſame Requeſt over and over again ; and, as the Prophet expreſſes it, give
God no Reſt until we obtain his Bleſſing. And this alſo, as I ſaid, is clearly
intimated in the Phraſe uſed by our Saviour in the Text;, knock, and it ſhall
be opened unto you; viz. that we ſhould not give over knocking till the Door
be opened.
And ſo much may ſerve to have been ſpoken on the ſecond Head, which
was to explain the two Conditions or Qualifications of a prevailing Prayer,
which are intimated in the Text, viz. 1. That it be carneſt and urgent, ſeek,
and ye ſhall find: And, 2. That it be conſtant and importunate; knock, and
it ſhall be opened unto you.
III. I pro
ز
ز
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
819
te
1
C!
III. I proceed now to the third Thing propoſed, which was, to diſcourſe
ſomewhat concerning the Fruit and Efficacy of Prayer, when it is ſo condi-
tioned or qualified as it ought to be; or the Prevalency thereof for the ob-
taining of ſuch Things as we want and pray for. Ask, ſays our Saviour, and
ye ſhall receive; ſeek, and ye ſhall find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto
you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that ſeeketh, findeth; and
to him that knocketh it ſhall be opened.
And what better Fruit can we deſire, what greater Efficacy of Prayer can
we expect or hope for, than the having our Requeſts granted ? Ask, and ye
Shall receive; and, every one that asketh, receiveth. Can more be ſaid or
done to encourage Prayer, than this ? Certainly, if Obſervation and Experi-
ence did but confirm the Truth of theſe Promiſes; if we found it was always
thus, that every one that asketh, receiveth; i.e. that by Prayer to God we
could always obtain all that we wanted or deſired; we ſhould not be ſo back-
ward to the Practice of this Duty as we generally are ; and being as conſtant
in it as we ought, we ſhould not have ſuch Cauſe to complain of our Wants
and Miſeries, as we think we have.
What ſhall we ſay then? Are not the Promiſes of God true? Is not God
always as good as his Word: Yes, doubtleſs he is. But if he be, how then,
you will ſay, does it come to paſs, that we do not always receive the Things
which we pray for? I anſwer,
1. Many Times the Cauſe of the Unſucceſsfulneſs of our Prayers is in our
felves, either becauſe we are not fitly qualified to partake of the divine Bleſ-
fing; for God, in diſpenſing his Favours, obſerves the Rule which our Sa-
viour himſelf has given to Men, in the Verſe before the Text; he gives not
his holy Things to Dogs, he caſts not his Pearls before Swine ; he beſtows not
his choiceſt Favours upon ſuch as underſtand not their Worth nor their Uſe:
Or elſe the Reaſon may be, becauſe there is ſome Fault in our Prayers, and
they are not ſuch as they ſhould be; of which I have already ſpoken ſome-
what in this Diſcourſe; and this Account St. James gives of the Matter, in
Jam, iv. 3. Te ask, and receive not, becauſe ye ask amiſs. But,
2. In caſe there be no Fault in our Prayers, and if we our ſelves are fitly
qualified to receive the divine Bleſſing; then, I ſay, that the Promiſe of our
Saviour, ask, and ye ſhall receive, is always made good to us, although we
do not always receive juſt thoſe very Things which we ask of God.
For it is to be conſidered, that many times even a good Man may be
miſtaken in the Matter of his Petition; he may think that thoſe Things
which he asks of God would be good for him, whereas indeed he had better
be without them. And when the Caſe is thus, God hears and anſwers our
Prayers in the beſt manner, when he refuſes to give us thoſe Things which we
ask; eſpecially if inſtead thereof he gives us that which is better; ſomething
which is really more for our Good than thoſe Things which we had asked
for. For thus a kind Father, when his Son asks Bread, never refuſes it, be-
cauſe he knows it is neceſſary for him ; but if he asks for a Thing, only becauſe
it is ſweet to the Taſte, but which the Father knows would poiſon him, or
do him Hurt ; the kindeſt Thing which a good Father can do in this Caſe,
is to deny his Requeſt, and to refuſe to give him the Thing which he asks
for, tho' he begs ever ſo hard and earneſtly for it.
Now this is oftentimes our Caſe, eſpecially when we pray for temporal good
Things. We are often miſtaken in the Matter of our own Petitions, and it
may truly be ſaid of us, as our Saviour ſays of the two Diſciples, who had
requeſted of him, that one of them might fit on his right Hand, and the
other on his left Hand, in his Kingdom; Tě know not what ye ask, Matt.
XX. 22. And therefore, in our Prayers for temporal Bleſſings, our Petitions
+
ſhould
:
820
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
..
ſhould always be very humble and modeſt, and conditional; we may indeed
with Modeſty expreſs our own Deſire, but then at the ſame Time we ſhould
refer it wholly to God's Will and Wiſdom, whether he will grant us that
yery Thing which we ask for or not; according to that Pattern of our Sa-
viour, Matth. xxvi. 39. O my Father, if it be poſſible, let this Cup paſs from
me ; nevertheleſs, not as I will
, but as thou wilt. And thus much we may
depend upon from our Saviour's Promiſe, even in this Caſe, i.e. in our
Prayers for teniporal Bleſſings, or Deprecation of temporal Evils; we may
depend
upon it, I ſay, that if we are ſuch as God has promiſed to hear, and
if our Prayers are ſo conditioned as they ſhould be, even theſe Prayers will
be heard and anſwered; thet if we ask, we ſhall receive; if not that very
Thing which we asked for, yet that which is really beſt for us to have. For
we may be miſtaken in what we ask, but God cannot be miſtaken in what
he gives; and therefore, what he gives in Return to the devour Prayers of
good Men, if it be not the ſame Thing which they deſired, we may be ſure
is better for them than that which they deſired; and that was the beſt An-
ſwer to their Prayers which they could receive.
For indeed, whatever it is which we pray for in particular, the Sum of
our Deſire, to be ſure, is, that we may be happy; that it may be well with
us : This is what we mean, whatever it is that we ſay; and we beg this or
that Thing in particular, only becauſe the obtaining thereof would, in our
Opinion, conduce very much to the making us happy. And therefore if we
are miſtaken in our Opinion, i. . if it be really beſt for us not to have what
we ask, it is an Act of Kindneſs in God nor to give it us, tho' we ask for it;
and it is no Breach of the Promiſe made in the Text, ask, and ye ſhall re-
ceive; for we do really receive what we ask, i.e. what we meant to ask, tho®
thro' Ignorance we were miſtaken in the Expreſſion of our Defire, when we
receive what is really beſt for us; for then we receive the End of our De-
fire, only we receive it not juſt in the ſame way which we deſired it: But
the Reaſon of that was, becauſe, as I ſaid, we were miſtaken in the Means
of our Happineſs, and what we thought would have conduced to our Hap-
pineſs, would not really have conduced ſo much to it, as that which God was
pleaſed to give us inſtead of the Thing which we asked for.
Thus when our Lord, in his Agony in the Garden, prayed that if it was
poſſible the Cup might paſs from him, i.e. that he might be delivered from
that bitter and cruel Death which he had then a near Proſpect of, the Author
to the Hebrews obſerves that his Prayer was anſwered, Heb. v. 7. When in
the Days of his Fleſh, he offered up Prayers and Supplications, with ſtrong
Crying and Tears, unto him that was able to ſave him from Death, he was
heard in that he feared. But how was he heard? How were his Prayers an-
fwered ? Did the Cup paſs away as he deſired? Was he ſaved from the Death
which he was afraid of ? No: But he was heard in the beſt manner, when
that bitter Death, which it was neceſſary he ſhould undergo for the Redem-
ption of Mankind, whoſe Peace with God he had undertaken to procure by
fuffering in their ſtead; when, I ſay, that bitter Death which he in his hu-
man Nature underwent, (for the Divinity could not ſuffer,) was made a Means
of the Exaltation of that human Nature which ſuffered, to the higheſt De-
gree of Honour in Heaven. His Prayer, I ſay, was heard, and anſwered ;
tho' the Cup did not paſs away, becauſe it was better that the human Nature
in Chriſt ſhould ſo ſuffer, than that it ſhould not be ſo exalted as it afterwards
was for ſuffering: For, as St. Paul obſerves, Phil. ii. 8, &c. becauſe being
found in Faſhion as a Man, he humbled himſelf, and became obedient unto
Death, even the Death of the Croſs; therefore God alſo did highly exalt
him, and give him a Name that is above every Name, that at the Name of
Jeſus every Knee ſhould bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things on Earth,
and Things under the Earth.
And
Of the Qualifications of Prayer.
821
1
And ſuch a Return as this we may expect to our own Prayers, for any tem-
poral Bleſſing or Deliverance'; I mean, if we and our Prayers are ſuch as
the Promiſes are made to. We may be confidently aſſured that our Prayers
will be anſwered, in ſuch manner as it is beſt for us they ſhould be anſwered;
perhaps not by granting us that temporal good Thing, or that Deliverance
from temporal Evil, which we prayed for; but by ſo ordering Matters, that
all Things which happen to us, whether proſperous or adverſe, whether plea-
ſant or painful, ſhall in the End be as good, or better for us than we our
ſelves did wiſh. For we know, as the Apoſtle ſays, Rom. viii. 28. i.e. we
are ſo well aſſured of it, both from natural Rcaſon, and expreſs Revelation,
that we may not improperly be ſaid to know it; that all Things do work
together for Good to them that love God.
Thus, if we ask; we fall receive ; i.e. if our Prayer be for temporal good
Things, we ſhall have what we ask for, or we ſhall have that which is better.
God will be very good and gracious to us, tho' perhaps not juſt in that Way
which we deſired.
But in our Petitions for ſpiritual Bleſſings, and particularly for the Grace of
God, to enable us to do his Will, we go upon ſurer Grounds; for this we
know is for our Good; this we are ſure is as neceſſary for the Support of our
ſpiritual Life, as Bread is for the Suſtenance of our Body'; and what is nie-
ceſſary for us, we may be aſſured our heavenly Father will not deny us, if we
are indeed his Children, and are diligent at all Times to ask for it. In this
Caſe the Promiſe is expreſs, and is to be literally underſtood, and will be
punctually fulfilled: Ask, and ye shall receive. For, as our Saviour argues,
Luke xi. 13. If ye, being evil, know how to give good Gifts unto your. Chil
dren, how much more Mall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them
that ask him?
We are ſure that it is God's Will that we ſhould walk in the Commandments
of God, and ſerve him; and therefore ſince we cannot do this without God's
Special Grace, we are likewiſe ſure that it is the Will of God to give us his
Grace, if we are qualified to receive it, and are diligent in asking for it.
And therefore, when we pray for the divine Grace, we may and ought to
pray with a firm Belief that God will grant our Requeſts, and give us ſuch
Grace as is needful and ſufficient for us ; for he has promiſed that he will not
ſuffer us to be tempted above what we are able, but will with the Tempta-
tion alſo make a Way to eſcape, that we may be able to bear it, 1 Cor. x. 13.
And what he has promiſed, we may confidently ask, becauſe we may be ſure
it is agreeable to his Will to grant it. For, as the Apoſtle ſays, i Job.v.
14, 15. This is the Confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any
thing according to his Will
, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us,
whatſoever we ask, we know that we have the Petitions that we deſired of
him.
.
To conclude all therefore : As, by what hath been ſaid before, in the laſt
Diſcourſe, and in the former Part of this, we are inſtructed in the Nature,
and directed in the Practice of this Duty of Prayer; ſo by what hath been
now ſaid concerning the Fruit and Efficacy of Prayer, we are very much en-
couraged to the conſtant and diligent Performance of it. For by what hath
been now ſaid, it plainly appears, that it is not more our Duty to pray, than
it is our Privilege that we have Liberty allowed us, in all Caſes, to make known
our Requeſts to God. We our felves ſhould account it ſo; we ſhould reckon
it a very great Honour done us by an earthly King, to have free Acceſs to
his Preſence at any Time, and a full Liberty granted us of making our Petiti.
ons to him, with a good Aſſurance, that if they were reaſonable they ſhould be
obtained. Is it not then a much greater Privilege and Advantage, is it not a
much higher Honour done us, that we have free Liberty given us to come into
Vol. II.
Iii
the
822
Of the qualifications of Prayer.
the Preſence of Almighty God, the great King of the World, whoſe Power
and Goodneſs are infinite? Nay, that we are not only permitted, but likewiſe
kindly invited by him, to ask for any Thing which we want ; and that he has
promiſed, graciouſly to receiye our Petition, and to grant our Requeſt, if it be
à Requeſt fit to be granted? Ask, and ye shall receive; ſeek, and ye ſhall
find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you.
Having then this great Privilege allowed us, let us not loſe or forfeit it, by
Neglect or Diluſe; but let us come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we
may obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help in Time of Need, as the Apoſtle
exhorts, Heb. iv. 16. Let us diligently lay hold of, and improve, this bieſſed
Advantage which God ſo graciouſly offers to us. Let us eſteem Prayer, as in-
deed it is, our Privilege, rather than our Duty; and not go to it as to a Task
and Burthen, but embrace it as a bleſſed Opportunity of receiving the greateſt
Good to our ſelyes.
In fine: Let us follow the Advice of the Apoſtle, Phil. iv. 6. and in every
Thing by Prayer and Supplication, with Thankſgiving, make known our Ré-
queſts to God; and then we ſhall not need to be anxiouſly careful for any
thing our ſelves, but may ſecurely depend upon him, that he will give us every
Thing which we want, and order all Things to us for the beſt. For, as our
Saviour adds, in the Words following the Text, What Man is there of
you,
whom if his Son ask Bread, will give him a Stone ? Or if he ask a Fiſh, will
he give him a Serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good Gifts
unto your Children, how much more ſhall your Father which is Heaven give
good Things to them that ask him? On which Argument or Motive to
Prayer, I ſhall not now enlarge; becauſe I deſign that for the Subject of my
next Diſcourſe.
ons
@oo
DIS
823
DISCOURSE LXXVI.
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our
Prayers.
P
10000
MATTH. VII. 9, 10, II.
Or what Man is there of you, whom if his Son ask
Bread, will he give him a Stone.
Or if he ask a Fiſh, will be give him a Serpent ?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good Gifts
unto your Children, how much more ſhall your Fa-
ther which is in Heaven give good Things to them
that ask him?
UR Saviour, in the two Verſes immediately foregoing, on
which I diſcourſed the laſt Time; had exhorted his Diſciples
to earneſt and conſtant Prayer to God, for a Supply of ſuch
Things as they ſhould at any Time have need of; and
had alſo encouraged the diligent Practice of that Duty, with
a Promiſe that their devout and importunate Prayers would
certainly be graciouſly heard and anſwered by God. Ask, and it ſhall be
given you ; ſeek, and ye ſhall find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto you.
For
every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that ſeeketh, findeth; and to
him that knocketh, it ſhall be opened. On which moſt gracious Promiſe,
being made in the Name of God, by him who gave the cleareſt Proof that
he was ſent by God to declare his Will, and to publiſh his Love to Man-
kind; and eſpecially being given by him, who had not only received Au-
thority from God to make the Promiſe, but alſo Power to fulfill it; for to
him all Power was given both in Heaven and Earth; On which Pro-
mife therefore, I ſay, we might ſafely have relied, and ſhould not have need-
ed any other Afſurance of the good Succeſs of our Prayers, to encourage
us to the conſtant and diligent Practice of the Duty. For we can deſire
no better Succeſs of our Prayers, than to have our Petitions granted; and
we cannot reaſonably deſire a better Aſſurance that our Petitions will be
granted, than a Promiſe of God for it; and no Pronriſe to this purpoſe
could
824
Our Aſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
could be more clearly and fully expreſſed than this is; Ask, and it ſhall be
given you; ſeek, and ye ſhall find; knock, and it mall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth, &c.
But fuch is the great Goodnefs of God, that in Compliance with our
Wçakneſs, to obviare all Scruples, and to remove from us all Doubting, he
many Times condeſcends to do ſuch Things, as one would think were be-
neath him to do, in order to give us the greateſt Aſſurance poſſible of his
Love and Kindneſs, and gracious Intentions towards us.
And therefore, though it be impoſſible for God to lie; and whoever knows
any Thing of God, muſt know that it is to; yet he is graciouſly pleaſed
ſometimes to give us ſuch farther Aſſurance of the Truth of his Promiſes,
and of the Certainty of their Performance, as we ſhould deſire, in Cafe we
had to deal with a Man who might deceive us, and on whoſe bare Pro-
miſe alone we could not with Confidence depend.
Thus the Author to the Hebrews obferves, that becauſe a Promiſe confirm-
ed with an Oath was ordinarily reckoned a greater Aſſurance than a bare
Promiſe only; an Oath for Confirmation is to Men an End of all Strife;
Heb. vi. 16. therefore, God willing more abundantly to thew unto the Heirs
of Promiſe the Immutability of his Counſel
, confirmed it by an Oath; that
by two immutable Things, in which it was impoſſible for God to lie, we
might have a ſtrorig Conſolation, who have fled for Refuge, to lay hold upon
the Hope ſet before us, ver, 16, 17, 18.
And ſuch another Inſtance of the divine. Condeſcenſton, tho' not juſt in the
fame Kind, we have in the Text. For,
Our Lord hath promiſed in the foregoing Verſes, that if we ask, we ſhall
receive; that if we, leek, we ſhall find ; and that if we knock, it ſhall be
opened unto us. Encouragement fùfficient to engage us in all our Wants and
Diſtreſſes, to put up our Supplications to God with good Hope and Affu-
rance of having our reaſonable Requeſts granted'; and yet, as if this had not
been enough, he here in the Text proceeds to give uş: farther Aſſurance of
the certain Accompliſhment of this gracious Promiſe, by ſhçwing that the
Performance of it is very agreeable to the Goodneſs of the divine Nature;
that what he has promiſed is no more than, conſidering the Power and Good-
neſs of God, and the Relation wherein we ſtand to him, we might reaſon-
ably have expected from him, though he had not expreflly promiſed it. So
that our Hope of having our reaſonable Petitions granted, is built upon a
double Ground, viz. firſt the Truth, and then the Mercy and Goodneſs of
God; either of which alone would have been ſufficient to ſupport ſuch a
Hope, and therefore much more are they both together abundantly ſuffici-
ent to give us the fulleſt Aſſurance which can be deſired, that our Prayers
for ſuch' Things as are needful are always hcard, and will be graciouſly an-
ſwered by God. For, ſays our Saviour, what Man is there of you, who if
his Son ask Bread, will give him a Stone ? or if he ask a Fiſh, will be
give him a Serpent? If ye then, being evil
, know how to give good Gifts
unto your Children, how much more ſhall your Father which is in Heaven
give good Things to them that ask him.
And indeed the Argument here uſed by our Saviour in the Text, is ſuf-
ficient to give us the fulleſt Aſſurance, that all our reaſonable Requeſts, of
what Kind foever, whether for this Life or for the next, ſhall be granted,
as will appear if we conſider the Force and Strength of it, which conſiſts
in a Compariſon made between God and Men in ſundry Reſpects; every
Word or Circumſtance of which Similitude adds ſomewhat to the Strength
of the Argument that is founded upon the whole. I ſhall conſider diftinčtly
theſe four Things:
*
1. The
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
825
I. The Relation of Paternity, which is ſuppoſed in both Caſes; in which
Reſpect God is more truly our Father than Man was, and has a nearer Re-
lation to all Men, and eſpecially to all good Men, than their Fathers accord-
ing to the Fleſh have.
II. The greater Knowledge that there is in God, than is in Men, where-
by he knows the Wants of his Children, and how to ſupply the ſame, bet-
ter than any Man does.
III. The Power of God, infinitely ſuperior to the Power of any earthly
Father, whereby he is able to give to his Children every Thing which
they want, which is more, many times, than earthly Fathers can do.
And,
IV. And laſtly; the Goodneſs of God, far beyond the Goodneſs of the
beſt Men, and the kindeſt Fathers upon Earth; upon which Account he may
juſtly, be preſumed more ready to do good to his Children than earthly Fa-
thers are.
Theſe four Things, I ſay, are either mentioned, or clearly implied in the
Text, every one of which ſingly affords a juſt Ground of Hope, that what-
foever we reaſonably deſire of God in Prayer will be granted to us; and there-
fore much more do they all altogether give as good Aſſurance as can be de-
fired, that if we ask, we ſhall receive ; that if we ſeek, we ſhall find; and
that if we knock, it Mall be opened unto us.
I. I ſay, in this Compariſon here made between God and Men, there is
the ſame Relation of Paternity or Fatherhood, ſuppoſed in both Caſes.
What Man is there of you, being a Father, who, if his Son ask Bread, will
give him a Stone ? i.e. What Father upon Earth is there, who will not
give his Children, who ask him, ſuch Things as are needful for him? How
much more then ſhall your Father in Heaven, i. e. God, do the ſame?
There is a very near Relation between a Father and his Child, and ſuch
a natural Affection grounded upon, and reſulting from thence, that a Man
is hardly able to deny the reaſonable Requeſt of his Child, even when he
cannot grant it without great Inconvenience to himſelf; and therefore, tho '
he has already Bread enough for his own Uſe, i. e. as much Proviſion for
Life as he himſelf can probably ever have Occaſion for; yet if he has not
enough for his Children likewiſe, he is contented for their Sakes, and that
he may have wherewith to ſupply their Wants, to toil and ſweat, and
take Pains to riſe early, and fit up late, and eat the Bread of Carefulneſs:
To maintain their Life he willingly expoſes his own to all manner of Dan-
gers by Sea and by Land, and thinks himſelf well recompenſed for all the La-
bour which he takes, and all the Hazard which he runs, if he may but there-
by get Bread for his Children. And if after all, by all the Care he can
take, he be able to get nothing more than is juſt ſufficient to ſerve himſelf
and them for this Day, he as freely gives them their Share of it, as he him-
ſelf takes his own; he will not ſuffer them, if he can help it, to ſtarve to
Day, though it may be his own Lot to ſtarve with them to Morrow; but ha-
ving enough for to Day, he willingly communicates what he has to them,
and makes them partake with him of this Day's Proviſion; leaving the Mor-
row to take Care for the Things of it ſelf; i. e. truſting that he ſhall be as
able to make neceſſary Proviſion for that Day, as he was for this; or reſol-
Vol. II
K k k
ved,
826
Our Aſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
مت
ved, though he ſhould not, yet not to ſuffer his Children to want whilc he has
any Thing to give.
Such is the natural Love and Affection of Parents to their Children. God
therefore having the ſame Relation to us, he bcing our Father, and we his
Children, it may reaſonably be expected that, unlets we forfeit his Kindneſs
by our Undutifulneſs and Ingratitude, and provoke him, by our wilful Dil-
obedience and Rebellion, to caſt us off, he will bear the like kind Affection
to us, and conſequently will not refuſe to give us whatever he knows necef-
ſary for us, if we ask it of him.
For it may be conſidered, and the Force of the Argument in the Text
lics partly in this, that the paternal Relation between God and us is nearer
than is between an earthly Father and his Son ; upon which Account it may
be reaſonably be thought, that he bears a truer and more cordial Affection
to us, than our earthly Fathers do; for they are only the Fathers of our Fleſt,
but he is the Father of our Spirits. And it is the Spirit, or Soul of a Man,
which is properly the Man ; it is the Soul only which feels Pain or Pleaſure,
though indeed by the Mediation of the bodily Senſes. If therefore an earth-
ly Father, who has no Relation but only to the Body of his Child, (to that
Body which, without the Soul enlivening it, would not diſcern between
Good and Evil, would not be capable of cither Happineſs or Miſery ; )
does yet bear ſuch a kind Affection to that which feels Pain or Pleaſure,
that is, to the Soul of his Child, only becauſe it is nearly and intimately
united to that Body of which he was the Father; may it not much rather
be thought that God (the God and Father of the Spirits of all Fleſh) bears
a truer and heartier Affection to the Soul which he himſelf did breathe into
thc Body, after it had been made capable of being actuated and enlivened
ز
by it?
Or without cơnſidering the Diſtinction between Soul and Body, (the Soul,
as the Man; and the Body, as the Means and Inſtrument of his Senſations
and Actions ;) if we take the whole together, and conſider Soul and Body as
eſſential Parts of that compound Being which we call Man; nay, and if
we ſhould farther ſuppoſe that the Soul is ex traduce, from the Parents, as
well as the Body, yet fill the Relation between a Father and his Son will
not be ſo near as it is between God and every Man. For the earthly Pa-
tent is only the ſubordinate Means or Inſtrument, ander God, of bringing
his Children into Life and Being; it is God who is the Former and Maker
of them; the Subſtance of which we were made was of God's Creation, and
it was by his curious Art that we were contrived and moulded into the Form
wherein we are Our Subſtance (as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, Pſal. cxxxix. 15, 16.)
äväs hör hid from him, when we were made in ſecret, and curiouſly wrought
in the towej Parts of the Earth. His Eyes did ſee our Subſtance yet be-
ing: unperfeet, and in his Book all our Members were written, which in
Continuance were faſhioned, when as yet there was none of them. It was
he alſo, who when he had-forined the Body into human Shape, and framed
and fitted all the Parts of it, (ſome of them ſo very ſmall and fine, that they
not only exceed humán Power to form, but are too fine ſo much as to be
diſcerned by human - Eyes, nay even with the help of Mycroſcopes ; it was
he, I ſay, who then) made that near and vital Union between Soul and Body,
which we were ſo far from being able to make, that we are not able to give
any Account of it now it is made. So that in Truth the admirable Power
and 'Workmanſhip of God is as clearly diſcernable in bringing. Men into
Being in the Way of ordinary Generation, as it was in the Creation of the
firſt Man out of the Düft of the Ground, only it being common, we take no
Notice of it. For this is our Way, what is rare and unuſual, ftrikes us with
Admiration;
*
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
827
Admiration ; but the ſame, or a ſtranger Thing, if it be common, if it be
what we ſec every Day, we paſs over without Obſervation.
Seeing then that God is more truly our Father than Man; if that ſmall
Part which the Parent has in bringing his Child into Bcing, produces ſuch
ftrong Affection towards it, that he cannot but love it, and deſire its Wel-
fare, and contribute what in him lies towards it ; can it be thought that God
does not likewiſe bear a fatherly Affection to the Creatures which he has
made, to the Work of his own Hands? If then a Father will not refuſe
Bread to his hungry Child, when he has it to give, and the Child asks ir
of him ; how can we fear that God ſhould deny the reaſonable Requeſts
of the ſame Perſon, who is much more his Child, than he was his earthly
Father's; cſpecially if the ſame Perſon be the Child of God, not only by
Creation, but likewiſe by Adoption and Grace, and being (as the Apoſtle
ſpeaks,) begotten again unto a lively Hope, behaves himſelf dutifully and obc-
diently towards him ; and is (as the fame Apoſtle exhorts) a Follower of God,
as a dear Child ought to be?
ز
II. Another Thing obfervable, in the Compariſon here made by our Saviour
between God and an earthly Father, upon which he grounds his Argument
to perſuade us of the Truth and certain Accompliſhment of the Promiſe he
had before made, Ask, and ye shall receive; is the greater Knowledge that
there is in God, than is in Men, whereby he knows the Wants of his Chil-
dren, and how to ſupply the ſame better than any Man does. If (ſays our
Saviour,) ye know how to give good Gifts unto your Children, how much
more ſhall God give good Things to thoſe that ask him ? ;. e. he knows how
to do this much better than earthly Parents do.
Now there is no earthly Parent but knows the Difference between Bread
and a Stone, between a Fiſh and a Serpent; and if his Son asks him for the
former, i. e. for Bread, or a Fiſh, he gives it him, becauſe he knows theſe to be
good for Food, and that Food is neceſſary to preſerye Life. And on the
other ſide, if the Son thro' a childiſh Miſtake ſhould, when he is hungry,
ask for a Stone inſtead of Bread, i. e. ſhould ask for ſomething which was
altogether unprofitable, and would not anſwer his End in asking for it; and
much rather if he ſhould ask for a Serpent inſtead of a Fiſh, i. e, for ſome-
thing, which if he had it would do him Hurt rather than Good: The Fa-
ther, in this Caſe, would only pity the Ignorance of his Child, and give him
that which he ſhould, and that which, if he had been wiſer, he would have
asked for, and not that Thing which he did defire.
But the Wiſdom of God does infinitely more exceed ours, than the Wif-
dom of any Father does that of his Child; we may be ſure, therefore, that
he knows better how to give good Gifts to us than we know how to do it
to our Children; we may be ſure that he underſtands better, even than we
our felves do, whether our Requeſts are fit to be granted. And therefore,
if we have not what we asked for, we may reaſonably conclude that we
were miſtaken in our Petition; and that what God does give us in anſwer
to our Prayers, is really better for us than that which we our felves did deſire.
Your Father knoweth what Things ye have need of, before ye ask him: So
our Saviour had told us, in the eighth Verſe of the foregoing Çhapter. If
therefore he had knowa that thoſe Things which we asked were needful
being our Father, he would not have denied them; and if he has
not given us what we asked, but ſomewhat elſe, we may be ſure that what
he
gave was more needful, more profitable for us, than what we would have
for us;
had.
III. Another Thing which I propoſed to conſider, in the Compariſon here
made
828
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
made by our Saviour between God and Men, is the Power of God, infi-
nitely ſuperior to the Power of any earthly Father, whereby he is able to
give to his Children every Thing which they want, which is morc, many
times, than earthly Fathers can do. And this is another very good Ground
of Aſſurance that if we ask, we ſhall receive; becauſe he is able to do for
us as much or more than we ask. If ye, ſays our Saviour, i. e. ye, who are
but Men ; ye, who are but of ſmall Power; ye, who have but little to give; yet
know how to give good Gifts unto your Children; i. e. are able nevertheleſs to
give neceſſary Food to your Children, how much more ſhall your Father which
is in Heaven, i. e. who is above all, who has all Power in his Hands, how
much more ſhall he give good Things to them that ask him?
For it cannot be ſuppoſed that a Father, if indeed he has the Affection of
a Father, ſhould refuſe to his Son any Thing that he needs, or does reaſon-
ably deſire, unleſs it be either becauſe he has it not to give, or becauſe he
cannot part with it without great Inconvenience to himſelf; and for one of
theſe Reaſons, a Son's Prayer to his earthly Father may be ſometimes with-
out Succeſs; he may beg even for Bread, and his Father may have none to
give him; or perhaps may not have ſufficient for himſelf; and though he
loves his Son well, yet may love himſelf better; or his Son may ask ſome
other Thing of him, which, though it be in his power to give, he could not
give, at leaſt not in ſo great a Meaſure as his Son deſires, without prejudi-
cing his other Children, for whom he has a like Affection, and too much lef-
ſening their Portion.
The Queſtion which was put by Eſau, to his Father Iſaac, when his Bro-
ther Jacob had come by Subtilty, and taken away his Bleſſing, Gen. xxvii.
38. Haſt thou but one Bleſſing, my Father? Bleſs me, even me alſo, O my
Father. This Queſtion, I ſay, and Petition, is what a great many Parents can
anſwer only in the negative; they had but one Bleſſing, and that they have
given away already. By their Kindneſs to one Son they may have diſabled
themſelves from doing the like, or indeed any conſiderable Kindneſs to an-
other Son, who had as much Reaſon to deſire and expect it from him.
But theſe can never be the Reaſons of our heavenly Father's not granting
our Petitions; for he, who has all Power in his Hands, can never want
Power to do us all the Good which we can deſire; and he, whoſe Riches
are infinite and boundleſs, can never want to give to any Perſon who asks him,
what he has already given to another; his Store is inexhauſtible, and how
much foever he gives to one, he has as much remaining as he had before,
to give to any other of his Children that makes the ſame Requeſt. To him
therefore, as to a conſtantly overflowing Fountain, we may at all Times go,
without Fear of ever returning back without quenching our Thirſt: To him
we may, in every Thing, i. e. in all our Wants or Diſtreſſes, by Prayer and
Supplication make known our Requeſts, and be ſure that if they ſhould not
be anſwered according to our Deſire, the Reaſon cannot be becauſe they
could not, but only becauſe they were not fit to be in ſuch Manner anſwered.
But,
IV. Laſtly; there is in the Compariſon here made by our Saviour be-
tween God and Men, another Difference taken Notice of, which renders
our Prayers to God much more hopeful, than the Prayers of any Son are,
or can be, to his earthly Father; and that is, in their Goodneſs, which is
not in all Men ſo great as it appears to be; which in the beſt Men of all
is limited and finite; but in God, is infinite and boundleſs, far beyond the
Goodneſs of the beſt Men, and the kindeft Fathers upon Earth: Upon which
Account he may juftly be preſumed more ready to do good to his Children,
than any earthly Fathers are. And it is this Difference that our Saviour in
the
Our Aſurance of the: Succeſs of our: Prayers
829
+
7
}
1
}
the Text ſeems to lay the grcateft Streſs upon. If ye; ſays'he; being evil, know
how to give good Gifts unto your Children; how much more pallcyoviy Fa-
ther which is in Heaven (who is:good; for this muſt be underſtood to be
implied, tho' it be not mentioned; how much more Niall your hcavenly Fa-
ther, who is good,) give good Things to them that.' ask · bim? i: e. If you
can and do reaſonably expect Good from thoſe who are: Evil, with much
greater Reaſon may you expect to receive. Good froin him who is good,
from him who is the Fountain of all Good, from him who is Goodneſs
it ſelf.
For this is the Truth of the Caſe : All Men are evil ; more or leſs, they
are all ſo; there is none good but one, that is, God, ſays our Saviour, Mat.
xix. 17. i. e. there is none perfectly and completely ſo; but only God. In
all Men there is a Mixture of Evil; nay comparatively with God, the An-
gels themſelves are not good, Job xy. 15. the lioly Angels are im-
pure, the Heavens are not clean, the Stars are not pure in his Sight,
Job xxy. s. and his Angels he chargeth with Folly, Job iv. 18. So we are
told in the Book of Job, Ch. xv. 14. What then is Man, that he should be
clean? And he that is born of a Woman, that he ſhould be righteous ? But
God is good; he is eſſentially ſo, and therefore he is always ſo. With him
there is no Variableneſs, nor ſo much as a Shadow of turning, as St. James
ſays, Ch. i, ver. 17.
All Men, even the beſt of Men, are cyil, in the ſame Senſe wherein the
Pſalmiſt ſays, All Men are Liars. In which Words it is not implicd that
there never is any Truth in Men, but only that they are not neceſſarily true and
faithful; that it is not impoſſible that every Man ſhould be a Liar, and thcre-
fore not improbable that a great many are ſo; and becauſe they may lye, we
cannot be certainly aſſured that they do not lye: We may be deceived, in
truſting in thoſe whom we think the moſt faithful. And ſo, I ſay here, all
earthly Parents are evil, altho' ſome of them do, in fact, love their Children
moſt dearly, and would not deny them any thing that is reaſonable; yet there
are ſome others, of whom this cannot be truly ſaid: And even they who are
good might have been otherwiſe; and there are few or none ſo perfectly
good, as to be clearly exempt from all Spice of Envy, or Malice, or vitious
Self-Love, which may be in ſome Degree prejudicial to the true Intereſt of
their Children. But God is all Love and Goodneſs; there is no Mixture of
Envy or Malice in him ; he truly deſires the Welfare of all his Children,
of all his Creatures ; his tender Mercy is over all his Works, and he can ne-
ver be ſo much as tempted to evil. If therefore from earthly Parents, ſuch
as they generally are, either evil, or at leaſt liable to be ſo, Children may
nevertheleſs, and generally do expect, to have their reaſonablc Petitions
granted, much more may we well expect the ſame from God, whoſe Good-
neſs is infinite, who is always as kind and gracious to all his Crcatures, as a
juſt and wiſe Being can be; and therefore this is made by St. James a good
Encouragement to us, to put up our Requeſts to him, with Aflúrance of Suc-
ccſs, Jam. i. s. If any of you lack Wiſdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all Men liberally
, and upbraideth not, and it ſhall be given him. Having
to deal with ſuch a tender, gracious, and compaſſionate Father, we may well,
as the Author to the Hebrews exhorts, Heb. iv. 13. come boldly unto the
Throne of Grace, that we may obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help in Time
of need.' We can have no Reaſon to fear that God will ever deny us any
Thing that is fit for us to ask, or for our Good to receive. For if ye, being
evil, know how to give good Gifts unto your Children, kow much more shall
your Father which is in Heaven, give good Things to them that ask him?
But this Argument, taken from the Confideration of the Knowledge, and
Power, and Goodneſs of God, and of that near Relation which as a Father
Vol. II.
hc
830
Our Aſſurance of the Succeſs of our Prayers.
he bears to us, tho' it be urged here by our Saviour to no other Purpoſe but
only to beger in us Faith and a good Aſſurance in Prayer, and a full Confi-
dence that the Promiſe he had made in the foregoing Words, ask, and ye
ſwall receive, ſhall be punctually fulfilled; might be urged to ſeveral other
good Purpoſes. And therefore, I hope, it will not be thought a Digreſſion
from the Text; or if it be a Digreſſion, I hope it may be an uſeful one; be-
fore I put an End to my Diſcourſe upon theſe Words, briefly to mention
three or four very common Caſes, wherein the Confideration of God's fa-
therly Relation to us, and of the greater Wiſdom, and Power, and Good-
neſs, that are in God our heavenly Father, than are in any Father upon Earth
(which muſt be granted to be true, or elſe it muſt be ſaid that our Saviour's
Argument in the Text is weak and faulty; wherein, I ſay, the Conſideration
of theſe Truths, which the Text ſuggeſts to us, and which I have in the fore-
going Diſcourſe laid before you) may ſerve to afford great Content and Com-
fort to our Minds, But I fear I ſhould be too tedious, if I ſhould do this
now; and therefore I ſhall defer it to another Opportunity.
plan
1
DIS-
831
7
DISCOURSE
LXXVII.
The Grounds of our Aſſurance of the
Succeſs of our Prayers.
1
O
MATTH. VII. 9, 10, II.
Or what Man is there of you, whom if his Son ask
Bread, will be give him a Stone ?
Or if he ask a Fiſh, will be give him a Serpent ?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good Gifts
unto your Children, how much more Thall
your
Fa-
ther which is in Heaven give good Things to them
that ask him?
UR Saviour in the two Verſes immediately foregoing, had
exhorted his Diſciples to earneſt and conſtant Prayer to God,
for all ſuch Things as they ſhould have Need of; and had al-
ſo encouraged the diligent Practice of that Duty, with a Pro-
miſe that their devout and importunate Prayers would certainly
be graciouſly heard and anſwered by God: Ask and it ſhall
be given you, ſeek and ye ſhall find, knock and it ſhall be opened unto you; for
every one that asketh receiveth, and he that ſeeketh findeth, and to him
that knocketh it ſhall be opened. And on this plain Promiſe we might ſafely
rely.
But ſuch is the great Goodneſs of God, that in Compliance with our
Weakneſs, to obviate all Scruples, and to remove from us all Doubting, he
many Times condeſcends to do ſuch Things as one would think were beneath
him to do, in order to give us the greateſt Aſſurance which is poſſible of his
Love and Kindneſs, and gracious Intentions towards us.
Thus the Author to the Hebrews obſerves, that becauſe a Promiſe confirmed
with an Oath was ordinarily reckoned among Men a greater Aſſurance than a
bare Promiſe only; therefore God, willing more abundantly to ſhew unto the
Heirs of Promifé the Immutability of his Counſel, confirmed it by an Oath;
that by two immutable Things in which it was impoſſible for God to lie, we
wright have a ſtrong Conſolation, who are fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the
Hope ſet before us.
I
And
832
The Grounds of our Aſurance
ز
And it is ſuch another Inſtance of the divine Condeſcenſion, tho'not juſt
in the ſame Kind, which we have in the Text; wherein our Saviour (as if
there might be ſome reaſonable Doubt made of the Truth of this bare Pro-
miſe) appeals to our own Reaſon, and, as it were, bids us to bc Judges our
owit ſelves, whether the Promiſe he had before made, had not been ſuch as
we might reaſonably expect ſhould be performed. For to encourage us to ask,
he had told us before, that if we ask, it ſhall be given us; and to give us Af-
ſurance of the Truth of this, he here ſhews, that what he had promiſed before
in the Name of God, was no more than may be looked (for, cven from a
good Man; and what a good Man, nay, what a Man that was evil would do
in a like Cafe, that, he ſays, it is highly unreaſonable to fear that God will
not do. For what Man is there of you, ſays our Saviour, who, if his Son
asks Bread, will be give him a Stone ? or, if he asks a Fiſh, will he give
him a Serpent ? If ye then being evil know how to give good Gifts unto your
Children, how much more:. Shall your Father which is in Heaven give good
Things to them that ask him?
The Force and Strength of which Argument conſiſts, as I have already
ſhewn, in a Compariſon made between God and Men, in fundry Reſpects;
every Word or Circumſtance of which Similitude adds ſomewhat to the
Strength of the Argument which is founded thercupon.
I. He makes a Compariſon between God and Men in the Relation where-
in God ſtands to us; as he is our Father. Now in thoſe who are Fathers up-
on Earth, we ſee there is always ſo much Love and Kindneſs to their Chil-
dren, that they readily. give them, when they ask it, any good Thing which
is in their power to give : God therefore having the ſame Relation to us; for
we are all his Offspring, as the Apoſtle fays; we may very reaſonably believe,
that he will as readily give us the good Things which we need, upon our ask-
ing thein, as an earthly Father gives the ſame to his Children.
2. He makes a Compariſon between God and Men, as to their knowledge,
which is infinitely greater in God than it is in Men. If therefore even a Man
knows what Things are good for his Child, and rcadily gives him thoſe
Things which he knows are good for him ; much more may we be ſure that
God knows what is good for every one of us, and is ready to do for us that
which is beft.
3. He makes a Compariſon between God and Men, as to their Power,
which in Men upon Earth is very ſmall, but in God our heavenly Father
is infinite and unlimited. If therefore Men, who are but of little Power, are
yet commonly able to ſupply the Needs of their Children, how much more
is God, whoſe Power is infinite, whoſe Riches are inexhauſtible?
4. Laſtly, He makes a Compariſon between God and Men, as to their
Goodneſs, which in God is far beyond the Goodneſs of the beſt Men, and
of the kindeſt Fathers upon Earth. Upon which account he may juſtly be
preſumed more ready to do Good to his Children than earthly Fathers are ;
If ye, ſays he, being evil, (for ſo the beſt Fathers upon Earth are, in Com-
pariſon with God; if ye being evil) know how to give good Gifts unto your
Children, how much more ſhall your Father which is in Heaven, (who is
Good, who is infinite in Goodneſs; how much more ſhall he) give good
Things to them that ask him?
But I have already obſerved, that this ſame Argument, taken from the Con-
fideration of the Knowledge, and Power, and Goodneſs of God, and of that
near Relation which, as our Father, hc bears to us, tho'it be urged here by
our Saviour, to no other Purpoſe, but only to begee in us Faith, and a good
Afſurance in Prayer, and a full Confidence that the Promiſe which he had
made in the foregoing Words, Ask, and ye ſhall receive, ſhall be punctually
fulfilled ; might alſo be urged to ſeveral other good Purpoſes.
I hope
1
I
the Succeſs of our Prayers.
833
1
I hope therefore it will not be thought a Digreſſion from the Text; or if
it be ſo thought, I hope however it may be reckoned an uſeful Digreſſion;
now, while I am diſcourſing on theſe Words, to mention briefly three or
four very common Caſes, wherein the Conſideration of God's fatherly Rela-
tion to us, and of the greater Wiſdom, Power and Goodneſs which are in
God, our hcavenly Father, than are in any Father upon Earth (which muſt
be granted to be true, or elſe it muſt be ſaid that our Saviour's Argument in
the Text is weak and faulty ; wherein, I ſay, the Conſideration of theſe
Truths which the Text ſuggeſts to us, and which I have in my former
Diſcourſe laid before you) may ſerye to afford great Content and Comfort
to our Minds.
This therefore is what I purpoſe now to do. And,
1. The Conſideration of theſe Truths, that God is infinitely wiſe, , and
powerful, and gracious, and bears a tender and fatherly Affection to us, may
Terve fully to aſſure us of the Falſity of the Doctrine of abſolute Reprobation;
whatever Arguments are urged for the Proof of it, or howſoever ſome few
Texts of Scripture, as they have been expounded, or rather wreſted, by ſome
Perſons, may ſeem to favour it.
For not to mention now thoſe many and plain Texts of Scripture which
are on the other Side; by the expreſs Words of which, or by plain Conſe.
quences from which, that Doctrine may be clearly refuted; which would in-
decd be too great a Digreſſion from the Text, and be alſo a Subject too large
to be handled in one Sermon; I would only deſire thoſe who are of that
Opinion, and are uneaſy in the Thoughts of it, as I think indeed they muſt
needs be, unleſs they are either very ſanguine, or very ſelf-conceited; I would
only deſire them, I ſay, to take into their ſerious Conſideration the Argument
urged in the Text by our Saviour, though indeed by him here to another
Purpoſe: For if the Ground of the Argument be true and good, it is as good
to one Purpoſe as to another. I would deſire therefore, I ſay, to know, what
Opinion they themſelves would have of an earthly Father who ſhould deal ſo
by his Children, as the Maintainers of that Doctrine do hold God deals by
the Race of Mankind, who are indeed all of them the Children of God by
their Creation, more than they are the Children of their earthly Parents by
Generation ; for in him, as the Apoſtle ſays, Aits xvii. 28. we live, and move,
and have our Being; for we are alſo his Offspring. What yould they think
of a Father, who before his Children were born, before they had done, or
were capable of doing, Good or Evil, ſhould peremptorily reſolve within
himſelf to deſtroy, or make away, ſuch a Proportion of them; a third, ſup-
poſe, or a fourth, or a fifth Part of them; or who, if he did ſuffer them to
live a while, ſhould reſolve however to take no manner of Care of them, to
caſt them out, and expoſe them naked and helpleſs; by which means they
ſhould as certainly periſh, as if they had been made away with at firſt, and
ſtrangled in the Birth : Would they think this Man a good Father? Would
they think he deſerved the Name of a Father? Would they not rather think
that he diveſted himſelf of all Humanity, and was indeed worſe than the
worſt of Brutes, tho' under the Shape of a Man ?
And yet this Cafe does by no means reach or come up to the other ; for
what Compariſon is there between Pain, and Hardſhip, or a temporal Death,
the only Evils this Father did, or could, expoſe his Children to; and the eter-
nal Torments of Hell, to which they who are reprobated are adjudged? And
I ſhall not need to tell you farther, that they who hold the abſolute Decree
of Reprobation, ſuppoſé a much greater Proportion of Mankind to be abfo-
lutely reprobated than a fifth, a fourth, or even a third Part; for they generally
ſuppoſe, that there is not above one in an hundred who is not ſo.
Vol. II.
Mm m
How
$
G
The Grounds of our Aſſurance of
834
How then can we think ſuch dealing of God with his Creatures conſiſtent
with that kind and loving Affection which we are told by our Saviour in the
Text he bcars to them? Certainly we may alter the Argument in the Text a
little; and yet with ſuch an Alteration it muſt be allowed to hold as good as
in the Caſe in which our Saviour here makes uſe of it. “ If ye, tho' ye be
“ evil, yet do not murther and deſtroy your Children ; do not take Delight
« in putting them to Grief and Pain ; do not reſolve beforehand, that, whe-
" ther they ſhall deferve well or ill at your Hands, you will ſo plague and
« torment them, that they ſhould much better not have been born ; much
« leſs can it be ſuppoſed that God, your heavenly Father, who is infi-
nitely kind and gracious, will deal in like manner with any of you ; and
“ much leſs ſtill, with moſt of you ; and that he does ſo order Things by a
peremptory and unconditionate Decree, (a Decree grounded only on his own
“ Will and Pleaſure, not made with any Regard to your future Behaviour:)
« that after the utmoſt you can do to pleaſe him, it ſhould yet go as hard
“ with you, as if you had done all you could to provoke him.”
Fear not then that there is any ſuch abſolute and unconditionate Decree
for the Reprobation of the greateſt Part of Mankind, or indeed of ſo much
as one ſingle Perſon of the whole Race of Men ; ſince you cannot believe
ſuch a Decree, and yet believe at the ſame Time, that God is a kind, loving
and gracious Father to all his Creatures: For you cannot, I think, I'm ſure I
cannot believe, that he is kind, loving and gracious to thoſe whom he rc-
probates, who yet, as being created by him, were his Children no leſs than
others; who were, plainly, more truly and properly his Children, than any
Man is the Child of his earthly Father. Fear not then but that as he is in-
deed your Father, ſo he is alſo kind and loving, and bears a true fatherly Af-
fection to you: Fear not that he will ever diſinherit you, and caſt you off,
if you are careful and diligent to pleaſe him. And much leſs ſhall you need
to fear that he has done this already, before he ſo much as began to make
Trial of
you;
that he reprobated you to eternal Death, before he had given
you Life. Believe what the wiſe Hebrew ſays, Wiſd. xi. 24, that God loveth
all Things that are, and abhorreth nothing that he hath made ; for he proves
it by a good Argument, for never would be have made any Thing if he had
hated it : Or, if you will not believe him, becauſe an Apocryphal Writer,
believe St. Paul, who tells you to the fame Purpoſe, i Tim. ii. 4. that God
would have all Men to be ſaved. Believe St. Peter, who tells you, 2 Pet.
iii. 9. that God is not willing that any ſhould periſh. At leaſt, if you will
not believe them, believe God himſelf, ſaying as he does, Ezek. xviii. 32. I
have no Pleaſure in the Death of him that dieth, ſaith the Lord God; be-
lieve him, at leaſt, when he does not only declare it, but alſo confirms his
Declaration by an Oath; to the Intent, as the Author to the Hebrews ſays
in a like Cafe, that by two immutable Things, in which it is impoſſible for
God to lye, we might have ſtrong Conſolation : Believe him, I ſay, confirm-
ing this gracious Declaration by an Oath, as he does, Ezek. xxxiii. 11. As I
live, faith the Lord God, I have no Pleaſure in the Death of the Wicked;
but that the Wicked turn from his Way, and live. There is not, I am confi-
dent, any one Place of Scripture, affirming that the Judgment which God
will paſs upon. Men at the laſt Day, is grounded upon his own abſolute and
unconditionate Decree, made concerning them before they were born; but
the whole Tenor of the Scripture is of another Strain ; viz. that God will
render to every Man according to his Works; and that when we ſhall all ap-
pear before the Judgment Seat of Chriſt, every Man Mall receive the Things
done in his Body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
*
But
(
the Succeſs of our Prayers.
835
Sin;
1
1
But this, it may be you will ſay, affords but little Comfort to us; for if
this be indecd true, that at the great Day of Reckoning, every Man ſhall re-
ceive according as his Works have been, it will be even as bad with the
greateſt Part of. Mankind, as if they had been reprobated by an eternal Decree,
made without any Conſideration at all of their Behaviour; for there is not,
as the Scripture tells us, a juſt Man upon Earth, that doeth Good and ſinneth
not; there is none that can ſay, I have made my Heart clean, I am pure from
my ſo that if God jould be extreme to mark what is done amiſs, none
could ſtand before him.
And this indeed is true ; it muſt be granted, that if God ſhould enter into
ſtrict Judgment with us, no Man living could be juſtified in his Sight, as the
Pſalmiſt ſays: But then I ſay, that the Conſideration of the Argument here
urged by our Saviour in the Text, to aſſure us of God's Readineſs to hear
our Prayers, affords us alſo very good Conſolation in this Cafe. And this is
another good Purpoſe for which it may ſerve : Namely,
2. To bear us up under thoſe manifold Infirmities which the beſt of us all,
after all the Care we can take, do find our ſelyes every Day liable to. And
ſurely it muſt needs afford us very great Confolation in this Caſe, to conſider,
that we have to do, not with a rigorous Judge, but with a moſt gracious and
compaſſionate Father; for being our Father, we may be confident that he
bears a fatherly Affection to us; and conſequently, that, as the Pſalmiſt ar-
gues, Pſal. ciii. 13, 14. Like as a Father pitieth his Children, fo the Lord
pitieth them that fear him; for he knoweth our Frame, he remembreth that
we are Duſt.
For what Father upon Earth is there who does not conſider the Age and
Strength of his Children, ſo as to require nothing more of them than they
are able to do? What earthly Father is there, who if his Son ſhews a good
Will to obey him in all Things, does not accept of the Will for the Deed,
in thoſe Inſtances wherein he knows his Son had not Power and Strength to
do what he was bidden? What Father is there, who chaſtifes, as great Faults,
the childiſh Miſtakes and Follies of his Children, when, conſidering their
Ignorance and Infirmity, it could not be reaſonably expected that they ſhould
do better than they do? Who is there who does not make reaſonable Al-
lowances for the Infancy and Weakneſs of his Children, and is not content
that, while they are in their Childhood, they ſhould underſtand as Children,
and think as Children, and ſpeak as Children, and do as Children: If then
God be our Father, and bears a fatherly Affection to us, as we are aſſured
in the Text he does; for it is from this Principle that our Saviour argues ;
we may be aſſured that he alſo will judge of us, and deal with us, no otherwiſe
than as a Father would do. I do not mean, as ſome fooliſh and over-indul-
gent Fathers do, who are ſo fond of their Children as to ſpoil them ; but as
a kind, and yet withal a wiſe Father would do; who truly deſires the Welfare
of his Children, and takes wiſe and juſt Methods to promote it. If he be
our Father, we may be aſſured, as the Prophet Malachi ſays, Mal. iii. 17. that
he will Spare us, as a Man (pareth his own Son that ſerveth him; eſpeci-
ally, being alſo aſſured that he is a very tender and compaſſionate Father, we
may be confident that tho' in Juſtice he might, yet his Goodneſs is ſuch that
he will not be extreme to mark what is done amiſs; but that he will conſider
our Frailty, and have Compaſſion on our Infirmities: And if there be a wil-
ling Mind, and an honeſt and obedient Heart, will accept of ſuch Service as
we can give, tho' it be not ſo much nor ſo good as he ought to have.
So that this Conſideration, tho' it gives no juſt Encouragement to ſuch as
ſin thro' Wilfulneſs and Preſumption ; for the beſt Father may ſeverely chal-
tiſe an undutiful Son, in order to amend him; nay, and he may alſo, if he
finds him obſtinate and incorrigible, diſinherit him for his Diſobedience;
and
if
836
The Grounds of our Aſſurance of
if he be a wiſe Man he muſt do ſo, to preſerve his Authority from Con-
tempt, and by the Terror of that Example to keep his other Children in a
dutiful Subječtion to him. This Conſideration then, I ſay, tho' it gives no
Encouragement to ſuch, yet does indeed yield great and ſtrong Conſolation to
thoſe who offend only thro? Ignorance or Weakneſs, and not of malicious
Wickedneſs. For their Father being their Judge, they may be ſure they ſhall
find him as merciful to them as he can be with Julice and Truth ; they may
conſequently be well aſſured, that they ſhall not be condemned by him their
heavenly Father, for ſuch Over-lights, Slips, and Infirmities, as they them-
ſelves would paſs by, and pardon, in their own Children; and alſo, thar for
their other greater Faults, if they heartily repent of them, they ſhall find
him, their heavenly Father, as ready to forgive them, as they themſelves
would be to forgive the like Faults in their own Children, returning to their
Obedience, and begging their Forgiveneſs.
3. This fame Conſideration, that God is our Father, may likewiſe ſerve to
comfort us, and to bear up our Spirits under all the Afflictions and Adverſities
of this mortal Life.
And great Need indeed we have of ſomewhat to comfort us, and to fup-
port our Spirits, while we are going thro' this Vale of Miſery. For Man is
born unto Trouble, as the Sparks fly upwards, as we are told, Job v.7. And
the Truth of this Saying we every one of us find and feel, every Day we live,
by our own ſad Experience. The real Trouble and Vexation of human Life
is indeed very great; but then the fearful Conſideration of what Trouble we
do and muſt undergo in this Life adds not a little to it, and makes us com-
monly paſs our Days here more ſorrowfully than otherwiſe we ſhould need
to do.
But the Reaſon of all our Uneaſineſs under what we either fear or feel, is
becauſe we do not conſider wiſely of the Matter ; we look upon the Troubles
we undergo here only as our unhappy Lot or Deſtiny, and do not, as we
ought to do, conſider the Hand of God therein : If we did, we ſhould ſoon
ſee Reaſon to be contented with our Lot, and ſhould be mightily comforted
under all our Labours and Afflictions. For Affliétion does not come forth out
of the Duſt, neither does Trouble Spring out of the Ground; but there is a
directing Hand of Providence in every Thing which befalls us ; and he who
orders our Lot, and puts us into that Condition which we are in, whatever it
be, is, as we are aſſured in the Text, our Father; our gracious and merciful
Father, who has more Kindneſs for us than our earthly Parents have. We
may be ſure therefore, that he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the Chil-
dren of Men; we may be ſure that thoſe Affiliations which befall us, are more
for our Good, than an uninterrupted State of Eaſe and Pleaſure would be.
And this Argument is very well urged, by the Author to the Hebrews, to
this Purpoſe, in Heb. xii. s, &c. My Son, deſpiſe not thou the Chaſtening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord lov-
eth he chaſteneth, and ſcourgeth every Son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
Chaftening, God dealeth with you as with Sons ; for what Son is he whom the
Father chaſteneth not? But if ye be without Chaſtening, whereof all are Par-
takers, then are ye Baſtards and not Sons. Farthermore, we have had Fa-
thers of our Fleſh which corrected us, and we gave them Reverence, fall
we not much rather be in Subjection to the Father of Spirits, and live? For
they verily for a few Days chaſtened us after their own Pleaſure, but he
for our Profit, that we might be Partakers of his Holineſs. Now no Chaften.
ing for the preſent ſeemeth to be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheleſs afterwards
it yieldeth the peaceable Fruit of Righteouſneſs unto them which are exer.
ciſed thereby. Well may we bear with Patience, and Submiſſion to the
Will of God, all the Adverſities of this mortal Life, if we believe, as the
Truth
1
5
*
the Succeſs of our Prayers.
837
Truth is, that they are ordered to us by the Diſpoſition of a wiſc and gracious
Father; who means Good to us in all he does, and knows what is for our
Good much better than we do: So that theſe light Afflictions which are
int for a Moment, ſhall certainly, unleſs it be thro' our own Fault, work for ,
us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory. But,
4. Laſtly, There is nothing in this World ſo apt to diſquiet Men, as Care-
fulneſs and Concern about their Children ; eſpecially in caſe their own Cir-
cumſtances and Condition in the World are ſo ſtreight and low, that not only
they have no Proſpect of making a future Proviſion for their Children, but
alſo have ſcarcely wherewithal to find them in Neceſſaries even at preſent.
Nay, ſo great and ſo affiliating is the Concern of ſome Parents about this Mat-
ter, that the melancholy Conſideration of the Want and Neceſlity which their
Children are likely to be in, after they ſhall be gone out of the World, breaks
their Strength, and impairs their Health, and haſtens their Death, and ſo by a
natural Efficacy brings thoſe Evils upon their Children which they feared,
much ſooner than otherwiſe, according to the natural Courſe of Things, they
would have happened to them.
But the Argument here urged by our Saviour, viz. that God is a kind and
loving Father to us all, and that we may reaſonably expect from him, what-
ever we might expect, or indeed much more than we could expeet, even from
the kindeſt Father upon Earth, affords an excellent and ſovereign Remedy for
this Evil alſo; a Remedy which is ſpecifick, which has a peculiar Fitneſs and
Propriety to cure Men of ſuch Fears, and to give them Eaſe under ſuch Ap-
prehenſions. For conſider, I pray,
Your Children indeed are yours, you were the Means and Inſtruments, un-
der God, of bringing them into this Life ; and for that Reaſon, if you have
Power in your Hands, it is your Duty, as well as a natural Expreſlion of fa-
therly Affection to your Children, not only to give them a preſent Mainte-
nance while you live, but alſo to provide, as well as you can, for their future
Subſiſtence, after you ſhall be taken from them ; if not by lcaving them ſome-
what to live upon, at leaſt by brecding them up to ſome honeſt Employment,
whereby they may be enabled to get their own Living. And therefore the
Apoſtle ſays truly, 1 Tim. v. 8. that if any Man provide not for his own, he
hath denied the Faith, and is worſe than an Infidel: And in 2 Cor. xii. 14.
he teaches, that Parents ought to lay up for their Children ; i. e. if they can
do it; if they have any Overplus remaining after the preſent neceſſary Charges
of maintaining themſelves and their Families are defrayed.
But then you are withal to conſider, that your Children are not only yours,
but God's allo; they are his Children more truly and properly than they are
yours; never fear then, but if God has not put it into your power to make
ſuch Proviſion for them as you would deſire, he will take Care to provide
for them as well ſome other Way: For he has a nearer Relation to them than
you your ſelyes have; and he has all Power in his Hands, and can do them
as much Good as he pleaſes, and in that Way which is beſt for them, If
therefore you who are evil, would nevertheleſs give, if you had to give, to
your Children whatſoever was neceſſary for thems never fear, but that God,
who is good, who is infinitely good, who is good unto all, and whoſe tender
Mercies are over all his Works, will much rather do the ſame. He will not,
it may be, put them into a State of ſo great Plenty of all worldly Goods as
you could wiſh; and yet this perhaps he may do;
we fec Inſtances every
Day, of
great Eſtates raiſed from nothing, and the Children of the Poor living
in all Plenty and Abundance, while at the ſame Time many who had great
Eftates left them do come to ſuffer Want. But if God ſhould not deal thus
by your Children ; which tho' it may be, yet is not a Thing to be expected
or depended upon; he may deal better by them, for it may be better for them
Vol. II.
Nnn
nor
838
The Grounds of our Aſurance, &c.
not to be rich and great: And you have no Reaſon to doubt, but that hc, who
Bcars them as true a Love as you can do, will do for thenr that which is beft.
Your only Care therefore is ; and the chief Care indeed it is, or ought to
be, of all Parents, but yours it is moſt eſpecially, who can do nothing clſe
for your Children ; to breed them up well, in the Fear of God, in the Prac-
tice of Religion, and in Temperance and Sobriety; for by this you will give
them a double Title to God's Bleſſing; one, as they are his Children by Crca-
tion, and another, as they will be then his Children by Adoption and Grace,
and by a near Reſemblance to him their heavenly Father in all his innitable
Perfections. Let it be your Care and Buſineſs then, to make your Children
ſuch as the Promiſes both of this Life and of the next are made to, and then
never fear but that God will make good his Promiſes to them; and that if
they ſhall be careful and diligent to ſeek firſt the Kingdom of God and his
Righteouſneſs, all theſe Things, i.e. all Things neceſſary for this Life, Mall be
added unto them. Let it be your Care, as it is your Duty, to bring them ip
in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord, and in the Fear of his holy Name;
and by this you will make a better Proviſion for them, than you could do by
leaving them a great Eſtate. For they, who love God, will be loved by God, ,
and there is no Want to them who love and fear him, Pſal. xxxiv. 9. 10. The
young Lions do lack and ſuffer Hunger, but they that ſeek the Lord ſhall not
want any good Thing. The Lord is a Light and a Shield; the Lord will
give Grace and Glory, and no good Thing Mall he with hold from them that
walk uprightly. Pfal. lxxxiv. 11. For if ye, being evil, know how to give good
Gifts unto your Children, how much more ſhall jour Father which is in Hea
ven, give good Things to them that ask him?
I ſhall conclude all with the Collect for the Day.
Let thy merciful Ears, O Lord, be open to the Prayers of thy humble Ser-
vants; and that they may obtain their Petitions, make them to ask fuch Things
as ſhall pleaſe thee, thro' Jeſus Chriſt our Lord. To whom, &c.
$
DIS-
839
DISCOURSE LXXVIII:
1
.
}
To do, as you would be done unto,
explained and recommended.
*
MATTH. VII. Í 2.
Therefore all Things whatſoever ye would that Men
ſhould do to you, do ye even go to them ; for this is
the Law and the Prophets
.
ز
.
.
HE Word therefore, at the Beginning of the Verſe, inti.
mates ſome Connexion between theſe Words, and thoſe
immediately foregoing ; altho yet the ſubject Matter here
treated of be not only not the ſame, but of a quite dif-
ferent Sort and Kind, from what had been treated of juſt
before. For there, in the five foregoing Verſes, the Sub-
ject was Prayer to God; here, it is Fuſtice and Equity in
our Dealings with Men.
Nevertheleſs the Connexion may eaſily enough be made out. For after
our Saviour had exhorted to Prayer, at the ſeventh and eighth Verſes, he,
in the three Verſes immediately foregoing the Text, had argued the Readi-
neſs of God to anſwer our Prayers, from that Readineſs which is obſerved
in all carthly Parents to grant the reaſonable Requeſts of their Children: If
ye being evil know how to give good Gifts unto your Children, how much
more ſhall your Father which is in Heaven, give good Things to them that
esk him? The Ground of which Argument is this, that all God's Diſpenſa-
tions are agreeable to Reaſon; that he always does that himſelf, which he
approves of when done by others in the like Cafes. It being therefore his
Will and Commandment, and what he likes well of, that Parents ſhould
love their Children, and provide for and maintain them in fuch manner as
they are able, and not deny their reaſonable Requeſts; it inay be ſurely de-
pended upon, that he, who is our heavenly Father, will expreſs his fatherly
Affection to us his Children in the fame Manner. How much more ſhall
your Father which is in Heaven give good Things to them, i.e. to his Chil-
dren, that ask himn?
And then it follows; therefore all Things whatſoever ye would that Men
should do to you, do ye even go to them ; ;. e. fince this is God's Method of
dealing with his Creatures, it ought alſo to be yours in dealing with one
another:
ܪ
*
2. Sec
840
To do as one would be done unto
another: As he always does that to them, which he judges fit for them,
being in the like Circumſtances or Relations, to do to others; ſo ſhould you,
what you judge fit that others, who are in ſuch Circumſtances or ſo related to
you, ſhould do to you ; that you, being in the like Circumſtances, or in the
ſame Manner related to others, ſhould do to them. Your Judgment in one
Caſe ſhould be the Rule of your Practice in the other; the Caſes being really
the ſame.
And what an excellent and comprehenſive Rule this is, we are taught in the
laſt Clauſe of the Text; this is the Law and the Prophets. That is, this one
Direction is equivalent to all the Precepts' of the ſecond Table: It comprc-
hends in it all the particular Rules which are any where given by Moſes, or the
Prophets, for the Regulation of your Behaviour towards, and Dealings with,
one another: So that if ye do but obſerve well this one Rule, and be but care-
ful in all Things to do to others as ye would they ſhould do to you; as you will
nced no other Rule for your Direction, ſo neither will you be wanting to
any Obligation which you lie under to other Men. This one general Rule,
well remembred, rightly underſtood, and wiſely applied, will ſerve inſtead of
all the particular Directions which ever have been, or which can be, given to
Men, to inſtruct them in their Ducy towards one another. All Things what-
ſoever ye would that Men ſhould do to yout, do yè'even fo to them; for this is
the Law and the Prophets.
In diſcourſing on which Words I ſhall do thicſe three Things.
I. I ſhall cxplain the Rule, and ſhew how it is to be uſed and applied.
II. I ſhall ſhew the manifold Uſefulneſs of having this Rule always in our
Mind, and ready at hand for our Direction. And,
III. Laſtly, I ſhall endeavour to perſuade you, in all your Negotiations with
one another, always to act according to this Rule; to da to others, as ye would
they ſhould do to you.
i
I. I ſhall explain the Rule, and ſhew how it is to be uſed and applied. What-
foever ye would that Men ſhould do unto you, do ye even fo to them.
And the only Difficulty is in the Word, would; whatſoever ye would,
Ilévia coa ãy olarte, which may be underſtood in a laxer, or in a more reſtrain-
ed Senſe. 1. It may be underſtood in a laxer Senſe; as if it had been ſaid,
whatſoever ye would wiſh or deſire might be done to you by others; or, 2. in
a more reſtrained Senſe, taking the Will here ſpoken of, not for the Will of the
Affections, but for the Will of the Judgment or Approbation ; as if it had been
ſaid, whatſoever, when done by others to you, you approve of in your Judg-
ment, and think was done well
, rightly, and as it ought to be; that do ye alſo
to others.
And a little Conſideration of the Matter will be ſufficient to thew,
in which of theſe two Senſes we are to underſtand the Word, would, in this
Place. For,
1. Taking the Word here in the laxer Senſe, and underſtanding by the
Ilanpix, or Jianois, the Will here ſpoken of, the Will of the Affections, and
by the Thing willed, what we ſhould wiſh or deſire might be done to us,
with-
out regard to the Fitneſs or Reaſonableneſs of the Thing it ſelf; it is evident
that the Rule ſo underſtood, as if it had been ſaid, whatſoever ye would wiſh
or deſire might be done to you, do ye even fo to others, would be ſo far from be-
ing an excellent Rule of Juſtice or Charity, that, on the contrary, it would in
ſome Caſes be the greateſt Obſtruction to Juſtice, and tend to the manifeſt per-
verting thereof; and, in other Caſes, inſtead of true Charity and Bounty,
would produce an unreaſonable and ridiculous Profuſeneſs and Prodigality. A
few Inſtances will make this very plain.
What
explained and recommended.
841
;
What Criminal is there, who being brought to his Trial, does not wiſh he
may come off by an Acquittal? Would not every Man upon the Jury, nay
would not even the Judge himſelf, if he was in the Criminal's Cafe, wiſh that
it might be his Fortune, by the Overſight or Favour of the Court, to eſcape be-
ing found guilty ? If therefore a Man's fond Wiſhes to himſelf, are to be the
Rule of his Dealings with others, the Jury, "how well foever the Indictment
againſt any Criminal be proved, are not to find him guilty, and the Judge is not
to condemn him; or if the Matter ſhould be carried ſo far, yer then the Jay-
lor or the Executioner ſhould willingly ſuffer an Eſcape ; for that they them-
ſelves would moſt certainly deſire, if ever it fhould be their own Fortune to
be condemned. The Rule, therefore, thus underſtood, would in Effect be fub.
verſive of all Government, and obſtructive to all Juſtice among Men.
.
Nor would it be leſs deſtructive to Property. For what poor Man is thero
who would not be glad that his rich Neighbour would divide his Eftate be-
tween them; and more glad ſtill if he would give all to him? The rich
Man therefore (if this would have been his own extravagant Wiſh, had it
been his Lot to be poor) is bound to comply with the like Deſire of his
poor Neighbour, at leaſt ſo far as to put him into as good a Condition as
himſelf.
And the Abſurdities in Practice which the Rule ſo underſtood would drive
us to, with Regard to the Relations wherein we ſtand to one another, are not
leſs than thoſe already mentioned.
For what Father is there, who, when he was a Child, did not wiſh to
have his own Will in every Thing, and to be free from Correction? Or wliat
Servant who would not deſire a place with good Wages, and little or no
Work? If therefore a Man is to do to others, what he, in ſuch a Relation,
would wiſh might be done to himſelf; the Father is bound to leave his Son
to his own Liberty, and never to check or correct him for any Fault; and
the Maſter to permit his Servants to do as much or as little of his work as
they pleaſe.
ca
And many more ſuch Caſes might be put, whereby it would clearly ap-
pear that this Rule (given, without Doubt, to preſerve Peace, Juſtice, and
good Order in the World) being ſo miſunderſtood, would effectually obſtruct
all Juſtice, ſubvert all Laws, deſtroy all good Diſcipline, and put all Things in-
to Confuſion and Diſorder.
2. It remains then, ſecondly, that we underſtand the Word, would, here,
in the other more limited and reſtrained Senſe before-mentioned, (taking the
Will here ſpoken of, not for the Will of the Affections ; but for the Will of
the Judgment, or Approbation ;) as if it had been ſaid, whatfoever when done,
or to be done, by others to you, you approve of in your.-Judgment, and think
was, or will be, done well, rightly, as it ought to be'; that do ye alfo to
others.
And the Rule thus underſtood, is indeed an excellent and moſt comprehen-
five Direction of our whole Behaviour towards others; and whatever Café
we apply it to, whether it be a Caſe of Juſtice, or of Equity, or of Charity,
or of any Relation wherein we ſtand to one another; no ſuch Abſurdities or
Inconveniences will follow from it, as were thoſe before-mentioned.
The Judge will not then think himſelf bound to acquit a Criminal, altho', if
he himſelf were ſuch, he would, be ſure, deſire to be acquitted ; becauſe he
will be ſenſible that ſuch Deſire would be unreaſonable, and not fit to be
granted'; much leſs to be claimed as a Due or Right. For what Reaſon can
be given that a Judge, in Favour to a Criminal, ſhould pervert the Laws,
obftruct the Courſe of Juſtice, be 'falſe to the Truſt repoſed in him, and be-
come perjured by the Breach of his Judge's Oath?
-.
Vol. II.
Ooo
Then
842
To do as one would be done unto
Then alſo a rich Man needs not think himſelf obliged to give away his
Eſtate, or the greateſt Part thereof to others, making them rich by making
himſelf poor; for he will readily ſee, that however the poor may deſire this,
they can't reaſonably delire it. But what they may reaſonably
deſire, as being
really their Due, by the Appointment of God, the great Proprietor of all
Things, is, that having nothing of their own, and being not able to ſupply
themſelyes with the Neceſſaries of Life, the ſame may be ſupply'd to them
out of the Superfluities of the rich: this he himſelf, if he was a poor Man,
would think others bound in Duty to do for him; and therefore this ſame, he,
being rich, or having more than he has need to uſe upon himſelf, will think
himſelf bound to do for them that are in Want.
Then likewiſe a Father, altho' he well remembers that while he was a
Son, he liked beſt to be under no Reſtraints, yer will not think himſelf
bound to allow his Son a lawleſs Liberty ; becauſe his Reaſon will tell him,
that if his Father had done ſo by him, however it might then have been
moſt pleaſing to him, it would not have been ſo much for his true Good,
as it was to be kept under wiſe Diſcipline.
And then, laſtly, a Maſter, although, if he himſelf was a Seryant, he
would, no doubt, be glad enough to be kept to do nothing; yet will not
think himſelf obliged to keep Servants upon thoſe Terms; becauſe ſuch De-
fire, in a Servant, is manifeſtly unreaſonable and extravagant.
But if at laſt this ſo much celebrated Rule; whatſoever ye would that
Men should do to you, do ye even fo to them, means nothing more but only
that we ſhould do to others, as we our ſelves, if we were in their Cafe,
might juſtly and reaſonably deſire that others, who were in ſuch Cafe as we
are now in, ſhould do to us; where, you will ſay perhaps, is the great Ex-
cellency and Uſefulneſs of this Rule above others? Or what is there more
in it, than as if it had been plainly ſaid, See that ye do to all Men, in all
Caſes; whatſoever is juſt and reaſonable?
I anſiver; there is indeed nothing more in it. That is indeed the true
Meaning of the Rule, and it preſcribes nothing elſe, but only that we
ſhould be fair, juſt, and equal in all our Déalings. So that if we only re-
gard the ſubject Matter of this Law, and what is the general End and De-
fign of it, it muſt be granted that there is nothing new, nothing extraordi-
nary, nothing more excellent in this, than there is in any other general Pre-
cept commanding the conſtant Exerciſe of Juſtice and Charity.
But then, whereas, if the Rule had been ſo expreſſed, See that ye
do
to all Men, in all Caſes, what is juſt and reaſonable ; : we might ſtill
, in
many Caſes, have been at a Loſs to know, what was juſt and reaſonable :
Tlie Rule, as it is here expreſſed, whatſoever ye would that Men ſhould do
to you, do ye even fo to them, ſerves to enlighten our Underſtanding, as
well as to command our Will; and inſtructs us, in all particular Caſes to
which we apply it, what is juſt, equal and reaſonable ; or how we ought to
behave our ſelves in all Caſes, ſo as not to tranſgreſs any of the particular
Rules of Juſtice or Equity.
For Men are generally very dim and dark ſighted in ſeeing the rightful
Claims of other Men againſt them; and, on the contrary; as clear and quick
ſighted in diſcerning their own rightful Claims againſt others. Ask any
Man how another ought to deal by him, and he will readily tell you, this
or that he ought to do; or this or that he ought not to do. This is there.
fore what this Rule does, if it be rightly uſed and applied; it makes us
as clear fighted in another Man's Caſe as we are in our own, by di-
recting us for a while to change Places with him, and to put or ſuppoſe
our ſelves in his Circumſtances, and him in ours. For while we do this
(while we are ſuppoſing him in ſuch Circumſtances as we our ſelyes are really
ing
explained and recommended.
843
1
in, and our ſelves in ſuch as he is in) our Self-love will readily ſuggeſt to
us and informn us, what he ought to do for us; how he ought to denican
himſelf towards us : and when we think we have clearly diſcerned what his
Duty is, or would be, in thoſe Circumſtances; we have then nothing more
to do, but to take our own Place again, and to do to him (who really is
in thoſe Circumſtances wherein we had juſt before ſuppoſed our ſelves)
thoſe very Things which we, while we had ſuppoſed our ſelves in thoſe
Circumſtances, had judged were fit and reaſonable to be done to us.
It is almoſt incredible what a great Light this imaginary Change of Places
and Circumſtances with another for a ſhort while will diffuſe into our Under-
ſtandings; what Abundance of Duties it will ſuddenly ſuggeſt and bring into
our Minds, which otherwiſe we ſhould never have thought of; and alſo what
a mighty Alteration it will make in our fudgments; and how very juſt and
reaſonable it will make many of thoſe Offices to our Neighbour appear to
be, which before that we did not ſo much as think it our Duty to performi
to him at all.
This, I ſay, is the admirable Fulneſs, and the peculiar Excellency of this
Rule, above any other general Rule of Duty which we meet with even in the
holy Scripture it ſelf; that it not only commands the Diſcharge of all the
Duties of Juſtice and Charity to our Neighbour, but likewiſe ſhews lis
what thoſe Duties are. By bidding us to change Places for a while with
our Neighbour, in our Fancy and Iinagination only, it cnables any Man
who will be at any Pains to conſider Things, to teach himſelf his own
Duty, and to diſcern readily (without the Help of a Guide, or the Inſtructi-
on of Books; which he may not have Leiſure or Opportunity to conſult)
how he ought to behave himſelf to all others, in what Circumſtances ſo-
ever they are, or what Relation ſoever they bear to him. For let him
but only ſuppoſe himſelf in the Circumſtances of thoſe other Perſons whom
he has to deal with, and then conſider what Things he ſhould expect, and
think he had Reaſon to expect from them, if they were in the Condition
which he is in; and thoſe very Things it is now his Duty to yield or to
perform to them. And this leads me to the ſecond Thing propouiided;
which was,
II. To ſhew the manifold Uſefulneſs of having this Ruld always in our
Mind, and ready at Hand for our Direction.
For to learn our whole Duty from particular Précepts, expreſſing every
Caſe that can happen, and all the Relations (with every Circumſtance
thereof) which we can be in, is impoſlible ; becauſe ſuch particular Rules
are not to be found, neither in the holy Scripture, nor in all the practical
or cafüiſtical Books which have been written; or if they were, yet it would
be an endleſs Work, and a very great Conſumption of Time, to be obliged
to have Recourſe to Books for our ſpecial Direction in every Point of Be-
haviour or Dealing with others. But in every ſuch Point, it is an eaſy
Matter for a Man to imagine himſelf in the Condition and Circumſtances
of the Perſon he has to deal with, and then to ask himſelf what Things
he ſhould then expect as due from others, or what Ufage from others he ſhould
then complain of as injurious; his own Anſwer to which Queſtions will be
then his Rule of Behaviour towards them.
For (which is a farther Commendation of this Rule) it is of univerſal Ex-
tent; it binds both to negative and affirmative Duties; it reaches both what
we are to do, and what we are not to do; to do what we ſhould think reaſon-
able to be done to us; and not to do what we ſhould complain of as a Wrong
if it were done to us.
;
--
There
844
To do as one would be done unto
ز
There is alſo no Caſe of Conſcience of any kind, reſpecting the Duties
of Men towards cach other, which may not readily be reſolved by a due
Application of this Rulc thereto. Particularly it is applicable to, and readi-
ly teaches us our Duty in all Cafes of Juſtice, in all Caſes of Mercy and
Charity, and in every Relation which we arc, or can be in towards other
Men.
1. I ſay, it reaches all Caſes of Juſtice between Man and Man; and
not only commands, but likewiſe inſtructs us in all ſuch Caſes, what is juſt
and cqual. So that if Men would but ſincerely examine, and order all their
Adions, by this Rule, there would be no Deccit or Injuſtice among Men;
nor would they cver want any other Rule to regulate their A&ions by.
Did Men but make Conſcience of living by this Rule, the Seller would
not take Advantage of thc Ignorance of the Buyer, in putting upon him
nought or damaged Goods, or demanding of him an immoderate Price ;
becauſe his own Conſcience would tell him, that if he were a Buyer, and
another ſliould take ſuch Advantage of his Ignorance, he ſhould, with Rea-
fon, complain and cry out, that he was cheated : Nor, on the other ſide,
would the Buyer make an Advantage of the Neceſſity of the Seller, and
becauſe he obſerved him in Difficulties for preſent Money, (cither to buy
Ncccffaries, or to ſatisfy the Importunity of his Crcditors,) refuſe to give
him that Price for his Goods, which yet he himſelf ſhould otherwiſe have
thought them richly worth, and very well bought at; for he will conſider,
that if the Seller's Cafe had been his own, he ſhould not have thought his
own Neceflity a good Reaſon why another ſhould refuſe to give him the
Market Price for his Goods; but rather why he ſhould be willing to give him
the beſt Price for them.
Were this Rule duly obſerved, the Borrower would reckon himſelf ſtrictly
bound to be as careful of the Goods lent him as if they were his own,
and to reſtore them in due Time; becauſe he will know that when he
lends, he expects the Borrower ſhould be careful; and complains that he
is unworthily dealt with, if either his Goods be not reſtored, or not in
Time, or not in ſuch good Condition as with careful Uſage they would
have been in; and the Lender, on the other ſide, would not exact unrea-
ſonably for the Loan of his Goods, or Money; becauſe he knows that if
hc himſelf were forced to borrow, he ſhould account and call that Man an un-
juſt Extortioner who ſhould do ſo by him.
Were this Rule well remembred and obſerved, there would be no need
of ever binding Men in Obligations, or ſuing them at the Law, to perform
their Bargains, or execute their Truſts ; becauſc whoever ſtrikes a Bargain,
or accepts a Truſt, cannot but know what he ſhould account another Man,
who, having made a fair Bargain with him, ſhould then refuſe to ſtand to
it; or, who, having accepted a Truſt for his Uſe, ſhould neglect to perform
it. And therefore ſhould he himſelf do the ſame, he muſt be convicted and
condemned by his own Conſcience.
In fine, (for to run through all Particulars would be endleſs,) who is there
that does not call that Man a Knave, or an unjuſt Perſon, who robs him,
who cheats him, who keeps from him his own, or who any ways abuſes
him in Word or Deed? Every Man has a quick Senſe of the Wrongs done
to himſelf; and is ready to make Complaints to all he meets with of the
Injuries and Abuſes which have been put upon him. If therefore he would
but make another Man's Caſe his own, he would have the ſame quick and
lively Senſe of the Injuries which are done to another; and ſo would not
be more ſtrongly influenced, by his own Self-love, to proper Injuries from
himſelf, than he would by the plain Dictates of his Conſcience, be reſtrained
from doing any Sort of Wrong or Injuſtice to his Neighbour,
2
2. This
explained and recommended.
845
do
2. This Rule, what foever ye would that Men ſhould do unto you, ye
even ſo to them, reaches likewiſe all Caſes of Mercy and Charity; and a
Man who is govern'd by it in all his Actions, can no more be failing in the
Offices of Kindneſs, than in the Offices of Juſtice.
And that it was deſigned by our Saviour for a Rule and Direction of
Charity, as well as of Juſtice, is evident from his preſcribing this very
Rule, in Luke vi. 31. immediately ſubſequent to, and as farther enforcing,
two Precepts of Charity, which he had given in the Vcrſe juſt before.
And it is indeed a moſt excellent Direction of Charity, ſuch as being duly
attended to would make all others needleſs; and effcctually ſecure the Exer-
ciſe of Charity in every Caſe which could happen.
Let but a Man imagine himſelf in the Condition of that poor Perſon
who craves Relief of him ; and then ſet himſelf to conſider what Relief
he ſhould, as he thinks, in reaſon expect from thoſe who were able to give
it; and at the ſame Time he will ſee what Relief he ought in Reaſon to
afford to the Perſon who now craves it of him. For Reaſon obliges all
Men alike; and, being in the ſame Circumſtances, it obliges them to the
fame Things: So that what I ſhould judge another Man oblig'd to, who was
in ſuch Circumſtances as I am, that ſame Thing I muſt judge my ſelf, being in-
deed in thoſe very Circumſtances, obliged to do. Let but a Man therefore, I ſay,
reflect, what Judgment he himſelf, if he was a poor Man, ſhould paſs upon
another who was in good Circumſtances, who ſecing him almoſt ready to
periſh with Hunger, or Thirſt, or Cold, ſhould deny him a Morſel of
Bread, or a Cup of Drink, or a caſt-off Garment: Let him but conſider
how cruel and hard-hearted he ſhould think that Perſon, who ſhould refuſe
to preſerve his Life, when he might do it without any ſenſible Loſs, or
Diminution of his own Eftate; and then he muſt judge himſelf to be the
like cruel and hard-hearted Man, if he denies ſuch a cheap and eaſy Suc-
cour to another, when he is well able to give it, and the other does greatly
want it. Thus, I ſay, his imaginary Suppoſal of himſelf in the Condition
of the poor Man who begs his Charity, will at the ſame Time both, direct
him in the Nature and Meaſure of his Bounty.; and alſo convince him of the
Obligation he is under, to extend it to his indigent or diſtreſſed Neighbour.
And the like Influence and Effect it will have in all other Caſes of Mer-
cy and Compaſſion; it will both teach us how, and alſo make us ready and
willing, to comfort the forrowful and afflicted, to aſſiſt and defend the
weak, to deliver the oppreſſed, to right the injured, and the like: Becauſe
ſuppoſing our ſelves in ſuch circumſtances, we muſt quickly be ſenſible,
both how we our felves ſhould deſire to be ſuccoured and relieyed; and
alſo how hard we ſhould think it, to be denied ſuch Succour and Relief
as we ſtood in Need of.
But above all, the Conſideration of what we ſhould and do deſire for
our ſelves, will readily diſpoſe us to forgive the Injuries which are done, us,
and the Treſpaſſes which are committed againſt us by others. For to induce
us to this, we need not, as in the former Caſes, argue upon an imaginary
Suppoſition, or putting of our felves into the Condition of the Perſon who
has trèſpaſſed againſt us; ſeeing his: Condition : is really and truly our own;
if not with regard to Men, at leaſt with regard to God, againſt whom our
Sins and Offences have been innumerable; and yet we hope in his , Mercy
that he will pardon them all to uss upon our: Repentance. - How then can
we deny this ſame Favour to another, to a Man like our felves, and whoſe
Treſpaffes againſt us. are, in Compariſon, but few in Numbers and thoſe too
very ſmall and inconſiderable.? How, I fay;" can we refuſe to forgive our
Brother, who confeſſes his Fault and earneſtly begs our Pardon, thoſe Of
fences which he has.committed againſt us;, and yet be.ſo unreaſonable, as
Vol. II.
in
.
PPP
10
846
To do as one would be done unto
to expect, that God ſhould forgive us our infinitely more and greater
Of-
fences committed againſt him What can be more reaſonable in this Caſe,
than that as we would it ſhould be done unto us, we ſhould fo do unto
others? That we ſhould as readily forgive thoſe who have offended us, as
we our ſelves do hope and expect Forgiveneſs of our own Offences at God's
Hands?
And if we refuſe to yield to this equal Condition, how juſtly may we ex-
peet thar Sentence which was paſſed upon the wicked Servant in the Goſpel,
Matth. xviii. 34. who, when he had been frankly forgiven by his Lord a
great Debt of ten thouſand Talents, went immediately, and took by the
Throat and caſt into Priſon his Fellow Servant, who owed him but an hun-
dred Pence, i.e. not above the fix hundred thouſandth Part of the great
Debt
which had been juſt before forgiven him ; and who did not refuſe the Pay-
ment of that neither, but only deſired Time for it. Of which bafe Dealing
with his Fellow Servant, when his Lord was made acquainted, it is ſaid, that he
was wroth, and immediately revoking his former Act of Grace, delivered
him over to the Tormentors, till he ſhould pay all that was due unto him.
And ſo likewiſe, ſays our Saviour, at the thirty fifth Verſe of that Chapter,
fall my heavenly Father do alſo unto you, if ye from your Hearts forgive not
every one his Brother their Treſpaſſes.
3. Laſtly, As this Rule reaches all Caſes of Juſtice and Charity, ſo does it
likewiſe all Relations wherein Men ſtand to one another. And it is indeed
alone ſufficient to teach us all the Duties of all thoſe ſeveral Relations where-
in we are, or can be, to others.
Thus, if the Father would know his Duty, and how he ought to behave
himſelf towards his Son, he ſhall not need to read many Books to be informed:
He ſhall only need to call to mind, what Kindneſſes or Expreſſions of Love,
he himſelf, when he was a Son, expected from his own Father; and what
A&ions of his Father towards him, he not only then thought, but ſtill thinks,
were too rigorous and fevere, and not conſiſtent with that natural Affection
which a good Father ſhould bear to his Son: And let him but now practiſe
thoſe, and avoid there, and he will be ſuch a Father to his Son as he
ſhould be.
In like manner, if the Son would know his Duty to his Father, he ſhall
need but only to conſider, what Duty and Reſpect he himſelf, when he ſhall
come to be a Father, ſhall expect from his own Children: And let him but
now be as good a Son to his Father in every reſpect, as dutiful, as ſubmiſ-
five, as tender of his Father's Welfare, and as ready and willing to ſuccour
him, as he hopes his own Children will hereafter be to him; and then he
will be ſuch a Son as he ought to be.
The Maſter likewiſe would eaſily diſcern what is his Duty towards his Ser-
vants, if he would but for a while ſuppoſe himſelf to be a Servant, and then
ſit down and conſider, what Uſage he himſelf, if he were in that Condition,
ſhould think he might reaſonably expect from his Maſter; and what Uſage
from him he ſhould complain of, as hard, unjuſt or tyrannical.
And the Servant, in like manner, would need no other Rule but this, to
direct him how he ought to behave himſelf to his Maſter: For let him but
only be as diligent, as induſtrious, and as faithful in his Maſter's Service, now
while he is a Servant, as he can hope, or expect, or in Reaſon deſire, that
his own Servants ſhould be in his, when he comes to be a Mafter, and then
he will be indeed a very good Servant.
And the like might eaſily be ſhewn in all the other Relations wherein Men
ſtand to one another. They have nothing more to do, in order to know the
Duty of that Relation which they are in, but only to put themſelves for a
while, by a Suppoſal, in the Place of the Perſons whom they are related to;
I
and
explained and recommended.
847
and then to conſider, what Duties, or Services, they ſhould then expect from
others; by which they will readily ſee, what Duties or Services they are, which
they now owe to them. And if they do but govern themſelves always by
this Rule, doing to others as they themſelves would reaſonably deſire to be
done unto, if they were in the other's Cafe; they will effectually be led to,
and ſecured in the Practice of whatſoever is juſt and reaſonable, in their whole
Behaviour towards all thoſe who are any ways related to them.
And now having explained the Meaning of this general Rule of Behavi-
our towards others ; whatſoever ye would that Men should do unto you, do
ye even foto them; and having alſo ſhewn the manifold Uſefulneſs thereof;
and the Advantage of having it always in our Mind; nothing more remains
to be done, but only, in the third and laſt Place,
1. The
III. To endeavour, in a few Words, to perſuade you all, in all your Buſi-
neſs and Negotiations with one another, always to live and act according to
this Rule; to do as you would be done unto. To perſuade you to which,
I ſhall offer to your Conſideration theſe three Things: 1. The great Rea-
ſonableneſs and Equality of this Law. 2. That the Obſervation of it, in all
our Dealings is the only Means of obtaining and preſerving Peace in our
own Minds. And, 3. That upon our Obſervation of it depends likewiſe our
Hope of Happineſs in the other World.
great Reaſonableneſs and Equality of this Law, would alone be ſuf-
ficient to oblige us to the Obſervance of it; altho' we had nothing elſe to en-
gage us thereto.
It is indeed a Law, which carries its own Light and Reaſon along with it;
and which no Man can poſſibly make any Exception to, or Objection againſt.
For all Men, as Men, are upon equal Terms, and have the ſame Right to be
dealt fairly and honeſtly with; and that is the only Deſign of this Law, the
ſame with that of other Laws, viz. to oblige us to deal fairly and honeſtly
with all thoſe whom we have any Dealings with: What is peculiar in it is,
that it conſtitutes us our ſelves Judges of what is fair and honeſt ; but then,
that we might be fair and impartial Judges, it diveſts us for a while of Self.
And nothing can be more reaſonable than that is; for it is agreed by all, that
no Man ought to be a Judge in his own Cauſe; it is generally prefumed
that in ſuch Caſe his Self-Love would ſo blind his Eyes, that he would not be
able to judge impartially: But now, having laid aſide Self, and having put
our felves for a while into the Condition and Circumſtances of the Perſon
we have Dealings with; he, for that while, becomes our Self; we conſe-
quently, for that while, are as much inclined on his Side, as we were before
on our own; and being equally byafſed on both sides, it is as if we had
been byaſſed on neither Side; we, as it were a third Perfon, judge, as it
were between two Selfs, which is all one as if we judged between two
Strangers ; it may therefore well be ſuppoſed, that we judge as impartially as
another third Perſon would do.
In a Word, this Rule both commands us to give our Neighbour his Due;
and it alſo puts us into a Method of readily diſcerning, and rightly judging,
what is his Due. Now inaſmuch as it commands us to give him what is really
his Due, it is manifeſtly a juſt and reaſonable Law; for it is fit that every
Man ſhould have his Due. And it is no leſs evidently a juſt and reaſonable
Law, as to the Method which it takes to inſtruct and teach us what is our
Neighbour's Due; for the Method which it takes is, by ordering us to conſider
the Circumſtances and Relations of Men, abftractedly from their Perſons ;
which is plainly right; for to the mere Perſon of a Man there is nothing
due, or if there be, the ſame muſt be equally due to all that are alike human
Perſons : So that if there be any Thing due to one Man, which is not due
to
848
To do as one would be done unto
ز
to another, it muſt be upon the Account of his proper Circumſtances, or ſpe-
cial Relations to others. And if the Duty, which is owing to any Man, re-
ſults only from his Circumſtances or Rclations, the ſame Duty muſt needs be
equally owing to all which are in the fame Circumſtances, or the ſame Rela-
lations. If therefore (for Example) I, ſuppoſing my ſelf a Magiſtrate, and
conſidering ny ſelf as ſuch, do judge ſuch and ſuch Duties to be, upon
that Account, owing to me from my Subjects, I muſt at the ſame Time
judge that the very fame Duties are owing to all Magiſtrates ; and then,
in Cafe I my ſelf am really a Subject, I muſt conclude, that I owe, and am
obliged to diſcharge, the fame Offices which I before thought were due to
all Magiſtrates, to thoſc Magiſtrates in particular whom Providence has plac'd
in Authority over me. Or_again, if conſidering my ſelf as a Father, I
judge, that to me, becauſe a Father, ſuch and ſuch Duties are owing from
my Children ; I muſt likewiſe judge, that the ſame Duties are owing from
all Children to their Fathers; and therefore, ſeeing I was a Father only in Suppo-
fition, but am really and truly a Son, I muſt needs judge that I owe the ſame
Duties to my own Father, which I had juſt before judged were due to all
Fathers : And the like in other Caſes. And therefore, when upon conſider-
ing my ſelf as in the Circumſtances or Relation of the Perſon I am dealing
with, I have determined in my own Judgment, that to a Perſon in ſuch
Circumſtances or Relations ſuch and ſuch Offices are due; if afterwards I
my ſelf neglect to perform thoſe Offices to them who are in ſuch Circum-
ſtances, or ſo related to me, I can't but judge that I act unreaſonably, and muſt
needs be condemned by my own Conſcience. Which leads me to the next
Argument, whereby I propos'd to perſuade to the ſtricteſt Obſervation of this
Rulc, of doing as you would be done unto ; viz.
2. That the Obſervation of this Rule in all our Dealings with others is
the only Means of obtaining and preſerving Peace in our own Minds. For
if what I have done to my Neighbour be what if he being in my Place,
and I in his he had done to me, I ſhould have complained of as hard
and unjuſt; I cannot but at the ſame Time paſs the ſame Judgment on
my own Dealing with him : He, in the Circumſtances he is in, having
plainly a rightful Claim to the ſame Uſage which I ſhould have had a
Right to, kad I been in thoſe Circumſtances. So that though it be an eaſy
matter, when we have done a hard or unjuſt Thing to another, to make
ſuch an handſome Apology in the Excuſe of it, and ſo to repreſent our
Caſe to the World, as to avoid the Cenſure and Condemnation of other
People; yet we ſhall never be able to avoid condemning our ſelves, unleſs
our Actions be ſuch as may be juſtified by this Rule; and it is better a
Tan ſhould be condemned by all the World beſides, than by his own
Conſcience only. For if our Heart condemn us not, then have we Confi-
dence towards God, 1 John iii. 21. and having Peace with our ſelves and
with God, we may defy and flight all the Cenſures and Reproaches of
Men: But if our own Heart reproaches us, if our own Conſcience con-
demns' us, we can have no Hope in either God or our felves; and the
good Word of others can be but a forry Comfort to us, when at the ſame
Time we muſt know that we do not deſerve it. And all the Pleaſures and
Enjoyments of Senſe, if they be the Fruits of ill-gotten Wealth, can ne-
ver yield us any true or ſolid Content, ſo long as we are not ſatisfied from
our ſelves; and that it is impoſſible we ſhould be, when the Means where-
by we have acquired what we have, have been ſuch as, even we our felves
being füdgeswe muſt and ſhould have condemned in any other Perſon.
3. Laſtly... as the Comfort of this preſent Life depends upon our living by
this Rule, , ſo does likewiſe our Hope of that which is to come. For if
our Heart : condemn us, God is greater than our Heart, and knoweth all
Things,
I
explained and recommended.
849
ز
Things, 1 John iii. 20. So that however we may eſcape the Judgment of
Men, for any foul or unjuſt Dealing, by falſely repreſenting our Caſe to
shem, we cannot poſſibly eſcape the Judgment of God. And the Judg-
ment of God (that Judgment which he has already told us he will paſs
spon us) is this; that if we do not deal with others, as we ſhould in Juſtice
expect, or in Rcafon deſire, they ſhould deal with us, God himſelf will ſo
deal with us, as we deal with them. Thus the holy Pſalmiſt declares God's
Proceedings with Men; Pſal. xviii. 24, 25, 26. The Lord hath recompenſed
me according to my Righteouſneſs; according to the Cleanneſs of my Hands
in his Eye-ſight. With the Merciful thou wilt ſhew thy ſelf merciful;
with an upright Man thou wilt ſhew thy ſelf upright; with the pure thou
wilt ſhew thy ſelf pure ; and then it follows, with the froward thou wilt
shew thy felf froward. Which laſt Clauſe, nevertheleſs, we are not ſo to
underſtand, as if God would deal unjuſtly with thoſe, who deal unjuſtly with
others : No, far be from us ſuch a Thought as this concerning God : Shall
not the Judge of all the Earth do Right? Gen. xviii. 25. God will not
therefore, I ſay, be unjuſt to thoſe who have been unjuſt to others; but
(which in Effect is all one) he will be juſt to them ; that is, he will ſhew
them no Favour; he will deal ftri&ly with them according to their Deſerv-
ings; he will make them no Allowances nor Abatements; and then they
are as ſure to be condemned to the eternal Torments of Hell, as if they
were there already. And thus God has plainly declared he will deal with
them; Matth. vi. 15. If ye forgive not Men their Treſpaſſes, neither will
your Father forgive your Treſpaſſes. James ii. 13. He ſhall have Judgment
without Mercy that hath jewed no Mercy. And more generally, and in
ſuch Words as will reach all Caſes, whether of Injuſtice, or Uncharitableneſs,
Matth. vii. 2. With what Judgment ye judge, ye ſhall be judged; and with
what Meaſure ye mete, it mall be meaſured to you again.
I ſhall conclude all with briefly obſerving, as a plain Corollary or Inference
from what hath been ſaid, the very great Reaſonableneſs and Eaſineſs of all
thoſe Laws, whether of Juſtice, or of Mercy, which God has commanded
us to obſerve in our Dealings with others. For the Sum of them all (as I
have already noted, and as our Saviour himſelf alſo affirms in the Text) is
this, that we ſhould do, as we would be done unto. What ſoever ye would
that Men ſhould do unto you, do ye even fo to them: For this, ſays our Sa-
viour, is the Law and the Prophets. That is, this is all which is any
where commanded by God; all the Commandments of the ſecond Table
are reducible to this one Rule; all the Duties which you owe to your
Neighbour are comprehended in this ſingle Precept; as ye would that Men
ſhould do unto you, do ye even fo to them,
Now we all allow it to be a very mild, cafy, and gentle Government, ✓
where the Subjects are permitted to make Laws for themſelves ; or where
nothing is impoſed upon them by Law, but what they themſelves conſent
to as reaſonable. This we reckon the peculiar Happineſs of our Britiſh
Conſtitution ; that we are ſubject to no Laws but ſuch as being made in
Parliament are therein conſented to by thoſe whom we chuſe to repreſent
us there; i. e. by our ſelves : And by this we diſtinguiſh between a limited
and an abſolute, between an eaſy and a tyrannical Government. That is a
limited,
a moderate, and an eaſy Government, where the Subjects themſelves
are, in Part, Legiſlators; and that is an abſolute, arbitrary, and tyrannical
Government, where the Prince's ſole Will is the Law; and the People are
all bound to do according to their King's Pleafure, tho' it be not agreeable to
their own Judgment.
Hence therefore you ſee plainly the Eaſineſs of the divine Government,
and the Equity of thoſe Laws, which God has given us to direct our Car-
Vol. II.
099
riage
850
To do as one would be done unto, &c.
riage and Behaviour towards one another.
another. For God might, if he had
pleaſed, by his own ſingle Authority and abſolute Power have given us Rules
of Behaviour; and if he had done ſo, we had been bound to obſerve them.
But to ſhew the Gentleneſs and Eafineſs of his Government he has not donc
this; he has given us no Laws but what we our ſelves approve of ; or rather,
he has left it to us to frame and draw out Laws for our ſelvcs, and is pleaſed
to ratify thoſe Laws which we our ſelves make.
For this is plainly the Caſe, as to the Matter I have been diſcourſing of.
Indeed the very Relations which Men bear to, and the Dealings which they
have with each other, do neceſſarily import fome Duties owing from one to
the other; for there can be no Relation without a Duty belonging to it,
nor any Dealing with another which is not directed by ſome Law; bur
then what my Duty is to my Neighbour, with regard to the Relation which
I bear to him, or the Dealing which I have with him, is by this Rule of our
Saviour, left to me my ſelf to determine: Only I muſt put, or ſuppoſe my
ſelf in his Condition, and him in mine; and then I muſt ask my ſelf, how I
think he ought to behave himſelf towards me; and the Anſwer which my
own Reaſon teaches me to make this Queſtion, is the Law by which I am
to govern my ſelf in my dealing with him.
Now can any Thing be fairer can any Thing be more equal, more mild,
more gentle, than this is ; that it ſhould be left to me to preſcribe Rules to
my ſelf, and to ſet out my own Duty?
Certainly then, if we will not fubmit to this gentle Government; if we
will not be ſubject to theſe Laws, which our own Reaſon preſcribes to us,
we deſerve no Pity or Favour from God, nor can we in Reaſon expect any,
And if we are but ſubject only to theſe Laws of our own making, and ſtrict-
ly obſerve them in our Practice, we ſhall not be wanting in any Duty to-
wards our Neighbour. For this is all which is required of us by God, to
do as we would be done unto, and not to do that to another, which we
would not have done unto us. Whatſoever ye would that Men ſhould do to
you,
do ye even fo to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three Per.
fons and one God, be given, as is moſt due, all Honour, Glory and Praiſe,
now and for ever. Amen.
Serena
mo
DIS:
851
DISCOURSE LXXIX.
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
DOBRE
DS
BBW
MATTH. VII. 13, 14.
Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate ; for wide is the
Gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to De-
ſtruction, and many there be which go in thereat. .
Becauſe ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way
which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that
find it.
3
UR Saviour begins now to draw towards a Concluſion of his
famous Sermon upon the Mount. Having therefore, in the
foregoing Part of it, bound his Diſciples to ftri&er Duty in
ſeveral Inſtances than Men had been obliged to before, either
by the Law of Nature, or the Law of Moſes, it was very
proper for him, before he concluded it, to ſay ſomewhat to
encourage them to undertake the Duty he had before laid upon them, and
to remove that Backwardneſs and Unwillingneſs which they might have to it.
And tho' there are indeed ſeveral other Impediments of a godly and Chriſ
tian Life, yet there are two cſpecially which ſeem to be of the greateſt Force ;
one is the Conſideration of the great Difficulty of a good Life in it ſelf, that
the Chriſtian Inſtitution binds upon us ſeveral heavy Burdens and grievous to
be born; the other is, the Singularity of it, that if a Man ſhould lead his
Life in ſuch exact Strictneſs as the Goſpel enjoins, he would be like No-body,
and for want of Company would hardly be able to keep himſelf in Counte-
Theſe two great Impediments therefore of a ſtrict and holy Life our Savi-
our here removes; and he does it, not by denying that the Caſe is indeed, in
great meaſure, ſuch as it is ſuppoſed or objected to be; that is, he does not
deny that the Way of ſtrict Virtue and Godlineſs is indeed both ſtrair and dif-
ficult
, and likewiſe ſolitary and loneſome; he rather grants that it is ſo: But
then he ſhews that neither of theſe Reaſons ought to diſcourage us from gn-
ing into it; becauſe that other Way, which ſeems to Men to be the moſt
pleaſant, and which has the moſt Company it, leads at laſt to Death and De.
ſtruction. Whereas this Way, which is indeed, as well as it is thought to be,
more ſtrait and rugged, and which for that Reaſon, very few, in Compariſon,
can be perſuaded to enter into, and keep ſteady in, leads at laſt to Life and
Happinels i
nance.
1
852
The Difficulties of a godly Life.
Happineſs; and that there is no other way which leads thither but this. Est-
ter ye in at the ſtrait Gate; for wide is the Gate, and broad is the Way
that leadeth to Deſtruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Ben
cauſe ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way which leadeth unto Life, and
few there be that find it.
There needs to be very little ſaid for the Explication of the Words of the
Text ; becauſe, tho' the Expreſſions of it are all metaphorical, yet the Meta-
phor is ſo very often uſed in Scripture, and is ſo eaſy to be underſtood, that
the Senſe of the Text can no more bc .doubted or miſtaken than if it had
been expreſſed in the plaineſt Words.
For by the two Ways and Gates here ſpoken of, it is very obvious to un-
derſtand two different ſorts of Life and Converſation, a good Life, and a
wicked Life; one of which, viz. a good Life, will be rewarded with eternal
Happineſs in Heaven; and the other of which, viz. a wicked Life, will be
puniſhed with the eternal Torments of Hell: The former therefore here cal-
Icd, the Gate and Way leading to Life, the latter, the Gate and Way leading
to Deſtruction.
And if it be ſuppoſed that our Saviour meant ſomewhat different by the
Gate, from what he meant by the Way, it might probably be this: By the
Gate, he might mean the firſt Beginning of, or Entrance upon, any Courſe of
Life, good or bad ; and by the Way, he might mean the Continuance in the
ſame Courſe or Method of Living.
And when he ſays, that the Gate is ſtrait, and the Way narrow which lead
to Life, and that there are few that find them, the Meaning of theſe Ex-
preſſions, taken out of the Metaphor, is plainly this ; that there are ſuch Dif.
ficulties and Impediments in a Courſe of Atrict Virtue and Godlineſs, that
very few can be perſuaded to begin it, and that ſeveral after they have begun,
have not Heart or Courage enough to continue in it. And when hc ſays, on
the other Side, that the Gate is wide, and the Way broad that lead to Deſtruc-
tion, and that there are many that go in thereat ; the Meaning is, that there
are ſo many Temptations to Sin, and that the Practice of it promiſes ſo much
Pleaſure and Delight to Men, that the greateſt Part of the World are there-
by deluded, ſo that they freely allow themſelves in a wicked Courſe, without
conſidering what will be the Fruit of it at the laſt: Their Minds are ſo taken
up with the Thoughts of the preſent Pleaſure of Sin, that they never think fe-
riouſly of the miſerable End it will bring them to.
From the Words thus explained, I ſhall take Occaſion to do theſe two
Things.
I. I ſhall conſider, what Ground there is for the Objection which is here in-
timated to lie againſt the Practice of thoſe Duties which the Chriſtian Inſtitu-
tion lays upon us; or how far it is true, and muſt be granted, that the Way of
Virtue and Godlineſs is ſtrait and loneſome ; ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow
is the Way, and few there be that find it : And on the other Side, how far
it is true, and muſt likewiſe be granted, that the Way of Vice and Wicked-
neſs is wide and pleaſant, and very full of Company ; wide is the Gate, and
broad is the Way, and many there be which go in thereat. And, ,
II. I ſhall ſhew, that conſidering the different Ends to which theſe two
Ways do lead at the laſt, the ſtrait Way to Life, and the broad Way to De-
ſtruction; neither is the Straitneſs and Loneſomeneſs of that a reaſonable
Diſcouragement to us from going in it; neither is the Broadneſs of this, and
the good Store of Company which we ſhall meet with in it, a reaſonable In-
ducement to us to go in this: But that ſtill it is our Intereſt, as well as our
Dury, and what, if we are wiſe, we ſhall chuſe to do, to enter in at that
Gate, and to go in that Way which leads to Life, tho' they be ſtrait, and
narro
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
853
narrow, and loneſome; and to avoid the Gate and Way which lead to De
ſtruction, though they be wide and broad, and much more frequented than
the other are. Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate, &c.
I. I ſhall conſider, what Ground there is for that Objection which is inti-
mated in the Text to lic againſt the Practice of thoſe Duties which the Chri-
ſtian Inſtitution lays upon us; or, how far it is true and muſt be granted,
that the Way of Virtue and Godlineſs is ſtreight and loneſome; ſtrait is
the Gate and narrow is the Waya--and few there be that find it ; and on
the other ſide, how far it is true, and muſt likewiſe be granted, that the
Way of Vice and Wickedneſs is wide and pleaſant, and very full of Com-
pany; wide is the Gate, and broad is the Wayand many there be which
go in thereat.
For, firſt, whereas it is ſaid here, that the Way of Virtue and Godlineſs
is ſtreight and narrow, St. John tells us, on the other ſide, 1 John v. 3. that
God's Commandments are not grievous ; and the Wiſe-man had ſaid before,
Prov. iii. 17. Her Ways, that is, the Ways of Wiſdom, of Virtue and Re-
ligion, are Ways of Pleaſantneſs; and our Saviour himſelf tells us, Matth.
xi. 30. that his Yoke is eaſy, and his Burthen light.
And, ſecondly, whereas it is here farther ſaid, that the Way of Vice and
Wickedneſs is wide and pleaſant, the Wiſe-man ſeems to ſay quite other-
wiſe, Prov. xxii. s. Thorns and Snares are in the Way of the froward ;
and Prov. xv. 19. The Way of the Nothful, that is, of the Man who will
not be at the Pains to be good, is as an Hedge of Thorns, but the Way of the
righteous is made plain.
And, laſtly, whereas it is ſaid here, that there are many which go in at the
wide Gate which leads to Deſtruction, and but few who find the narrow Way
to Life; our Saviour ſays, on the other ſide, Matth. viii. 11. that many
ſhall come from the Eaſt, and from the Weſt, and from the North, and from
the South, and ſhall ſit down with Abraham, and Iſaac, and Jacob : And in
Revel. vii. 9. where the Number of the faithful Servants of God who had
received his Mark in their Foreheads is ſpoken of it; is ſaid that they were a
great Multitude which no Man could number, of all Nations, and Kindreds,
and People, and Tongues.
Now if theſe Texts of Scripture are not contradictory the one to the other,
as it is certain they are not, the whole Scripture being given by Inſpiration of
the ſame Spirit of Truth; they muſt, that they may be reconcild, be inter-
preted and qualified, the one by the other.
So that conſequently, firſt; when it is here ſaid, that the Gate and Way
leading to Life are ſtrait and narrow, it is not to be underſtood that they
are ſo very ſtreight and narrow that there's no going through them at all;
that is, that the Condition which God has required of us is impoflible, that
the Rules which our Chriſtianity binds us to obſerve are impracticable.
This indeed is what ſome ſeem to apprehend, and for which Reaſon
they never ſet themſelves to do what they can, preſuming that all which
they could be able to do would not be ſufficient; a Miſtake no leſs danger-
ous than it is falſe. For though there are indeed ſeveral Difficulties and
Diſcouragements in the Way which leads to Life; yet they are no other
than ſuch as a great many in all Ages have undertaken and happily over-
come : They are therefore no other than ſuch as we alſo may maſter by
the Help of a good Reſolution, and a hearty Endeavour ; not indeed by our
own Strength and Power, but by Grace and Strength deriy'd from God, who
is always ready to aſſiſt our ſincere Endeavours.
Vol. II.
Rre
Confider-
854
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
Conſidering therefore that the Rules and Precepts of the Goſpel, though
they bind us indeed to ſeveral Duties which are croſs to our carnal Appe-
tites and Deſires; yet do not bind us to any Thing but what is juſt, and
fitting and reaſonable ; ſo that they are not the arbitrary Laws of an impe-
rious Governor, but ſuch Laws as we our ſelves muſt needs approve of,
and allow were fitting to be enacted; it might truly be ſaid by the Apoſtle,
that the Commandments of God are not grievous.
Conſidering alſo the Aſſiſtance which is given us by the Grace of God,
to bear that Burden which he lays upon us, and that Peace and Satisfaction
of Mind, that Foy in the Holy Ghoſt, which does conſtantly attend a Con-
Science void of Offence ; it might be no leſs truly ſaid by the Wiſe-man, her
Ways are Ways of Pleaſantneſs; and by our Saviour, my Toke is eaſy and
my Burthen is light.
And ſo likewiſe, ſecondly; when it is here ſaid, that the Gate and Way
leading to Deſtruction are wide and broad, it was not hereby meant, that the
Practice of Sin does always yield to Men that Pleaſure and Satisfaction
which it promiſes; it was not meant, that the Way of Sin is fo very ſmooth
and eaſy, that there are no Rubs nor Hindrances at all in it, and that no pre-
fent Evil or Inconvenience does ever attend it: For, on the contrary, Sin
is ſeldom ſo ſweet in the Mouth as it is bitter in the Belly; it promiſes
much Pleaſure, but it affords little, and it is cloſely attended with Shame
and Remorſe, and very often is the Cauſe of Infamy, Poverty, Sickneſs,
and an untimely Death. The Way of Sin therefore, though it may in
ſome other Reſpects be ſaid to be wide and broad, ſmooth and pleaſant ;
for ſo it appears to be to thoſe who are entering into it, and this tempts
them to take it ; yet is not ſo very free from Trouble and Perplexity, but
that it might, with good Reaſon enough, be likened, by the Wiſe-man, to a
Hedge of Thorns, which, when a Man is got into, he can neither continue nor
lie down in with Eaſe, nor yet get out of it without being ſcratch'd and torn.
And ſo likewiſe, thirdly; when it is ſaid here, that there are but few
who find the Way to Life, and that there are many who go in at the Gate,
and walk in the Way which leads to Death and Deſtruction ; it is not
meant, that the Number of good and virtuous Men who travel in the Way
to Life, is in it ſelf very ſmall and inconfiderable, ſo that a Man who en-
ters into this Way ſhall be in Danger of being quite alone : But only that
their Number is ſmall in compariſon with the greater Number of thoſe, who
chuſe the broad Way to Deſtruction. But they who are few comparatively
with a greater Number, may yet be a great many, conſidered by themſelves.
And that ſuch the Number of good Men is, who go on ſteadily in the
Way of Piery and Virtue, and do obtain at laſt the End of their Faith,
even the Salvation of their Souls, is what we are told in the Places before
cited, where it is ſaid, that many fall come from all Quarters of the World,
and ſit down with Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob, in the Kingdom of God
and that the faithful Servants of God are a great multitude which no Man
can number.
It is
plain therefore by what has been already ſaid, that the Expreſſions
uſed in the Text, concerning the Straitneſs of the Gate, and the Narrow-
neſs of the Way leading to Life, and the Broadneſs and Wideneſs of thoſe
leading to Deſtruction, and the Fewneſs of thoſe who go in that, and
the Multitude of thoſe who go in this, are to be underſtood
abſolutely, but only reſpectively and comparatively; ſo that conſequently
that Straitneſs or Narrowneſs which is here allowed to be in the
Way of ſtrict Virtue, may not be ſuch as ought in Reaſon to diſ-
courage us from going in it; nor, on the other ſide, may the Wideneſs or
Pleaſantneſs of a ſinful Courſe be ſuch, as ought in Reaſon to incline us
j
not
to
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
855
|
to chuſe that: Neither may there be ſuch a Difference in Number between
thoſe who go in the narrow Way to Life, and thoſe who go in the broad
Way to Deſtruction, as that we need fear being alone if we go in the
former, or can have good Reaſon to go in the latter only for Company's
fake.
But nevertheleſs thus much is certainly true, that the Way to Life and
Happineſs is not ſo very plain and eaſy as ſome think it; at leaſt as they
ſeem to think it, who ſay they hope they ſhall get to Heaven, and yet will
be at no Pains either to enquire out the Way, or to ſet themſelves to go
in it when it is ſhewn them. Neither is it ſo much frequented, as that we
may ſafely conform our ſelves in all Things to the Faſhion of the World,
not doubting but that if we live as well as moſt of our Neighbours do, we
ſhall live well enough. If it had been ſo, our Saviour would never have
given it as a Rule that we ſhould enter in at the ſtrait Gate, at which there
are few who enter, and that we ſhould go in the narrow Way, which is
found and travelled in but by a few; neither would he have made it a Mat-
ter of Caution to us, that we ſhould avoid the Way which ſeems to be the
broadeſt and pleaſanteſt, and which has the moſt Company in it.
But it may be convenient to ſpeak to theſe three Points a little more par-
ticular, and to draw ſome practical Obſervations therefroni.
1. Then, ſtrait is the Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life.
As to this point it muſt be granted.
(1.) That the firſt Beginning or Entrance upon a virtuous Courſe of Life
is commonly attended with great Difficulty ; ſtrait is the Gate.
I have already noted, that it is not unlikely, that our Saviour by the ſtrait
Gate, and the narrow Way, might mean not juſt the very fame Thing, but
the two great Parts of a godly Chriſtian Life; viz. the Entrance upon it
by the Gate, and the Continuance in it by the Way. Now you know that
a Gate leading into any Paſſage or Entry, whether the Paſſage or Entry be
wide or narrow, is commonly ſtreighter and narrower than the Paſſage or
Entry is which it leads to; and ſo it is here, the Way to Life is but nar.
Tow, as our Saviour here ſays, and I ſhall ſhew by and by; but the Gate
opening into this Way is ſtraiter than the way it ſelf is. The Beginning of
a good Life has much the greateſt Difficulty in it, afterwards it grows caſier
and pleaſanter.
And yet neither is the Beginning alike difficult to all; for they who have
had the Advantage of a good Education, and have been piouſly and virtu-
ouſly brought up, were entred into the right Way, even before they well knew
the Difference between Good and Evil; they got throʻthe Gate in their Child-
hood, and ſo were not at all, or but very little, ſenſible of the Streightneſs
of it; and now that they are grown up, they have nothing elſe to do but
to keep ſtrait on in the Way which their parents or Teachers have ſet
them into; and it is ſo very likely that they will do ſo, after that being come
to the Uſe of Reaſon they ſhall diſcern what a wiſe Choice their Parents
or Guardians have made for them, that the Wiſe-man delivers it as a prover-
bial Truth, to which there are none or very few Exceptions, Prov. xxii. 6.
that if a Child be trained up in the Way wherein he mould go, when is old,
or grown up, he will not depart from it.
But to them who have not had this bleſſed Advantage, but have been
to follow the Bent of their own wicked Inclinations by Nature,
the Gate or Entrance into the Way of Life is ftreighter; for they have
not only wicked Inclinations to reſiſt and ſubdue, but likewiſe vicious Cu-
ſtoms to alter, before they can get into the way that leads to Life; and
Cuſtom, we uſe to ſay, is a ſecond Nature. By Cuſtom we may have made
ſome Sins familiar and natural, and ſo more hardly avoidable, to which
by
J
ſuffered
856
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
ژ
by Nature we had no great Proneneſs at firſt; and wicked Inclinations, whe-
ther natural, or acquired by Uſe, when they have been long gratified, gain
every Day greater Strength and Power, and ſo become much harder to be
croſſed and ſubdued afterwards, than they would have been if we had ſet our
ſelves to reſiſt them ſooner. And therefore the Difficulty of a Change of Life,
from bad to good, is expreſs'd by the Prophet Jeremy by a proverbial Phraſe,
which in ſtrictneſs denotes an Impoſſibility, Jer. xiii. 23. Can the Æthio-
pian change his Skin, or the Leopard his Spots ? then may ye alſo do good
that are accuſtomed to do evil.
But nevertheleſs it is certain that there is not an abſolute Impoſſibility in
it, becauſe it has been done by a great many ; ſuch were ſome of you, ſays
the Apoſtle, writing to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. vi. 1 1. that is, as appears by
the foregoing Words, they had been Fornicators, Idolaters, Adulterers, Ef-
feminaté, Abuſers of themſelves with Mankind, Thieves, Covetous, Drunk-
ards, Revilers, Extortioners, and the like; ſuch were ſome of you, but ye
are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified, but ye are juſtified, in the Name of the
Lord Feſus, and by the Spirit of our God. Now what has been done is
poſſible; what has been done may be done again. It being therefore not
impoſſible for the worſt of Men, for ſuch as are moſt corrupted, through
the Aſſiſtance of the Divine Grace, to reform a vitious Habit, how invete-
rate or deep-rooted ſoever it be; the Difficulty of it, how difficult foever it
is ſuppoſed to be, ſhould not diſcourage us from attempting it, but rather
it ſhould engage us to ſet about it with Vigour and Reſolution, and good
Hope of Succeſs; eſpecially conſidering that the Difficulty is in great Mea
ſure, if not chiefly, of our own making. And to this we may be much en-
couraged by conſidering, what I have now ſaid, vize that the chief Diffi-
culty is at firſt, in getting through the Gate which opens into the Way that
leads to Life; and that after we ſhall have paſſed the Gate, the Paſſage
widens, and the Way we ſhall be afterwards to walk in will not be quite
ſo ſtreight as the Gate it ſelf was.
And yet we muſt not flatter our ſelves with an Opinion that after this firſt
Difficulty is maſter'd, we ſhall have done all our Work, or at leaſt ſhall have
no other Work to do afterwards, but what we may in a Manner play with.
For
(2.) As the Gate is ſtrait, ſo the Way alſo is narrow ; ſtrait is the Gate,
and narrow is the Way; though the Way be wider than the Gate was that
opened into it, yet it may ſtill be truly ſaid to be narrow; there will be
Difficulty in the going in it, as well as there was in the firſt entring into it.
For if we have Regard only to our own corrupt Inclinations by Nature,
though theſe may be weakened, and are indeed every Day more and more weak-
ened, by Reſiſtance and Denial, yet they ſtill continue in us; they continue
as the little Strings of the Roots of Weeds do in the Ground after it has been
well weeded, which, if conſtant Care be not taken to pull them up alſo, as
ſoon as ever they begin to ſhoot forth, will quickly grow as big as the old
Roots were, which were torn from them,
Or if we have Regard to the evil Cuſtoms which we have contracted,
theſe are not to be broken off at once; but a Habit of any Thing will for
a long while leave a Proneneſs to fall into it again; and what was learn'd in
the Youth may in the after Age take up more Time to unlearn and to for-
get, than it did at firſt to learn it.
And beſides theſe Difficulties in the Way to Life, which are cauſed by
our own wicked Inclinations and Cuſtoms from within, we muſt expect alſo
in the whole Courſe of a virtuous and godly Life, to meet with great Dif
couragements from without ; a ſtrict Courſe of Virtue and Piety will ofren
oblige us to forego conſiderable Gain which might have been made by ſtrain-
2
ing
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
857
ز
ing a Point of Duty; and it may and does many Times expoſe Men to the
ſuffering of great Loffes, and the enduring violent Perſecutions; and if we
ever hope to find it as eaſy; and as free from all manner of temporal Trouble
and Inconvenience as we perhaps could wiſh it, we ſhall certainly be diſappoint-
ed. For thro' many Tribulations we muſt enter into the Kingdom of God;
and all that will live godly in Chriſt Jeſus ſhall ſuffer Perſecution. What-
ever Times they live in, Perſecution of ſome ſort or other they muſt look
for, and will certainly meet with.
(3.) The Way to Life is narrow ; there is and always muſt be fome Dif-
ficulty in going in it, becauſe it is a ſtrait and ſmall Path; out of which it
is very eaſy, if we do not conſtantly look well to our Goings, to ſtep aſide.
For the Rule is a right Line, the leaſt Deviation from it is Crookednéfs. Vira
tue is in the Mean, which is ſometimes not very obvious to be difcern'd; we
may eaſily err, either on the right Hand, or on the left, by Exceſs, or by
Defect; and oftentimes while we are careful to avoid leaning too much to
one ſide, that very Care makes us incline too much on the other fide; and
on which fide foever we go out of the Way, it is ſtill a going out of the
Way; for the Way to Life is but one.
(4.) There is Difficulty in the Way to Heaven, becauſe whenfoever we do
ſtep beſides this narrow Path, that is, whenſoever we fall into any Sin,
which after our greateſt Care we ſhall be always ſubject to do, this is a great
Stop and Hindrance to us ; for the Way to Life is of that Kind, that when-
ever we decline from it, there is no way of getting into it again, but juſt in that
Place where we left it and went out of it; there is no croſs Way, by which
we may paſs from the Way of Sin to the Path of Virtue, in caſe we have
not gone very wide from it. But how little foever the wrong Way which
we have taken decline from the right, we nuſt go back again as much as we
have gone, before we can get into that Way which we have forſaken: For
nothing leſs is true Repentance for any Sin, than the unidoing, ſo far as is
poſſible, our own ſinful Act, and ſetting right what we have put out of or-
der; and while we were going, and while we were gone out of the Way,
and while we are returning back to it again, much Time will be ſpent, and
yet nothing done, no Progreſs made; we ſhall be no nearer our Journey's
End than when we began to go aſtray: That is; in plain Words, while the
Guilt was contracting, and while it is waſhing off again' by Sorrow, and
Reſtitution, and Satisfaction, ſo much of our Life will flip by us, that we
may not have enough left to finiſh our Courſe in, unleſs we afterwards make
more Speed in our Way, than-would have been needful, if we had not gone
out of it. And,
(s.) Laſtly; there is this yet farther Reaſon to ſay that there is Difficulty in
a virtuous Courſe of Life, becauſe tho we keep well on in the narrow. Way
to Life, with very few and very ſmall Deviations from it; yet ſtill it requires
much Patience to hold on to the End. For we cannot be at the End of our
Way; till we are come to an End of our Life'; and after we ſhall have gone
ever ſo long in it, yet if at laſt we forſake it, it will be as ill for us as if we
had never enter'd' into it. So we are plainly told, Ezek. xviii. 24. When
the righteous-turneth away from his Righteouſneſs, and committeth Iniquity,
and doth according to all the Abominations that the wicked Man doth-
all his Righteouſneſs that he hath done ſhall not be mentioned'; in his Tref:
paſs that he hath treſpaſſed, and in his Sin that he hath finned, in them ſhall
he die.
Thus the Gate and the Way to Life are ſtrait and narrow; which was
the firſt Point to be ſpoken to. There is great Difficulty in the Tenor of a
virtuous and godly Life, and we ſhall but deceive our ſelves if we think other-
Vol. II.
SIS
wiſem
858
The Difficulties in a godly Life.
wiſe, and ſhall find our Miſtake, when we come to make trial what it is to
live well.
2. The ſecond Point to be ſpoken to was the contrary Conditions and
Qualifications of the Gate and Way which lead to Deſtruction ; wide is the
Gate and broad is the way that leadeth to Deſtruction.
But I ſhall defer ſpeaking to that Point now, and what remains to ano-
ther Opportunity, and ſhall conclude this preſent Diſcourſe with two or three
uſeful Inferences, which may be drawn from what has been already ſaid,
concerning the Difficulty which there muſt be granted to be in a virtuous
Courſe of Living; ſtrait is the Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto Life. And,
1. The Way being narrow, and eſpecially the Gate entering into it being
ſtrait, and it being conſequently, as was noted before, ſuch a great Advan-
tage to have been paſſed thro' this Gate in the Childhood or firſt Beginning
of Life; hence all Parents, and others who have the Care of Youth com-
mitted to them are admoniſhed, as well in Kindneſs to their Children, as
in Diſcharge of their own Duty, to bring them up, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, in
the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord; that is, to teach them the Way
they are to go, and to encourage them to take it ; to ſhew them the Danger
of Sin, and to preſerve and keep them, as much as lies in their Power, by Ad-
monition, by Reproof, and by ſeaſonable and diſcreet Correction, from ever
entring upon any wicked Courſe. It will be much eaſier for the Parent,
Guardian, or Maſter, to prevent the firſt Beginning of Sin in the Children
under his Care, than it will be for the Children themſelves when they ſhall
be grown up, to alter thoſe evil Habits and Cuſtoms, which by the Careleſ-
neſs and Neglect of thoſe who had the Charge of them, they were in their
Childhood ſuffered to contract; and the Children being ſet at firſt into the right
Way, and being got thro' the Gate, which is the ſtraiteſt Part of it, without
any Difficulty, it may reaſonably be hoped, that the leſſer Difficulties which
they meet with afterwards will not diſcourage them from proceeding in it ;
eſpecially when being grown up they will clearly ſee, that the Way they were
enter'd into is the beſt way they could take, indeed the only Way which
leads to Life and Happineſs at the laſt.
2. Since it muſt be granted, and our Saviour himſelf here expreſſly affirms,
that the Gate which lets into the Way, and the way it ſelf which leads to
Life, are ſtrait and narrow; that is, that the Condition to be performed by
us, in order to our attaining everlaſting Happineſs, is a Marter of great Dif-
ficulty, this may ſerve to caution us by no means to defer taking in hand
immediately that Work which it will coſt us ſo much Time and Pains to
perfect; and eſpecially not to defer it to a Death-bed, as if we could be
able then in a few Days, or Hours, or Minutes, when our Strength is gone,
and our Breath almoſt ſpent, to go all that Way which God deſigned for the
Work of our whole Life and for which indeed our Life is little enough. Certainly
they who flatter themſelves with Hopes that how careleſlly or wickedly ſoever they
live ſhall be able upon a Death-bed to do all which is neceſſary to fit and qualify
themſelves for eternal Life, canont believe what our Saviour here ſays of the
Straitneſs and Narrowneſs of the Way to Heaven ; for if a Death bed Re-
pentance be a Way which will certainly bring to Heaven, we cannot well
deſire a ſhorter or an eaſier Way than that is. Indeed,
3. The Way to Heaven being, as our Saviour here ſays, ſtrait and
narrow, this may make us juſtly ſuſpect whether any Way which we are
directed to, or are inclined to take, if it ſeems very broad and eaſy, be
the right Way or no. I mean this; though it be very certain that the
Practice of Piety and Virtue, does, in many Inſtances, tend to promote the
Eaſe and Comfort of this Life, yet becauſe in the general it is not ſo plea-
ſing
*
The Difficulties in a godly Life
859
deration hereof ought to prepare us with a {trong Reſolution to undertake
fing to our Senſes, nor lo conducing to our temporal Wealth and Prof-
perity as ſome Sorts of Sins are; if in any Inſtance which we can have
any reaſonable Doubt of, whether it be good or bad, lawful or unlawful,
it be very apparent that it is much more for our temporal Intereſt to do it
than not to do it's for this very Reaſon we ought to have the greater
Doubt about it, and ſhould not proceed to A&ion, till we have examin’d
the Matter more carefully, and are more fully ſatisfied in our Minds con-
cerning it. For the broader, and fairer, and ſmoother any Way is, and the
more apparently it is for our temporal Intereſt to go in it, it is, upon this
very Account, the more likely to be the wrong Way:), the Pleaſantneſs of
it, though it be not a certain Argument that it is the wrong Way, is ne-
vertheleſs a juſt Prejudice againſt it, and may reaſonably put us upon enqui-
ring more (trictly concerning it, before we adventure to go boldly in it; and,
on the contrary, that ſide of the Queſtion may reaſonably be judged to be
moſt probably the true and the right ſide of it, which favours our worldly
Intereſt the leaſt, becauſe, for this very Reaſon, it anſwers better to that Charac-
ter which our Saviour here gives us of the Way to Life in general, viz. that
it is ſtrait and narrow; that is, in ſundry Reſpects not ſo eaſy and commo-
dious and delightful as the Way of Sin ſeems to be.
4. Laſtly; There being ſuch great Difficulties, and ſo many Impediments
in the Way which leads to Life, as our Saviour himſelf here grants, when
he allows, or rather affirms, it to be a ſtrait and narrow Way; the Conſi-
it, with a Reſolution to put forth our utmoſt Strength in a vigorous
Oppoſition of all Things which make Reſiſtance to us, and would hinder
us either from beginning or proceeding in it. A good Life, though it be
not impoſſible, is not, yet, ſo very eaſy a Matter as ſome ſeem to think
it; and therefore in Scripture it is likened to Running, to Wreſtling, to
Fighting, and ſuch like Exerciſes, which require great Courage, Strength,
and Patience to perform them well. And therefore alſo St. Luke, where
he relates this ſame Precept of our Saviour, relates it, not juſt as St. Mat-
thew does here, enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate, but, ſtrive to enter in at
the ſtrait Gate. And he adds this good Reaſon for our ſo doing, viz. that
a faint Effort or Endeavour will not be ſufficient; ſtrive to enter in at the
ſtrait Gate, for 'many, ſays our Saviour there, ſhall ſeek to enter in, and
ſhall not be able.
And that is indeed a very good Reaſon for our ſtriving to enter in, but
that is a better which is given in the Text, viz. becauſe this, and this only,
is the Gate and Way leading to Life. Or rather, both together are the
moſt forcible Inducement to us to follow the Direction which is in both
Places given us by our Saviour; enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate, and ſtrive
to enter in; we muſt ſtrive to do it, becauſe there is Difficulty in it;
but
how difficult foever it be we ought not to be thereby diſcourag'd, becauſe
this is the Gate and Way to everlaſting Bleſſedneſs ; enter ye in at the
ſtrait Gate, for ſtrait is the Gate and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto
Life.
And
may God of his Goodneſs direct us all to this Way, and by the pow-
erful Aſſiſtance of his Grace keep us always ſtedfaſt in it, for the Sake of our
Lord Feſus Chriſt; to whom, &c.
DIS-
860
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life
DISCOURSE LXXX.
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life no
juſt Recommendation of it
.
(00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
MATTH. VII. 13, 14.
Enter
ye in at the Arait Gate; for wide is the Gate,
and broad is the way that leadeth to Deſtruction,
and many there be which go in thereat.
Becauſe ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way,
which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find
it.
Tin
UR Saviour haying in the foregoing Part of this Sermon
upon the Mount bound his Diſciples to ſtricter Duty in ſe-
veral Inſtances than Men had been bound before, it was very
proper now to ſay ſomewhat to encourage them to under-
take it, and to remove that Backwardneſs and Unwilling,
neſs which they might have thereto.
And tho' there are indeed ſeveral other Impediments of
a godly and Chriſtian Life, yet there are two eſpecially which ſeem to be of
the greateſt Force; one whereof is its ſeeming Difficulty, the other its Singu-
larity.
Theſe therefore our Saviour here removes; but he does it, not by denying
that the Way of ſtrict Virtue and Godlineſs is indeed both ſtrait and difficult,
and likewiſe ſolitary and loneſome, he rather grants both theſe; but by ſhew-
ing that neither of theſe are reaſonable Diſcouragements to a good Life; be-
cauſe that other Way which ſeems to Men to be the moſt pleaſant, and which
has the moſt Company in it, leads at laſt to Death ; whereas this, which is
indeed narrower, and which for that Reaſon very few. in Compariſon can
be perſuaded to go in, leads at laſt to eternal Life and Happineſs, and that
there is no other Way leading thither by this : Enter ye in at the ſtrait
Gate, &c.
In diſcourſing on which Words I have formerly propounded to do theſe
two Things.
find it.
2
1. To
no juft Recommendation of it.
861
->
I. To conſider, what Ground there is for the Objection which is here inti-
mated to lie againſt the Practice of thoſe Duties, which the Chriſtian Inſtituti-
on lays upon us ; or how far it is true, and muſt be granted, that the Way of
Virtue and Godlineſs is ſtrait and loneſome ; ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow
is the Way-- and few there be that find it : And, on the other ſide; how
far it is true, and inuſt likewiſe be granted, that the Way of Vice and Wick-
cdneſs is wide and pleaſant, and very full of Company; wide is the Gate;
and broad is the Way- and many there be that go in thereat. And, ,
II. To ſhew, that conſidering the different Ends to which theſe Ways do
lead at the laſt, the ſtrait Way to Life, and the broad Way to Deſtruction,
neither is the Straitneſs and Loneſomeneſs of that a reaſonable Diſcourage-
ment to us from going in it; neither is the Broadneſs of this, and the good
Store of Company which we ſhall meet with in it; a reaſonable Inducement
to us to go in this į but that ſtill it is our Intereſt as well as our Duty, and
what if we are wiſe we ſhall all chuſe to do, to enter in at that Gate, and
to go in that Way which lead to Life, tho' they be ſtrait, and narrow,
and loneſome; and to avoid the Gate and Way which lead to Deſtruction,
tho' they be wide and broad, and much more frequenced than thc other arc.
Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate.
.
I. I was to conſider, what. Ground there is for that Objection, which is in-
timated in the Text to lie againſt the Practice of thoſe Duties which the
Chriſtian Inſtitution lays upon us; or how far it is truc, and muſt be granted,
1. That the Way of Virtue and Godlinefs is ſtrait and narrow; ſtrait is the
Gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life. 2. That the Way of
Vice and Wickedneſs is wide and pleaſant; wide is the Gate and broad is
the way that leadeth to Deſtruction. And, 3. That the Way of Vice and
Wickedneſs is much more frequented than the Way of Virtue and Godlineſs 5
there are many that
go in that, and but few that do find this.
I. That the Way of Virtue and Godlineſs is ſtrait and narrow: Strait is
the Gate and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto Life. And as to this
Point I have already obſerved ; that the Way of Virtue and Godlineſs is ſtraid
and narrow, or that there may well be ſaid to be great Difficulty in a good
Life. I. Becauſe that to begin a good Life, eſpecially after a wicked Courſe,
is indeed a Work of the greateſt Difficulty; the Gate is ſtrait.
2. Becauſe
a ftrict Courtè of Virtue is what our naturally vitious Inclinations, and
acquired evil Cuſtoms, do render us very averſe to. 3. Becauſe the Way of
ſtrict Virtue is narrow, it is like a right Line, the leaſt Deviation is Crook-
edneſs. 4. Becauſe every Deviation from the Way creates us a new Trouble,
to return into it again at the ſame place where we went out.
Laſtly, becauſe it is no going at all in the Way to Life, unleſs as we begin well,
we alſo continne to the End in well-doing.
And from hence. I obſerved, by way of Inference, 1. The Obligation
which lies on Parents, in Kindneſs to their Children, as well as for the Dif-
charge of their own Duty, to ſet them as ſoon as is poſible into this good
Way, thereby to ſave them the Trouble of a firſt Entrance into it, which
indeed is the greateſt Difficulty of all in a good Life. 2. The Obligation
which lies on us all to take in hand immediately, if we have not yet donc
it, that Work which will coſt us ſo much Time and Labour to perfect; and
eſpecially not to defer it to a Death-bcd, when it is to be be feared we ſhall
not be able to do it. 3. That in any Matter of Practice, of which we have
Reaſon to doubt whether it be lawful or not; if to do it, or not to do it,
be evidently for our worldly Intereſt or Pleaſure, that is a good Reaſon not
Vol. II.
Tit
And, s.
to
862
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life
to do, as we are thereby inclined, till we are more fully ſatisfied about it;
becauſe that is moſt likely to be our Duty, which ſeems the moſt difficult; and
that moſt likely to be ſinful, which promiſes the moſt preſent Pleaſure or
worldly Advantage: For ſtrait is the way that leads to Life. And, 4. Thac
in Confideration of the Difficulties we may likely meet with in a virtuous
Courſe of Life, we ought to ſet about it with a Rcfolution to put forth our
utmoſt Strength in a vigorous Oppoſition to whatever makes Reſiſtance to
us, and would hinder us either from beginning or proceeding in it: Strive,
ſays St. Luke, to enter in at the ſtrait Gate; without ſtriving we ſhall not be
able to enter into it; for many, it there follows, ſhall ſeek to enter in, and
mall not be able.
And now I proceed to the ſecond Point which I was to conſider and ſpeak
to; viz.
II. The contrary Conditions and Qualifications of the Gate and Way lead-
ing to Deſtruction: Wide is the Gate and broad is the way that leadeth to
Deſtruction.
The Truth of which, and how far it is true, will appear, if theſe following
Things be conſidered.
1. Even the Gate it ſelf which leads into this Way is wide; wide is the
Gate. Now the Gate, as I obſerved before, is not ordinarily made ſo wide
as the Paſage is which it leads to. It was not ſo in the other Gate which
opens to the Paſſage or Way leading to Life, neither is it ſo in this Gate
opening into the Way which leads to Deſtruction. But however even this
Gate, tho' it be ftraiter than the Way which it opens into, is yet, in Com-
pariſon with the ſtrait Gate before ſpoken of, exceeding wide. For even
the Beginning of a Courſe of Sin is very eaſy, and in a Manner natural to
us : It is natural, becauſe our Nature it ſelf is very corrupt and prone to Sin;
we need no Tutors to inſtruct us in Vice, we learn that but too readily from
our ſelves. We need no Temptations to allure us to Sin, being too often our
own Tempters; every Man is tempted, ſays St. James, when he is drawn
away of his own Luft and inticed. And yet we meet with Inſtructors in
Sin, and Tempters to it good Store in this miſerable and naughty World; ſo
that unleſs we be very carly taught our Duty, and perſuaded of the Neceſſi-
ty of Religion, we readily and naturally fall into the broad Way to Deſtruc-
tion, which opens wider and wider to us every Day that we walk in it. For
it may be conſidered,
2. That when once we are got thro' the Gate which opens into a Courſe
of Sin, the Way preſently divides into innumerable Paths; all which, tho'
they ſeem to go very wide from one another, do yet meet together at laſt, and
end in Death and Deſtruction. I mean this; the Way of Sin is manifold
and various, ſo that if one Path does not pleaſe, another will. When once
we have let looſe the Reins, and ſuffer our ſelves to walk according to the
Deſires of our own wicked Heart, we are expoſed to Temptations of different
Kinds, by ſome or other of which we ſhall be eaſily enſnar'd and overcome,
there being no natural Temper, Inclination, or Deſire, to which ſome Sin
or other does not offer and promiſe ſomewhat which is grateful and agreeable;
no Age of Life to which the Practice of ſome Sin or other does not ſeem
ſuitable. So that when we are ſatiated, or perhaps wearied with ſome Sorts
of Sin, we ſhall readily betake our felves to ſome other, which for the preſent
ſuits us better, but will as certainly bring us to Deſtruction, as the former would
have done, if they had been continued in.
3. The Way of Sin may be ſaid to be broad and eaſy, becauſe Şin is more
agreeable to our corrupt Nature and Inclinations than Itrict Piery and Virtue
for we all naturally love and deſire Liberty, and all Rule and Reſtraint is un-
eaſy
no juſt Recommendation of it.
863
eaſy to us. Now the Way of Sin is ſeemingly a Way of the greateſt Liberty :
he that allows himſelf in Sin does in every Thing according to his own Heart's
Deſire, he denies himſelf no Pleaſure or Gratification which he has a Fancy
for. And upon that Account,
4. The Way of Sin may be ſaid to be wide and broad, viz. becauſe it pro.
miſes à great deal of Pleaſure and Delight. A Life of Wickedneſs has an
Appearance of much Mirth and Jollity; and however they who have perſu'd
it for ſome Time have always found themſelves deceived, and that they have
either had no Fruit in thoſe Thing's whereof afterwards they were aſhamed,
or that the Pleaſure they have taken in finful Gratifications has not been ſuf-
ficient to compenſate for the Pain which follows after. Tho' they have found
the way they have paſſed thro', not ſo ſmooth and even as it appeared before
they went in; yet ſtill the Way which is before them looks ſo very pleaſant,
that they can't perſuade theinſelves to doubt but that they ſhall take very
great Delight in it. And,
s. This is another Thing which makes the broad Way to Deſtruction ap-
pear ſtill broader, and pleaſanter, and more inviting ; becaufe the longer Men
have gone in it, the leſs ſenſible they are of its Badneſs and Danger. For
the Inclination to any Sin increaſes, and grows more powerful by Cuſtom ;
and the longer we have lived in a ſinful Courſe, the leſs Fcar we have of the
Evils which attend it. Our own Conſcience alſo checks us leſs than before,
or we grow more deaf to its Clamours; when we have been long uſed to
them; and in Time we become quite hardned: So that tho' we ſhould take
no more Pleaſure directly in, and from the Sin, than we did before, yet this
Pleaſure will appear greater, becauſe it will not be accompanied or followed
with ſo much Pain and Remorſe of Mind, as it was when we firſt entred
upon a ſinful Courſe.
6. Laſtly, the farther we go on in the Way of Sin, the pleaſanter it ſtill ap-
pears, becauſe the farther we go on in it, the more difficult it is to return back;
and therefore when we muſt either go on, or return, and when the farther
we go on, both the Proſpect of the Way before-us appears ſtill pleaſanter, and
the Difficulty of returning back appears till every Day (as indeed it is) greater
and
greater ; the Increaſe of Difficulty which there is in Repentance, does in
fome Sort add to the Pleaſure of a ſinful Life: At leaſt it inclinés Mon very
ſtrongly, to go on in the Courſe they have begun, and to think that they can't
alter it without ſuch intolerable Trouble as they can by no mčans ever perſuade
themſelves to be ar.
Thus the Gate and Way leading to Deſtruction are wide and broad ;
was the ſecond Point to be ſpoken 'to.
The practical Inferences from which are fuch as theſe ; which (they being
in Effect the ſame which had been drawn from the firſt Point, viz. the Streight:
neſs of the Way to Life) I ſhall but juſt name.
1. The Gate or the Way leading to Deſtruction being ſo much wider than
that leading to Life, and being confequently more likely to be taken by ſuch
as conſider not the Difference of the ſeveral Ends to which they lead; for
it is natural, when two Ways are before us, and we have no Judgment to dif-
cern which is the righteſt, to be inclin'd to take that which ſeems the broad-
eſt and faireft ; it hence plainly appears, how much it is the Duty of Parents;
and of others who have the Care of Children lying on them, to keep á nár-
Tow and ſtrict Watch over them, to prevent their taking a wrong Courſe at
firſt. For the Way which they fitlt take to, they will be very apt to proceed in;
it will be much harder to recover them from a ſinful Courſe, than to prevent their
falling into it. The Children therefore being not, in their Childhood, of com-
petent Judgment and Diſcretion to chuſe wiſely for themſelves, if lies upon
their Parents and Guardians to chuſe for them. This is part of their Care
which
indeed
i
í
864
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life
indeed it is the grcar Care of all, which God has laid upon them with Regard
to their Children; which if they neglect to diſcharge, the Deſtruction which
their Children will plunge themſelves into by perſuing an evil Courſe, will
be in great mcaſure owing to them, and will bring upon them the greater
Condemnation.
2. The Gate being wide, and the Way ſtill broader which lead to Deſtruc-
tion, and this Way ſtill widening more and more, the farther we go in it;
we may hence ſec; and ſecing, I hope we ſhall be warned to avoid ; the great
Danger which they run, who once allow themſelves in any ſinful Practice, of
being hardend thro the Deceitfulneſs of Sin. It is caly to begin a ſinful
Courſe, but when we have begun it, we ſhall find it very hard to put a Stop
to it; becauſe how ſtrong foever the Temptation to it was at firſt, after once
yielding it tempts ſtronger the ſecond Time, and ſtronger fțill the third Time;
and every Time after that we give way to it, it gains ſtill greater Strength and
Power, and we become more unable to make Reſiſtance. This they find to
be truc, by their own ſad Experience, who are entangled in a wicked Courſe;
they ſee themſelves caught in a Snare, but how to releaſe themſelves they
know nor; they are taken Captive by the Devil at his Will, and tho? they
ſometimes intend and perhaps reſolve, that they will break off his Chains,
yet very ſeldom have they the Courage and Strength to do it; nay indeed
there are but few who have thc Heart ſo much as to attempt it; and the Rca-
ſon is, becauſe the farther they go, the Way before them ſeems ſtill broader
and pleaſanter, and the Retreat ftill more tedious and difficult. And therefore,
3. Laſtly; our Aptneſs and Readineſs to proceed farther in the broad Way
leading to Deſtruction, after we are once enter'd into it, being in great mea-
ſure occaſion’d by the Difficulty of returning back, and this Difficulty increa-
ſing every Day the farther we go on in it; we may hence ſee the Reaſonable-
neſs and Neceſſity of a ſpeedy Repentance for any ſingle Act of Sin which
we have fallen into, and much more for any Habit of any Sin which we have
contracted. For the farther we err from the right Way, the more we muſt
needs have to go back, before we can return into it: So that whatever Unwill-
ingneſs we may have at preſent to undergo this Trouble, Tinie will certainly
increaſe it; and whatever Reaſons we have at preſent to delay our Repentance
to any farther Time, when that Time is come, thoſe fame Reaſons will ap-
pear ſtronger than they do now, and other Reaſons as good will every Day
be added to them. To Day therefore, while it is called to Day, harden not
your Hearts: The preſent is the beſt Time we ſhall ever have to begin our
Repentance in ; if we let ſlip the preſent Opportunity we may never have any
other at all, moſt certainly we never ſhall have any other ſo good as this.
And ſo much for the ſecond Thing: Wide is the Gate and broad is the Way
that leadeth to Deſtruētion. It follows; and that was the third Point to be
ſpoken to,
3. And many there be that go in thereat; whereas, on the other ſide, there
are few that find the Way to Life; and fewer ſtill, who when they have found
it, can be perſuaded to go in it.
And the Reaſon is obvious, viz. becauſe that Gate is wide, and this ſtrait ;
becauſe that Way is broad, and this narrow ; becauſe that is to appearance a
much pleaſanter Way to go in than this; and that the wide and the broad
and the pleaſant Way ſhould have more Company in it than the other,
which is ftraiter and more difficult, is no Marvel at all.
But this being a Matter of Fact, there is no Need of giving any Reaſon of
its for good Reaſon why it fhould be ſo none can be given, as I ſhall ſhew
by and by; and that it is ſo, we may be better aſſured from our own Ob-
ſervation, than we could be from any Reaſons.
ز
A
2
no juſt Recommendation of it.
865
It muſt be granted therefore to be true which our Saviour here obſerves,
and if he had not made the Obſervation, we our felves muſt have done it,
that the Number of ſincerely good Men, who make it their conſtant Exer-
ciſe to keep in all Things a Conſcience void of Offence both towards God and
towards Men, is, in Compariſon with thoſe, who either have no Religion, or
if they have any, are not however ſo ſcrupulous and preciſe, and ſo careful to
avoid all Appearance of Evil, as the Goſpel enjoins us to be, very ſmall and
inconſiderable.
And in Conſequence of this it muſt likewiſe be farther granted, that who-
ever is reſolv’d to keep ſtrictly to his Duty in every Point, muſt expect to be
deſpis’d and reproach'd and ill uſed, not only by the profeſs’d Scorners of Rc-
ligion, for their Reproaches might be more eaſily born; but likewiſe by thic
greateſt Part of thoſe, who have a Form of Religion, but who yet, he will
ſee, do generally allow themſelves greater Liberty than he thinks he can with
a ſafe Conſcience take, and who will think it neceſſary, for their own Juſti-
fication and Defence, to laugh at and run down as fooliſhly ſcrupulous, and
ridiculouſly preciſe, all thoſe who dare not take to themſelves ſo much
Liberty as they do.
And from what has been ſaid on this third Point we may obſerve, by
way of Inference, that ſince the Way to Life is not ſo much frequented as
the Way which leads to Deſtruction, ſince there are many who go in this, ,
and but few in Compariſon who go in that ; it is plainly our ſafeſt and wiſeſt
Courſe, in all Caſes wherein we are capable of doing it, to ſee with our
own Eyes, and to judge for our ſelyes both in Matters of Faith and in Matters
of Practice; and neither to believe with an implicit Faith, nor to ſuffer our
ſelves to be led blindfold without ſeeing our own Way by the Examples of
others. For they, whoever they are who preſcribe to our Belief, or ſet us
an Example of Life, may be in the Wrong as well as in the Right ; and it
is odds but they are ſo, there being more who err from the right Way than
who keep on ſtedfaſtly in it. Nay tho' there be ever ſo many who agree
in
any Point of Belief or Practice, yet ſtill it is by no means ſafe to be led
by them, or to follow them at all Adventures; for wide is the Gate and
broad is the Way that leadeth to Deſtruction, and many there be that go
in
thereat; ſo that Number or Multitude on any fide is ſo far from being a
good Argument that that is the right Side, that it is rather a probable Argu.
ment that it is the wrong; the Way of Life being, as our Saviour here ſays,
ſtrait and narrow, and found but by a few.
Thus I have ſhewn what Ground there is for this Objection, here intimated,
againſt the Practice of thoſe Duties which the Chriſtian Inſtitution lays upon
us; or how far it is true and muſt be granted, that the Way of Virtue and
Godlineſs is ſtrait and loneſome ; ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way
and few there be that find it; and, on the other Side, how far it is like-
wiſe true and muſt be granted, that the Way of Vice and Wickedneſs is wide
and pleaſant, and very full of Company. Wide is the Gate and broad is the
Way and
and many there be that go in thereat.
And this was my firſt general Head of Diſcourſe on theſe Words. I pro-
ceed now to the ſecond, which was,
II. To ſhew, that conſidering the Different Ends to which theſe two
Ways do lead, the ſtrait, narrow and loneſome Way to Life, and the wide,
broad and well frequented Way to Deſtručtion ; neither is the Straitneſs and
Loneſomeneſs of that, a reaſonable Diſcouragement to us from going in it;
neither is the Broadneſs of this, and the good Store of Company which we
ſhall meet with in it, a reaſonable Inducement to us to go in this; but that
Still it is our Intereſt, as well as our Duty, and what, if we are wiſe, we ſhall
Vol. II.
U u u
chure
..
866
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life
would be now calon, nay indeed it would be rather a good Reaſon to divert
chuſe to do, to enter in at that Gate, and to go in that Way which lead to
Life, though they bę ſtrait and narrow and loneſome; and to avoid the Gate
and Way which lead to Deſtruction, tho' they bę wide and broad, and much
more frequented than the other: Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate.
The Time will not permit me to ſay much upon this Head; and there.
fore I ſhall compriſe all I have to ſay in a few Words. And indeed in ſo plain
a Caſe many Words would be needleſs.
1. Then, I ſay that the Straitneſs of the Way that leads to Life is no juſt
Diſcouragement to us from going in it, conſidering to what it leads, and to
what it will ſurely bring us at laſt. For if we have any Notion at all of that
eternal Life which is at the End of the Way, even tho' we ſhould think it
no better in its kind than that temporal Life is which we lead here, yec
how can we but think it worth our while to be at ſome pains, and to endure
ſome Hardſhips, for the obtaining of it? When we ſee Men ſo indefatigible
as they generally are, riſing early, and going to Bed late, and all to get where-
withal to ſupport this temporal Life ; a Life that cannot be ſupported long, a
Life in which there is, at the beſt, ſuch a Mixțure of Miſery, that it is hardly
worth the keeping; can we think it ſtrange, can we think it a hard and un-
rcaſonable Impoſition that we are bidden to labour and take Pains for that
Meat which endureth unto everlaſting Life? Eſpecially, for that alſo I make
no Queſtion I may truly add ; eſpecially, I ſay, when that eternal Life is to
be obtain'd with lefs Carefulneſs, Solicitude and Labour than Men do com-
monly ſpend in providing for this momentary Life, and that too when they are not
ſure that all the Pains they can take will be ſufficient for that Purpoſe? And,
2. There is as little Reaſon that we ſhould be diſcouraged from going in
this Way by the Loneſomeneſs of it; for tho' our Saviour here ſays that there
are but few who go in the Way to Life, yet a few are ſome; nay theſe few
are, as I have already ſhew'd, a great many, although in Compariſon with a
much greater Number they may be reckoned but a few. So that we ſhall
not need ever to fear being alone, if we travel in this way. There may not
be perhaps ſo much Company in this Way as there is commonly in the other,
but they are better Company than the others are; and there is Company
enough in it to keep us in Countenance, and to make our Journey tolerably
caſy and pleaſant.
But if it were not ſo ; if a Man who deſigned to travel in this Way could
yet get none at all to bear him Company in it; yet even this would not be a
reaſonable Diſcouragement. For is it not better to be happy alone, than to be
miſerable in much Company. Nay do we not in other Caſes reckon it ra-
ther better to be ſingular than not, when we eſteem what we are fingular in
to be an Excellency or Advantage? Is not the rich Man rather better pleaſed
with his Riches, becauſe there are none elſe ſo rich as himſelf: Does not
the honourable Perſon think himſelf rather the more honourable, becauſe he
has no Equal in Honour? Does not every Man fet rather a greater Value
upon any good Thing which he has, becauſe there is none elle poſſeſs'd of
the fame Good but himſelf? I do not ſay that this is a good Principle, for it
is plainly ungenerous, there is plainly a Mixture of Envy and Ill-nature in it.
I do not therefore now offer the Confideration of the ſmall Number of thoſe
who go in this Way, as a reaſonable Inducement for us to go in it; for that alone
us from it, in caſe there was any other Way as good as this, and which
would lead to the ſame End, which had more Company in it, with whom
we might join our felves, and whoſe Society might render our Journey more
pleaſant. But that is not the Cafe here, for the Way which we are now
ſpeaking of, and which is now ſuppoſed to have little or no Company in it,
is the Way to Life and Happineſs, and it is the only way thither; for all o-
2
ther
no juft Recommendation of it.
867
ther Ways, which are more frequented, lead to Death and Deſtruction : It
is therefore the bleſſed End that this Way. leads to, which makes it reaſonable
to be choſen by us, without any Conſideration whether it be ſolitary, or well
frequented. And if it be true in Fact that none elſe will walk in it, the Con-
ſequence will be that nonc elſe will be happy; or, which is the ſame Thing,
that we ſhall be the happieſt of all Men; and then I ſay that this Conſequence,
though it be not indeed what we ſhould deſire, for we ſhould deſire the Hap.
pineſs of all other Men as well as our own, is yet what in other Caſes Men
do commonly deſire; for every one deſires to exceed others in Riches, in
Honour, in Knowledge, and whatever elſe is valued and eſteem'd as an Ex-
cellency and Advantage ; it is what in other Caſes Men are commonly pleaſed
with, to think that they have more, or that they know more than other Men.
And therefore I cannot ſee any Reaſon, why that ſhould be a Diſcourage-
ment to us in this caſe, which in other Caſes would rather animate and en-
courage us : I do not fee why as we really deſire to exceed others in other
Reſpects, and in this World, to be the firſt, and the Top, ſo we ſhould not
as well deſire to be happier in the other World than any others will be ; and
happier we ſhall certainly be than any others, if we alone do travel in the Way
which leads to Life, and none elſe can be perſuaded to bear us Company in it.
3. As the Narrowneſs of the Way to Life is not a reaſonable Diſcourage-
ment to us from going in it, ſo neither is the Broadneſs or preſent Pleaſant-
neſs of the other Way a reaſonable Inducement to us to go in that, for
wide indeed is the Gate, and broad is the Way, but then it leads to Deftruc-
tion at laſt. And therefore if the End be not deſireable, neither can the Way
which certainly and neceſſarily leads to it be upon any Account proper to be
choſen by us.
Admit therefore that a Courſe of Sin is really as pleaſant as they who ſet
themſelves to it hope it will be, yet it is to be conſider’d, that theſe Pleaſures
of Sin are but for a Seafon, and that the Wages of Sin is Death ; not the
Annihilation of Soul and Body, that would be a Bleſſedneſs to a great many,
but the eternal Miſery of both. And who can dwell with everlaſting
Burnings? Is it poſſible that any Pleaſure here, be it as great as it can be
imagin’d, ſhould make us ſufficient Recompence for an Eternity of Torments ?
Are they, think you, who are now tormented in that Flame, fatisfied in their
Minds that the good Things which they enjoy'd in their Life-time were well
bought, altho' at this extravagant Price, although they paid their Souls for the
Purchaſe? If you cannot think this, then it is plain that the broad Way is
upon no Account fir to be choſen, ſeeing that, what pleaſant Fruit foever we
may now for a Moment reap from the Practice of any Sin, the Time will
come when we ſhall be heartily aſhamed of our fooliſh Choice, and when, if
we had the whole world to give, we would freely give it all only for one
ſingle Hour's Reſpite from thoſe Torments, which yet then muſt be endured to
Eternity. And,
4. Laſtly, if all the Pleaſure which can be taken in the Way that leads to
Deſtruction is not a reaſonable Inducement to us to chuſe to go in that Way ;
much leſs is the Store of Company that we ſhall meet with in it, which, I preſume,
they who are enter'd upon a Courſe of Sin will not be willing to grant, is
the only Pleaſure of it, much leſs, I ſay, is that alone, a ſufficient Motive to
chuſe it. For whatever Pleaſure Company may yield us while we are in the
Way, they can afford us no Comfort at all when we ſhall be come to the End
of it ; for the End is Deſtruction, and our own Deſtruction will be the ſame
to us whether we be deſtroy'd fingly or in Company: Our own Torment will
not be the leſs becauſe there are many others in the ſame Torment. But
father, if we ſhall have any Thing left of that Pity and Compaſſion which
is natural to us now while we are upon Earth, it will be ſome Addition to
our
868
The Pleaſantneſs of a wicked Life, &c.
our own Miſery to be encompaſſed about with an innumerable Company of
others in the fame Torment, whoſe ſad Groans, and lamentable Howlings, and
bitter Cries ever founding in our Ears, would be alone ſufficient to make our
Being there extremely uneaſy, though we had no Pain of our own to tor-
ment us.
Such then being the different Ends to which theſe two Ways here before us
do lead, the one to eternal Life, the other to everlaſting Deſtruction, what-
ever preſent difference there may be in the Ways, it cannot be a good Reaſon
either for our declining that, or for our chuſing this.
What remains then but that having Life and Death ſet before us, we chuſe
Life ; and that in order to the attaining it we take the Advice which our Sa-
viour here gives us, and enter in at the ſtrait Gate; a Gate which, though
Atrait at firſt, opens into a Way that is ſomewhat wider, and into a Way which
widens ſtill more and more the farther we go on in it; and which brings at
laſt unto Mount Sion, Heb. xii. 22, &c. to the heavenly Jeruſalem, to an in.
numerable Company of Angels, to the general Aſſembly and Church of the
Firſt-born, to the Spirits of juſt Men made perfect, to Žeſus the Mediator of
the new Covenant, and to God the Judge of all
, even to the City and Tirone
of the living God, in whoſe Preſence is fulneſs of Joy, and at whoſe right
Hand are Pleaſures for evermore.
Which God of his infinite Mercy make us all Partakers of, for the Sake of
our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, to whom, &c.
2
This
الموارد
LITIES
DIS.
F
869
DISCOURSE LXXXI.
:
I
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
.
per les content content that you are on the image
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1
.
MATTH. VII. 15.
Beware of falſe Prophets, which come to you in
Sheep's Cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening
Wolves.
1,
UR Saviour in the two foregoing Verſes (on which I diſ-
cours’d the laſt Time) had directed us to enter in at the ſtrait
Gate, i. e. to practiſe diligently all thoſe Rules of ſtrict and
holy Living, which he had given in the former. Part of this
Sermon on the Mount, or which are elſewhere preſcrib'd in
his holy Goſpel. And how neceſſary this Advice was, both
to be given and taken, he ſhows in the following Words; becauſe the broader
Way, and that which ſeems to allow Men greater Liberty, leads at laſt to
Death and Deſtruction; and yet by Reaſon of the Liberty which it allows,
and the Pleaſure which it promiſes, is very apt to allure Men to take it, and
does actually draw the greateſt Number to it ; wide is the Gate and broad
is the way that leads to Deſtruction, and many there be which go
in thereat ;
whereas on the other Side, that Way which he adviſes us to take, tho' it be
the true, and indeed the only way to Life and Happineſs, yet, being ſtrait
and narrow, i. e. not giving ſuch Liberty, nor promiſing ſo much preſent
Pleaſure as the other does, is for that Reaſon, not ſo readily taken, not ſo
much frequented as the other is ; ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way
that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it.
There being therefore ſo many more who go in the broad Way to Deſtru-
êtion, than who go in the narrow Way to Life ; and it being natural for every
one to commend the Way which he himſelf takes, and to endeavour to per-
ſuade others to it; it muſt needs be, that while we are conſidering with our
ſelves which Way we had beſt to chuſe, a great many will offer themſelves to be
Guides and Directors to us. And it is not improbable, that the greateſt Part
of theſe will be Deceivers and Seducers, who, tho' they ſpeak us fair, and
pretend a mighty Concern for our Good, will yet lead us, if we follow
their Direction, into the wrong Way; into that which is indeed the moſt fre-
quented, but which will bring us, and all who go into it, at laſt to De
ſtruction.
Vol. II.
x x x
)
870
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
to it
It was very proper therefore for our Saviour, after he had in the foregoing
Verſes preſcribed our Duty, i. e. that we ſhould enter into, and go in the
Way which leads to Life, to preſcribe alſo the Means proper to be us'd in
order to that End ; and after he had told us what we were to avoid, viz.
the broad Way which leads to Deſtruction, to give us likewiſe the beſt
ſary, than that we ſhould take great Care whom we took to our ſelves for
a Guide, and be very cautious of truſting too much to the Skill and Ho-
neſty of our Guide, in thoſe Caſes wherein we have Ability to judge and
chufe for our felves. This therefore is what he adviſes in the Words which
I have now read to you ; Beware of falſe Prophets, which come to you in
Sheep's Cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening Wolves.
In diſcourſing on which Words I ſhall do theſe four Things.
I. I ſhall ſhew who, and what are the falſe Prophets, whom we are warned
to beware of.
II. What the Caution here given us, to beware of them, obliges us to do.
III. Our Obligation both in Duty and Intereſt to beware of them. And,
IV. By what Means we may be belt enabled ſo to do.
I. I ſhall ſhew who, and what are the falſe Prophets, whom we are here
warn' to beware of.
Now by a Prophet we generally underſtand one who being endued with a
divine Spirit, or pretending ſo to be, foretells things to come; and then by
a falſe Prophet is to be underſtood either, 1. One which gives out himſelf
to be inſpir'd and ſent by God, when in Truth he is not; ſuch an one, I
ſay, is a falſe Prophet, altho' it may happen that the Thing which he fore-
tells does come to paſs; for that this might ſometimes be, we are told in
Deut. xiii. 1, &c. If there ariſe among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of
Dreams, and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder, and the Sign or Wonder come
to paſs, &c. And yet the Prophet there ſpoken of is one who entices to Ido-
latry, and therefore moſt certainly is not divinely inſpir’d. Or elſe, 2. By a
falſe Prophet, we may underſtand one whoſe Predictions are prov'd to be
falſe by the Event, and whoſe Pretences to divine Miſſion and Inſpiration are
thereby clearly diſproy'd; according to what we read, Deut. xviii. 22. When
a Prophet ſpeaketh in the Name of the Lord; if the Thing follow not, nor
come to paſs, that is the Thing which the Lord hath not Spoken, but the
Prophet hath Spoken it preſumptuouſly
But the Word Prophet is very often in the Old Teſtament, and moſt com-
monly in the New, us’d in a larger Senſe; a Prophet is in general any one
who takes upon him to inſtruct Men in the Mind and Will of God; whe-
ther he pretends to do it by immediate Impulſe and ſpecial Command from
God, or whether he does it by Virtue of a ſtanding Commiſſion given by
God to the Governors of the Church, to chuſe and ordain fit and proper
Perſons to inſtruct the People committed to their Charge, in the Truths and
Duties of Religion.
Of the former Sort, i. e. of ſuch as teach by ſpecial Warrant and Com-
mand from God, was St. John Baptiſt; a Prophet, as our Saviour ſtiles him,
and more than a Prophet. He was one who was eſpecially ſent by God, as
much as any of the ancient Prophets had been, though without the Power
of working Miracles ; but the foretelling Things to come was the ſmalleſt
Part of his Commiſſion ; his main Buſineſs was to inſtruct Men in their Du-
ty, and to perſuade them to Repentance ; John did baptiſe in the Wilder-
neſs, and preach the Baptiſm of Repentance for the Remiffion of Sins, ſays
St. Mark, Mark i. 4.
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Of
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
871
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1
Of the ſame Sort were likewiſe ſeveral in the Apoſtle's Days, who were
extraordinarily illuminated from above, not with the Knowledge of Things
to conie, but rather, it may be ſaid, of Things paft ; i. e. thcir Minds were
enlighten'd with the Knowledge and right Underſtanding of the holy Scrip-
tures, which they were able to give the true Senſe and Interprctation of, and
thereby they were excellently qualified to inſtruct the People in all Points of
Duty, whether of Belief or Practice. Of which Gift, under the Name of
Prophecy, St. Paul frequently ſpeaks in his Epiſtles, particularly in 1 Cor.
xiv. 1, 3. Deſire fpiritual Gifts, but rather that ye may propheſy.---- He
that prophefieth, ſpeaketh unto Men to Edification, and Exhortation, and
Comfort.
And of the latter Sort, i. e. of ſuch as teach by Virtue of a ſtanding. Com-
miſſion given by God to the Governors of the Church, to chuſe and ordain
fit Perſons to inſtruct the People committed to their Charge in the Truthis
and Duties of Religion ; of this Sort, I ſay, I ſuppoſe were thoſe who in
the Old Teſtament are called, the Sons of the Prophets, but in the Goſpel
more frequently, Scribes or Lawyers, i. e. ſuch as had been brought up in
the Study of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Teſtament, and were therefore
ſaid by our Saviour to fit in Moſes Seat, and were indeed the fitteſt and beſt
qualified to be publick Inſtructors of the People in ordinary Times ; that is,
when there were none extraordinarily infpired, and eſpecially commiſlioned
by God to execute this Office, as there were not from the Time of the Pro-
phet Malachi, to the Days of St. John Baptiſt, nor perhaps liave been from
the Apoſtle's Days down to our Times.
And this Notion of the Word Prophet for a Tcacher or Preacher was ſo
well known, and ſo generally allow'd of, that even the Greek Heathen Poet
Epimenides, is by St. Paul himſelf, when he cites a Saying of his, in Tit. i.
12. calld a Prophet; one of themſelves, even a Prophet of their own ſaid,
the Cretians are always Liars, &c. And he was therefore accounted and
calld a Prophet, becauſe he reprehended the Vices of Men, and gave them
excellent Rules and Inſtructions of good Living.
And taking the Word Prophet in this large Senſe, (which, I ſuppoſe, is
the Senſe wherein we ought to underſtand it in this Place) a falfe Prophet
is either, 1. One who pretends to be ſpecially and extraordinarily inſpir’d by
God, when indeed he is not ; or, 2. One who aſſumes to himſelf the Of
fice of a Guide or Teacher in the Church without being lawfully choſen and
ordain'd to that Office, how well qualified ſoever he may be, or may think
himſelf to be, for it; or elſe, 3. One who, tho' lawfully commiſſion'd to
be a publick Teacher and Inſtructer of the People, does not diſcharge his Truſt
faithfully, but either through Ignorance or Malice, miſleads thoſe who are com-
mitted to his Care. A falſe Prophet is a falſe Teacher ; and fo St. Peter
ſeems to expound the Word, 2 Pet. ii. 1. There were falſe Prophets, among
the People, even as there ſhall be falſe Teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable Hereſies, even denying the Lord that bought them, &c.
Theſe then are the falſe Prophets whom we are here warn’d to beware
of, viz. either ſuch as take upon them to be Teachers, without Commif-
fion from God, either ordinary or extraordinary ; or elſe ſuch as teach falſe
Doctrine.
I proceed now to the ſecond Thing propounded, which was,
II. To ſhew what the Caution here given us, to beware of falſe Prophets,
obliges us to do. And,
1. The chief Thing intended by this Caution was doubtleſs this ; That
we ſhould take Care that we be not miſled by fuch. Men into any hurtful
Error or finful Practice. The Deſign of ſuch Seducers is to intice us from
the
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872
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
the right way into that which leads to Deftru&ion; or if that be nor actually
in their Intention, as perhaps it may not always be, they themſelves being de-
ceiy'd in the way they have taken, and ſo meaning well to thoſe whom
they would perſuade to bear thicm Company in it ; yet that however will
be the Conſequence of our being milled by them; for, if ( as our Saviour
fays) the Blind lead the Blind, they all both fall into the Ditch. Our Bu ..
fincís therefore, on the other Side, is to look well to our own Goings ; that
is, by the beſt Helps we have, viz. by the Light of Reaſon, by the brighter
Light of Scripture, and by the Affiftance of thoſe Guides whom we have
Reaſon to think the moſt skilful and the moſt honeſt, to endeavour to find out
the right Way; and when we have found it, to keep on ſtcadily in it; and
as the Apoſtle exhorts, Eph. iv. 14. to be thenceforth no more Children, to
ſed to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine, by the Slight
of Men, and cunning Craftineſs, whereby they lie in Wait to deceive.
2. What was farther meant by this Caution, bere are of falfe Prophets,
was this ; That we ſhould uſe our beſt Skill to diſcern between true and
falſe Prophets.
Now by what Means we may do this, our Saviour himſelf has taught us
in the Words following the Text; by their Fruits ye ſhall know them. And
what thoſe Words mean I ſhall have Occaſion to ſhew, when I shall come
in Order to diſcourſe of them. In the mean Time, this may be enough to
be ſaid at preſent upon this point.
(1.) As to thoſe who pretend to Inſpiration, I ſay that there is no Reaſon
to give the leaſt Credit to their Pretences unleſs they can do Miracles; and
that tho they ſhould do, or ſhould ſeem to do Miracles, yet if the Doctrine
which they teach, be in any Reſpect wicked, and unworthy of God, we may
certainly conclude that they are not ſent by God. And, ,
( 2.) As to thoſe who do not pretend to Inſpiration, I ſay, that if they
have no Warrant or Commiſſion to teach, we may reaſonably refuſe to hear
them, preſuming them to be falſe Prophets; becauſe ſuch they plainly are,
if not as to the Matter of their Do&rine, yet as to their Miſlion. For how
can they preach, ſays the Apoſtle, unleſs they be ſent? And it cannot be
known that they are ſent, unleſs either they have a lawful Call, that is, are
ordain’d to the Office by thoſe to whom our Saviour has given Authority to
ordain Miniſters in his Church, or elſe can Mew that they have an extraordi-
nary Call thereto by doing the Works of God, i. e. ſuch Works as cannot be
done but by a Divine Power.
3. What was farther meant by this Caution, Beware of falſe Prophets,
is this; that when we have found out any Perſon to be a falſe Prophet, ei-
ther from his groundleſs Pretence to Inſpiration, or from the Diſagreement of
his Doctrine in any Point with the fundamental Truths and Articles of Chri-
ftianity, we ſhould thenceforth give no more Ear or Credit to ſuch a Man;
becauſe having found him to be a falſe Prophet, we can have no rea-
ſonable Security that he will not miſlead and miſguide us, in any other Points
of Doctrine which we may not perhaps be ſo well able to diſcover the Fal-
ſity of. Thus we are to beware of falſe Prophets. The third Thing pro-
pounded was,
+
III. To ſhew our Obligation both in Duty and Intereſt, to beware of them.
And this will appear, if we conſider theſe two Things, which are both ſug-
geſted to us in the Text.
1. The Danger we are in of being deluded by ſuch Seducers, unleſs we
uſe great Caution to avoid the Snares which they lay for us; beware of
falſe" Prophets, for, ſays our Saviour, they come unto you in Sheep's Cloath-
ing. And,
2
2. The
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
873
7
3
2. The miſerable Conſequence of being deceiv'd and deluded by them
they come to you in Sheep's Cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening Wolves.
1. If we conſider the Danger we are in of being deluded by ſuch Seducers,
unleſs we uſe great Caution in avoiding the Snares which they lay for us :
Beware of falſe Prophets, for they come unto you, ſays our Saviour, in Sheep's
Cloathing, i.e. they appear outwardly very innocent and harmleſs, ſo that ún-
leſs we have our Eyes open, and our Wit's well about us, we may be
deſtroy'd and devour'd by them, before we ſo much as ſuſpect any Harm from
them.
For by the Sheep's Cloathing which theſe falſe Prophets do cover them-
ſelves withal, we may well underſtand all the Arts and Methods which they
uſe, to ingratiate themſelves with the People, and to gain themſelves Credit,
that the People may fall to them, and readily receive, as Truth, whatever
comes from their Mouth, without thinking it needful to trouble themſelves
to examine the Grounds and Reaſons it is built upon.
And to this End they commonly affect to make the greateſt Shew of San-
&tity and Devotion, like the Phariſees of old, who that they might be the
nore taken notice of for their Piety, prayed in Places of greateſt Concourſe;
in the Synagogues, i. e. wherever a Company of People were met together ;
or in the Corners of the Streets, i. e. where three or four Streets met toge-
ther, ſo that they might be ſeen by a great many as they paſſed by: And
that they might be thought to be very heavenly minded, and to take Delight
in nothing ſo much as converſing with God, they uſually drew out their De-
votions to an unreaſonable Length, altho' in order to that they were forc'd to
eke them out with abundance of vain and idle Repetitions.
For the fame Reaſon alſo ſuch falſe Teachers do commonly expreſs a more
flaming Zeal for God and Religion, and thoſe Doctrines which they teach as
the great Truths of Religion, than even the beſt Men do for thoſe which are
indeed the great Truths of the Goſpel ; imitating herein alſo the Phariſees
of old, who, as our Saviour teſtifies of them, would compaſs Sea and Land,
thought no Pains too much to be taken, no Hazards too great to be run,
even for the gaining of one ſingle Profelyte to their Party. And indeed it
has been generally, and I believe too very truly obſery'd, that the worſe the
Cauſe is which Men are engag’d in, ſo much the more zealous they com-
monly are for it.
And laſtly, That theſe falſe Prophets in Sheep's Cloathing may be the
more readily taken for Sheep, they imitate the Voice of Sheep as well as
put on their Cloathing; they ſpeak very fair to thoſe whom they inean to de-
vour; they expreſs the greateſt Charity and Kindneſs to thoſe whom they in-
tend to make a Prey of. Thus the Apoſtle, ſpeaking of ſome falſe Teachers
in thoſe Times, ſays, Gal. iv. 17. They zealouſly affect you but not well, yea,
they would exclude us, that you might affect them. i. e. Their great Zeal to-
wards you is not out of ſincere Affection to you, or Deſire of your Good
but they would ſupplant thoſe who are your true Paſtors, thereby to get all
your Affection to themſelves. And of the ſame he ſays, Rom. xvi. 18. that
by good Words and fair Speeches they deceive the Hearts of the Simple.
Such then being, as to outward Shew and Appearance, the Likeneſs be-
tween theſe Wolves in Sheep's Cloathing and thoſe who are Sheep indeed, it
is eaſy to take one for the other, and therefore highly neceſſary that we ſhould
uſe all prudent Caution, that we be not deceived in them, eſpecially if we con-
ſider yet farther in the ſecond Place,
2. The miſerable Conſequence of being deceiy'd in them, and deluded by
them; for notwithſtanding the fair Shew which they make, they are indeed,
as the Text ſays, inwardly ravening Wolves. Their Deſign is only to devour
thoſe whom they deceive ; and ſo that they may but make ſome Gain and
Vol. II.
Ad-
Y y y
874
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
Advantage to themſelves, they care not what becomes of thoſe whom they
miſlead. This the Apoſtle obſerves, Rom. xvi. 18. and by this Argument he
inforces a Caution which he had before given, of the fame Senſe with this
in the Text: Mark them, ſays he, which cauſe Diviſions and Offences, con-
trary to the Doétrine which ye have learned, and avoid them: for they that
are ſuch ſerve not our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but their own Belly. And in 1 Tim.
vi. 3, &c. having ſpoken of ſome falſe Prophets, who taught otherwiſe than
he had done, and conſented not to wholfom Words, even the Words of our
Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and to the Doctrine which is according to Godlineſs, he
calls them Men of corrupt Minds, and deſtitute of the Truth, who ſuppoſe
that Gain is Godlineſs ; from ſuch, ſays he, withdraw thy ſelf. And in Tit.
i. 11. ſpeaking of the like unruly and vain Talkers and Deceivers, he ſays,
that they ſubverted whole Houſes, teaching things which they ought not, for
filthy Lucre's ſake. And St. Peter ſays of the ſame Sort of Perſons, 2 Pet.
ii. 3. Thro Covetouſneſs ſhall they with feigned Words make Merchandiſe
of you. And the ſame our Saviour had obſerv'd before concerning the hypo-
critical Phariſees, viz. that Religion was only a Pretence, and their own
Gain and Profit all that they intended. Matth. xxiii. 14. Woe unto you Scribes
and Phariſees, Hypocrites; for ye devour Widow's Houſes, and for a Pre-
tence make long Prayers.
But that we are ſpoiled and made a Prey of by ſuch Deceivers is the leaſt
Miſchief of our being ſeduced by them; what is of much more important
Conſideration, is, that if we are deceived by them, it may be to our eternal Ruin
and Deſtruction. For there is but one Way to Life, viz. the Way of Truth
and ſtrict Holineſs; ſo that whenever we are ſeduced from that, we fall of
Courſe into ſome other Way which leads to Deſtruction; and if this happens
to us for want of looking well to our ſelves, and of uſing ſuch Caution as
we ought to have had, to beware of falle Prophets, it will avail us nothing
to plead, that we did not go out of the Way our ſelves of our own Choice,
but were miſled by thoſe to whoſe Guidance we had committed our ſelves,
and who, we hop'd, would have guided us right; for we had fair Warning
given us before, that many falſe Prophets were
gone out into the World; and
this was a good Reaſon, why we fhould not believe every Spirit, but ſhould try
the Spirits whether they were of God, as St. John argues in 1 Epiſt
. iv. 1. We
had been told before by St. Paul, Afts xx. 29. that after the Apoſtles de-
parting grievous Wolves would enter in, not ſparing the Flock, and that of
themſelves alſo ſome Men should ariſe ſpeaking perverſe things, to draw away
Diſciples after them; and this was a good Reaſon why we ſhould have
watched. We had been told alſo by the ſame Apoſtle, 2 Tim. iii. I. that in
the laft Days perillous Times ſhould come, becauſe that a great many would
have a Form of Godlineſs who would deny the Power thereof; and that ſuch
as theſe would creep into Houſes, and lead captive filly Women, laden with
Sins, led away with diverſe lufts
. This Forewarning therefore ought to have
engaged us to uſe our beſt Diſcretion to diſcern them who were ſuch, and
having: found them, to turn away from them, as the Apoſtle exhorts at the
fifth Verſe of that Chapter. For the Reaſon why God permits ſuch falſo
Teachers to ariſe, is that his People may be always upon their Guard againſt Se-
ducers, and may prove the Sincerity of their Love and Obedience by with-
ſtanding the Temptation which is thereby laid in their way. So we are told,
Deut. xii. 1, 2, 3. If there ariſe among you a Prophet, and giveth thee
a Sign or a Wonder, which cometh to paſs, ſaying, Let us go after other
Gods, and let us ſerve them; thou ſhalt not hearken unto the Words of
that Prophet, for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye
love the Lord your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul. And
the Apoſtle gives the ſame Reaſon of the Hereſies which were to be in the
Chriſtian
Cautions againſt falfe Prophets.
875
which was,
Chriſtian Church, 1 Cor. xi. 19. There muſt be Herefies among you, that
they which are approved may be made manifeſt among you.
The Caſe then in ſhort is this ; if we do beware of falſe Prophets, if we
are careful to find out who are ſuch, and having found them, are careful not
to be miſled by them ; as our Virtue in refifting ſuch a Temptation is greater
than if we had not met with any ſuch Temptation, ſo it will be rewarded
with an higher Degree of Glory; but if we fall by it, we are no more ex-
cuſable than if we had fallen by any other Temptation. They indeed, who
do ſeduce, will be puniſh'd more ſeverely than they who are ſeduc'd by them;
but nevertheleſs, they who are ſeduced, eſpecially if their own Want of Care
and Caution was the Cauſe of their being ſeduc'd, muſt not look to eſcape ; for
as our Saviour ſays, in the Words before cited, If the Blind lead the Blind, they
mall both fall into the Ditch; if Men go in the broad Way which leads to De-
ſtruction, they will aſſuredly be deſtroyed, whether they lead or whether they
follow; thcy who go together in the ſame Way, muſt come to the ſame End
Having ſeen therefore now, who are the falſe Prophets whom we are to
beware of, and what it is to beware of them, and the great Reaſon which
we have ſo to do, I proceed to the fourth and laſt Thing propounded,
at laſt.
1
?
.
IV. To Thew by what Means we may be beſt enabled to beware of them.
And the ſureſt Method of doing this, is that which our Saviour himſelf
preſcribes in the Words following the Text; by their Fruits ye ſhall know
them.
But of that, as I have already noted, I ſhall have Occaſion to ſpeak here-
after, when I come to diſcourſe on thoſe Words; at prefent therefore I ſhall
niention only ſome other more general Means, which I think are proper to
be uſed for this Purpoſe, and by which, even fuch as are not ſo well able to
judge of them by their Fruits, may yet be in good Meaſure ſecur'd againſt
the Seduction of falſe Prophets. And,
1. One good Means to be ſecur'd againſt the Seduction of falſe Teachers
is, to accept for Teachers and Guides thoſe, and thoſe only; who are law-
fully callid and ordained to that Office by thoſe, to whom by the Divine
Providence the Care and Government of the Church is committed, I mean
of that eſtabliſh'd Church of which it was our Lot to be born Members.
And to this Rule I only make one Exception, that is, when the publick
Doctrine of the Church, to which all who are allowed to be Miniſters in
the ſame muſt be ſuppoſed to have ſubſcribed, or to have declared their Al-
fent; when, I ſay, the publick Do&trine of the Church whereof we are Mem-
bers, is manifeſtly wicked and corrupt, and may be eaſily prov'd to be fo, by
the clear Dictates of natural Reaſon, or plain Texts of Scripture: For in this
Caſe, indeed, I cannot ſay, it is the ſafeſt and wiſeſt Way for a Man to ſub-
mit to the Direction of thoſe Guides, who, upon Suppoſition (which muſt
be ſuppos'd) that their Doctrine will be the ſame with that of the Church,
of which they are Miniſters, he is ſure will miſlead him, if he follows their
Direction. I would not therefore adviſe a Man who lives in a Church of
the Roman Communion, the publick and allow'd Doctrine of which he muſt
needs know, if he be at all acquainted with the holy Scripture, to be very
corrupt, and in many Points directly contrary to the Doctrine of the Goſpel;
I would not, I ſay, adviſe ſuch an one, to rely with Confidence upon the Di-
rection of the Guides of that Church, of whoſe Ignorance or Diſhoneſty he
is ſo well affur'd; but rather I would adviſe him to withdraw himſelf from
ſuch a corrupt Communion, and to uſe the beſt of his Diſcretion to find
out a purer Church to which to join himſelf, and in which he might rea-
ſonably hope to meet with Guides of greater Skill, or more Honeſty.
But,
*
876
Cautions againſt falfe Prophets.
any other
And yet
But, I ſay, except in that one Caſe, and eſpecially if after comparing, in the beſt
Manner we are able, the Doctrine of the Church we live in with the Do-
atrine of the Scripture, we find them very agreeable with, and conſonant
to each other ; it is, I think, the wiſeſt and the ſafeſt Courſe that a Man can
take, to continue in the Communion of that Church in which he was born,
and to ſubmit, in the general, to the Direction of thoſe Guides, who by the
publick Authority of the eſtabliſh'd Church are commiſſioned to have the
Guidance and Overſight of the People, rather than to accept of
Perſon for a Guide, who is not ſo authoriſed and commiſſion'd ; what Brags
ſoever he may make of his greater Skill, or what ſpecious Shew ſoever he may
make of Piety and Sincerity.
For this we think our beſt Prudence in all other Caſes of the like
Nature.
Thus, for Inſtance, when we are ſick, we think it better to take the Ad-
yice of a licens'd Phyſician, whoſe Skilfulneſs has been examin’d, and whoſe
Ability has been allow'd of by thoſe who are beſt able to judge thereof, than
to truſt our Lives in the Hands of any other Man who is not ſo approv'd
and licens'd, tho' he talks of himſelf much more confidently than the other
does, and pretends to have an infallible Remedy for every Diſeaſe.
it is poſſible, that ſome who are not licens'd to practiſe Phyſick, may have very
good Skill in it, and that ſome who are licens'd may not be ſo skilful therein
as might be will’d.
And thus alſo, if we were to travel in a difficult Way, over a wild Heath
or Deſert, in a Way not eaſily to be found without a Guide; or if we
were to ford a River which was fordable but in one Place, and that a nar-
row Track or Cauſeway which a Stranger to it could hardly light upon; and
if to prevent the Inconvenience which might happen to Travellers through
Miſtake, the Government of the Country had licenſed ſome certain Perſons,
of ſuch as had been examin'd and were known to be skilful in the Way or
Ford, and had ordered them to be ready on all Occaſions to guide and con-
duct ignorant Travellers therein ; who would not think it a wiſer Courſe to
commit himſelf to the Conduct of one of theſe licenſed or authoriſed Guides,
than to truſt to the Guidance of any other Perſon, who boaſted much of his
own Skill, but could not produce a publick Teſtimonial thereof? Who would
not think that he had a better moral Affurance of the Skilfulneſs and Fide-
lity of that Guide, who had been examin’d and approv'd of, and had been
authoris’d to be a Guide by thoſe who were the beſt Judges of a Man's Suf-
ficiency for that Office, and who had alſo given Security that he would dif-
charge it faithfully to the beſt of his Skill and Power, than he could have
only from a Man's own Teſtimony concerning himſelf? And yet in this Cafe
it would be poſſible, that ſome, who were not ſo publickly authoriſed, might
have as good Underſtanding in the Way or Ford as any of theſe licenſed
Guides.
And the Cafe is much the ſame in the Matter we are now ſpeaking of;
it is poſſible, that a Man who offers himſelf to be a Guide to us in our fpi-
ritual Concerns, and who comes to us of himſelf without being ſent, may
have ſtudied the Scriptures very well, and may have attain'd good Skill and Know-
ledge in that Way to Heaven which he offers to guide us in; but I ſay, that
whether he has ſuch Skill or not, we cannot ſo well be aſſured, as we may be
of their Ability and Integrity, who are authoris’d and commiſſion'd to execute
the Office of ſpiritual Guides to the People, by thoſe who are beſt able to
judge of the Qualifications which are neceſſary for the well-diſcharging of that
Office; by thoſe, to whom alſo the Care and Government of the Chriſtian
Church is committed by Chriſt himſelf, the great Shepherd and Biſhop of out
Souls. i Pet. ii, 25.
If
*
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
877
1
1
If therefore we are well ſatisfied that the Doctrine of the Church we live
in, as taught in her Articles of Religion, in her Homilies, and in her Litur-
gy; and which all who are allow'd to exerciſe the Office of Miniſter's therein
muſt at leaſt make an outward and open Profeſſion of; and contrary to which
they cannot teach, without being therefore liable to be' cenſur'd; if, I fay, we
are ſatisfied that the Doctrine of the eſtabliſhed Church which we are Mem.
bers of, is in the general true and good, and agreeable to the holy Scriptures ;
it is plainly our wifeſ Courſe to accept of, and ſubniit our ſelves to, thoſe
ſpiritual Guides, who by the publick Authority of the Church are appointed
to conduct us, rather than of our own Heads to chuſe Guides to our felyes
out of ſuch as offer themſelves to the Office, but are not lawfully coinmiſ-
ſion'd to execute the ſanie ; and of whoſe Ability and Integrity we cannot
conſequently be ſo well aſſured, as we may be of theirs, who come to us with
publick Warrant and Authority.
For in caſe thoſe Teachers, whom we according to our own liking do
make Choice of, ſhould indeed be as skilful and as honeſt, and every way as
ſufficient as thoſe whom the Church had appointed to inſtruct us ; there would
be however no Praiſe at all due to us upon this Account, it being by good
Chance only, not by Prudence, that we happen'd to make ſo lucky, a Choice.
In this Cafe all which can be ſaid is, that it was our Fortune to fall into
good Hands, when at the ſame Time a great many others who took the
ſame Courſe, and thewed as much Wiſdom in the Choice of a Guide as
we did, were by the Guide whom they had choſen, deceived and miſled to
their eternal Ruin. And however Men may; and do ſometimes fare better
in this world for their being fortunate, it may well be doubted whether any
ſhall do ſo in the other; and if they ſhall not, I think it muſt be ſaid that
the Reaſon is, becauſe there was ſuch a great Miſtake committed in the firſt
Step which they took, (i. e. in chuſing a Guide for themſelves, when they
had no good Reaſon to except againſt thoſe Guides, which the Church had
provided) as could never afterwards be rectified by the beſt Rules and Direc-
tions which could be given them.
So that I do not know, whether I may not ſay, that the Condition even
of them who happen to be miſled by following the Directions of thoſe Teach-
crs whom God in his Providence has plac'd over them, is as hopeful as theirs,
who merely by good Chance and Accident happen'd on ſuch as were better
able to teach them. But this I am ſure I may ſay, that the Error of ſuch as
are led into Error by thoſe Teachers who were lawfully ordained and appoint-
ed to inſtruct them, is much more excuſable, than the ſame or the like Error
is in others, who are led into it by thoſe Teachers whom they themſelves,
having itching Ears, as the Apoji le ſpeaks, have heaped up to themſelves.
And this I am alſo ſure I may ſay farther in general, that the Caſe of thoſe
who being not able to find out the right Way themſelves, have miſtaken it
thro' the Ignorance or Deceit of thoſe who were by lawful Authority appoint-
ed to guide them, is very pitiable and pardonable, becauſe they did all which
they prudently could do to avoid Miſtake ; for ſo far as they were able to find
out the right Way by their own Skill, they walked in it, and when they
were at a Loſs, they followed the Directions of thoſe ſpiritual Guides, under
whoſe Care the divine Providence had plac'd them. And what could they
have done more or better than this? For a Man who knows not the Way
himſelf
, can hardly be ſuppos’d to have Judgment enough to diſcern who
is fit to guide him. Having therefore taken the wiſeft Courſe which in thoſe
Circumſtances they could take, having done all which was in their Power
to do to avoid Error; we may reaſonably think that that Miſtake which af-
ter all they did fall into, will not be imputed to them as a Fault, by a mer.
ciful God; or if it be, yet that they ſhall obtain Pardon for it by a general
Vol. II.
Z z z
Confeſſion
1
878
Cautions againſt falſe Prophets.
Confeſſion of, and Repentance for, all their ſecret and unknown Sins; ſuch
as that of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. xix. 12. Who can underſtand his Errors? Oh!
cleanſe thou me from my ſecret Faults. Whereas on the other Side, they
who are miſled by thoſe Guides, whom they themſelves do make Choice
of, have nothing to plead in their own Excuſe; they cannot transfer the
Blame from themſelves, as the others may in great Meaſure do, by caſting
it upon their Guides ; becauſe, that they had ſuch ignorant or deceitful Guides,
was wholly their own Fault; for they were not Guides ſent them by God, they
were not Guides appointed to them by the Church, but they were ſuch as they
themſelves choſe. It was one Fault therefore, that they accepted, and received
as a Prophet, one who could give no Proof, neither ordinary, nor extraordi-
nary, of a divine Miſſion; and it was another Fault, their being miſled and
deceived by him.
Nevertheleſs, I would not have what I have now ſaid, to be ſo underſtood,
as if I meant to preferibe it as the beſt Means to avoid Error, that we ſhould
yield a blind Obedience in all Things, to the Direction even of thoſe ſpiritual
Guides, which the Providence of God has placed over us; for the Apoſtle
St. Paul foretels, Acts xx. 30. that not only grietous Wolves from without
would enter in to devour the Flock, but that of themſelves alſo, i. e. from
among themſelves, even in the Churches which the Apoſtles had planted with
their own Hands, Some Men would ariſe Speaking perverſe things. And the
ſame Thing may happen at any Time, in the moſt pure, in the beſt conſti-
tuted Church in the World. After all the Care which the Biſhops and Go-
vernors of the Church can take (who are bur Men and cannot ſee into the
Heart) there may be ſome admitted into the Miniſtry, who are not worthy;
ſome falfe Prophets and deceitful Workers, as the Apoſtle calls them, 2 Cor.
xi. 13. transforming themſelves into the Apoſtles of Chriſt : Or if all ſuch
could be kept out by the Care and Vigilance of Church Governors, yet ſtil?
even the wiſeſt and beſt Men, and the moſt able Guides in the Church, are
but Men; they are conſequently not infallible, they are ſubject to Ignorance
and Miſtake. It is not therefore, as I ſaid, the People's Duty to yield a blind
Obedience to their Directions; but they ought to fee, when they can do it,
with their own Eyes, and to judge as well as they are able for themſelves;
and if they do not, their Errors, even tho' they ſhould be led into them by
ſuch as are their lawful Paſtors, would not be excuſable.
I add this therefore in the ſecond Place, as another good Means neceffa-
ry to be ufed by the People, to ſecure them againſt the Seduction of falſe
Teachers, viz.
2. That they ſhould examine, as well as they are able, the Doctrines even
of thoſe who are their lawful Teachers, by the Rule of Truth, i. e. by the
Word of God. To the Law, and to the Teſtimony, ſays the Prophet; if
they Speak not according to this Word, it is becauſe there is no Light
in them, Iſaiah viii. 20. Whoever they be, even tho' they be thoſe Guides,
which are fet over us by God's Providence, whom in the general we are
commanded to obey, and to whom in general it is our Duty to ſubmit our
ſelves, as you may fee, Heb. xiii. 17 : Whoever, I ſay, they be, who teach
any Doctrine contrary to the Scripture, or not agreeable thereto, they are ſo
far falſe Apoſtles, deceitful Workers, and ſuch falſe Prophets as we are warn-
ed to beware of. Nay, if, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, an Angel from Heaven ſhould
preach any other Goſpel to us, different from what was taught by Chriſt and his
Apoſtles, he would be to be accurſed, and by no Means to be hearkned to.
Having therefore this certain Rule for the Trial of Doctrines, it is the Du-
ty
of all thoſe who have it, to make Tryal thereby, as well as they are able,
of the Doctrines which are propos d to them, even by their true and law-
ful Paſtors; for even our Saviour himſelf deſired no Credit to be given to his
Preaching
Cautions againſt falfe Prophets.
879
Preaching, if it had not been agreeable to former divine Revelations ; ſearch
the Scriptures, ſays he, John v. 39. for they are they which teſtify of me.
And when St. Paul and Silas, who had given ſufficient Proof of their Com-
miſſion to teach, by the Miracles which they did, preached the Goſpel at Be-
rea, it is obſerv'd, that the Bereans would not take what they ſaid upon their
Credit only, but that they might be fully ſatisfied of the Truth of it, exa-
mined it by the Scripture: And for this their Caution and Prudence we
find them much commended, Afts xvii. 11. Theſe were more noble than thoſe
in Theſſalonica, in that they received the Word with all Readineſs of Mind,
and ſearched the Scriptures daily, whether thoſe things were ſo.
And the ſame Method which they took to ſecure themſelves from Error
and Deceir, is preſcribed to all by the Apoſtles of our Lord; by St. Paulin
1 Theff. v. 21. Prove all things, hold faſt that which is good ; and by St.
John, 1 Epiſt
. iv. 1. Beloved, believe not every Spirit ; but try the Spirits,
whether they be of God; becauſe many falſe Prophets are gone out into the
World.
But to ſpeak at large to this Point now, would prevent nie in ſaying what
will be more proper to be ſaid, when I ſhall come to diſcourſe on the next
Words. I proceed therefore to add another, a third general Means of being
ſecured from the Seduction of falſe Prophets ; and that is,
3. That we be always very ſincere in the Profeſſion and Practice of Reli-
gion, that we take Care to keep a good Conſcience in every Thing, and to
practiſe religiouſly whatever we are perſuaded is our Duty, And this Method
we find preſcribed by St. Paul, 1 Tim. i. 19. Holding Faith and a good Con-
ſcience, which ſome having put away concerning Faith have made Shipwreck.
In which Words it is clearly intimated, that a Love of Truth and Goodneſs
is the beſt Security againſt Error ; and that they who put away a good Con-
ſcience, are in the greateſt Danger of falling from the Truth into the moſt
hurtful Hereſies. And to this agree thoſe Words of our Saviour, John vii.
17. If any Man will do the Will of God, he ſhall know of the Doctrine
whether it be of God. For the Spirit of God dwells in thoſe Men, who
are of honeſt and upright Minds, and readily obey all the Motions and Dic-
tates of it; and the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth, as able to keep us
from Error as from Sin ; ſo that if we are careful not to grieve this holy
Spirit of God by any wilful Sin, and thereby provoke him to forſake us, we
have no Reaſon to fear, but that by the ſame Spirit we likewiſe ſhall be led
and guided into all Truth, and preſerved, at leaſt, from all dangerous and
hurtful Errors.
And the contrary is what may very juſtly be fear'd, by all thoſe who are not
careful to live up to what they know, and eſpecially by thoſe, who allowing
themſelves in known Sin, do daily grieve the holy Spirit of God; they, I
ſay, may juſtly fear, they ſhall be forſaken by that Spirit
, which they do thus
continually grieve and reſiſt
, and thar they ſhall be given up by God to a re-
probate Mind, and to all the Deluſions of the Devil ; according to that
Threarning which we meet with in 2 Theſl. ii. 10, 11, 12. Becauſe they re-
ceived not the Love of the Truth, that they might be ſaved; for this Cauſe
God ſhall ſend them ſtrong Deluſions, that they ſhould believe a Lie, that
they all might be damned who believed, not the Truth, but had Pleaſure in
Unrighteouſneſs.
I only add, in the fourth and laſt Place, one other good Means, or Ex-
pedient, to be ſecured from the Seduction of falſe Prophets; and that is,
4. Conſtant and earneſt Prayer to God, that he would be pleaſed to give
unto us the Spirit of Wiſdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of him, that
the Eyes of our Underſtanding being enlightned, Eph. i. 17. we may be able
to diſtinguiſh between Truth and Error; for it is the Lord that giveth Wiſ,
dom
880
Cautions againſt falfe Prophets.
:
dom, and out of his Mouth cometh Knowledge and Underſtanding, as we are
told, Prov. ii 6. This Method therefore we find preſcribed by St. James, Chap
i. Ver. s. If any Man lack Wiſdom, let him ask it of God, who giveth to
all Men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it ſhall be given him.
But then, ſeeing we are bound to pray for others as well as for our ſelves,
and it is a Matter of general Concern to all, that they be not ſeduced and
miſled; and yet as long as there are Seducers and Deceivers in the World,
there will be great Danger that many will follow their pernicious Ways; it
is plainly our Duty to enlarge our Petitions, ſtill farther, and to make it a
Part of our Prayer to God, that he would be pleaſed to lay open the Deceit
of all ſuch Impoſtors, that their Folly and Wickedneſs may be manifeſt to
all; and that ſince the Harveſt is great, and the true Labourers but few,
he would be pleaſed to ſend forth Labourers into his Harveſt, and to grant
that his Church being always preſerved from falfe Apoſtles, may be ordered
and guided by faithful and true Paſtors. Colle&t for St. Matthias's Day.
And becauſe God does not now ſend Prophets and Teachers by ſpecial
and extradiordinary Commiſſion, as he has ſometimes formerly done, but
by an ordinary and ſtated Power, which he has veſted in the Governors of
his Church, the Biſhops and chief Paſtors thereof; it is therefore farther re-
quiſite, that at all Times, but eſpecially at the four Seaſons of the Year,
which are appointed for the Ordination of Miniſters, i. e. in the four Ember
Weeks, of which this is one; we ſhould comply with the good Order of the
Church, and put up ſolemn Prayers with Faſting, upon this great Occaſion;
humbly beſeeching God, firſt on the Behalf of the Biſhops, that he would
so guide and govern the Minds of his Servants, the Biſhops and Paſtors of
his Flock, that they may lay Hands ſuddenly on no Man, but faithfully and
wiſely make Choice of fit Perſons to ſerve in the Sacred Miniſtry of his
Church ; and then in the Behalf of thoſe who ſhall be called to any holy
Function, that he would give them his Grace and heavenly Benediction, and
So repleniſh them with the Truth of his Doctrine, and endue them with In-
nocency of Life, that they may faithfully ſerve before him, to the Glory of his
great Name, and the Benefit of his holy Church.
All which God of his great Goodneſs be pleas'd to grant, for the Sake of
our Lord Jeſus Chriſt; to whom, &c.
*
mas
1
Distancia en
DIS-
881
DISCOURSE LXXXII.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Pro-
phets.
7
MATTH. VII. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
Ye Shall know them by their Fruits. Do Men gather
Grapes of Thorns, or Figs of Thiſtles?
Even ſo every good Tree bringeth forth good Fruit,
but a corrupt Tree bringeth forth evil Fruit.
A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit, neither can
a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit.
Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewn
down, and caſt into the Fire.
Wherefore by their Fruits ye ſhall know them.
.
SIS
UR Saviour in the foregoing Verſe had caution'd his
Diſciples to beware of falſe Prophets; i. e. to take Care
that they were not miſled by them into any hurtful Er-
ror or ſinful Practice; and the Danger and Miſchief of
being ſo miſled, he had intimated in the laſt Clauſe of
that Verſe; inwardly they are ravening Wolves; i. e.
they deſtroy thoſe whom they deceive; they draw them
into the broad Way, which leads to, and ends in, Death and Deſtruction. And
the Difficulty which there was in obſerving that Caution which he had given,
to beware of them, he had alſo intimated in the foregoing Clauſe, they come
unto you in Sheeps cloathing; i. e. they are oftentimes, in outward Appear-
ance, ſo like to Sheep, or rather ſo like to the true Shepherds, that it is hard
to diſtinguiſh them the one from the other.
It being therefore a Matter of no ſmall Difficulty to know who are true,
and who are falſe Prophets, and it being alſo a Matter of the greateſt Impor-
tance and Concern to us that we ſhould know them ; it was very proper, and
highly requiſite, that our Saviour ſhould alſo give us fome Mark and Token
whereby we might be able to diſtinguiſh them; and this he does in the Words
which I am now to diſcourſe of.
Vol. II,
Аааа
Wherein
1
882
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
ز
Wherein firſt he gives the Mark or Token by which they might be diſtin-
guilh'd ; by their Fruits, ſays he, ye all know them.
And then by an eaſy and familiar Similitude he ſhews, that this was the
beſt and propereſt Mark which could be given for this Purpoſe; becauſe how
like ſoever the falſe Prophets might be to the true ones, in outward Shew,
Appearance, or Pretence, they were yet really of a quite different Sort and
Kind ; that they were as differing from one another in Nature, as Wolves are
from Sheep; that the inward Tempers and Diſpoſitions of their Minds were
as different and unlike the one to the other, as the Sap and Juice of ſeveral
Kinds of Trees is in Tafte, or in Virtue and Operation.
But now two Fruit-bearing Trees, that bear Fruits of quite different Taſtes
and Qualities, may yet be very like one another in Shape and Proportion, or
in the Figure or Colour of their Leaves or Bloſfonis, and ſo may not be eaſi-
ly diſtinguiſhable by the Eye only, eſpecially not by an unskilful Eye, or upon
a ſlight and tranſient Look: Nevertheleſs in this Caſe, a Man who cannot
diſtinguiſh Trees by his Eye, or if he can do that, yet cannot, only by look-
ing upon them, ſay, which is a good or which is a bad Tree; if he will
but be at the Pains to taſte of the Fruits, may eaſily enough diſtinguiſh be-
tween the Fruits by his. Taſte, or at leaſt by their Virtue and Operation ; and
when he has taſted and tried both, he may then know certainly which of
them is the beſt; and ſo remembring from which Tree he gather'd this
Fruit, and from which that, he may afterwards be able to ſay with Certain-
ty, this is a good Tree, and that is a bad one; this is fit to be preſery'd, but
that other, tho' it looks as well as this, yet is fit for nothing but to be cut
down and burn'd. By their Fruits ye ſhall know them. Do Men gather
Grapes of Thorns, or Figs of Thiſtles? Even ſo, every good Tree bringetis
forth good Fruit, but à corrupt Tree bringeth forth evil Fruit. A good
Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit, neither can a corrupt Tree bring forth
And becauſe thoſe Fruit-Trees which bear Fruit not pleaſant to the Talte,
or not fit and wholeſome for Uſe, are ſeldom permitted to cumber the Ground
long, but are uſually cut down and burn'd ; our Saviour here, by the Way,
and as it were in a Parentheſis, takes notice at the nineteenth Verſe, that this
ſame ſhall alſo be in due Time the Fate of falſe Teachers: That however
they may be permitted for a while to deceive the World, their End is De-
ſtruction ; and the Miſchief which they do to others, will at laſt come double
upon their own Heads. Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit is
heron down and caſt into the Fire.
And then, at laſt, at the twentieth Verſe, he returns again to his fornier
Subject, and repeats again the Advice and Direction which he had before given,
and which, by the foremention'd Similitude, he had prov'd to be the beſt and
moſt proper Means to avoid being ſeduc'd by falſe Prophets; wherefore by
their Fruits ye Mall know them.
By which Repetition ; for no Repetition of the ſame Thing in the holy
Scripture can reaſonably be thought vain, ſuperfluous, or to no purpoſe; by
this Repetition therefore I ſay, he ſhews that the Advice and Direction
which he had before given is ſuch as it highly concerns us carefully to ob-
ſerve and practiſe; there being no other Way whereby we can be ſo well ſe-
curd againſt the Seduction of falſe Teachers, as by being able to diſcern
who are ſuch ; for whom we know to be a falſe Teacher, we ſhall hardly
give Ear and Credit to; and no ſuch certain Way to diſtinguiſh falſe Teach-
ers from true as by their Fruits. Te fall know them by their Fruits. So,
as I obſerv'd, our Saviour ſays in the firſt Words of the Text, and he ſays
the ſame Thing again in the laſt Words of it; wherefore by their Fruits
ge shall know them; and what is between theſe two Clauſes, is only an Il-
luſtration
good Fruit.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
883
ز
luſtration thereof, by a plain and familiar Similitude; the Sum and Senſe of
which we have in fewer Words, in Matth. xii. 33. The Tree is known by its
Fruit.
My chief Buſineſs therefore at this Time will be to explain the Rule
here given us by our Saviour, for the diſcovering who are falſe Prophets,
in order to our being aware of them. Beware of falſe Prophets ; ------ ye
fall know them by their Fruits.
But before I do this, and in order to the bringing what I ſhall have to
ſay upon this Subject into the narrower Compaſs; it may not be amiſs to ob-
ſerve again, thoʻI have already ſaid ſomewhat of it in my Diſcourſe on the
foregoing Words; that of Prophets, or Teachers, i. e. of ſuch as take upon
them to inſtruct Men in the Mind and Will of God, there may be reck-
oned four Sorts.
1. Such as, tho' pretending to immediate divine Inſpiration, yet do not of-
fer to give any Proof of their being ſo inſpired, but expect that they ſhould
be believed upon their own Credit; i. e. only upon their own ſaying that
they are divinely inſpired.
2. Such as not only pretend to immediate divine Inſpiration, but feem alſo
to give ſuch Proof of their being divinely inſpir’d, as the antient Prophets,
and as our Lord and his Apoſtles did; i. e. who either do, or at leaſt feem
to do miraculous Works; ſuch Works as are thought by the Beholders not
poſſible to be done, but by a divine or ſupernatural Power.
3. Such as teach by Virtue of an ordinary and ſtanding Commiſſion given
by God to the Biſhops and Governors of his Church, to chuſe out, ap-
point and ordain fit Perſons to inſtruct the People in Matters of Religion.
And,
4. Laſtly; ſuch as neither pretend to immediate divine Inſpiration, nor
yet are commiſſioned and authoriſed by the ſtanding Governors of the
Church, the Biſhops and ſupreme Paſtors thereof to preach, to the People,
but take upon them to do it of their own Heads, being much conceited of
their own Parts and Abilities that Way, and thinking it beneath them to ſit
as Auditors, when they conceive themſelves ſo much wiſer than their Teach-
ers, and ſo much better able to inſtruct People in Matters of Religion than
they are.
Now to the firſt of theſe; viz. ſuch as pretend to immediate divine In-
ſpiration, but yet do not offer to give any Proof of their being inſpir’d, I
ſhall have no Regard at all in my following Diſcourſe; becauſe the beſt and
readieſt Way to avoid being deluded by ſuch Men, is to give no Ear at all
to them.
And this is alſo what we ought in Prudence, and what we are bound in
Duty to do; for what good Reaſon have we to believe any Man to be di-
yinely inſpired only upon his own ſaying ſo?
Nay indeed tho it ſhould be true that ſuch an one is inſpired, yet unleſs
he can make Proof of it to us, better Proof than any Man's own Teſtimony
is in his own behalf, we have no Reaſon to believe him. We do wiſely there-
fore in not believing him; for ſhould we believe him to be inſpir’d only for
his own ſaying ſo, we muſt, for the ſame Reaſon, believe every other Perſon
to be inſpir'd who pretends the ſame. It is plain therefore that we can never
be ſecure againſt Impofture, if we ever conſent to take any Man's own Word
that he is inſpir'd, for a Proof that he is ſo.
Even our Saviour himſelf deſir'd not, much leſs did he claim to be be-
lieved upon theſe Terms ; nay he grants that he ought not to have been be-
liev'd, if he had not produc'd better Proof and Evidence of his divine Milli-
on and Inſpiration than his own Teſtimony only; John v. 31. If I bear
Witneſs of my self, ſays he, my Witneſs is not true; i. e. it is not ſuffici-
+
ently
884
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets,
But yet
ently credible; for true it might be, and without doubt it was.
he grants, that if he had given no other Proof of his divine Miſſion, but
only his own bare Teſtimony, Men would not have had ſufficient Reaſon
to believe that; and therefore for the farther Proof of his Authority, he ap-
peals ſometimes to the Teſtimony of the antient Prophets, all whoſe Prc-
dictions of the Meſſias were punctually fulfilld in him, at the thirty ninth
Verſe of that Chapter, Search the Scriptures; for they are they which te-
ſtify of me : Sometimes to the Witneſs of John the Baptiſt, whom all the
People took for a Prophet, at the thirty third Verſe of that Chapter, Te
ſent unto John, and he bare Witneſs unto the Truth; and above all, and
moſt frequently, to the Witneſs of God himſelf, which was given to him
by the miraculous Powers wherewith he was endued, at the thirty fixth
Verſe of that Chapter ; the Works which the Father hath given me to
finiſh, the ſame Works that I do, bear Witneſs of me that the Father hath
fent me. And again, chap. x. ver. 37, 38. If I do not the Works of my Fa-
ther, believe me not; but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the
Works.
We need therefore never trouble our ſelves to examine the Doctrine of
thoſe who come to us, pretending that they have a Revelation from God,
unleſs they are able to give ſuch Proof of their divine Miſlion and Inſpira-
tion as our Saviour did. To all others we have a ſhort Anſwer to give,
and it is ſuch an one as they can make no ſatisfactory Reply to,
namely this. If what you teach me be no other Doctrine than is already
clearly taught in the divinely inſpir'd Books of holy Scripture, what need
you pretend a ſpecial Revelation for it? Shew us but only that your Doc-
trine is taught in Scripture, and we ſhall readily believe it upon the Credit
of Scripture, though we do not believe you to be divincly inſpir'd; but if
your Doctrine be different from that which is taught in Scripture, then in-
deed you do wiſely to pretend to Revelation and Inſpiration, becauſe no-
thing elſe can be a ſufficient Warrant to you to teach any ſuch Doctrine:
Only this we have ſtill to ſay ; that God never yet ſent any Prophet into
the World with a new Revelation, but he enabled him to give good Proof
to the World, that he was inſpir'd and ſent by God. This therefore is
what we demand of you; give Proof of your divine Miſſion; do the
Works of God that we may know that you are ſent by God: And when
we ſhall ſee you work Miracles, it will be Time enough then to examine
what your Doctrine is; and if upon Examination we ſhall find that it is a
Doctrine worthy of God, and ſuch a Doctrine as Miracles can give Proof
to,
o, we ſhall not be backward to own your Miſſion, and embrace your
Doctrine. But in the mean Time we think it not fit, nor worth while to
give any Ear or Regard to you at all, nor to give our ſelves any Trouble
to hear either what your Doctrines are, or why you teach them; for any
one may pretend to Inſpiration as well as you; and any one's Pretence to
it will be as credible as yours, if you give no other Proof of it than he
does, and no other Proof do you offer at : You only ſay that you are
inſpir'd, and ſo does he; you only ſay you are ſent from God, and ſo
ſays he; ſo have ſaid a great many in all Ages, who yet have not agreed
with you as to Doctrine. Either therefore we muſt believe every Pretender
to Revelation, or elſe we cannot reaſonably believe you; either we muſt
receive every Impoſtor, who ſays he is ſent from God, or elſe we cannot
receive you, till the Signs of an Apoſtleſhip, or divine Miſſion, are wrought
in you ; which, as St. Paul ſays, ſpeaking of himſelf, 2 Cor. xii. 12. are
Signs, and Wonders, and mighty Deeds.
+
And,
ws
The Way of diſcerning falje Prophets.
885
And ſecondly, as to the laſt Sort of the Prophets or Teachers before-men-
tioned, viz. thoſe which do not pretend to immediate divine Inſpiration,
neither are commiſſioned and authoriſed by the ſtanding Governors of the
Church, the Biſhops and ſupreme Paſtors thereof, to preach to the People,
but take upon them to do it of their own Heads, being only conceited of
their own Parts and Abilities that Way, and thinking it beneath them to ſit
as Auditors, when they are, in their own Opinion, ſo much wiſer than their
Teachers, and ſo much better able to inſtruct the People in Matters of Re-
ligion, than they are; to theſe, I ſay, I ſhall likewiſe have no Regard at all
in my following Diſcourſe; becauſe theſe alſo, it may well be taken for grant-
ed, are Deceivers and Impoſtors, without making any Tryal of them, with-
out cxamining them by their Fruits, ſecing they have not ſo much as the
Sheep's Clothing upon them; fo that if we are deceived by them, it muſt
be becauſe we are willing to be deceiv'd. For of the Preachers of the Gof-
pel St. Paul ſays, Rom. x. I 5. How ſhall they preach, except they be ſent ? And
theſe Men are ſo far from being ſent by God, that they do not ſo much as
pretend to be ſent by him. For there are but two Ways of God's ſending
Men to preach, viz. either by an ordinary or by an extraordinary Miſlion:
And his ordinary Million is of thoſe who are ordain'd to this Office by the
Governors of thợ Church; ſuch as in the Jewiſh Church were the Scribes,
of whom therefore our Saviour ſays, that they did ſit in Moſes's Seat, Matth.
xxiii
. 2. ſuch as in the Chriſtian Church are the Biſhops and Presbyters,
who derive their Ordination in Succeſſion from the Apoſtles, and may therefore
be ſaid to fit in their Seat : And his extraordinary Miſſion is of thoſe whom
he himſelf appoints to the Office by ſpecial Revelation, as he did Moſes and
the Prophets, and our Saviour and his Apoſtles ; and theſe I noted before, he
always impowers to make ſufficient Proof of their Miſſion and Inſpiration,
by Signs and Wonders, and mighty Deeds.
Thoſe therefore, whom I am now ſpeaking of, having neither of theſe Mif-
fions, have plainly no Miſſion at all; and we need never trouble our ſelves
to examine the Do&rine of thoſe who take upon them to teach without any
Warrant or Commiſſion ſo to do : For they ought not to teach, not be-
ing ſent; and unleſs they can ſhew that they are ſent, we ought not to give
Ear to them. They, in preſuming to teach, uſurp an Office, which they
have no Right to; and we, if we hearken to them, are guilty of almoſt as
great a Fault, in allowing and encouraging their Uſurpation.
Having therefore, by what has been already ſaid, excluded two of the four
Sorts of Prophets or Teachers before-mentioned; viz. thoſe who pretend to
Inſpiration, but can give no Proof thercof; and thoſe who take upon them to
preach without being ſent ; there are only the two other Sorts remaining, to
whom in my following Diſcourſe it will be neceſſary to have any Reſpea, viz.
1. Such as do, or at leaſt ſeem to do Miracles, for Proof, that they are extra-
ordinarily inſpir’d and commiſſioned by God to inſtruct the People in Matters of
Religion. And, 2. Such as are appointed and ordained to preach the Goſpel, by
the Biſhops and Governors of the Church, to whom the Care of chuſing and ap-
pointing fit Perſons for this Office is ordinarily committed: For even among theſe
there
may be ſome falſe Prophets, whom therefore it is our Duty to beware of.
1. I ſay there may be ſome ſuch, even among thoſe who do, or which is
all one to us, ſeem to do Miracles, for Proof that they are extraordinarily inſpired
and commiſſioned by God, to inſtruct the People in Matters of Religion.
For thus, under the Law, he was certainly a falſe Prophet, or Teacher,
who perſuaded Men to Idolatry; and yet that ſome, who would do that, would
alſo do, or ſeem to do, ſome wonderful Works to gain themſelves Credit,
is clearly intimated by Moſes in Deut. xiii. 1, 2, 3. If there ariſe among you
a Prophet, and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder, and the Sign or the Wonder
Vol. II.
Bbbb
cometh
886
.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets
cometh to paſs, whereof be ſpake unto thee, ſaying, Let us go after other
Gods, which thou haſt not known, and let us ſerve them; thou ſhalt not
hearken to the Words of that Prophet, &c. Here was a falſe Prophet, and
yet he did, or at leaſt did ſeem to work Miracles.
And the like, we are foretold, would happen in the Chriſtian Church,
Matth. xxiv. 24 There all ariſe, ſays our Saviour, falſe Chriſts, and falſe Pro-
phets, and ſhall Mew great Signs and Wonders, infomuch that if poſſible, they
Mall deceive the very ele&t. And the Apoſtle St. Paul ſpeaking of the Man
of Sin, the Son of Perdition, who oppoſeth and exalteth himſelf above all that
is called God, or that is worſhiped, (a falſe Prophet therefore, without Doubt,
he was) yet ſays of him, 2 Thef. ii 9. that his Coming is after the Working
of Satan, with all Powers, and Signs, and lying Wonders. And,
2. There may alſo be ſome falſe Prophets among thoſe who receive Com-
miſſion from the Church, to exerciſe the Office of Teachers.
For the Biſhops and Governors of the Church are but Men, and ſo can
judge only by outward Appearance, and by the open Profeſſion which Men
makc, of the inward Qualifications of thoſe whom they ordain to be Elders
and Teachers in the Church.
And beſides, they who are orthodox when they are ordain'd, may after-
wards depart from the Truth, and may poſſibly vent their pernicious Errors
among the People for ſome While, before the Governors of the Church, be
they ever ſo watchful, can obſerve it, and put them to Silence.
Or farther, it may be, that the Governors of the Church themſelves may
not be always ſo watchful, or ſo careful in this Matter, as they ſhould be. By
theſe Means therefore, I ſay, it may happen, that there may be ſometimes falſe
Teachers, even among thoſe who are lawfully ordained to be Teachers.
Thus it was in the Jewiſh Church, in our Saviour's Time; the Scribes and
Phariſees did ſit in Moſes's Seat, i. e. they were lawfully authoriſed and com-
miſſioned to explain and interpret the Law to the People, and in the gene-
ral they did it well enough, as our Saviour himſelf bears them Witneſs,
Matth. xii. 2, 3. The Scribes and the Phariſees fit in Moſes's Seat; all
therefore, whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do; for our Sa-
viour, moſt certainly, would not have directed the People, in the general, to
follow their Advice; all that they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do ; but
that he knew, that the Doctrine of moſt of them was in the Main true
and good, well grounded upon, or agreeable to the Law. But then, as our
Saviour himſelf alſo obſerves, there were ſome Exceptions to this ; and there-
fore in other places he calls ſome of them blind Guides, and charges them
with having made void the Law of God through their own Traditions, which
they had received to hold.
And that the ſame would alſo happen in the Chriſtian Church was fore-
told by St. Paul, Aits xx. 30. where, directing his Diſcourſe to the Elders
of the Church of Epheſus, whom the Holy Ghoſt had made Overſeers, or
Biſhops of the Flock, as he had ſaid' at the twenty eighth Verſe, i. e. who
had by the Apoſtles themſelves, directed by the Holy Ghoſt, been ordained to
that Office; he ſays, that even of their own felves, fome Men ſhould ariſe,
Speaking perverſe things, to draw away Diſciples after them.
There being therefore no abſolute Security, that we ſhould not be deceiv'd
and miſled, even by thoſe whom we have the greateſt Reaſon to give Credit
to, viz. thoſe who are our lawful Guides and Teachers, or thoſe, who ſeem
to give ſufficient Proof of an extraordinary divine Inſpiration ; foraſmuch as
even among theſe there may be ſome Seducers or falſe Prophets ; it is Time
now that I proceed to that which I before told you would be my chief Bu-
ſineſs in diſcourſing on theſe Words : . viz. To explain the Rule here given
us, by our Saviour, for the diſcovering who are falſe Prophets, in Order to
Our
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
887
our being aware of them: Beware of falſe Prophets --- ?e ſhall know them
by their Fruits.
And here it will lie upon me,
I. To enquire, what are thoſe Fruits by which falle Prophets may be
known from true ones; and,
II. To ſhew how the Rule here given is to be uſed and applied; or how
we are to make a Judgment of them by their Fruits,
ز
I. I am to enquire what are thoſe Fruits by which falſe Prophets may be
known from true ones. .
And by the Fruits of falſe Prophets, by which they may be known to
be falſe Prophets, ſome underſtand, the Manner of their Life and Conver-
Sation ; others, their Doctrines, or rather the Fruits of their Doctrines, i. e.
thoſe Practices which their Doctrines have a natural Tendency to promote
and encourage.
1. I ſay, fome, by thoſe Fruits of falſe Prophets here ſpoken of, by which
they may be known to be falſe Prophets, underſtand the Manner of their
Life and Converſation; as if our Saviour had meant to give it as a Rule
to us, to reject as falſe thoſe Doctrines, which are preached and preſſed up-
on us by ſuch as are of impure and vitious Lives; and on the other Side,
to receive as true thoſe Doctrines, which are preached and preſſed upon us by
ſuch as are of blameleſs Life and Converſation.
But that this was not our Saviour's Meaning, a few Words will ſuffice
to ſhew.
For even Judas himſelf, (and no Preacher hardly can be ſuppoſed to be a
worſe Man than he was) when he was ſent forth by our Saviour with the other
Apoſtles to preach, did, without all doubt, preach the ſame good and found
Doctrine which they did; he was not therefore a falſe Prophet, altho' guilty
in his own Practice, of the greateſt Crimes.
And there can be, I think, as little doubt made, but that thoſe Perſons, ſpoken
of at the twenty ſecond Verſe of this Chapter, were true Prophets, and, as to
their Doctrine, good Teachers, who even in the Day of Judgment ſhall challenge,
and claim, as if it were their Due, from Chriſt ſome Reward for the good
Service they have done him, in preaching his Goſpel to the World; many,
ſays he, will ſay unto me in that Day, Lord, have we not propheſied in
thy Name, and in thy Name caſt out Devils, and in thy Name done many
wonderful Works? The Perſons there ſpoken of ſeem to haye been, not
only Teachers of the Truth, but Teachers of the firſt Rank, ſuch as had re-
ceived the Knowledge of thoſe Truths which they taught, by ſpecial Reve-
lation, and had given good Evidence to the World of their divine Million,
and conſequently of the Truth of their Doctrine, by Miracles ; by caſting
out Devils, and doing many wonderful Works: And yet they were far enough
from being good Men; for of them our Saviour ſays in the next Verſe, then
will I profeſs unto them, I never knew you, depart from me ye that work
Iniquity. Where you may obſerve, that it is not charg'd upon them, that
they preached without being ſent, or that they preached Lies, or that they
had not really done thoſe Miracles which they had ſeemed to do; but
only that their own Life had not been anſwerable to their Preaching.
And ſo likewiſe that the Scribes and Phariſees in our Saviour's Time
were in the main good Teachers, I have obſerved already; for our Saviour
himſelf commands the People to follow their Directions, Matth. xxiii. 3.
All whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do ; but that they
were not good Livers, he expreſſly notes in the next Words; but do not
ye after their Works, for they ſay and do not. For they bind heavy
Burthens
2
888
.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
.
Burthens and, grievous to be born, and lay them on Men's Shoulders, but
they themſelves will not move them with one of their Fingers.
From whence therefore, by the Way, we may obſerve, that it is no juſt
Cauſe of withdrawing our ſelves from the Communion of the eſtabliſhed
Church to which we belong; that there are perhaps ſome in it, lawfully
admitted to exerciſe the miniſterial Calling, whoſe Lives are not ſo exem-
plary and unexceptionable as they ſhould be: Nay, though it ſhould be any
Man's Lot to be placed under the Miniſtry of a Perſon, who gives ſomo
Scandal to his Flock by his way of Living; yet this would not be a juſt
Cauſe for that Man to reject his Miniſtry, or to ſeparate himſelf from his
Comniunion. For ftill, if he be lawfully called and admitted to the Mi-
niſtry, he is a lawful Miniſter; and if the Doctrine of the Church which
ſent him be orthodox, and his preaching be agreeable to the Doctrine of
the Church and of the Scripture, he is a good Preacher, and a true Pro-
phet; and as ſuch his Advice is to be hearkned to, and his Directions to
be obeyed. What foever they ſhall bid you obferve, that obforce and do,
ſays our Saviour, but do not after their Works, for they ſay and do not.
Not that I would be thought to excuſe or apologiſe for a ſcandalous
Miniſtry; I ſay on the contrary, that it is great Pity that any wicked Per-
ſon ſhould be admitted to ſo ſacred an Office; and great Pity it is, that,
when he is found out, he ſhould not then be rejected from it ; but all the
Watchfulneſs of Church-Governors, and the greateſt Strianofs of Church-
Diſciplinc, have never yet been fufficient wholly to prevent this Evil
, nor
probably ever will be: So that we may apply to this Caſe thoſe Words of
our Saviour, Luke xvii. 1. It is impoſſible but that Offences will come, never-
theleſs, woe uinto him thro' whom they come.
But all that I ſay is this, that the perſonal Wickedneſs of any Man who
is lawfully called to the Miniſtry, and employed therein, does not render
his Miniſtry ineffe&ual; nor, if his Teaching be found and orthodox, is his
own contrary Way of Living a good Reaſon to reject his Teaching, or an
Excuſe for not obſerving and obeying his good Directions. A vitious Per-
ſon ſhould not indeed be admitted to the Miniſtry ; that is readily granted;
and if being in the Miniſtry, and admoniſhed to amend his Lifc, he neg-
icels to do it, there is no Queſtion but that he ought to be removed from
it, as ſoon as may be, in a lawful Way: But this is properly the Carc.
of Church. Governors, not of the People; and every regular Proceeding of
this Nature muſt be a work of Deliberation and Time. If therefore this
be not done, and till this can be donc, I ſay that the Offence which he
gives by his Life, is not a reaſonablc Ground to the People of ſeparating
from his Communion ; for ftill he is a Paftor, if lawfully called; ſtill he is
their Paſtor, till lawfully removed. And though it be an Objection to him
as a Man, and much more as a Miniſter, that his Life is not anſwerable
to his Preaching, yet this is no Objection to the Truth of his Doctrine:
Nay, rather it may be thought a probable Argument that it is true, and
that he himſelf believes it to be fo; for what elſe but the Force and Pow-
er of Truth could ever make a Man preach ſo conſtantly as he does againſt
himſelf? It is no Objection therefore to his Miniſtry that he lives not as
he preaches; but it would be an unanſwerable Objection to it, if he ſhould
preach as he lives. That he lives not as he preaches, is therefore a good
Reaſon why the People ſhould not follow his Example; but it is not a good
Reaſon why they ſhould not regard his Preaching; for he may be a very
bad Man, and yet not a falſe Prophet.
And, on the other Side, it has been obſerved, that ſome Hereticks have
been Men of unblameable Lives; nay this (as I have formerly obſerved)
was certainly one Thing meant by that Sheep's Cloathing, wherewith theſe
ravening
2
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
889
:
ravening Wolves are commonly covered; they come unto you in Sheep's
Cloathing ; i. e. they often appear to be Men of the greateſt Piety, the ſtrict-
eſt Probity, and the warmeſt Zeal for Religion : The Shew of which gives:
them a Reputation, and makes the falſe Doctrines which they broach more
readily received by the People.
And it matters not, as to this, whether or no they are really ſuch as they
appear to be; 1. é. whether they have indeed as much Goodneſs, Piety, and
Zeal, as they make an outward Shew of. For the outward Shew and Ap-
pearance which Men make, is all that we can judge of them by ;' and we
ought not in Charity to judge any. Man to be worſe than he appears to be. .
So that if a falſe Prophet may be, as to his outward. Converſation, blame-
leſs and unreproveable, it is all one to us; as if he were indeed as good a
Man as we think him to be; and therefore the Manner of a Man's Life
and Converſation can by no means be a fure Mark whereby to judge,
whether he be a falſe Prophet or no; and conſequently this could not be
what our Saviour here meant by thoſe Fruits by which we may know falſe
Prophets; for by their Fruits, which he gives as a Mark or Sign by which
we may know them, he certainly meant ſomewhat which was eaſily to be
ſeen and diſcerned, elle it could not be a Mark; but whether a Man be
a good Man or no, or whether he be really as good as he outwardly ap.
pears to be, is what can be known by none but God, the Searcher of
Hearts.
Foraſmuch therefore as there are, or may be, ſome who do hold the
Truth in Unrighteouſneſs, i. e. who are orthodox in their Belief and Pro-
feſſion, and yet very wicked in their Lives; and others, on the other Side,
who though they have embraced very groſs and hurtful Errors, may not
ſee the true Conſequences of their own Opinions, and ſo may not have
their Manners corrupted thereby; or who, if they do indeed ſecretly allow
themſelves in thoſe Sins which their erroneous Doctrines do give Counte-
nance to, yet, as to their outward Converſation, which is all we can judge
by, cannot be charged with any Crime; it is evident, that the Life and
Converſation of a Man is no ſure Mark by which to know whether he
be a true or falſe Prophet ; and conſequently that this was not the Thing
meant by our Saviour in theſe Words, by their Fruits ye ſhall know them.
It remains therefore in the ſecond Place,
2. That by the Fruits here ſpoken of we muſt underſtand their Doc-
trines, or rather, the Fruits of their Doctrines; i. e. thoſe Practices which
their Doctrines have a natural Tendency to promote and encourage.
And this is indeed a very good Mark, by which to diſtinguiſh between
true and falſe Doctrines; and conſequently between true and falſe Prophets.
For it is an eaſy matter for a Man who has the Uſe of his Reaſon, and
will allow himſelf any Time to conſider Things, to diſcern what are the
natural Conſequences of any Doctrine; what Influence it is likely to have
upon thoſe who believe it; what Sort of a Life and Converſation they muſt
lead, who live and act according to the true Conſequences of ſuch an Opi-
nion: And when this is known, it is no leſs eaſy then, by thoſe natural
Notions which we have of Good and Evil, to judge, whether the Prac-
tice which is promoted and encouraged by ſuch an Opinion be good or
bad. For however in Matters of Opinion Men are very much divided, in
Matters of Practice they are generally well enough agreed in their Judg-
ments. There is in moſt Matters of Practice a common Conſent of Man-
kind, either allowing, approving and commending them; or elſe diſallowing
blaming, and condemning them. Thoſe Doctrines or Opinions therefore,
which tend to encourage Men in the Practice of ſuch Things, as are allow'd
by all to be good and virtuous, may reaſonably be preſumed to be true
Vol. II.
Сccc
Doctrines;
890
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
Doctrines; becauſe a corrupt Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit ; and the
Teacher of ſuch Doctrines, and of none but ſuch, may be preſumed to be
a true Prophet. And, on the the other side, thoſe Doctrines or Opinions
which tend to encourage Men in the Practice of any Thing which is dif-
allowed, and condemned by natural Reaſon as ſinful and vicious, may be
certainly concluded to be falſe Doctrines; for a good Tree cannot bring forth
evil Fruit; and the Teacher of any ſuch Doctrine may be known to be,
at leaſt as to that Do&trine, a falſe Prophet. This I take to be the Mean-
ing of the Rule here given us by our Saviour ; ye mall know them by their
Fruits.
I ſhould now proceed to ſhew, how this Rule is to be uſed and applied;
or how we are to make a Judgment of falſe Prophets by their Fruits But
the ſpeaking to this point will be Matter enough for another Diſcourſe.
.:
.
DIS
891
I
DISCOURSE LXXXIII.
The Way of diſcerning falſe Pro-
phets.
MATTH. VII. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
Ye Shall know them by their Fruits. Do Men gather
Grapes of Thorns, or Figs of Thiſtles?
Even ſo every good Tree bringeth forth good Fruit,
but a corrupt Tree bringeth forth evil Fruit.
A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit, neither can
a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit.
Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewn
down, and caſt into the Fire.
Wherefore by their Fruits ye Shall know them.
I
UR Saviour in the Verſe foregoing had caution'd us to be-
ware of falſe Prophets, and here he gives us a Mark by
whichi we may diſcern who are ſuch ; beware of falſe Pro-
phets, which come to you in Sheep's Cloathing, but inwardly
they are ravening Wolves; and then it follows, as in the
Words I have before read to you; ye ſhall know them by
their Fruits, &c.
On which Words I have already begun a Diſcourſe, in which I told you
it would be my chief Buſineſs to explain to you this Rule for the Trial of
falſe Prophets ; by their Fruits ye ſhall know them; and to fhew how we are
to uſe and apply it.
But before I come to do this, and in order to the bringing what I had
to ſay into the narrower Compaſs
, I thought it fit to obſerve again, (tho'
I had noted it before in a former Diſcourſe) that of Prophets, of Teachers,
of ſuch as take upon them to inſtruct Men in the Mind and Will of God,
there
may
be reckoned four Sorts.
1. Such as pretend to immediate divine Inſpiration, but yet do not offer to
give any Proof of their being ſo inſpired.
*
2. Such
892
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
2. Such as pretending to immediate divine Inſpiration, do alſo ſeem to give
ſuch Proof of their being divinely inſpired, as the ancient Prophets, and as
our Lord and his Apoſtles did, i. e. who either do, or at leaſt ſeem to do,
miraculous Works.
3. Such as teach by Virtue of an ordinary and ſtanding Commiſſion grant-
ed by God to the Biſhops and Governors of his Church, to chuſe out, ap-
point, and ordain fit Perſons, to inſtruct the People in Matters of Religion.
And,
4. Laſtly;. Such as neither pretend to immediate divine Inſpiaation, nor
yet are commiſſioned and authoriſed by the Governors of the Church, the
Biſhops and ſupreme Paſtors thereof, to preach to the People; but take upon
them to do it of their own Heads, fondly conceiting themſelves to have an ex-
cellent Talent that Way.
Now as to the firſt of theſe, viz. thoſe who pretend to immediate divine
Inſpiration, but yet do not offer to give any Proof of their being divinely in-
ſpired; I told you I would have no Regard to them in my following Diſ-
courſe; becauſe the beſt and the readieſt Way to avoid being deluded by
ſuch Men, is to give no Ear at all to them ; and this is alſo what we ought
in Prudence, and are bound in Duty, to do. For what Reaſon have we to
believe any Man to be divinely inſpir'd, only upon own his ſaying ſo? We can
never be ſecure againſt Impoſture, if we ever conſent to take any Man's own
Word, that he is inſpired, for a Proof that he is fo.
And as to the laſt Sort of Prophets, or Teachers, before mentioned, viz.
ſuch as take upon them to preach only of their own Heads, and out of a
fond Conceit that they have à Talent that Way, without any Warrant from
God, or the Governors of his Church, fo to do: I likewiſe ſaid, that I
would have no Regard at all to them in my following Diſcourſe, becauſe
theſe alſo, it may be taken for granted, are Deceivers and Impoſtors, ſeeing
they have not ſo much as the Sheep's Clothing upon them ; for of the
Preachers of the Goſpel, St. Paul ſays, Rom. x. Is. Howe ſhall they preach
except they be ſent ? And theſe are ſo far from being ſent by God, that
they do not ſo much as pretend to be ſent by him. They therefore in pre-
ſuming to teach, uſurp an Office which they have no Right to ; and we,
if we hearken to them, are guilty of almoſt as great a Fault, in allowing
and encouraging their Uſurpation.
Having therefore excluded theſe two Sorts of Prophets from any Place in
this Diſcourſe, viz. Thoſe who pretend to Inſpiration, but can give no Proof
thereof; and thoſe who take upon them to preach without being ſent; there
are, as I told you, only the two other Sorts remaining, to whom in my
Diſcourſe on theſe Words, it would be neceſſary to have any Reſpect, viz.
Thoſe who do, or ſeem to do Miracles, for Proof of an extraordinary Miſ-
fion, and thoſe who are ſent in the ordinary Way, by regular Ordination
and Appointment of the Governors of the Church; for even among theſe,
as I then ſhewed, there may be ſome falſe Prophets; and it is both our
Duty, and our greateſt Intereſt, to diſcern who are ſuch, that we may not be
miſled by them.
Which, that we might be able to do, I then proceeded to what I told
you would be my main Buſineſs in diſcourſing on theſe Words, viz.
I. To enquire what are thoſe Fruits by which falſe Prophets may be known;
by their Fruits ye ſhall know them. And,
II. To ſhew, how this Rule for the diſcerning of falſe Prophets is to be
uſed and applied.
1. To
*
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
893
i
I. To enquire, what are thoſe Fruits by which falſe Prophets may be
known; by their Fruits ye ſhall know them.
And by their Fruits I know not what elſe we can underſtand, but either
the Manner of their Life and Converſation; or elſe the Fruits of their Doc-
trines, i. c. thoſe Practices which their Do&trines have a natural Tendency to
promote and encourage.
Having therefore in my former Diſcourſe proved at large by ſeveral Inſtan-
ces, that by thoſe Fruits by which we may know who are falſe Prophets,
cannot be meant the Manner of their Life and Converſation; it remains that
by the Fruits here ſpoken of, we underſtand their Doctrines, or rather the
Fruits of their Doctrines, i. e. thoſe Practices which their Doctrines have a
natural Tendency to promote and encourage. And this is indeed a very good
Mark by which to diſtinguiſh between true and falſe Doctrines, and conſe-
quently between true and falſe Prophets. For it is an caſy Matter for a
Man who has the Uſe of his Reaſon, and will allow himſelf any Time to
conſider Things, to diſcern what are the natural Conſequences of any Doc-
trine; what Influence it is likely to have upon thoſe who believe it ; what
Sort of a Life and Converſation they muſt lead, who live and act according
to the true Conſequences of ſuch an Opinion: And when this is known,
it is no leſs eaſy then, by thoſe natural Notions which we have of Good
and Evil, to make a Judgment, whether the Practice which is promoted and
encourag’d by ſuch an Opinion be good or bad. Thoſe Doctrines or Opini-
ons therefore, which tend to encourage Men in the Practice of ſuch Things, as
are allowed by all to be good and virtuous, may reaſonably be preſum’d to
be true Doctrines ; becauſe a corrupt Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit; and
the Teacher of ſuch Doctrines, and of none but ſuch, may be preſum'd to be
a true Prophet. And, on the other ſide, thoſe Do&trines or Opinions which
tend to encourage Men in the Practice of any Thing which is diſallow'd and
condemn'd by natural Reaſon as ſinful and vitious; may be certainly conclud-
ed to be falſe Doctrines ; for a good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit; and
the Teacher of any ſuch Doctrine may be known to be, at leaſt as to that
Do&rine, a falſe Prophet. This I take to be the Meaning of the Rule here
given us by our Saviour, for the diſcerning of falſe Prophets ; ye mall know
them by their Fruits, i.e. you may certainly conclude that their Do&rines
are falſe, and that they are falſe Prophets, in caſe their Doctrines are ſuch as
do give any Allowance or Encouragement to any Wickedneſs or Immorality
in Practice.
And in order to beware of falſe Prophets, and that we may be ſecur'd
againſt the Seduction of thoſe who are fuch, it is our Duty to try and ex-
amine by this Rule the Doctrines which are preach'd to us, even by thoſe
who are our lawful Guides and Paſtors; nay, and even by thoſe too (if any
ſuch there be) who pretend to teach by immediate Revelation, and ſpecial
Command and Commiſſion from God; and feem alſo to make good their
Pretenſions by doing ſuch Works as appear to us to be miraculous. For
we cannot be ſecure from Error and Seduction, if we take upon Truſt and
without Examination, every Doctrine which is taught us even by ſuch Guides
as theſe, whom yet, of all others, we have the greateſt Reaſon to give an im-
plicit Credit to.
This therefore was the ſecond Thing propos'd, viz.
II. To ſhew, how the Rule here given us by our Saviour is to be us'd and
apply'd, in order to the diſcerning who are true and who are falſe Prophets.
By their Fruits ye mall know them.
Vol. U.
Dddd
And
894
The Way of diſcerning falfe Prophets.
And the way to examine the Doctrines of our Teachers by this Rule, and
thereby to judge whether they be true or falſe Prophets, is this.
1. In caſe we had no ſtanding Revelation of God's Will, (which was in-
deed the Caſe before the firſt publick Revelation thereof was made by Moes,)
the Way, according to this Rule, to make a Judgment, whether a Man were
a true or a falſe Prophet, would be this. We had been to conſider whethier
the Doctrine which he taught, and which, he ſaid, he had Conimiſſion from
God to teach, was agreeable to thoſe Notions of Good and Evil, which had
been clearly taught us by the Light of Reaſon only; and if all the Doctrines
which he had propos’d to us had been ſuch as tended to the Honour and
Glory of God, and to the Preſervation of Peace and Juſtice among Men, we
might then have reaſonably preſum'd that he had indeed ſuch a Commiſſion
from God as he pretended to have. And if, beſides, he had given farther
Evidence of his Inſpiration by doing Miracles, we might then have ſafely
concluded that he was indeed a Teacher ſent from God; according to the
Rule laid down by our Saviour, which carries its own Reaſon with ir; John
vii. 18. He that ſeeketh his Glory that ſent him, the ſame is true, and no
Unrighteouſneſs is in him. But, on the contrary, if the Doctrines which he
had taught, had, in themſelves, or in their plain Conſequences, tended to
withdraw Men from the Worſhip of the true God, to the Worſhip of Idols;
or to cſtabliſh ſuch a Worſhip of God, as was manifeſtly diſagreeable to his
Nature; or to encourage or promote the Practice of any moral Evil, as Theft,
Murther, Fornication, Lying, Perjury, or the like; in any of theſe Caſes we
muſt have concluded that the Man who had taught ſuch Doctrines was a falſe
Prophet, even tho' he had done, or had ſeem'd to do Miracles for a Proof of
his divine Million ; according to the Rule given by Moſes, which I have al-
ready had Occaſion to cite, in Deut. xiii. 3. If there ariſe among you a Pro-
phet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder; and
the Sign or Wonder come to paſs, whereof he ſpake unto thee, ſaying, let us
go after other Gods, and let us ſerve them: Thou ſhalt not hearken unto
the Words of that Prophet, or that Dreamer of Dreams, &c. The Reaſon
of which Rule, and ſuch a Reaſon it is as will always hold good, is this ;
becauſe it is inconfiftent with the Nature of God to command or encourage
any Practice which is morally evil. God can no niore do this than he can
deny himſelf; ſo that whatever Signs or Proofs any Man gives of Inſpiration,
it is abſolutely and utterly incredible, that that Doctrine ſhould be from God,
which commands or eſtabliſhes the Practice of any Thing, which is manifeſt-
ly impious and wicked.
Thus, I ſay, even they to whom the firſt Revelation of all was ſent, might
by the Fruits of thoſe Doctrines, which were preach'd to them by the firft
Prophets, make a true Judgment whether the Perſons who taught them were
true or falſe Prophets. But,
2. We, who have already a ſtanding Revelation of God's Will in the holy
Scripture, have an caſier and ſhorter Way of uſing and applying the Rule which
is here given us by our Saviour for the diſcerning who are falſe Prophets ; by
their Fruits ye ſhall know them.
For the antient Prophets of the Old Teſtament, and Chriſt and his Apoſtles,
the Preachers of that Goſpel which is contained in the Newe, being allow'd to
be true Prophets, both becauſe they gave abundant Proof by Miracles of their
divine Miſſion, and becauſe their Doctrine was in every Point according to
Godlineſs, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Tim. yi. 6. We have now, not only the
Dictates of natural Reaſon, but likewiſe the lively Oracles of God, where-
by to try and examine the Doctrines which are propos'd to us.
So that now, if there be any Doctrine preach'd to us, whether by thoſe
who by lawful Ordination and Appointment are conſtituted Guides and Pa-
ſtors
:: I
The Way of diſcerning falje Prophets.
895
i
as
ſtors in the Chriſtian Church; or by ſuch as pretend to have a new Revela-
tion, and ſeem alſo to make good their Pretence to it by ſuch Works as ap-
pear to us to be miraculous ; in caſe the Doctrine which they teach be in any
Point contradictory either to the clear Dictates of natural Reaſon, or to that
ſtanding Revelation of God's Will which we have in the holy Scriptures; if
in itſelf, or in its true and neceſſary Conſequences, it be diſhonourable to God,
and tends to beget in Men's Minds mean and unworthy Thoughts of God,
or to leſſen their Reverence or Love towards him; or if in itlelf, or in its
true and neceſſary Conſequences, it tends to make void any Law of God, to
render a good Life unneceſſary, or to allow or encourage Men in the Prac-
tice of any Thing which God has clearly forbidden, either by the natural
Law of Reaſon, or by the expreſs Words of Scripture; we may confidently
conclude, that ſuch a Doctrine, by whomſoever it be taught, is a falſe Doc-
trine ; for by its Fruits we may know it to be ſuch, and therefore as ſuch it
is our Duty to reject it. Beware of falſe Prophets.
Beware of falſe Prophets- ye ſhall know them by
their Fruits.
But tho' upon ſuch a Trial as this we inay certainly conclude, that the
Doctrine itſelf is falſe, which is ſo manifeſtly contrary to Reaſon or Scripture
in the Practices which it leads to ; yet we cannot from hence alone conclude
with the like Confidence, that the Man who has taught any ſuch Doctrine,
is, properly ſpeaking, a falſe Prophet; ſuch a falſe Prophet, I mean,
we ought forth with to reject as ſuch, and to have nothing more to
do with. But we muſt go a Step farther, before we can draw that Con-
cluſion; there is another Thing to be firſt enquired into ; namely, what War-
rant or Commiſſion the Man has, or pretends to have, to be a Preacher or
Teacher; whether the Miſſion that he pretends to, be extraordinary, by ſpeci-
al divine Inſpiration, or ordinary, by lawful and regular Ordination and Ap-
pointment, from thoſe to whom God has committed the Care and Govern-
ment of his Church. For,
1. If the Perſon who teaches any ſuch wicked Do&trine, any Doctrine I
nican which in its juſt Conſequences leads to Wickedneſs, pretends to have
it by Revelation, and pleads no other Warrant or Authority to be a Preach-
er, either of that Doctrine or of any other, but only the Pretence which he
makes to immediate divine Inſpiration ; in this Caſe we ought not only to
reject that particular Doctrine as falſe, the Falſeneſs of which we have already
diſcover'd by the right Uſe and Application of the Rule which is here given
us; by their Fruits je shall know them; but it is our Duty alſo to reject the
Man himſelf as a falſe Prophet, and never more to have any Thing to do
with him. And the Reaſon of this is plain, namely, becauſe his only Au-
thority to teach, is, as is now ſuppos’d, grounded upon his Pretence to Reve-
lation ; and therefore that Pretence being ſufficiently diſprov'd, by his being
found out to have taught, as by Inſpiration, one Doctrine which is manifeſtly
falſe, he has plainly no Shew of any Authority to teach remaining to him; and
if he has no Authority to teach, then we have no Reaſon to hearken to him ;
and if we nevertheleſs ſtill continue to hearken to him, after we have found
him out to be an Impoſtor, we ſhall do it at our own Peril; and if we are
deceiy'd by him, we ſhall have none to blame but our ſelves. But,
2. The Caſe is ſomewhat different, in caſe the Perſon who has been found
to have taught any one ſuch Doctrine, be our lawful Guide and Paſtor ; i. e.
if he be lawfully ordain'd and appointed to that Office by the Governors of the
and does not pretend to an infallible Spirit, but only to ſuch Skill
and Knowledge in Matters of Religion, as may be attain'd by Reading and
Study; and is moſt likely to be beſt attain’d by ſuch Men as give themſelyes
wholly to this Work; and which, we have Reaſon to think, is attain'd, at
leaſt in ſufficient Meaſure, by thoſe whom the Biſhops and Governors of the
Church,
ز
Church;
ز
.
896
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
.
Church, the moſt competent Judges in this Matter, have thought fit to lay
their Hands upon, and ordain to this Employment. For that ſuch as theſe
ſhould be ſometimes miſtaken, is no Marvel; and miſtakeri they may be in
ſome Things, and yet not be Deceivers or falſe Prophets ; for they themſelves
do not pretend to Infallibility ; and the Governors of the Church, by whom
they are ſent, do not ſend them as infallible Teachers, as Perſons not ſubject
to Error, as Perſons whoſe Doctrine the People ought to receive with a Sort
of an implicit Faith, without any Trial or Examination thereof: But all that
they teftify of them, when they ordain them, and admit them to the Cure of
Souls, is only that by the beſt Trial they could make of them, they found
them orthodox in their Opinions, and apt to teach.
If therefore, I ſay, any ſuch Perſon has hapned in his Teaching, to let
fall any Expreſſion, which upon good Examination we have found not agree-
able to right Reaſon, or to the plain Senſe of Scripture, or to the Analogy
of Faith; our own Knowledge that that Do&rine in particular is a falſe Doc-
trine, is a very good Reaſon why we ſhould not receive or believe it, tho'it
be taught us by one who is lawfully authoris’d to be our Guide. But then
I ſay, that this alone is not a ſufficient Reaſon why we ſhould reject him
from being our Guide, or why we ſhould not believe and obey him in other
Points of Doctrine, which are, or appear to be, well grounded upon Reaſon
or Scripture. For tho', as a Man, he might be miſtaken in ſome Things,
yet, as being approv'd by the Governors of the Church, we have Reaſon to
believe him to be in the main ſound and orthodox; and as being authoris’d
to be our Guide, we have Reaſon to ſubmit to his Judgment, and to follow
his Directions in other Points, in which we have no juſt Cauſe to think he is
miſtaken; according to that general Direction which is given us, in Heb. xiii.
17. Obey them that have the Rule over you, and ſubmit your felves; for
they watch for your Souls, as they that muſt give an Account, that they may
do it with foy, and not with Grief.
And thus our Saviour himſelf determines this very Caſe, with reſpect to
the Scribes and Phariſees, who were the authoris'd Guides and Teachers of
the People among the Jews. He frequently in his preaching took notice
of their Ignorance and Miſtakes in ſome Things; how that in ſome Inſtances
they did teach for Do&trines the Commandments of Men, and in other In-
ſtances had expounded the Law of Moſes, of which they were the Interpreters,
in a wrong Senſe, in ſuch a Senſe as did in effect make void that Law
which they pretended to expound: A notable Inſtance of which we have,
Matth. xv. s. in that Expoſition which they gave of the fifth Command-
Now theſe were very grievous Miſtakes; and therefore our Saviour
thought it neceſſary, not only to note ſome particular Inſtances of this Kind,
but likewiſe to give a general Caution to the People, not to depend too much
upon their Judgment, not to receive all their Doctrines without Examination;
but to make uſe of their own Eyes to ſee their own Way, and to take Care
that they were not miſled by theſe (as he ſometimes calls them) blind Guides.
Beware, ſays he, of the Scribes, Mark xii. 38. and, beware of the Doctrine
of the Phariſees, Matth. xvi. 11.
And yet nevertheleſs, becauſe the Doctrine of theſe Scribes and Phariſees
was in the main true and orthodox; and eſpecially becauſe they did fit in
Moſes's Seat, i. e. were lawfully authoris’d and commiſſion'd to inftruét the
People in the Law of Moſes, our Saviour does not adviſe the People to re-
ject their whole Doctrine for the ſake of ſome Errors which were mix'd with
it; or to reject them as falſe Prophets, and not fit to be heard in any Thing
becauſe they had been miſtaken in ſome Things; or to ſet up a diſtinct Com-
munion, and chufe new Paſtors and Teachers for themſelves; but on the con-
trary, he exhorts them to continue ſtill under their Miniſtry, (at leaſt till God
ſhould
L
ment.
I
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophets.
897
1
ſhould give them other Paſtors more according to his own Heart, Jer. iii.
15. and to pay ſuch Deference to their Teaching, as it was fit the People ſhould
do to the Judgment of thoſe, who might well be ſuppoſed to be better skil-
led in Matters of Religion than they themſelves were; and eſpecially of
thoſe, who for that Time were by the Providence of God, and a regular
Miſſion and Ordination, appointed to be their Guides and Inſtructers, Matth.
xxiii. 2, 3. The Scribes and Phariſees ſit in Mofes's Seat ; all therefore, ſays
he, whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do.
And what has been ſaid is, I hope, ſufficient to ſhew, both what are thoſe
Fruits by which falſe Prophets may be diſcerned, and alſo how we may
thereby diſcern who are ſuch. Beware of falſe Prophets.--- Te mall know
them by their Fruits.
I ſhall only obſerve one Thing, as an Inference from the foregoing Dir
courſe, and ſo conclude ; namely this.
That as they are certainly falſe Prophets, who teach ſuch Doctrines, as in
themſelves, or in their true and juſt Conſequences are contrary to any Truth
or Duty, which is clearly taught us, either by the Light of Reaſon, or by
the Revelation of God's Will in the holy Scripture ; ſo all they may very
juſtly be ſuſpected to be falſe Prophets and deceitful Workers; and conſe-
quently ought to be carefully avoided, or very warily dealt withal; who will
not ſuffer their Doctrines to be examined, but would have them embraced
and believed by their Hearers with a blind and implicit Faith ; eſpecially,
if in order to the procuring ſuch a blind Obedience to themſelves, they en-
deavour to put out the Eye of Reaſon in their People, and to take away
from them the Key of Knowledge, the holy Scripture.
And I ſuppoſe, I ſhall not need to tell you, who they are who do this. It
is done, in great Meaſure, by ſome of our own Sectaries, eſpecially by the
Quakers, who make very light of the written Word of God, calling it a
dead Letter, but pretend that all their own Preaching and Writing is by In-
ſpiration, that all the Doctrines taught by them are the Dictates of the Spi-
rit of God, even of that ſame Spirit, by which we believe the Apoſtles ſpake,
and the holy Scriptures were inſpired; ſo that conſequently, if we will be-
lieve theſe wild Enthuſiaſts, all their Diſcourſes and Books are of equal Au-
thority with the Scripture, and the Truth of them ought no more to be que-
ftioned, than the Truths which are revealed in Scripture.
But this is done in the moſt open and ſcandalous Manner by the Guides
of the Church of Rome, who, ſuppoſing the Determinations of their Church
to be infallible, oblige all their People to believe, with an implicit Faith,
as the Church believes; will not ſuffer any of her Doctrines to be examin-
ed by Reaſon ; or allow, that the manifeſt Abſurdity or Contradiction which
they imply in them, is a juít Objection againſt them. And that their People
may not know, how very different the preſent Faith of their Church is from
that which was once delivered to the Saints by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, they
will not ſuffer them, ſo far as they can hinder it, to look into the Bible;
and that they may, in the moſt effectual Manner, which they can, prevent
their looking into it, they take care, in thoſe Places where they have full Power,
to keep it lock'd up from the People in a Language which they do not un-
derſtand.
Such Dealings as this, tho we could not prove Falſhood in any one of
their Doctrines, which yet may very eaſily be done in a great many of them,
even by that very Mark by which our Saviour here directs us to judge of
falſe Doctrines, viz. by their Fruits, i. e. by the natural Tendency which
they have to rob God of his Honour, to corrupt his Worſhip, to make void
his Law, and to give Encouragement to Men in the Practice of ſuch Things
as he has clearly forbidden; but, I ſay, if this could not be prov'd, yet ſuch
Vol. II.
Eeee
Dealing
898
The Way of diſcerning falſe Prophéts. .
Dealing as we meet with in the Guides of the Roman Church, ſuch Averl-
neſs to have their Doctrincs try'd, and ſuch Endeavours to keep People in
Ignorance, would alone be ſufficient to create in uis a juſt Prejudice againſt
them, and lay them open to a ſtrong Suſpicion of Falfood; for as our Sa-
viour obſerves, John iii. 20, 21. Every one that doeth cvil hatcth the Light,
neither cometh to the Light, left his Deeds fhould be reproved. But he ihat
doth Truth cometh to the Light, that his Deeds may be made manifeſt that
they are wrought in God.
It is not to be imagin’d therefore, but that if they knew or were perſuaded
that their Doctrines were ſuch as would bear to be examin'd by Reaſon and
Scripture, they would permit their People to uſe their Reaſon in the Exami-
nation of them, and encourage rather than forbid them to read the Scripture;
that ſo by comparing their Do&trines with tlie Doârinc of Scripture, they might
be more fully ſatisfied of the Truth of them. And therefore, ſince they will
not do this, but endeavour all they can to keep their People from examining
their Doctrines, and to breed them up in the groffeſt Ignorance, that ſo they
may not be able to examine them ; this affords a very ſtrong Preſumption,
that even they themſelves do not heartily belicve the Truth of their own
Do&trines, but only profeſs to hold them, and endeavour to perſuade their
People to believe them, becauſe they bring, as indeed moſt of their Doctrines
do, great Gain and Honour to the Prieſthood: Which Thing alone affords
likewiſe another very ſtrong Preſumption againſt them, according to thoſe
Words of our Saviour, John vii. 18. He that ſpeaketh of himſelf, ſeeketh
his own Glory.
But we have not ſo learned Chriſt; we deſire not to make a Gain of our
People's Ignorance, or to have Dominion over their Faith. We think it
enough to propoſe to our People thoſe Doctrines which we believe to be
well grounded upon, or agreeable to Reaſon, and Scripture ; and then we
leave it to them, nay we preſs them to it, to make uſe of their own Reaſon, and
to ſearch the Scriptures themſelves, to ſee whether the Things which we ſay,
are ſo or not.
By doing which, tho'we do not make ſo much Gain, nor procure ſo much Ho-
nour and blind Obedience to our ſelves as they do ; we hope however, we fall be
able to give a better Account of our Stewardſhip, and to gain more Souls to God.
And this we ſhall do, if, as you profeſs a purer Religion than they do, we
can alſo perſuade you to lead your Lives anſwerably to your holy Profeſſion.
Which God grant we may all do, for the ſake of our Lord Jeſus Chrift;
to whom, &c.
>
3
DIS
899
DISCOURSE LXXXIV.
The Inſufficiency of Faith without
Works.
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MATTH. VII. 21.
1
Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord, ſhall
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven : But he that
doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven.
3
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F theſe Words are thought to have any Connection with,
or Relation to the foregoing, they may be underſtood as
aſſigning a Reaſon of that Rule which our Saviour had
before given for the diſcerning falſe Prophets, viz. by the
Fruits of their Doctrines ; by their Fruits, ſays he, ye fall
know them. Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord,
Lord, ſall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, &c. As
if he had ſaid, “This is therefore a good Rule, and an
« excellent Means of diſcovering a falſe Prophet ; becauſe the main. Thing
“ which God regards is Obedience to his pure and holy Laws, without which
“ no Shew or Profeſſion of Faith, or Piery, or Zeal for God, can recom-
« mend
any Man to his Favour or Acceptance: Whoever therefore teaches
any Doctrine, whereby Obedience to any Law of God is evacuated, may
“ by that alone be certainly concluded to be a falſe Teacher, becauſe his
Doctrine is manifeſtly not agreeable to the Will of God; for this is the
« Will of God, even your Sanétification.
But there being no Particle, or other Note of Connexion, between thefe
Words and the foregoing, I conceive it more reaſonable to underſtand them.
in a more general Senſe, viz. as declaring in general what are the Terms
or Conditions required of all Men, whether Teachers or People, to make
them capable of inheriting that eternal Life, which is promiſed and offer'd
And the Occaſion of our Saviour's uttering theſe Words, and likewiſe all
that follow after to the End of his Sermon, which are all to the ſame Pur-
poſe, might probably be this. He might have obſerved, họw attcntively
the
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in the Goſpel
.
f
900
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
the People had liſtned to him in all the foregoing Sermon, what a good
Liking they had ſhewed to his Doctrine, and how gladly they had ſeem'd to hear
it : He might alſo know, that they had ſome Inclination to obſerve the Di-
rections he had before given them; being convinc'd, by the Miracles which
they had ſeen him work, that he was a Teacher ſent from God. But he
knew alſo, how much caſier it is to approve good Rules of Life than to prac-
tiſe them; and conſequently, that it was likely enough, that a great many of
thoſe, who were the moſt forward to liſt themſelves his Diſciples, would,
when they had found, by their own making Trial, the Difficulty of obſery-
ing ſome of thoſe Rules which he had before preſcrib'd, be ready to excuſe
themſelves from ſuch a heavy Burthen, and be apt to flatter themſelves witlz
Hopes, that tho' they ſhould not be ſo very diligent as they might be, in the
doing all thoſe Duties which he had before laid upon them, he would, how-
ever, bc ſo well pleas'd with their Willingneſs to hear, or their inward Ap-
probation of his Doctrine, or their Forwardneſs to profeſs his holy Religion;
or be ſo eaſily induc'd to pardon their Faults, upon their humbly owning them,
and begging Forgiveneſs, that at the laſt they might gain Admittance into
his heavenly Kingdom, tho’they had not been altogether ſuch as they ſhould
have been. Theſe probably he might know to be their inward Thoughts,
and the Reaſonings which they had within themſelves. And therefore to
prevent ſuch a dangerous and fatal Miſtake as this would have been, he might
think it neceſſary, before he put an end to his Sermon, to declare, in the
plaineſt Words, upon what Ternis only they would be capable of attaining
eternal Life. This therefore he does in the Text, in as plain Words, I
think, as it was poſſible for him to expreſs himſelf in; and in Words as full
to the Purpoſe as any could be devis’d. For to prevent all Miſtakes he ex-
preſſes the very ſame Senſe two ſeveral Ways; 1. Negatively; and, 2. Affirm-
atively.
1. Negatively, he declares, who and what they are, who, however they
may conceit well of themſelves, or be thought well of by others, ſhall yet have
no Part or Portion in his Kingdom, viz. thoſe who ſay, i. e. do nothing
elſe but ſay unto him, Lord, Lord. Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord,
Lord, all enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. Poſitively, or Affirmatively, he declares, who and what they are, who
and who only ſhall be admitted into it. He that doth the Will of my Father
which is in Heaven.
But though the Words are ſo clear in themſelves, that their Meaning can
hardly be miſunderſtood, yet it may not be amiſs to ſpend a little Time in
ſomewhat unfolding and expatiating upon the Senſe which is contained in
them ; that ſo that great Truth, which we are here taught, may make the
deeper and ſtronger Impreſſion upon our Minds, and effe&tually engage us to
ſtrive to make our felves ſuch, as the Promiſes of the Goſpel do belong to.
And indeed this will be my chief Buſineſs in diſcourſing on theſe Words,
viz. to fix your Thoughts and Meditations for a while upon this Subject ; for
of the Truth of the Doctrine which we are here taught, there can be no
Doubt; nor conſequently can it be needful to ſpend any Time in the Proof
of it; it being taught us by him, who is appointed to give Judgment upon
all Men at the laſt Day, either to Life or Death; and who therefore cannot
be ſuppos'd ignorant of, or miſtaken in, that Law or Rule, according to which
he will then paſs Judgment upon us. If he has told us, as he has in the
Text, whom he will acquit, and whom he will condemn, in that Day, we
need not enquire nor look any farther; for it is his Judgment by which we
muſt ſtand or fall to all Eternity; and there is no Ground of Hope, that he
will ever, out of Favour or Affection to any, tranſgreſs that Rule of Judg-
nient
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
201
ment which he has already fix'd and cftabliſh'd by an everlaſting and immu-
table Decree.
Our only Buſineſs will be, as it is indeed a Buſineſs of the greateſt and moſt
important Concern, which we have or ever can have, to endeavour to anſwer
that Character which he here gives us of thoſe, whom, and whom only, he
will admit into his heavenly Kingdom.
Which that we may be the better enabled to do, I ſhall enquire,
I. Who are here meant by thoſe who ſay unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord; but
notwithſtanding their ſo ſaying will be ſhut out from his Kingdom : Not every
one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into the Kingdom of Hea-
ven.
And,
Il. Who they are that do the Will of God, and to whom only the Pro-
miſes of the Goſpel belong; be that doth the Will of my Father which is
in Heaven.
I. I ſhall enquire, who are here meant by ſuch as ſay unto Chriſt, Lord,
Lord, but notwithſtanding their ſo ſaying will be excluded from his King-
dom: Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven. And,
1. By thoſe who ſay unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, we may underſtand all
ſuch as are baptiſed into his Name, and make an open Profeſſion of his Faith
and Religion. And taking the Words in this Senſe, it is moſt certainly true,
that not every one that ſaith unto him Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into the King-
dom of Heaven.
For firſt as to Baptiſm, tho' that be indeed neceſſary to admit us into the
Covenant of Pardon and Reconciliation with God, becauſe it is the Rite and
Ceremony expreſſly appointed by Chriſt himſelf for this Purpoſe; ſo that
conſequently whoever neglects to be baptis’d, when he may, wilfully excludes
himſelf from the Benefits of this Covenant, which are promis'd to none but
thoſe only who are baptiſed: Yet Baptiſm alone, conſider'd only as an out-
ward Rite or Ceremony, is not ſufficient to reſtore us to God's Favour, or
to waſh away our Sins; it only ſerves to put us into a Capacity of being
intitled to the Promiſes of the Goſpel, upon our After-Performance of the
Conditions to which the Promiſes are made, but it does not itſelf intitle us
to them.
Baptiſm is no more to a Chriſtian, than Circumciſion was to a Jew;
which, as it was a Ceremony, was only neceſſary becauſe it was commanded,
but had by Inſtitution a ſpecial Significancy in it, to denote the Contract or
Covenant which was then entred into between God and the Perſon circum-
ciſed. God, by putting that Sign in their Fleſh, mark'd them out for his
People, and did, as it were, declare, that if they continued faithful in his
Service, the Bleſſing of Abraham their Father ſhould come upon them: And
they by receiving this Mark, as by his Direction and Appointment, took him
for their God, and promis'd and vow'd all holy Obedience to his Laws, and
particularly to thoſe Laws which were given to them by Moſes, as they were
a peculiar People, and ſeparate from all others. And therefore the Apoſtle
ſays
, Gal. v. 3. that whoever was circumciſed was thereby made a Debtor
to keep the whole Law. So that the Profit of Circumciſion, even while the
Law of Circumciſion was in force, depended wholly upon their Performance
of thoſe Conditions which they thereby took upon themſelves to perform :
As the fame Apoſtle ſays, Rom. ii. 25. Circumciſion verily profiteth, if thou
keep the Law; but if thou be a Breaker of the Law, thy Circumciſion is
made Uncircumciſion. And again, ver. 28, 29. He is not a few which is
one outwardly; neither is that Circumciſion which is outward in the Fleſ ;
Vol. II.
Ffff
But
902
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
But he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and Circumciſion is that of the
Heart, in the Spirit and not in the Letter, whoſe Praiſe is not of Men, but
of God.
1
And of the like Benefit is Baptiſm to us Chriſtians ; it is a Token of the
Covenant between God and us; and being by that Ceremony admitted into
the Chriſtian Church, we are thereby aſſurd of God's Favour and Good-will
towards us, ſo long as we continue in Covenant with him: But if we break
the Covenant on our Part, God is no longer oblig'd to make good the Pro-
miſes, which he, on his Part, has made to us. And therefore we may ob-
ſerve, that our Saviour in Mark xvi. 16. where he appoints this Rite of ini-
tiating Men into his Religion, when he comes to declare the Benefit thereof,
mentions not only Baptiſm, but that alſo of which our Baptiſin is a Sign
and Token, viz. our heartily embracing his Religion, and yielding Obedi-
ence thereto : For in that large Senſe the Word, Believe, is every where us'd
in the New Teſtament. He that believeth, ſays he, and is baptiſed, fall be
ſaved; and then he adds, but he that believeth not, (whether he be baptis'd
or not baptis'd it is all one, he that believeth not) ſhall be damned. And in
like Manner St. Peter, in 1 Epiſt. iii. 2. where he attributes Salvation to Bap-
tiſm, cxpreflly diſtinguiſhes between the Sign or Ceremony, and the Thing
ſignify'd; and declares that the former, without the latter, is of no Uſe or
Advantage to us. For thus he writes; the like Figure whereunto, Baptiſm,
doth alſo now ſave us, not the putting away the Filth of the Fleſh, but the
Anſwer of a good Conſcience towards God.
And as Baptiſm, which is the Sign or Token of our Chriſtian Profeſſion,
is of no Advantage to thoſe who are not ſuch as by the taking upon them
that Mark or Badge they appear to be; ſo neither, fecondly, is the Profef-
fion it ſelf of the Chriſtian Faith and Religion, without an inward and hearty
Aflent to the Truth of it, ſufficient to recommend us to God's Acceptance,
and to make us capable of his Promiſes. This indeed, following Baptiſm,
may ſuffice to make us viſible Members of Chriſt's Church : But God ſeeth
not as Man ſeeth; for Man looketh on the outward Appearance, but the
Lord looketh on the Heart. And therefore the Apoſtle, Rom. x. 9, 10. de-
claring in a few Words the Terms or Conditions of Salvation, expreflly
mentions an inward Belief as abſolutely neceſſary, together with an outward
Confeſſion, in order thereto: If, ſays he, thou ſhalt confefs with thy Mouth
the Lord Jeſus, and ſhalt believe in thy Heart that God hath raiſed him
from the Dead, thou ſhalt be ſaved; for with the Heart Man believeth unto
Righteouſneſs, and with the Mouth Confeſſion is made unto Salvation.
They who confeſs with their Mouth the Lord Jeſus, may truly be reckon'd
of the Number of thoſe ſpoken of in the Text, who ſay unto him, Lord,
Lord; but if they do nothing more, they are only Hypocrites: They may
deceive Men, who can judge only by what they ſee and hear with their bodi-
ly Senſes; but they cannot deceive God, who knows the Naughtineſs and
Falſeneſs of their Hearts; and has expreſſly told us, that the Hypocrite's
Hope fall periſh, Job viii. 13. But farther,
2. By thoſe who ſay unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, and yet ſhall not enter
into the Kingdom of Heaven, we may underſtand thoſe, who as they do
outwardly profeſs the Chriftian Faith, ſo are likewiſe inwardly perſuaded of
the Truth of it, but yet do not live anſwerably to their Belief, For that
a bare Belief of the Truths of the Goſpel, without a good Life, is not the
adequate Condition of our Juſtification and Salvation, is what we are clearly
taught in ſeveral Places of holy Scripture; and eſpecially by St. James, in
the ſecond Chapter of his Epiſtle; the latter half of which is ſpent wholly
in the Declaration and Proof of this point, viz. that Faith without Works
will not ſave us. For ſuch a Faith, he tells us, ver. 15. is a dead Faith,
and
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works,
903
and ſo can be no more profitable to us, than good Words and Wiſhes only
are to a Man who is ready to ſtarve, and wants real Relief. If a Brother or
Siſter be naked, and deſtitute of daily Food; and one of you ſay unto them,
depart in Peace, be ye warmed, and be ye filled; notwithſtanding ye give
them not thoſe Things which be needful for the Body; what doth iť profit?
Even ſo Faith, if it have not Works, is dead being alone. And it cannot
be ſuppos’d, he farther ſays, ver. 18. that that is a true Faith which produces
not good Works, becauſe they are the proper Fruits of Faith, and naturally
ſpring from it.
A Man may ſay, thou haſt Faith, and I have Works';
thew me thy Faith without thy Works, and I will there thee my Faith
by my Works. Again; ſuch a Faith, i. e. a mere Belief of the Truths of
the Goſpel, he ſays, is no more than the Devils themſelves have ; and there-
fore muſt needs be as inſufficient to ſave us, as it is them, ver. 19. The
Devils alſo believe and tremble. And laſtly; ſuch a Faith, he ſhews farther,
was not the Faith which render'd Abraham and other holy Men and Wo-
men in antient Times accepted by God; ver. 21. Was not Abraham our
Father juſtified by Works, when he had offered Iſaac his Son upon the Al-
tar? Seejt thou, how Faith wrought with his Works, and by Works was his
Faith made perfect. And then, upon the whole, he concludes thus : Te fee
then how that by Works a Man is juſtified, and not by Faith only. For as
the Body without the Spirit is dead, fo Faith without Works is dead alſo,
But,
3. By thoſe who ſay unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, we may farther under-
ſtand thoſe, who not only affent to the Truths of the Goſpel, but alſo
apply the ſame to themſelves, and hope and truſt for Salvation by, and from
Chriſt.
For though indeed it be our Duty, to truſt only in Chriſt for Salvation,
in Oppoſition to the Opinion of Merit ;, yet we may truſt in him too much,
we may truſt in him and be deceived : For ſo we ſhail certainly be, in
caſe we are not ſuch Perſons as he has encouraged to hope and truſt in him,
And however ſuch Confidence, or, as it is called, Aſurance, has been mag-
nified by ſome Men, who have in a Manner placed the whole of Religion
therein, I cannot but think that, of the two, the Error of thoſe who,
through Modeſty and Diſtruſt of themſelves, dare not apply the Promiſes
of the Goſpel to themſelves, although they are in Truth ſuch Perſons as
the Promiſes are made to, is both more innocent, and leſs dangerous, than
theirs is, who being not ſo qualificd as the Goſpel requires, do nevertheleſs
confidently hope and look for Salvation thro' the Merits of Chriſt.
For if a Man be indeed a good Man, and believing all the Truths and
Promiſes of the Goſpel, ſets himſelf ſincerely to obey all the Precepts of it;
but
yet dares not with Confidence to apply the Promiſes to hiinſelf, not thro
any Diftruft of the Truth or Goodneſs of God, but only through too great
a Diſtruſt and Diffidence of himſelf; the worſt of his caſe, I preſume,
will be only this, that while he lives here in this World he will want that
great Comfort and Conſolation, which the Teſtimony of a good Conſcience,
and a reaſonable Aſſurance of God's Love and Favour, would have yielded
to him: But then, in the mean Time, being fully perſuaded of the Truth
of God's Promiſes, and of his Readineſs to aſlift Men with his Grace in
their fincere Endeavours, and not thinking himſelf to have already attained,
or to be already ſo perfect, as he might, and by his conſtant Striving may
be, he will, as the Apoſtle ſays of himſelf
, Phil. iii. 13. forgetting thoſe
Things that are behind, and reaching forth unto thoſe Things which are be-
fore, preſs forward continually towards the Mark, for the Prize of the high
Calling of God in Chriſt Jeſus. Being not yet ſo well affured of his Con-
dition, and of his Right and Title to the Goſpel Promiſes as he could wiſh
he
!
904
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
he was, he will, as St. Peter, 2 Pet. i. 10. exhorts, give all Diligence to
make his Calling and Election ſure, by adding one Virtue and Grace, and
one Degree of Virtue and Grace to another, and by abounding in every
good Work, that he may not be ſo barren and unfruitful, as he thinks he
has hitherto been, in the Knowledge of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt.
Whereas, on the other Side, he who is confident of himſelf without Cauſe,
and truſts aſſuredly, that he ſhall be ſaved by Chriſt, while hc yet takes no
Care to become ſuch an one as Chriſt has promiſed to ſave, does but de-
ceive himſelf to his eternal Ruin. He thinks, as it is ſaid of the Church of
Laodicea, Rev. iii. 17. that he is rich and increaſed with Goods, and has
need of nothing, while yet in Truth he is wretched, and miſerable, and poor,
and blind, and naked. Such, I ſay, is the Man who calls Cbriſt his Lord,
his Saviour, his Redeemer, and who truſts aſſuredly, that he ſhall be ſaved
by Chriſt's Merits and Satisfaction, while yet he takes no Care to do the
Things that Chriſt has commanded. He ſleeps, for a while, ſecurely in his
Sins, and his Confidence encreaſes his Careleſneſs; but his Hope is altoge.
ther ungrounded, and his Aſſurance is nothing elſe but a bold and unrea-
ſonable Preſumption: For tho' Chriſt be indeed the Author of eternal Sal-
vation ; yet he is ſo to thoſe only that obey him, as the Apoſtle ſays, Heb.
v. 9. But,
4. Laſtly; By thoſe who ſay unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, and yet ſhall not be
admitted to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, we may underſtand thoſe
who are very punctual and conſtant in the Duties of God's immediate Wor-
ſhip and Service, as Prayer, Reading, Hearing, Sacraments, and the like,
but make no Conſcience of the Duties of the ſecond Table, conſiſting in the
Practice of Juſtice and Righteouſneſs, and Peace, and Love towards Men.
For to call upon God, is a Phraſe often uſed in Scripture to denote the Wor-
ſhip of God, and the Repetition of the Word in the Text, Lord, Lord,
may well enough be underſtood to denote Fervency and Conſtancy in this
Duty.
And taking the Words in this Senſe, the Truth which they deliver to us,
and inſtruct us in, is this ; that no Acts of divine Worſhip, or Exerciſes
of Religion, properly ſo called, are acceptable to God, or availing to our
eternal Salvation, ſo long as we live in the Neglect of the Duties of Juſtice,
and Peace, and Charity towards Men, or indeed, ſo long as we allow our
ſelves in any Inſtance of Diſobedience.
And there is no Point of Doctrine which the holy Scripture does more
frequently remind us of, and preſs ſtronglier upon us than this, viz. that the
Laws of God, as they are all of the ſame divine Authority, are conſequently
all of equal Obligation; ſo that the keeping of one Commandment will not
ſerve to excuſe us in the Neglect of another. Whoſoever, ſays St. James,
fall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one Point, he is guilty of all,
Jam. ii. 10.
And particularly, becauſe Men are generally apt to lay the greateſt Streſs
upon thoſe Commands which relate more immediately to the Worſhip of
God, the holy Scripture, that it might ſet the Thing ſtrait, ſeems to bend
it the other Way, and to give the Preference to the Duties of moral Juſtice
and Honeſty. Thus the Prophet Hoſea ſays, Chap. vi. Ver. 6. I deſired
Mercy and not Sacrifice, and the Knowledge of God more than Burnt-offer-
ings; and the Prophet Micah, Chap. vi. Ver. 6, 7, 8. having brought in a
Man conſidering and adviſing with himſelf, what Courſe he ſhould take to
pleaſe God, and render him gracious and propitious towards him: Wherewith-
al ſhall I come before the Lord, and boze my ſelf before the high God?
Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings, with Calves of a fear old?
Will
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
905
you clean,
Will the Lord be pleaſed with thouſands of Rams, or with ten thouſands of
Rivers of Oil ? proceeds then at the cighth Verſe to acquaint him what
would be more acceptable to God than all theſe, or indeed than any Acts
of immediate Homage and Worſhip whatſoever; He hath Sherwed thee, O
Man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juſtly,
and to love Mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? And in like man-
ncr the Prophet Iſaiah, chap. i. ver. 11, &c. comparing religious Exer-
ciſes with the Practice of Juſtice, and Truth, and Mercy, uſes ſuch Exprcf-
fions in ſpeaking of the former, as ſeem to imply that they are of no Value
or Conſideration at all with God. To what purpoſe is the Multitude of
your Sacrifices unto me, ſaith the Lord? I am full of the Burnt-offerings of
Rams, and the Fat of fed Beaſts; and I delight not in the Blood of Bul-
locks, or of Lambs, or of He-Goats. When ye come to appear before me,
who hath required this at your Hands, to tread my Courts? Bring no
more vain Oblations, Incenſe is an Abomination unto me, the New Moons
and Sabbaths, the calling of Aſſemblies, I cannot away with, it is Iniquity,
even your ſolemn Meeting ; your New Moons and appointed Feaſts my Soul
hateth; they are a Trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them. And
when ye ſpread forth your Hands, I will hide mine Eyes from yoll; yea,
when ye make many Prayers, I will not hear : And then at thč fixteenth
Verſe, he goes on to tell them, what Things God would have a greater
Regard to, than he had to any of theſe Expreſſions of Devotion, altho' they
were ſuch as he himſelf had expreſſly requir'd and commanded. Waſh youi,
make
clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes;
ceaſe to do evil
, learn to do well, ſeek Judgment, relieve the Oppreſſed,
judge the Fatherleſs, plead for the Widow, &c. And to the fame Senſe are
thoſe Words of St. James, Jam. i. 26. If any Man among you ſeem to be
religious, and bridleth not his Tongue, but deceiveth his own Heart; this
Man's Religion is vain. Pure Religion, and undefiled before God and the Father
is this, to viſit the Fatherleſs and Widows in their Affliction, and to keep
himſelf unſpotted from the World.
But there are two Acts or Exerciſes of Religion in and by which, we
may, in a more eſpecial Manner, be ſaid to call Chriſt, our Lord, or to ſay
unto him, Lord, Lord; viz. hearing his Word, and putting up our Prayers
and Supplications to him. For even hearing is, by Implication, calling him
Lord; we thereby ſeem to own that he is our Lord, becauſe we come to
him to know his Will, and to learn what Commands he has to lay upon
us; but by Prayer we do more explicitely call him our Lord, when we ſo-
lemnly addreſs our felves to him, owning our Dependence upon him, and
ſeeking to him for Grace and Help.
And a great many, I fear, there are now a Days who take up their Rele
in the Performance of theſe Duties; and ſo long as they are diligent in
Hearing, and conſtant in Prayer, make no Doubt but that they thall do
well enough, and be graciouſly accepted by God; tho' they take no Care to
practiſe what they hear, or to work in themſelves thoſe Graces which they
ask of God.
But it is not every one who thus ſays unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, that
ſhall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Theſe indeed are both of them
neceſſary Duties; but they are not our only Duties, neither indeed are they
more neceſſary than other Duties are. Theſe Things thereforc we ought to
do; but at the ſame Time we ought not to leave any other Duty undone.
The Performance of theſe Duties is indeed an excellent Means to lead
us on farther; but if we reſt here, we had as good have done nothing.
For,
Vol. II,
Gggg
(1.) As
906 The Infufficiency of Faith without Works.
pray to God to the End that we may
(1.) As to Hearing; the very Nature of the Thing ſhews, that it is only
a Means in order to ſomewhat elſe, not the End which we ſhould reſt in.
For to what Purpoſe is it to know our Maſter's Will, but only that we may
thereby be the better enabled to do it? And if it be not neceſſary for us to
practiſe what we know, it is not worth our while to be at the Pains to learn.
Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the Things which I ſay? fays
he himſelf, Luke vi. 46. And that not the Hearers of the Law are juſt
before God, but that the Doers of the Law only ſhall be juſtified, the Apo-
file tells us, Rom. ii. 13. And, if ye know theſe Things, happy are ye, if ye
do them, ſays our Saviour, John xiii, 17. And again, Luke xi. 28. Bleſſed
are they that hear the Word of God and keep it. But the Vanity and In-
ſignificancy of Knowledge without Practice, and of Hearing without Doing,
the Apoſtle St. James has fhewed ſo fully and at large, in the firſt Chapter
of his Epiſtle, at the twenty ſecond and following Verſes, that I ſhall need
to add nothing more upon this Point. Be ye Doers of the Word, ſays he,
and not Hearers only, deceiving your own ſelves. For if any Man be a Hear-
er of the Word, and not a Doer, he is like unto a Man beholding his na-
tural Face in a Glafs; for he beholdeth himſelf, and goeth his Way, and
ſtraitway forgetteth what manner of Man he was. But whoſo looketh into
the perfečt Law of Liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forget-
ful Hearer, but a Doer of the Work, this Man ſhall be bleſſed in his Deed.
And,
(2.) As vain and inſignificant arc all our Prayers to God, whereby we may
ſtill more properly be ſaid to own his Sovereignty and Authority, and to ſay
unto him, Lord, Lord, ſo long as we neglect his Precepts, and are careleſs
in our Obedience.
For though Prayer be indeed a molt proper Expreſſion of our Subjection
to God, and Dependence upon him; yet the chief End alſo of that, is our
be better than we are, that we may grow in Grace and Virtue: If there-
fore we take no Care to work in our felves thoſe Graces which we ask
of God, our Petitions are heartleſs, and they will as certainly be fruitleſs;
for God will not work his Graces in us, without the Co-operation of our
own Endeavours. And ſo far are the Prayers of ſuch as wilfully continue in
known Sin from being acceptable to God, and availing for the obtaining of
his Grace and Pardon, that he has expreſſly declar'd that he will not be
moved by ſuch Petitions; nay, that they are moſt hateful and abominable
to him. If I regard Iniquity in my Heart, the Lord will not hear me,
ſays the Pſalmiſt, Pfal. Ixvi. 18. And when ye make many Prayers, I will
not hear, ſays God; for your Hands are full of Blood, Ilai. i. Iš. And the
Wiſe-man tells us, Prov. xxviii
. 9. that he that turneth away his Ear from
hearing the Law, even his Prayers ſhall be an Abomination.
Thus you ſce, it is not every one that ſays unto Chriſt, Lord, Lord, that
Mall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Men may profeſs the true Faith
and Religion, and yet, if they practiſe not according to their Profeſſion,
may be as far from Heaven as the worſt of Infidels; for many (our Savi-
our himſelf fays) are called, but few are choſen. Nay, they may believe as
well as profeſs the true Faith, and yet be the Children of Perdition, if their
Faith does not purify their Hearts, and better their Lives; for even the De-
vils themſelves believe and tremble. Nay farther; they may call Chriſt their
Saviour, and hope for Salvation from him, and yet periſh everlaſtingly, if
they be not ſuch as he has promis'd Salvation to, who are ſuch only as
take his Toke upon them, and learn of him. And laſtly, they may do ſome
Things well; they may be diligent in Hearing, and frequent in Prayer,
and not failing in any other Exerciſe of religious Worſhip; and yet if they
allow
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
907
allow themſelves in any known Sin, be rather more abominable to God for
their vilc Flattery and Hypocriſy, than if they had never pretended to any
Thing of Religion; according to what our Saviour ſays to the Phariſees,
Matth. xxiii. 14. Woe unto you, Scribes and Phariſees, Hypocrites; for ye
devour Widows Houſes, and for a Pretence make long Prayers; therefore
ve ſhall receive the greater Damnation.
Having therefore now ſeen, who they are, who, however well conceited
of by themſelves, or thought well of by others, ſhall yet have no Portion
in the Kingdom of Heaven; viz. thoſe who ſay, but do nothing more
than only ſay, Lord, Lord; it is Time that we now proceed in the ſecond
Place,
II. To enquire, who they are that ſhall be admitted into it; viz. thcy
who do the Will of God. Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord,
ſmall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the Will of my Fa-
ther which is in Heaven.
Which laſt Thing, the Doing the Will of God, we are not to under-
ſtand as excluding the former; i. e. the ſaying, Lord, Lord; but rather as
including and ſuppoſing it, and ſuperadding to it. For though the ſaying,
Lord, Lord, be not the whole of our Duty, it is however a neceſſary and
eſſential Part of it; though it be not all that is required, it is however as
much required as any other Duty is. And therefore,
1. He cannot be ſaid to do the Will of God, whoſe Actions, though in
themſelves good, are not the Fruits of a lively Faith ; for without Faith,
the Apoſtle ſays, it is impoſſible to pleaſe God, Heb. xi. 6. And our Saviour
himſelf ſays, John vi. 29. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he hath ſent; and St. John ſays, i Epift. iii. 23. that this is his
Commandment, (i. e. it is one of his Commandments, and as neceſſary to be
perform’d as any other,) that we should believe on the Name of his Son Je-
ſus Chriſt. Neither,
2. Can he be ſaid to do the Will of God, who, having Faith, has it to
himſelf
, and does not make an open Profeſſion of his Faith and Religion.
For as it is with the Heart that Man believeth unto Righteouſneſs, ſo it is
with the Mouth that Confeſſion is made unto Salvation, as the Apoſtle ſays,
Rom. X. 10. And to thoſe only who confefs Chriſt before Men, he has promis'd
that he alſo will confeſs them before his Father which is in Heaven, Matth.
X. 32. Neither,
3. Can he be ſaid to do the Will of God, who truſts to the Merit of
his own Works for Salvation, and not to the Mercy of God in Chriſt Jeſus :
for we are taught by our Saviour, when we have done all we can, to ſay,
we are unprofitable Servants. Luke xvii. 10. By St. Peter, Aals iv. 12. that
there is not Salvation in any other but Chrift; for there is none other Nam.
under Heaven given among Men whereby we muſt be ſaved: And by St.
Paul, Rom. vi. 23. that eternal Life is the Gift of God thro' Jeſus Chriſt our
Lord. Neither,
4. Laſtly, can he be ſaid to do the Will of God, who neglects his Wor-
ſhip, is rarely or never ſeen at Prayers, at Sacrament, at Sermons; and ſel-
dom thinks of God and Religion ; tho he be ever ſo ſquare and juſt in his
Dealings with Men. For certainly, if we are oblig’d to love our Neighbour
for God's Sake, we are much rather oblig’d to love God himſelf with all
our Heart, and with all our Soul, and with all our Strength; and if we
are not allow'd to be failing in any Duty to Men, much leſs can we think
our felves allow'd to be wanting in our bounden Duty to God.
To do the Will of God therefore does not exclude the calling him Lord,
Lord, nor the Practice of any other Duty, but comprehends all Sorts of
Duties
ܪ ܐ
I
908
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
to God, our Ncighbour, and our ſelves. And wc then do the Will of
God; and by ſo doing are ſuch as the Promiſes are made to, when we
are both diligent in learning the Will of God, and alſo careful to pracliſe it
according to the beſt of our Knowledge, and the uttermoſt of our Power; when
we both call Chriſt our Lord, and alſo give up our ſelves to be ruled and
govern’d by him in all Things; when we have an equal Care about the
Duties of Religion, and the Duties of Morality; and do herein continually
exerciſe our ſelves, to have always a Conſcience void of Offence, both towards God
and towards Men. It is only upon this Ground that a Hope of Salvation
can be well built; and if our own Heart (after a ſerious and thorough Ex-
amination of our ſelves) condemn us not, then may we have a good Con-
fidence towards God; according to that of the Pſaliniſt, Pſal. cxix. 6. Then
Shall I not be aſhamed, when I have Respect unto all thy Commandments.
Which Reſpect to all the Commandments docs not however imply in it
a finleſs Obcdicnce : For if nothing leſs than that would be accepted as the
Condition on our Part of our inheriting eternal Life, we might well ask
the Diſciples Queſtion, Who then can be ſaved? For i:z many Things we
offend all; and ſo we ſhall do, after the beſt Care we can take. And there
is not a juft Man upon Earth, that doth good and finneth not. But a
Reſpect to all the Commandments does imply in it a fincere Obedience,
or an hearty Endeavour to do the Will of God in every Thing. Nothing
leſs is doing the Will of God, than ſuch an Obedicnce as is inconſiſtent with
the Allowance of our ſelves in the Practice of any known Sin, or the wilful -
Neglca of any known Duty: And doing the Will of God (ſo far as it is the
Marter of our Duty, and the Condition of our Happineſs) is no more than
this; it is Sincerity only, not Perfc&ion. He does the Will of God, in the
Goſpel Senſe of that Phraſe, who does it as well as a frail Man can do it;
but all that a frail Man can do, is to endeavour heartily and ſincerely, and
whereinſoever he has fallen into Sin thro’ Frailty or Overſight, to riſe again
preſently by Repentance, and to look better to his Goings
, that he offend
not in the like Manner again. Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord,
Lord, ſall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doth the Will
of my Father which is in Heaven ; i. e. he that both calls upon God, and
is alſo careful to do his Will, hc, and he only, ſhall enter into the King-
dom of Heaven.
And what has been ſaid upon this Subject may ſerve for ſeveral good Pur-
poſes; two of which I ſhall briefly mention, and ſo conclude.
1. It may ſerye to abate that Confidence, which we are all too apt to
place in external Privileges and Advantages; as in being Members of a pure
Church ; in having been early dedicated to God in Baptiſm, and in being
thereby made the Children of God, and Heirs of eternal Life; in having the
lively Oracles of God, the holy Scriptures, committed to us; and in having
all the other Means of Grace in a more plentiful Manner vouchſafed to us,
than they are to moſt other Nations of the World.
Theſe Things we are apt to value our ſelves upon.; and, which is more
unreaſonable ſtill, we are apt to deſpiſe others, nay and to condemn them
too as Reprobates, only becauſe they have not the like Advantages. We
are apt to think theſe ſuch fure Tokens of God's extraordinary Kindneſs
and Good-will to us above all others, that we need not much fear, that we
ſhall ever, for any Misbehaviour of ours, be caſt out of his Favour: We are
apt to flatter our felves, that he will either ſee no Faults, or at leaſt, that
he will be caſily moved to paſs by and forgive all Faults in thoſe, to whom
he has fhew'd himſelf to be ſo kindly affected,
But let us not deceive our ſelves; for God is no Reſpecter of Perſons, but
as in every Nation he that feareth God, and worketh Righteouſneſs, is ac,
I
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The Infufficiency of Faith without Works.
909
ز
cepted of him; ſo no Perſon, of what Nation or Church foever he be, will
be accepted by him upon any other Terms : Not every one that ſaith unto
him, Lord, Lord, ſall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he only that
doth the Will of God which is in Heaven.
The Jews had formerly as much Cauſe to value themſolves upon ſucli
Accounts, as we have now; for they were the Children of Abraham, and the
Heirs of the Promiſe: To them, as the Apoſtle ſays, Rom. ix. 4. pertained
the Adoption, and the Glory, and the Covenants, and the giving of the
Law, and the Service of God, and the Promiſes ; theirs were the Fathers,
and of them as concerning the Fleſ, Chriſt came. And yet, tho' they were
ſo highly in Favour with God, and ſo nearly related to Chriſt, when he came
unto his own, and his own received him not, he likewiſe rejected them from
being his People; and they who were once the Children of the Kingdom
were caſt into ouster Darkneſs And this St. John Baptiſt, the Forerunner
of Chriſt, had told them before would be ; Matth. iii. 8. Bring forth
Fruits meet for Repentance; and think not to ſay within your felves, We
have Abraham to our Father ; for I ſay unto you, that God is able of theſe
Stones to raiſe up Children unto Abraham. And now alſo the Ax is laid
unto the Root of the Trees; therefore every Tree, which bringeth not forth
good Fruit, is hewn down, and caſt into the Fire. And it is to us Chriſtians
that the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Rom. xi. 20. warning us, by their Example, to take
Care that we incur not the ſame Fate : They, becauſe of Unbelief, were broken
off, and thou ſtandeſt by Faith; be not high minded, but fear ; for if God
Spared not the Natural Branches, take heed left he alſo Spare not thee.
It muſt be own’d indeed, that the Privileges, which we enjoy by our Chri-
ftianity, are greater than theirs were : But be they ever ſo great, they will
be of no real Advantage to us, unleſs we make a right Uſe of them. And
the more Knowledge we have, the larger is our Duty; and the better our
Hope is, the more ſtrongly are we bound to purify our ſelves; and the
more Means of Grace are vouchſafed to us, the more are we obliged to bring
forth Fruit abundantly. And if we are not rendred much better by our
Chriſtianity, and by all the Light, and Help, and Encouragement which
God has afforded us, it will be only ſo much the worſe for us ;
niſhment will be ſo much the greater, and our Judgment the more de-
ſerved. For as our Saviour ſays, Luke xii. 47, 48. That Servant which
knew his Lord's Will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to
his Will
, ſhall be beaten with many Stripes: "And the Reaſon follows for
unto whomſoever much is given, of him much ſhall be required ; and to
whom Men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. And
therefore St. Peter ſays well of all wicked Chriſtians, 2 Pet. ii. 21. That it
had been better for them not to have known the Way of Righteouſneſs,
than after they have known it, to turn away from the holy Commandment
delivered unto them. But,
2. And to conclude; if not every one that faith, Lord, Lord, but he only
that doth the Will of God is capable of the Goſpel-Promiſes; this may ſerve
to fhew us, how very unſafe it is to truſt to a Death-bed Repentance; and
how very unlikely it is, that ſuch a Repentance ſhould be true and availing.
We ought indeed always to hope and believe the beſt we can of others;
and therefore, becauſe we cannot tell how powerful, the Grace of God may
have been, or what a great Change may have been wrought in the Minds
of ſome Men, even at the Hour of Death, it is our Part to leave them to
the Judgment of God, who knows all Things, and will judge the World
But, as to our ſelves, it may be uſeful to us, now in Time to conſiders
that all that ſeems poſſible to be done upon a Death-bed, does not come up
Vol. II.
Hhhh
our Pu-
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with Equity.
to
910
The Inſufficiency of Faith without Works.
to that Deſcription of Repentance which is given us in the holy Scripture,
which comprchends not only the ceaſing to do evil
, but the learning to do
well; not only the turning from our Sins, but the doing that which is
lawful and right ; not only the denying Ungodlineſs and worldly Lifts,
but the living
ſoberly, righteouſly and godly in this preſent World, perfecting
Holineſs in the Fear of God.
Now how all this can be done upon a Death-bed, we ſee not; and
therefore it muſt needs be infinitely hazardous to delay our Repentance till
that Time, in hope that it will be then availing. For the moſt which ſccms
poſſible, or at leaſt likely to be done then, is to hear, and read, and learn,
and pray, and vow, and reſolve; but all theſe put together are not the ſanic
with living well, or (as our Saviour here expreſſes it ) doing the Will of God,
to which only the Promiſe of the Kingdom of God is made. A fick or
dying Man may ſay, Lord, Lord; Lord, he may ſay, open to me; Lord,
have Mercy upon me; Lord, forgive me ; Lord, receive my Soul; and the
like : And more than this, it is to be fear'd, they cannot ordinarily do, who
purpoſely defer Repentance to a Death-bed. But if they do, and if they
can do, no more than this, I do not ſee how they can obtain a good Aflu-
rance of Salvation, conſiſtently with the Truth of what our Saviour ſays in
the Text: Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into
the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the Will of my Father which is
in Heaven. Moſt juſtly rather may all ſuch as put off all Thoughts of living
well, till they ſhall find themſelves a dying, fear leſt that ſhould then befall
them which is threatned in Prov. i. 24, &c. Becauſe I have called, and ye re-
fuſed, have ſtretched out my Hands, and no Man regarded; but ye have
ſet at nought all my Counſel, and would none of my Reproof; I alſo will
laugh at your Calamity, I will mock when your Fear cometh; when you'r
Fear cometh as Deſolation, and your Deſtruction cometh as a Whirlwind;
when Diſtreſs and Anguiſh cometh upon you : Then all they call upon me,
but
I will not anſwer ; they shall ſeek me early, but they ſhall not find me.
O conſider this then, ye that forget God, and seek the Lord now, while he
may be found, and call upon him while he is near, Pfal. 1. 22. Ifa. lv.6. Strive
to enter in at the ſtrait Gate, now while it is open to you ; for many ſhall
ſeek to enter in and ſhall not be able. And when once the Maſter of the
Houſe ſhall have ſhut to the Door, it will be to no Purpoſe to knock at it,
and to ſay, Lord, Lord, open to us ; for he has told us already what the
Anſwer he will then give will be, viz. this, I know you not whence ye are;
depart from me, all ye Workers of Iniquity, Luke xiii. 24, 25, 27.
May God therefore of his infinite Mercy, give us all Grace, to know now
in this our Day, the Things that belong unto our Peace, before they be hid
from our Eyes, Luke xix. 42.
ز
Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three
Perfons, and one God, be given (as is moſt due) aúl Honour and
Glory, now and for ever. Amen.
DIS-
ջII
DISCOURSE LXXXV.
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation:
1
32
t
MATTH. VIL 22, 23.
Many will ſay to me in that Day, Lord, Lord, have
we not propheſied in thy Name? and in thy Name
have caſt out Devils ? and in thy Name done many
wonderful Works
And then will I profeſs unto them, I never knew you,
depart from me, ye that work Iniquity.
lehen
HE Unprofitableneſs of profeſſing the Chriſtian Religion
without a Practice ſuitable therero, and the Inſufficiency
of Faith without Works, and the Vanity of relying on
Chriſt for Salvation without performing the Conditions
required by him in order to it; and the Unacceptable-
neſs of any, or even all the Acts and Exerciſes of reli-
gious Worſhip, without a like Regard to the Duties of
the ſecond Table; our Saviour had declar'd in the foregoing Words, on
which I diſcourſed the laſt Time: Not every one that ſaith unto me, Lord,
Lord, ſmall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; but he that doth the Will of
my Father which is in Heaven.
And he ſtill perſues the ſame Deſign, viz. to ſhew that nothing can render
a Man accepted by God without Obedience. Only here in the Text, to
make the Point plainer, or elſe to impreſs the Belief and Conſideration of it
more ſtrongly on his Hearers, and thereby the more effectually to engage
them not to truſt to any Thing which might deceive them, but to build
their Hope of Salvation on the ſureſt Bottom; he inſtances in ſome other
falſe Grounds of Hope and Confidence towards God, ſuch as might be
thought, either higher and more excellent Attainments on their Part, or
elſe, on God's Part, plainer and furer Tokens of his Favour and ſpecial
Kindneſs towards them, than were thoſe which he had before meant by
that Phraſe of calling him Lord, Lord. For, ſays he, (and this I take to
be the Connexion between the Text and the foregoing Verſe) ſo far is it
from being enough to entitle a Man to Heaven, only to make Profeſſion
of the Chriſtian Faith, and an outward Shew of Religion, that a Man may
ſecm
2
912
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
ſeem to go a great deal farther than this in the Way to Heaven, and yet
never come thither ; he may do a great deal more than this, and yet not
do enough. For, many, ſays he, will ſay to me in that Day, Lord, Lord,
have we not propheſied in thy Name ? and in thy Name have caſt out De-
vils ? and in thy Name done many wonderful Works? And then I will
profefs unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work
Iniquity.
Now to preach Chriſt to others is plainly more than only to believe on
him oyr ſelves; and to propagate his Faith and Religion is more than only
to profeſs it ; if therefore they who do the former, that is, who preach the
Goſpel, and are, it is probable, thereby the Means and Inſtruments of bring-
ing many others to Salvation, may yet fall ſhort of it themſelves, and be-
come Caft-aways, in caſe they do not practiſe themſelves thoſe good Rules
of Life which they teach to others; it is plain then that nothing but Obe-
dience will do ; it is plain that nothing will ſerve inſtead of Obedience to
recommend us to God's Grace and Acceptance. For if a Man's own
Obligation to obey God might be bought off by any Thing elſe which he
could do, nothing ſeems to be a fairer Price to bid for it, than the bringing
other Men to a Sight and Senſe of their Duty, which is what, it may well
be ſuppos'd, they do, who are Preachers of the Goſpel. Thcy therefore, if
any, may be thought exempt from perſonal Service, who bring in others
to ſerve, as it were, in their ftcad. But now this is what our Saviour here
ſays, cannot be; but that even they who are inſtrumental in turning others to
Righteouſneſs, ſhall periſh in their own Sins, if they themſelves are Workers
of Iniquity.
And again ; to have the Gift of Prophecy, and a Power of working Mi-
racles in the Namc of Chriſt, vouchſafed to us, may well be deem'd an higher
Favour, than it is only to be admitted to ſee the Miracles which are wrought
by others, or than only to be born in a Country where the Goſpel is, up-
on good Evidence, received and embraced. If therefore they who have thoſe
excellent Gifts of Prophecy and Miracles, may yet finally periſh, and will
certainly do ſo, in caſe they live not as beconies that Goſpel, the Truth where-
of they are, by the ſingular Favour of God, enabled to make ſuch Proof
of to others; it is plain, that there can be no Ground for any Perſon what-
ever, in how high Favour foever he may think himſelf with God, upon the
Account of any Privileges or Advantages which are afforded him above others,
thercupon to entertain a Hope, that God will deal more favourably with
him in the other World, than he will with the reſt of Mankind, altho’his Life
ſhould not be in all Points fo regular and unblamcable as it ought to have
been. It is plain by this, that God is no Reſpecter of Perſons, but will judge
all Men at laſt by the ſame Rules; it is plain, that there is no way for any
of us to gain his Love, and obtain his Promiſes, but by Obedience to his
Precepts; and that all Hope of his Favour, which is not grounded upon
the Teſtimony of a good Conſcience, is no better than an unreaſonable
Preſumption.
It being therefore manifeſtly the main Deſign of our Saviour in theſe Words,
to declare (as he had done in the foregoing Verſe) that nothing leſs than a
Carefulneſs to pleaſe God in all the Duties of an holy Life, is ſufficient to
entitle us to his Love, and to make us capable of the Goſpel-Promiſes ;
and that Point being, as I hope, ſufficiently prov'd and illuſtrated, in the
Diſcourſe which I made the laſt Time upon thoſe Words; I ſuppoſe I fhall
not need now to add any Thing more to the ſame Purpoſe.
What I intend therefore at preſent is only to take notice of ſome other
Truths, which are as it were, occaſionally hinted and ſuggeſted to us in
theſe
2
>
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
913
theſe Words, and which may be of very good Uſe to us to conſider, and
to exerciſe a while our Meditation upon.
And the Obſervations which I ſhall draw from the Words, and ſhall take
occaſion at this Time briefly to ſpeak to, ſhall be of two Sorts:
I. Such
Obſervations as the Text itſelf offers to our Conſideration; and, 2. Such In-
ferences and Deductions as may be eaſily and naturally drawn from thoſe
firſt Obſervations, and which have a more immediate Reference to Practice.
And for the greater Clearneſs, I ſhall to every Obſervation of the former
Sort immediately ſubjoin thoſe practical Inferences which are naturally de-
ducible from the ſame. Many will ſay to me in that Day, &c. And,
>
1. One Thing which theſe Words offer to be conſidered by us, is this;
that Confidence of a Man's own ſelf, and a good Aſſurance towards God,
is no certain Argument of a Man's being in a State of Grace and Salvation.
This we may gather from what our Saviour here ſays of the Perſons
hcre ſpoken of, who were Sons of Perdition, for he ſays he will profeſs un-
to them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work Iniquity; and
yet
of
many of theſe he ſays, that they ſhall have the Confidence to ſtand
upon their own Juſtification, even before God himſelf, and to claim the
Promiſes of the Goſpel, as of right belonging to them. Many will ſay to
me in that Day, Lord, Lord, have we not propheſied in thy Name? &c.
It is as if they had ſaid; “ We ſurely, who have done ſo much for thee,
“ need not fear being ſhut out of thy Kingdom; we may rather well ex-
“pect the higheſt Place and the beſt Portion there.” But their Sentence
was quite different from what they expected; depart from me, ye that
work Iniquity. From whence therefore, I ſay, it appears, that a Man may
both live and die in a good Opinion of himſelf, and yet not be ſuch an one
as ſhall be finally acquitted and juſtified before God; and that, as the Apo-
ftle ſays, 2 Cor. x. 18. not be that commendeth himſelf is approved, but
whom the Lord commendeth.
For ſome who live in the Practice of very notorious and ſcandalous Sins,
may yet conceit well of themſelves, and entertain a good Hope towards
God, by reaſon of ſome falſe Notions in Religion which they have em-
braced; as that God ſees no Sin in his Children ; that a true Belief is all
which is requiſite to render us juſt before God; that the Righteouſneſs of
Chriſt was performed in our ſtead, and was deſigned to excuſe us from it;
and the like; Opinions, which plainly evacuate our whole Obligation to Ho-
lineſs and Virtue.
And others there may be, who may conceit well of themſelves, only be-
cauſe they are not openly and ſcandalouſly vitious; when yet, at the ſame
Time, their ſhew of Piety and Virtue is only affected to gain Praiſe and Ap-
plauſe from Men; and yet this they themſelves may not be ſenſible of;
they may not diſcern the Falſeneſs' and Hypocriſy of their own Hearts ;
but becauſe they do the Things which are good, may readily conclude that
they are ſuch Perſons as they ſhould be, and have nothing in them which
needs to be reformed. Such an one, doubtleſs, was the Phariſee, ſpoken of
by our Saviour, Luke xviii. 10. He thought very well of himſelf, and knew
not wherein he was to blame, or elſe he would not have dared to com-
mend himſelf as he did, even before God: God I thank thee, that I am
not as other Men are, Extortioners, Unjust, Adulterers, or even as this
Publican. And yet our Saviour himſelf tells us, at the fourteenth Verſe
of that Chapter, that this Man, tho’ ſo highly conceited of himſelf, was
not approved by God; nay, that the penitent and humble Publican, whom
he ſo much deſpiſed, went down to his Houſe juſtified rather than he.
Vol. II.
It
914
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
It being therefore a Matter of ſome Difficulty to know our ſelves, and
alſo a Matter of the higheſt Importance to us, that we ſhould make a right
Judgment of our ſelves; it is plainly our Intereſt as well as our Duty, to
take the beſt Method we can for this purpoſe.
And that is the Uſe we ſhould make of this Obſervation; it ſhould put
us upon a thorough ſearching of our Hearts, and trying of our Ways, “to
fee whether our Hearts are right with God, and our Ways ſuch as are
pleaſing to him, and will be approved by him. For it will be a moſt fad
Diſappointment to us, when we ſhall have ſpent our Days here in a pleaſing
Dream, and ſhall be gone out of this World in Peace, and with a full Al-
ſurance of the Goodneſs of our own Eſtate, to hear then thoſe Words
from the Mouth of our angry Judge; go ye curſed; depart from me, for I
know you not, ye Workers of Iniquity.
And the only way to prevent this dangerous and fatal Miſtake, is to la-
bour now, while we continue in this World, to obtain a right Knowledge
of our ſelves, and to paſs, if it be poſſible, the ſame Judgment upon our
ſelves now, which our Judge would paſs upon us, if we were now im-
mediately to be ſummoned before his Tribunal. For if we would judge
our ſelves, we jould not be judged, as the Apoſtle ſays, i Cor. xi. 3 1.
And the Method whereby to know whether our Actions arc ſuch as are
pleaſing to God, is diligently to examine them by the Rule of God's Com-
mandments; and the Means to approve our ſelves to him, is, whereinfoever
we have offended, either in omitting what has been commanded, or in do-
ing what has been forbidden, to be heartily ſorry for our Miſdoings, and
careful to do ſo no more.
And the beſt Way to know whether our Heart be right with God, tho
as the Prophet ſays, Jer. xvii. 9. The Heart of Man is deceitful above all
Things, and deſperately wicked, who can know it? The beſt Way, I
think, to know, ſo far as it can be known by us, whether our Heart be
right with God, is to examine well our Thoughts, and our ſecret Behavi-
our, which we are ſure are known to none but God. For if our own
Hearts condemn us in theſe Matters, God is greater than our Hearts, and
knoweth all Things.
If then, we are conſcious to our ſelves of our own Falſeneſs and Hy-
pocriſy; if when we do any Action which is ſeemingly good, we know
that we do it with an ill Deſign; or if we obſerve that we are not ſo
careful to avoid ſecret Acts of Diſhoneſty or Uncleanneſs, as we are to avoid
ſuch outward Acts thereof as would expoſe us to temporal Shame or Puniſh-
ment; than we may be ſure that God does not approve us, becauſe we muſt
be conſcious that it is not our Deſign to approve our ſelyes to him.
But, on the other Side; if our own Heart condemn us not, in theſe Mat-
ters, then, as the Apoſtle ſays, have we Confidence towards God, 1 John iii.
21. If we are as careful and conſcientious in the Duties of private Devotion,
as we ſeem to be in the publick Exerciſes of Religion ; if we are as watch-
ful to avoid wandring Thoughts in Prayer, as we are to avoid outward
and open Irreverence; if we no more dare to hate our Brother in our
Heart, than to curſe him with our Tongue, or ſtrike him with our Hand ;
and the like in other Caſes; theſe are good Tokens of our Uprightneſs and
Integrity, and upon theſe Evidences of our ſincere Picty and Charity, we
may ground ſuch a good Hope towards God, as will not make us aſhamed:
According to that of the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. i. 12. Our Rejoycing is this, the
Teſtimony of our Conſcience, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity, not
with fleſhly Wiſdom, but by the Grace of God, we have had our Converſe-
tion in the World.
II. Áno-
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
915
ons.
II. Another Thing which the Text offers to our Obſervation is this ;
that a good Knowledge of our Duty may be without the Practice of it ;
and that when it is ſo, it is in no wiſe availing to our eternal Salvation.
For the Perſons whom our Saviour here ſpeaks of, whom he ſtyles Work-
ers of Iniquity, and whom he declares he will paſs the Sentence of Con-
demnation upon at the laſt Day, were ſuch as had attain'd to very good
Knowledge in Matters of Religion, being ſuch as had been ſent by God
himſelf to bc Teachers thereof to others, and had been enabled by him to
confirm the Goodneſs and Truth of their Doctrinc by miraculous Operati-
Have we not, ſay they, propheſied in thy Name? i. e. Didít not thou
thy ſelf ſend us out to preach thy Goſpel? And have we not in thy Name,
i.e: by Power deriv'd from thee, caſt out Devils, and done many wonder-
ful Works? If thcrefore ſuch as theſe, who were ſo well inſtructed in the
Will of God, that they were fit to be Teachers and Inſtructers of others ;
and who were not only, as we may well conceive, throughly perſuaded of
the Truth of Religion, but likewiſe cnabled, by the Power of God, to
give the beſt Proof thcreof to the World, by Signs, and Wonders, and
mighty Works; I ſay, if ſuch as theſe might, for all their Knowledge, be
condemned for their wicked Works, then it plainly appears, both that Know-
ledge may be without Practice, and alſo that Knowledge without Practice is
not profitable to Salvation.
And from the Conſideration of this point we may be inſtructed,
1. What kind of Knowledge is the moſt valuable, and to thc Acquiſition
whereof we ought chiefly to apply our ſelyes, viz. that which has the near-
eſt Relation to, and the greateſt Influence upon Practice. By this we learn,
what Books, nay and what Portions of Scripture too, are the moſt profitable
to be read and ſtudied by us, viz. thoſe which do moft clearly inform our
Judgment in Points of Conſcience, or do moſt ſtrongly incite and fir us up
to the Performance of our Dury. And if we are diligent in the Study of
theſe Places, which are eaſy to be underſtood, which deſcribe the great Lines
of our Duty, and hold forth, in the cleareſt Expreſſions, the great Promiſes
and Threatnings of the Goſpel; theſe alone, if they be read with an honeſt
Mind, will make us wiſe unto Salvation, tho’ we ſhould live and dye in Ig-
norance of the Meaning of thoſe Places, which are of harder or more doubt-
ful Interpretation. Whereas, on the other Side, the greateſt Skill which is
attainable by Man, in the Criticiſms, Hiſtory, or Chronology of the Bible,
or in other Points of ſacred Learning which are the hardeſt to be attained,
will be of no Profit at all to him, who, while he is taken up with theſe
Studies, neglects or overlooks the plain Truths and Duties of Chriſtianity.
2. By the Conſideration of this Point we are alſo inſtructed, what End
we ſhould propoſe to our felves in the hearing Sermons, or reading the Bi-
ble and other good Books, or in the Uſe of any other Means of Know-
ledge which are afforded to us; namely, not to fill our Heads with Notions,
nor to furniſh our Tongues with Talk; but to inform our Judgments, and
to direct our Practice; that being not unwiſe, but underſtanding what the
Will of the Lord is, we may be able to know,, in all Circumſtances and
Conditions of Life, how we ought to walk and to pleaſe God; and by the
Motives of the Goſpel may be effectually perſuaded to do his Will, in every
Point, according to the beſt of our Knowledge.
3. Laſtly, we are alſo from the Conſideration of this point farther inſtruc-
ted, not to reſt in the Opus operatum of hearing Serinons, or reading
the Bible and other good Books, but to conſider theſe only as Means in
order to a farther End; which End if we come ſhort of, all the Time
which was ſpent in the Means willbe only ſo much Time loſt or 'miſpent.
Excellent
916
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
Nay the contrary to
Excellent Means indeed theſe muſt be granted to be of Improvement in
Grace and Virtue; for which Reaſon they are, by no means, in their pro.
per Scaſon to be neglected : For we cannot do the Will of God unleſs we
know it; and we ſhall hardly be inclin’d to do it, being encompaſs’d about
with ſo many Temptations, unleſs our Wills are ſtrongly moved thereto by
the frequent and ſerious Conſideration of the Promiſes and Threatnings of
the Goſpel. That therefore we may know our Maſter's Will, it is neceſſary
both that we ſhould look for it there where he has declar'd it, viz. in the
holy Scripture, and alſo that we ſhould ſeek the Law at the Mouth of his
Prieſts, the Meſſengers of the Lord, whoſe Lips ſhould keep Knowledge,
Mal. ii. 7. and that we may be incited to do his Will, it is likewiſe ne-
ceſſary, that we ſhould underſtand the Danger of tranſgreſſing it, and the
Profit and Reward of Obedience. And to attain a right Underſtanding in
theſe Things, is the proper End and Buſineſs of hearing Sermons, and
reading the Scripture, and all other Means of ſpiritual Inſtruction. But we
widely miſtake, if we think that our whole Duty does conſiſt in theſe reli-
gious Exerciſes; or that our Work is done only by our knowing what the
Work is which we have to do. For all this Knowledge is in order to
Practice; and therefore we ſhould not, we cannot in Reaſon, think our ſelves
the better for our Knowledge, unleſs we are made better by it. Nay in-
deed, if we continue ſtill in the ſame Sins which we lived in before, we
had better have continued in our former Ignorance too ; for our greater
Knowledge will only add to our Condemnation. And tho' we ſpend ever
ſo much Time in hearing Sermons, and reading the Scriptures and other
good Books, we ſhall be ſtill but in the Condition of thoſe filly Women whom
St. Paul ſpeaks of, 2 Tim. iii. 6, 7. Silly Women, laden with Sins, led away
with diverſe Lufts; ever learning, and never able to come to the Knowledge
of the Truth.
III. Another Thing which the Text gives us Occaſion to obſerve, is this
that very excellent Gifts of God for the Benefit of others may be, and
ſometimes are beſtowed upon bad Men. For bad Men without doubt they
were, to whom our Saviour, the righteous Judge of the World, will profeſs
at the laſt Day, ſaying, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work
Iniquity: And yet on fome of theſe were beſtowed the moſt excellent Gifts ;
for, ſay they, have we not propheſied in thy Name ? and in thy Name caſt
out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works?
If therefore theſe moſt excellent and ſpiritual Gifts, the Gift of Prophecy,
and the Power of Miracles, and the receiving Commiſſion from God to
be his Meſſengers and Ambaſſadors, are no ſure Marks of God's Approba-
tion of the Perſons they are given to, nor certain Tokens of God's ſpecial
Favour and Affection to them, as it is plain from the Text they are not ;
much leſs can any other Gift or Bleſſing of God, which is merely ſecular,
at leaſt, which has not ſo near a Reſpect and Relation to another Life, ſuch
as Riches, Honour, Health, Length of Days, proſperous Succeſs in the En-
terpriſes which a Man takes in Hand, and the like; much leſs, I ſay,
I ſay, can
any ſuch Gifts as theſe, be reaſonably deemed Signs of God's extraordinary
Love to the Perſons on, whom they are beſtowed, or to be taken for an
Argument that God does well like that Courſe of Life which they lead, or
that Cauſe which they are engaged in, and that he means by this' Bleſſing
this is commonly much truer, viz. that there be juſt Men to whom it hap-
neth according to the Work of the Wicked, and wicked Men to whom it
hapneth according to the Work of the Righteous : as the Wiſe-man obſerves,
Ecclef. viii. 14. or rather as he obſerves again, chap. ix. ver. 2. that all Things,
in this World, come alike to all, and there is one Event to the Righteous
and
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
917
and to the Wicked : So that conſequently (as he had ſaid at the firſt
Verſe of that Chapter) no Man knoweth Love or Hatred by all that is be-
fore him.
The Conſideration of this therefore ſhould teach us, to examine cvery
Action or Cauſe, which we liave any Occaſion to examine, by the written
Law of God, and the clear Dictates of right Reaſon, by which it will be
eaſy to diſcern, whether it be good or bad ; and not boldly to venturc to
imitate what another has done, preſuming it to be well done, only becauſe
it has good Succeſs; nor to be diſcouraged from a good Cauſe, or from doing
what appears to us to be lawful and right, only becauſe the ſame Thing
done by another has not been attended with ſuch a viſible Blcſling of Pro-
vidence, as might, we think, have been expected upon a righteous Cauſe, or
a praiſe-worthy Action.
Eſpecially it ſhould teach us, not to be either lifted up in our Conceit, or
caſt down to a Sort of Deſperation, by any Diſpenſation of Providence
towards us in the World ; but rather, that we ſhould look upon the Af-
flictions which befall us, by which Men are moſt apt to be dejected, as the
Chaſtiſements of a wiſe and gracious Father, and conſequently as Tokens of
his Love; and as ſuch we ſhould be thankful for them, and careful to im
prove them to our beſt ſpiritual Advantage: And, on the other Side, we
fhould look upon Proſperity, by which Men are moſt apt to be lifted up in
Conceit, and fondly to preſume themſelves the Favourites of Heaven ;
we ſhould look upon that, I ſay, only as a more difficult Sort of Trial
which God is pleaſed to put us to, as a State of Life in which it will not
be ſo eaſy for us to maintain a ſerious Senſe of Religion, and to preſerve
our Innocence. We ſhould conſider, that the worſt Men have uſually been
obſerved to be the moſt proſperous; and that the Prosperity of Fools shall
deſtroy them, as it is ſaid, Prov. i. 32. But,
IV. Another Obſervation, which the Text gives us Occaſion to make; is
his; that ſuch as for their evil Deeds ſhall themſelves be judg’d'unworthy
of eternal Life, may yet be the Means and Inſtruments of bringing others to
it. For ſome of thoſe, you ſee here, to whom our Saviour ſhall ſay at the
laſt Day, Depart from me, ye that work Iniquity, have been employed by
him to preach his Goſpel to the World, and to give convincing Proof of
the Truth of it. Have we not propheſied in thy Name? and in thy Name
caſt o:it Devils ? and in thy Name done many wonderful Works?
Even Judas himſelf, the Son of Perdition, as our Saviour ſtiles hin, John
xvii. 12. is particularly noted to have been ſent forth by our Lord, with the
other Apoſtles, to preach the Goſpel; Matth. x. 4. And to him, as well as to
the reſt, was given the Power of doing miraculous Works, Ver. 8. Heal the
Sick, cleanſe the Lepers, raiſe the Dead, caſt out Devils : To him, as well
as to the reſt, after they had received this Commiſlion, it was ſaid by our
Lord, Ver. 40. He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and there can be no
Reaſon to queſtion, but that his Miniſtry was, thro’ the Grace of God, as
effectual as any of theirs, for the Converſion of thoſe whom they were ſent
to preach the Goſpel to.
From hence therefore (and it is the Uſe we ſhould make of this Obfer-
vation) we may be ſatisfied of the Truth of what our Church teaches us, in
the twenty fixth Article of Religion, in theſe Words ; " Altho' in the viſible
“ Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and ſometimes the evil
“ have chief Authority in the Miniſtration of the Word and Sacraments;
yet foraſmuch as they do not the ſame in their own Name, bur in Chriſt's,
" and do miniſter by his Commiſſion and Authority, we may uſe their Mi-
"niſtry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in receiving the Sacraments.
Vol. II.
K k k k
" Neither
918
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
(6
“ Neither is the Effect of Chriſt's Ordinance taken away by their Wicked-
“ neſs; nor the Grace of God's Gifts diminiſhed from ſuch as by Faith
rightly do receive the Sacraments miniſtred unto them ; which be cf-
“ fectual becauſe of Chriſt's Inſtitution and Promiſe, altho' they be miniſtred
by evil Men."
And this is a Point which is of very great Uſe to be firmly believed and
well conſidered by us ; not only by thoſe whoſe unhappy Lot it is to live
under the Miniſtry of ſuch as are ſcandalouſly vitious, but even by all. For
if there was a Judas even among the Apoſtles; and if notwithſtanding all
the Care which can be taken by the Governors of the Church, there may be
fome admitted to holy Orders, and commiſſioned to preach the Goſpel, and
adminiſter the Sacraments, who will give great Scandal to the Church by
their wicked Lives, before they can be fairly convicted of their Crimes, and
juſtly depoſed for the ſame; much rather may it well be ſuppoſed, that after
all the Care which can poſſibly be taken by Church Governors, ( who are
but Men, and cannot ſee into the Heart,) there may be ſome admitted to,
and continued in, this ſacred Employmeni, who, tho' their outward Beha-
viour be unblameable, are yet Hypocrites in Heart ; and that is in this Reſpect,
as bad to the People, as if they were openly wicked. For Hypocrites are as
bad Men in themſelves, and as odious to God, and will as certainly be con-
demned by him at the laſt Day, as the moſt openly wicked and profane :
And the Service of thoſe, who draw near to God with their flattering Lips,
while they keep their Hearts far away, is as vain and unacceptable to God,
as theirs is who worſhip him with profane Lips, and polluted Hands. He no
more hears the Prayers of thoſe who incline to Wickedneſs in their Hearts,
than of thoſe who make an open Pra&ice of it.
So that unleſs it be firmly believed, that the Efficacy of the Word and Sa-
craments depends wholly upon thc Grace of God, and the Inſtitution of
Chriſt, and the Honeſty and good Diſpoſition of the Hearts of thoſe who
hear the Word, and partake of the holy Sacraments; and not at all upon
the Worthineſs of thoſe Men in holy Orders, to whom the Miniſtration there-
of is commited, no good Chriſtian can ever have Eaſe and Quiet in his own
Mind. For tho' he knows no ill by his Miniſter, ſtill he may ſuſpect it ; or
he may be a very bad Man, tho' he is not at all ſuſpected to be ſo; or tho’
none can charge him with any open Crime, it may ſtill be ſuſpected, or fear'd
at leaſt, that he is an Hypocrite ; ſo that the People communicating with him
muſt needs be ever in Uncertainty, whether the Word and Sacraments mini-
ſtred by him will have that good Effect upon them which they were deſign'd
for: And if out of a Fear or Jealouſy of this, they ſhould remove themſelves
from under his Miniſtry to another's, yet ſtill there will be Ground for the
fame Fear ; ftill they will, and muſt needs be uncertain, whether this laſt Man
be ſo good a Perſon, as they take him to be.
This Notion therefore of the Efficacy of the divine Ordinances depending
upon the Worthineſs of Miniſters, is plainly as enſnaring to Men's Minds,
and as apt to fill them with Scruples, which can never be cured or removed,
as the Popiſh Do&rine of the Neceſſity of the Prieſt's Intention ; according
to which Doctrine, if it were true, no Perſon could ever be ſure, that he
was rightly ordained, or validly baptiſed, or that he ever had, or could re-
ceive the holy Communion to his Soul's Health ; becauſe he never could be
certain, without a ſpecial Revelation, of the actual Intention of the Biſhop
who ordained him, or of the Prieſt who adminiſtred either of the Sacra-
ments to him; and much leſs could he ever be certain, that there never was
a Want of actual Intention to ordain, or baptiſe, or to conſecrate the Ele-
ments ; or an Intention not to ordain, or baptiſé, or conſecrate, in any of
all thoſe Biſhops or Prieſts, from the Apoſtles Days down to his Time, thro
2
whore
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
919
whoſe Hands Orders have been ſucceſſively confer'd, or the Sacraments ſuc-
ceſſively adminiſtred.
But if it be believed, as it is moſt certainly true, that the Efficacy of the di-
vine Ordinances does not depend upon the Worthineſs, any more than it does
upon the ſecret Intention, of the Miniſters of Religion; this yields great Eaſe
and Comfort to all honeft-hearted Chriſtians, even tho it be their Lot
to live under the Miniſtry of ſuch, of whoſe Unworthineſs they are but too
well aſſured. For then their only Care will be, to look to themſelves, and
to their own Hearts; and they will not fear being defiled by holding Com-
munion in religious Offices with ſuch as are Sinners, ſo long as they do not
partake with them in their Sins.
It appertains indeed, as our Church ſays well in the Article before cited;
ir apperrains, I ſay, to the Diſcipline of the Church, that Inquiry bc made
of evil Miniſters; and that they be accuſed by thoſe who have Knowledge of
their Offences; and finally, that being found guilty, they may be by juſt Judg.
ment depoſed. But the Exerciſe of this Diſcipline (except of that Part of
it which requires that evil Miniſters be accuſed by thoſe who have Knowledge
of their Offences) belongs only to the Governors of the Church; and if
they are therein faulty or remiſs, the Blame will lie wholly on them. And
therefore the People, as they may uſe the Miniſtry of ſuch evil Men, until
their Wickedneſs is diſcovered ; ſo likewiſe may they uſe it, after their Wic-
kedneſs is diſcovered, until they are by juſt Judgmenr removed from the Mi-
niſtry; it being no Buſineſs of theirs to exerciſe this Diſcipline, and no
Man being juſtly chargeable with any Body's Faults but his own, or thoſe
of others which he is ſome ways acceſſary to. And if he may lawfully go on
to communicate with them in religious Offices, ſo long as they are continued
in the Miniſtry, then he ought not upon this Account or Prerence to with-
draw himſelf from their Communion; for nothing can juſtify the making a
Schiſm or Separation from the eſtabliſh'd Church to which we belong, but
only the Neceſſity of it, in order to the avoiding of Sin. And thus our Saviour
himſelf determined the Caſe, with reſpect to the Scribes and Phariſees, who
at that Time were the lawful and authoriſed Guides of the People, and the
publick Teachers and Expounders of the Law. Very bad Men they were,
as our Saviour fhews at large, and in ſeveral Inſtances, in the twenty third
Chapter of St. Matthew : But this, he tells the People, at the ſecond Verſe of
that Chapter, was not a ſufficient Reaſon for them to withdraw themſelves
from their Teaching, and to ſet up other Teachers by their own Authority;
but rather, that ſo long as they did fit in Moſes Seat, it was the People's
Duty to hearken to them, and be directed by them. The Scribes and Pha-
riſees fit in Moſes Seat; all therefore, whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that
obſerve and do. But,
V. Another Thing which the Text offers to our Obſervation is this; that
even among thoſe who ſeem to be in the beſt Capacity of knowing the Will
of God, and who may be preſumed to be the moſt careful to do it; there
are a great many, who do not live anſwerably to their knowledge, and to thoſe
Obligations to Holineſs and Virtue which are laid upon them.
For the Perſons ſpoken of in the Text were ſuch as were commiſlioned
by God to teach his Will, and they who were fit to teach it cannot be fuppos’d
to be without a good Knowledge of it themfelves; have we not, fay they,
propheſied in thy Name? They were alſo ſuch as were enabled by God to
make good Proof of their Doctrine by working Miracles in Confirmation of
it; have we not, ſay they, in thy Name caſt out Devils; and in thy Name
many wonderful Works? And it can hardly be ſuppoſed that a Man ſhould
not be perſuaded himſelf of the Truth of thoſe Doctrines, which he is en-
abled
done many
920
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
abled to prove to ſtrongly to others. And yet theſe very Perſons, and not
one, or two, or a few of them, but many of them were Workers of Iniquity,
and did not pra&tiſe themſelves thoſe Things which they taught to others. .
Many, ſays our Saviour, will ſay unto me in that Day, Lord, Lord, have
we not propheſied in thy Name, &c. And then will I profeſs unto them, I ne-
ver knew you ; depart from me, je that work Iniquity.
There being therefore, as our Saviour here obſerves, many of thoſe from
whom we might well have cxpceted the beſt Patterns and Examples, who
ſhall be condemned at the laſt Day for their evil Deeds; it plainly follows, that
there is no Man, how wiſe and knowing ſoever we may eſteem him, whoſe
Example may in all Things be ſafely follow'd, without examining by the Rule,
whether the Pattern which he ſets us be good or bad. Even they who are
themſelves Preachers of Righteouſneſs may not live up to thoſe good Rules
which they teach ; as it is plain the Scribes and Phariſees before ſpoken of did
not: And therefore our Saviour himſelf in the place before cited, where he
commands the People to obſerve their Directions, gives them a Caution againſt
following their Example; Whatſoever, ſays he, they bid you obſerve, that
obſerve and do; but do not after their Works, for they ſay and do not.
We are ſure we do well, while we obſerve the Rule which God has fet us,
and live according to it; but we cannot be ſure of this, if, without Regard to
the Rule, we blindly follow any Man's Example. For Men of the greateſt
Knowledge in Matters of Religion are not always Men of the ſtriącft Lives;
the wiſelt Men are not always the beſt Men ; or if they were, yet even the beſt
Men have their Failings, and for that Reaſon cannot ſafely be imitated in all
Things. And therefore we find, that St. Paul himſelf, tho' he endeavour'd
doubtleſs to ſet the beſt Pattern which he could to others; yer when he ad-
viſes the Corinthians to follow it, as he does in 1 Cor. xi. 1. does it with a
Limitation, implying in it an Exhortation to them firſt to examine it, and to
be ſatisfied of the Goodneſs of it, before they follow'd it. Be
ye
Followers
of me, ſays he, even as. (or, ſo far as) I alſo am of Chriſt.
I ſhall mention at preſent but only one Thing more, which the Text gives
us Occaſion to obſerve, and ſo conclude, viz.
ز
ز
VI. Laſtly, that how much ſoever Men may be miſtaken in their Opinion,
either of themſelves or others, while they continue in this World, the Day of
Judgment will ſet all right, will fhew every Man in his own true and proper
Colours, and fully diſcover every Work, of what Sort it is. Many will ſay
unto me in that Day, have we not done ſo and ſo? and then will I profeſs
unto them, I never knew you, &c.
In that Day, I wil profeſs unto them, i.e. at the Day of Judgment ;
for that that is the Time here ſpoken of, there can be no Doubt; this fame
Phraſe, that Day, being frequently in Scripture uſed to denote the Day of
Judgment, even where nothing had been ſaid before to reſtrain or determine
its Senſe : But here the Senſe of it is plainly determin’d by what had been
faid in the foregoing Verſe ; Not every one ihat ſaith unto me, Lord, Lord,
Shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; and then it follows, many will ſay
to me in that Day, i. e. in that Day, in which Admittance ſhall be given to
ſome into the Kingdom of Heaven, and others ſhall be ſhut out.
In that Day of glorious Light there will be an End put to all Miſtakes of Men
concerning themſelves or others : There will be then a full and clear Diſcovery
made of all Men, and of all the Actions they have done, whether good of
bad. There is nothing cover'd that ſhall not then be reveald, nothing hid
that ſhall not then be known: All the ſecret Works of Darkneſs ſhall then
be brought to Light, and the Counſels of all Hearts ſhall then be made manifeſt.
This will be the Buſineſs of that great and terrible Day of the Lord, to
bring
ز
2
Falſe Pretenſions to Salvation.
921
bring every good Work into Judgment with every ſecret Thing, whether it
be good or bad, and to ſeparate the Sheep from the Goats, and to give to every
Man according as his Works have been, (without any Regard to the Shew and
Appearance which they made in the World, to the Opinion which was had
of them, to the worldly Condition they were in, or to the Advantages or
Privileges which they enjoy'd) to them who by patient Continuance in well
doing, ſeek for Glory and Honour and Immortality, eternal Life; and to all
ſuch as obey not the Truth, but obey Unrighteouſneſs, Indignation and Wrath,
Tribulation and Anguiſh upon every Soul of Man that did evil; even tho’
he had been a Preacher, “or a Prophet, or an Apoſtle, or a Worker of Miracles,
in the Name of Chriſt, for there is no reſpect of Perſons with God.
This is what the Text ſuggeſts to our Thoughts, what the holy Scripture
elſewhere frequently and at large reminds and aſſures us of; and what we our
ſelves, at leaſt every Time we meet together in the Houſe of God to worſhip,
do in repeating the Creed ſolemnly profeſs to believe.
The good Uſe therefore which we ſhould make of this Conſideration is
comprehended in thoſe Words of St. Peter, 2 Pet. iii. 14. with which I ſhall
conclude: Wherefore, beloved, ſeeing that ye look for ſuch Things, be dili-
ge may be found of him in Peace, without Spot and blameleſs.
Which that we may all be, God of his infinite Mercy grant, for the ſake
of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt; to whom, &c.
gent, that
36
I
Vol. II.
Lill
D I S.
922
The Hypocrite and Chriſtian
DISCOURSE LXXXVI.
The Difference between the Hypo-
crite and the ſincere Chriſtian in a
Day of Trial.
Beste
***
2
MATTH. VII. 24, 25, 26, 27.
Therefore whoſoever heareth theſe Sayings of mine
and doth them, I will liken him unto a wife Man,
which built his Houſe upon a Rock :
And the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the
Winds blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it fell
not; for it was founded upon a Rock:
And every one that heareth theſe Sayings of mine and
doth them not, shall be likened unto a fooliſh Man, ,
which built bis Houfe upon the Sand;
And the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the
Winds blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it fell ;
and great was the Fall of it.
UR Lord in the foregoing Verſes had intimated that Men
might believe and profeſs his Religion, and yet not lead
their Lives anſwerably to it; and not only ſo, but that
they might be Teachers of his Religion, and be enabled
by God to work Miracles for the Proof and Confirmation
of it, and yet continue in the Practice of thoſe Sins which
were plainly condemned by it. He had alſo plainly de-
clar'd that nothing leſs than a Carefulneſs to practiſe according to our Know-
ledge and Belief is ſufficient to recommend us to God's Favour and Accep-
tance, and to make us capable of his Promiſes: That neither the bare Know-
ledge of the Truth, nor a mere Belief of the Doctrines of the Goſpel, nor
only the Profeſſion of the Faith of Chriſt, no por yet great Zeal and Dili-
gence in preaching the Goſpel to others, althoʻjoin'd with a Power of work-
ing
diſtinguiſh'd by Tryals.
923
ing Miracles for the Confirmation of it; that none, I ſay, of all theſe Things,
neither ſeparately, nor jointly, would do, without a good Life. All this he
had declared, in the Verſes before the Text : Not every one that faith unto
me, Lord, Lord, Jhall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth
the Will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will ſay unto me in that
Day, Lord, Lord, have we not propheſied in thy Name? and in thy Name
caſt out Devils ? and in thy Name done many wonderful Works? And then
will I profeſs unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work
Iniquity.
And to thoſe Words, theſe which I have now read to you, and am at this
Time to diſcourſe of, are very fitly ſubjoined, both as a natural Inference from
what he had ſaid juſt before, and likewiſe as a proper Concluſion to his whole
Sermon. Therefore, whoſoever heareth theſe Sayings of mine and doth them,
I will liken him unto a wife Man which built his Houſe upon a Rock.----
And every one that heareth thefe Sayings of mine and doth them not,
shall be likened unto a fooliſh Man, which built his Houfe upon the
Sand, &c.
In which Words our Saviour expreſſes the very ſame Senſe two different
Ways; thereby to impreſs the Confideration thercof the more ſtrongly upon
his Hearers.
Firſt, he puts the Caſe of a Man who embraces, believes, and profeſſes the
Doctrine of the Goſpel, as the ſame was taught by our Saviour in all his
Sermons and Diſcourſes, and eſpecially in this famous Sermon of his upon
the Mount, and who being perſuaded of the Truth of his Doctrinc, takes
care to regulate his own Practice thereby; who adds Works to his Faith ; who
not only profeſſes Chriſtianity, but lives it; and who upon the Teſtimony of
his own Conſcience, that he does not knowingly and wilfully tranſgreſs his
Duty in any Point, either doing what is forbidden, or omitting what is com-
manded, grounds a good Hope or Aſurance towards God: And this Man,
our Saviour ſays, is like unto one that builds his Houſe upon a Rock. His
Meaning is, that this Man's Hope or Aſſurance towards God is very well
grounded; ſo that in taking this Courſc he expreſſes the ſame ſort of Wif-
dom that a Man does, who, in building his Houſe, is, above all Things,
careful to have it ſet upon a good Bottom; wiſely conſidering, that how calm
and ſerene ſoever the Seaſon may be at preſent, it is not likely that it ſhould
laſt ſo always; and that therefore he ought in Reaſon ſo to contrive the Houſe
which he deſigns for the Place of his conſtant Reſidence, that it may abide
and be fit for him to dwell in, in all Weathers; and this it will bé, if it be
well grounded, if the Foundation be laid upon a Rock: Which is what our
Saviour means in the next Words; and the Rain deſcended, and the Floods
came; (i.e. the Land-floods, which had been occaſioned by the Abundance
of Rain,) and the Winds blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it fell not ; for
it was founded upon a Rock.
After this, and in the next Words, our Saviour puts the Caſe the other
Way, and ſuppoſes a Man perſuaded of the Truth of the Goſpel, and mak-
ing open Profeſſion thereof, but not careful to practiſe the good Rules of
Life which are therein given ; every Man that he'areth theſe Sayings of mine,
and doth them not : And this Man, he ſuppoſes, might alſo conceive a good
Hope or Aſſurance towards God, out of an Opinion, that it was enough to
have Faith, and to make Profeſſion of the Chriſtian Religion; and that
Chriſt would not diſown for his Servants any who profeſſed themſelves ſuch,
and ſaid unto him, Lord, Lord. And this Man our Saviour here likens to
a fooliſh Builder, who raiſes a fair and beautiful Superſtructure without laying
a good Foundation, who builds upon the Sand; whoſe Folly lies in this, be-
cauſe his Houſe, thoas fair to the Eye as the other Man's, will do but little
Service,
ز
S
I
924.
The Hypocrite and Chriſtian
Service, and can be of but a very ſhort and uncertain Continuance. For a
while indeed, ſo long as the Sun Shines clear, and the Air is ſtill and calm,
it may make a fair Shew, and be thought a commodious Habitation, but a
little Change of Weather will ſoon diſcover it to be, as indeed it is, the
Workmanſhip of a fooliſh Builder : When the Rain deſcends, and the Floods
come down, and the Winds blow hard and beat upon it, it will certainly fall
,
and great will be the Fall of it ; for it will not fall by Piece-meals, but all
at once; and that which the Man deſign'd for his Shelter, will only help to
contribute to his Ruin.
Such, our Saviour ſays, is the Man which builds his Hope of Heaven upon
his holding or profeſſing the true Faith, without a Life and Converſation
ſuitable to it: He may pleaſe himſelf for a while with this flattering Hope;
but the Time will certainly come, when he will find himſelf ſadly diſap-
pointed. While the Sunſhine of Proſperity laſts, and ſo long as he has no-
thing from without to diſturb and diſquict him, it is poſſible he may alſo
enjoy Peace within ; becauſe having his Mind wholly employ'd and taken
up with the Cares or Pleaſures of Life, he will not be at Leiſure for ſober
ſerious thinking; and while he endeavours to live, as much as he can, with-
out Thought, his Thoughts within him may not much trouble him. But
this Calm will not laſt always; and whatever Accident ſhall ever force him
upon Thinking, will likewiſe certainly put an End to his Peace and Securi-
ty; and that Hope which made ſo goodly a Shew, and under which the Man
ſhelter'd himſelf for a while, will then, like the Houſe built upon the Sand,
tumble down all at once, and opprefs him with its Ruins. So far will he
be then from being the better for ſuch a Hope, that he will indeed be much
the worſe for it: The Unexpectedneſs of his Calamity will add a great
Weight to it; and to have fallen from ſuch Hopes will be a conſiderable
Aggrayation of the evil Eſtate he will then be plunged into. Every one that
heareth theſe Sayings of mine and doth them not, Shall be likend unto a fool-
iſh Man, which built his Houſe upon the Sand; and the Rain deſcended,
and the Floods came, and the Winds blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it
fell; and great was the Fall of it.
The chief Subject therefore which theſe Words offer to our Conſideration
is the great Difference which there is between the Confidence of a ſpecula-
tive, and the good Hope of a practical Believer; between the Security of a
formal Profeſſor of Chriſtianity, and the Satisfaction of Mind ariſing from
the Teſtimony of the good Conſcience of a Man who lives according to his
Profeſſion.; between the Hope of an Hypocrite, and the Hope of the honeſt
and ſincere Chriſtian, who herein exerciſes himſelf to keep always a Conſci-
ence void of Offence, both towards God and towards Men. The former of
which is like an Houſe built upon the Sand, eaſy to be thrown down by
every Storm and Tempeſt: The latter, is like an Houſe founded uponía Rock,
which tho' it may be ſometimes a little ſhaken by a Storm, yet is never hurt
by it; becauſe the Foundation it ſtands upon is immoveable :
And that we may the better diſcern the Difference which there is, in this
Reſpeở, between the Hope or rather the carnal Security of an hypocritical
Profeſſor, and the ſolid and rational Hope and good Afſurance of a Man who
lives up to his Profeſſion, and has his Converſation as becometh the Goſpel of
Chrift, it may be convenient to enquire a little more particularly, what our
Saviour might probably here mean to ſignify by the Rain, and Floods, and
Winds, which beating violently upon the Houſe which was founded upon a
Rock, did it no Harm; but which, when they did the ſame upon the Houſe
thąc without a Foundation was built upon the Sand, threw it down all at
once, and turn'd that which before ſeem'd to be a well.compact and beautiful
Edifice into a Heap of Ruins.
I
And
diſtinguiſh'd by Tryals.
925
And what moſt naturally anſwers to this Part of the Parable or Similitude,
is any State or Condition of Life, any Accident or Occurrence, or Diſpen-
ſation of Providence, whereby Trial is made of the Sincerity and Integrity of
a Man's Heart, in ſuch manner as the Strength of the Foundation of an
Houſe is tricd by the Storms which beat violently upon it.
And there are, I think, four Things eſpecially which we may well ſuppoſe
were hereby intended to be ſignified, viz.
I. A State of ſtrong Temptation.
II. Some, fore and grievous Afflition.
III. The Approach of Death. And,
IV. The Day of Judgment.
1
When any of theſe Things come to us, they will make Trial of the Strength
of the Foundation which our Hopes are built upon; they will make a clear
Diſcovery to o:hers, and to our ſelves alſo, what ſort of Men we are: And
however we might have flattered our ſelves before with a vain and falſc Opi-
nion of our own Goodneſs, or of God's Favour and Affection towards us,
we fhall then be no longer able to cheat and deceive our ſelves. Such Storms
as theſe, beating upon the Houſe, will either ſertlc it firmer upon its Founda-
tion, if indeed its Foundation be folid and ſubſtantial ; or elſe, in caſe the
Foundation was not laid deep and ſtrong enough to ſupport ſuch a Pile of
Building, they will utterly ruin and deſtroy and daſh to Pieces the Edifice
which was rais’d thereupon.
I. I ſay, a State of ſtrong Temptation is a pretty ſure Trial of the Goodneſs
of our Hope, and of the Strength or Weakneſs of the Foundation which it
is built upon.
It is the bleſſed Lot of fome, and, God be thanked, it has been curs, to
be born in a Country where the Chriſtian Religion' is not only profeſſed, but
eſtabliſhed and encouraged; where the Laws of Chriſt, are made a Part of the
Law of the Land; where the ſtricteſt Obſervation of the Rules and Precepts
of Chriſtianity is the likelieſt Way to promote our temporal Intereſts; where
Religion and Virtue, or what carries à fair Shew and Appcarance thereof, is
the beſt Recommendation of a Man to Employments of Honour and Profit ;
and where, on the other Side, a Man can hardly tranſgreſs the Rules of his
Rcligion very notoriouſly, in any Inſtance, without incurring publick Shame
and Diſgrace, or the Penalty of ſome human Law. Now when the Church
of Chriſt is in this proſperous and flouriſhing Condition, it may well be ex-
pected that it ſhould be much thronged and crowded; and that a great many,
who have no truc Fear of God or Senſe of, Religion in their Minds, ſhould
yet make an open Profeſlion of that Religion, which, for the Time, is gain-
fuil and crcditable, and forbear the Gratification of their carnal Lufts and Ap-
petites, at leaſt in ſuch Inſtances, and in ſuch Manner, as would procure them
Diſgrace, or expoſe them to Puniſhment. Little Difference, as to the outward
Converſation, will then appear between the ſincere and honeſt-hearted Chriſ-
tian, and the formal and hypocritical Profeſſor: But as the former will be con-
ftant in all the Exerciſes of Religion, out of Duty and Conſcience towards
God; the latter will be no leſs ſo, out of regard to his own Reputation :
As the former will ftri&ly forbear all Acts of Injuſtice and Oppreſſion, be-
cauſe he ſcars to do Wrong; ſo will the latter, becauſe he fears they will ruin
his Credit, or bring him to Puniſhment, or hinder him from making ſo much
Gain as he might do, by the Protection and Encouragement of the Laws, in a
fair and honeſt Way. And laſtly, as the former will be ſober and tempcrare,
becauſe he dares not do any Wickedneſs and ſin againſt God; ſo will like-
Vol. II.
Mm m m
wils
926
The Hypocrite and Chriſtian
wile the latter be, becauſe the Vices of Intemperance would bring a Blot upon
his Name, make him leſs valued and clicemed of, and conſequently be an
Hindrance to his worldly Advancement.
And this Likeneſs, as to outward Appearance, between the Converſation of
the Hypocrite and of the truly religious Perſon, in ſuch peaceful Times, and
in ſuch a flouriſhing State of Religion, may deceive not only the By-ſtanders,
who can judge only by outward Appcarance, but even the Hypocrite himſelf;
who, becauſe he is ſuch an one as can have no Blame laid on him by others,
may therefore be apt to fancy that he is alſo ſuch an one as God himſelf
will approve. For why, may he think, ſhould not he be as well accepted by
God as any Man, who does as much to render himſelf accepted by God, as
any other Man does? who is as conſtant at Church, at Prayers, at Sermons,
at Sacraments, as any of his Neighbours are, whom yet both he and all who
know them, believe to be very good Men who is as ſquare and juſt in all
his Dealings as any Man; and never took any thing from his Neighbour by
Fraud, Extortion, or Violence ? and who is alſo nicely ſober and temperate
in the Uſe of Meats and Drinks, and bodily Pleaſures, and cannot be charged
to have exceeded, hardly at any Time, the Bounds of Temperance and Mo-
deration ? Thus, I ſay, the good Eſteem which he finds he has among his
Neighbours, for his unblameable Life and Converſation, may very eaſily be-
get in him a good Opinion of himſelf; he may believe himſelf as good as
any are, when he finds he is generally as well thought of as the beſt Men can
be; and yet all this while he may be in Truth no better than an Hypocrite ;
and if ever he ſhould be put into a State of ſtrong Temptation, it would then
quickly appear, what a ſlight and ſlender Foundation his fond Opinion, and
good Hope of himſelf was built upon.
Such an Hypocrite the Devil thought Job was, at leaſt as ſuch an one he
flanderouſly repreſented him to Almighty God; and this Method of Trial, he
made no doubt, would fully diſcover his Hypocriſy : If he had but as ſtrong
Temptation to be wicked, as he had Inducement to be good and virtuous, he
made no Queſtion but the Temptation would prevail. Haſt thout, ſays God,
Fobi. 8. conſidered my Servant Job? that there is none like him in the Earth,
a perfect and an upright Man, one that feareth God, and eſcheweth Evil?
And then it follows, Then Satan anſwered the Lord, and ſaid, Doth Job
ſerve God for nought? Haſt thou not made a Hedge about him, and about
his Houſe, and about all that he hath on every Side? Thou haſt bleſſed the
Work of his Hands, and his Subſtance is increaſed in the Land. But put
forth thine Hand now and touch all that he hath, and he will curſe thee to
thy Face. But as confident as the Devil was of this, he found himſelf miſtaken,
when after having made uſe of all the Permiſſion which God had given him to
plague and torment him, the good Man ſtill retained his Integrity. The Rea-
ſon was, his Piety and Virtue were deep and well grounded; he did not do
the Things which were good with an hypocritical Deſign to gain Credit and
Reputation to himſelf, nor with a worldly Deſign to promote his temporal In-
tereſt, but out of a true Fear of God, and a lively Senſe of his Obligation
and Duty to him.
But the Caſe is quite otherwiſe with the formal and hypocritical Profeſſors
of Religion; their Religion, and the good Opinion of themſelves, which
they build upon it, being both grounded on a ſlight and ſandy Foundation,
will be all thrown down at once, whenfoever they ſhall come to be aſſaulted
by ſuch ſtrong and violent Temptations as that good Man was. He who is
of the true Religion now, becauſe it is the Religion of his Country, would
as certainly have been of a falſe one, if it had been his Hap to have been
born and bred in a place where that was received; and if any other Religion
ſhould happen in his Time to be ſet up and eſtabliſhed by Law, will then
ز
*
like
diſtinguiſh'd by Tryals.
927
like and approve of that, as much as he does now of this. And he who
now duly and conſtantly frequents the Church, and feems to be a devour
Worſhiper of God, becauſe it is not only ſafe but reputable fo to be, would
not dare to own and profeſs his Religion, if ever the Profeſſion thereof
ſhould expoſe him to Danger and Perſecution ; but like the Man
compared
by our Saviour to the ſtony Ground, in which the good Seed of the Word was
never deep rooted, when Tribulation or Perſecution aroſe becauſe of the Word,
he would by and by be offended : And he who in any other Inſtance is virtuous
and honeſt, becauſe he finds a preſent Gain and Advantage in being ſo;
would quickly be quite otherwiſe if he ſaw a greater Gain in that ; and if the
Devil ſhould ever offer him, as he did our Saviour, the Kingdoms of the
World, and the Glory of them, would readily comply with any Condition
which they were offered upon, and make no Scruple to fall down and wor-
ſhip the Devil himſelf for ſuch a glorious Reward.
It being therefore, as I ſaid before, our happy Lot to be born in a Chriſtian
Country, and in peaceful Times, when Religion and Intereſt are both on a
Side; and it being very difficult in ſuch a State of Things for a Man to know
his own Heart, and to be ſure that worldly Honour or Gain have nor a greater
Influence upon his Converſation, than a Principle of ſound Virtue and Reli-
gion; and it being alſo certain that, however other Men may be deceived
in us, or we our felves may be miſtaken in the Opinion we have of our ſelves,
God, who ſearches the Heart, cannot be deceived or impoſed upon by the
clofeſt Hypocriſy; it nearly concerns us to examine well our own Hearts,
and to ger the beſt Aſſurance we can, that we are ſincere and upright in our
Religion.
And the beſt Method, I think, which we can take to be ſecure of this, is,
in the Examination of our ſelves, to have regard chiefly to our Thoughts,
and the inward Actions of our Minds, and to our ſecret Behaviour, when we
are ſure no Eye ſees us, nor can ſee us, but only God's; and if, upon Ex-
amination, we find as little to blame in our ſelves in our Thoughts, as we
do in our Words and Actions, in our moſt ſecret, as we do in our moſt open
Behaviour ; we may then, I think, upon good Grounds, continue our Hope
and Aſſurance towards God: We may by this be reaſonably aſſured, that the
Fear and Love of God are well and deeply rooted in our Hearts; and con-
ſequently, that if ever it ſhould be his Pleaſure to make Trial of our Faith
and Obedience by the ſtrongeſt Temptations, we ſhould be able, by the Af-
ſiſtance of his Grace, to preſerve our Innocence and Integrity, and to come
off victorious. But,
ز
1
II. Another Thing probably meant to be ſignified by our Saviour in this
Parable or Similitude, by the Rain, and Floods, and Wind, which beat violently
upon the Houſe, and make a full Diſcovery whether it was built upon a ſo-
lid, or upon a looſe and ſandy Foundation, is, any fore and grievous Afflic-
tion, or Calamity befalling us in this Life. For this is a main Difference be-
tween the Hope of a formal Profeſſor of Religion, and that of a ſincere
Chriſtian, of one who not only hears theſe Sayings of Chriſt, but ſets him-
ſelf diligently to the Practice of them. A formal Profeſſor of Religion may
have Hope, ſo long as he forbears thinking and conſidering ſeriouſly of his
State and Condition ; and this he may forbear to do, ſo long as the Sunſhine
of Proſperity laſts, ſo long as he lives in Eaſe, and at Peace, and has nothing
to vex or diſquiet him: But if at any Time the Hand of God be heavy upon
him in Pain, in Sickneſs, in Loſſes, in taking away from him his near and
dear Relations, or in any other ſore Affliction; this, of courſe, will make him
grave, ſerious and thoughtful; and being ſo, his paſt Sins will readily come
to his Remembrance; they will force themſelves upon his Conſideration,
whether
928
The Hypocrite and Chriſtian
RA
ز
whether he will or no, and then he will clearly ſee, what weak and ſandy
Foundations his former Hopc, or rather Security, was built upon; his Sins
will then ſtare him in the Face, and ſtrike Terror into his Mind; and being
conſcious of his own Falſeneſs and Hypocriſy in his former Profeſfions of
Religion, he will ſee the Hand of an angry God in every ſad Accident which
happens to hiin.
Thus it was with Joſeph's Brethren, when out of Envy they had ſold him
into Egypt: A long Time they pleas’d themſelves with the Thoughts that
they were got well ridden of one who ſtole, as they thought, their Father's
Affection from them, and was cver troubling them with telling them Dreams
of his own Adyancement and of their Subjection. And ſo long as. Things
went on as well with them as before, and their Flocks and their Herds mul-
tiplied, and their Father's Face was favourable towards them, whom they
had made to believe that his Son Joſeph had been devoured by wild Beaſts ;
ſo long, I ſay, as their Proſperity laſted, they never ſeem to have ſo much
as once reflected upon their Baſeneſs and Barbarity to their Brother; but all
that while, as the Prophet ſpeaks, Amos. vi. 6. They drank Wine in Bowls,
and anointed themſelves with the chief Ointments, and were not grieved for
the Affliction of Jofeph. But when the Scene of Affairs was changed, and
being come into Egypt to buy Corn for the Support of themſelves and Fa-
inilies, they were there clap'd up in Priſon, as Spies, and had no other Pro-
fpect but of periſhing there themſelves, while their Father, and Wives and
Children did the ſame at Home for Want of Bread; this rouſed them out
of their Security, and awakened their conſcience, and brought their Sin to
Remembrance. And they could not but then ſadly reflect upon the juſt
Judgment of God, whoſe Providence had now met' with them, and meant,
as they thought, to recompenſe them in Kind the Injury they had done their
Brother. They ſaid then one to another, as you may ſee, Gen. xlii. 21. We
arė verily guilty concerning our Brother, in that we ſaw the Anguiſh of his
Soul when he befought us, and we would not hear ; therefore is this Diſtreſs
come upon us ; therefore behold his Blood is now required.
But the Cafe is quite otherwiſe with a fincerely good Man, who makes
it his conſtant Endeavour to pleaſe God in every Thing; when any ſuch Di-
ſtreſs or Adverſity happens to him. His Hope towards God being rational,
and well grounded upon the Promiſes of God, and the Teſtimony of his
own Conſcience, which, after the ſtricteſt Examination, cannot charge him
with the Allowance of himſelf in any known Sin ; his Hope, I ſay, being
thus grounded, will rather increaſe than be diminiſh'd by any Adverſity whicii
befalls him in this Life. The ſame Storm of Affliction which utterly over-
throws the Hope of the Hypocrite, will but ſettle his rather faſter upon its
Foundation than it was before. His Affiction indeed will naturally put him
upon conſidering and examining himſelf, and that it is but fit it ſhould do;
but having a clear Conſcience and a guiltleſs Mind, the more he confiders,
and the ſtrictlier he examines himſelf, the leſs Cauſe will he have to faint
under his Adverſity, the more Reaſon will he have to hope in God's Good-
neſs, and the more will he fee of God's fatherly Kindneſs to him in his
Affliction: So that what at firſt did a little daunt him, will quickly appear
to him an eaſy Trial and Exerciſe of his Patience, and afterwards will be-
come to him juſt Matter of Rejoycing; and tho' the outward Man periſhi,
the inward Man will be renewed Day by Day, as the Apoſtle fpeaks; be-
cauſe he will conſider that our light Affliction, which is but for a Moment,
workeih for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory. 2 Cor. iv.
16, 17.
Thus the Hope of a good Man, of a Man who is a Doer of the Word,
and not an Hearer only, will, like an Houſe built upon a Rock, ſtand it
;
out
diſtinguiſk'd by Tryals
929
.:
out againſt the fierceſt Storms, both of the greateſt Temptations and of the
foreſt AMictions; by either of which the Hope of the Hypocrite or formal
Profeſſor of Religion, like a Houſe built upon the Sand, is eaſily thrown
down and deſtroyed. But,
:
III. There is nothing which can happen to a Man in this World more
certainly than Death, and there is nothing ſo certain to diſcover whether
his Hopes are well or weakly grounded, as the near and viſible Approach of
Death ; which therefore, we may well think, was another Thing eſpecially
meant by our Saviour in this Parable, by the Rain, Floods and Winds beat-
ing upon the two Houſes here fpoken of; againſt which, that which was
built on the Rock ſtood firm and unſhaken; and by which, the other which
was built on the Sand was quickly thrown down, and utterly ruin'd.
For ſo indeed it is; however wicked Men may footh and flatter up them
ſelves with vain Hopes, while they are in Health and Strength, and have a
Proſpect before them of long Life, and are buſy in the Perſuits of thoſe
Proviſions or Enjoyments, which they think will make their Life here plea-
ſant and delightful to them; when theſe Things draw to an End, and Death
makes its near Approach, and looks them in the Face, juſt ready to ſeize up-
on them, this commonly opens their Eyes to ſee their Danger, and they have
then, commonly, quite other Notions both of themſelves and of every Thing
elſe, than they uſed to have in the Time of their Health and Proſperity.
When they ſhall ſee themſelves going out of this World, it is a Queſtion they
will hardly be able to forbear asking themſelves, what will become of them when
they are gone from hence? And, unleſs they have finned themſelves out of
all Senſe of Religion, and are become perfect Atheiſts, it will be natural for
them then, in order to the Reſolution of this Queſtion, firſt, to let themſelves
to conſider what Account is given of a futurc State, both by natural, and
revealed Religion; and what Methods are preſcribed by both, for the avoid-
ing the Miſery, and obtaining the Happineſs which are expected when this
Life is over : And, after that, to look back upon their Life paſt, to ſee whe-
ther it has been ſuch as the Promiſes of Happineſs are made to; or whether
it has not been ſuch as God has threatñed to puniſh with everlaſting Ven-
geance in the other World. And a very little Time ſpent in the Conſider-
ation of theſe Things, will be ſufficient ſo to deſtroy and utterly confound
the falſe Hope of a formal and hypocritical Profeſſor of Religion, that it will
be impoſſible ever to revive it. For as it is ſaid, Job'viii. II. Can the Ruſh
grow up without Mire? Can the Flag grow 'without Water? Whilſt it is
yet in its Greenneſs, and not cut down, it withereth before any other Herb.
So are the Paths of all that forget God; and the Hypocritë's Hope ſhall pe-
riſh: His Hope Mall be cut off, and his Trift jhall be a Spider's Web. And
we are told the ſame again, Fob xxvii. 8. What is the Hope of the Hypocrite
when God taketh away his Soul? Will God hear his Cry, when Trouble
cometh upon him? Will be delight himſelf in the Almighty? Nay, will be
always call upon God? 1. e. Can he, when he is in this Trouble and Diſtreſs,
ſo much as go to God, with any Hope of Sucçour, or Expectation of
Comfort
But it is not fo with upright and good Men ; this Storm, which clearly
deſtroys the Hope of the Hypocrite, rather increaſes theirs, and gives them
a fuller Aſſurance of God's Favour and Good-will,' and of a bleſſed and
glorious Immortality than ever they had before. For while they were li-
ving in the World, they knew themſelves to be in a State of Trial, they
ſaw themſelves encompaſſed with various Temptations; and tho’ they had
happily conquered the former, yet, being conſcious of their own Weakneſs,
they could not but be in ſome Fear left they ſhould afterwards miſcarry ; ſo
Vol. II.
Nnnn
that
1
!
930
The Hypocrite and Chriſtian
that all the Aſſurance they could then have was only of their preſent Con-
dition; the moſt they could have of the Future, was only a Hope that he
who had begun a good Work in them, would go on and finiſh it. So that
all the while they were living in the World, and like to live, they were in
the Condition of a Mariner, who being to ſteer thro' a narrow Sea, full
of Rocks and Shelves, both on this ſide and that, cannot be ſure, after he has
eſcaped one Rock, that he ſhall not ſplit upon another. They could not
therefore then have ſuch Joy and Peace in their Minds, as a Mariner has
when he has clearly eſcap'd all the Dangers of the Sea, and is juſt entring
into a ſafe Harbour. But when Death approaches, and eſpecially when it
is very near, this then becomes their Caſe: If they look back, it is with
Pleaſure upon the Dangers they have eſcap'd; and if they look forward, it
is with greater Pleaſure ſtill, to ſee themſelves ſo near to the Joy which is
ſet before them; being able then to ſay to God, as good Hezekiah did,
when he lay, as he thought, upon his Death-bed; Remember now, O Lord,
how I have walked before thee in Truth, and with a perfect Heart, and
have done that which is good in thy Sight; or with St. Paul; I have fought
a good Fight, I have finiſhed my Courſe, I have kept the Faith ; henceforth
there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteouſneſs, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, Jhall give in that Day, and to all thoſe that love his Ap-
pearing. They may then with better Confidence and more Aſſurance than
ever, commit the keeping of their Souls to God in well doing, as unto a faith-
ful Creator : They cannot reaſonably then entertain the leaſt Fear or Suſpi-
cion, that he, to whom they have cleaved, and whom they have faithfully
ſery'd all their Life long, will forſake them at their Death. And therefore
it muſt needs be a great Comfort to them to conſider, that they have but
one Act more to do, but one ſhort Trial more to undergo, after which they
ſhall never more be in Danger of falling from the Grace and Favour of God.
Thus, as the Scripture ſays, The Wicked is driven away in his Wickedneſs;
but the Righteous hath Hope in his Death. Mark the perfect Man, and be-
hold the Upright, for the End of that Man is Peace, Prov. xiv. 33. Pfal.
Xxxvii. 37.
But it may poſſibly be, as I have already intimated, that a Man may
have finned himſelf out of all Senſe of Religion, that he may be quite
hardned thro' a Cuſtom of Sinning; and it is not perhaps inipoſſible that
ſuch a one ſhould go out of the World as thoughtleſſly and careleſly as he
liv'd in it. And, on the other Side, it may alſo poſſibly be, that a good Man,
who has no Sin to accuſe himſelf of, but what he has heartily repented of
and forſaken, none but what he has both begg’d and obtain’d God's Pardon
for, may yet, when he comes to dye, have ſome Fear upon his Spirits, oc-
cafion'd either by the Nature of his Diſtemper, or by ſome miſtaken Notion
in Religion ; ſo that he may not dye with altogether ſo good an Aſſurance
of God's Favour as might be wilh’d. And therefore I add, in the fourth
and laſt Place,
IV. Another Thing, moſt probably, meant by our Saviour in this Parable,
by the Rain, and Floods, and Wind, which beating upon an Houſc do try
the Strength of its Foundation; and that is the great and terrible Day of the
Lord, the Day of Judgment.
And this is indeed the greateſt Trial of all, and will fully diſcover to every
Man's ſelf and to the whole World, whether his Hopes were built upon a
folid or a rotten Foundation: For when this terrible Day comes, it will
daſh together and ſhatter to pieces, and entirely throw down, never to be
raiſed up again, the falſe Hope of the Hypocrite and formal Profeſſor of Re-
ligion ; but it will ſtrengthen and bring to Perfection the Hope and Expecta-
*
cion
diſtinguiſh'd by Tryals.
931
tion of all ſincerely good Men, whoſe Hope will then be turned into Frui-
tion; and who will then receive the End of their Faith, even the Salvation
of their Souls: When they ſhall hear that joyful Sentence from the Mouth
of their Judge ; Come, ye bleſſed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepar-
ed for you, from the Foundation of the World. It will be then paſt all Dif-
pute, whoſe Hope was weakly, and whoſe was ſubſtantially grounded, when
all that have done Evil (of what Faith, or Profeſſion, or Denomination
ſoever they were) ſhall go away into everlaſting Puniſhment, but the righteous
into Life eternal.
Having therefore now ſeen the Difference which there is between the
Hope of an Hypocrite, or mere Profeſſor of Religion, and that of a ſincere
and obedient Chriſtian ; that the one is like an Houſe built upon the Sand,
eaſily thrown down by every Tempeſt; the other like a Houſe founded up-
on à Rock, which no Rains, or Floods, or Winds, can over-turn; a Hope
which will carry us thro' all Temptations, will ſupport us under all Afflictions,
will give us Comfort at the Hour of Death, when all earthly Comforts fail;
and at laſt, when God ſhall come to judge the World with Power and
great Glory, will even then enable us to lift up our Heads with Joy, becauſe
our Redemption draweth nigh: What remains, but that by what has been
faid, we be incited to uſe our utmoſt Endeavour to obtain, as ſoon as is pol-
ſible, this bleſſed Hope, without which we can neither live in Peace, nor dye
with Comfort.
And how this is to be done we cannot be ignorant, being ſo plainly
taught it by our Saviour himſelf, in the Text, as well as in the foregoing
Verſes. It is, in ſhort, by diligently learning and carefully practiſing all thoſe
cxcellent Rules of good Living which he has taught us in his holy Goſpel,
and eſpecially in this Sermon of his upon the Mount ; which now, by God's
Aſſiſtance, I have gone quite thro' with, and I hope have truly and rightly
explain'd to you. For, ſays he, whoſoever heareth theſe Sayings of mine,
and doth them, I will liken him unto a wiſe Man, which built his Houſe
upon a Rock; and the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the Winds
blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a
Rock.
Now the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in believing; that
ye may abound in Hope thro' the Power of the Holy Ghoft. And this for the
Sake of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, to whom, &c.
va
9
DIS
932
DISCOURSE LXXXVII.
The Manner and Effects of our Savi-
our's Preaching
0000000000000
MATTH. VII. 28, 89.
And it came to paſs, when Jefus had ended theſe
Sayings, the People were aſtoniſhed at his Doc-
trine :
For he taught them as one having Authority, and not
as the Scribes.
Im
HE Evangeliſt having in this and the two foregoing
Chapters related a famous Sermon of our Saviour, (which
from the place where it was delivered, is called and known
by the Name of his Sermon on the Mount;) proceeds,
in the Words which I have now read to you, to give an
Account whạt Effect it had upon the People who heard
it. It came to paſs, when Jeſus had ended theſe Sayings,
the People were aſtoniſhed at his Doctrine; and then he
gives the Reaſon of it; for he taught them as one having Authority, and not
as the Scribes.
Having therefore in ſeveral former Diſcourſes explained to you, and endea-
voured to preſs upon your Practice, thoſe excellent Precepts and Rules of Life
which are given by our Saviour in this Sermon to all his Diſciples, I know
not how I could better conclude my Diſcourſes on this Subject, than by
handling theſe Words; which, though not a Part of our Saviour's Sermon,
have yet a plain Relation to it, and ſhewing in what Manner this Sermon
was received by the Auditors at its firſt Delivery, may ſerve alſo to inſtruct us
how we ought to be affected and influenced in the reading it.
Only whcreas the Evangeliſt here firſt relates the Effect, the People were
aſtoniſhed at his Do&trine, and then the Cauſe, for he taught them as one
having Authority, and not as the Scribes. I think it will be moſt pro-
per, in my Diſcourſe on theſe Words, to inyert the Method, and to con-
ſider,
1
1. What it was which was fingular and remarkable in the Doctrine and
Preaching of our Saviour, which cauſed this Aſtoniſhment in the People
who
The Manner and Effects of our Saviour's Preaching. 933
ز
who heard him; he taught them as one having Authority, and not as the
Scribes. And,
II. What was the Fruit and Effect which his Preaching had upon them;
they were aſtoniſhed at his Doctrine.
I. I ſhall conſider what it was which was ſingular and remarkablc in the
Doctrinc and Preaching of our Saviour, which caliſed this Aſtoniſhment in
the People who hcard him. He taught them, ſays the Evangeliſt, as one
having Authority, and not as the Scribes.
He taught them, ſays the Evangeliſt, not as the Scribes. Now the Scribes
were the ordinary Teachers and Expounders of the Law among the Jews 3
who are therefore ſometimes in Scripture called Lawyers, being reputed to
be well learned in the Law, as having given themſelves to the Study of it;
and becauſe theſe Scribes, or Lawyers, were at that Timc moſt of them of
the Sect of the Phariſees, they are ſometimes called Scribes and Phariſees;
and when the Words are ſo joined together, the fame Perſons, and not two
Sorts of Men, are meant by both the Words; as in Matth. xxiii. 2, 3. The
Scribes and Phariſees ſit in Moſes Seat; i.e. as was ſaid before, they are
the authorized Guides and Teachers of the People out of the Law of Moſes;
all therefore, whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do.
The Scribes being therefore, I ſay, moſt of them of the Scet of the Pha-
riſees, who, having little of the Power of Godlineſs, abounded in the Form
and Shew of it, the chief Subjects which they commonly treated of in
their Sermons and Diſcourſes to the People, were the Rites and Ceremonies
of the Law, about which they were indeed very nice and curious in their
Deciſions, determining, even to a Furlong, how far a Man might walk on
the Sabbath-Day, without breaking the Reſt of the Sabbath ; and even to a
Spire of Mint, or a Grain of Aniſe, what was punctually due for Tithes to
the Prieſt; and the like in other Caſes. And, as if the Law of Moſes had
not laid upon them a ſufficient Number of Ceremonies, they invented,
added and preſſed upon the People ſeveral more, which they called the
Traditions of the Elders, as about waſhing their Hands before and after
Meat, about cleanſing the Veſſels which their Victuals were kept, or dref-
fed, or ſerved up in, and the like; negle&ting in the mean Time, as our
Saviour obſerves, either to practiſe themſelves
, or to teach to their People
the Obſervation of the weightier Matters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy
and Faith.
Or if at any Time they did preach upon theſe more uſeful Subjects, it
was rather in order to teach Men how little they might do, than how
much they were bound to do; their Buſineſs was not ſo much to preſs up-
on their People the great Duties of Piety, Juſtice and Charity, as to teach
them Shifts, and Evaſions, and Excuſes, 'for their not doing them. Thus,
as our Saviour obferves, they made void, in great meaſure, the third Com-
mandment, by teaching the little or no Obligation of ſome ſorts of Oaths,
Matth. xxiii. 16, &c. Whofoever, ſaid they, Shall fwear by the Temple,
it is nothing, but whoſoever ſhall fwear by the Gold of the Temple, he is
a Debtorm and whoſoever ſhall ſwear by the Altar, it is nothing, but
whoſoever Sweareth by the Gold that is upon the Altar, he is guilty.
And thus alſo, they taught Children, under a Pretence of Religion, to be
undlitiful and ungrateful to their Parents, thereby voiding in great meaſure,
the Obligation of the fifth Commandment, as you may fee, Mark vii. II.
Full well, ſays our Saviour, ye reject the Commandment of God, that
may keep your own Tradition ; fór Mofes ſaid, Honour thy Father and
thy Mother; and whoſoever curſeth Father or Mother, let him die thę
Death. But ye ſay, if a Man Say to his Father or Mother, it is Corban,
оооо
that
ye
Vol. II.
934
The Manner and Effects
that is to ſay, a Gift, by whatſoever thou mighteſt be profited by me, be
ſhall be free; and ye ſuffer him no more to do ought for his Father or his
Mother.
Or if they did, as doubtleſs ſome of them did, teach well, yet they taught
not with Authority and Power ; they prcached only as wiſe Men, as Men
who, by giving themſelves to the Study of the Law, had attained to good
Skill in the Interpretation of it ; but they did not pretend to ſuch imme-
diatc Inſpiration and Miſſion as the Prophets had. Their Stile was not
like that of the ancient Prophets, Thus faith the Lord, but thus, and thus,
ſaith Mofes, faith the Law, ſay the Elders, ſay the Scribes : They pretended
not to any Authority of their own, but thought it enough if they could con-
firm what they ſaid by the Authority of others.
And I do not mention this laſt as a Thing wherein the Scribes were to
be blamed; viz. for not pretending to an Authority which indeed they had
not ; but only barely to ſhew the Difference which was between their
Teaching and our Saviour's. For neither does the Evangeliſt himſelf
here paſs any Cenſure, much leſs does he caſt any Blame upon the Scribes,
for this their way and Manner of Tcaching; he only obſerves in general,
and relates it as a Matter of Fact, that their Teaching was not likc our
Saviour's, or that his Preaching was in ſome reſpects remarkably different
from theirs; he taught with Authority, and not as the Scribes. But,
moſt certainly, for whatever other Things they were to blame, they were
not to blame for this, i. e. for not teaching with ſuch Authority as he did,
for not aſſuming to themſelves a greater Authority than God had given
them, for not ſaying that the Lord had ſent them, when in Truth the
Lord had not fent them, any other way, than as he now ſends Miniſters
to his Church, viz. by a ſtated Power lodged in the Governors of his
Church, to chuſe and appoint, according to the beſt of their Judgment,
proper Perſons to inſtruct the People in their Duty. They therefore hav-
ing no more Authority than is common to the ordinary Guides of Reli-
gion, it was not a Fault in them that they pretended to no more. How-
ever, whether it was a Fault or no, that they taught not with Authority,
or whether or no their Doctrine or Way of Teaching was in any other re-
ſpect blameable, does not properly lie before us now to examine; but all
that needs to be obſerved upon this Occaſion, is only barely the Difference
between our Saviour's Tcaching and theirs, which conſiſted, as I ſuppoſe,
chiefly in theſe three Things ; I. in the Matter of his Doctrine; 2. in
the Manner of his teaching it; and, 3. in the Proofs which he gave of
his Authority to teach in ſuch manner as he did.
I. In the Matter of his Doctrine. For the Scribes, as I noted before,
in their Sermons and Diſcourſes to the People, inſiſted chiefly on Matters
of Rite and Ceremony; but our Saviour's Doctrine was quite of another
Sort. He did not indeed preach againſt the Uſe of thoſe Ceremonies
which were appointed by Moſes; nay, on the contrary, he declared, as you
may fee, Matth. v. 17, 18, that he was not come to deſtroy the Law and
the Prophets, and that not one Hot or Tittle ſhould paſs from the Law,
till all were fulfilled, i. e. that even thc Ceremonial Law, though it was
only Typical, and a Shadow of Things to come, was nevertheleſs to con-
tinue in Force till it was all fulfilled, i.e. till all thoſe Things were come
to paſs, which were prophetically denoted by thoſe Types. And to thew
that even this Part of the Law was not as yet aboliſhed, he himſelf moſt
carefully and punctually obſerved it, and, as Occaſion was offered, di-
rected the People alſo to obſerve it. Particularly, when by the Word of
his Power he had made ciean any Lepers, he always directed them to go
and shew themſelves to the Prieſt
, Matth. viii. 4. Mark i. 44. and to
make
of our Saviour's Preaching-
935
ز
Do
make that Offering for their Cleanſing which the Law of Moſes had com-
mandcd. But thohc himſelf did not teach that this part of the Law was
aboliſhed; he knew that the Time was very ncar wherein it was to be abo-
liſhed; he knew that when all thoſe Things were come to paſs which were
prcfignificd by thoſe Types, the typical Law being thereby fulfilled, would
forth with expire, and be no longer obliging; and therefore he never, unleſs
it was only occaſionally, and in Inſtances that were preſently to take place,
urg’d the Obſervation of it. In all this long Sermon, which takes up three
vhole Chapters, here is not one Word concerning Ritcs and Ceremonies,
but his whole Diſcourſe is concerning the moral and ſubſtantial Duties of
Picty, Juſtice and Mercy. And it is not unlikely that this might be a main
Cauſe of the People's Admiration, viz. becauſe they had not been much
uſed to ſuch kind of Diſcourſes; becauſe the Subjects which he treated of were
ſuch as they had rarely known treated of by the Scribes.
2. Another Difference between our Saviour's Teaching and theirs, was in
the Manner of it; he taught, ſays the Evangeliſt, as one having Authority,
and, in that Refpcct, not as the Scribes. They, it ſeems, did not teach as
having Authority, at leaſt not ſuch Authority as that wherewith he ſeem'd to
tcach.
Not but that they alſo had Authority to teach; i. e. to expound the Law
of Moſes, and to preſs the Obſervation of it: Our Saviour himſelf grants, in
the Place before cited, that they did fit in Moſes's Seat ; i. e. where the au-
thoris’d Teachers of the Law, and Guides of the People. But then they
only explain'd the Law, they did not give it ; and even that Authority which
they had to explain it, was derived to them only by their being deſign’d and
appointed to that Office by the Governors of the Church, not by ſpecial and
immediate Deſignation and Appointment of God, ſuch as the Authority of
Mofes, and the other antient and inſpir’d Prophets was grounded upon.
They ſpake not therefore as from themſelves, but for the Law it felf, they
cited Mofes and the Prophets; and for the Explication whiclı they gave of
it, they cited the Sayings and Authority of wiſe Men who had livd in for-
mer Times: They interpreted it not merely according to their own Judg-
ment, but according to the Tradition of the Elders.
But now our Saviour's Preaching was quite after another Manner; he
ſpake not as an Expounder of the Law, but as a Law-giver, and not as by
an Authority which was derived to him from another, but as by an Autho-
rity which was inherent in himſelf; ſo that in this Reſpect his Teaching dif-
fer’d: not only from that of the Scribes, but likewiſe from that of the anti-
ent inſpir'd Prophets, and even of Moſes himſelf. For the Scribes in their
Expoſition of the Law, urg'd the Interpretation which they gave of it, as
deliver'd down to them by Tradition from the Fathers ; and the Style of
the antient inſpir'd Prophets was, Thus and thus faith the Lord: And even
Moſes himſelf never pretended that any of thoſe Laws which he gave to the
Children of Iſrael were his own, or were bound upon them by his Autho-
rity, as fupreme Magiſtrate and ſole Legiſlator ; but he always own’d that
his Nanie to the People : And, as the Author to the Hebrews ſays, Heb.
iii. 5. Moſes verily was faithful in all his Houſe, as a Servant ; i. e. he de-
liver'd faithfully all the Meſſages of God to the People: But then he adds;
that Chriſt was faithful as a Son over his own Houſe. And that was in-
deed the Caſe; for he gave Laws to his Diſciples, as by his own Authority,
as in his own Right, as their Lord and Maſter, and not only as a Meſſenger
from God. Several Inſtances of which we have in this very Sermon on the
Mount ; Te have heard that it was ſaid by them of old Time, thus and thus ;
but
*
936
The Manner and Effects
but I ſay unto you, that whoſoever is angry with his Brother without a
Cauſe, ſhall be in Danger of the Judgment. I ſay unto you, that whoſo-
ever looketh on a Woman to luſt after her, hath committed Adultery with her
already in his Heart. I ſay unto you, that whoſoever ſhall put away his
Wife, Saving for the Cauſe of Fornication, caufeth her to commit Adulterg-
I ſay unto you, Swear not at all. I ſay unto you, that ye reſiſt not Evil. I
ſay unto youl
, love your Enemies, &c. Matth. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44. Thus
our Saviour taught as one having Authority, i. e. as having Power and Right
to command Obedience to his Precepts. And this was the ſecond Difference
which I noted between his Teaching and the Scribes ; viz. in the Manner of it.
3. Another Difference which I noted between his Teaching and theirs,
was in the Proof that he gave of his Authority to teach in ſuch Manner as
he did.
The Authority which the Scribes had to teach being only by human De-
ſignation and Appointment, all the Proof they could give, or that it could
be expected they ſhould give, of their Authority, was the producing and
ſhowing the Commiſſion which they had from the Governors of the Church
to cxcrciſe this Officc : And ſo long as their Doctrine was grounded upon
thc Law, and was in all Points agreeable to it, the Production of ſuch a
Commillion was a ſufficient Proof of their Authority, and a good Reaſon
cnough to engage the People to hearken to them; according to thoſe Words
of our Saviour before cited; the Scribes and Phariſees ſit in Moſes Seat ;
all therefore whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do. But it
was neceſſary that our Saviour, who pretended to an higher Authority, ſhould
likewiſe give better Proof, or at leaſt another Sort of Proof, of the Autho-
rity by which, or with which he taught; it was neceſſary that he, who
in his Teaching aſſumed the Title, and uſed the Style of a Law.giver, I
Say unto yoll, ſhould ſhew that he had Authority to make and to give
Laws.
And this indeed he had fully done before he began this Sermon, and the
fame he continued to do, all the Time of his Preaching. He had, I ſay,
fully donc it, even before he began this Sermon; he had given full Proof
of his divine Authority, by the publick Exerciſe of a divine Power, by do-
ing ſuch wonderful Works as could not be done by any Power leſs than
God's; as you may fee at the latter End of the fourth Chapter; Jeſus
went about all Galilee, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the
Goſpel of the Kingdom, and healing all Manner of Sickneſs, and all Manner of
Diſeaſe among the People : And his Fame went throughout all Syria; and
they brought unto him all fick People, that were taken with diverſé Diſeaſes
and Torments, and thoſe which were poſſeſs’d with Devils, and thoſe
which were Lunatick, and thoſe that had the Pally; and he healed them.
And there followed him great Multitudes of People from Galilee, and Deca-
polis, and Jeruſalem, and Jidea, and from beyond Jordan; Matth. iv. 23,
And then it foliows, at the Beginning of the fifth Chapter; and
ſeeing the Multitudes he went up into a Mountain, and open'd his Mouth
end taught them, ſaying; Blesſed are the poor in Spirit, &c.
Thus our Saviour taught not as did the Scribes : For the Matter of his
Doârine was more excellent than theirs ; and he taught with greater Autho-
rity than they did, or could do; and he gave as good Proof of his Autho-
rity as could reaſonably be deſired. All which together had this Effect upon
the People who heard him, that it made them aſtoniſhed at his Doctrine :
and this was the other Point I was to conſider, viz.
ز
24., 25.
II. What was the Fruit and Effect which his Preaching, and particularly
this his Sermon upon the Mount, had upon the People who heard it; it came
+
10
of our Saviour's Preaching.
937
to paſs when Jeſus had ended theſe Sayings, the People were aſtoniſhed at
kis Doctrine.
They were aſtoniſhed at his Doctrine ; that is,
1. They were taken with Admiration of the Excellency of his Doctrine,
which they themſelves could not but diſcern was much more pure and
fpiritual than they had been uſed to hear from the Inſtruction of their
Scribes.
2. They were alſo ſtricken with great Admiration of his Perſon, whoſe
Education they had known, and that he had not been bred up to Lcarning.
Thus we read, Luke iv. 22. They all bare him Witneſs, and wonderd at the
gracious Words which proceeded out of his Mouth; and they jard, is not this
Foſeph's Son? And at another Time, John vii. 15. The fews marvelled,
ſaying, How knoweth this Man Letters, having never learn' d ?
3. They wonder'd likewiſe very much at the miraculous Works which had
been done by his Hands, being ſuch as they had never ſeen done before,
and had as little Reaſon, as they thought, to expect from hiin as from any
one, Mark vi. 2, 3. Many hearing him were aſtoniſhed, ſaying, From whence
hath this Man theſe Things? And what Wiſdom is this which is given
unto him, that even ſuch mighty Works are wrought by his Hands? Is not
this the Carpenter, the Son of Mary, the Brother of James and yoſes, and
of Judas and Simon? And are not his Siſters here with us? And,
4. Laſtly, this Admiration of his Do&trine, and of his Perſon, and of his
mighty Works, had likewiſe this farther Effect upon them, that it inclin’d
them to think him an extraordinary Prophet, a Perſon divinely inſpir’d, and
ſpecially ſent by God as the antient Prophets had been. Thus we read,
Luke vii. 16. that after the Miracle which our Saviour had ſhewed in rai-
ſing up from the Dead the Widow's Son at Nain; there came a Fear on
all, and they glorified God, ſaying, That a great Prophet is riſen up among
25, and that God hath viſited his People. But ſome went farther ſtill, and
ſeem to have becn perſuaded that he was that great and extraordinary Perſon,
who had many Ages before been fore-ſpoken of by the Prophets; John vi.
14. Then thoſe Men when they had ſeen the Miracle that Jeſus did, ſaid,
This is of a Truth that Prophet that ſhould come into the World. And
ſome went farther yet, and were inclin' to own him to be the Chriſt. Thus
we read, John iv. 29. That the Woman of Samaria, after ſome Diſcourſe
which ſhe had had with him, went her Way into the City, and ſaid to
ihe Men, Come, ſee a Man which told me all Things, that ever I did; Is
not this the Chriſt? And of others we read, John vii. 3i. Many of the
People believed on him and ſaid, when Chriſt cometh, will be do more
Miracles than theſe which this Man hath done?
And now, having ſhewn you what Effect this Sermon had upon thoſe
who firſt heard it, I ſhall proceed to ſhew what Effect it ought to have upon
us who read it. And this will be both a proper Inference from the fore-
going Diſcourſe, and likewiſe a ſuitable Concluſion to all the Diſcourſes
which I have made upon this Sermon.
Now they who heard this Sermon, the Evangeliſt ſays, were aſtoniſh'd
at his Doctrine, becauſe he taught them as one having Authority, i. c. he
ſeem'd to them to aſſume an Authority, beyond what other Men, beyond
what the Scribes had done, but whether warrantably or not, they could not
certainly tell. This, however, was enough to raiſe their Aſtoniſhment and
Admiration, tho' not enough to oblige them to a prompt and ready Obe-
dience. But we are well affur’d, we all profeſs that we firmly believe that
he had all that Authority which the People then only ſuſpected, or, at moſt,
only thought it probable he might have; on us therefore his Diſcourſes and
Preaching, and this Sermon of his in particular, ought to have an Effect
Vol. II.
different
$
PPPP
938
The Manner and Effects
that every
different from what it had upon them: And it is not enough for us to ad-
mire it, but we ought alſo in Reaſon to ſet our ſelyes, with all Readineſs
of Mind, and with the greateſt Diligence of Endeavour, to the Practice of
thoſe good Rules of Living which he here preſcribes.
1. I ſay, whereas they only ſuſpected, or at moſt only thought it probable
that he had ſome Authority more than ordinary ; being induced to think ſo
from his peculiar Way and Manner of Teaching, we know what that Autho-
rity was by which he ſpake, and we know that it was the higheſt Authority
in Heaven or Earth, and that to which all created Beings, not Men only,
but the higheſt Angels too, are bound to yield Obedience; this, I ſay, we
know and are well aſſured of, from as good Evidence as could in reaſon be
deſired. For,
We know, by the clear and full Accompliſhment of all the ancient Pro-
phecies in him, which had foretold and deſcribed the Meſſias, that he was
that Prophet foretold by Moſes, in Deut. xviii. 18. A Prophet ſhall the Lord
your God raiſe up unto you of your Brethren, like unto me, him ſhall ye hear
in all Things whatſoever he mall ſay unto you. And it ſhall come to paſs,
Soul which will not bear that Prophet, ſhall be deſtroyed from
among the People, Acts iii. 22. vii. 37.
We are aſſured, from the well atteſted Hiſtory of his Miracles and mighty
Works, that God was with him, and that the Power of God was in him.
The Works that the Father gave him to finiſh, the ſame Works that he did,
bare Witneſs of him, that the Father ſent him, John v. 36. We cannot
therefore but conclude, as Nicodemus did, John iii. 2. (and we have greater
Reaſon to conclude ſo than Nicodemus then had, who had ſeen or heard of
but very few in Compariſon of thoſe mighty Works which we are aſſured
were done by him) that he was a Teacher come from God, becauſe no Man
could do thoſe Miracles which he did, except God was with him.
But above all, his Reſurrection from the Dead, by which God did ſet his
Seal to the Truth of his Teſtimony, and did with great Power declare him
to be his own Son, is the cleareſt Evidence of his divine Authority ; by this
we are aſſured that he had Authority not only to make Laws, but likewiſe
to give Judgment upon us according to them, according to that of the A-
poſtle, Acts xvii
. 31. He hath appointed a Day, in the which he will judge
the World in Righteouſneſs, by that Man whom he hath ordained; whereof
he hath given Aſſurance unto all Men, in that he hath raiſed him from the
Dead.
By theſe Evidences, I ſay, we are fully aſſured, and upon theſe we declare
our firm Belief that he was the Son of God, the Brightneſs of his Father's
Glory, and the expreſs Image of his Perſon, and upholding all Things by the
Word of his Power, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Heb. i. 3. By theſe Evidences we
are aſſured, that it was the Word that was made Fleſh, and dwelt among us,
and diſcourſed with us, even that eternal Word of whom the Apoſtle ſays,
Johni. I, doc. In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God; the ſame was in the Beginning with God.
All Things were made by him, and without him was not any Thing made
that was made. So that conſequently we do as truly hear God himſelf ſpeak-
ing to us in this Sermon of our Saviour upon the Mount, and in all his other
Sermons and Diſcourſes, as recorded by the holy Evangeliſts, as the Jews did
when they heard the Ten Commandments uttered from Mount Sinai,
by the Voice of God himſelf, or an Angel perſonating and repreſenting
him. And well might he aſſume the Title, and uſe the Stile of a Law-
giver, I ſay unto you, when he delivered to us theſe Precepts, who was in-
deed, as the Apoſtle ftiles him, God manifeſt in the Fleſh, 1 Tim. iii. 16.
Being
of our Saviour's Preaching.
939
Being therefore thus perſuaded of the divine Miſſion of our Saviour, that
he was truly a Teacher ſent from God; or rather, being thus perſuaded of
his own divine and ſovereign Authority, as he was the Son of God, whom
he hath appointed Heir of all Things, by whom alſo he made the Worlds,
who being the Brightneſs of his Glory, and the expreſs Image of his Perſon;
and upholding all Things by the Word of his Power, when he had by himſelf
purged our Sins, ſat down on the right Fland of the Majeſty on high, Heb.
i. 2, 3. being, I ſay, thus perſuaded, as I hope we all are, of the Divinity of
our Saviour, it plainly follows, in the ſecond Place,
2. That this Diſcourſe or Sermon of his ought to have another Effect up-
on us, than it had upon thoſe who firft heard it, i.e. that we ought not only
to admire the Wiſdom of it, but to ſet our felves with all Readineſs and
Diligence tp obey it. Being perſuaded, that the Authority which he ſpake
with is ſuch as we ought to obey, we ſhall be ſelf-condemned if we do not
yield Obedience to it; and the Sentence which in that Caſe we muſt paſs
upon our ſelves, is the very ſame which he the Judge of all will alſo paſs
upon us at the laſt Day; as he tells us, Luke vi. 46. Why call ye me Lord,
Lord, and do not the Things which I ſay? And to the ſame Purpoſe he
had ſaid at the twenty firſt Verſe of this Chapter : Not every one that ſaith
unto me; Lord, Lord, ſhall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that
doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven. And again, at the twenty
fourth and twenty ſixth Verſes: Therefore, whoſoever heareth theſë Sayings
of mine, and doth them, I will liken him unto å wife Man, which built his
Houſe upon a Rock and every one that hearėth theſe Sayings of mine; and
doth them not, Mall be likened unto a fooliſh Man, which built his Houſe
upon the Sand ; and the Rain deſcended, and the Floods came, and the Winds
blew, and beat upon that Houſe, and it fell
, and great was the Fall of it.
See then that ye refuſe not him that ſpeaketh, Heb. xii. 25. for he himſelf
hath told us, that he that receiveth him, receiveth him that ſent him, Måt.
X. 40. and that he that deſpiſeth him, deſpiſeth him that ſent him, John
And if they eſcaped not who refuſed him that Spake on Earth,
much more ſhall not we eſcape, if we turn away from him that ſpeaketh from
Heaven, Luke x. 16. He that deſpiſed Moſes his Law died without Mercy,
Heb. xii. 25. Of how much forer Puniſhment then ſhall be be thought wor-
thy, who hath trodden under Foot the Son of God? Heb. x. 28, 29.
I conclude all therefore with thoſe other Words of the Author to the He-
brews, Heb. ii. I, &c. Therefore we ought to give the more earneſt Heed to
the Things which we have heard, leſt at any Time we ſhould let them ſlip.
For if the Word Spoken by Angels was ſtedfaſt, and every Tranſgreſſion and
Diſobedience received a juft Recompence of Reward; how ſhall we eſcape
if we neglect ſo great Salvation? which at the firſt began to be ſpoken by
the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that beard him ; God alſo
bearing them Witneſs, both with Signs and Wonders, and with diverſe Mi-
racles and Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt, according to his own Will, Heb. xiii.
20, 21.
xiii. 20.
Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the Dead our Lord Jea
fus, that great Shepherd of the Sheep, thrò the Blood of the everlaſting Co-
venant, make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will
, working in you
that which is well pleaſing in his Sight, thro' Jeſus Chrift; to whom be Glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
*
DIS-
940
DISCOURSE LXXXVIII.
}
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Reve-
lation.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham faith unto him, They have Mofes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho' one
roſe from the Dead.
T
HESE Words contain ſome of the Diſcourſe that paſſed
between Abraham in Heaven, and a certain rich Man in
Hell; occaſion'd by a Requeſt which he had made in the
foregoing Verſes, in the Behalf of his five Brethren whom
he had left alive upon Earth; that Abraham would be ſo
kind as to ſend Lazarus to them, to teſtify to them,
left they alſo ſhould come into that Place of Torment. And the general De-
fign of them, and indeed of the whole Parable of which they are a Part,
is to affert the Sufficiency of thoſe Means which God hath thought fit to
uſe to bring Men to Repentance, particularly by granting them a ſtanding
Revelation of his Will; and the probable Unſucceſsfulneſs of any other Me-
thod that we could propoſe, and perhaps might think more proper for this
Purpoſe.
And when theſe Words were firſt ſpoken, it was with a ſpecial Reference
to the State of the Jews, and to that Light, and thoſe Means of Salvation
which were afforded to them, at the Time when our Saviour began his
Preaching; when all the ſtanding Revelation of God's Will was contained in
the Books of Moſes, and in the Writings of the Prophets.
But ſince then our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the eternal Son of God, a more
credible Meſſenger than Lazarus from the Dead, has come himſelf in Per-
fon, to aſſure us that there is a Heayen and a Hell, and to thew us the Nicans
of
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
941
of attaining that, and avoiding this; and God having raiſed him up from the
Dead, after he had been crucified by the Jews, has given ſufficient Aflu-
rance to the World of his divine Miſlion ; and that Jefus did and ſaid ſuch
Things, and that he died and roſe again, we have the Teſtiinony of his
Apoſtles, and others, who were Eye and Ear-witneſſes thereof, and who in
Confirmation of their Teſtimony were empowered by God to do as great
Miracles as Jeſus himſelf had done: And laſtly, of what was done
and taught by our Saviour and his Apoſtles, we have very crediblc Records
ſtill remaining, viz. the Books of the New Teſtament; the Authority of
which is at leaſt as well proved to us, as ever the Authority of the Old Te-
ſtament was to the Jews: So that we now have plainly more and ſtronger
Motives to Repentance, than the Jews before our Saviour's Time had; we
conſequently do ſtand in leſs Need of new Miracles and new Revelations
than they did; and therefore the Argument in the Text, as it may be appli-
ed to us who live now, is much ſtronger than as it was here urged: by Abra-
ham with Reference to the Jews, while they had only Moſes and the Pro-
phets.
And thus in my Diſcourſe upon the Words, I ſhall now conſider it, viz.
as if the Requeſt made by the rich Man in the Behalf of his Brethren, in
the two foregoing Verſes, were made now in the Behalf of thoſe to whom
the Revelation of the Goſpel has been given, but without Succeſs; and as if
the Anſwer here returned to it by Abraham, had been ſuited to the preſent
State of Things.
And from the Words, thus largely underſtood, I ſhall take Occaſion to
ſpeak to theſe three Points.
$
I. I ſhall endeavour to ſhew, that the preſent ſtanding Revelation of God's
Will, contained in the Books of the Old and New Teſtament is abundantly
fufficient to perſuade Men to Repentance, if they are not unreaſonably blind
and obſtinate. They have Moſes and the Prophets, (I add, they have alſo
Chriſt, and his Apoſtles ;) let them hear them.
II. I ſhall ſhew, that having already ſuch good Grounds of Faith, ſuch full
Directions for Practice, and ſuch ſtrong Mctives to Repentance, it is an un-
reaſonable Requeſt to deſire more. Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto
them from the Dead, they will repent. And,
III. Laſtly, I ſhall endeavour to Thew, that in caſe God ſhould condeſcend
to gratify Men in this unreaſonable Deſire, working every Day new Miracles
before their Eyes, or ſending their deceaſed Friends to them from the Dead,
to aſſure them of a future State, and to warn them to prepare for it, it is
highly probable, that very few or none of thoſe who do not believe, and
are not brought to Repentance by the Preaching and ſtanding Revelation
of the Goſpel, would be perſuaded by this Means. If they hear not Moſes
and the Prophets (nor Chriſt and his Apoſtles) neither will they be perſuaded,
thoone roſe from the Dead,
I. I ſhall endeavour to ſhew, that the preſent ſtanding Revelation of God's
Will, contained in the Books of the Old and New Teſtament is abundantly
fufficient to perſuade Men to Repentance, if they are not unreaſonably blind
and obftinate. They have Moſes and the Prophets, (Chriſt and his Apoſtles)
let them hear them.
And, I think, that if the ſtanding Revelation which God hath made of
his Will in the Holy Scriptures, can upon any Account be thought inſuffici-
ent to effect this Deſign, it muſt be upon one of theſe two Accounts; viz.
either, 1. Becauſe no ſtanding Revelation can be ſufficient for this Purpoſe;
ON; 2. Becauſe there are ſome particular Defects in that ſtanding Revelation
Vol. II.
Q999
which
942
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
ز
which we have in the Holy Scripture, which render it not ſo ſufficient for
this Purpoſe, as it is poſſible a ſtanding Revelation might be.
I. It may be pretended, that no ſtanding Revelation can be ſufficient for
this Purpoſe: I am now therefore to enquire, with what Reaſon this can be
pretended.
And in ſpeaking to this point, it does not lie upon me to prove, that
God could not reveal his Mind afreſh to every Man in every Age of the
World, if he ſo pleaſed; for there is no queſtion, but that the fame God
who in diverſe Manners Spake in Times paſt to our Fathers by the Prophets,
could, if he pleaſed, ſpeak to every one of us their Children, in ſuch Man-
ner as he then ſpake to the Prophets themſelves; ſo that we might be all
immediately taught of God as they were. But cvery Thing that may be
done is not expedient to be done; and wliether this Method would be ex.
pedient or not, will be hereafter enquired.
Neither does it now lie upon me to prove, that this Way which God
hath thought fit to take to inſtruct the greateſt Part of the World, viz. by
a ſtanding Revelation, is the beſt Way, and the moſt like to be effectual
of any that could be uſed. Of this I ſhall likewiſe have Occaſion to ſpeak
ſomewhat hereafter.
But what lies upon me at preſent to make good, is only this, that a
ſtanding Revelation of God's Will may be ſo well contrived and ſo well
atteſted as to be ſufficient to perſuade Men.
And if there be any Ground for the contrary Pretence, I think it muſt be
either, 1. Becauſe all Matters neceſſary to be known and done by Men at all
Times, cannot at once be committed to Writing : Or, 2. Becauſe there can-
not be ſufficient Evidence given to ſatisfy a rational Man, that any Writing
that is ſaid to be of divine Inſpiration and Authority, is indeed ſo.
I. It may be ſaid, that all Matters neceſſary to be known and done by
Men at all Times, cannot be at once committed to Writing : Becauſe cvery
Age of the World produces new Opinions, which whether they be errone-
ous or not, cannot be judged by a Criterion that was given many Ages be.
fore theſe Opinions were broached: And as the World grows older in Years,
it likewiſe improves in Wickedneſs, which cannot be reſtrained and ſuppreſ-
ſed by an old Law which was made before ſeveral Inſtances of thoſe Wick-
edneſſes that are now pra&tiſed were either known or thought of. And if
it were not ſo, what need would there be of ſuch a Number of Books as
are written in every Age, to direct Men how to diſtinguiſh between Truth
and Error, and what Opinions to fix upon in that great Variety of Opinions
that are offered to them? Or what Need would there be of ſo many new
Laws, as are daily made, in every Commonwealth, to reſtrain the growing
Extravagancies of Mankind, and to keep them within due Bounds? So that
if there be any Neceflity at all of divine Revelation, to teach Men the Be
lief of Truth and the Practice of Righteouſneſs, it is neceſſary that there
ſhould be a new and freſh Revelation made, at leaſt as often as any new
Error is broached, or any new Piece of Villany is practiſed in the World.
But to this Objection againſt the Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation, I
ſuppoſe a full Anſwer will be given in theſe two Particulars.
(1.) That there is no arguing from the Wiſdom and Power of Men, to
the Wiſdom and Power of God. It may be granted to be impoſſible for a
Man to write ſuch a Book as ſhall be ſufficient to confute all the Errors that
can poſſibly at any Time afterwards ſpring up; or to compile ſuch a Body
of Laws as ſhall be ſufficient to prevent or puniſh all future Crimes: But
what is impoſſible with Men, may be poſſible with God; who has a perfect
Foreſight of all the Errors that will ever be broached, and of all the Wick-
edneſs that will ever be practiſed by Men to the End of the World. To a
.
1
Being
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
943
Being of infinite Wiſdom and Knowledge it may be not only poſlible, but
very eaſy ſo to contrive a Revelation, deſigned by him for the Direction of
future Ages, that no Addition ſhall ever after need to be made to it. Nay
indeed,
(2.) The Thing it ſelf, that is, that a ſtanding Revelation ſhould be thus
perfect; that it ſhould be ſo contrived at once, and at firſt, as to be ſufficient
to anſwer all the Ends of a divine Revelation as long as the World ſhall laſt,
is not very hard to be conceived.
For tho’Error be infinite, Truth, at leaſt all Truth neceſſary to be believed,
is finite and limited; and after a divine Revelation is once given, no more is
ncceſſary to be believed in after Ages than was at firſt; nor will there ever be
more Things neceſſary to be believed to the End of the World, unleſs God
ſhall pleaſe to add ſome new Revelation to the former. And this Revelation
of all neceſſary Truth once made, being given to Men that are endued withi
Reaſon, nothing more is, or ever will be needful for the Diſcovery and Con-
futation of all Errors that can poſſibly ſpring up in after Ages, but only a
right underſtanding of the Truths already delivered, and a right Uſe of Rea-
fon in making Inferences, and drawing Conſequences therefrom. And this
is all that is pretended to by the Books of Controverſy that are written in
cvery Age: The Deſign of them is not to declare new Truths, or to eſta-
bliſh new Articles of Faith, but only to fhew that thoſe Opinions which
they repreſent as falſe and erroneous, are either in themſelves, or in their
true Conſequences, contrary to ſome Maxims that are already received as
true.
And it is no leſs eaſy to conceive, that a ſtanding Revelation may be ar
once lo contrived as to be for ever ſufficient to direct Men in all Points of
Practice: Becauſe although it is poſſible that every Age may afford new In-
ſtances of Wickedneſs, yet the Law that they are all Tranfgreſſions of, may
be but one. And the Rule once given is a perpetual Direction, not only
what to do, but likewiſe what to avoid; and this, as well in thoſe Inſtances
of Wickedneſs which may be invented afterwards, as in thoſe which were in
Practice before the Rule was made. For he that giving Direction to a Tra-
veller in his Way, bids him keep ſtrait forward, ſhall not need, if he ſpeaks
to a Man of Reaſon, to tell him, over and above, that he muſt be careful to
avoid all Turnings to the right Hand or to the left; and much leſs ſhall he
need to give him a particular Account of every Turning that he is to avoid.
And tho in Time to come there ſhould be more By ways and Turnings
out of the Road than there are at preſent, yet the ſame one Direction, to
keep ſtrait forward, will be as full and as ſufficient a Direction then, as it is
now.
And the Necellity that human Law-givers find themſelves under to be every
Day repealing former Laws and adding new ones, is not cauſed by an ab-
ſolute Impoſſibility of making at once ſuch a Body of Laws as might be
fufficient for all A frer-times; but ariſes, as I ſuppoſe, partly from the Nature
of human Laws, which are, for the moſt Part, negative and prohibitive
only; and by ſuch a Law nothing is rendred unlawful but what is named;
and to name at once every Thing that is then, or may be in all After-ages
needful to be prohibited, would indeed be a Work of very great Difficulty ;
partly, from the Nature of that Obedience that is due to a mere human Law,
which is only an external Obedience, and to the Letter of the Law; and
that indeed iuft needs be a Law, or a Body of Laws of a prodigious Bulk,
and very difficult to be contrived at once, which in the Letter thereof ſhall
comprehend and give Direction concerning every A&ion, and every Mode
of A&tion that are neceſſary to be done or forborn, in order to the preſer-
fing Juſtice and Peace among Men; partly, from the little Regard that Men
generally
944
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
!
generally have to the good of Poſterity, which makes them only careful to
contrive ſuch Orders and Conſtitutions, as they hope will fuffice to preſerve
Peace in their own Time, leaving it to thoſe that come after, to take the
like Care for themſelves in their Times; partly, from the Weakneſs and Igno-
rance of the wiſeſt of Men, who not underſtanding exactly the Tempers of
all their Subjects, cannot know, certainly what Effect their Laws will have,
till after they have been for ſome Time experienced ; and partly, from the
unexpected Difficulty that is ſometimes met with in the Execution of a Law,
which may make it neceſſary afterwards to enforce it with a greater Penalty,
or to take ſome farther Care than at firſt was thought needful, to ſee it
executed.
But none of theſe Reaſons of the Neceſſity of new Laws aniong Men are
of any Force to ſhew that it is alſo neceſſary that God ſhould be every Day
making new Declarations of his Will, and that no ſtanding Revelation can
be sufficient for all Times; for the Laws of God are poſitive and command-
ing, enjoining the trueſt and heartieſt Love both to God and Men, and every
natural and proper Expreſſion thereof, and by conſequence prohibiting every
Affection of Mind, and every outward Act that is contrary thereto, whether
it be expreſſly named or not; and the Obedience that we owe to a divine
Law, 4 is the Obedience of the Heart and of the whole inner Man, ſuch as
looks beyond the Letter to the Deſign and Intention of the Law, and avoids
as carefully whatſoever is contrary to the Reaſon of the Law, as if it had
been forbidden in the moſt expreſs Words: And God being King for ever
and ever, has the ſame Relation to all Men in all Ages, and cannot but be
ſuppoſed to deſign the good Government of his Subjects in after, as well as
in former Times ; and he alſo underſtanding fully the Tempers of all his
Subjects; knows beforehand what Effect the Laws he gives them will have,
and can never be diſappointed in his Expectation ; and ſo can never be oblig'd
to repeal or alter any of his Laws, by an un-foreſeen Experience, that they
are not ſo convenient, or ſo effectual as he thought they would be; and laſt-
ly, he, having all Power in his Hands, and a ſovereign and uncontrollable
Dominion over all, can appoint what Penalty he pleaſes to the Tranſgreſſion
of his Laws; can at any time convict Tranſgreſſors by his own unerring
Knowledge only, and the Teſtimony of their guilty Conſciences, without
other Witneſſes; and has it in his own ſingle Power, without any Help of
others, to execute, whenever he will, whatever Penalty he threatens.
Thus, I think, it appears that a ſtanding Revelation may be ſo well con-
trived, as to be ſufficient for all Times; that all Matters neceſſary to be
known and done by Men at all. Times may be at once committed to
Writing.
2. But ſecondly, tho this be granted, it may be ſtill farther objected again
the Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation, that it can hardly be ſufficiently at-
teſted; that there cannot be ſufficient Evidence given to ſatisfy a rational
Man, that any ſuch Writing, which is ſaid to be of divine Inſpiration and
Authority, is indeed ſo; and that, (1.) Becauſe there is no Way, but Eye-
witneſs, to be fufficiently aſſured that any Book was written by the Perſon
who is ſaid to be the Author of it; (2.) Becauſe there is no way to be ſuf-
ficiently aſſured, that the Author of ſuch a Book did not deſign to impoſe
upon his Readers : And, (3.) Becauſe no Man can be ſure, that he himſelf
was not deceived in his Opinion of his own Inſpiration, or of a Revelation
made to him ; or in the Truth of any other Matter which he has related as
of this own Knowledge.
(1.) It may be ſaid, that there is no way but Eye-witneſs to be ſuffici-
ently aſſured that any Book. was written by the Perſon that is ſaid to be the
Author of it.
But
i
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
945
But that is very ſtrange, that there ſhould be no other way to be ſuffici-
ently aſſured of the Author of any Book, and yet that there are a great many
Books in the World, antient as well as modern, the Authors whereof were
never in the leaſt doubted of; who yet, I ſuppoſe, did not uſe to call toge-
ther a Company of Men to ſtand by, and ſee them write thoſe Books, which
they intended to publiſh.
It ſeems then, that either there may be, beſides Eye-witneſs, ſufficient
Reaſon to believe that a Book was written by the Perſon under whoſe Náme
it goes; or elſe that all the World has been extremely credulous in receiving
an infinite Number of Books as written by ſuch and ſuch Authors, without
ſufficient Aſſurance thereof. But I believe the Truth is, there are ſome Men
who for Reaſons beſt known to themſelves, but which may, ſome of them,
be eaſily enough gueſſed at, will not allow that to be ſufficient Evidence
that a Book was written by a Prophet or an Apoſtle, which they muſt and
do allow to be ſufficient Evidence in any other Caſe of the liké Narure.
For in other Caſes we make no Doubt to receive a Book as written by
ſuch an Author, if he owns himſelf to be the Author of it; or if it be
ſhewn written with his own Hand; or if they that are the Publiſhers of it,
declare that they had it from him, as his own; or that they tranſcribed or
printed it from a Copy which they knew to be of his Hand-writing ; or if
it paſſes current in common Fame and Report to be his, and his moſt inti-
mate Friends believe it ſo, and he himſelf does not diſown it, and there be
none elſe that pretend any Claim or Title to it. Where theſe or moſt of
theſe Circumſtances do concur, we never doubt but that the Perſon ſaid to
be the Author of ſuch a Book, is ſo indeed ; unleſs there be ſome very
clear Reaſon, grounded upon the known Incapacity of the Perſon to write
in ſuch a Language, in ſuch a Stile, concerning ſuch a Subject, or the like,
whereby it may be demonſtrated, that (whoever was) he could not be
the Author of it. The Truth is, now a days, and I ſuppoſe the Caſe was
much the ſame formerly, whoever is the true Author of any Book, finds
very little Difficulty to make Men believe that the Book is his; the greateſt
Difficulty is for a Man to conceal himſelf, in caſe he be not willing to be
known to be the Author of it.
And when once a Book is generally received as written by ſuch'a Perſon,
when, I ſay, it is thus received, in that Age in which it was firſt publiſhed,
and by thoſe that were in the beſt Capacity to enquire and to judge who
was the true Author of it; they that live in Afrer-times never think it rea-
ſonable to queſtion the Authority thereof, unleſs there be evidently ſomething,
either in the Language, Dialect or Stile, or elſe in the Matter of the Book,
as in the Relation of ſome Piece of Hiſtory, the References to ſome ancient
Cuſtoms, the Citations out of other Authors, or the like; by which it may
be clearly made out, that the Book cannot be of ſuch Antiquity as it pretends
to, or could not be the Writing of that Perſon, who is reported, and has been
commonly taken to be the Author of it.
Upon ſuch Reaſons as theſe, a great many Books are every Day received
as written by ſuch and ſuch Authors; and though we cannot be ſo ſure of a
Thing that we believe upon theſe Inducements, as we are of what we
ſee with our own Eyes; yet ſuch Reaſons as theſe are by the general
Conſent of Mankind judged to be ſufficient, in a Matter of this Nature,
which is hardly capable of better Proof. And for a Man to diſallow in one
Caſe that ſame Evidence of the Truth of a Matter of Fact, which in other
Caſes of the like Kind he allows to be ſufficient ; for a Man to receive a
Book as written by another Perſon, and not to receive a Book as written by
a Prophet
or an Apoſtle, when he has as much Reaſon to receive one as the
other, and no more Reaſon to reject one than the other, is not Judgment,
Vol. II.
Rrrr
Or
946
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
:
or Diſcretion, or reaſonable Caution, but manifeſt Prejudice and Partiality.
But,
(2.) It was farther ſaid, That though we might be well enough aſſured that
a Book was written by the Perſon who is ſaid to be the Author of it; there
is no Way to be fufficiently aſſured that he who was the Author of it did not
deſign to impoſe upon his Readers.
It ſeems then, there is no way to be ſufficiently ſatisfied that any Man
is an honeſt Man, and fit to be credited ; that he does not !ye in every
Thing he ſays, and intend a Cheat in every Thing he does. For if a Man
may be believed in what he ſays, he may as well be believed in what he
writes; and if he may be truſted in one Concern, he may as ſafely be truſted
in another, unleſs good Reaſon can be ſhewed to the contrary.
But in judging of human Nature in general, Men commonly judge of
others by themſelves: What they are inclined to, they think is the Inclinati-
on of Mankind; what they allow themſelves in, they think others, what-
ever they may pretend, make as little Scruple of as they do ; what they freely
practiſe, they make no Doubt other Men would practiſe as freely, on the
ſame Occaſions, and upon the ſame Inducements ; ſo that when any Man
is ſo ery ſuſpe&tful of the Honeſty and Veracity of other. Men, it gives but
too juſt Ground to think that the Reaſon of his Aptneſs to diſtruſt all others,
is his Conſciouſneſs of his own evil Deſigns, and of the little Regard that
he himſelf has to Truth in his own Affertions. And if thoſe he has to
deal with ſhould refufe to give any Credit to any Thing that he affirms,
becauſe, according to his own declared Opinion, very little Credit can rea-
ſonably be given to the Report and Affirmation of others, I do not fee, with
what Reaſon he can blame them for ſo doing.
Not but that, after all, it is poſſible that a Man may, (it is doubtleſs what
has been done by ſome) give out a Report, or write a Book on Purpoſe
to deceive Mankind; but nevertheleſs, I ſay, that it ought not without very
good Reaſon to be ſuſpected that this is any Man's Deſign; and that we
may have Aſſurance enough that a Thing is not, which yet we muſt grant
was poſſible to have been. Particularly as to the Matter we are now ſpeak-
ing of:
Firſt, In caſe the Author of any Book, or of any Report, relates a Mat-
ter of Fact, of which there are not, nor well could be, any other Witneſfes
but himſelf; as if he ſays that he has received from God ſuch a Revelation,
with Order to publiſh it to the World, or that he himſelf was an Eye or
Ear-witneſs that ſuch a Thing was privately done or ſpoken by another ;
the Credibility of ſuch a Report, whether written or ſpoken, depends partly
upon the Nature of the Report it ſelf; partly upon the Credit of its Author ;
and partly upon the Proofs that he gives of his Honeſty and Veracity in that
particular. And where there is a full Concurrence of all theſe, that is, when
the Matter of the Report is credible in ſelf; when its Author is a Perſon of
Credit ; and when he gives the beſt Proofs that can be of his Veracity in that
particular ; there is no Reaſon to reject his Teſtimony, there is ſufficient
Reaſon to give Credit to it.
1. If the Matter of his Report be credible in it felf. And if what he re-
ports be, that he himſelf has received ſuch a Revelation from God, with
Order to publiſh it to the World, I ſay, that this Report in the general is
a credible Report; becauſe it is very agreeable to the Goodneſs of God,
and therefore not unlikely, that he ſhould impart to Men, by a ſpecial Re-
velation, ſuch Things as are very uſeful for them to know, and which could
not be known, or not ſo well, not ſo fully, clearly, and certainly, any other
Way, as by. Revelation; and it is certainly not incredible, that He that has
given us a Tongue to utter Words, and Skill to expreſs thereby our Thoughts
to
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
947
to one another, ſhould have Power and Means to reveal and expreſs his own
Mind, in ſuch a Manner, that a Man may underſtand his Meaning; and it is
likewiſe certainly not incredible in it ſelf, that God, intending to declare his
Will to Mankind, ſhould make uſe of the Miniſtry of a Man for this Pur-
poſe, and having made known his Will to one Man, give him Commiſſion
to communicate the ſame to others.
If therefore there be any Thing incredible in the Report of a divine Re-
velation, it muſt be in the Special Matter of it. But altho the particular
Matter of any ſuch divine Revelation be ſuch a Thing as we could never
have found out by natural Reaſon ; I ſay, it is nevertheleſs credible as a Matter
divinely revealed; if it implies no Contradiction ; if it be not contrary to na-
tural Reaſon ; if it be not repugnant to a former divine Revelation that is
well atteſted; and if it be a Doctrine worthy of God; thap is, if in its trục
Conſequences it has no Tendency to encourage Sin; but on the contrary,
has a plain Tendency to promote the Practice of Piety. and Virtue among
Men. Againſt ſuch a Revelation as this there can be no juſt Objection made
from the Matter of it: There is no Improbability that ſuch a Thing as, this
ſhould be the Subject of a divine Revelation.
Or if what he Reports be, that he himſelf was by when ſuch a Thing
was privately done or ſpoken by another; in this caſe the Matter of his
Report is credible in it felf, if what he ſays he was an Eye or Ear-witneſs of
be a proper Object of thoſe Senſes; if it be not an impoſſible Thing; if it
does not imply a Contradiction. And in this caſe, the Difficulty, the Strange-
neſs, the Uncommonneſs of the Thing ; its being a Thing that was never
known to be done or ſaid before, or which no Account can be given of
by Reaſon, or natural Cauſes, is no juſt Exçeption to the Truth of it. There
is nothing in this Kind abſolutely incredible, but what is plainly impoſſible.
But,
2. The Credibility of any Report, (ſuppoſing the Matter of it to be cre
dible) depends, in good Meaſure, upon the Credit of its Author,
And then a Man may reaſonably be thought an Author, or a Witnefs of
good Credit, in Matters of his own Knowledge, wlien he appears, and by
all his other Words and Aations shews himſelf to be, grave, Sober, conſider-
ate, and in his right Wits; when he is a Perſon of unblemijbd Reputation 3
when he was never known to lye, or feign, or deceive in other Caſes 3 when
he gives no juſt Ground to ſuſpect that he is an intrieguing or deſigning Per-
ſon; and laſtly, when he himſelf is no Party to the Cauſe, has no worldly
Intereſt carrying on in it, no Deſign of Honour or Profit, or other
temporal Advantage, that, to Appearance, can be ſerved by his giving
ſuch Teſtimony; when he will be neither the better, if his Report be credited,
nor the worſe, if it be not believed, Such a Witneſs as this cannot reaſon-
ably be excepted againſt: But,
3. Even ſuch a Report made by ſuch a Perſon, is ſtill farther credible, in
caſe he gives alſo the beſt Proofs that can be given, or that the Caſe will bear,
of his Veracity in that Particular.
And it is one very good Token of a Man's own firm Perſuaſqon of the
Truth of what he ſays, if he gives his Teſtimony in a grave and ſerious Manner,
and if he appears to have at that Time a good senſe of Religion on his Mind
Upon which Account a ſolemn Oath, by which God is called upon to wiț-
neſs the Truth of what is ſaid, is reckon’d the greateſt Aſſurance that ordi
narily can be given of the Trụth of any human Teſtimony ; and therefore
by Evidence given upon Oath, all Queſtions of the greateſt Conſequence to
Men in this world are finally decided : An Oath. for
Confirmation is to Men
an End of all Strife. Seeing therefore that the great Credit that is given
to an Oath, is grounded upon that ſerious Sense of Religion which the Wit-
neſs
7
948
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
1
neſs is ſuppoſed to have in his Mind, when he declares that he ſpeaks as iil
the Preſence of Almighty God; whenever there is good Evidence given by
any Perſon of the ſame ſerious Senſe of Religion, his Teſtimony, thoʻwith-
out the Formality of an Oath, is not leſs credible.
Again, it is a farther Token of a Man's firm Belief of what he reports or
affirms, in caſe, the Matter of his Report being ſuch as is naturally influ-
ential upon Practice, he himſelf lives and acts in all Rcfpects agreeably there-
to: And eſpecially, if in Conſequence thereof he declines making ſuch
Gain and Profit to himſelf, as it is probable he would have done, had he
been otherwiſe perſuaded; and denies himſelf thoſe worldly Pleaſures and
ſenſual Gratifications, which other Men, not ſo perſuaded, do freely allow
themſelves in; and voluntarily undertakes ſuch Labours, and endures ſuch
Hardſhips, as it can hardly be ſuppoſed any Man of another Perſuaſion would
undergo.
But the furcſt Token that any Man can give of his Veracity, is perſiſting
in the Evidence he has once given to the laſt; when no Promiſes of Wealth,
Honour, or Promotion, can perſuade him to forbear ſpeaking the Things
which he has ſeen and heard; when being brought before Kings and Ru-
lers, and ſtreightly threatned to hold his Peace, he is thereby rather the more
emboldned to ſpeak; when being racked and tortured to retract his Evi-
dence, he continues, in the midſt of the greateſt Torments, to witneſs the
ſame Thing that he did before ; and in fine, when having a certain Pro-
ſpect before him of loſing all that can be dear to him in this World, and
even his Life it ſelf, unleſs he will either go back from what he has
ſaid, or at leaſt forbear to repeat and confirm it; he willingly and chearfully
ſeals his Teſtimony with his Blood.
Such Aſſurance as this we may have of the Honeſty and Veracity of a
Perſon that witneſſes a Thing only of his own private Knowledge ; and this
being the beſt we can have, he is an unreaſonable Man that deſires more; or
ſays this is not ſufficient.
But ſecondly, in caſe the Author of any Book, or of any Report, relates
a Thing that was done or ſpoken publickly, in the Sight or Hearing of
many others beſides himſelf, we may have ſtill greater Aſſurance, of his Ho-
neſty and Veracity, and of the Truth of the Report it ſelf; and we have
ſo, we have, I think, the greateſt that can be, if after the Report is pub-
liſhed, eſpecially if it be a Matter of great Conſequence to the World, it be
not contradicted by any of thoſe that were preſent; and much rather, if they
all
, or a great many of them, agree in teſtifying the ſame Thing; eſpecial-
ly if they alſo are Perſons of the like good Credit, and if they alſo give the
ſame Proofs and Tokens of their Veracity that he did.
Such Evidence as this of the Veracity of any Author in what he writes, is
beyond all reaſonable Exception: And therefore when many, and eſpecially when
all theſe Evidences of Truth and Honeſty do concur, I think we may be ſuf-
ficiently aſſured that he did not deſign to impoſe upon his Readers. But
,
(3.) If we may be well enough aſſured of the Author of any Book, and
alſo of his Honeſty; yet, it was farther objected, that this Author, whoever
he was, could not be ſure that he himſelf was not deceived in his Opinion
of his own Inſpiration, or of a Revelation made to himſelf, or in the
Truth of any other Matter of Fact which he has related as of his own
Knowledge.
But, firſt, if he could not be ſure of his own Inſpiration, or of a Revela-
tion made to himſelf; how then could any Man now a-days be fire of the
ſame, if God ſhould vouchſafe to ſpeak to us now, as it is ſaid he did in
former Times to the Prophets and other inſpired Men, by himſelf, or an
Angel? So that this Objection, if it be well grounded, cuts off not only all
reaſonable
;
*
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
949
و
i
reaſonable Belief of former Revelations, but likewiſe all reaſonable Belief
of any Revelation that can now be made to our ſelves or others and
it is to no Purpoſe, to offer at any Thing to convince thoſe of the Truth
of any Revelation, who are of Opinion that even the infinite Power and
Wiſdom of God cannot make ſuch a Revelation of his Will to them
as would be credible, ſuch as they ſhould reaſonably judge ſufficient for theiß
Conviction.
This therefore is all that I ſhall ſay to this part of the Objection ; that if
they ſuppoſe, as they ſeem to do, that Almighty God cannot any ways ro
reveal his Will to any Man, as that the Prophet himſelf can be aſſured thar
it is a divine Revelation; they ſuppoſe God to be of leſs Power and Skill
than a Man is, who can utter his Mind in ſuch a Manner to another, that
the other ſhall have no Doubt, who it is that ſpeaks, or what he means: But
if they will but vouchſafe to grant, that God could now ſpeak, or otherwiſe
reveal his Will, in ſuch Manner to us, as that we could not poſlibly have
any Doubt, whether it was the Voice of God or an Angel, or not, then I
ſay there can be no Queſtion but that he might ſpeak in as plain a Manner to
Men in former Times; and there is almoſt as little Queſtion but that he has
donc fo.
But many, it may be ſaid, have pretended to Inſpirations or Revelations,
and, we have Reaſon to believe, have thought themſelves inſpired, when yet
the Matter they have ſaid they were inſpired with, or which they have ſaid
has been revealed to them, has been ſuch as has clearly evidenced to all rational
Men the Falſity of their Pretence.
True ; And ſo likewiſe many Men have thought themſelves at ſuch a Place,
in ſuch a Company, hcaring, ſeeing, ſpeaking, or doing ſuch and ſuch Things,
when yet, as it proves afterwards, they have been all the while only in a
Dream : But what then? Does it follow that becauſe a Man may think him-
ſelf awake when he is in a Dream, he can therefore never be ſure that he is
awake? And as little does it follow, that becauſe ſome Perſons of weak or
diſtempered Brains have thought they have had Revelations, therefore no fo-
ber and judicious Man in his right Wits can ever be ſure of a Reve-
lation:
But ſuppoſe a Man at the firſt, being (as it may well be imagined he muſt
be) in a great Surpriſe and Aſtoniſhment at the Strangeneſs and Novelty of
the Thing, ſhould not be very certain of the Reality of the Revelation, ſhould
not well know whether he was awake or aſleep; yet certainly the ſame Signs
which are ſufficient afterwards to ſatisfie other Men of the Truth of his In-
ſpiration or Revelation, muſt be allowed to be ſufficient to ſatisfie himſelf of
the fame Thing.
And therefore, If Mofes, for Inſtance, when God firſt ſpake to him in Exod. ii, 2,
Horeb out of the burning Buſh, was in ſome Doubt whether he was in a
Trance, or awake and in his right Mind, whether he really heard a Voice, or
only dream'd ſo: It can't well be ſuppoſed that he continued in the ſame Doubt
afterwards, when having at God's Command, caſt his Rod upon the Ground, Exod. iv. 3, 4.
it became a Serpent; and having at the ſame divine Command taken it up by
the Tail, it became a Rod again in his Hand; and when after that, by his Verſe 6, 7,
firſt putting his Hand into his Boſom it became leprous as Snow, and after his
putting it in the ſecond Time, it came out like his other Fleſh.
Or if it can be imagined, that he might poſſibly take all this to be only a
Continuation of his Dream, or at leaſt, might not in all this while be ſure
that it was not a Dream ; it is not conceivable however, that in all the Time
that he was travelling from Horeb into Egypt, he ſhould not ever be ſo through-
ly awake as to be ſure that he was awake; and if he was, that he ſhould nok
in all that Time make ſuch Reflections upon what had paſſed, aş either to per-
Vol. II,
Sffr
ceive
/
!
950
The Sufficiency of a fanding Revelation. .
ceive plainly that it had been only a Dream, or elle to be very certain that it
had not been a Dream, but a Reality.
Or if it can be conceived, that his Amazement and Concern at what had hap-
pened was ſo great, that in all this Time he might not be ſo well come to him-
ſelf, as to be ſure that he had had a true divine Revelation ; yet I think it was
not poſſible that he ſhould remain in the ſame Uncertainty, after he had been
in Egypt for ſome while, and had wrought not only thoſe two Miracles over
again in the Sight of the Iſraelites, whereby they were fully perſuaded of his
divinc Miſion ; but likewiſe all the other great Signs and Wonders mentioned
in the ſeventh and following Chapters of Exodus, ſome of which the Egyp-
tians, and even the Magicians themſelves, could not but acknowledge were
done by the Finger of God.
But this, it will be ſaid, is proving one doubtful Thing by another as doubt-
ful, a Revelation by a Miracle : For it was farther urged in the Objection, that
no Author of any Book could be ſure that he was not deceived in any other
Matter that he has related as of his own Knowledge ; that it is poſlible there
might be a Miſtake in the Sign and Proof of the divine Revelation, as well as in
the Revelation it felf; that it is poſible that tlie Author of the Report (whie-
ther it was the Prophet himſelf, or any other Man who has reported the Miracles
done by the Prophet, as Matters of his own Knowledge) did imagine he ſaw
Things which he did not fee, and that he heard Things which he did not
hear
But if this be ſuppoſed poſlible, that any Man, and much more that ſeveral
Men agreeing in the fame Report, the Organs of whoſe Senſes were rightly
diſpoſed, and who by all their other Actions and Diſcourſes appeared to be ſo-
ber, and conſiderate, and judicious, ſhould yet in the Day time, and in a clear
Light, and when they were ſure they were broad awake, be miſtaken in the
plaineſt Matters of Senſe ; then there is no ſuch Thing as Certainty in the
World; then they that make the Objection can be no more ſure of what they
themſelves fee and hear than other Men can be ; and it is to no Purpoſe to hold
an Argument with ſuch as dare not believe their own Eyes and Ears. The
only Senſe whereby, I think, ſuch Men can be convinced, muſt be Feeling :
And it will be well for them if they can carry the ſame Scepticiſm with them
into the other World, and when they are encompaſſed about with the Flames
of Hell, can be able to doubt whether it be a real or a painted Fire, whether
they are tormented in that Flame, or not.
Leaving theſe therefore to be convinced in the other World, as being, I
think, not capable of Convi&tion here ; I ſhall content my ſelf with having
ſaid, what, I ſuppoſe, is enough to ſatisfie others, that the Witneſs of a
plain Matter of Fact may be fure of the Truth of what he witneſſes; and
that it is poſſible for God to ſpeak fo plainly to Men, that they may be certain
they have a divine Revelation; and that ſuch Evidence may be given of the
Veracity of an Author, and of the Authority of a Book, as is ſufficient to ſa-
tisfie a reaſonable Man.
And by this, and what was ſaid before, I hope, I have made it appear, that a
ſtanding Revelation of God's Will may be ſo well contrived and ſo well
atteſted as to be ſufficient to effect its Deſign, viz. to bring Men to Repen-
tance. Whether the ſtanding Revelation which we have in the Holy Scrip-
ture be ſufficient for this Purpoſe, will be Matter of Enquiry in the next Dil-
courſes.
In the mean Time, what has been already ſaid may ſerve to diſpoſe us to hear
without Prejudice the Arguments that may be offered to prove the Sufficiency of
Holy Scripture. For,
1. If it be poſſible that there may be ſuch a ſtanding Revelation, it is very
probable that there is one; for from that natural Notion that we have of the
Goodneſs
ز
*
The Sufficiency of a ſtanding Revelation.
951
Goodneſs of God, it may be fairly argued, that he is not wanting to Men in the
neceſſary Means of Salvation ; and therefore, it being cvident that there are not
new Revelations made every Day, it may be reaſonably concluded that the
Reaſon is, becauſe there is already ſome ſtanding Revelation of God's Will
extant that is ſufficient to direct us in the Way to Happineſs. And,
2. If there be already any ſuch ſtanding Revelation extant, it may be
ſtrongly preſumed, that it is that which we have in the Holy Scripture ; be-
cauſe there is no other Book, that we know of, which has ſuch good Evi-
dences of divine Authority and Inſpiration as that has.
Let us then be prepared to inquire into the Grounds and Reaſons of the
Chriſtian Faith and Religion, with unprejudiced Minds, with a ſincere Love
and Deſire of Truth, and with a Reſolution to hear Reaſon and to be con-
vinced by it.
And above all, (which indeed is the beſt Preparation for Truth, and the beſt
Security againſt Error) let us in the Sincerity of our Hearts, apply our ſelves
to God for his Help and Direction ; And thåt our Prayer may be effectual,
let us be careful to approve our ſelves to him, by a conſcientious Diſcharge of
all thoſe Duties of Piety, Juſtice, Temperance and Charity, which are clearly
taught even by natural Reaſon; and be readily diſpoſed to practiſe whatever
elſe we ſhall learn to be our Duty by any farther Illumination: For if any john vii. 179
Man will do his Wil, he ſhall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God.
25.
J111.25
VASTA
Oooooh
DIS
952
DISCOURSE LXXXIX.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-
Revelation;
As to the Matter of it.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham faith unto him, They have Moſes and the
Prophets; let them hear them. .
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Moſes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho' one
roſe from the Dead
9448
HE firſt Thing which I propounded to do in diſcourſing
on theſe Words, was, to endeavour to fhew, that the pre-
ſent ſtanding Revelation of God's Will, contained in
the Books of the Old and New Teſtament, is abundantly
ſufficient to perſuade Men to Repentance, if they are not
unreaſonably blind and obſtinate. They have Moſes and
the Prophets (they have alſo Chriſt and his Apoſtles) let
them hear them.
And if that ſtanding Revelation which God hath made to us of his Will
in the Holy Scriptures can upon any Account be thought inſufficient to effect
this Deſign, it muſt be, I think, either, 1. Becauſe no ſtanding Revelation
can be ſufficient for this Purpoſe; or, 2. Becauſe there are ſome particular
Defeits in that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures which ren-
der it not fo ſufficient for this Purpoſe, as it is poſſible a ſtanding Revelation
might be.
I have therefore, in a former Diſcourſe upon theſe Words, endeavoured
to ſhew in general, that a ſtanding Revelation of God's Will may be ſo well
contrived, and ſo well atteſted, as to be ſufficient for this purpoſe.
I pro-
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
935
1
ز
I proceed now, in the ſecond Place,
2. To conſider, whether that ſtanding Revelation which we haye in the
Holy Scriptures, be ſuch a Revelation ; whether it be ſufficient to perſuade
Men to Repentance, and fully to direct them in the Way to Happineſs; or,
whether there be not ſome particular Defects in this Revclation, which render
it not ſo ſufficient for this Purpoſe as it is poſſible a ſtanding Revelation miglio
be.
And if there be any ſuch Defect in the Holy Scripture, it muſt be cither in
the Matter of it, or in the Proof of it: And if it be in the Matter of it, it
muſt be, either that it does not give us ſufficient Directions what to do, or
that it does not propoſe ſufficient Motives to perſuade Mcn to do what it re-
quires.
And therefore in ſpcaking to this Head, I ſhall ſhew, (1.) That the Holy
Scripture gives us ſufficient Directions what to do. (2.) That the Motives
which the Scripture propoſes, are ſufficient to perfilade us to do what it re-
quires; and (3.) That we have ſuficient Reaſon given us to convince us of
the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture, and conſequently of all the
Doctrines which are taught by it.
(1.) I ſhall ſhew that the Holy Scripture gives us ſufficient Directions what
to do.
And of this there can be little Doubt among thoſe that believe the divine
Inſpiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture ; becauſe to them its own
Teſtimony of its own Sufficiency is a Proof thereof beyond all Exception.
For, if, as the Apoſtle ſays, 2 Tim. iii. 16. it be profitable for Doctrine, and
for Reproof, and for Correction, and for Inſtruction in Righteouſneſs; it is
plainly profitable for all the Purpoſes, for which we can deſire a divine Reve-
lation. And, if, as he ſays in the next Verſe, it was given to make perfeet the
Man of God (that is, the Man whoſe Buſineſs it is to teach and inſtruct o-
thers) and throughly to furniſh him unto all good Works, it cannot be defi-
cient in delivering all ſuch Rules and Directions as are neceſſary to be given
by a Paſtor to the People committed to his Care. And if, as the ſame A-
poſtle had ſaid at the fiftcenth Verſe of that Chapter, it be able to make us wife
unto Salvation, we have no Reaſon to deſire to be wiſer than this excellent
Book can make us. And if all this could truly be ſaid by the Apoſtle, before
the Canon of the New Teſtament was completed; if it could be ſaid by him
of thoſe Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known from a Child, that is, of
the Books of the Old Teſtament only, much more may it be now ſaid of the
Books of both Teſtaments together.
But to ſpeak at large of this point at preſent, would be too great a Digrer-
fion from the Deſign of theſe Lectures, which were intended only againſt In-
fidels, not againſt any Sect of Chriſtians ; and ſuch they pretend to be, ſuch,
becauſe they hold the Foundation Chriſi Felus, they may in Charity be al-
low'd to be, who do chiefly differ from us in this Article, and deny the Suffi-
ciency of Scripture, only becauſe they are reſolved to maintain ſome gainful
Doctrines and Practices of their own Church, which they are ſenſible have no
Warrant from Scripture, and ſo can be maintained no other Way but by affirm-
ing that they have been delivered down to them by Tradition, and that unwrit-
ten Tradition is a neceſſary Supplement to the written Word, and of equal Au.
thority with it.
For between us and Infidels who reject the Scripture, the Sufficiency of the
Scripture as a Rule of Faith and Manners is hardly Matter of Controverſy :
For theſe do not reject the Scripture becauſe it reaches too little, but rather be-
cauſe it teaches too much; becauſe it teaches Doctrines above their Reaſon,
and commands ſuch Duties as thcy do not like to practiſe ; and if it taught
leſs than it does, they would be more ready to own its divine Authority.
Vol. II.
Tttt
But
A
954
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Luke i. 1.
But nevertheleſs even theſe Men, that they may leave no Stone unturned,
will be ſometimes diſcourſing upon this point ; and altho' thoſe Books of Holy
Scripture which are now extant, and which are now generally receiv’d, do
teach much more than they themſelves are willing to believe and practiſe, yet,
thar they may, as niuch as they can, unſettle the Belief of others, do not flick
to argue againſt the Chriſtian Religion from this Topick, and to affirm that
the Books of Holy Scripture, which are now receiv'd, do not contain the whole
Will of GOD. For there were, ſay they, in former Times, ſeveral other
Goſpels and Epiſtles, and other Tracts, deſigned to inſtruct Men in the Chri-
ſtian Religion, which were written by the Apoſtles or other inſpired Men,
and which were conſequently of the fame Authority, in themſelves, with
thoſe which are now receiv'd into the Canon ; of which nevertheleſs we have
nothing now left, but the Names and Titles, or ſome imperfect and uncertain
Fragments; ſo that it may well be doubted, whether thoſe few Books which
are now remaining, are ſufficient to inſtruct us in all neceſſary Points of Know-
ledge and Practice.
And of this Matter of fact, there is, they ſay, ſome
Evidence even from the Scripture it ſelf: For St. Luke, in the Beginning of
his Goſpel takes Notice, that many before him, had taken in Hand to ſet forth
a Declaration of thoſe Things which were ſurely believed among Chriſtians ;
that is, had written and publiſhed Narratives of the Life, A&tions, Miracles,
Preaching, Death, and Reſurrection of our Saviour. But there are no Hiſto-
ries of this Kind, no Goſpels now extant, that were written beforc St. Luke's,
except only St. Matthew's and St. Mark's ; and if there had been no more
extant at that Time, it would have been very improper, they ſay, for the
Evangeliſt to have ſaid, that many had written upon this Subject, when he
fpake only of thoſe two. And that there was Matter enough for ſeveral ſuch
Narratives, ſo that tho' they were very different Goſpels, they might neverthe-
leſs be all true, we are told by St. Johns, who wrote his Goſpel the laſt of the
four Evangeliſts, John xx. 30. Many other Signs truly did Jeſus in the Pre-
ſence of his Diſciples, which are not written in this Book ; and again, Ch.
xxi. Verf. 25. There are alſo many other Things which Jeſus did, the which,
if they ſhould be written every one, I ſuppoſe that even the World it ſelf could
not contain the Books that should be written.
Now if it be true, that there were ſeveral other Books formerly extant, but
which are now loft, that were written by the Apoſtles and other inſpired Men,
and conſequently by divine Inſpiration ; either theſe were needleſs when writ-
ten, and it is unreaſonable to ſuppoſe that any Book when written by divine
Inſpiration was needleſs; or elſe the Loſs of theſe Books is a Loſs to Religion,
and we cannot be well aflured, that thoſe which we have now remaining do
fufficiently inſtruct us in all Points of Chriſtian Faith and Practice.
But admit the Truth of this Matter of Fact, viz. that more Books were
written by the Apoſtles, or other inſpired Men, than are now extant; which I
will not now diſpute, becauſe I think it needleſs, becauſe I think it may be
granted without any Prejudice to the Chriſtian Cauſe ; altho' there be none,
or at nioſt but very ſlender Evidence of it; nay, admit more than is upon any
good Grounds alleged, viz not only that ſeveral, but that every one of
the Apoſtles and immediate Diſciples of Chriſt, every one that had heard himi
preach, and had been a Witneſs of his Life, and Miracles, and Reſurrection,
and had received the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt, did write a diſtinct
Goſpel, giving an Account of ſome of the moſt remarkable Paſſages of our
Saviour's Life which he had been a Witneſs of; and did likewiſe, as he had
Occaſion, write Epiſtles or other Tracts for the Uſe and Inſtruction of the
Chriſtian Church ; every one of all which Books, if they were now extant,
and as well atteſted as the Books of the New Teſtament are, would be of e-
qual Authority with them, becauſe dictated by the fame Spirit, by which all
the
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The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
955
---
wwwxiv, 26.
the Apoſtles were led into all Truth, and had all Things that Jefus had fpo- John xvi. 13.
ken brought to their Remembrance ; yet, I ſay, it would by no Means follow
from hence, either that thoſe Books which are now loft (if indeed there are
any loſt that were written by the Apoſtles) were needleſs when they were writ-
ten, or that thoſe which do now remain are not ſufficient. And a very little
Conſideration of the State of Things as it was then, and as it is now, will
make this which I have ſaid very plain.
For the Caſe then was thus : The Goſpel of Chriſt was to be preached to
the whole World by a few Perſons, who had been Eye-witneſſes of his Mira-
cles, and were enabled by the Power of the Holy Ghoſt to confirm their Te.
ſtimony of him by doing the like Miracles themſelves : And that this great
Work might be accompliſhed within the Term of their Life, it was neceſſary
that they ſhould quickly diſperſe themſelves into all Parts of the World, one
going this Way and another that, according as they had agreed among them-
ſelves, or were directed by the Spirit. And in this Diviſion of Countries, cve-
ry one had a large Province aſſigned to him, ſo that having much Work to
do in a little Time, he could not well ſtay long in one place : And upon this
account it might be very proper for him, after he had preached the Goſpel in
one City, and made a good number of Converts, and ordained Elders, and
eſtabliſhed a Chriſtian Church there, when he went thence, to leave behind him
in Writing the Sum of what he had before preached among them, for the
Help of their Memories, for the Direction of their Paſtors, and to prevent
any Miſ-repreſentation that might afterwards be made of his Doctrine by igno-
rant or deſigning Men. And after he was gone from thence, he might have
frequent Occaſion to ſend them Letters either to confirm them in their Faith,
or to caution them againſt ſome Errors which he had heard were ſpringing up
among them, or to correct ſome Fault in their Diſcipline or Manners.
By this Means, I ſay, it might well enough be (tho' there be no Evidence
that it was fo) that in the firſt Age of Chriſtianity, there might be, bcfides oc-
caſional Letters, as many diſtinct Goſpels as there were Apoſtles ; every one
writing a Goſpel for the proper Uſe of thoſe Churches which he himſelf had
planted, and in the Language that was beſt known to them. And this, if it
was done, might be no more than might be then neceſſary, when it was not
ſo eaſy as it is now, ſince the Increaſe of Commerce and Navigation, and the
Invention of Printing, to communicate and diſperſe the Books that are pub-
liſhed in one Country, to other Countries that are far diſtant. Beſides, if this
could have been done then, it can't well be ſuppoſed that a Gospel written by
any other of the Apoſtles, who had never been in that Province or Diviſion,
and of whom they had never heard perhaps more than only his Name, ſhould
be at firſt of ſo great Authority to them, as a Goſpel written by that very A-
poſtle, by whoſe Miniſtry they had been canverted, and of whoſe Miracles
they themſelves had been Witneſſes.
Thus it might be; and if it was ſo, it might be agreeable to the divine
Wiſdom and Goodneſs ſo to order it, that before thoſe Books of the New
Teſtament which we now have could be well diſperſed, and upon good Atteſ-
tation receiv'd in all Chriſtian Countries, ſome particular Churches, and eſpe-
cially thoſe moſt remote from Judea, ſhould have for their preſent Uſe, other
Books written by ſome other of the Apoſtles, containing the ſame Form of
ſound Words, and relating the ſame Things concerning the Life and Doctrine
of our Saviour that theſe do.
And that ſome of thoſe many Books which might be written by the Apoſtles
or other inſpired Men upon this Subject, ſhould be loſt, is no Marvel at all ;
It is rather à Wonder (conſidering the Poverty of the firſt Chriſtians, and the
conſtant Perſecutions they were then under, and the many Revolutions of Go-
vernment that have been in Chriſtendom ſince that Time,) that ſo many as we
ز
1
*
have
956
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Cir
out.
Luke i. 4.
31.
have now left could be preſerved ſo many Ages before Printing was found
And thoſe were the moſt likely to be loſt, which were publiſhed in
rude and barbarous Countries, and which were written in ſome Language
that was peculiar to one Nation only: And thoſe were the moſt caſy, and con-
ſequently the moſt probable to be preſerved, which were publiſhed in the
learned Part of the World, and written in the moſt learned Language then
in Ule.
But although a greater Number of inſpired Books than are now extant,
might be neceſſary in the firſt Age of Chriſtianity; before the Chriſtian
Churches, then newly planted in all Countries of the then known World,
could have Communication with one another ; it cannot be argued from
hence, that thoſe Books which we have now remaining are not ſufficient for
the preſent Time, and for all the Time that has paſſed ſince the other Books
were loſt; but rather, it may very reaſonably be preſumed, that there was
nothing more, for Subſtance, in thoſe Books, which are ſuppoſed to be loft,
than there is in theſe which are now remaining; ſo that the Loſs of them
may be no real Loſs or Detriment to Religion, and thoſe which remain and
are now received in all Chriſtian Churches, may be abundantly ſufficient to
inſtruct us in all Points of Chriſtian Faith and Practice.
And there is indeed no Reaſon to think they are not, ſeeing ſome of
thoſe ſingle Books which we have now, were written for this very Purpoſe,
were deſigned as Compendiums of the whole Chriſtian Inſtitution. For St.
Luke wrote his Goſpel, that Theophilus might know the Certainty of thoſe
Things wherein he had been inſtručted; and if this was the Evangeliſt's De-
fign, it cannot be ſuppoſed but that he thought he had put into his Goſpel what-
ever was neceſſary or very material : And St. John in the ſame place where
John XX. 30, he acknowledges that he had omitted the Relation of many Things which
Jeſus did, ſays that he had written the Things contained in his Goſpel,
that Men might believe tbat Jeſus is the Chriſt, the Son of God, and that
believing they might have Life through his Name : By which it appears, that
he thought he himſelf had written enough in his Goſpel, to perſuade Men to
believe in Chriſt, and to direct them in the Way to eternal Life. There
being therefore in thoſe Books of the New Teſtament which we now have,
ſeveral Abridgments of the whole Chriſtian Doctrine, it cannot with any
Reaſon be pretended, that all theſe Books together are not ſufficient fully to
inſtruct us therein.
Beſides, the Goſpel of Chriſt that was preached, fuppoſe by St. Thomas
in India, or by St. Simon in Africa, or by any other of the Apoſtles in
Countries remote from Judea, or without the Bounds of the Roman Em-
pire, was undoubtedly the very ſame Goſpel that was preached by St. Peter
and St. Paul, or thoſe other of the Apoſtles whoſe Books are now extant, and
received by the Catholick Church; for they were all taught by the ſame
Maſter Chriſt, and were all enlightned by the ſame Holy Ghoſt ; ſo that
any of them did, as it is reported they did, write any Goſpels for the
preſent Uſe of thoſe particular Churches which they had planted; tho' they
might be ſomewhat different from any of the four Goſpels which we now
have, in thc Expreſſion, or perhaps in the Relation of ſome particular Paf-
ſages of our Saviour's Life, which our Evangeliſts have omitted ; juſt as the
four Goſpels which we now have, do differ from one another; yet for Subſtance
they muſt needs have been the ſame with theſe, and with one another, if
indeed they were all true Relations of the Matters of which the Authors
thereof had been Witneſſes; ſo that if we had them all now, they could
all together teach us no other Doctrines than are taught in the Books of the
New Teſtament.
Nevertheleſs, I do not deny, but that if we had more Books of this Kind
if
I
than
The Sufficiency of a Scripture Revelation.
957
1
than we have; that if we had all the Books that were written by the Apo-
ſtles, or their immediate Succeſſors, who had been taught by thein; they
might be of very good Uſe to us, to help us to underſtand more readily and
eaſily thoſe Books which we have, as now we reccive from ſome Portions
of Holy Scripture, great Light, to help us to underſtand, and to put a right
Interpretation upon others : But perhaps it was for this very Reafon that the
Providence of God did order no more to be written, than were written, or
has ſuffered thoſe to be loſt that are ſuppoſed to be loft, that it might coſt
us fome Pains and Study to underſtand our Religion; that ſo our Know-
ledge as well as our Practice being in ſome Meaſure the Fruit of our own
Induſtry, might be a proper Subject of Reward.
In ſhort, that there were more Books in the firſt Age of Chriſtianity, writ-
ten by Apoſtles or other inſpired Men that are now extant, or than if ex-
tant can be well proved to be of their Writing, is a Point which I believe
cannot be now upon any certain Evidence either affirmed or denied'; but
if it be granted, I ſay however, there is no Reaſon to infer from thence,
that thoſe which we now have are not ſufficient. For if there be a God
and a Providence, and if there be any Truth in the Scripture Declarations
of the Love of God to Mankind, and that he would have all Men to be 1 Tim. ii. 4.
ſaved, and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth, moſt certainly the ne-
ceſſary Means of Mens Salvation is a proper Subject of the divine Care: And if
fo; it cannot be thought but that the ſame good Providence which, as is
now ſuppoſed, took Care for the writing of more Books when more might
be neceſſary, has likewiſe taken Care for the Preſervation of so many of
theſe Books as are now ſufficient.
Or if the Men we are now arguing with, will not grant that there is
ſuch a particular Providence of God; yet if they will but allow that God is
juſt : That he is not a hard Maſter, expecting to reap were he has not Town,
I think they muſt allow that all Things neceſſary to our Salvation, not
knowable by Reaſon, are taught in the Books of Holy Scripture which we
now have, becauſe there are no other Books extant which we have -Reaſon
to receive and accept as divine Revelation.
Or if they deny this, it will lie upon them to produce thoſe other Books
which we ought to receive beſides theſe, and to give good Evidence to the
World of their divine Authority. Which when they ſhall have done, or
if they ſhall but only ſhew that there is as good Reaſon to receive them as
theſe; we muſt own our felves to blame, if we ſhall not then take them alſo
into the Canon of Scripture.
But till that ſhall be done, what hath been already ſaid is enough to
ſhew that the Holy Scripture is a compleat Rule both of Faith and Manners.
Eſpecially conſidering (as was noted before) that whenever the Inſufficiency
of Scripture in this reſpect, is urged by thoſe who do not believe the Scrip-
ture, which are the Perſons I have now to deal with, it can be only for ca-
villing fake: The true Reaſon of their Backwardneſs to receive it as divine
Revelation, being, not becauſe it reaches not enough," but becauſe it teaches
more than they are willing to believe, and commands more than they are
diſpoſed to practiſe. For I cannot imagine that theſe Men do truly deſire
more Duty than is laid upon them in the Books of Scripture, now received
by the Chriſtian Church; but what they may moſt rcaſonably be thought to
deſire, is either ſome better Encouragement to underſtand that difficult Task
which the Scripture lays upon them, or ſome better Evidence that the Scrip-
ture is a divine Revelation.
I proceed now therefore to the ſecond Thing" propounded, which
j
was,
Vol. II.
Uuuu
(2.) To
1
958
The Sufficiency of a Scripture Revelation
anco
.
cannot be ſo vain
(2.) To ſhew that the Motives which the Scripture propoſes are ſufficient
to perſuade Men to do what it requires.
Now Hopes and Fears are the great Springs of A&tion ; and the greater
the Good is we hope for, or the Evil we fear, the ſtronger do they move
and incline us to Action; and therefore how difficult foever the Under-
taking be, ſo it be but poſſible; if the Motives are proportioned to the
Difficulty, they muſt be granted to be ſufficient Inducements to under-
take it.
But that the Task or Buſineſs required of us, is poſſible to be done,
needs not to be proved now, becauſe it muſt be granted by thoſe who
ſay they believe they ſhould be perſuaded to do what is required, if they
had better Encouragement; for no Arguments or Motives whatſoever can
reaſonably perſuade a Man to undertake a Thing that he believes im-
poſſible.
Suppoſing it therefore poſſible; I ſay, that whatſoever Difficulty there real-
ly is, or we may apprehend there is, in a Chriſtian Life; if any Motives that
could poſſibly be propoſed to us can be thought ſufficient to induce us to un-
dertake it; moft evidently, thoſe Motives which the Goſpel propoſes, are fo;
becauſe better or greater cannot be ſo much as conceived or imagined; ſeeing
both the good Things which it promiſes to perſuade us to Virtue, and the
evil Things which it threatens to deter us from Sin, are, as to the Matter of
them, the greateſt that we are capable of enjoying or ſuffering, and conſe-
quently the moſt probable to raiſe our Hopes, and to excitc our Fears to the
higheſt Pitch.
For the Arguments that do moſt ſtrongly perſuade us to any Thing; are
from Intereſt; from the Profit and Advantage we ſhall reap by doing it; froni
the Tendency it has to make us happy; and Happineſs confifts in being perfectly
free from all Pain and Trouble and Vexation ; and in the full and free Enjoy-
ment of whatſoever is pleaſing and delightful to us.
But now both theſe the Goſpel gives Aſſurance of to all thoſe that believe
and obey it; that is, that they ſhall thereby be freed from that intolerable
Pain and Miſery, which the Wicked and Unbelievers ſhall be condemned to,
and alſo that they ſhall thereby be inſtated in the perfecteſt and compleateſt
Happineſs both of Body and Soul; in a Happineſs far greater than they do
or can enjoy now, nay, in a Happineſs much greater than any they can now
have ſo much as a Conception or Idea of in their Minds. For Eye hath not
ſeen, nor Ear heard, neither have entred into the Heart of Man the Things
that God hath prepared for them that love him.
But there is, beſides, a remarkable Circumſtance which does much enhanſe
the Value of any Good, and likewiſe much aggravate thc Evil of any Pain
or Miſery > viz. its Duration : For how great foever the Good or Evil
propoſed to perſuade us to any Thing, are in themſelves; yet if they be
but of ſhort Continuance, if they will ſoon expire and be at an End, we
reckon it not worth while to be at much Pains to obtain ſuch a ſhort-liv'd
Good, or to avoid ſuch a tranſient Evil. But in this reſpect alſo, the Mo-
tives both of Hope and Fear, which the Goſpel propoſes to us, do far ſurpaſs
all thoſe Perſuaſives or Inducements which Sin can offer: For the moſt we
can hope to eſcape by the Commiſſion of any Sin, is the Pain and Suffer-
ing of a few weeks or Years, or a temporal Death; which laſt, yet, we
it for a ſhort Seaſon; and on the other side, the greateſt Good we can pro-
poſe to our felves, or ſo much as hope to obtain by any Sin, is the Pleaſure
of a ſhort Life: In which Hope, Men are likewiſe very often moſt ſadly
diſappointed; their ſinful Gratifications commonly bringing with them,
i Cor. ii. 9.
7
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The Sufficiency of a Scripture Revelation.
959
9.
Rev. XX, IO.
-- xiv. II.
Matt, XXV.46.
Pfal.
or drawing after them, much more Trouble and Vexation cycn in this
World, than the little Pleaſure they can reap from them is ſufficient to com-
penſare for.
But if it were not ſo; if the Pleaſures of Sin were certain and
fincere; yet they are but for a Moment; they can be but tort, becauſe our
Life it ſelf is but ſhort ; being, as St. James ſays, a Vapour, which appear- Jam. iv. 14.
eth for a little Time, and then vaniſheth away.
But the Motives of both Kinds, which the Goſpel propoſes; have in this
reſpect alſo, that is, in reſpectſ of the Duration of the Good or Evil propoſed,
all the Advantage that is poſſible. For the Miſery we ſhall eſcape, and the
Bleſſedneſs we ſhall attain, by yielding Bclief and Obedience to the Goſpel,
are, both of them, of eternal and endleſs Duration. A Worm that never Mar.ix.46,48.
dieth, a Fire that never ſhall be quenched; everlaſting Puniſhment; eternal Matt. xxv. 46.
Damnation ; everlaſting Fire; everlaſting Deſtruction; the Blackneſs of .
Darkneſs for ever; a Lake of Fire and Brimſtone, where they ſhall be tor- 2 Theft. i.
mented Day and Night for ever and ever; and where the Smoke of their fude 13.
Torment afcendeth up for ever and ever. Theſe are the Evils which the
Goſpel threatens to Sin: And if theſe be not ſufficient to deter Men from it,
what can be ſufficient? What Evil can that Man be ſuppoſed to be afraid of
who is not afraid of everlaſting Burning? A greater Evil cannot be threat-
ned; and he who is not ſcared by this, would certainly be leſs ſcared by
the Threatning of a leſs Evil. And on the other Side, everlaſting Life;
1 Cor. ix. 25,
an incorruptible Crown; an Inheritance that fadeth not away; a Kingdom 1 Per. 1.4.
that cannot be moved; an eternal Weight of Glory ; Fulneſs of Foy in the z.Cor. iv. 17.
Preſence of God, and Pleaſures for evermore at his right Hand; theſe are
good Things promiſed to Obedience; and could greater Things be promiſed
than theſe? could we our felves, if we were put to deſire what we would,
deſire more? and if the Promiſe of unſpeakable and everlaſting Bleſſedneſs,
be not ſufficient to prevail with us to undertake a godly and Chriſtian Life,
certainly nothing can be ſufficient. If God ſhould make ever ſo many Re-
velations of his Will to Mankind, he could not propoſe greater Encourage-
ment to Obedience, than he has done already in the Goſpel: And if thoſe
good Things which he has promiſed, do not mové us, it is not becauſe
they are not great enough to move a wiſe and conſidering Man, but becauſe
we are ſo bent upon Sin that we will not give way to any Conſiderations that
might ſerve to reſtrain us from it.
In a Word ; the Goſpel Motives to Repentance and Obedience compre-
hended all that we can fear or hope for; ſo far therefore as Fears or
Hopes can work upon us, there is plainly nothing wanting in that ſtand-
ing Revelation that God has made of his Will, by Moſes and the Pro-
phets, and eſpecially by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, to make it ſucceſsful, that
is, to perſuade Men to Repentance, if they will but hear what they ſay, and
give Credit to it.
But it is not, perhaps the Infidels will ſay, a better Rule that they want,
than the Scripture is, or better Motives to perſuade them to lead their
Lives according to it, than the Scripture propoſes; but what they chiefly
want, is ſome better Evidence, ſome greater Certainty of the Truth of the
Scripture.
This therefore was what I propounded to do in the next Place; viz.
to ſhew what we have ſufficient Reaſon given us to convince us of the Truth
and Authority of the Holy Scripture, and conſequently of all the Doctrines
which are taught by it.
But becauſe the handling of this point would take up too much Time,
I ſhall chuſe to defer it; and conclude this preſent Diſcourſe with an ear-
neft Exhortation to all thoſe that do ſincerely believe the Goſpel; to confi-
22
der
960
The Sufficiency of a Scripture Revelation.
1
der often and ſeriouſly of thoſe great Motives which it propoſes to perſuade Men.
For though we live in an Age of great Infidelity, wherein ſome are bold
enough to ſtrike at the very Foundation of all Religion, and to diſpute at
leaſt, if not deny the moſt evident and undeniable Truths of ir; and others
think they pay Reſpect enough to the common Reaſon and Judgment of
Mankind, if they do but grant themſelves to be Deiſts; and wherein, even
among thoſe that openly profeſs the Chriſtian Religion, there is in a great
many a Spice and Tincture of Atheiſm and Infidelity; and tho' they do not
actually disbelieve the Goſpel-Truths, yet they believe them ſo coldly and
faintly, that their Faith may rather be called an Inclination to believe, than
a full Perſuaſion; I ſay, even in this incredulous and unbelieving Age, I
am nevertheleſs verily perſuaded that for one Man that is ruin'd by Infideli-
ty, many hundreds are ruined by Thoughtleſſneſs and Inconſideration ; that
where there is one that is wicked, becauſe he believes nothing of the Gospel-
motives, nor that there is any ſuch Place or State as Heaven or Hell, there
are a great many that do believe theſe Things, and yet continue in their
wicked Courſe, becauſe they never take any Time ſeriouſly to conſider what
Heaven and Hell are; and that vaft, that infinite difference that there is
between theſe two States; and how much it behoves them to uſe all Dili-
gence to attain that, and to avoid this.
Leaving therefore thoſe who believe little or nothing of theſe Things to
my following Diſcourſes, wherein I hope to prove the Truth of the Goſpel
Revelation, beyond all reaſonable Exception ; I ſhall now addreſs my ſelf
to you
that do believe theſe Things, and who, every Time you meet to-
gether in the Church, do repeat all the Articles of the Chriſtian Faith, and
declare your Aſent thereto. And what I would deſire of you is ; that you
would frequently think of thoſe Things which you profeſs to believe, that
you would meditate much and often thereupon, that you would ſeriouſly conſider
the Meaning thereof.
Particularly, that Summary of the Goſpel-motives to Faith and Repentance
before ſpoken of, that great and laſt Article of the Chriſtian Creed, the Life
everlaſting; conſider what it means, and do not content your ſelves only
with ſaying every Day that you do believe an everlaſting Life after this, buc
meditate likewiſe every Day, or very frequently at leaſt, what an everlaſting Life
is, and of what Sort and Kind that everlaſting Life will be.
Now Life is a State of Senſation ; by this a living Body is diſtinguiſhed
from a dead Carkaſs, that the living Body feels what is done unto it, and
is affected thereby either with Pain or Pleaſure; whereas a dead Carkaſs is
not capable of either, háth no Senſe or Feeling of any Thing. When
therefore in repeating the Creed, we declare that we believe we ſhall live
again, after our Death, the Meaning is, that we ſhall be hereafter in ſuch a
State of Senſation as we are now; that in that Life we ſhall be as ſenſible of
Pain or Pleaſure, as we are in this Life.
But then, what makes the great Difference between this Life and that, is,
that this is Mort, tranſient and momentary, that if it be pleaſant, it is ſoon
over, and that if it be painful it will not laſt long; whereas that, ſuch as it
is once, ſuch it will ever be ; for that is the Meaning of a Life everlaſting ;
it is a Life that will never be ended; a Life that will continue to all
Eternity.
And now that we come to ſpeak of Eternity, tho the Word has a fix’d
Meaning; yet how are our Thoughts loſt and bewildred when we ſet our
ſelves to meditaté thereupon? When we ſpeak of a thouſand,
thouſand, or even of a million of Years, we have ſome Notion of what
we fay; but when we come to multiply theſe thouſands, and millions, by
ten thouſands, or ten millions, or by millions of millions, our Thoughts
Ortc12
are
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
961
ز
are not capacious enough to conceive, and our Mouths want Words to ex-
preſs that infinite Length of Time which theſe Numbers do comprehend;
and yet all that theſe Numbers denote, is nothing in Compariſon with
Eternity.
If the whole Sea were to run out Drop by Drop, what a prodigious Length
of Time would this take up ? and yet in Time this would be done; and
they that live for ever would live to ſee the vaſt Caverns of the Ocean
without one Drop of Water left in them: And which is more yet, there
would be no Part of their Eternity then ſpent, they would then be as far from
dying as they were at firſt.
Or if only once in ten thouſand Years, one of the ſmalleſt Sands or Duſts
were to be taken from the Earth, they that live for ever would live to ſee
all this valt Bulk of the Earth by theſe flow and imperceptible Degrees
wholly removed, not ſo much as a Grain or Atom, of it left; nay, and
even in this prodigious, this unconceivable Length of Time, their Life would
not be in the leaſt diminiſhed, they would have the ſame boundleſs Eterni-
ty ſtill, before them that they had, when the firſt Sand was taken away.
But what do I ſpeak of theſe little Numbers, theſe Moments of Time,
as they may truly be called, in Compariſon with Eternity ? For even all
thoſe Years in which the whole Earth might be removed, if only one ſingle
ſmalleſt Duft thereof were to be taken away once in ten thouſand Years,
I ſay, all theſe Years, may be expreſſed in Figures, in a Line of a few
Inches long; but if the whole Expanſe of Heaven were written quite over
with Figures from the Top to the Bottom, and from the one Side to the
other, even all theſe Figures, tho' ſet ſo cloſe that there was not Room left
,
for one more, would not denote or expreſs Eternity; and when all theſe
numberleſs Millions of Years were ſpent, he that lives for ever, would be,
as it were, but juſt then beginning to live; and his Sight and Proſpect of the
Time before him would be ſtill as boundleſs as ever.
Thus you ſee what is eternal Life, or rather, you ſee what it is not ; it
is a Length of Time that cannot be expreſſed in Words, or ſignified by Fi-
gures, or conceived in Thought : It is a Length of Time to which all that
we can have any poſitive Notion of bears no Proportion.
And when we believe that we ſhall live ſuch a Life, after this ſhort Life
is over ; does it not highly behove us to think of it now, and to make the
beſt Proviſion that is poſſible, that we may be happy in it.
And this leads me to the other Branch of Meditation on this Subject,
which we ought likewiſe frequently and ſeriouſly to dwell upon in our Minds;
namely of what Sort and Kind this eternal Life will be.
And as it is Life, it is (as was ſaid before) a State of Senſation ; and as it is
an everlaſting Life, it is a State in which we ſhall for ever feel our felves,
either in Pain or at Eaſe.
And if there were no more in it than this; tho' the Pain we ſhall then
endure were the leaſt of thoſe Pains wherewith we are now afilicted, a lit-
tle Pain or Aking of one Joint or Member only; or tho' the Pleaſure we
ſhall then enjoy, were one of the leaſt of thoſe Pleaſures wherewith we are
now delighted; yet when we have added Eternity to theſe, what an infinite
Difference is there between theſe two States? And how well muſt we needs
think it worth all the Pains and Labour that we can take in this World,
to ſecure to our felves a Portion in that better Sort of everlaſting Life,
in that Life, in which there is no Pain, though there be but little Pleaſure ?
But ſtill our Thoughts are ſhort; we have not yet a juſt Notion of the
Difference between theſe two States. For if we believe the Scripture;
and I ſpeak now to thoſe that do believe it; that everlaſting Pain which
the wicked will be condemned to, is not a light or gentle Pain ;' but the
Vol. II,
jharpeſta
X X X X
962
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Sharpeft, the acutéſt, the moſt tormenting that can be enduréd; and that
eternal Hoy which we have a good Hope of by the Goſpel - is likewiſe the
greatest, the fulleſt, the completeft that we are capable of: For in repreſent-
ing the former to us, the Scripture all along expreſſes the Torments of Hell
by ſuch Pains as are here moſt afflicting to us; as the Biting and Gnawing
of a Worm, the being beaten with Stripes, the Noiſomneſs of Brimſtone, and
the Burning of Fire ; and on the other Side, when it would repreſent to us
the Happineſs of the Bleſed, it does it by reſembling the heavenly Joys;
to ſuch Pleaſures as do here upon Earth moft fenfibly delight us ; fuch as
are the Pleaſures of a ſpatious, rich, and commodious Dwelling, of the
choiceſt Delicacies to pleaſe thë Taſte, of the rareſt Melody to delight the
Ear, of a Crown, and a Kingdom, and an exceeding Weight of Glory; and of
whatever elſe can gratify or pleaſe any of our Senſos.
Now tho' theſe Repreſentations or Deſcriptions of Hell and Heaven are
not perhaps to be underſtood literally; the Scripture herein ſpeaking, not ac-
cording to the Strictneſs of Truth, but according to our preſent Capacities
and Apprchenſions, who have now very little Notion of any Pain or Plea-
ſure but what affect the Senſes of our Body; yet thus much may moſt
certainly be concluded from thoſe Deſcriptions of theſe two States which
we meet with in Scripture ; that both the Torments of Hell and the Joys
of Heaven, are as great as they can poſlibly be, far beyond any Thing that
we now feel, or enjoy, or can have any Notion of; and in a Word, that
as the pain of Hell is endleſs, ſo it is likewife intolerable ; and that as
the Joy of Heaven is perpetual, ſo it is likewiſe unſpeakable and full of
Glory.
And now after this ſhort, tho' very imperfect Repreſentation of theſe two
vaſtly different States of Men in that other and everlaſting Life, that will
begin when this is over ; I think I may fairly ask again, what God could
have done more, either to deter us from Sin, than to threaten Hell-torments
to thoſe that live in it; or to encourage us to Obedience, than to promiſe
to thoſe that continue in well doing, the unſpeakable Happineſs of Heaven?
Certainly, if theſe Motives will not prevail upan us, no other can be pro-
poſed, that would prevail.
Nay farther; tho' I have hitherto ſpoken to you as to Chriſtians, which
believe the Scripture, and that there will certainly be another Life after
this, even ſuch a Life as I have been ſpeaking of, an everlaſting Life of
perfect Happineſs, or extreme Miſery; yet if you have at all attended to, and
are any whit affected by that Repreſentation that I have made to you, of
the Pains of Hell, and of the Hoys of Heaven, and of the Eternity of
both; I ſhould now dare to addreſs my ſelf to you, even tho I thought
you believed very little of theſe Things ; and methinks I ſhould not doubt,
but that I might prevail with you, and perſuade you to Repentance, by
theſe Gospel-motives of Heaven and Hell; even although the Revelation
thereof were not certain and undoubted, altho' there were ſome juſt Reaſon
to queſtion the Truth of them.
For put the Caſe that it is very uncertain, whether there will be an eter-
nal Life or no; nay, put the Caſe that it is ten to one, that it is much niore
probable, that there will not be any ſuch Life after this ; yet when we con-
ſider what Eternity is, and what a vaſt Difference there is between living
in perfect Joy, and in everlaſting Burning; and when we conſider withal
the Shortneſs of this preſent Life, and how little we can loſe in it by
abſtaining from Sin, and how little we can ſuffer in it by the ſtricteſt
Holineſs and Virtue; even the bare Poſſibility that there will be an eter-
nal Life, though we had no certain Revelation, and no other very good
Aflurance given us of it, would be abundantly ſufficient to deter us from
*
Sin,
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
963
2
Sin, and to ſtir us up to well-doing. For if we live well here, and there
be really an eternal Life, it will be happy for us that we have made this
Preparation for it; but if there ſhould indeed be no other Life after this,
we ſhall be then no Loſers by what we have done, we ſhall be then, in as
good a Condition, as others will be in, who did not believe it, nor live in Ex-
pectation of it; and all that Trouble which the Exerciſe of Piety and Virtue
now. coſts us, is not worth ſpeaking of; it is no more than we ought in
Reaſon and Prudence to be at, although at the ſame Time we belicyed-
it to be very uncertain, whether there would be any ſuch eternal Life
or no.
1
For this is what we call and account Wiſdom in all other Caſes; vix. to
provide not only againſt Certainties or high Probabilities, but, when it may
eaſily and conveniently be done, even againſt Pofſibilities top.. We
reckon him an unwiſe" Man for the World, who being in a good way of
getting, ſpends all as faſt as it comes in, when he has no preſent Need to
ſpend ſo much; and lays up nothing againſt old Age, when, if he lives to
it, he will be paſt his Labour, and not in a Capacity to get enough to ſupa
port himſelf: And yet of all thoſe that do wiſely make ſome Proviſion for
old Age, not one in ten perhaps lives to it. But nevertheleſs the 'bare
Poſſibility that a Man may live to old Age, and the very great Inconve:
niencies that he will ſuffer, if he ſhall lave nothing then to live upon,
make it very adviſeable for every one of the ten, to lay up ſomewhat,
if he can do it, againſt that Time; and he, of the ten, whoſe only Let it
will be to live to be old, is not a wiſer Man for making ſuch Proviſion,
than the other nine are, who yet, in the Event, will be never the better
for their Labour.
Put caſe therefore, that there is the ſame, or even a much greater Un.
certainty, whether there will be an eternal Life after this ; yet when we
conſider what an eternal Life is ; when we conſider, that if there be a
Heaven, and we can procure our Portion to be there, we ſhall be happy,
infinitely and unſpeakably happy, to eternal Ages; and that if there be a
Hell, and we do not rake Care to avoid it, our Lot will be extremely
miſerable, and we ſhall be tormented Day and Night, for ever and ever,
in the Lakes that burn with Fire and Brimſtone : And when we conſider
withal, the very little Trouble, in Compariſon, that it will coſt us to attain
that, and to avoid this; that it is but the Labour of a few Years, and that
the moſt we can ſuffer by it is the Loſs of a little ſenſual Pleaſure, for
which after this Life is over we ſhould be never the better ; or the endur-
ing of ſome little Pain or Hardſhip which will be ſoon over, and for which,
if no good ſhould ever come of it after this Life, we ſhall however be then
never the worſe : Conſidering, I ſay, thus the infinitely vaſt and wide Dif-
ference that there is between being eternally happy and eternally miſerable,
it is enough that it is poſſible, it is more than enough that it is probable,
that there will be ſuch a State ; and if we neglect to make Proviſion for it,
becauſe we are not abſolutely certain that it will be, it is plain, that we do
not act ſo prudently in this, as we do in other Caſes that are of infinitely
leſs Moment and Concern to us; and that, as our Saviour ſays, The Child. Luke xvi. 8.
ren of this World, are in their Generation wiſer than the Children of Light.
Now this is the moſt that the profeſſed Atheiſts or Infidels can pretend;
they will ſay perhaps, that for their own Parts, they do not believe the
Being of a God, or a Judgment, or a Life to come ; and that they do not
ſee any good Reaſon to believe theſe Things; foraſmuch as all the Proofs that
are brought for them, do in their Judgment fall ſhort of Demonſtration;
and they are reſolved not to believe them, till ſuch Proof thereof ſhall be
offered, as they can make no Exception againſt ; nor till they ſee with
their
964
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
their own Eyes that there is a Heaven and a Hell, or till they ſhall have a
Meſſenger ſent to them from thence, on Purpoſe to aſſure them thereof. And
be it ſo as they ſay, that there is not an abſolute Certainty of the Truth
of theſe Things, that we have not yet ſuch a ſure Proof of them, as ocular
or mathematical Demonſtration would be; yet this is the moſt they can ſay,
they themſelves cannot pretend that there is any Demonſtration on the other
Side. They are not ſure, they ſay, that there will be another Life, or
that it will be everlaſting : Well, but are they ſure that there will not be
ſuch a Life? Is it abſurd or impoflible that there ſhould be ſuch a Life ?
This I am ſure they cannot ſay : And all that they have yet dared to ſay, is
only that thoſe Proofs thereof, that we rely upon, are not, in their Opini-
on,
ſufficient.
But ſuppoſe them as inſufficient as they can think them ; yet fill, if they
are not ſufficient to prove the Certainty, they may be ſufficient to prove the
Probability of what they are brought to prove; or if not ſo, yet ſtill
a future Life, if it be not certain, nay if it be not probable, however may
be poſſible; and if it be only poſſible that we may live for ever, and that
we may be eternally happy, or eternally miſerable; this Poſſibility alone,
conſidering what an infinite Difference there is between theſe two States, ought
in reaſon to put us upon taking the beſt Care we can, that if there be an
eternal Life, we may be eternally happy in it.
But after all, our Proof of this and other great Truths of our Religion,
is not ſo very weak and ſlender as theſe Men would repreſent it : It is in-
deed as good as the Nature of the Thing will bear; and he is an unreaſonable
Man that requires a better Proof of any Thing than it is capable of.
This therefore is what I ſhould now in the next Place proceed to do; viz.
(3.) To ſhew that there is ſufficient Reaſon to give Credit to the Scripture,
wherein theſe Truths are plainly taught. But this being too large a Subject
to be handled now, I have already ſaid, I would defer it to the next Op-
portunity.
2
DIS
965
DISCOURSE XC
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-
Revelation;
As to the Proof of it. PART I.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham faith unto him, They have Moſes and the
Prophets; let them hear them. .
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho' one
roſe from the Dead.
H Н
2
AVING in my firſt Diſcourſe on theſe Words endea-
voured to Thew in general, that a ſtanding Revelation of
God's Will may be ſo well contrived and ſo well at-
teſted as to be ſufficient to perſuade Men to Repentance,
if they are not unreaſonably blind and obſtinate ; I came
the laſt Time to conſider, whether that ſtanding Revela-
tion which we have in the Holy Scripture be ſuch a
Revelation; or whether there be not ſome particular Defects in it, which
render it not ſo ſufficient for this purpoſe, as it is poſſible a ſtanding Re-
velation might be.
And if there be any ſuch Defect in the Holy Scripture, it muſt be as I
ſaid, either in the Matter of it, or in the Proof of it; and if in the Mat-
ter of it, it muſt be, either that it does not give ſufficient Directions what
to do, or that it does not propoſe ſufficient Motives to perſuade Men to do
what it requires.
And therefore in ſpeaking to this Head, I propounded to ſhew,
(r.) That the Holy Scripture gives us ſufficient Directions what to do.
Vol. II.
Yуу у
(2.) That
966
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
(2.) That the Motives which it propoſes are ſufficient to perſuade us to
do what it requires: And,
(3.) That we have ſufficient Reafon given us, to convince us of the Truth
and Authority of the Holy Scripture, and conſequently of all the Doctrines
that are taught by it.
And the two firſt of theſe I have already done: I proceed now to the
third, viz.
I
(3.) To fhew that we have ſufficient Reaſon given us tº convince us of
the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture, and conſequently of all the
Do&trines that are taught by it; and that I ſhall preſume to be ſufficient
Reaſon in this caſe, which we readily accept and allow of as ſufficient in
all other Caſes of the like Nature.
And I ſuppoſe that it will be granted, that we have ſufficient Proof given us
of the Truth of the Things contained in Holy Scripture, and of the Autho-
rity of it, if it can be ſhewn, 1. That we have ſufficient Reaſon to believe
that the Books of Holy Scripture were written by thoſe Perſons who are
ſaid to be the Authors thereof. 2. That there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full
Credit to them in their Relation of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have
recorded. And 3. That if the Matters of Fait recorded in the Scripture
are true, they are ſufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all
the Doctrines that are therein taught.
Theſe Things therefore I ſhall now endeavour to make good.
But in ſpeaking to this point, I ſhall, for Brevity's fake, confine my Dil-
courſe only to the Books of the New Teſtament; partly becauſe theſe are
Ilie Banks wherein our Chriſtian Religion is chiefy taught; and eſpecially
because I think there are none who receive the Nere Teſtament as of
divine Authority, that do, or indeed can, with any Reaſon reject the
Old.
1. Then, I am to ſew that we have ſufficient. Reaſon to believe, that the
Books of Holy Scripture, of the New Teſtament in particular, were written
by thoſe Perſons that are ſaid to be the Authors thereof.
This indeed is a Point that it does not properly lie upon us to make any
Proof of: For as a Man's Poffefſion of an Eſtate, is alone a good and a ſuf-
ficient Title to it, till a better is ſhewn by the Perſon that endeavours to
eject him ; ſo it is here: Theſe Books are generally received as written by
ſuch and ſuch Perſons ; theſe Authors have the Name, theſe have as it
were the Pollefſion of them; and that is Title enough, if no other could
be produced, ſo long as no Evidence is offered to ſhew that any other
Perſons have a better Title to them. It lies on them therefore who deny
that the Books are theirs, to give a Reaſon of what they ſay ; either by al-
leging ſome ſpecial Matter out of the Books themſelves, whereby it may
be proved that they could not be of their Writing, or ‘by producing ſome
credible and authentick Hiſtory teſtifying thar they were written by ſome
other Perſons, and not by them. And till they can, and ſhall do this,
which I am perſuaded can never be done, we may very well refuſe to pro-
duce any poſitive Evidence to affirm or prove their Title; their Poſſeſſion
being a good Title enough, till a better appears: And a Tenant might with
as good Reaſon refuſe to pay Rent to the Perſon, of whom he took the
Eitate, and to whom he hath ever hitherto paid Rent, and whoſe Right to
it is not at all controverted, until he ſhall ſuffer his Writings to be peru-
ſed and examined, and by them make it plainly appear that he is the lace-
ful Landlord; as any Man can now refuſe to give that Credit to theſe
Books, as written by the Apoſtles, which has been given hitherto, and is ſtill
given by all Chriſtians, unleſs he may have now as good poſitive Evidence
ވެ
I
of
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
967
of their being written by the Apoſtles, as might have been given thereof ar
firſt, and as, it may be preſumed, was given, before their Title to them was
ſo univerſally acknowledged.
But nevertheleſs, what a Man is not under any Obligation to do for the
aſſerting of his Right, he may do wiſely enough for his own Satisfaction.
And it muſt needs be a Satisfaction and Pleaſure to a Man, altho' his Title
to his Eftate be not at preſent controverted, if in looking over the Writings
and Evidences of it, he ſees plainly how it deſcended to him by a lineal
Succeſſion from Father to Son for many Gencrations paſt; and how it came
ar firſt to his Anceſtors, by a clear and fair Purchaſe from the former Pof-
ſeſſors, or by Donation from the Prince, in the Diviſion of a waſte or con-
quered Country; and if he alſo finds antient Terriers agreeing in the ſame
Meaſure and Boundings, and exactly deſcribing the ſame Eſtate which he
now poſſeſſes; and if moreover, looking far back, he ſees, that upon ſome
Diſputes or Law-ſuits that have been formerly concerning it, Judgment has
been always given on his Side: It cannot but pleaſe him, I ſay, that upon
ſuch a Search into Antiquity, he finds that he is ſo very well provided to
make out his Title, if there ſhould ever be any Occaſion for it; altho' by
Reaſon of the long and quiet Poſeſſion, that he, and his Anceſtors before
him, time out of Mind, have had of it, he has no juſt Cauſe to fear he
ſhall ever meet with
any
Diſturbance.
And ſo it is here: Theſe Writings, the Books of the New Teſtament, are
generally acknowledged to be written by the Apoſtles of Chriſt, and their
Authority is at preſent unconteſted ; it may therefore reaſonably be preſumed,
eſpecially by thoſe who have not Parts or Learning or Leiſure to examine into
the Reaſons of ſuch Things, that they would not have been ſo univerſally
acknowledged and reverenced as they are upon this Account, but upon very
good Grounds; tho' what the Grounds thereof are, they have not yet in-
quired. Their being in Poſeſſion is alone Reaſon enough to acknowledge
and aſſert their Title : It lies upon them that deny theſe Books to be theirs,
to produce ſatisfactory Evidence of their being forged or counterfeit ; and till
they ſhall produce ſome Evidence thereof that has a Shew and Appearance
of Truth, we have no Reaſon to be ſtaggered in our Belief by their bare,
however bold and confident, Denial of their Authority; much leſs ſhall we
need to give our Reaſons for our receiving them as written by the Apoſtles,
till our Adverſaries ſhall offer ſome Reaſons why we ought not to receive
them as ſuch.
But nevertheleſs, becauſe we ſee there are ſome, in this incredulous Age,
that ſhew a good Will to deny the Authority of theſe facred Books, and
whoſe Intereſt it would be to prove them ſpurious ; and becauſe we cannot
tell what unwarrantable Practices their Inclination and Intereſt may put them
upon, nor whạt Writings or Evidences, plauſibly forged and counterfeited,
they may hercafter produce : It cannot be amiſs for us to enquire and fee;
and it cannot but be a Pleaſure and Satisfaction to us, who hold our Hope
of cternal Life chiefly by theſe Writings, to find, and conſider, how well pro-
vided we are to detect and diſprove any ſuch Forgeries, if they ſhould be
offered, by being able to produce, in Oppoſition thereto, as good poſitive
Proof that theſe Books are genuine, as ſuch a Matter is capable of; much
better than I believe can be produced for the Authority, of any other Books
of the like Antiquity.
And it gives us fome Satisfaction in the Belief we have been bred up in,
that theſe are the genuine Books of the Authors to whom they are aſcribed,
to find that they are received as ſuch, not by a ſmall Party of Men, not
by that Church and Nation only to which we belong, but by all Chriſtians
diſperſed in all parts of the World ; and likewiſe that they all agree with
us
908
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
i
us in the ſame Teſtimony, viz. that they received them as ſuch, from their
Fathers. For that theſe Books ſhould be thus generally received and ac-
knowledged, by ſo many different and far diſtant Nations, without ſome
good Grounds, is not conceiveable; becauſe it can neither be imagined
that the Chriſtians of the preſent Age diſperſed in all Countries, ſhould
combine together to ſay that they received theſe Books from their Fathers,
as the genuine Writings of the Apoſtles, if they had not ſo received them
nor that their Fore-Fathers, in any of the Ages paſt, ſhould have all agreed
together, to put a Cheat upon their Poſterity, by delivering down to them
theſe Books as written by the Apoſtles, when they themſelves had no good
Reaſon to believe them ſo, or when they knew the contrary.
It is a farther Satisfaction to us, to obſerve and conſider, that the Autho-
rity of theſe Books is as well proved as it can be, not only by oral, but alſo
by the beſt written Tradition: The Chriſtian Writers of all Ages, citing
them, as they had Occaſion, as the genuine Writings of the Apoſtles; and
that, as well before the Canon of the New Teſtament was defined and
declared by Councils, as ſince.
And laſtly, it gives a good Satisfaction that theſe Books are the genuine
Writings of the Perſons to whom they are aſcribed, that we do not find
they were ever excepted againſt, as ſpurious and counterfeit, in thoſe Times
when it would have been moſt proper to have made the Exception; and by
thoſe Perſons whoſe Cauſe and Intereſt it would have ſerved very much to
have proved them fpurious, if it could have been done.
For the proper Time to have made this Exception to theſe Writings, was
when, or ſoon after, they were firſt publiſhed; when it would have been
eaſy to have proved them ſpurious if they had been ſo, and no leſs eaſy to
have brought poſitive Evidence of their being genuine, if indeed they were
genuine, either by the living Teſtimony of the Authors themſelves, or of
others that knew their Writing, or by producing the original Copies under
their own Hands. And therefore their being then received as the Writings
of the Apoſtles, by thoſe who were beſt able to know whoſe Writings they
were; and their being not (for ought appears) excepted againſt, upon this
Account, at that Time, is a very good Argument that there was no juſt
Ground for any ſuch Exception.
And the moſt likely Perfons, they whoſe Cauſe and Intereſt it would
have ſerved moſt, to deny that theſe Books were written by the reputed
Authors thereof, were the Enemies of our Religion, the Jews, or the Hea-
thens; who neither of them wanted either Malice or Wit, to allege any
Fact that they could have juſtified the Truth of, in Diſproof of the Chri-
ſtian Religion. It is therefore no ſmall Satisfaction to us to obſerve, that
they never argued againſt the Chriſtian Religion from this Topick; that they
ncver denied that the Books which the Chriſtians received as written by the
Apoſtles were genuine ; nay, that Julian himſelf, one of the ſubtileſt, as well
as of the bittereſt Adverſaries of the Chriſtian Faith, did yet expreſſly own,
that the Books received by the Chriſtians, as the Books of Peter,' Paul,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, were indeed theirs.
After all indeed it niuſt be owned, that we have not ſuch Demonſtra-
tion that the Books of the New Teſtament were written by the Apoſtles, as
is ſelf-evident, and cannot poſſibly be contradicted; for the Matter it ſelf
is not capable of ſuch Demonſtration : But we have ſuch Demonſtration
of it as cannot be contradicted with any Reaſon; we have as good Afſu-
rance of it as we have, or can have, of any Matter of that Kind; we have
as good Evidence of the Truth of it
, as, ſuppoſing it to be true, we could
have of it; and more than this cannot be deſired. We are as morally
certain, that theſe Books were written by the Authors to whom they are
aſcribed,
ز
I
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
969
aſcribed, as we are that any other antient Book was written by the Perſon
who is ſaid to be the Author of it; there being no Argument, by which
it is, or can be proved, that any antient Book was written by the Perſon
who is ſaid to be the Author of it, which does not prove the Authority of
theſe Books, rather more ſtrongly, than it does the Authority of any other
Book; and there being no Argument that is, or can be urged, againſt the
Authority of theſe Books, which may not, with as good Rcafon, be urged,
to diſprove the Authority of any other Book of the like Antiquity, nay
indeed, of all the Books in the World, anticnt or modern, the Authors of
which are not now living, or of whoſe Writing the Books aſcribed to them
no living Evidence can be produced.
For what is there that can be ſaid to diſprove, or to render ſuſpected the
Authority of theſe Books, but only that there is a Poſſibility that Things
may not be as we believe them to be? It may be, the Atheiſt or Infidel
will ſay, that theſe Books were not written by the Perſons under whoſe
Names we receive them, but by ſome others: It may be, he will ſay, for
Inſtance, that there never was ſuch a Man as Matthew the Publican,
afterwards an Apoſtle of Chriſt; or if theré was, yet it may be, that the
Goſpel that goes under his Name was not of his Writing, but is a Book of
a much later Date ; it may be, that it was written by ſome crafty Prieſt, no
longer ago than the laſt Age, and that he and ſome others in Confederacy
with him, at the ſame Time that thcy forged this Goſpel in the Greek
Tongue, did likewiſe make and contrive all thoſe Tranſlations of it into
ſeveral Languages that are now extant, ſome of which pretend to very
great Antiquity, and which are all made with ſuch an Appearance of
Truth, and with ſuch Congruity to the ſeveral Times in which they are
ſaid to be made, that none of the learned Men of the preſent Age have
been able to diſcover the Fraud : And, it may be alſo, that when they forg-
ed the Goſpel t ſelf, they forged likewiſe all the other Books, that are pre-
tended to be written by ſeveral Hiſtorians and Divines, in diverſe Languages,
and in ſeveral Ages of the World, for ſixteen hundred Years paſt, in which
this Gospel is either teſtified to be written by St. Matthew, or is cited or
commented upon as his; and it may be likewiſe that at the ſame Time, that they
trumped up all thcſc Books in one Country, they had their Confederates and
Correſpondents that did the ſame in all the other Countries where they are now
found; not only expoſing them to publick Sale as Books of antient Date
and venerable Antiquity, but likewiſe ſlily conveying an infinite Number of
written and printed Copies of the ſame into all Libraries, both publick
and private, unknown to the Keepers and Owners thereof; and it may be
that all theſe Things were done ſo ſecretly, that none of the Confederacy
did ever confeſs, nor any beſides eyer diſcover the Cheat; and it may be that
all the reſt of the World was ſo much aſleep at that Time, as to have no
Suſpicion of what was done, nor any Senſe of that great Alteration that
had been made in the World by theſe Books, nor any Remembrance,
afterwards, when they awoke and found themſelves Chriſtians, that they
had been of ſome other Religion before, when they were firſt taken with
that lethargick Fit.
But if ſuch Things may be, what is there of this kind that may not be? If
the World be ſo much miſtaken in this Matter, it may be as much mi-
ſtaken in any other Matter of the like Nature. And then, it may be, that
there never was ſuch a Man as Homer, or Virgil, or Caſar, or Cicero, or
Plutarch, or any other of thoſe Perſons, as whoſe Writings we now re-
ceive the Books that go under their Names; but that all the Books pre-
tended to be written by thoſe Authors, and likewiſe all the Books of la-
Vol. II.
z z z z
ter
970
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
ter Date, whereby the Authority of thoſe former Books is atteſted, were
in like Manner contrived, and made and diſperſcd, by ſuch another Gang of
crafty and deſigning Knaves, who took a Pleaſure in abuſing the reſt of the
World, or hoped to make a Gain to themſelves thereby.
Nay then, (for why ſhould we ſtop here :) it may be, that not only the
Laws of our Religion, but the Laws of our Civil State too, are all forged
and counterfeit ; it may be, that once upon a Time, the Keeper of the
publick Records, having by much and long Obſervation attained to good
Skill in the ancient Ways of Writing for many Ages backward, and being
a complete Maſter of his Pen, and having alſo gotten an Art to make a
freſh Writing ſeem juſt as old as he had a Mind it ſhould be thought to
be, did compoſc, and depoſit in their proper Places, thoſe original Afts
of Parliament, which are now taken to be the Laws of ſome of our for-
mcr Kings; and that to confirm and eſtabliſh his Fraud, he procured ſome
other Perſons at the ſame Time to write or print, and to convey into all Shops
and Libraries, ſeveral Books of Reports and Pleadings, wherein theſe coun-
terfeit AEts were cited and referred to; and it may be that whilc this
was doing, none elſe had their Eyes open to ſee it, nor had ever after the
leaſt Suſpicion of what was done ; or if they had, yet that they were lo
well pleaſed with the Cheat, which they thought would be a good Means
of preſerving Peace and Juſtice in the Nation, as to be willing it ſhould
paſs to Pofterity undiſcovered. Theſe may be's are I am ſure every whit as
poſſible and as likely as the other.
Either therefore let thoſe Men who upon this Account doubt the Autho-
rity of the Books of the New Teſtament; or who would make others doubt
of it, only by ſuggeſing that it is a Thing poſſible in Naturc, that they may
be all forged and counterfeit; let them, I ſay, either entertain and ſuggeſt
the ſame Doubt concerning all other ancient Books, of the Antiquity and
Authority of which there is no greater Evidence than there is of theſe; and
then they will render themſelves fo.juſtly ridiculous to the World, that there
will be no Need to expoſe their Folly; for then they muſt call in Queſtion
the Authority of all Books, and the Truth of all Hiſtory: Or elſe let them
fairly own, that the true Reaſon of their making a Doubt concerning theſe
Books rather than concerning others, is becauſe they do not reliſh the Mat-
ter of them; becauſe they find it eaſier to reſiſt that ſtrong Evidence that
is given of the Authority of theſe Books, than they do to govern their
Lives according to thoſe ſtrict Rules of Holineſs and Purity that are therein
preſcribed, and to bring their Wills to the Obedience of Faith. And if
they will but own this, which I believe is the Truth, their Prejudice and
Partiality will be ſo evident to all, that it may reaſonably be hoped, their
impious Suggeſtions will do but little Harm in the World; and that few
Men of any Senſe or Reaſon will be ſo fool-hardy as to venture their
Souls, and run the Hazard of a miſerable Eternity, upon ſo many, and ſuch
very improbable, I had almoſt ſaid ſuch impoſſible may be's,
as muſt be
ſuppoſed to have been, if indeed theſe Books are forged and counterfeit, if
indeed they were not written by thoſe Perſons whom they are commonly
afcribed to.
But yielding this. Point, may the Atheiſt or Infidel farther ſay, viz. that
the Goſpel called St. Matthew's was written by St. Matthew, and that of
St. Mark by St. Mark, and the reſt of the Books which are aſcribed to
any other certain Authors, by thoſe Perſons to whom they are ſeverally. af-
cribed; yet the Authority of the whole New Teſtament will not, by this
Conceſſion, be ſufficiently eſtabliſhed. For of ſome Books of the New Te-
ſtament the Authors are not known, of others they are doubted; Some Parts
I
+
2
of
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
97 1
of this Book that are now received have been rejected in ancient Times,
and others not univerſally received: And beſides, it is certain, that in the
early Times of Chriſtianity there were ſeveral counterfeit Goſpels and Epiſtles
ſome of which may poſſibly have ſlipped into the Canon unawarcs. And
laſtly, if it be granted that all the Books of the New Teſtament were origi-
nally written by the Apoſtles or other inſpired Men, yer however the Books
that we now have are but Copies, in which many Alterations may have
been made by deſigning Men, or careleſs Tranſcribers.
Theſe Objections, or Cavils rather; for ſuch I am ſure they would be
accounted in any other Caſe; againſt the Authority of theſe ſacred Books,
have been urged by ſome Men both anciently and lately; but they have
been alſo ſo well and fully anſwered by thoſe learned Perſons that have
written in Defence of the Canon, that I once thought to have taken no
Notice of them; and I believe I had not donc it, but that I conſidered on
the other Hand, that when an old Objection that has been anſwered an
hundred Times is urged afreſh, a great many may take it for a new one,
and if it be not quickly anſwered, may be apt to think it unanſwerable ;
ſo that in this Caſc it may be better to repeat the fame Anſwer, if it be
a good one, that has been often formerly made to it, than to ſay nothing:
And beſides, in this degenerate Age, in which any wild or atheiſtical Dif-
courſe paſſes for Wit, it may be the Hap of ſome particular Perſons, who
have not much Mind, or Leiſurc, or Opportunity to read Books, to hear
theſe Things in Converſation, and not knowing readily what Anſwers to
make to them, to be ſomewhat ſtaggered in their Belief thereby; eſpecially
if they be ſuch whoſe looſe and licentious Way of living makes them
eaſy to receive, without Examiuation, any Notions that may give them Eaſe
or Encouragement in Sin.
For theſe Reaſons therefore I thought it would not be amiſs, (eſpecially
becauſe it is a Matter properly belonging to the Subject I am now upon,
and becauſe I have ſome Time left for it) to mention, as briefly as may
be, the Anſwers that have been uſually given to theſe Objections.
And, 1. Whereas it is ſaid, that of ſome of the Books of the New Te-
ſtament the Authors Names are not certainly known, as namely of the
Epiſtle to the Hebrews; and that of others, the Authors have been doubt-
ed, particularly of the ſecond and third Epiſtles of St. John : To this it
hath been anſwered,
1. That the Credit and Authority of a Book depends many Times
much more upon the good Aſſurance that we have of the Time, when it
was written, and of the Character of the Perſon that wrote it, thà n upon
the certain Knowledge of his Name. It is therefore a Matter of no great
Conſequence, whether the Epiſtle to the Hebrews was written by St. Paul
himſelf; as is commonly, and upon very probable Grounds, believed ; or, Phil. iv. ž.
as ſome have conjectured, by St. Luke his conſtant Companion ; or, as
others, by St. Clement his Fellow-labourer, whoſe Name was in the Book
of Life; or, as others, by St: Barnabas his Aſſiſtant in preaching the Gof-
pel, who is dignified by St. Luke with the Title of an Apoſtle. And
ſo, neither is it very material whether the Epiſtles called the ſecond and
third Epiſtles of St. John, and commonly believed to be written by the
ſame Perſon that wrote the firft, were indeed written by St: John the Apo-
ſtle and Evangeliſt, or as ſome have thought, by another john, who was
made Biſhop of the Jewiſh Chriſtians at Epheſus, by him; for it is ſuffi-
cient that the Writers of theſe Books, which foever they were of the
Perſons before-mentioned, were of good Ability and Integrity, and well in-
ſtructed in that Doctrine and Religion which they wrote about; and of this,
beſides
Afts xiv. I.
ز
972
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
ز
beſides the Teſtimony of the Ancients, there is good Evidence cnough in
the Writings themſelves.
2. In Anſwer to this, and all other Objcctions of this Sort, againſt theſe,
or any other Books, or Chapters, or Paragraphs of the New Teſtament, ic
hath been farther truly faid, that there is nothing ſingular in theſe Books ;
that there is no Doctrine of Chriſtianity taught in any part of the New Te-
Niament, of the Author or Authority of which there hath ever been any
Doubt in the Church, which is not taught in ſome other undoubted and
uncontroverted Part of the ſame Book. So that if it were granted that
thoſe Parts of the New Teſtament, of which there has been formerly any
Doubt were fill of uncertain Authority, our Chriſtianity would ſuffer no real
Lols thereby; only giving up theſe controverted Places we ſhould ſometimes
want a good Help to enable us to underſtand readily thoſe other uncontro-
verted Places of the New Teſtament, wherein the ſame Doctrines are, but
perhaps more briefly or obſcurely, delivered.
2. Whereas it is ſaid, that ſome Parts of the New Teſtament have been
rejected in ancient Times; this is granted : But then it hath been ſhewn,
that, conſidering by whom they have been rejected, and under what Notion,
and for what Reaſons they were rejected, this Objection is of no Force to
invalidate the Authority even of thoſe Parts of the New Teſtament which
have been ſo rejected; and much leſs of the reſt of the Book which has
been allowed by all.
Thus, fome Portions of the New Teſtament have been rejected by Here.
ticks, becauſe they contradicted their private and ſingular Notions; ſome by
Judaizing Chriſtians, as the two firſt Chapters of St. Matthew, becauſe they
were not found in that Hebrew Copy of that Goſpel which they uſed ; and
all the Epiſtles of St. Paul were likewiſe rejected by the ſame Perſons; but
not, as not written by St. Paul, but only becauſe they were written by him,
whom they looked upon as an Enemy to their Nation, becauſe he levelled
them with other Nations, and as too averſe to that Religion which had
becn introduced by Moſes, which they continued ſo wedded to, eren after
their embracing Chriſtianity, that they could not but ſuſpect him to be a
falſe Apoſtle, who had ſo plainly taught the Abrogation thercof. And for
the like Reaſons fome other Parts of the New Teſtament have been like-
wiſe rejected by ſome few Men; that is, not becauſe they wanted the ſame
Atteſtation which the other Parts of it had, or becauſe it appeared by cre-
diblc Hiſtory that they were ſpurious, but only becauſe they contradi&ed
too plainly ſonie Notions which their former Prejudices, or Education had
made them fond of. So that this Argument againſt the Authority of the
New Teſtament, taken from the Rejection of ſome Parts of it, by ſome
particular Men or Sects, is nianifeſtly of no Strength, unleſs there was ſome
good Reaſon for their rejecting them; and that there was good Reaſon for
it, has not yet been ſhewn; but the contrary has been ſhewn very plainly
by the ancient Writers of the Church, in ſeveral Books, written by them in
Confutation of thoſe Seets and Hereſies, which are ſtill extant.
And 3. Whereas it is farther ſaid, that ſome Books which are now recei-
ved as “Parts of the New Teſtament, were not univerſally received in the
moſt early Times, when their Authority, if they were authentick, might
have been aſſerted upon more certain Grounds than it can be now;
viz.
the Epiſtle to the Hebrews, the Epiſtle of St. James, the ſecond of St.
Peter, the ſecond and third of St. John, the Epiſtle of St. Jude, and the
Book of the Revelation ; this is likewiſe granted : But in Anſiver to it, it
is ſaid;
ز
2
1. That
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
973
1. That there is good Evidence from Antiquity, that theſe controverted
Books were received in the moſt early Times, by thoſe who had the beſt
Opportunity of ſatisfying themſelves of the Authors and Authority thereof,
viz. by thoſe to whom they were ſent, and in general by the whole Greek
Church.
2. That it is no Wonder, that theſe Books, being written either to Chri-
ſtians diſperſed, and conſequently only publiſhed by giving our Copies there-
of to ſome, to be communicated, as there was Opportunity, to others; or
elſe to private Perſons, living perhaps at great Diſtance from the Places
from which they were ſent; were not ſo eaſy to be atteſted, and upon thac
Account were not at firſt ſo generally received, as the others were, which
were either written to particular Churches, to which the Authors Hands,
and the Meſſengers that brought them were well known; or which were
firſt publiſhed and received in the ſame Places wherс they were written.
And,
3. That even thoſe Churches which did for ſome Time doubt of the
Authority of theſe Books, were perſuaded at laſt to receive them as the
authentick Writings of the Apoſtles, or other inſpired Men. If therefore
it be ſuppoſed, that while they doubted of theſe Books, they had Reaſon
for their Doubt ; that is, that they did it, becauſe they were not as yet fully
ſatisfied that they were Apoftolical Writings, which the Objectors, I believe,
will readily enough grant ; it may be very reaſonably preſumed, that they
had afterwards greater Reaſon to lay aſide their Doubt; and that when
they did receive them, it was, becauſe there had been then lately ſuch Evi-
dence and Atteſtation given of their being written by the Apoſtles or other
inſpired Men, as they had not heard of before, ſuch as they could not then,
with any Reaſon, contradict or gainſay. For ordinarily a leſs Reaſon will
perfi:ade a Man to take up an Opinion at firſt, than will perſuade him to
go back from an Opinion, how weakly foever grounded, which he has
before embraced and defended. So that this Objection is ſo far from lefr-
ning, that it rather ſtrengthens the Proof we have of the Authority even
of theſe once controverted Books; and it is, beſides, a very good corrobo-
rating Evidence of the Authority of all the other Books of the New Teſta-
ment. For the Backwardneſs of ſome Churches to receive theſe contro-
verted Books at firſt, when they had nothing to object to the Matter of
them, makes it evident, that the Chriſtians of the firſt Ages were not ſo
very eaſy and credulous as ſome have repreſented them; that they did not
ſo very greedily ſwallow any Book for divine Revelation that contained a
great many Miracles, mixed with a few good Morals, without making due
Enquiry concerning the Author and Authority thereof. But on the con-
trary, their being ſo hard to be perſuaded to receive theſe controverted Books
for ſome Time, while they wanted, as they thought, ſufficient Atteſtation,
altho' the Doctrine of them was in all Points agreeable' to the Doctrine of
the other Books which they had before received; their being ſo hard, I
ſay, to receive theſe Books, of the Authority of which there neverthelefs
really was ſuch Evidence, as they themſelves, after having well weighed
and conſidered it, declared themſelves ſatisfied with, gives very good Ground
to believe, that they had from the Beginning, ſuch Evidence as was with-
out Exception, of the Authority of all thoſe other Books; that is, of much
the greateſt Part, of the New Teſtament, which were never controverted; which
were from the firſt, and with univerſal Conſent, received by all Chriſtian
Churches ; for if there had not been very undeniable Evidence of their
being the genuine Writings of the Apoſtles or other inſpired Men, there
would
Vol. II.
As
f
974 The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation. .
would certainly have been the ſame Doubt and Controverſy concerning them,
that there once was concerning theſe.
But, fourthly, it hath been farther objected, that in the early Times of Chri-
Nianity, there were ſeveral counterfeit Goſpels and Epiſtles, which paſſed a-
mong ſome for the Writings of the Apoſtles; and that it is poſſible, ſome
of them may have flipped into the Canon, unawares to the firſt Chriſtians,
who, by all the Accounts of thoſe Times, were more remarkable for their
Honeſty and Simplicity and Zeal, than for their extraordinary Parts and
Learning
But this Objection, (granting the Matter of Fact alleged in it to be true)
is ſo far from lefening, that it rather adds to that reaſonable Aſurance that
we have, that all the Books of the Canon are true and genuine. For there
is nothing ſo apt to put Men upon uſing Caution, as a great Probability of
being cheated, if they be not cautious. Thus, when the Coin is generally
good, and there is very little baſe or counterfeit Money ftirring, Men com-
monly take it by Tale, without examining the Weight and Purity of every
Piece; and ſo may more eaſily have a ſingle piece of lighter Weight or baſer
Metal put upon them without diſcerning it: But if the Coin be much cor-
rupted, they look more narrowly upon every ſingle Piece of Money that
they take, and if there be the lealt Cauſe to ſuſpect it, make Trial of it
by the Scale or Touchſtone, before they accept it as good. If therefore
there were in the early Times of Chriſtianity many counterfeit Pieces
given out, and perhaps received by ſome as written by the Apoſtles, and
which were ſome of them diſcovered to be ſpurious'; and there is not
greater Evidence from Antiquity, that there were any ſuch ſpurious Writ-
ings, than there is that the Spuriouſneſs of ſome of them was ſoon diſ-
cerned; this could not but put the Chriſtians of thoſe Times upon exa-
mining more ftri&tly, what Evidence and Atteſtation there was that thoſe
other Books were true and genuine, which had been generally received as
ſuch. So that the more there were of theſe ſpurious and counterfeit Books,
ſo much the more aſſured and confident we may reaſonably be, that none
but ſuch as were undoubtedly true and authentick, and very well atteſted,
were admitted into the Canon; and, of the two, it is much more probable,
that they did, for want of clear Atteſtation, refuſe to admit ſome Books
that had been written by the Apoſtles, than that they did, without ſuffici-
ent Atteſtation, admit any that were not.
And that the Chriſtians of thoſe early Times, who had the beſt Means
and Opportunities of ſatisfying themſelves whether any Book, given out as
written by an Apoſtle, was fo or not, wanted not Skill to diſcern between
a true and Spurious Writing; as is maliciouſly ſuggeſted by ſome Men; is
abundantly evident, from thoſe Monuments of the excellent Parts and Learn-
ing of ſome of the firſt Converts to Chriſtianity, which are ſtill extant in
their Books; and from the Teſtimony that is therein given to the like
good Ability of ſeveral others, who were famous in their Generation, for
their preaching and writing, and for their ſtoutly maintaining the Truths
of Chriſtianity both againſt Infidels and Hereticks, but whoſe Books are
now unhappily loft.
But fifthly, and laſtly; it was farther ſaid, that though it be granted that all
the Books of the New Teſtament that are now received, were originally
written by the Apoſtles or other inſpired Men, yet thoſe which we now
have are but Copies; in which, by ſo many Tranſcriptions thereof as mult
have been in about fourteen hundred Years, many Alterations may have
hapned, through the Ignorance, or Overſight, or evil Deſign of the Tran
fcribers;
2 2
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
975
ز
ſcribers ; and that ſeveral Changes have been made, is undeniably plain,
by the various Readings that have been obſerved in comparing the beſt
Manuſcript Copies, that are now, or have been extant ſince Printing began ;
ſo that we cannot be ſure whether any particular Paſſages now found in
theſe Books are the very Words of an Apoſtle, or of ſome ignorant or care-
leſs Scribe. But to this it hath been anſwered ;
1. That ſo far as this Objection is of any Force, it invalidates the Credit
of all Hiſtory, and of all other. Books of ancient Date, as well as of the
New Teſtament; nay, indeed of all other Books, much more than of
this; for the faithfully tranſcribing whereof, it may reaſonably be pre-
ſumed, there was formerly greater Care taken, as there is now for the
correctly printing it, than there ordinarily was of other Books that were
of lefs Conſequence.
2. That though it be certain that ſome Hereticks have attempted to
corrupt the Text of the New Teſtament in ſome Places, and have made
Changes in ſome few Copies thereof; it is almoſt as certain that their
Attempts of this Kind neither have nor ever could amount to a Corrup-
tion of all the Copies thereof that were generally in Men's Hands; in
which there is even to this Day an admirable Agreement in all Matters
of Moment. And from that general Agreement that always was in all
the Copies of this Book, except thoſe few that were ſometimes corrupted
by Hereticks, to ſerve a Turn, their Attempts of this Kind have been al-
ways rendred ſucceſſleſs; and thoſe falſe Doctrines, that were juſtified only
by their own falſe Copies of this Book, ſolidly confured.
3. It is farther anſwered, that not only there is no Evidence that there
has been, but that it is morally impoſſible that there ſhould have been
a general Depravation of the Copies of this Book, either deſignedly, or
by Chance, in any Place of great Conſequence, in either Point of Hiſtory or
Doctrine. For when was it poſſible that this Corruption ſhould be? Was
it in the Copies that were given out, in the Days of the Apoſtles, and while
they were living ? This cannot well be ſuppoſed; or if it had been done
then, it cannot be thought but that the Authors of theſe Books, being
living, would have taken Care to have had ſuch falſe Copies of their
Books ſuppreſſed, or well corrected; or at leaſt have given publick No-
tice, in order to their Correction of thoſe Faults that had been com-
mitted in the tranſcribing, which did either obſcure or ſpoil their
Senſe.
Was it then in the Times immediately after the Apoſtles were dead?
But neither could this be; for by this Time an infinite Number of true
Copies had been made and diſperſed in all Parts of the Chriſtian Church;
and beſides the_Autographs of the Books themſelves were then probably
all in being: For Tertullian, who lived in the third Century, witneſſes
that ſome of them were extant and to be ſeen even in his Time; ſo that
by comparing the new falſe Copies with the ancient true ones, or with
the Originals themſelves then extant, the Fraud would have been quickly
diſcovered, or the Miſtake eaſily rectified.
Was it then in the Times after this, when the Originals were loſt or
worn out? This was ſtill leſs poſſible: For by this Time not only a great,
er Number of true Copies thereof, in the Original Greek, were diſperſed
and in the Hands of all Chriſtians ; but ſeveral Tranſlations thereof had
been likewiſe made into other Languages, ſeveral Commentaries had been
written thereupon, and the moſt material Paſages thereof had been oc-
caſionally cited by the Chriſtian Writers of thoſe or the foregoing
Times.
And
7
976
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
And the farther we go on downwards, it was ſtill, for ſuch Reaſons as
have been given already, more impoſſible that the Copies of this Book
ſhould be generally corrupted in any Place or Matter of Moment ; as well
as more likely that there hould be every Day an Increaſe of ſuch ſmall
and literal Miſtakes, as could hardly be avoided by the greateſt Care and
Faithfulneſs. And theſe are the various Readings before ſpoken of; con-
cerning which, and in Anſwer to the before-mentioned Objection, ſo far as
it is grounded upon them, it is farther ſaid,
4. In the fourth Place; that they are no other than ſuch as are to be
met with in comparing the Manuſcripts of all other Books; that theſe
various Readings, if they be compared together with Judgment, are more
like to lead us to underſtand the true Meaning of the Writers, chan to
endanger our miſtaking their Senſe; it being very probable that when
there are ſeveral Readings, one of them is the right, and eaſier by their
Help, to rectify the Miſtakes that may have been made in ſome Copies,
than it would have been, if all Copies had agreed in the ſame Miſtake.
And laſtly, that it is hardly, in any Place of which there are ſuch various
Readings, very material which is the true Reading ; there being no Point
that is of the Subſtance either of the Hiſtory or Doctrine of Chriſtianity,
that is grounded upon any Text, of which there are, in different Copies,
various Readings, but which may be proved by ſome other Texts, in the
Reading whereof all Copies do agree.
S. And laſtly, in Anſwer to this Objection, that the Text of the New
Teſtament is depraved and corrupted, and conſequently of uncertain Au-
thority, it is farther ſaid; that ſuppoſing theſe Books to be written by the
Apoſtles, and by divine Direction and Inſpiration, which muſt be ſuppoſed,
or at leaſt, for Argument fake, be allow'd, by thoſe that make this Objecti-
on; or elſe the Objection is trifling; it is by no Means credible, that the
fame Goodneſs of God which took Care for the writing, has not like-
wiſe taken Care for the preſerving of theſe Books, ſo free at leaſt from Cor-
ruption, that they may be ſufficient to anſwer the Ends for which they
were written ; that is, fully to inſtruct Men in all Points of Chriſtian
Faith and Practice, to make them wiſe unto Salvation, and throughly to
furniſh them unto all good Works.
And now from all that hath been ſaid, I hope it appears, that we
have ſufficient Reaſon to believe that the Books of the New Teſtament
were written by thoſe Perſons whoſe Names they bear, or to whom they
are aſcribed, viz. by the Apoſtles of Chriſt, or other inſpired Men; which
was the firſt Thing I was to make good.
Whether there be ſufficient Reaſon to give them Credit in the Matters
of Facts which they have related; and whether the Doctrine of the Goſpel
be well proved by the Hiſtory of it, ſhall, God willing, be hereafter ea-
quired.
In the mean Time, ſuppoſing their Teſtimony to be credible, what has
been ſaid upon this firſt Head- may ſerve to ſhew, in ſome Meaſure, the
Unreaſonableneſs of thoſe Men, who are not ſatisfied with the Scripture
Revelation.
For I believe there are few that have heard any Thing of the Manner
of the firſt Preaching of the Gospel, bụt who think, that they that lived
in thoſe Times, and heard the Apoſtles themſelves, had ſufficient Reafon
to receive their Teſtimony; and this, perhaps they will fay, is what they
could wiſh for themſelves; viz. that they might haye heard the Apoſtles
themſelves; or that they might now haye as good and ſure Grounds of
Faith, as thoſe had, who were conyerted to Chriſtianity by the Preaching
of
2
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
977
2
i
of the Apoſtles;. which if they had, they make no Doubt but they ſhould
be, not only almoft, but altogether fucis, as the Primitive Chriſtians were,
both in Belief and Practice.
· But if they are not ſuch now, it is much to be doubted, whether they
would have been ſuch, if they had lived then. For by what has been
now ſaid it appears, that the Books of the New Teſtament, being, as we
have very good Reaſon to believe they were; written by the Apoſtles
themſelves
, are their Words, their Sermons; that therein the Apoſtles
themfelves being dead, do yet truly speak to us the very fame Things,
though not juſt in the fame Manner, that they ſpake before while they
were living; and that their Teſtimony written, if indeed it be theirs,
which I have ſhewn there is no Cauſe to doubt of, is as credible as their
living Teſtimony was.
For in Matters of common Teſtimony we make little Difference between
Speech and Writing. If a Man whom we dare truſt ſends us a Letter, and
therein relates ſuch and ſuch Things, as heard or ſeen by himſelf, or as well
atteſted to him by unexceptionable Witneſſes, we give as full Credit to his
Letter as we would do to his Words.
So that in Truth, our Caſe, who live now, is not very different from
theirs who lived in the Apoſtles Days, and heard them ſaying thoſe fame
Things, which we now read in their Books; and if we think thoſe inex-
cuſable, who did not receive their Teſtimony when given by Word of
Mouth, we cannot in good Reaſon, hold our ſelyes excuſed, if we receive
not the ſame Teſtimony of the ſame Perſons given under their Hands.
In one Reſpect indeed, it muſt be granted, that they had the Adyan-
tage of us ; viz. becauſe they might be ſurer that they heard an Apoſtle
Speak, than the Nature of the Thing will admit we ſhould be, that we read
the Words of an Apoſtle written: But we are ſure cnough of this; we
have as good moral Certainty of it, as we can have of any Thing, that
is not capable of any other than a moral Certainty : And if the Words
that we read in the New Teſtament are the Words of the Apoſtles of
Chriſt, we have, in ſome reſpects
, the Advantage of thoſe who lived in
thoſe early Times; for we have the concurrent Teſtimony of ſeveral of the
Apoſtles, written; whereas hardly any in thofe Times, when a few Per-
fons were to bear witneſs to all the World, could have more than the
Teſtimony of one ſingle Apoſtle only, by Word of Mouth; and many
Witneſſes are more credible than one. And beſides, there being ſeveral
Witneſſes, their Teſtimony, if it be falſe, may be more eaſily proved ſo,
by their Diſagreement with one another, than the Teſtimony of one
ſingle Witneſs could be. And laſtly, a Writing, which we may review,
and read over as often as we will, and which we may take what Time
we pleaſe to conſider of, may be more throughly underſtood, and better di-
geſted, than a Sermon or Diſcourſe only once ſpoken can well be.
But if it be granted that the Faith of the firſt converts to Chriſtianity,
which came by Hearing of the Apoſtles, might be built upon more certain
and infallible Grounds, than ours, that comes only by Reading, is; and
ſome Reaſons may perhaps be given hereafter, why it was fit it ſhould be
ſo; it is enough however, to render our Infidelity inexcuſable, if the
Grounds of Faith that we now have are very rational, if they are a ſuf-
ficient Support for ſuch a Faith as will enable us to pleaſe God, and to
overcome the World.
And this may be farther ſaid for our Comfort, and to make us eaſy
and ſatisfied with thoſe Grounds and Reaſons of Faith, which are afford-
ed to us by the written Teſtimony of the Apoſtles in the Book's of the
Vol. II.
New
BS
!
978
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
New Teſtament; that as there is more Certainty in that Belief, if it may
be called Belief, which is grounded upon Demonſtration, or infallible Evi-
dence; ſo there is more Praiſe and Virtue in that good Diſpoſition of Mind,
which makes us reſt ſatisfied with ſuch Grounds of Faith, as though not
abſolutely and infallibly certain, yet cannot, with any good Reaſon, be de-
nied or excepted againſt ; according to that ſaying of our Saviour to St.
Thomas, in a like Caſe, with which I ſhall conclude; Joh. xx. 29. Thomas,
becauſe thou haſt ſeen me_thou haft believed; bleſſed are they, (that is, they
arc morc bleſſed, their Faith is more excellent and praiſe-worthy, and ſo
will entitle them to a greater Reward) who have not ſeen, and yet have
believed.
*
ubi usati
WEB
1.us
DIS
979
DISCOURSE XCI.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-
Revelation;
As to the Proof of it. PART. II.
I
>
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham faith unto him, They have Mofes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho’ one
roſe from the Dead.
HE Point I entred upon the Proof of the laſt Time was
this,
T
2655
(3.) That we have ſufficient Reaſon given us, to con-
vince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scrip-
ture, and conſequently of all the Doctrines that are
taught by it.
And for the Proof of this, having, for Brevity's ſake,
confined ny Diſcourſe upon it to the Books of the New Teſtament only ;
the rather becauſe the Authority of that being granted, the Authority of
the Old Teſtament cannot reaſonably be queſtioned; I propounded to thew,
I. That we have ſufficient Reaſon to believe, that the Books of the Nero
Teſtament were written by thoſe Perſons who are ſaid to be the Authors
thereof. 2. That there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to them in
their Relations of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have recorded. And,
3. That if the Matters of Fact related in the New Teſtament are true, they
are ſufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines
that are thercin taught..
And
980
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1
was.
And I hope enough was ſaid the laſt Time, to ſhew that we have ſuffici-
ent Reaſon to believe, that the Books of the New Teſtament were written
by thoſe Perſons who are ſaid to be the Authors thereof. What I am next
to do, is;
2. To ſhow that there is ftifficient Reafon to give full Credit to theſe
Authors in their Relations of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have
recorded.
And I hope none, of you. that hear me, whom I preſume to be all
Chriſtians, will take Offence at it, if now, while I am arguing this point,
I ſometimes ſpeak of the Holy Evangeliſts, with the ſame Freedom that
might be uſed in ſpeaking concerning any other Authors; and if I ſometimes
plead for no more Credit to be given to them in their Relations, than is fit
and reaſonable to be given to any other Hiſtorian, that was naturally as well
furniſhed and qualified to write a true Hiftory, as they were, and whoſe Fi-
delity and Veracity is as well atteſted and confirmed other Ways as theirs
For
you will conſider, I hope, that my Buſineſs is now with Infidels,
with whom we can argue only upon the Principles of common Reaſon:
And though we who are Chriſtians already, do believe, as one of the firſt
Principles of our Religion, that theſe ſacred Writers were divinely and ſuper-
naturally aſſiſted in their work, and that upon that Account they deſerve
much greater Credit in what they have written than other Hiſtorians do;
yet this is what thoſe who are yet Infidels will not allow ; and in Diſpu.
tation nothing is to be preſumed on one Side, but what will be readily al-
lowed by the other Party. So that the divine Inſpiration of the Evangeli-
cal Writers, and the ſupernatur al Afiſtance which we believe they had' in
their Writing, cannot as yet be regularly inſiſted upon as an Argument to
gain them Credit: But it is what will eaſily be granted afterwards, when
the Truth of their Hiſtory ſhall be well eſtabliſhed upon other Grounds ;
as I hope it will be in the following Diſcourſe ; and it is what may then
ſerve to procure a religious Reſpect and Reverence to theſe ſacred Writings,
and to engage us to receive them; not as the Word of Men, but, as they
1 Thell. ii. 13. are in Truth, as the Word of God.
But this one Thing nevertheleſs I ſuppoſe I may preſume, viz. that if
the Books of the New Teſtament, the Hiſtorical Parts of it in particular,
were written by thoſe Authors to whom they are aſcribed, which has been
already proved, the Matters of Fact recorded by the Evangeliſts in Wri-
ting are the ſame which they and the other Apoſtles teſtified by Word of
Mouth in their "Preaching; for it cannot, I think, with any Reaſon be ſuf-
pected that their Preaching and Writings were diſagreeable to each other,
becauſe ſuch Diſagreement would moſt certainly have utterly deſtroyed the
Credit of them both.
And this being ſuppoſed, I hope it will clearly appear, that there is abun-
dantly ſufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to theſe Writings, if theſe fol,
lowing Things be conſidered ;
1
1. If we conſider the Nature, Conditions and Circumſtances of the Mat-
ters that are recorded in the Hiſtorical Books of the New Teſtament, and
of the Hiſtory it ſelf.
II. If we conſider the good Capacity that the Authors thereof were in
to know the Truth of the Things they have related.
III. If we conſider the ſtrong Obligations they were under to write
nothing but the Truth, according to the beſt of their knowledge or In-
formation.
IV. If we conſider the good Evidences that we have of their Honeſty
and Faithfulneſs. And,
+
V. Laſtly,
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
981
V. Laſtly, if we conſider the Confirmation that was given to the Truth
of their Hiſtory by God himſelf.
ز
.
1. I ſay the Evangelical Hiſtory will appear to be highly credible, if,
without any Regard as yer had to the Ability and Integrity of its Authors,
we only conſider the Nature, Conditions, and Circumſtances of the Matters
therein recorded, and of the Hiſtory it ſelf. Concerning which there are
two Things eſpecially that may be obſerved, 1. That the Matters record-
ed by the Evangelical Writers are ſuch as might be certainly known. And
2. That they are ſuch, and in ſuch manner related by the Evangeliſts,
that if their Hiſtory of them had been falſe, it could never have gained
Credit in the World.
1. Firſt, I ſay the Matters recorded by the Evangelical Writers are
ſuch as might be certainly known ; I mean, either by the Hiſtorians them-
ſelves, or by thoſe from whom they had their Information. For,
1. They are, for the moſt Part, plain Matters of Senſe, which thoſe who
were preſent at them could have no Doubt of, without diſtruſting their own
Faculties of Hearing or Seeing ; and which thoſe who teſtified them might
be as certain of the Truth of, as we can be of any Thing that we hear
with our own Ears, or ſee with our own Eyes. For, thus, whether our
Saviour gave out himſelf to be the Meſſias foretold by the Prophets; whe-
ther he ſaid that he was the Son of God; and whether he uttered thoſe o-
ther Speeches which the Evangeliſts have recorded as ſpoken by him, could
not but be certainly known by the People who often heard him; and eſpecially
by his Apoſtles who conſtantly attended him.
And fo likewiſe whether he did thoſe many wonderful Works which the
Evangeliſts have recorded of him, could not but be known by thoſe that
were preſent with him ; they might be certain either that he did them, or
that he did not do them. Thus for inſtance, it might be certainly known
to thoſe that firſt affirmed that he gave Sight to the blind, whether thoſe
Perſons had been once blind, and whether afterwards they ſaw; and to
thoſe that witneſſed that he gave Strength to the Cripples, whether the Men
whom they ſaid he wrought this Cure upon, had been lame or diſabled in
their Feet, Hands, or Body before, and whether afterwards they walked
and had Strength like other Men; and to thoſe that teſtified that he raiſed
the Dead, whether the Perſons ſaid to have been raiſed by him, had been
truly dead, and whether afterwards they lived.
But above all, his own Reſurrection, which the preſent Seaſon as well as This Sermon
the Wonderfulneſs and Importance of the Thing, obliges us to have a ſpeciale Preached
cial Regard to, was a Thing that might be moſt certainly known to thoſe in Eaſter Week.
that pretended to be Witneſſes of it; they might be certain whether he had
been once dead, and whether he fewed himſelf alive after his Paſſion by
many infallible Proofs, and was ſeen of them forty Days. Of this they
might be rather more certain than of any other of his Miracles, becauſe it
was a Thing not to be judged of by one Senſe only, as ſome of the reſt
were, but by almoſt all their Senſes; for by their Sight they might be af-
ſured that it was he himſelf, whom for more than three Years before they
had been well acquainted with, whom they then ſaw with their Eyes; and
by their Hearing, that it was his own Voice and not a Stranger's, that.
Voice which they had often heard, and which they well knew, that then ſpake
to them ; and by their Touch, that it was a real Body which they ſaw and
heard, and not an airy Apparition, not a mere Voice : And alſo that it was
that
very fame Body, which they had ſeen before hanging upon, and
which they had taken down dead from the Croſs, when they were permit-
ted, as they ſay they were, to handle and feel him, to put their Fingers
Vol. II.
C
1
into
982
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Lu. xxiv. 32. into the Print of the Nails, and to thruſt their Hands into thc Gaſh that
Joh. XX. 27. had been made in his Side by thc Spcar that pierced his Heart.
And of the other Matters recorded by thie Evangeliſts, but not as Mat-
ters of their own Knowledge, thoſe from whom they had their Informa-
tion might have the ſame Certainty which they had of theſe Things. For
his Mother could not but know, whether ſhe had conceived him without
Knowledge of a Man, and whether his Birth had been foretold her by an
Angel; and Me, and her Relations, and the whole Neighbourhood, might
have a certain Knowledge of the Time, Place, and all other Circumſtances
of his Birth, as they are related in the Goſpels.
They that teſtified ſuch plain Matters of Senſe as moſt of thoſe are,
which are recorded in the Evangelical Hiſtory, could not but know, either
that the Things which they teſtified were true, or that they themſelves were
egregious Liars when they teſtified them to have been ſo.
2. As the Matters recorded in the Evangelical Hiſtory are chiefly Mat-
ters of Senſe; of which, as ſuch, the greateſt Certainty and Aſſurance may
be had, and in which any ſingle Witneſs thereof may be very confident that
he is not miſtaken; ſo it may be alſo obſerved, that moſt of them are re-
lated as Matters done in the Sight, Hearing, or Preſence of a great many;
which Circumſtance adds very much to that Certainty which any ſingle Wit-
neſs of ſuch Matters may receive by his own Senſes only.
For tho' it be a common Saying, that ſeeing is Believing, and we ordi-
narily
, deſire no greater Affurance of the Truth of any Matter of Senſe,
than our own Senſe, and Perception of it; it is nevertheleſs no unuſual
Thing for a Man when he is relating ſomewhat that hapned that was very
extraordinary and ſurpriſing, to ſay, that though he ſaw it himſelf, he could
hardly believe his own Eyes. And this might well enough have been the
Caſe of any one of the Witneſſes of any of our Lord's Miracles, and eſpe-
cially of his Reſurrection, the moſt wonderful of all his Miracles, and which
gave Confirmation to all the reſt; for tho' they, were plain Matters of Senſe,
yet they were withal ſo very ſtrange and aſtoniſhing, that if any Man had
ſecn them alone, he might probably have had ſome Diſtrujt even of his
own Senſes, or he might afterwards have been ready to doubt whether he
had been well awake or in a Dream. But a Man cannot reaſonably ſuf-
pect that his own Senſes do deceive him, when he perceives that the Thing
appears to all others that are preſent, juſt as it does to him ; nor can he
afterwards ſo eaſily fancy that he was in a Dream, when he finds that all
the reſt that were there have the ſame Notion and Remembrance of the
Thing that he himſelf has. So that by this additional Evidence, I mean
by the Agreement that a Man finds there is between his own Senſes and
other Men's, he becomes more certain and confident of the Truth of the
Things which he ſees, than he would have been by his own Eye-ſight
only.
2. Secondly, the other Thing which I ſaid might be noted concerning
the Matters recorded in the Evangelical Hiſtory, is, that they are ſuch
and in ſuch manner related by the Evangeliſts; that if their Hiſtory of
them had been falſe, it could never have gained Credit in the World.
And this may in Part appear from what has been ſaid already; for as
there is nothing that can be more certainly known and atteſted than a plain
Matter of Senſe at which ſeveral are preſent; ſo there is nothing more
liable to be contradi&ted and eaſy to be diſproved than ſuch a Matter is,
in caſe it was not ſo done as it is reported to have been.
But there are ſeveral other Things that are here proper to be conſider-
ed; for,
of
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
083
itory
i
1. It may be conſidered, thať the Goſpel Hiſtory comprehends a very great
Number of Relations of ſuch Matters of Fact and Senſe ; confidering there-
fore how very eaſy it was to diſprove every one of them if it had been
falſe; it is moſt evidently morally impoſſible that a: Hiſtorý ſtuffed with
nothing elſe but Lies and Forgeries of this Sort; as they muſt ſuppoſe thic
Evangelical Hiſtory to be, who will not allow it to be a true Hiſtory;
ſhould ever have obtained any Credit : And moſt of thefe Things record-
ed by the Evangeliſts, being related by them as Matters of their ozon
Knowledge ; if the Falſity of only one ſingle Relation had been made ap-
pear, the Credit of the whole Hiſtory would have been thereby deſtroyed.
2. It may be alſo conſidered, that all theſe Things are related in the
Goſpel Hiſtory, as done in that fame Country in which the Hiſtory thereof
was firſt publiſhed; and that a Country but of ſmall Extent, not above
two hundred Miles in Length at the moſt, and not half ſo much in Breadth";
and yet not all in the fame Part of it, but ſome in one place, ſome in
another; and thoſe uſually the moſt conſiderable Towns or Cities of Judea
and Galilee. And by this, their Hiſtory of theſe Things, if it had been
falſe, was ſtill more eaſy and liable to be diſproved; there being very few
of thoſe to whom theſe Matters were firſt related, that needed to have
gone. many Miles from Home to have enquired into the Truth of ſome
or other of them. And if any Man had found the Apoſtles falſe in their
Report of any Matter that was faid to have been done in his own Neigh-
bourhood, he would hardly have gone farther for more Satisfaction”; he
would readily have concluded without farther Examination, that being
found falfe Witneſſes in one Thing, they were not fit to be believed in any
Thing.
3. It may be moreover conſidered, that the Goſpel Hiſtory was written
and publiſhed within a few Years after the Things therein recorded are ſaid to
be done. It is not certain indeed, in what Year preciſely the Goſpels' were
written ; but if they are but allowed to be the genuine Writings of the
reputed Authors; which I hope has been already ſufficiently proved; it is
certain they were all, even the lateſt of them, that of St. John, written
before the Memory of the Things therein recorded could be worn out:
Nay if we farther ſuppoſe, as I think we may do very reaſonably, that the
Things recorded by the Evangeliſts are the ſame which they and the o-
ther Apoſtles and Diſciples of our Lord teſtified by Word of Mouth in
their preaching, we may truly enough ſay that the Hiſtory of the Goſpel
was begun to be publiſhed on that ſame Day on which the Apoſtles be-
gan to preach, viz. on the Day of Pentecoſt, ten Days after our Lord's
Aſcenſion ; and that it was fully publiſhed in a very ſhort Time after.
So that moſt of the Things recorded in the Goſpels are Things that had
been done or had hapned in the Compaſs' of leſs than four Years before
the Hiſtory thereof was firſt publiſhed," for it was not ſo long from our
Lord's Baptiſm to his Afcenfion; and the earlieſt Things of all that are
therein recorded, which are but few, and make but a ſmall Part of the
Hiſtory, viz. the Birth of St. John Baptiſt, and of our Lord, and the
Things that hapned about that Time, were Things done, not above thirty
five Years before at the moſt.
And the Hiſtory of the Axts of the Apoſtles, which becauſe it ends
with St. Paul's Impriſonment at Rome, we may reaſonably think was
publifhed about that Time, comprehends a Hiſtory of ſome very remark-
able Things; the very firſt and earlieſt whereof had not been done thirty
Years before.
r
And
...
984 The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
impo
The fame may
the Acts of the
And this Conſideration affords another very probable Argument of the
Truth of the Evangelical Hiſtory; becauſe by this it ſtill farther appears,
how very eaſy it would have been to have diſproved it, if it had been
falſe; for it being an Hiſtory of Things done ſo very lately, it muſt needs
be that ſeveral of thoſe, into whoſe Hands it firſt came, muſt have certain
Knowledge whether ſome of the Things therein related had been ſo or not;
and they who had not this Knowledge, might eaſily have had certain In-
formation, from others, beſides the Apoſtles and Diſciples of our Lord,
whether the Relations therein contained were true or falſe. Eſpecially if
it be conſidered farther, in the fourth Place;
4. That the Facts related in the Evangelical Hiſtory are commonly re-
lated with all the Circumſtances that were needful or proper to be noted,
in order to the rendring an Enquiry into the Truth of them exceeding
eaſy to ſuch as had any Diſtruſt thereof. For in the Account which the
Evangeliſts give us of our Saviour's Speeches, they commonly tell us not
only his Words, but likewiſe when, where, to whom, and upon what Oc-
caſion they were ſpoken ; and in the Account that they give of his Miracles,
they uſually note the Places where they were done, and very often the
Names, or Characters at leaſt, of the Perſons they were wrought upon;
and ſometimes they mention alſo who were by, and Witneſſes thereof,
and what Diſcourſe concerning him was thereby occaſioned: And in relat-
ing the Things that were done or hapned before our Saviour's Baptiſm,
about the Time of his Birth, they carefully note the Time, the Place, and
be obſerved in other Circumſtances, whereby their Readers were, as it were, challenged to
Apoſtles.
make Enquiry, and deſired not to take Things only upon their Credit ;
and were alſo directed readily whither to go, and to whom to apply them-
felves, to obtain the fulleſt Satisfaction whether the Things they reported
were fo or not. And if all the Circumſtances of every particular Story
which they relate are not always ſo punctually ſet down, the Omiſſion
thereof ſometimes is not of much Conſideration; becauſe it was ſo very eaſy
by enquiring into the Truth of thoſe many other Stories which are related
with all Circumſtances, for any Perſon to be ſatisfied whether their Hiſtory
in general deſerved Credit or not; and whoever had found any one Story
falſly reported by them, would hardly have troubled himſelf, at leaſt not
for his own Satisfaction, to have examined farther into the Truth of the
reft.
s. It may be farther conſidered, that moſt of the Things recorded by
the Evangeliſts are related by them as Things that were done very pub-
lickly, as Things that were well known to a great many. For very few,
in Compariſon, of thoſe Diſcourſes of our Lord that are recorded by the
Evangeliſts
, were addreſſed in private to his Apoſtles only, but moſt of them
were · ſpoken in publick; his ſet Sermons commonly to great Multitudes
gathered together on a Mountain, on the Sea-ſhore, or in a Synagogue; and
the reſt, moſt commonly in Places of Refort, in populous Towns or Cities,
in Jeruſalem or the Temple, when many were by to hear what he ſaid.
And his Miracles were done for the moſt part in the beſt inhabited Cities
of Judea and Galilee ; or if in other Places, yet in the open Day-light,
and commonly when there was a great Crowd of People about him; or if
at any Time the Miracle it ſelf was done privately, in an Houſe or a
Chamber, the Effect of the Miracle was uſually very viſible, and ſuch as
could not but be taken Notice of by a great many.
And even of thoſe
few Things which were ſpoken or done by him moſt privately, there was
no Want of Witneſſes; there being, except very rarely, no fewer than twelve
in conſtant Attendance upon him, and several others beſides that companied
with them all the Time that the Lord Jeſus went in and out among
+
And
Ads i. 22.
them.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
985
1
And this Circumſtance of the Facts recorded by the Evangeliſts, as it
made them capable of better and more certain Atteſtation, being true; ſo
it contributed no leſs towards the rendring it eaſy to diſprove that Relation
which they had given of them, if it had been falſe. For when a Man witneſ-
ſes a Thing of his own private Knowledge, there may be no Way to in-
validate his Teſti:nony, but either by ſhewing that the Thing which he te-
ſtifies was not poſſible, or by offering ſome juſt Exception to the Credit
of the Witneſs: But when neither of theſe can be done; and they cannor
always be done, altho' the Thing teſtified be falſe; yet in caſe the Matter
was done publickly, it is the caſieſt Thing in the World to convict a falſe
Witneſs by the contrary Teſtimony of ſeveral others that were preſent and
as capable of knowing the Truth of the Thing as himſelf, or by the claſh-
ing of the Witneſſes among themſelves. Nothing therefore could have been
more eaſy than to have diſproved the Evangelical Hiſtory in almoſt every
particular of it, if it had not been true.
For moſt of our Saviour's Speeches and Miracles are related as ſpoken
and done in the Preſence not of his Diſciples only, but of a great many
others that hapned to be by by Chance, or that followed him, nor for any li-
king that they had to his Perſon or Do&trine, but only out of Curioſity,
or for the Sake of the Loaves; and very often they were done before ſuch
as came on purpoſe to watch what he ſaid and did, with a Deſign to lay
hold on any Occaſion that was offered, to repreſent him to the People as
an Impoſtor. Can it be ſuppoſed then that theſe were ignorant whether
the Relation which the Apoſtles and Evangeliſts gave of theſe Matters
was true or falſe or can it be imagined that they would all have held
their Peace ? that not one of thofe many that could have done it, would
have opened his Mouth to have convicted the Apoſtles of Falſity, if they had
either in Word or Writing related any one of theſe Things otherwiſe than it had
indeed been tranſacted ? and if in any one of theſe Things, of which the Apoſtles
pretended they had perſonal Knowledge, they had been found falſe Witneſſes,
their Credit would have been ruin'd for ever.
Nay if they had been found falſe in their Report of any of thoſe other
Matters which they left upon Record, of which they had not a perſonal
Knowledge; though this indeed would not have been ſuch a Proof of their
Diſhoneſty, for any Man may very innocently be miſ-inform’d; it would
however have been ſuch a plain Argument of their fooliſh Credulity, as
would have deſtroyed their Credit no leſs than if they had been found in
a known Lye. For theſe alſo were Matters of the fame publick Nature;
nay indeed they were rather more publick than the other; they were ſo
very publick, that any Man with very ſmall Trouble might have been fully
ſatisfied whether they were true or not.
For thus, they tell us that our Lord was of the Seed of David; and it
was a Matter of the greateſt Conſequence to the Chriſtian Religion that
he ſhould be known to be ſo: How very eaſy was it at that Time, when
the Genealogies of all the Jewiſh Families, and of the Family of David
more eſpecially, were kept with the greateſt Carefulneſs and Exactneſs, for
them to know this? and how very eaſy was it, for any one that doubted
it, to have inſpected the publick Regiſters, and ſeen whether it was ſo or not?
They tell us alſo ſeveral Circumſtances of our Lord's Birth, and ſeveral
Accidents that hapned about that Time; they tell us, for inſtance, that Lukeji. 1.
Joſeph being of the Houſe and Lineage of David, was forced with Mary
his Wife, at a very inconvenient Time for her, being great with Child,
to take a long Journey of about an hundred Miles, from Nazareth in Ga-
lilee, where their Habitation then was, to Bethlehem in Judea, the City of
David, that ſo their Names might be enrolled with the reſt of the Family
of
2
on.
Vol. II.
SD
986
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
egoc.
-
of David, when Auguſtus Caſar had ordred a general Enrolment of the
whole Jewiſh Nation. They tell us that then and there Jeſus was born ;
Matth. ii. I, that at the Time of his Birth certain Wiſe Men out of the Eaſt, conduct-
ed by a Star, came to Judea in queſt of thc Mefias; that they informed
Herod of the Deſign of their coming; that they were directed by the
Council of the chief Prieſts and Scribes to look for him in Bethlehem ; that
Herod diſappointed of the Deſign he had to kill this new-born King of
the Jews, by their not returning back to him according to his Appoint-
mcnt, ſent forth, and, that he niight make ſure work of it, flew all the
Children in Bethlehem that were under two Tears old; and ſeveral other
Things they tell us of the like Kind, eaſy to be known if true, and no
leſs eaſy to be diſproved if falſe. For whether there had been ſuch a
* ' Agorpumni. Taxing or * Enrolment of the whole Nation of the few's according to their
Families, by the Order of the Emperor, could not but be well known to
all the Jews; and the People of Nazareth could not but know, when
Fofeph went from thence, and whither he went, and upon what Occaſion,
and how long it was before he returned; and the People at Jeruſalem could
not but long remember the Story of the wife Men, at whole coming Herod
and the whole City with him was ſo much troubled ; and if there had been
no ſuch Thing, would readily have contradicted the Apoſtle's Relation of
it; and the Mothers at Bethlehem which ſurvived the Loſs of their dear
Children, could never after while they lived forget that general Mourning
that there had once been amongſt them, nor the Occaſion of it. If there-
fore theſe and ſuch like Things related by the Evangeliſts as Things pub-
lickly done, and much talked of, and of which, as they ſay, the Rumour
was ſpread far and near, had not been ſo as they are related, their whole
Hiſtory would have been thereby ſo much diſparaged, that no Part of it
would ever have had much Credit.
It is true indeed, there are ſome Things related by the Evangeliſts, that
were not altogether fo publick as thoſe I have before mentioned; for there
are ſome Things, of which, according to the Account that is given of them
in the Evangelical Hiſtory, none but the Diſciples of Chriſt were Wit-
neſſes; ſuch in particular was the Reſurrection of our Lord, which we at
this Time commemorate, and which is for that Reaſon moſt proper to be
now inſtanced in. Of this then I ſay, as well as of ſome few other
Things, it muſt be granted, that it was a Fact that could directly be wit-
neſſed only by his own Friends, by his Apoſtles and Diſciples; for ſo St.
Peter obſerves
, ſpeaking of this Matter, Aěts x. 40, 41. Him God raiſed
up the third Day, and jewed him openly, not to all the People, but to
Witneſſes chofen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him
after he roſe from the Dead. But nevertheleſs, conſidering how long, and
how often he is reported to have appeared to them, and the many Circumſtances
that are noted concerning his ſeveral Apparitions, and the great Number
I Cor. xv.6. of thoſe whom he is ſaid to have appeared to ; for St. Paul affirms that be-
fides his frequent Apparitions to his Apoſtles, he was ſeen at once by above
five hundred Brethren; their Teſtimony in this Matter, if it had been falſe,
was very near as eaſy and liable to be diſproved, as in any of the Matters
before ſpoken of. For it is very hard for ſo much as two Men that are
hired, or agree together to give in a falſe Evidence, to be ſo well inſtruct-
ed in the Evidence they are to give, or to concert the Matter ſo well be-
tween themſelves, but that upon a ſeparate Examination their Falſity may
eaſily be detected by their Diſagreement in ſome conſiderable Circumſtances
of the Matter they bear Witneſs to ; how very much eaſier then would it
haye been to have done this, in a Matter cloathed with ſuch great Variety
of Circumſtances, and which was teſtified by so many, by twelve, by ſeventy,
by above five hundred Perſons,
OF
}
---
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
987
u
62,
Matth. xxviii.
more
Or if it can be ſuppoſed, that they might have all fo fully agreed before-
hand, in what Manner and with what Circumſtances to tell this Story, that it
might not be poſlible to catch them in a Contradi&tion ; yet the Thing it
ſelf was of that Nature, that the falſe Evidence they had given concerning
it, if it had been falſe, might eaſily have been ſhewn other Ways; for
what they teſtified was, that that ſame Jeſus, whom the Jews had crucifi-
cd, and whom they had ſeen laid into the Sepulchre, was riſen again, and
had been ſeen alive three Days afrer his Paſſion by ſeveral of his Diſciples ;
had this therefore been falſc, how very eaſy would it have been for the
Jews to have difproved their Evidence of it, by only going to the Sepul-
chre, and taking out thence his dead Body, and expoſing it for ſome Time
to publick view ? And thither doubtleſs they did go, and with this Deſign;
but the Body they could not find, and yet they had taken all the Caution
that was poſlible to prevent its being conveyed away, having obtained from
Pilate a Guard of Soldiers on purpoſe to keep watch over it for three Days. Matth. xxvü.
This therefore is a ſtrong Confirmation of the Truth of the Apoſtles Tc-
ftimony concerning our Lord's Reſurrection; that it being ſuch a Thing as
might with the greateſt Eaſe in the World have been diſproved if it had
been falſo, the Jews had nothing to ſay againſt it, nothing to oppoſe to it,
but only that very ill-contriv'd, that ſelf-contradictiny Evidence of the
Watchmen; who ſaid, that while they were aſleep, that is, when all their
Senſes were bound up, and when they were not in a Capacity of know-13.
ing any Thing that was done, the Diſciples came and ſtole the Body
away. But if they ſaw the Body removed, in which Caſe only they
could be good Witneſſes of it, they were not, as they ſaid they were, aſleep
when the Thing was done; or if indeed they were aſleep, when it was re-
moved, they could not be poſitive how it was removed, they could not ſay
he was not riſen from the Dead.
6. Another Thing that may be conſidered, in order to ſhew how very
improbable, or rather how impoflible it was, that the Goſpel Hiſtory ſhould
ever have gained Credit in the World if it had been falſe, is this ; that as
it was a Hiſtory of ſuch Matters, and was ſo contrived that it might with
the greateſt Eaſe have been diſproved, ſo the Matters therein related were in
themſelves, and eſpecially in their Conſequences, ſuch as muſt needs have
engaged a great many, to make the ſtricteſt Examination that was poſſible
into the Truth of them, and if they had diſcovered any Thing of Fallhood
therein, to make known their Diſcovery to the World.
For the whole Doctrine of Chriſtianity was grounded upon the Truth
of the Evangelical Hiſtory; this diſproved would have deſtroyed that, and
this being admitted, there was no way to put a ſtop to the ſpreading of
that: And the certain Conſequence of receiving the Chriſtian Religion in
the World, was the Aboliſhing of all the other Forms of Religion that
were then any where received or cſtabliſhed ; even of that which had been
introduced by Moſes amongſt the Jews, by the Appointment of God
himſelf, as well as of the ſeveral Sorts of Paganiſm and Idolatry that
were received in other Countries. Now when any Religion, be it true or
falſe, is the eſtabliſhed Religion of a Country, there muſt needs be a great
many engaged by the ſtrongeſt worldly Intereſt to ſupport and maintain it.
For it was not only at Epheſus that a great number of Crafts-men got
their Wealth by making ſilver Shrines for Diana; but in every other Acts xix, 24.
Country the Living of a conſiderable Number depended upon the Religion
tliat was therein received; which being deſtroyed, and their Trade or Profef-
fion thereby at an End, they muſt of Neceſſity be hard put to it to get
Bread by taking up ſome new Employment. And beſides, there is no-
thing that all Men, of what Trade or Profeſſion ſoever they are,
generally
:
c.
are
988
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
i
they had taken away the Weapons they had before, and would not per-
generally ſo zealous and concerned about, nothing that they are ſo afraid
of any Change or Innovation in, as Religion. This, be it well or weakly
grounded, yet if it be that Form of Religion that they have received from
their Fathers, and been bred up in from their Childhood, they will not
eaſily let go.
So that I ſaid too little, when I ſaid before that a great many muſt
needs have been engaged to ſet themſelves to diſcover the Falſity of the
Evangelical Hiſtory; for this was in Truth the common Concern of all Man-
kind, except only thoſe few Perſons who had been inſtructed by our Sa-
viour, and believed him to be the Chriſt : All others, whether Jews or
Gentiles, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, Prieſts or People, were en-
gaged cither by Intereſt, or Prejudice, or Conſcience, or upon ſome other
Account, to convict the Apoſtles of Falſliood in their Relation of the Mat-
ters contained in the Evangelical Hiſtory; and if any Fallhood had been
therein, it is impoſſible, conſidering how obvious it muſt needs lic to Dif-
covery, and how many were at Work to find it out, that they could have
failed of their Aim; and if any one had made the Diſcovery, it cannot be
iinagin’d he would have been long before he had imparted to others a
Piece of News ſo very welcome as that would have been to the generality
of Mankind, or that ſuch a Diſcovery of the Falſity of the Goſpel Hiſtory
in any one particular, once made and publiſhed, ſhould ever after have been
ftified or ſuppreſſed; becauſe the ſame Reaſons that put them at firſt upon
making the Diſcovery, were of the ſame Force afterwards to engage them
to preſerve the Memory of any Diſcovery of that Kind that had been
made.
And therefore I add, in the laſt Place; and it is that which gives Weight
and Strength, to all that has been ſaid before upon this Subject, and fully
completes that Argument which I am now upon for the Proof of the Truth
of the Goſpel Hiſtory.
7. That notwithſtanding the Eafineſs of the Difproof of this Hiſtory if
it had been falſe, and the inceffant Endeavours of the Adverſaries of Chri-
ſtianity to find out fome Falfhood therein ; to do which they were not
only prompted by their own Intereſt and Inclination, but alſo frequently and
boldly challenged by the Chriſtians themſelves, as may be ſeen in the an-
cient Apologies for the Chriſtian Faith; it is nevertheleſs a Hiſtory of very
good Credit now, cavilled at perhaps, but not denied, nor pretended to be
diſproved, either by Jews or Mahometans, or any other Sort of Infidels ;
and that it has been of the like good Credit for many hundred Years paft,
eyen ever ſince the firſt Publication of it; and that it is not ſo much as
contradicted in any Point, by any other Hijſorian, that living in or near the
Time of its writing, was in a Capacity to contradict it upon good
Grounds; viz. upon either certain Knowledge of his own, or very cre-
dible Information from others that any Matter therein had been fallly
related.
True, perhaps the Infidels will ſay, there is indeed no Hiſtory of com-
petent Antiquity now extånt, by which the Goſpel Hiſtory can be diſproved ;
but that there has been no ſuch Hiſtory cannot with Certainty be affirmed.
This therefore, ſay they, is our Unhappineſs, that though we have a good
Cauſe, we are deſtitute of Means to ſupport it; and are in the Condition
that the Iſraelites are ſaid to have been in, in the Days of Saul, when they
1 Sam.xiii.22. had War with the Philiſtines : It came to paſs in the Day of Battel there
was neither Sword nor Spear found in the Hand of any of the People. But
what was the Reaſon of this? Why, the Philiſtines had diſarmed them;
mit more to be made. And this, ſay the Infidels, is exactly our Caſe:
Ver, 19.
*
in
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation
989
In the War we have now, with the Chriſtians we are forced to fight with
out Sword or Spear; and tho’ for other good Reaſons we are confident the
Goſpel Hiſtory is falſe, and are reſolved never to believe it, and make no
Doubt but that in former Times it has been oppoſed and contradicted; y et
in this the Chriſtians have been too hard and too cunning for us; that while
they have kept their own Weapons, they have flily taken away ours; for
they have been careful to preſerve the ancient Books that were written by
thoſe of their own Party in Defence of their Superſtition, but the Books of
their Adverſaries they have been as careful to ſuppreſs and deſtroy; and they
have had ſuch good Succeſs in it, that of all the Books or Diſcourſes of the
ancient Champions of Judaiſm, Paganiſm, or Deiſm, Trypho; Celſus, Por-
phyry, Julian, and other great Names, not much is now remaining beſides
Fragments, and thoſe perhaps imperfectly or fallly cited, to be picked up out
of the Books of thoſe who have written Anſwers to them, who, we may
well preſume, took notice only of thoſe Paſſages therein which they thought
were eaſieſt to be anſwered. But this is no unuſual Thing, for the power-
ful and prevailing Party to ſtifle that Evidence which they know not how to
diſprove, and to ſuppreſs thoſe Books which they cannot anſwer. And this;
ſay they, we take for a good Argument that there was ſomething very con-
ſiderable in theſe Books, and not eaſily to be anſwered; becauſe otherwiſe
the Chriſtians of former Times would have been more willing thắt they
ſhould be preſerved and tranſmitted to after-Times, that ſo Poſterity upon a
fair Hearing of all that had been ſaid on both Sides, might be able to paſs
a right Judgment upon the Caſe, and either to chuſe or to reject the Profef:
fion of "Chriſtianity, with Prudence and Diſcretion.
This is what has been ſometimes ſuggeſted by the Enemies of our Reli-
gion ; and indeed I know not what elſe can well be ſaid, to invalidate
that Proof of the Goſpel Hiſtory which I am now upon. But what ſlender
Ground there is for this Suggeſtion, and how very little the Chriſtian Cauſe
is affected by it, a few Words will ſuffice to ſhew.
For firſt, whereas it is ſaid, that tho' indeed there are no Hiſtories now
in being whereby the Goſpel Hiſtory can be diſproved, it is poſſible how-
ever there may have formerly been ſeveral Narratives extant that
were perfectly contradictory to it
, and thoſe tõo perhaps better atteſted and
confirmed than the Goſpel Hiſtory was; to this I anſwer' ; that it is never
allowed to be a good Proof that a Thing is, to ſay that it is poſſible it
might be. And beſides, if this Surmiſe or Suggeſtion of a Thing barely
poſſible be a good Objection againſt the Goſpel Hiſtory, it is as much an
Objection againſt all other ancient Hiſtories; if for this Reafon the Goſpel
Hiſtory be not credible, no other Hiſtory is ſơ; for there is no aricient
Hiſtory in the World now extant, which we can be ſure was never con-
tradicted by ſome other as ancient Hiſtory, that is not extant.
But ſecondly, as there is no Evidence that the Goſpel Hiſtory was con-
tradicted when it was firſt publiſhed, that is, when, if it had been falſe, it
might moſt eaſily have been diſproved; ſo there is on the other Side, as
good Evidence as ſuch a Matter is capable of, that it never was thus con-
tradicted or diſproved; becauſe if the Facts recorded by the Evangelical Hi-
ſtory had been then denied or diſproved by any competent and credible
Witneſſes, it is impoſſible that the Chriſtian Doctrine, which was grounded
upon and chiefly eſtabliſhed by theſe Facts, ſhould ever have ſpread fo faſt
as by the Confeſſion of all Parties it did, from the Time that it began
to be preached by the Apoſtles. Nothing but the ſtrong Evidence that
there was of the Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory; and ſtrong it cannot be ac-
counted, if there was ſtronger and better Evidence on the other Side 5
could have ſupported the Profeſſion of Chriſtianity, when it had nothing
Vol. II,
SE
1
990
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
to recommend it ſelf by but its Purity and Truth, againſt that violent Op-
poſition which it met with every where in the World. And,
3. Whereas it is farther ſuggeſted, that the Loſs of thoſe ancient Books
which are ſuppoſed to have been written to diſprove the Goſpel Hiſtory, is
owing to the Power and Subtilty of the Chriſtians of thoſe early Times,
who thought it beſt to file that Evidence which they could not gainſay or
rcfute; this Suggeſtion is manifeſtly as groundleſs as it is malicious.
For many Books of all Sorts and of all Sides have periſhed by Acci-
dent, or been worn out by Time, without any formal Deſign of any Party
or Perſons to ſuppreſs and deſtroy them; and I ſee no Reaſon why theſe
Books written in contradi&tion to the Goſpel Hiſtory, if indeed any ſuch were
ever written, may not have periſhed one of theſe Ways, as well as many o-
ther Books have done.
Or if a Reafon muſt needs be given why ſome Books, and why theſe in
particular, have been loft, while others of the ſanie or greater Antiquity
have been preſerved; I think the little Value that Men generally had for
thoſe Books that are loft, is the beſt Reaſon that can be given why they
were ſuffered to periſh; and that the moſt probable Cauſe of Men's having
ſo little Value for them was, becauſe the Matter of them was ſo evidently
falſe, or the Reaſoning of them ſo manifeſtly weak and fallacious, that no
Man thought it worth his while to be at the Pains or Charge of getting
them tranſcribed.
Or if the Men we are now arguing with will not allow this to be a
good Account of the Loſs of ſuch very valuable Books, as they think theſe
Anti-Gospel Hiſtories were, let them find out a better : But I am ſure that
that before ſuggeſted by them, viz. that it was by Deſign; the firſt Chri-
ſtians purpoſely aboliſhing and deſtroying all Teſtimonies and Records that
made againſt them ; is a much worſe Account of it, and infinitely more im-
probable than that which I have given.
For it muſt be ſuppoſed either that theſe Anti-Goſpel Hiſtories were
written very early, as ſoon almoſt as the Goſpel Hiſtory was publiſhed by.
the preaching or writing of the Apoſtles, or elſe in after-Times; and if
they were deſtroyed by the Chriſtians, this muſt have been done, either
ſoon after they were written, or elſe after they had been for ſome Time re-
ceived and allowed as true Hiſtories by the Adverſaries of the Chriſtian
Faith.
Now if it be ſuppoſed that thefe Books were not written till a good while
after the Apoſtles had preached, and the Evangeliſts written the Goſpel
,
they were written too late to be of ſufficient Authority to weaken the Cre-
dit of the Goſpel Hiſtory: For how could thoſe that were not born when
the Things recorded in the Goſpel were ſaid to be done, pretend to contra-
dict the Teſtimony of thoſe who were living at that Time, and who te-
ftified either that they ſaw them with their own Eyes, or that they received
that Account of them which they publiſhed, from very credible Perſons, who
ſaid they had been Eye witneſſes thereof?
But if it be ſuppofed that theſe Books were written Sooner, even as ſoon
almoſt as the Evangeliſts wrote, or the Apoſtles began to publiſh, by their
preaching, the Goſpel Hiſtory; then I ſay it is impoſible, they ſhould be ſup-
preſſed and deſtroyed by the Chriſtians, either then, or afterwards.
Not then; for though we grant that Chriſtianity from the very firſt preaching
of it, made a very ſwift Progreſs in the World, and from a Beginning
no bigger than a Grain of Muſtard-ſeed, grew up quickly to be a goodly
Tree, ſhadowing many Nations under the Branches of it; yet it did not
fpring up like a Muſhroom in a Night; it did not grow to this Bigneſs all
at once. And what were the Chriſtians in the weak and infant State of
+
I
the
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
991
the Church ; but an Handful of Men in Compariſon with their numberleſs
Oppoſers, and thoſe too without Wealth, without Power, of no Intereſt or
Eſteen in the World; that they ſhould undertake to corrupt or ſtifle the
Evidence that was given againſt them, which was ſupported by the ſecular
Power, and gladly received and embraced by all other Men but themſelves ?
What were they, that they ſhould be able to call in all the Books that had
been written againſt them, and to ſuppreſs and deſtroy them at their Plca-
fure? and that too ſo fully and effeëtually, as that with the Books themſelves
which they deſtroyed, all Memory of them ſhould likewiſe periſh? A pow-
erful and prevailing Party, with the Government on its Side, may indeed
do much in this Kind, and yet hardly ſo much as this; but they that bc-
lieve the Chriſtians to have been ſuch a powerful and prevailing Party, ear.
ly enough to hinder the ſpreading and diſperſing of any Books that were
written againſt them, believe, without any Ground or Warrant from Hiſtory,
a more unaccountable and incredible Thing than any that is recorded in the
Goſpel.
But if this could not be done then, it might perhaps be done afterwards ;
for in progreſs of Time it is certain, it may be faid, 'that 'the Chriſtians did
come to be of very great Power and Intereſt, and able to bear dowºn all
their Oppoſers ; and it is likely enough that then they might ſet themſelves to
deſtroy all thoſe Monuments of Antiquity, whereby their fabulous Goſpels had
been contradicted and diſproved; and it is not incredible that they ſhould
ſo far ſucceed in their Attempt as to leave no Means to Poſterity to diſcern
how weak and fandy a Foundation thcir Religion was built upon.
But this Suppoſition, taking it all together, involves a greater Difficulty, and
ſuppoſes a greater Miracle than the former did. For whatever the Chriſtians
might attempt to do, or whatever they might be able to do after they had
attained to ſuch great Power, and were become the moſt numerous arid pre-
vailing Party ; it is utterly incredible that they ever could have attained to ſuch
great Power, that they ever could have become the moſt numerous and prevai-
ling Party, if indeed the Goſpel Hiſtory had, almoſt from the very Begin-
ning, been oppoſed and contradicted by other Hiſtories that were more-cre-
dible than the Goſpel Hiſtory was.
For it muſt be, and is granted by all, that at the firſt preaching of Chri-
ftianity all worldly Power and Intereſt were on the other Side, and engaged
moſt ſtrongly to hinder the Growth and Spreading of it. Now when Truth
is on one Side, and Power and Intereſt on the other, it is not impoſſible
that Truth may at laſt prevail againſt Intereſt, and bring the Power alſo to
be on its Side : But if Truth, I mean that which hath moſt Appearance of
Truth; I ſay if Truth, and Power, and Intereſt are all on the ſame Side from
the Beginning; as it muſt be allowed, they were, by thoſe who ſay, that the
Goſpel Hiſtory was quickly prov'd falſe by other Hiſtories written and publiſh-
ed about the ſame Time; then I ſay it is utterly impoſſible, that an Impoſture
quickly diſcover'd to be an Impoſture, and which fervd no worldly Intcreſt,
ſhould ever have ſo gained Ground as Chriſtianity did, againſt that apparent
Truth and mighty Power and Intereſt that were on the other Side. So that
whatever Progreſs Chriſtianity might have made for a ſhort Time at firſt, by
reaſon of the Boldneſs and Confidence of its firſt Preachers, it muſt needs
be that immediately from and after the Time that the Anti-Goſpel Hiſtories,
of better Credit and Authority than the Goſpel Hiſtory was, were publiſhed,
it muſt have declined much faſter than it had before increaſed, and in a very
few Years, have ſo dwindled to nothing, that it is like in the Age in which
we live there, would hardly have been ſo much as any Remembrance of it left.
And now, if nothing more could be ſaid upon this Subject; for I have not
Time at preſent to take into Conſideration the other Proofs before hinted at
of
992
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
of the Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory ; I think what has been ſaid already is
enough to ſhew, that there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full
Credit to the Evan-
gelical Writers, in their Relations of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have
recorded: This I am ſure of, that upon much leſs Evidence and Aſſurance of
Truth than we have in this, we generally give Credit to other Hiſtories.
For we believe other Hiſtorians in their Relation of ſuch Matters, as they
could not have fo certain Knowledge or ſo good Aſſurance of, as the Evan-
gelical Writers might have of thoſe plain Matters of Fact and Senſe which
they have rclated in their Hiſtory:
And again, we believe other Hiſtorians giving an Account of Things which
they do not pretend to have had a perſonal Knowledge of; which were done
in Countries far diſtant from them, and in Times long before them; which
their Readers had no Means to enquire into the Truth of; which were done
in ſecret, or when but few were by; and which if they were fallly related,
none were engaged by any worldly Intereſt to be at much Pains to diſprove.
And laſtly, if two Hiſtorians of the ſame Antiquity give different or con-
tradictory Accounts of the fame Matter, we do not for that Reaſon alone pre-
fently reject either of them; but we enquire which of them was in the beſt
Capacity to know the Truth, and which of them is the leaſt liable to the
Suſpicion of Falſhood, and which Story is the nioſt probably related, and to the
Belief of that we incline.
If therefore there be any Man that thinks there is any Truth in Hiſtory,
and who does give Credit to other Hiſtories (and I believe there is no Man
but does ſo) and yet will not be perfuaded to allow that the Goſpel Hiſtory
is very credible, which contains a Relation only of ſuch Matters of Senſe as
it was morally impoſſible there ſhould be any Cheat or Deceit in; and in
which if there had been any Deceit or Miſtake, it was morally impoſſible that
it ſhould not be diſcovered and diſproved; and which yet, neither is now,
nor ever was contradicted by any Hiſtory of competent Antiquity and good
Credit ; I think we may very well conclude, that it is not Reaſon or Judg-
ment but Prejudice, or Intereſt, or the Love of fome Vice or Luft, that
makes him an Infidel
.
ܪ
>
***
DIS
993
DISCOURSE XCII.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-
Revelation;
As to the Proof of it. PART II.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
,
Abraham faith unto him, They have Moſes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho' one
roſe from the Dead.
T
HE Subject I was upon in my laſt Diſcourſe on theſe
Words, and which I left unfiniſh’d, was to ſhew, that
there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to the Authors
of the Hiſtorical Books of the New Teſtament in their
Relations of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have
recorded.
For the Proof of which I propoſed theſe following
Things to be conſidered ;
1. The Nature, Conditions and Circumſtances of the Matters they have
recorded, and of the Hiſtory it ſelf.
II. The good Capacity they were in to know the Truth of the Things they
have related.
III The ſtrong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the
Truth, according to the beſt of their knowledge or Information.
IV. The good Evidences that we have of their Honeſty and Faithfulneſs.
V. Laſtly, the Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their Hiſtory
by God himſelf.
Vol. II,
F
The
And,
SF
994
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
The laſt Diſcourſe was ſpent in the Conſideration of the firſt of theſe Things ;
I proceed now to the ſecond, viz.
ز
II. The good Capacity that the Writers of the Evangelical Hiſtory were
in to know the Truth of thoſe Things which they have related.
Now the Matters of Hiſtory which are related in the Epiſtles are but few,
and thoſe, for the moſt Part, ſuch as had been done by, or had happened to,
either the Perſons that wrote them, or the Churches or Perſons to whom they
were written; ſo that of theſe we ſhall not need to ſay any Thing.
For the Bulk or Body of the Evangelical Hiſtory is contain’d in the four
Goſpels, and in the Afts of the Apoſtles; and of the Authors of theſe Books
there is no Controverſy in the Chriſtian Church; and if they were written by
the reputed Authors, a few Words will ſuffice to ſhew, that they were in a
very good Capacity to know the Truth of the Things they have recorded,
much better than moſt other antient Hiſtorians, whoſe Relations, nevertheleſs,
are generally thought worthy of Credit.
For St. Matthew and St. John, two of the four Evangeliſts, were of the
Number of thoſe Twelve who were in conſtant Attendance upon our Lord,
from the Time that he firſt began to prcach and to make Diſciples, until he
was taken up into Heaven ; ſo that they were themſelves Eye and Ear-Wit-
neſſes of moſt of the Things which they have recorded.
Of St. Mark and St. Luke indeed the ſame cannot be ſaid ; neither is it
certain that they were of the Number of the ſeventy Diſciples, tho' that be
affirmed by ſome of the Antients : But this I think is agreed to by all; that
St. Mark was for ſome Part of his Life a conſtant Companion of St. Peter,
who was not only one of the Twelve, but, moſt probably, the firſt that was
calld to be an Apoſtle, and who was alſo one of the Three with whom our
Lord was moſt intimate and familiar ; for we often read, that Peter, and
Matt. xvii
. 4. James and John were ſingled from the reſt to be Witneſſes of ſome of the
moſt private Tranſactions of his Life : And it was generally believed in the
anticnt Church, that St. Peter was more truly the Author of the Goſpel called
St. Mark's, than St. Mark himſelf; he being only the Scribe or Amanuenſis,
and St. Peter the Perſon that di&tated the Things written by him ; whence al-
ſo this Gospel is by ſome of the Antients ſtiled the Goſpel of St. Peter. And
of this there ſeem to be ſome Tokens even in the Hiſtory it ſelf; particularly
in that Relation that is therein given of St. Peter's Denial of his Maſter, and
of his Repentance for it ; for his Denial is there told with ſome more Cir-
cumſtances than in the other Goſpels, ſuch as the Perſon himſelf chiefly con-
cerned was beſt able to know and might beſt remember ; and the Account
that is given of his Repentance, is by this Author expreſſed more modeſtly, as
it beſt became a Perſon to ſpeak who ſpake of himſelf, than it is by the other
Evangeliſts; for St. Matthew and St. Luke ſay that he wept bitterly ; but
St. Mark, or rather St. Peter himſelf dictating thoſe Words, only ſays, that
when he thought thereon he wept.
It is likewiſe agreed on all Hands that St. Luke, if not one of the ſeventy
Diſciples, which it is moſt probable he was not, was however a very early
Convert to Chriſtianity ; that he converſed frequently with the Apoſtles and
immediate Diſciples of our Lord, and was a conſtant Companion of St. Paul,
for a good while, in his Preaching and Travels ; ſo that of almoſt all the Things
which he relates in his Hiſtory of the Acts of the Apoſtles he might be, and
of much the greateſt Part of them, it is moſt probable, and of ſome, it is
certain, he was an Eye or Ear-Witneſs.
So then, there are three of the five Hiſtorical Books of the New Teſta-
ment that were written by thoſe who were preſent at moſt of the Things
which they have related, viz. the Goſpels of St. Matthew and St. John, and
37.
Mark v. 37.
xxvi.
the
turn ovat LAN sy
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
995
the Aets of the Apoſtles; and another of them, tho'it bears the Namc of St.
Mark, the Perſon by whom it was penned, yet if it was, as has been generally
believ'd, dictated by St. Peter, may be added to that Number, and be like-
wiſe reckon’d the Teſtimony of one who was an Eye-Witneſs of the Things
he has related.
In this Reſpect therefore the Goſpel Hiſtory is manifeftly as credible as it is
poſſible any Hiſtory ſhould be ; for no Hiſtorian can record any Thing upon ber-
ter Aſſurance of the Truth than the Evidence of his own Senſes.
Bur the Gospel of St. Luke, it muſt be granted, is not of this Sort; He
himſelf does not pretend, that the Matters by him recorded were of his own
Knowledge ; he only ſays, He had perfect underſtanding of them from the Luke i. 2, 3.
very firſt, from thoſe who from the Beginning were Eye-Witneſſes and Mini-
ſters of the WORD. And of ſome few Matters recorded by the other Evan-
geliſts, the ſame muſt likewiſe be granted, particularly of the Things that were
done before they were called to be Apoſtles ; of theſe Things I ſay, it muſt
be granted, that it is moſt probablc, they were not Matters of their own Know-
ledge, but that they recorded them only upon crcdible Information from others.
But when it is conſider'd on the other Hand, that there are very few Things
related by St. Luke which are not to be found in ſome of the other Goſpels,
his Teſtimony that he had perfect Information of the Things he has recorded
from ſeveral Eye-witneſſes, adds a Degree of Credibility even to the other
Goſpels, and is a good corroborating Evidence of their Truth: And all the
Matters recorded by him, or the other Evangeliſts, only upon the Information
of others, muſt be granted to be more credible than the Matter of moſt other
antient Hiſtories of good Credit is; if we reflect upon what was ſaid in the for-
mer Diſcourſe concerning the Nature and Circumſtances of the Things rc-
corded; particularly, that they were ſuch Things as might be moſt certainly
known, and were capable of the beſt Atteſtation ; and that they were Things
done in the ſame Age, and in the ſame Country, in which they lived who have
written the Hiſtory thereof.
And what hath been ſaid is, I hope, ſufficient, to ſhew the good Capacity the
Authors of the Hiſtorical Parts of the New Teſtament were in, to know the
Truth of the Things they have recorded ; moſt of them being ſuch as it is
probable Three of the Evangeliſts, as Two of them, without all Diſpute,
were Eye-Witneſſes of, and the reſt ſuch as they might have certain Infor-
mation of from ſeveral Perſons then alive, and well able to witneſs the
ſame.
Of the Ability then of theſe Authors to write a true Hiſtory of theſe Mat-
rs, I think, there can be no reaſonable Doubt : And that there is as little
Reaſon to doubt of their Honeſty and Faithfulneſs, will in Part appear,
we conſider in the third Place,
if
III. The ſtrong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the Truth,
according to the beſt of their Knowledge or Information.
Now the Obligations that Men are under to ſpeak or write Truth may be
reduc'd to two Heads, Honour and Conſcience : By both which the Evangeli-
cal Writers were more ſtrongly obliged to Truth in their Relations, than com-
monly other Hiſtorians are.
1. One Obligation that lies on all Men to ſpeak or write nothing but what
is true, is Honour. For there is nothing that is generally accounted more baſe
or diſhonourable than to tell a Lie ; there is nothing that by thoſe who ſtand
moſt upon their Honour is thought more reflecting and diſparaging, and more
neceſſary to be reſented as an high Affront, than to have the Lie given them.
What therefore is generally thought to be a great Reproach, it may reaſonably
I
be
996
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
ز
be preſumed, unlcſs the contrary appears, a Man will be careful to avoid, by
not giving any juſt Occaſion to have it caſt upon him. .
And this is onc Ground of that great Credit that is generally given to an-
tient Hiſtorics ; it is preſum’d, unleſs there be evident Cauſe to think other-
wiſe, that the Authors of them were Men of ſo much Honour, and that they
had ſuch a Scnſe of the Reproach and Diſcredit that it would be to them, to
be found out in a Lic, as made them careful not to record any Thing as a cer-
tain Truth, but what they had good Knowledge or Information of.
But that this Obligation to Truth was ſtronger on the Authors of the E-
vangelical Hiſtory, than on moſt other Hiſtorians, is abundantly evident from
what was noted the laſt Time, concerning thc Nature and Conditions of the
Things by them related, and of their Hiſtory of them.
For the Matter of moſt other antient Hiſtories is ſuch, that the Hiſtorians
might report many Things untruly or upon Night Information, and yet be
pretty well afurd that they ſhould not be reputed Liars; becauſe the Matters
recorded by them being Things either done in ſome Places a good way off,
or in ſome Time long before, or in the Preſence of but few Perſons, they
might know that none of thoſe, into whoſe Hands their Hiſtories would fall,
would be in a Capacity to contradict them tho' they were falſo: Or they might
reaſonably ſuppoſe that their Readers would rather acquieſce in their Report,
than travel ſo far or take ſo much Pains as they muſt have done to diſprove it ;
cſpecially if it was a Matter of no great Conſéquence to their Readers whether
their Report was true or falſe.
But in the Goſpel Hiſtory the Caſe was quite otherwiſe, and the Hiſtorians
themſelves could not but know that it was ſo. For there were a great many
concern’d to find out ſome Falſity in it, and there were a great many that would
have taken any Pains to have done it; and yet the Matters related by the Evan-
geliſts, and their Manner of relating them were ſuch, that their Hiſtory, if it
had been falſe in any Particular, might have been diſproved with the greateſt
Eaſe, with being at any Pains to do it; becauſe moſt of thoſe into whoſe Hands
it firſt came, would either have known it to be falſe, or would readily have
been told that it was ſo, by Abundance of Perſons that could of their own
Knowledge have contradicted it. So that if it be ſuppoſed that the Evange-
liſts had any Regard at all to their own Reputation, it can't be imagin'd either
that they did record any Thing contrary to their knowledge, or that in Mat-
tors that were not of their own Knowledge they neglected to get the beſt In-
formation and Intelligence that could be had; becauſe if they had done either
of theſe, they could not have been ſo vain, as to hope to eſcape being cenſured
as the moſt notorious and ſhameleſs Liars that ever wrote. But,
2. The ſtrongeſt Obligation that lies on all Men to ſpeak or write nothing
but the Truth, is Conſcience : And the Senſe that all Men are ſuppoſed to have
of the natural Turpitude of a Lie, is the chief Ground of that very great
Cre-
dit that we give to human Teſtimony, in Caſes of the greateſt Concern and
Confcquence.
But this Obligation to Truth was likewiſe ſtronger on the Authors of the
Evangelical Hiſtory than on moſt other Hiſtorians; it was indeed ſo very
ſtrong, that nothing leſs than an evident Proof of their Falſity can juſtify the
entertaining ſo much as a Suſpicion of it.
For to ſpeak and write the Truth was what they were obliged to, not only
by the Law of Nature, to which all Men are alike ſubject, but alſo by the
Rules of that Religion which they had been bred up in; by which they had
I.cv. xix. ir. been expreſly forbidden to lie one to another, and by which they had been
Pro. vi.16,19- taught that a falſe Witneſs that speaketh Lies is an Abomination to the Lord,
and eſpecially by the ſtrict Command of him whom they had lately taken for
their
I
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
997
.
their Maſter, and whoſe Laws and Religion they were to preach and propa-
gare in the World, by which they were obliged, and under the ſevereſt Penalty,
no leſs than eternal Damnation, to put away all Lying, and to ſpeak every Eph. iv. 25;
Man the Truth to his Neighbour.
The Subject Matter of their Relation did alſo lay upon them the ſtrongeſt
Obligation to have a ſtrict Regard to Truth in every Thing that they wrote.
For if it be a Sin to ſpeak an Untruth in any common Matter, it is manifeſtly
a greater Sin to do it in grave and ſerious Things, when Truth is moſt ex-
pected ; and eſpecia!ly in Matters of Religion, whcrein a Lie is moſt unbe-
coming : And if it be a Sin to utter a Slander, or to tell a Lie of a Man, it
is evidently a Sin of a more heinous Nature, to report an Untruth concerning
GOD, and to utter a Falfhood in the Name of God; and if to lead Men
into any Miſtake by a falſe Relation be a Practice not to be juſtificd, altho' the
Miſtake they are led into be of no hurtful Conſequence either to themſelves or
to the World; it is evidently a great Aggravation of the Lic, if Men are there-
by deceived in a Caſe of the neareſt and deareſt Concern to them, if they are
led thereby into an Error that may prove fatal to them to all Eternity. And
laſtly, if it be a very great Sin; only once to ſpeak 'an Untruth that may be
prejudicial to one Man; it is plainly the greateſt and the moſt unpardonable
Sin of this kind to record an Untruth, with a Deſign thereby to deceive, to
their everlaſting Deſtruction, all the Men that ſhall ever be born into the World
in all furure Ages.
If therefore the Goſpel Hiſtory be falſe, there was manifeſtly ſuch a Coma
plication of moſt horrid Wickedneſs in the Publiſhers and Compilers of it, as
it is not fair to ſuppoſe even one ſingle Man would be guilty of; and much leſs
can it be reaſonably ſuppoſed that ſeveral Men, viz. not only the four E-
vangeliſts, but all the other Apoſtles who preached the ſame Things that they
wrote, did conſent to the reporting of ſo many, and ſuch notorious and hurtful
Untruths.
But this, it may be it will be ſaid, is not a direa Proof,' that the Evange-
liſts were true and faithful in their Relations, but only a probable Ground of
preſuming that they were ſo: And I grant it is no more. But nevertheleſs, I
think, if nothing more could be offered, this alone would be ſufficient to ren-
der their Teſtimony highly credible, ſo long as nothing is alleged on the other
Side to diſprove it ; and in all other Cafes we allow it to be ſo. For by the
Teſtimony of Perſons of whoſc Truth we have no other Affurance but ſuch
a probable Preſumption, all Queſtions and Controverſies of the greateſt Con-
cern, relating to the Lives' and Eſtates of Men, are in this world finally dc-
cided ; every Man that tears Witneſs in any ſuch Caſe being, by the common
Judgment of Mankind, taken and accepted as a good Witneſs, unleſs the con-
trary appears; and by the Teſtimony of two or three ſuch Witneſſes we all
content that every Matter ſhould be eſtabliſhed.
But then I add farther, that beſides this reaſonable Preſumption of the Truth
of the Witneſſes of the Goſpel Hiſtory, which is all that we ordinarily have,
or do deſire in other Caſes; there is as good poſitive Proof of their Truth as
can be required. And this was the next Thing propos’d to be conſider’d,
vix
4. The good Evidences that we have of their Honeſty and Faithfulneſs.
And here it may be noted; for tho'it be a Thing that we lay no great Streſs
upon in this Cafe, yet I think it is not to be omitted, becauſe it is one of the
beſt Evidences that we can have of the Faithfulneſs of any Hiſtorian whoſe
perſonal Character is unknown to us; that the Authors of the Evangelical
Hiſtory ſeem to have related all Matters with the greateſt Impartiality ; that
they ſeem as free in telling the Things that were, or might be accounted diſ-
graceful to their Maſter or themſelves, as in telling thoſe Things that were
Vol. II.
moſt
A
{
SG
سکس
998
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
moſt glorious and reputable. For thus, in their Hiſtory of the Lifc of Chriſi,
as they tell us the Wonderfulneſs of his Birth, the many Miracles that he
wrought, the Teſtimony that was given him by the Deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt
upon him, and by the Voice of God, his glorious Rcſurrection from the
Dead, and Aſcenſion into Heaven; ſo they ſtick not to tell us alſo the Mcan-
neſs of his Parentage, the Obſcurity of his Birth, his poor and low Condition
in the World, the Affronts that were given him, the Contempt he was had
in, and the ſhameful Death he was put to. And of themſelves, they have
left it upon Record to all Pofterity, that they were of the meaneſt Extraction,
and bred up to very poor or ſcandalous Employments, that they were Fiſher-
Men, Tent-Makers, Publicans ; they own that they were ignorant and in-
learned Men; they tell their own childiſh Miſtakes about the Nature of the
Kingdom of the Meſſiah; they mention their own fooliſh and ambitious Con-
tentions with one another about worldly Greatneſs; they confeſs their own
Baſeneſs and Cowardice in forſaking their Maſter when in Danger, after the
moſt folemn Profeſſions of Friendſhip, and repeated Afſurances of Stedfaſtneſs
and Fidelity. St. Peter's Denial of Chriſt is a Thing noted by all the Evan-
geliſts, and by St. Peter himſelf, if the Goſpel of St. Mark be accounted his,
is told with its worſt Circumſtances; and St. Paul freely owns, that before his
Converſion to Chriſtianity he was a Blaſphemer, a Perſecutor, and injurious,
and the chief of Sinners. Now their recording ſuch Things as theſe concern-
ing their Maſter and themſelves, as it is an Evidence of their Impartiality, is
conſequently a good Argument of the Truth of their Hiſtory; for had they
allowed themſelves a Liberty of varying from the Truth in any Particular, it
cannot be imagin’d but that they would at leaſt have concealed their own Frail-
ties and Infirmities; it cannot be ſuppos'd they would have furniſhed their Ad-
verſaries with Matter wherewith to reproach them.
But it is poſſible that an Hiſtorian who means to deceive his Readers in
ſome Matter of greater Moment, may purpoſely inſert ſome few ſuch Paſſages
as theſe, thereby to gain to himſelf an eaſier Belief in other Things, and to
cover his wicked Deſign. It is therefore another and a better Evidence of the
Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory, that the Evangeliſts and other Witneſſes of the
Facts recorded in the Goſpels, were Perſons not liable to any juſt Suſpicion of
Unfaithfulneſs in their Relations; becauſe whatever they had been before,
they were then in all other Reſpects Perſons of a very good Character. Te
1 Theft, ii. 10. are Witneſſes, ſays the Apoſtle, and God alſo, how holily and juſtly and un-
blameably, we have behaved our ſelves among you. They that could not be
charged with any other Crimes, were not juſtly to be ſuſpected guilty of For-
gery and Lying. And we have abundant Reaſon to believe that they were
in all other Reſpects unblameable, becauſe there is no Evidence that they were
ever charged at all, either truly or falſiy, even by their greateſt Enemies, with
any other Fault but only too great Zeal and Induſtry in propagating their Reli-
gion. And it is no Wonder that this ſhould be thought a Fault by thoſe who
were of another Religion ; or that by the Powers that then were, who en-
deavoured with all their Might to ſuppreſs the Growth of Chriſtianity, the
Apoſtles, who were ſo zealous to ſpread it, ſhould be looked upon as diſaffected
to their Government and Movers of Sedition. But however, this, if it had
been a Fault, was not fuch a Crime as could juſtly have rendred their Ho-
neſty ſuſpected; but on the contrary, it was rather a very good Argument, that
however they might poſſibly, be miſtaken, yet they did believe themſelves ;
iş a fair Proof, that they thought they had good Evidence of the Things they
teſtified, and that they reckoned themſelves under a ſtrict Obligation to teſtify
the ſame.
it
For
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
999
For it is plain, and that is another good Argument of their Veracity, that
they could have no worldly End or Deſign cither in the framing or pub-
liſhing of thoſe Stories which they related ; ſo that if they were Fables which
they told, they were far from being cunningły deviſed Fables ; becauſe, as
the World then was, they could not have been ſo vain as to hope to raiſe
themſelves either to Honour or Wealth by preaching a crucified Meſſiah, to
the Jew's a Stumbling Block, and to the Greeks Fooliſhneſs. Now it is
not to be ſuppoſed that any Man will frame or report a Lye for nothing :
Whoever knowingly deceives another, muſt be ſuppoſed to intend ſome Ad-
vantage to himſelf thereby; and therefore if there be no Untruth appearing
in the Relation, and no Gain or other Advantage that the Reporter can be
fuppoſed to make to himſelf by it, it may very reaſonably be preſumed that
the Report is true.
But ſo far was this, if it was a Lye, from being a pro-
fitable and advantageous Lye to the Forgers and Reporters of it, that on
the contrary it was, and they could not but readily foreſee that it would
be, very prejudicial to their worldly Intereſts, cxpoſing them to all Sorts
of Perſecutions from all Sorts of Men; for both Jews and Gentiles, and
every Sect and Party of every other Religion, however hating one another
with a mortal Hatred, readily joitted together to perſecure the Chriſtiansy
and thoſe above all others who were the Witneſſes of Chriſtianity, the Ring-
leaders, as they cailed them, of the Seft of the Nazarenes.
This therefore may be reckoned another Evidence of their Truth; and
as it is a ſtronger Evidence of Ttuth than any that has been yet mentioned,
ſo it is ſuch an one as I believe no Hiſtory in the World has, but that of
the Goſpel, viz, that no Threats or Puniſhments could move the Witneſſes
of thoſe Things that are recorded in the Evangelical Hiſtory, ſo much as
to defiſt from giving freſh Teſtimony to the Truth of the Things which
they had once related. For this ſeems to have been all that was ever re-
quired or expected from them ; not that they ſhould retract the Teſtimony
they had given, but only that they ſhould not speak or teach any more in Aas iv. 18;
the Name of Jefits: And upon this Condition alone any of them might
have expected both a Pardon for what he had done before, and likewiſe all
fitting Favour and Encouragement. But this was what they all refuſed to
do, giving no other Reaſon of their Refuſal but this, that they were very
fire of the Truth of the Things they had ſpoken, and that there was a
Neceſſity laid upon them to preach the Goſpel. Whether, ſay they, it bé Acts iv. 19,20.
right in the Sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge
ye; for we cannot but ſpeak the Things which we have ſeen and Keard.
And the more they were tõreatned to hold their Peace, ſo much the more
boldly did they ſpeak, not only filling Jeruſalem with their Doctrine, but
likewiſe ſpreading the ſame in all the World; and tho' they knew that in
every City where they came, Bonds and Afflictions did abide them ; none Actsxx.23,24.
of theſe Things moved them, neither did they count their Lives dear unto
themſelves, ſo that they might finiſh their Courſe with Joy, and the Mi-
niſtry which they had received of the Lord Jéſus, to teſtify the Goſpel of
the Grace of God.
And if theſe Proofs and- Evidencés already mentioned of the Truth and
Faithfulneſs of thc Apoſtles and Evangeliſts are not thought ſufficient to
gain them Credit, what is there that would-be ſufficient? for more Evidence,
or better Proof cannot reaſonably be deſired'; fo good is very rarely to be
met with, or expected; and indeed I think there is but only one ſtronger
Proof thereof that can ever poſſibly be given by. Men; and that is when
a Witneſs lays down his Life to confirm the Teſtimony hic has given : For
if when a Man has witneſſed any Thing, and is queſtioned for it, and threat-
ned with Death if he perſiſts in it, he ſtill continues boldly to teſtify the
ſame
V. 46.
ز
*
I 000
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation. .
ſame Thing; and eſpecially if when upon the Rack or on thc Croſs, in
the midſt of the ſharpeſt Torments, and even at the Hour of his Death,
he juſtifies the Truth of his former Teſtimony, he certainly gives the beſt
Aſurance that it is poſſible for any Man to give, of his Honeſty and Truth
and if any human Teſtimony be credible, this is certainly ſo in the higheſt
Degree.
That therefore our Belief of the Goſpel might be built upon the ſureſt
Grounds, it pleaſed the divine Wiſdoni ſo to order it, that all thoſe who
were the firſt Witneſſes thereof to the World ſhould give likewiſe this beſt
poſſible Proof of their Veracity. For of all the Apoſtles and Evangeliſts,
of the Manner of whoſe Death there is any Memory preſerved either by
Hiſtory or Tradition, St. John is the only Perſon that did not ſeal the Tel-
timony he had given with his Blood; and that he did not ſuffer Martyrdom as
well as the reſt, was not occaſioned by his forbearing to repeat the Teſtimo-
ny he had before given, and much leſs by his retracting it, but was merely
an Act of divine and miraculous Providence, whereby tho' he was put into
a Caldron of boyling Oyl, his Life was preſerved; ſo that in Truth, conſi-
dering the Hazard he ran of his Life, which could not have been ſaved but
by a Miracle, he may very well be counted a Martyr for the Teſtimony of
Feſus, no leſs than the other Apoſtles, altho' he did not actually expire under
his Sufferings as they did.
Now if it be fuppoſed, that a Man, eſpecially one who ſtands much upon
his Credit, may be willing, after he has told a Lye, to ſuffer a great Deal
rather than own himſelf a Lyar; tho' I think it cannot reaſonably be ſuppo-
ſed, either that any Man would ſuffer ſo many other great Evils as the Apo-
ftles did, only upon a Point of Honour, or that the Apoſtles did ftand ſo
much upon their Honour ; yet when it is brought to this, that a Man who
has told a Lye muft either retract it, or dye for it, and that he may in all
Probability ſave his Life by retracting it, it is not to be ſuppoſed that any
Man will be a Martyr for a known Falſhood. For it is a very true Saying; and
to which there is hardly any Exception, tho it was ſpoken by the Father of
Lyes, that Skin for Skin, yea all that a Man hath he will give for his Life.
It is not credible therefore, that ſo much as one Man ſhould be found lo
fooliſh as to ſacrifice his Life to a known Lye, and that too an unprofitable
Lye, to himſelf, to his Family, and to all the World; and this only to ſave
his Reputation: It is much leſs credible that ſo many Men, viz. all the
Apoſtles and Evangeliſts, and moſt if not all the reſt of our Lord's imme-
diate Diſciples ſhould be guilty of ſuch prodigious and unheard of Folly;
and it is leaſt of all credible, that among ſo many as there were that bore
Witneſs of the Facts recorded in the Evangelical Hiſtory, not ſo much as
one Man ſhould be found that was honefter and wiſer than the reſt; not one
that could be perſuaded to give Glory to God by the Confeſſion of his Fault,
and Satisfaction to the World, by a publick owning of the Cheat he had been
engaged in; not one that would chuſe to undergo the Diſgrace of a Lyar ra-
ther than the ſhameful Death of a Malefactor.
Theſe are in ſhort the Evidences we have of the Honeſty and Faithful-
neſs of the Evangelical Hiſtorians ;, thoſe Evidences I mean which they them-
ſelves have given thereof; and they are plainly as good as could be deſired,
they are the beſt that could be given by. Men.
And putting together all that hath been ſaid on this and the foregoing
Heads, now, and in my laſt Diſcourſe, for the Proof of the Truth of the
Evangelical Hiſtory; I think we may truly and confidently affirm, that al-
though we conſider it only as a a mere human Hiſtory, we have much
greater Reaſon to give Credit to it, than to any Hiſtory in the World
beſides.
4
Job. ii. 4.
2
But
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
I OOI
But if we receive the Witneſs of Men, (and who is there that does not?) • John v. 9.
the Witneſs of God is greater ; and therefore in order to ſhew farther that
there is sufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to the Evangelical Hiſtorians
in their Relations of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have recorded; I
propoſed to be conſidered, in the fifth and laſt Placc,
V. The Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their Hiſtory, by
God himſelf
. For what St. Paul ſays of his own, was likewiſe true of the
Speech and preaching of all the other Apoſtles; viz. that it was in Demon. 1 Cor. ii. 4,5.
ſtration of the Spirit and of Power ; that the Faith of their Hearers ſhould
not ſtand in the Wiſdom of Men, but in the Power of God. And ſo St.
Luke ſays, Aets iv. 33. With great Power gave the Apoſtles witneſs of the
Reſurrection of the Lord Jeſus. For at the ſame Time that they witneſſed
the Miracles of their Mafter, they gave Aſſurance to Men of the Truth of
their Tcftimony by doing the like Miracles themſelves, healing the ſick,
caſting out Devils, raiſing the dead, &c. juſt as Jeſus himſelf had done.
And at the ſame Time that, perſuant to their Commiſſion, they preached
the Goſpel to Men of all Nations and Languages, they plainly demonſtra-
ted, both that they had ſuch a Commiſlion from God, and that it was the
Truth of God which they preached, by ſpeaking to every Man of every
Nation in his own Tongue.
Thus, as the Author to the Hebrews ſays, God did bear them Witneſs Heb. ii. 4.
both with Signs and Wonders, and with diverſe Miracles and Gifts of the
Holy Ghoſt, according to his own Wil. And he might well ſay, that God
did hereby bear them Witneſs, becauſe that Power wherewith they were
endued was ſo evidently from on high, that none that ſaw their Works, Luke xxiv.49)
and conſidered withal the Purity and Excellence of the Doctrine of Chriſti-
anity that was thereby eſtabliſhed, could have any reaſonable Doubt whether
they were done by the Power of God or no. We know, ſaid Nicodemus John iii. 2.
to our Saviour, that thou art a Teacher Sent from God, for no Man can do the
Miracles that thou doeft, except God be with him. But the ſame Works John xiv. 12.
that Jeſus did, did his Diſcples alſo, after he had ſent down the Promiſe
of his Father upon them, on the Day of Pentecoſt; yea, and greater Works
than thoſe did they do ; ſo that whoever beheld their Works, might, ſo far
as Miracles are Evidences of a divine Power, be rather more certain that
God was with them, than Nicodemus could be, that he was with our Lord
himſelf. For tho' their other Miracles, that were of the ſame Sort with
thoſe which our Saviour had done, were ſuch Proofs of divine Aſſiſtance
as could not with any Reaſon be gainſaid; yet, I think it may be truly affirm’d,
that the Gift of Tongues, which was peculiar to them, and wherein they
did, as we may ſay, excel even our Lord himſelf, was more convincing
than any of them: For he that ſaw one of their other Miracles might pol-
ſibly entertain ſome little Doubt whether the Effect that appeared to him
to be miraculous might not yet be done by ſome ſecret Power of natural
Cauſes that was unknown to him:But we all know the Power of Nature
ſo well, that we are ſure, the Knowledge of a Language cannot poſſibly
be attained naturally, even by a Perſon of the quickeſt Parts and faithful-
eft Memory, but in ſo much Time, at the leaſt, as it will neceſſarily take
up to be told by Tutors, or to learn from Lexicons, what every particular
Word of the Language to be learnt, is by the People of that Language de-
ſigned to ſignify ; becauſe Words have not a natural Relation to the No.
tions or Things thereby expreſſed, but are mere arbitrary Signs thereof. So
that whoever knew the Education of the Apoſtles, and that they were be-
fore altogether ignorant and unlearned, and yet ſaw them every one,
on a ſudden, on the Day of Pentecoſt, able to ſpeak readily in all the Languages
Vol. II.
of
SH
I 002
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Acts ii.
4.
of all the Nations under Heaven, from whence had come ſome of the Jews
that were preſeạt at Jeruſalem at that Time, could have no poſlible
Doubt of their ſupernatural Aſſiſtance. They that heard them ſpeak with
Tongues, which they had never learned, could not but conclude that it was
the Spirit that gave them this Utterance, becauſe nothing elſe could give it ;
ſo that this was not only, as their other Miracles were, a Proof of Inſpi.
ration, but likewiſe an Inſtance and Example of it; it was a Proof of an
inward and inviſible Inſpiration, by an Inſpiration that was, as I may ſay,
autward and viſible; by an Inſpiration, that was diſcernible even by the be-
dily Senſes of all thoſe that were preſent.
But be it ſo, perhaps the Infidels will ſay, that they that ſaw the Miracles
which the Apoſtles are reported to have done in the Name of Chriſt, had
Reaſon enough to believe their Teſtimony concerning him, and as well that
which they have left in Writing, as that which they gave by Word of
Mouth: Yet what is this to us that live now? For we neither ſaw the
Miracles that they wrought, nor heard them ſpeaking with Tongues, neitheç
haye ve any Aſſurance that they ever did eitlier the one or the other, but
only from themſelves. They indeed tell us that they did a great many
wonderful Things, ſuch as we are willing enough to grant could not be
done but by the Power of God, in Confirmation of their Teſtimony con-
cerning Jeſus ; but we ſee no more Reaſon to believe this their Teſtimony
concerning themſelves, than there is to believe their other Teſtimony con-
cerning him; ſo that this cannot in Reaſon be reckoned a Proof or Con-
firmation of that; nay rather, we think they are leſs credible Witneſſes in
their own Caſe than they were in his. So that to us the Hiſtory of the
New Teſtament, granting it to be written by the Apoſtles, is of no more
Authority, than their Writing it, conſidered only with reſpect to their natu-
ral and moral Capacities and Qualifications, could give to it; becauſe that
Seal of Miracles which is ſaid to have been affixed thereto by God, is now
by Length of Time quite worn off; or at leaſt the Impreſſion thereof is
now ſo defaced, that we cannot diſtinguiſh whoſe Seal it was, or whether
it was a true Seal or a counterfeit one; and that this Seal was ever affixed
to their Teſtimony, is teſtified only by thoſe fame Witneſſes, whoſe the Te-
ftimony it ſelf was.
To this Objection therefore, which, it muſt be confeſſed, has ſome Ap-
pearance of Weight and Reaſon in it, I anſwer,
1. By denying the Ground it is built upon, viz. that the Teſtimony of
the Apoſtles themſelves is the only Proof we have of the Miracles which
they wrought for the Confirmation of their Teſtimony concerning Jeſus.
For beſides the Teſtimony of the Apoſtles, in their Epiſtles, and in the Afts,
witneſing their own Miracles, we have likewiſe the Teſtimony of all the
other Chriſtian Writers, whoſe Books are preſerved, that lived in or near
the Apoſtles Times, witneſling the ſame Thing: And this Teſtimony, noe
only given as it were in ſecret, in order to the making Profelytes of ſuch
as they found to be eaſy and credulous, but in the 'moſt publick Manner,
in thoſe Apologies for the Chriſtian Faith which they preſented to Magi.
ſtrates, and publiſhed to the whole World; in which, for Proof that theſe
Miracles had been wrought by the Apoſtles, they appeal to all the Hiſto-
ries and Records of the Apoſtles Times then extant; in which, they chal-
lenge any that could do it, to contradi& their Teſtimony; in which, they
teſtify that the fame miraculous Power did ſtill continue in the Chriſtian
Church, and was ſometimes exerted, often enough, and openly enough, to
prove its Being, tho' not fo frequently as it had been by the Apoſtles them:
ſelves, when there was more Need of ſhewing it, viz. at their firſt preaching
of the Goſpel.
Now
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1003
i
;
Now theſe Things, if they had not been true, the firſt Chriſtians, in the
Circumſtances they were then in, would not have dared to affirm; and if
they had been falſo, they might eaſily have been diſproved, and they would
moſt certainly have been at leaſt boldly denied and contradicted, by the pro-
feſſed Adverſaries of the Chriſtian Faith. But they did not deny or contra-
dict, they did not offer to diſprove the Report that was then generally be-
lieved of the Miracles that had been done by the Apoſtles : Nay ſo far
were they from this, that there is good Evidence from Antiquity ſtill re-
maining, that ſeveral even of thoſe who took upon them to oppoſe the
Chriſtian Doctrinc, did yet expreſlly own that great and mighty Works had
indeed been done by the Hands of the Apoſtles, as well as of their Maſter;
but then they had been done, they ſaid, (and that was all they could ſay
in the Caſe) by Magick Art, by the Help of the Devil; juſt as the Jewis
had ſaid before of our Saviour, Marth. xii
. 24. This Fellowe doth not caſt
dut Devils, but by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils.
I ſhall not ſtay now to ſhew how groundleſs as well as malicious this
Suggeſtion was with reference both to our Lord's Miracles and to theirs
becauſe I ſuppoſe I ſhall have a better Occaſion to do it hereafter in niy
next Diſcourſe: It is enough for my preſent Purpoſe, if the Matter of Fact
only be granted, viz. that the Apoſtles did do many Miracles in the Name
of Chriſt, and to confirm their Teſtimony concerning him; and that they
did ſo, cannot, I ſay, be reaſonably doubted, becauſe it is witneſſed not
only by themſelves, but by all the Chriſtian Writers of thoſe or the ſucceed-
ing Times, and is not denied. nay is granted, even by their Adverſaries and
Oppoſers. But,
2. If we had not ſo good Proof of the Miracles done by the Apoſtles,
if there were no Witneſſes thereof but themſelves, I ſay however that their
Teſtimony alone would be very credible : Nay indeed the Thing teſtified by
them muſt, I think, neceſſarily have been acknowledged by us, altho' there
had been no Hiſtory or Record at all of it tranſmitted to our Times. I
do not mean that without the Light of Hiſtory we could have known
that they did juſt thoſe very Miracles which are recorded; but I ſay that
without this we might have known in general that they did do Miracles,
or that they were aſſiſted by a ſupernatural Power ; this, I ſay, we might
have been ſure of, by the permanent Effects of ſuch a Power, continuing
after their Times, and teſtified by all Hiſtorians, Heathen as well as Chriſti.
an, of all Ages ever ſince, and which are even ſtill extant and viſible.
For that a great Part of the World is now Chriſtian, we ſee and know,
and that it has been ſo for many Ages paſt we are as ſure, as we are that
there have been many Ages paſt before our own; and looking back to ſee
when and how it came to be ſo, we learn, by the concurrent Teſtimony of
all Hiſtory, Jewiſh, Pagan, and Chriſtian, that Chriſtianity had its Begin-
ning in Judea, juſt at that Time in which the facred Hiſtory places it ; and
by the ſame concurrent Teſtimony of all Hiſtory we learn that in a very
ſhort Time, in leſs than forty Years after, it was preached in all the Pro-
vinces of the Roman Empire, and in all other Countries of the World that
were then known, and of which we have any Hiſtory left ; and that where-
ever, it was preached it made a very ſwift Progreſs, inſomuch that in.a few Years
the Number of Chriſtians became very conſiderable and bore a great Pro-
portion to the People of all other Religions: For it was not much above
threeſcore Years after the Apoſtles had diſperſed themſelves in order to
preach the Goſpel to the Gentiles, when Pliny Proconſul of Bithynia,
wrote that Epiſtle to the Emperor Trajan, wherein giving an Account of
the Chriſtians then under a ſevere Perſecution for their Religion by the
Emperor's Order, he tells him, That there was a great Number of Men ob-
noxious
be
1004
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
ز
;
noxious to Sufferings upon that Account; that many of all Ages, of all Or-
ders and Degrees, and of both Sexes, were every Day called in Queſtion
for it ; that the Contagion of that Superſtition, as he calls it, had ſpread it ſelf
not only in great Cities, but alſo in Towns and Country Villages, inſomuch
that the Temples of the Heathen Gods had for ſome Time before been in a
Manner deſolate, and their Worſhip and Sacrifices intermitted.
Now this is certain, that there can be no Effect without a Cauſe of ſuf-
ficient Power to produce it ; and it was evidently impoſſible that Chriſtia
nity ſhould make ſo ſwift a Progreſs, and prevail ſo much in the World, as
it did, in ſo ſhort a Time, only by natural Means. For without good
Skill in the Languages of the ſeveral Nations, wherein the Apoſtles were to
preach the Goſpel, it had been in vain for them to have gone about to con-
vert all Nations : Or if they had attempted it, it is impoflible it ſhould have
been with Succeſs. And how can it be conceived poſſible that twelve
grown Men, who before underſtood not a Word of any but their own
Mother Tongue, and that perhaps not well; who had never been bred up
to Study, and who were then paſt the proper Age of learning Languages;
ſhould yet be able in ſo ſhort a Time to become perfect Maſters of all the
Languages then in Uſe in the World, ſo as to ſpeak them readily and fluently,
as if every one had been their own native Tongue? and that after this, they
ſhould have Time enough ſtill left, to go and preach the Goſpel in all
Countries ? So that the ſpeedy Converſion to Chriſtianity of ſuch a great
Number of Men in all Parts of the World, by their Miniſtry, is a direct
Proof of that Gift of Tongues wherewith we believe they were endued
and whoever can believe that they had this Gift, which was peculiar and
extraordinary, and ſuch as had never been heard of in the World before,
may, I think, more eaſily believe all the other Miracles that they are re-
ported to have done, which were not near ſo wonderful, which were ſuch as
had been done by other Prophets in former Times.
But ſuppoſe this Story of the Gift of Tongues to be falſe, and that in-
deed the Apoſtles were Men of ſuch ready natural Parts as to be able to
learn all the Languages which they could have any Uſe of in as few Days
as it would have taken other Men Years to do it in; or elſe that they
had in Truth been bred up to the Study of Languages from their Child-
hood, and only concealed their Knowledge thereof until that famous Day
of Pentecoft, that ſo then it might be taken to be miraculous ; yet what
could twelve Men, furniſhed with this excellent Skill, do by their own na-
tural Power only, towards the Converſion of the World to Chriſtianity in
ſo ſhort a Time ?
For it is to be conſidered, that the Religion which they were to preach
in the World, was the moſt contrary that could be to the carnal Luſts and
Paſſions of Men; that it promiſed no worldly Greatneſs, no Increaſe of
Riches, no Enjoyment of ſenſual Pleaſures; but on the contrary taught all
thoſe that embraced it, to be mortified to all theſe Things, and not to ſet
their Affections on any Thing here below.
It is to be conſidered alſo, that it propoſed to Men's Belief ſuch Doc-
trines, as to the carnal Minds of Men could not but appear fooliſh or in-
credible: As that the eternal Son of God did for our Sakes become Man,
and take on him the Form of a Servant ; that in that Form he ſubmitted
to be ſcornfully uſed, cruelly ſcourged, and at laſt barbarouſly crucified as a
vile Malefactor by his own Creatures; that this ſame Jeſus was afterwards
declared to be the Son of God with Power, by the Reſurrection from the
Dead, that he was taken up into Heaven, ſeated at the right Hand of the
Father, had all Power in Heaven and Earth committed to him, was order-
ed to be worſhiped and adored by all Men with the fame Honour where-
with
i
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1005
with they honour the Father, and was appointed by God to be judge of the
Quick and Dead, doc.
It is to be conſider'd likewiſe, that it was a Religion perfectly deſtructive of
all other Forms of Religion then receiv'd or eſtabliſh'd in the World; and up-
on that Account only muſt needs meet with the ſtrongeſt Prejudices; all the
Men it was preached to being before from their Childhood bred up, and al-
ready fixed in another Way.
And laſtly, it is to be conſider'd farther, that the Facts upon which this Re-
ligion was grounded, that is, by which the divine Miſlion of the Lord Jeſus
was proved, viz. his miraculous Works, were ſuch as being above the known
Power of natural Cauſes were not like to be caſily credited. That he healed
the Sick, that he gave Sight to the Blind, Hearing to the Deaf, Speech to the
Dumb, Feet to the Lame, and Strength to the Cripples; that he did caſt out
Devils; that he rais'd the Dead, and all theſe only with a Word's ſpeaking;
that he fed fometimes great Multitudes of four or five Thouſand with only
ſo much Bread and Fiſh, as to Appearance was not ſufficient for twenty Men ;
and that after they were all ſatisfied, there was more in Bulk left in Fragments
than there had been before in whole Proviſion; that he walked on the Water
as on dry Land; that he had the Winds and Seas obedient to his Command;
and above all, that he raiſed himſelf to Life after he had been three Days
dead : Theſe and ſuch like were ſtrange Stories to be told to Men, in order
to perſuade them to take upon them a new Religion.
What then, I ſay, could twelve Men, tho' ever ſo well furniſhed natural-
ly with Parts and Learning, and all other Endowments proper to qualify them
for ſuch a Work, do towards the perſuading the World to embrace Chriſtia-
nity ? Suppoſe they had gone, not as they did, one into this Country, another
into that; often fingly, ſeldom more than two in a Company ; but all together
in a Body, into ſome one Country remote from Judea, and there with concur-
rent Teſtimony born Witneſs of the Things they had ſeen and heard ; yet who
would have believ'd their Report? The Report of Strangers coming from a
far Country, and of whoſe Honeſty and Truth they could have no Aſſurance
but only from themſelves vouching for one another? Who would have given
Credit to a Relation of ſuch incredible Stories, told with a Deſign to intro-
duce a Religion that was unknown to their Fathers ? And ſuch a ridiculous
Religion too, as this, at the firſt Propoſal, would probably appear; viz. the
Worſhiping as God, a Man, who by their own Confeſſion, was rejected and
ſer at nought, and at laſt crucified as a wicked Malefactor by his own Country-
men.
Or if it can be ſuppoſed, that the Apoſtles, by the Boldneſs of their Speech
and the inticing Words of Man's Wiſdom, might after ſome Time have pre-
vailed
upon ſome few to become Proſelytes to their Religion; yet the Multi-
tude of their Diſciples could not have been very great, before the Government
of the Country would have taken the Alarm, and have called in Queſtion there
Setters forth of new Gods, theſe Movers of Sedition among the People, as
they would certainly have been accounted, and as in fact the Apoſtles were
accounted in every place where they came. And this would quickly have put
a Stop to a growing Sect: They that liked the Religion well enough before,
becauſe it was new, would quickly have left off to like it, when they ſaw it
would be dangerous to profeſs it. It is not likely their Followers would have
continued to ſtick to them, when they perceiv'd the Government and the whole
Nation in general engaged on the other Side, and reſolved by all means polli-
ble to extirpate the Belief they had entertained ; and when they ſaw their
Preachers impriſoned and ſcourged, tortur'd and put to Death, they would
quickly have deſerted the Service of a Maſter, who, they would then readily
think, was not of Power to ſave either himſelf from the Croſs, or his Diſci-
Vol. II.
SI
ples
.
1006
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation .
1
ples from Suffering. And after this, had the Reſidue of the Apoſtles, who
might poſlibly have eſcaped Martyrdom in this Country, gone into another,
there they muſt have expected the like Reception and Uſage ; and not better
in a third ; and ſo in a few Years their Lives would have ſpun out in doing
nothing, and their Religion would have periſh'd with themſelves.
And if their united Teſtimony would have had ſo little Credit, much leſs
can it be ſuppoſed, that the ſingle Witneſs of one Apoſtle only could ever have
gain’d any Credit at all; and yet unleſs the Teſtimony of ſome ſingle Witnel-
ſes had been believ'd, it is impoſſible there ſhould have been, in ſo ſhort a Time,
ſo great a Converſion of Men to Chriſtianity in all Parts of the World, by
the preaching of ſo few Men.
So that whoever believes that Chriſtianity could make ſo ſwift and ſo great
a Progreſs as it is certain by all Hiſtory it did, only by the preaching of the A-
poſtles without any miraculous Gifts or ſupernatural Aſſistance, wants not Faith
enough to be a Chriſtian, if he had but a Will to it; for hc bclicvcs already'a
much greater Miracle than any that is recorded in the Evangelical Story.
And now by all that hath been ſaid, in this and the laſt Diſcourſe, I hope
it appears that there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to the Authors of
the Hiſtorical Books of the New Teſtament in their Relations of thoſe Mat-
ters of Fact which they have recorded. This I am ſure I may ſay, that there
is not ſo good Reaſon to give Credit to any Hiſtory in the World beſides, of
the ſame Antiquity ; and that a Hiſtory ſo well confirmed as this is cannot rea-
ſonably be reje&ted, nor indeed any ways be diſcredited, but either by ſome
other more credible Hiſtory contradicting it, or by ſome intrinſick Evidence of
Falſhood.
But better or more credible Hiſtory contradi&ting it, I have already obſerv'd,
there is not ; nor indeed is there any Hiſtory contradi&ing it that is of fuffi-
cient Antiquity to diſprove it : Nay, there are many very conſiderable Things
of thoſe recorded in the Goſpel Hiſtory, that are occaſionally mentioned by other
Hiſtorians of thoſe or the ſucceeding Times, who had no Deſign thereby to
do any Service to Chriſtianity; as namely that there was ſuch a Man as Fohn
the Baptiſt, that he was a Perſon of great Piety and Auſterity, and a Preacher
of Righteouſneſs, and that he was put to Death by Herod; that there was
alſo a Man named Jeſus, who called himſelf, and was owned by many to be
the Chriſt, that he did many wonderful Things, and was at laſt crucified by
the Jews. The Names of ſome other Perſons likewiſe ſpoken of in the Gof-
pel Hiſtory are mention'd under the ſame Character in ſome other Hiſtories,
as Pilate
, Felix, Feftus, Caiaphas, Agrippa, &c. In other Hiſtories alſo we
find Notice taken of the Cruelty of Herod, in ſlaying the Infants at Bethlehem,
and among them, as it is thought, his own Son; which made Auguſtus, when
the Story was told him, to ſay, that it was better to be Herod's Swine than his
Son; and likewiſe of that remarkable Eclipſe of the Sun, when the Moon
was at the full, which the Evangeliſts ſay happen'd at the Time of our Savi.
our's Paſſion ; and of that violent Earthquake that was at the ſame Time; and
laſtly, of the prodigious Increaſe of Chriſtianity in allParts of the Roman
Empire, ſoon after its firſt Publication.
And if upon this Occaſion it ſhould be ſaid, that the Facts recorded in the
Evangelical Hiſtory, and the Events that follow'd thereupon, were ſo very
wonderful and remarkable, that if they had been true, they muſt in all Proba-
bility have been more taken notice of than they are in other Hiſtories ; I an-
ſwer, that ſuppoſing them to be true, it could not be reaſonably expected that
more Mention ſhould have been made of them by other Hiſtorians than there
really išie vecauſe they were plainly foreign to their Purpoſe, or elſe ſuch Sto-
ries as tho' they had heard of them they did not believe, having perhaps never
taken any Pains to examine into the Truth of them. For what was it to the
Purpoſe
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1007
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Purpoſe of an Author that was writing the Life of one of the Roman Em-
perors, or the Hiſtory of ſome famous War, or giving an Account of the
Affairs of the Civil State, to make a large Digreſlion concerning a Religious
Sećt begun in Judea, by a Perſon that was deſpiſed in his own Country, and
carried on and continued by mean and contemptible Perſons who made no Fi-
gure in the World? Or how could it be expected that an Hiſtorian who was
not himſelf a Chriſtian, ſhould yet give a large Account of the Miracles of
our Saviour and his Apoſtles, and other Facts upon which our Religion is
grounded ; which had he believ'd, as he muſt be ſuppofed to have done, if
he had deliver'd them to Poſterity as Truths, he muſt have been a Chriſtian?
It is enough in all Reaſon, and as much as could be expected in this Cafe, lup-
poſing theſe Facts to be true, that they are not by any Hiſtorians that were of
another Religion, contradicted or attempted to be diſprov'd: More than this
would have been too much. And ſhould we now in ſome ancient Manuſcript
Hiſtory new brought to Light, and bearing the Name of ſome Jewiſh or Hea-
then Author, find a large and formal Account of any of thoſe Facts relating
to the Chriſtian Religion that are recorded in the Goſpel; this would give
very juſt Ground to ſuſpcct, that the whole Hiſtory, whatever other Appear-
ance it had of Truth, was forged and counterfeit, or at leaſt that thoſe Paf-
ſages ſpeaking honourably of the Chriſtian Religion, or the Author of it,
were knaviſhly foiſted into the Book by ſome Chriſtian Tranſcriber. For this
is indeed the beſt Argument that is brought to diſcredit ſome Paſſages of this
Kind that are now to be found in ſome Heathen or Jewiſh Hiſtorians, and
particularly in Jofephus, viz. that they ſay more than was proper or likely to
be ſaid by Heathens or Jews; that if thoſe Paſſages are genuine, and the Au-
thors had believed what they themſelves wrote, they muſt have been Chri-
ſtians.
Now this I am ſure is not fair Dealing, that the Paucity and Slenderneſs of
thoſe corroborating Teſtimonies to the Truth of the Chriſtian Hiſtory that are
to be met with in other Hiſtorians, and that the Multitude and Fulneſs of
ſuch Teſtimonies, ſhould both be urged as Arguments againſt Chriſtianity.
And therefore when they are both urged, as they are and have been by our
Adverſaries, we may reaſonably conclude, that the Truth is in the Mean; and
that there are indeed no more, nor no fewer Teſtimonies of this Kind to be
met with in other Writers, and that they are not either more or leſs to the
Purpoſe, than, ſuppoſing the Chriſtian Hiſtory to be true, might fairly be ex-
pected.
It only remains then, that we enquire whether there be in the Goſpel Hi-
ſtory any intrinſick Evidences of Falfhood. And it is pretended by the Ad-
verſaries of our Religion, that there are many ſuch ; for there are, they ſay,
ſome Things related in the Goſpel Hiſtory, that are altogether incredible ; and
there is, ſay they, oftentimes great Difference, in the ſeveral Relations of the
ſame Story, by the ſeveral Evangeliſts; and not only ſo, but there are, they
ſay, beſides, in their ſeveral Hiſtories compared together, ſome fiat Contra-
dictions and Repugnancies.
I intended therefore at the End of this Diſcourſe, if I had bad Time for
it
, to have ſpoken largely upon this Subject; but becauſe I have not, muſt re-
fer you to thoſe Books that have been written on purpoſe to give an Account
of the difficult Texts of Scripture, and to reconcile thoſe that are ſeemingly
repugnant; or for want of ſuch Books - to any good Commentary on the
Bible, in which you will hardly fail to meet with Satisfaction in any Diffi-
culty of this Kind, if you read it with a Mind diſpoſed to receive Satisfaction.
And I ſhall conclude this Diſcourſe with only obſerving in general,
1. That the pretended Impoſſibilities that are ſaid to be related in the ſacred
Hiſtory, are only Difficulties; they are indeed Events above and beyond the
known
t
1
/
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The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Acts i. 18.
known Power and common Courſe of Nature, but they are ſuch as are eaſily
credible when they are aſcribed, as they muſt be, to the Almighty Power of
GOD.
2. That the Difference that may ſometimes be obſerv'd in the ſeveral Re-
lations of the ſame Story by the ſeveral Evangeliſts, is very inconſiderable ;
conſiſting only in this, That one perhaps relates the Story in a different Or-
der of Things than another does; or that one tells it briefly, another more
at large ; or one with a few, another with more Circumſtances ; or that ſome
Circumſtances are mentioned by each of them which the other had omitted.
So that this Obſervation is to far from being a juſt Objection againſt the Truth
of the Hiſtory, that it is rather a Proof and Confirmation of it ; for it is an
Argument that the Evangeliſts did not confer together in the writing of their
Hißories, and that they did not copy or tranſcribe from one another; but
that every one of them reported the Story he wrote in ſuch Manner as he
himſelf remembred it to have been, and with ſuch Circumſtances as he hini-
ſelf took moſt Notice of. And,
3. As to the Repugnancies and Inconſiſtences that are ſaid to be in the E.
vangelical Hiſtory ; theſe we abſolutely deny. I have not Time now to con-
ſider, or attempt to reconcile all the Places that are pretended to be contra-
dictory to each other ; but thoſe Paſſages which ſeeni moſt liable to this Ex-
ception, are, I think, the Relation of Judas's Death, and the Account of
our Saviour's Genealogy.
But as to the firſt, there is plainly no Impoſſibility, no Contradi&tion in it,
Mat
. xxvii
. 5. if we ſhould ſay that after he had hanged himſelf, as St. Matthew ſays, he
did fall down, and that his Bowels guſh'd out, as St. Luke affirms; or it may
από έξατο. .
be that he did not hang himſelf, but only was * choaked or ſuffocated by the
Violence of his Grief, and that the ſame Pallion by which he was ſtrangled,
made him alſo fall down headlong, and burſt aſunder in the midſt, so that all
his Bowels guſhed out.
And as to the other, when it is remembred that by the Jewiſh Law the
next of Kin was to raiſe up Seed to his near Relation that died without Iſſue,
by marrying his Widow, and that the Firſt-born of the Woman after ſuch
fecond Marriage was reputed in Law the Son, as well as he was the Heir,
of the deceaſed; ſo that conſequently the ſame Perſon might be the legal Son
of one Man, and the natural Son of another Man; tho it may be difficult,
perhaps impoſfible, for us at this Diſtance of Time, to ſay with Certainty
which of the two different Lines, by which our Saviour's Pedigree is deduced
from David, is the legal, and which the natural Line; it is very eaſy never-
theleſs to believe, that one is the legal, and that the other is the natural Line.
And if ſo, there is plainly no Contradiction between the two Evangelifts,
altho' St. Matthew makes our Saviour to be deſcended from Solomon, and
Luke iii. 2 3. St. Luke from Nathan; altho' St. Matthew ſays that Joſeph, the Husband
of the bleſſed Virgin, was the Son of Jacob, and St. Luke that he was the
Son of Heli.
And now the Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory being, as I hope, by what hath
been ſaid ſufficiently eſtabliſhed; I ſhould proceed to ſhew, That if the Mat-
ters of Fact related in the New Teſtament are true, they are ſufficient Proofs
of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein
taught : But I am ſenſible that I have treſpaſſed too much upon your Patience
already, and ſo ſhall reſerve this for the Subject of my next Diſcourſe.
Deut. XXV.5.
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Mat. i. 16.
DIS
1009
DISCOURSE XCIII.
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-
Revelation;
As to the Proof of it. PART III.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
1
Abraham faith unto him, They have Moſes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he faid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, tho' one
roſe from the Dead.
T
DISTRIBUSI Burninseweg
N Order to ſhew, that we have ſufficient Reaſon given us to
convince us of the Truth and Authority of the New Tef
tament, and of all the Doctrines that are taught by it, I
have formerly propounded to ſhew,
I. That we have ſufficient Reaſon to believe, that the
Books of the New Teſtament were written by thoſe Per-
son's who are ſaid to be the Authors thereof.
II. That there is ſufficient Reaſon to give full Credit to them in their
Relation of thoſe Matters of Fact which they have recorded : And,
III. That if the Matters of Fact therein recorded are true, they are ſuf-
ficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that
are therein taught. And the two firſt of theſe Points I have, I hope, al-
ready made good.
I proceed now to the third ; viz.
III. To fhew, that the Doctrine of the Goſpel is well grounded upon
the Hiſtory of it ; that if the Matters of Fait recorded in the New Teſta-
ment are true, they are ſufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority
of all the Doctrines that are therein taught.
Vol. I).
And
JK
IOIO
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation. .
ܪ
17.
Mark ix.41.
And here, by the Doctrines of the Goſpel, I underſtand both the Articles
of Faith, which it propoſes to our Belief, and the Rules which it preſcribes
to our Practice: Many of the former of which are themſelves Parts of
the Goſpel Hiſtory, as the Incarnation, Life, Sufferings, Death, Reſurrecti-
on and Aſcenſion of our Saviour ; and the reſt, of both Sorts, are taught in
the New Teſtament, cither by our Saviour himſelf
, or by his Apoſtles.
And I ſuppoſe it will be readily granted, that all their Doctrines are
true, and alſo of divine Authority, if it ſhall appear that they were com-
miffioned and ſent by God to inſtruct the World; for he whom God hath
Jent, ſpeaketh the Words of God. Ich. iii. 34.
The ſingle Point therefore to be conſidered at this Time, is, whether there
be fufficient Evidence, from the Matters of Fait recorded in the Hiſtory
of the New Teſtamınt, that our Saviour and his Apoſtles were commiſſion-
ed and ſent by God to inſtruct the World.
And firſt, whether there be ſufficient Evidence from thence that our Sa-
viour himſelf was a Teacher ſent from God.
Now that he ſaid he was ſent from God, is a Matter of Fact, and a
See Joh. v.37)
Part of the Goſpel Hiſtory, Joh. xii. 49. I have not Spoken of my ſelf ; but
3.8. viii. 38. the Father which fent me, he gave me a Commandment, what I ſhould ſay,
xiv. 10.24. and what I ſhould ſpeak.
And that he ſaid that he was the Mefiah which had been foretold by
the Prophets, is likewiſe Matter of Fact, and a part of the ſame Hiſtory,
Matth. xvi.16, Joh. iv. 25, 26. The Woman of Samaria ſaith unto him, I know that Mes
fias coineth which is called Chriſt; when he is come, he will tell us all Things:
Luke xxiv.46. Yuſus ſaith unto her, I that ſpeak unto thee, am he.
Joh. ix. 47.
The Queſtion therefore is, whether from the Things which are recorded
of him by the Evangeliſts, there be ſufficient Grounds to believe the Truth
of either or both theſe Pretences; I ſay, of either or both of them, becauſe
either of them is a fufficient Reaſon to receive his Doctrine as true and
divine. For which Cauſe therefore I ſhall not, in ſpeaking to this Subject,
dißinguiſh between the Evidences which the Goſpel Hiſtory affords of his
being a Prophet, and thoſe which it affords of his being the Meſſiah, but
ſhall propoſe them promiſcuouſly as they come to Mind.
And here I Mall conſider, firſt, the Credibility of our Saviour's own Te.
ſtimony concerning himſelf, and ſecondly, the Confirmation that was given
to this Teſtimony by God; grounding all that ſhall be ſaid on both theſe
Heads, upon the Goſpel Hiſtory; the Truth of which I now take for
ed, as being, I hope, already ſufficiently prov'd.
Firſt then, I ſhall conſider the Credibility of our Saviour's own Teſtimony
concerning himſelf, when he ſaid that he was ſent by God, and that he
was the Chriſt the Son of God.
And I know it is commonly ſaid that a Man is not to be believed in his
own Caſe: And this very Thing was objected to our Saviour by the Jews,
Joh. viii. 13. Tkou beareſt Record of thy ſelf, thy Record is not true. But
this Saying is not without Exception.
When indeed what a Man witneſſes is for his own Benefit, his Teſtimony,
if it be ſingle, may reaſonably be rejected; eſpecially, if any' Proof be made
that at other Tinies he hath told a Lye; or done any other ill Thing for
his Adváritage: But otherwiſe a Man's Teſtimony concerning himſelf may be
credible; nay, in ſome Caſes it may be more credible than another Man's;
becauſe he may ſometimes be furer of what he ſays concerning himſelf than
another Man could be. And therefore our Saviour, who in Joh. v. 31,
allows of the Reaſonableneſs of that Saying ; If I bear witneſs of my ſelf
19y. witneſs is not true; yet when this very Thing was afterwards objected
to him by the Phariſees, in the Place before cited, makes anſwer in the
following
grant-
1
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation. I011
1 Pet. i. 29.
a
following Words ; Tho' I bear Record of my ſelf, yet my Record is true, for John viii. 14.
I know whence I came, &c.
And that the Teſtimony of our Lord concerning his own divine Miſſion
was ſuch as we miglit rationally give Credit to, tho' we had no other Evi-
dence of it, will, I ſuppoſe ſufficiently appear, if theſe following Things be
conſidered.
1. That his whole Life, according to the Account that is given of it by
the Evangeliſts, which we now build upon as true, was in all Reſpects
Spotleſs and unblameable; he did no Sin, neither was Guile found in his 1 Pet. ii. 22.
Mouth: He was a Lamb without Blemiſh, and without Spot. And this
viii. 46. Which of you convinceth me of Sin ? and if I ſay the Truth, why
do ye not believe me? And a very good Reaſon it was; for it could not
juſtly be ſuſpected, that a Perſon of whom no other ill Thing could be
ſaid, was yet indeed in the whole Courſe of his Life guilty of a Crime
of the greateſt Magnitude, viz. of Lying in the Name of God; of ſaying,
that the Lord had ſent him, when indeed the Lord had not ſent him, nor
ſpoken by him.
It
may be alſo conſidered, that this Teſtimony of our Lord, tho'it
was concerning himſelf, yet was not for himſelf ; I mean it was not for his
own worldly Advantage. And this Conſideration he himſelf likewiſe of-
fers to the Jews, as an Argument of the Truth of his Teſtimony, Joh.
vii. 18. He that ſpeaketh of himſelf ſeeketh his own Glory; but he that
feeketh his Glory that ſent him, the ſame is true, and no Unrighteouſneſs
is in him. Had the Doctrine of our Lord, which he pretended was what
God had commanded hiin to teach, been contrived to advance the worldly
Honour and Greatneſs of himſelf or his Followers; this would have been
a juſt Prejudice againſt it, and a reaſonable Ground of ſuſpecting that he
ſpakc of hiniſelf: But when it was evident to all that heard his Diſcourſes,
and is no leſs ſo to us that read them, that he ſought nor his own Glory in
any Thing, but the Glory of him that ſent him; and that his whole Doc-
trine tended to advance the Honour of God, and to promote the Pradice
of Picry and Virtue in the World; this rendred his Teſtimony very credi-
ble, when he ſaid he was ſent by God to teach it to the World; for when
a Doctrine is plainly worthy of God, and according to Godlineſs, it may 1 Tim vi. 3:
reaſonably be preſumed that God is the Author of it.
3. It may be farther conſidered, that this Teſtimony of our Lord con-
cerning himſelf was ſo far from being to his own Benefit, that it was as
much as any Thing could poſſibly be to his worldly Diſadvantage ; cxpo-
ſing him to the Envy and Malice of the Jews, and to the Jealouſy of the
Romans, and to all the cruel Sufferings which he endured from both of
them. And certainly a Man's Teſtimony concerning himſelf may be al-
lowed to be credible, if it be againſt his own Intereſt, if he himſelf be a
great Loſer or Sufferer by what he teſtifies; for it cannot be imagined what
elſe but only the Evidence of Truth, and an Obligation to declare it, ſhould
ever induce a Man to ſay ſuch Things concerning himſelf, as will procure
his own Miſchief.
And I know not what can be ſaid to avoid the Force of this Argument
for the Truth of our Saviour's Teſtimony that he was ſent from God, and
that he was the Meſſiah ; unleſs it be," that he was diſappointed in his Et-
pectation, and that he hoped to have made himſelf rich and great in the
World by theſe glorious Pretences, tho? in the Event it proved otherwiſe.
But the Goſpel Hiſtory furniſhes us with a very clear and full Anſwer to
this Objection in thoſe many Predi&tions of our Lord therein recorded con- Matth. xvi.3
cerning his own Sufferings; whereby it clearly appears, that the Sufferings
which
-----XX, 17.
I
IOI 2
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
.
Matt. xxvii.
II.
62.
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which befel him for giving this Teſtimony concerning himſelf, did not happen
to him unexpectedly, but that he knew long before all that afterwards came to
paſs. And therefore I ſay again, that no Reaſon can be imagin'd why he
1hould ſay that he was ſent from GOD, but only becauſe he knew it was true,
and had receiy'd a Command from his Father to declare this Truth to the
World. Eſpecially if it be conſider'd farther,
4. Laſtly, That he continued to teſtify the ſame at his Death, which he
had done before in his Life, giving thereby the beſt Aſurance that a Man
can give of the Truth of his Teſtimony. For the main Matter of his Accu-
ſation to Pilate was, that he had given out himſelf to be the Meſſiah, and
the Meſſiah was, according to the Expectation of the Jews, to be a great
temporal King ; had our Lord therefore but denied this Charge, had he but
granted that he was not the Meſſiah, he might have ſaved his Life. But this
he would not do; he diſowned indeed the falſe Notion that the Jews had
John xviii. 26.
of the Meſiah; my Kingdom, ſays he, is not of this World ; but that he was
a King, and that he was the Meſſiah, he boldly owned, as well when the Que-
John xviii: 37. ftion was put to him by the Roman Governor, who had Power of Life and
Glatt
. xxvi.63, Death, as when it had been put to him before by the High-Prieſt. This
Mark xiv. 61, therefore is a ſtrong Confirmation of the Truth of this Teſtimony of our
Lord; and is alone ſufficient to make it credible, that he witneſſed the ſame
1 Tim. vi. 13. good Confeſſion before Pontius Pilate, which he had done before his own
Nation, and ſealed his Witneſs with his Blood. For it is not to be ſuppoſed,
that any Man tells a known Lie for nothing; and it was plainly then too late
for him, to hope for any Good to himſelf in this World by perſiſting in this
Teſtimony ; his only Hope had been in retracting it: And it is not credible,
that any Man ſhould be ſo fooliſh, as to expect to better himſelf in the other
World, by dying with a Lie in his Mouth.
Thus, I hope, it appears, that the Teſtimony of our Lord concerning his own
divine Miſſion was credible in it ſelf; ſo that we might rationally believe,
that he came from God, and that he was Chriſt the Son of God, altho' we
had had only his own Word for it.
But we have more than his own Word for it; I am not alone, ſays he,
John viii. 16, &c. but I and the Father that ſent me. It is alſo written in
your Law, that the Teſtimony of two Men is true : I am one that bear Wit-
neſs of my felf, and the Father that ſent me beareth Witneſs of me. And
this was the other Thing I propoſed to conſider, in order to ſhew the good
Reaſon that we have to believe that our Saviour was ſent from God, and
that he was the Meſſiah; viz.
Secondly, The Confirmation that was given to this Teſtimony of our Lord,
by God himſelf. And this was given ſeveral ways.
1. God bare him Witneſs by the Teſtimony of ancient Prophets; and to
this our Saviour frequently appeals, John v. 39. Search the Scriptures, for in
ye have eternal Lifë, and they are they which teſtify of me.
And again, v. 46. Had ye believed Mofes, je would have believed me, for
2 Pet. i. 18, he wrote of me. And this St. Peter, comparing it with that Voice from
Heaven, teſtifying him to be the Son of God, of which he himſelf had
been an Ear-witneſs
, calls a more ſure Word of Prophecy. And indeed it
was as certain an Evidence of his divine Miſſion as could be deſir'd.
For it was a Matter of the greateſt Concern to the World, to diſcern the
promis'd Meſſiah, that ſo they might know in whom to believe, and from
whom to expect Salvation : And to this End God was pleaſed, by the Mouth
of all his holy Prophets fince the World began, to give ſeveral Marks and
Characters of the Meſſiah, by which he might be certainly known, and rea-
dily diſtinguiſh'd from ah Impoſtors; for they foretold exactly the Time of his
Coming, his Pedigree, and the Place of his Birth, the Manner of his Life.
them ye
ye think
19.
I
the
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1013
1.
ܕ
i
the Things he was to do, the Sufferings he was to undergo, and all the re-
markable Accidents that were to befall him in this World; all which Predic-
tions were punctually fulfilld in the Perſon of our bleſſed Saviour, as muſt
be granted by every one that allows the Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory. And
this is an undeniable Proof that he was the Meſſiah; for it is manifeſtly in-
conſiſtent with the Wiſdom of Goi), when he meant to give Marks and
Characters by which the Meſſiah might be certainly known, to give only
ſuch as might belong to another Perſon no leſs than to him : And it is no leſs
inconſiſtent with his Goodneſs, that his Providence ſhould ever permit, that
all the Marks and Characters of the true Meſſiah ſhould meet together in an
Impoſtor ; becauſe by this, Mankind muſt have lain under an inevitable Ne-
ceſſity of being cheated, in a Matter of the greateſt Conſequence to their e-
ternal Salvation.
But the ancient Prophecies of Chriſt were many of them in Types or fi-
gurative Expreſſions, not readily to be underſtood till they were accompliſh'd,
nor then very eaſy to be applied by every one to the Perſon of the true
Meſſiah, without the Help of a Teacher. How can I underſtand what I Acts viii. 31
read, ſaid the Eunuch, even when he was reading one of the plaineſt Pro-
phecies of Chriſt that is in the Old Teſtament, except fome Man Should guide
me? And therefore God was pleaſed to give a yet more certain and diſtinct
Knowledge of him to the Men of that Generation in which he appeard ;
And this he did.
2. By the Teſtimony of John the Baptiſt, who was a burning and a fhi-
ning Light ; and did not, as the former Prophets had done, only lay down
Marks and Characters, by the wiſe Application whereof Men might diſcern
the Meſſiah when they ſaw him ; but pointed to him, as it were with his
Finger, as he ſtood before their Eyes, ſo that the ſimpleſt among them could
not but know whom he meant: Behold, ſays hé, the Lamb of God, which John i. 29:36]
taketh away the Sin of the World. This is he of whom I ſaid, aftër me com-
eth a Man which is preferred before me.
And to this Teſtimony of John our Saviour himſelf frequently appealed,
as to a Teſtimony that was full to the Purpoſe, and could not be denied : Te
Sent unto John, ſays he, and he bare Witneſs into the-Truth, John v. 3 2.
And when the Chief Prieſts and Elders queſtion’d him about his 'Authority, Matt. xxi. 23,
he perfectly confounded them, by only asking them whether the Baptiſm of &c.
John was from Heaven, or of Men'
; for that John was a Prophét; altho
he did no Miracles, was ſo evident to all by the wonderful Manner of his
Birth, and the miraculous Circumſtances that attended it, that they could not';
and he was alſo to generally receivd, and accepted among the People
Prophet, that they dared not, deny it: If, ſay they, we ſhall ſay of Men, all
the People will ſtone us, for they be perfunded that John was a Prophet.
And yet had they granted this, which they could not deny, they had anſwera
their own Queſtion, and ſeen clearly by whật Authority our Saviour acted and
taught ; for no Teſtimony of his divine Miſſion could be plainer and clearer
than that of John was ; and it was a Thing granted by the Jews, that he
is a Prophet without all Doribt, and needs no farther Trial, unto whom ano-
ther Prophet bears Witneſs.
3. Another Way by which God gave Witneſs to our Saviour, that he was
ſent by him, and that he was the Meſſiah, was by a Voice from Heaven
which Teſtimony was given him three Times.
Firſt, at his Baptiſm, when being come up out of the Water, the Heavens Matt. iii. 16,
opened, and the Spirit like a Dove deſcended upon him, and there came a
,
Voice from Heaven, ſaying, Thou art my beloved Son in whóm I am well Luke i. 22.
pleaſed. And of this Voice, it is highly probable, St. John Baptiſt was an
art-
witneſs; for it is ſaid expreſly, that he ſaw the Spirit deſcending like a Dove John i. 32.
Vol. II.
SL
from
a
3
17.
1014
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
28.
Ver. 29.
X. 33.
from Heaven, and abiding on him, and that was at the ſame Time that the
Voice was utter'd.
Ex. xxiv. 159
A ſecond Time was at his Transfiguration on the Mount, when the Glory
donc.
Matt. xvii. 5.
of God appearing in a Cloud, as it had anciently us’d to do, there came a
Mark ix. 7.
Voice out of the Cloud which ſaid, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
Luke ix. 35. well pleaſed, hear ye
bim.
And at the uttering of this Voice, three of his
jo let: 1., 17. Apoſtles were preſent, two of which have witneſſed the ſame to us under their
John i. 14.
John v.7. Own Hands.
A third Time was after the raiſing of Lazarus, when were preſent not oli-
ly his Apoſtles who conſtantly accompanied him, but ſeveral others both Jews
John xii. 20, and Greeks. And this Voice was ſo loud as to be heard by all that were pre-
ſent, tho' not by all fo diſtinctly and articulately, as it was by fome, who, as
it is probable, were nearer than the reſt ; which was the Occaſion of that Dif-
ference that was among the People concerning it, ſome ſaying that it thun-
dred, and others, that an Angel ſpake to him. To doubt therefore of his
divine Million whom God thus teſtified to by Voices from Heaven, is to
i John v. 10.
make God himſelf a Liar, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, becauſe we receive not the
Record that he gave of his Son.
4. Another Way by which God gave Witneſs to the divine Miſſion of
our Saviour was by enduing him with the Gift of Prophecy, or foretelling
Matt. xvi
, 21. Things to come :
Several Inſtances of which we meet with in the Goſpel-
Mark’ix. 31. Hiſtory; for he foretold very often his own Sufferings and Death, with all
the remarkable Circumſtances thereof. He ſaid that he ſhould be betray'd by
one of his own Diſciples, when none of them ſuſpected that there was a
Matt. xxvi.21.
John vi. 70.
falſe Brother among them, and the Traytor himſelf knew not yet the Falſe-
neſs of his own Heart. He told Peter but a few Hours before, that he ſhould
Matt. xxvi.34. deny him thrice ; when he at the ſame Time was very confident of his own
Strength, and declar'd himſelf reſolv'd to die, rather than deny him once. He
Matt. xxvi.31. told the reſt of the Diſciples that they would all forſake him, when they eve-
ry one profeſs'd themſelves reſoly'd to ſuffer with him, rather than leave him.
John iii
. 14. He ſignified before by what Death he ſhould die, and who ſhould be inſtru-
viii
. 28. xii. mental therein. He aſſured his Diſciples, that after three Days he would riſe
Matt. xvi. 21. again, and appointed them a Place in Galilee, where they ſhould all ſee him.
He propheſied that notwithſtanding the Contempt he was had in, and the
greater Contempt that his ignominious Death would bring upon him, his Re-
ligion ſhould by their means, a Company of poor illiterate Fiſhermen, be
Matt. xxiv. 14. preached with good Succeſs in all Parts of the World. He foretold likewiſe
the utter Deſtruction of Jeruſalem and the Temple, before that Generation
paſſed away, and the Diſperſion of the Jews into all Nations : And ſeveral
other Things, which it would take up too much Time now to mention, he
foretold ſhould be, juſt in that Manner in which they afterwards came to
paſs.
Concerning which it may be noted, that ſome of his Prophecies were ful-
filled foon after, they were ſpoken, the punctual Accompliſhment whereof
was to thoſe that both heard them ſpoken, and ſaw them fulfilled, an evident
Proof of his prophetical Spirit, and a juſt Ground of expecting the Accoin-
pliſhment of all his other Prophecies in their Seaſon; and that others were
not to be fulfilled 'till a good while after, the Accompliſhment whereof at
the Time foretold, and long after the Predictions thereof had been recorded
by the Evangeliſts, was a good Evidence to thoſe that lived then, and is alſo
to us that live now, and either read the Accompliſhment thereof in Hiſtory,
or ſee the ſame with our own Eyes, that he was endued with a divine Spirit ;
and likewiſe takes away all reaſonable Ground of a Suſpicion, which we
might otherwiſe have had, that in thoſe Inſtances wherein both the Prophecy
and
xxvi. 32.
xxviii. 16.
iii. 19.
Matt. xxiv.
Mark xiii.
Luke xxi.
3
5
2
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation:
1015
and the Accompliſhment of it are related by the ſame Authors, the Prophe-
cies were forged after the Events were come to paſs.
Now if this be true, and it is certainly true; if the Gospel Hiſtorý be ſo;
that our Saviour did foretell many Things which afterwards hapned, and
thoſe very caſual and contingent Things, depending upon the Free-will of
Men, this was an evident Token that he had a divine Spirit ; for none can
certainly foretell ſuch Things bnr God only, or thoſe whom he enlightens
with his Spirit ; and therefore the Prophet Iſaiah made this challenge to the
Idols of the Heathens, Iſa. xli. 23. Shew the Things that ſhall be hereafter;
that we may know that ye are Gods.
And if to this it ſhould be objected, that future Events have been ſome-
times foretold, by ſuch as have not been true Prophets of God, nor en-
lightned by his Spirit, as by Diviners, Aſtrologers, and Sooth-Sayers, and by
the Oracles of the Heathens; this may be granted without any weakning of
the Argument I am now upon, for the Proof of our Saviour's divino
Million
For there may be ſome future Events unforeſeen by us, and yet depend.
ing ſo intirely upon the Courſe of natural Cauſes, that unleſs hindred by a
Miracle, they will as certainly come to paſs as the Sun will riſe to Morrow;
and there, the Devil, who underſtands much better than we do the Power
and Courſe of Nature, may foreſee, and conſequently foretell; and when
ſuch a Thing is foretold, we, who underſtand very little of Nature, may
think it a Prophecy, whereas in Truth, there is no more of a prophetical
Spirit in the Devil when he foretells ſuch Things, than there is in a skil-
ful Aſtronomer, when he calculates and foretells to a Minute for ſeveral Ages
to come, the Motions and Eclipſes of the Sun, Moon, and Planets.
And even in future Contingencies, it is no Wonder that the Events liave
ſometimes verified the Predictions of the Devil and his Prophets; for this
alſo may well enough be accounted for, without allowing that any Being
hath a certain Fore-knowledge of future Contigencies but God only ; if we
do but ſuppoſe, as we may very reaſonably do, that the Devil hath a perfecter
Knowledge than we can have, of the Counſels, Intrigues, and Intereſts of Men,
that he underſtands their Tempers and Inclinations, that he hath lived a great
while, and made very exact Obſervations, that he hath had a long Experience of
Things, and hath alſo a notable Sagacity much beyond what is in any Man:
For ſo even a wiſe, obſerving, and experienc'd Man, may without a Spirit
of Prophecy, ſee much farther before him than Men commonly do, and
may foretell, by a Gueſs that ſhall rarely fail, a great many Things which
a leſs thinking and experienc'd Man would never have thought of; and when
the Thing happens that was foretold, it may be paſt the Skill of others to
judge, whether it was told by a ſagacious Gueſs, or by a certain Fore-know-
ledge of what would be.
And that the Predictions of Diviners, and the Oracles of the Heathens
concerning future Contingencies, have been no more than only probable Cori-
jectures, unleſs when they have been borrowed from divine Prophecies, as
they may have often bcen, is evident by their uncertain Accompliſhment.
Sone Things indeed have hapned as they have been foretold, but others
have not ſo hapned; and becauſe the Devil could not always certainly tell
what the Events of thoſe Things would be, which he was conſulted with
about, he commonly gave out his Oracles in ambiguous Expreſſions, that ſo,
whatever hapned, he might be thought to have foretold it.
And when the
Predictions of any perſon pretending to Prophecy, have failed in ſome In-
ftances, tho' in others they have been accompliſhed, this is a certain Argu-
ment that he did not propheſy by a divine Spirit; according to what is ſaid,
Deut. xviii. 21, 22. If thou say in thine Heart, how ſhall we know the
ز
4
1
Word
1016 The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Deut.xiii. 1,2,
3.
Word which the Lord hath not spoken ? When a Prophet Speaketh in the
Name of the Lord, if the Thing follow not nor come to paſs, that is the
Thing which the Lord hath not ſpokėn, but the Prophet hath Spoken it pre-
Jumptuouſly
. In which Words it ſeems to be implied, though it be not ex-
preſíly, ſaid, thát if the Thing foretold did come to paſs, and eſpecially that
if of many Things which the Prophet had foretold; and which could not
be fore known by the greateſt Skill in natural Cauſes, ſuch as are the Ac-
tions of a free Agent; not one Thing failed, but his Words were niade
good by the Event in every Particular, they night then depend upon it
that he was a true Prophet; except in one Caſe mentioned in Deut. xiii.
'viz., When he made Úſe of that Credit which the Accompliſhment of
his Predictions had gained him, to draw Men from the Worſhip of the
true and only God, to the Worſhip of Idols. And accordingly it is ob-
ſerved in í Sam. iii. 19, 20. that becauſe the Lord did "let none of Sa.
muel's Words fall to the Ground, all Ifrael, from Dan even to Beer ſheba,
knew that he was eſtabliſhed to be a Prophet of the Lord.
The bcfore-námed Exception having therefore no Place in our Saviour,
for his Doctrine was, Thou ſhalt worſhip the Lord thy God, and him only
Matth.liv. 10. ſhalt thou ſerve; and there being not one of thoſe many Prediction's that he
gave forth ; tho' ſeveral of them were concerning the moſt caſual Events
that could be; which has not been in its due Time fulfilled ; we may ſafely
conclude that he was a true Prophet of God, and conſequently, that he
ought to be hearkned to in every Thing that he ſaid.
3. Another Teſtimony that was given by God to the divine Miſſion of
our Saviour, was by the Power of working Miracles, more and greater
Miracles than ever had been done before ſince the Beginning of the World;
the Relation of which makes up a great Part of the Gospel Hiſtory.
And tò theſe our Saviour himſelf frequently appeals, as to a moſt evident
Jhn X.250 37. Proof that he was ſent by God, and that he was the Son of God; John
38. xiv. 11.xv.
V. 36. The Works which the Father hath given me to finiſh, the ſame
Works that I do, bear witneſs of me, that the Father bath sent me.
And indeed what better Evidence can be deſired, that a Perſon 'fpeaking
in the Name of God is ſent by him, than to ſee him do the Works of
God, that is, ſuch Works as cannot be done but by the Power of God?
And that our Saviour's Miracles were ſuch, cannot, I think, be doubted by
thoſe who believe they are truly related in the Goſpel, which it is now ſup-
poſed they are.
And if to this it be ſaid, that the firſt Oppoſers of Chriſtianity, both
Jews and Gentiles, who either ſaw the Miracles of our Saviour, or had
ſuch good Aſſurance thereof from Eye-witneſſes, or credible Hiſtory, that
they could not deny them, yet were not thereby convinced that he was a
Prophet of God, but rather thought that he did all his mighty Works by
magick Art, and by the Help of the Devil: I anſwer,
1. That it is a Thing which we cannot be ſure of, that the true Reaſon
why any one of thoſe who ſaw our Saviour's Miraclés, or were perſuaded
of the Truth of them, did yet refuſe to receive him as a Prophet ſent
from God, was, becauſe they were not convinced that his Miracles were
done by a divine 'Power ; for Men do not always act according to their
Judgments; for we read of ſome of the Chief Rulers in John xii. that
they believed on him, that is, they were convinced in their judgments
, by
the mighty Works that he did, that he was 'the Perſon he pretended to
be, but they did not confeſs him, left they ſhould be put out of the Syna,
gogue; for they loved the Praiſe of Men more than the Praiſe of God.
And therefore I think it moſt probable, that they who attributed thofe Mi-
racles of his which they could not deny, to the working of the Devil
,
Mat. xi. 4, 5
24.
did
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
I017
,
Mark vi,
Luke ix.
did not, nay could not, believe what they ſaid; but only ſaid it, becauſe
they were reſolved never to receive a Doctrine, whatever Evidence was gi-
ven of the Truth of it, that was ſo contrary as our Saviour's was, to thcir
Prejudices, Lufts, and worldly Intereſts; and they could not tell what elſe
to ſay, to juſtify themſelves to the World. But,
2. If their Blaſphemy in aſcribing our Saviour's Miracles to thc Pow.
er of the Devil, was not merely malicious, it was however moſt evidently
groundleſs. For
(1.) Though the Devil be without Doubt of much greater Power than
we are, and underſtanding better than we do the Force of natural Cauſes,
can do many Things which to the Eyes of Men may appear miraculous,
becauſe it may be paſt their Skill to give an Account of them by natural
Cauſes; there is no Reaſon however to believe that he can do a true Mira-
cle; that is, that he can ever alter the Courſe of Nature, or produce any
Effect but by the Means of natural Cauſes, working in ſuch a Manner,
and by ſuch Laws and Rulcs, as God hath appointed : And therefore the
Apoſtle calls thoſe ſtrange Appearances which are done by the working of 2 Theff. ii. 9.
Satan, lying Wonders.
But they were not lying Wonders which were done by our Saviour ; they
did not only ſeem to be done, but were done, and they were Miracles
not only in Appearance but in Truth, being many of them ſuch Effects as
were evidently above and beyond the Power of Nature, and therefore ſuch
as could not be done but by a Power ſuperior to Nature, that is, by
God's.
For who, but he only who at firſt brought all Things out of nothing, Matth. xiv.
could with five Loaves, and two ſmall Fiſhes, ſatisfy the Hunger of more
than five thouſand Perſons, leaving a Remainder of more than twice the John vi.
Number of Basketsfull of Fragments
, that there had been Loaves at the Luk. vii. 11,
firſt? Or who could reſtore to Life a dead Carkaſs that began to putrefy, John xi. 39.
but he only who firſt formed it out of the Duſt of the Ground? Who doce
could call back the departed Soul, and fix it to its former Reſidence, but
he only into whoſe Hands it was returned, and who firſt breathed into our
Bodies theſe immortal Spirits ?
And as to ſome other of his works which may be thought to be ſuch
as might be produced by the working of Nature only, the Manner in
which they were done plainly ſhews, that they alſo were done by a Power
ſuperior to Nature. For thus, a ſick Man may be reſtored to perfect
Health, in Time, and by Degrees, by the Uſe of proper Medicines, and
ſuch a Cure we reckon natural: But thoſe were plainly ſuper-natural Cures
which were wrought, as our Saviour's for the moſt Part were, without the
Uſe of any Medicines, only by a Word's ſpeaking, and many Times at a
great Diſtance; and by which thoſe who had been long fick or infirm, or
Cripples, were reſtored to perfect Health and Strength in an Inſtant of Time.
To ſuppoſe therefore that the Devil can thus at his Will alter the Courſe
of Nature, is to attribute to him ſuch a Power as is peculiar to the God
of Nature, who only doth great Wonders. But,
(2.) If the Miracles of our Saviour had been only ſuch as we might
reaſonably think did not exceed the Devil's Power to do, yet that they
were not wrought by his Help, and conſequently that they were done by
the Power of God, is abundantly evident from the Deſign of them; which
was to eſtabliſh a Doctrine the moſt contrary that could be to the Devil's
Intereſt
. For to this Purpoſe the Son of God was manifeſted that he might Joh. ii. 8.
deſtroy the Works of the Devil; and he did it, by preaching to Men to turn Tit. ii, 12.
from the Vanities of Idols to the Worſhip and Service of the living God,
who made Heaven and Earth; and by teaching them to deny Ungodlineſs
Vol. II.
and
Pfal.lxxii, 18.
CXxxvi. 4.
1
SM
I018
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
A
2 Tim. iii. 8.
ز
1
and worldly Luſts, and to live ſoberly, righteouſly, and godly in this preſent
World.
Now the Devil is certainly as ſubtle as he is powerful ; and therefore
if he has indeed any Power to alter the Courſe of Nature, and to do a
real Miracle, he would not however, we may be ſure, make Uſe of this
Power againſt himſelf, he would not thereby aſſiſt another to deſtroy his
own Kingdom. And by this Argument our Saviour himſelf clearly confu-
ted this Calumny, in Matth. xii. 25. When the Phariſees had faid that
he caſt out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils; he anſwered,
Every Kingdom divided againſt it ſelf is brought to Deſolation : And if
Satan caſt out Satan, he is divided againſt himſelf; how then shall his
Kingdom ſtand? And,
(3.) Laſtly, as it is not credible that the Devil has ſuch Power; or if he
has, and was let alone to himſelf, that he would make Uſe of this Power
to deſtroy his own Kingdom ; fo neither is it credible, that almighty God,
who has all Power in his Hands, and can controll and limit the Workings
of the Devil and all created Beings, as he plcaſes, would ever permit the
Devil to our-do himſelf in ſuch wonderful Operations; ſo that more and
greater Miracles ſhould be done by an Impoſtor, than ever had been done
before by any true Prophet ; which yet is manifeftly the Caſe, if indeed our
Saviour was an Impoli er.
He ſuffered indeed Jannes and Jambres to withſtand his Servants Moſes
and Aaron for ſome Time, and tº do, or ſeem to do, ſome wonderful Works
Exod. vi. so, like to theirs; for Aaron caſt his Rod upon the Ground and it became a
Exod. viii.6,7. Serpent, and ſo did they: And Aaron ſtretched out his Hand over the Wa-
ters; and the Frogs came up and covered the Land; and the Magicians
did fo with their Inchantments, and brought up Frogs upon the Land of
Egypt. · But tho' he ſuffered the Magicians thus to contend with his Pro-
Exod. vii. 12. phet, the Victory was clearly on his Prophet's Side ; for Aaron's Rod (wal-
lowed up their Rods, and when the Magicians endeavour'd by their Inchant-
menţs to bring forth Lice, as Aaron had done, they could not; but were
forced to own before Pharoah that it was the Finger of God; and from
that Time forward ſtrove no more for Victory.
And thus it may be conſiſtent with the Wiſdom and Goodneſs of God,
at any Time, in order to prove his People, and to know whether they love
Deut
. xiii. 1. the Lord with all their Heart, to ſuffer the Sign or Wonder foretold by
Mat
. xxiv.24. an Inticer to Idolatry to come to paſs; and to diſtinguiſh his ele£t from
reprobates, to permit falſe Chriſts and falſe Prophets, to sew great Signs
2 Theſi
. ii. 8, and Wonders;; and in juſt Judgment upon ſuch as will not receive the Love
of the Truth that they may be saved; to let them alone to be deceived by
that reicked one, whoſe Coming is after the working of Satan, with all Pow-
er, and Signs, and lying Wonders, and with all Deceivableneſs of Unrigh-
teouſneſs in them that periſh.
But it cannot, I think, bę reconciled to theſe Attributes of God, that
he ſhould permit greater Wonders, and more clear and undoubted Miracles,
to be done by a falſe Prophet, than ever were done by a true Prophet; be-
cauſe this would be too great a Trial for human Nature : Such Signs and
Wonders would be ſufficient tº deceive even thoſe that enquire after Truth
with the greateſt Sincerity of Heart. And I cannot conceive it conſiſtent
with the Goodneſs of God, to permit that ſuch as are of honeft Minds, ,
and ſincere Lovers' of Truth, fhould, after a fair Examination of the Proofs
on both Sides, have greater Reaſon to embrace Error than Truth; which
yet they plainly have, in caſe Miracles done by falſe Prophets be more and
greater than have been done by any true Prophet; unleſs the Falſeneſs of
9, IO.
-
the
mo
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
1019
upon them,
the Doctrines which they would thereby eſtabliſh be more evident than the
Truth of their Miracles. So that upon the whole, I think we may well
conclude this Head, with thoſe Words of Nicodemus to our Saviour, Joh.
iii. 2. We know, (we are aſſured of it, we have no Reaſon to doubt of it)
that thou art a Teacher come from God; for no Man can do theſe Miracles
that thou doeſt, except God be with him.
6. Another Way by which God himſelf barc Witneſs to the Truth of Joh. ii. 19.
Matth.xii.401
our Saviour's Teſtimony, was by raiſing him from the dead. To this great xvi. 4.
Miracle he himſelf often referred thoſe that had any Doubt of the Truth of
his other Miracles, as what could not but be ſatisfactory to all that were
capable of receiving Satisfaction. And this was the chief Subject of the
Apoſtles Sermons, the main Proof that they inſiſted upon to convince Men Acts ii. 24-32.
iii. 15. iv. io.
that Heſus was the Chriſt : And they ſeem to have no Doubt
X.40, xiii. 304
that if they could but perſuade Men of the Truth of his Reſurre&tion,
they would readily own that he was the Chriſt, and without farther Scru-
ple receive every Thing that he had taught them in the Name of God,
as a divine Truth. By this, ſay they, God has given Aſſurance unto all Acks xvii. 30.
Men, that he has ordained him to be the Judge of the World: By this,
ſay they, he was declared to be the Son of God with Power ; becauſe it
was a Thing evident to all, that no Power leſs than God's could raiſe the
dead
When therefore this was done; and it was done if the Gospel Hiſtory
be true ; this was a plain Seal ſet by God himſelf to our Saviour's Teſti-
niony; a Seal not poſſible to be counterfeited, and wherein the divinc Pow-
er is ſo clearly and deeply engraven, that whoever looks attently upon it,
muſt be ſatisfied whoſe Seal it is. So that to grant the Reſurrection of our
Saviour, and yet to doubt whether he was the Perſon he gave out himſelf
to be, is to doubt of the Truth of God himſelf; for granting our Saviour's
Reſurrection, it cannot be ſuppoſed that he was an Impoſtor, without ſup-
poſing that God himſelf did conſent to the Impoſture, and work tļie moſt
evident Miracle that ever was done, on purpoſe to perſuade Men to believe
Rom. i. 4o
ز
ز
a Lye.
}
I Thall mention at preſent but one Way morc, whereby God was pleaſed
to confirm our Saviour's Teſtimony of himſelf; and that was
7. By the Witneſs of the Holy Ghoff, which Witneſs was given to him
at his Baptifm, when the Holy Ghoſt descended in a viſible Manner as a Joh. i. 326c.
Dove, and reſted on him. It was alſo given to him during the whole
Courſe of his Miniſtry; for the Holy Ghoſt not only deſcended, but abode Ats x. 38,&c.
upon him; and therefore St. Peter, ſpeaking ºf him, ſays that God anoint-
ed him with the Holy Ghoſt and with Power.
But that Witneſs of the Holy Ghoſt which I now chiefly deſign, was that
which was given to him after his Aſcenſion into Heaven, and was an evi-
dent Token that all Power in Heaven and Earth was then committed to
him ; I mean thoſe Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt which he ſhowered down on Ads ii. 1, &c.
his Apoſtles on the Day of Pentecoſi ; when being met together, there came
ſuddenly a Sqund from Heaven as of a ruſhing mighty Wind, which filled
all the Houſe where they were ſitting, and there appeared unto them cloven
Tongues like as of Fire, which ſat upon each of them; whereupon they
were all filled with the Holy Ghoſt, and began to speak with other Tongues,
as the Spirit gave them Utterance.
And this Teſtimony of the Holy Ghoſt, our Saviour promiſed before
ſhould be given to him ; Joh. xv. 26. When the Comforter is come, who
I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which
proceedeth from the Father, he ſhall teſtify of me. And the Teſtimony in-
deed was very plain fand full; for by this it clearly appeared that all his
former
F
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The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
xix, 6.
former Miracles had been true, and had been wrought by a divine Power ;
when even after he had left this World he was ſtill able to make good this
Promiſe to his Diſciples, and to empower them to do greater Works in his
Name, than he himſelf had done while he was living upon Earth. This
was a clear Demonſtration that he was the beloved Son of the Father, and
Acts ii. 33. was, as St. Peter ſays, exalted at God's right Hand, when he did ſhed
forth that wonderful Power upon his Apoſtles, of which all that then dwelt
in Jeruſalem, or had come thither from all Parts of the World to worſhip,
were Eye and Ear-witneſſes.
Acts ii. 38.
And this Teſtimony of the Holy Ghoſt was given to our Saviour, not
viii
. 17. X. 44. at that Time only, not one Day and no more, but was continued to be gi-
ven to him all the Time of the Apoſtles preaching; who were alſo enabled
to communicate to others by laying on of Hands, the ſame miraculous Gifts
of the Holy Ghoſt which they themſelves had received ; until they had finiſhed
thcir Miniſtry, and planted Chriſtian Churches in all the Countries of the
then known World.
Thus I have briefly mentioned the great Evidence that the Gospel Hiſtory
John vii. 31. affords of the Truth of our Saviour's Teſtimony of himſelf: The Matters of
Fact I have taken for granted, as being Parts of the Goſpel Hiſtory; the
Truth of which has been, I hope, already ſufficiently proved ; and the Evi-
dence it ſelf is ſo clear and full, that I thought it needleſs to open it in more
Words than I have done. For that the Teſtimony which God did by all theſe
Ways give to our Saviour, is a rational Inducement to believe the Truth of
what he ſaid concerning himſelf, is what, I think, cannot be doubted by
thoſe that allow themſelves any Time to conſider Things.
This I am ſure I may fay, that if this ſtrong Evidence that the Goſpel
Hiſtory affords of our Saviour's divine Miſſion be not ſufficient to prove it,
there never yet has been ſufficient Evidence of the Truth of any divine Re-
velation I had almoſt ſaid, nor ever can be, but that I know it is not for
us to ſay, what infinite Power and Wiſdom can do.
But as ſome Jews in our Saviour's Time faid, When Chriſt cometh, will
he do more Miracles than theſe which this Man hath done? So I may ask,
and I believe it will be very difficult to make anſwer to it, When Chriſt
cometh (if indeed he be not already come, if indeed that Jeſus on whom
we believe be not he) how ſhall we do to know him? what greater Aſſurance
can he give us that he is the Chriſt, than Jeſus hath given? what better Rea
ſon can we ever have to believe any Meſſenger that ſhall be ſent from God,
than we have to believe our Saviour ?
For we have as much Reaſon, ſuppoſing the Goſpel Hiſtory to be true, to
believe him to be ſent from God, as we have to believe any Thing: We are
as ſecure that we are not deceived in him, as we are that we are not deceived
in the plaineſt Matters of Senſe. For the beſt, the only Security that we have,
that our Senſes do not deceive us, and that every Thing in the World is not
quite otherwiſe than it appears to us to be, is the Goodneſs of God; and
this fame Security we have, that we are not deceived in our Saviour's divine
Miſſion. Nay, we are more ſecure of this than we are of that; becauſe it
is more plainly inconſiſtent with the Goodneſs of God, to deceive us in a
Matter on which our everlaſting Welfare depends, than in Matters only of
this Life, which are the chief Things for which our bodily Senſes are of Uſe
to us : And if indeed we are deceived in our Saviour, it muſt be ſaid that
God himſelf has deceived us, having given us all the Reaſon imaginable to
believe him to be, as he ſaid he was, the Son of God.
And now having been ſo large in (hewing the Evidence that there is from
the Matters of Fact recorded in the Hiſtory of the New Teſtament, that our
Saviour himſelf was a Teacher Sent from God, I ſhall not need to ſpend
3.
1
:.
much
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
102 1
1
ز
o
1
much Time in ſewing that his Apoſtles were likewiſe commiſſioned by God
to inſtruct the World; and conſequently that we ought alſo to receive all the
Doétrines taught by them, whether in their Epiſtles, or in their Diſcourſes,
interwoven by St. Luke with his Hiſtory of their Afts, as true and divine. For
1. There is plainly no Reaſon why we ſhould not receive them as ſuch ;
becauſe they are the very ſame that our Saviour taught, and no other. Some
Points of Chriſtian Doctrine are indeed more largely explained and handled
by the Apoſtles in their Epiſtles, than they are in thoſe Diſcourſes of our Sa-
viour that are recorded by the Evangeliſts; but between the Doctrines
taught
by our Lord himſelf, and thoſe taught by the Apoſtles, there is ſuch a perfect
Harmony and Agreement, that if we had only their own Word for it, that
they ſpake and wrote by the Inſpiration of the Spirit, we might ſecurely be-
lieve them: For thoone Man may, without Inſpiration, ſay the fame Thing
which another before him has ſpoken by Inſpiration; yet if the ſecond ſays
that he alſo is inſpired, there can be no Hurt, tho' there may be a Miſtake,
in believing him ; ſeeing whether the Man was inſpired or no, it is certain that
the Doctrine was. But,
2. If there be any Doctrines taught by the Apoſtles, which we do not ſee
were taught before by our Saviour, I ſay there is however froin the Hiſtory
of the Goſpel, Evidence enough of their divine Miſſion alſo; ſo that we
may very ſecurely take upon their Credit, as true and divine, any Doctrine
which they have inſtructed us in. For,
(1.) That they were ſent by our Saviour, is paſt all Diſpute, if the Goſpel
Hiſtory be true; John xx. 21. As my Father hath ſent me, so ſend I you;
and again, Matth. xxviii. 19, 20. Go ye and diſciple 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 I have commanded you. And
that he had Authority to grant them ſuch a Commiſſion, he ſhews in the
Words before; All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth; Go
ye therefore and teach all Nations, &c. And,
(2.) That they were taught by God, and enlightned by his Holy Spirit, is
what cannot be doubted, if we believe the Power of our Saviour, and the
Truth of the Goſpel ; for before our Lord went from them, he breathed on Joh. XX. 22,
them, and ſaid, Receive ye the Holy Ghoſt : And to what Purpoſes the Holy
Ghoſt was to be given them, he had told them before: The Comforter which Joh. xiv. 26.
is the Holy Ghoſt
, whom the Father will ſend in my Name, he shall teach
you all Things, and bring all Things to your Remembrance whatſoever I have
ſaid unto you: And, When he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide Joh. xvi. 1 3.
you into all Truth. Being therefore thus taught by the Spirit of Truth, our
Saviour might well ſay, as he does, Luke x. 16. He that heareth you,
heareth me; and he that deſpiſeth you, deſpiſeth me; and he that deſpiſeth
me, deſpiſeth him that ſent me.
And,
(3.) Laſtly; We have all the Reaſon in the World to receive them as
Meſſengers from God, and to believe that all that they have taught is the
Will of God, becauſe they had the ſame Atteſtation of God to the Truth of
their Doctrine, that our Saviour himſelf had to his. I do not mean, that God
did bear them Witneſs all thoſe Ways by which he bare Witneſs to our
Saviour, for that could not be; but he bare Witneſs to them all thoſe Ways
by which it was proper for him to do it, and by which he had born Witneſs
to any former Prophets.
For he bare Witneſs to them that they were ſent by him, by the Teſti-Joh. xiii. 22,
mony of our Saviour, as he had done to our Saviour by the Teſtimony of<x. 21.
John: And if the Teſtimony of a Prophet was credible concerning our Sa-
viour, much more is the Teſtimony of the Son of God highly credible con.
cerning a Meſſenger ſent by him.
Vol. II.
He
1
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>
I
1022
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
Act.xx, 22,25.
1 Tim. iv. I,
ene.
He bare Witneſs to them alſo by enduing them with the Gift of Pro-
Joh. xvi. 13. phecy; for when the Spirit of Truth is come, ſays our Saviour, he will there
you Things to come.
And laſtly, He bare Witneſs to them, by that which is the moſt plain and
ſenſible Proof of a divine Miſſion, viz. by the Power of Miracles, and ma-
nifold Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt. The Lord worked with them, and confirmed
Mal. xvi. 20. their Word with Signs following, ſays St. Mark: And, With great Power,
Acts iv. 33. ſays St. Luke, gave the Apoſtles witneſs of the Reſurrection of the Lord Je-
fus. And the
greater Part of the Hiſtory of the Acts of the Apoſtles is ſpent
in relating the wonderful Works that they did, by the Name of Jeſus, and
the Power of the Holy Ghoſt, in Confirmation of the Truth of their
Doctrine
But St. Paul, perhaps it will be ſaid, of whoſe writing are moſt of the
Epiſtles, was not one of them, not called by our Saviour to be an Apoſtle,
as they were, nor ſo much as an Eye and Ear-witneſs of our Lord's Mira-
cles and Doctrine: What Reaſon then have we to receive his Writings as Por-
tions of Holy Scripture?
I anſwer; As good, tho' not in every Particular juſt the ſame, as we have
to receive the Writings of the other Apoſtles as ſuch.
For he was converted, and ordained to be an Apoſtle, in a more wonderful
Manner than they were ; as you may ſee in Afts ix.
And as our Lord himſelf gave Witneſs to their divine Miſſion, ſo he did
alſo to kis; Acts ix is. He is, ſays our Lord, a choſen Veſel unto me, to
bear my Name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the Children of Iſrael.
To him alſo, as well as to them, the Spirit fore-ſhewed Things to come;
xxvii. 10, 22. ſeveral Proofs of which we may obſerve in the Hiſtory of the Afts, and in
Th.ii. 3,8c.
his Epiſtles.
And laſtly, His Speech and his Preaching was, as theirs, in Demonſtra-
2 Tim. iii. 1»tion of the Spirit
, and of Power. In him all the Signs of an Apoſtle were
1 Cor. ii. 4. ſeen, no leſs than in them, viz. Signs and Wonders, and mighty Deeds.
2 Cor. xii. i 2. And of him, with Barnabas in Company, it is that St. Luke ſpeaks, when he
Ads xiv. 3. ſays, that the Lord gave Teſtimony to the Word of his Grace, and granted
Signs and Wonders to be done by their Hands. And the latter Part of the
Hiſtory of the Acts, from the tenth Chapter to the End, contains little elſe
but an Account of St. Paul's Preaching, and of the Miracles that were done
by the Power of God to confirm the Truth of his Doctrine: So that if we
believe the Goſpel Hiſtory, we can no more doubt of his divine Miſſion and
Inſpiration, than we can of theirs ; we muſt conclude, that if they were
2 Cor. xi. 23. Apoſtles, ſo was he; that if they were Miniſters of Chriſt, ſo was he too;
xi. 5. xii. 11. foraſmuch as in nothing he was behind the very chiefeſt Apoſtles; ſo that
conſequently we have as much Reaſon to believe his Writings to be inſpired,
as we have theirs.
And now by all that hath been ſaid, I hope, I have fully made good
the Point I was to prove ; viz. that if the Matters of Fact recorded in the
New Teſtament are true, they are ſufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine
Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught, whether by Chriſt
himſelf, or by his Apoſtles. For if it be true, that they were ſent by God to
inſtruct the World, and to declare the Will of God to Mankind; and that
they were, is ſufficiently proved by their Credential Letters, which we have
now peruſed and examined; we can no more doubt the Truth of thoſe Things
which they as the Meſſengers and Ambaſſadors of God have delivered to us
in his Name, than if we had heard God himſelf uttering the ſame by a
Voice
from Heaven. So that I cannot but perſuade my ſelf, that the Proofs which
have been offered in the foregoing Diſcourſe of the Truth of all the Doétrines
that are taught in the New Teſtament, are ſufficient to convince any rational
I
and
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation. 1023
and conſidering Man of the Truth of any Doctrine, the Falſity whereof is
not notorious and ſelf-evident.
And therefore this, I think, is the only Thing that can with any Show of
Rcaſon be pretended by any Perſon, to juſtify his not receiving the Goſpel as
a divine Revelation, viz. that the Matter of it, in ſome Particulars, is ſuch
as will not admit of any Proof at all; becauſe no Arguments can make a
Thing credible, which in it ſelf is incredible. And ſuch, it may be pretended,
ſome of the Chriſtian Doctrines are, which are taught in the New Teſta-
ment; and eſpecially the Doctrine of the Trinity.
And that this Doctrinc is clearly taught in the New Teſtament, we freely
grant. But why ſhould it be deemed incredible ? does it imply a Contra-
diction ? can they that except againſt it, or againſt the Goſpel Revelation upon
the Account of it, ſhew that it is impoſſible it ſhould be true? can they de-
monſtrate that it is impoſſible for an infinite and eternal Being to beget a Son
in his own Likeneſs, the Brightneſs of his Glory, and the expreſs Image of Heb. i, 3.
his Perfon? or can they ſhew it to be impoſlīble, that there ſhould be a
third Perſon proceeding from both theſe ?
No, perhaps they'll ſay ; but that theſe Three ſhould be One, as the Scri-
pture teaches, that, they think, exceeds all the Meaſures of Belicf; that, they
cannot but think a manifeſt Contradiction,
But why ſo? do the Chriſtians hold, or does the Scripture ſay, that they
are Three and One in the ſame Reſpect ? does it ſay that the One God is
three Gods? or that thoſe Three whom it ſpeaks of as three diſtinct Perſons,
aſcribing perſonal Acts to each of them, are nevertheleſs but one ſingle Perſon?
No; it only tells us in general, that theſe Three are One. But how they are
Three, or how they are One; wherein conſiſts their Diſtinction, and wherein
their Unity, it ſays not, at leaſt not very plainly. And I think it the fafeſt
Courſe in ſuch high Matters, in Matters ſo much too high for us, not to ex-Pfal. cxxxi.
erciſe our ſelves, nor to pretend to be wiſe above what is written.
If therefore there be no Contradiction in the Doctrine of a Trinity in Unity;
as there is not, unleſs we ſay that God is One and Three in the ſame Reſpect ;
that is enough; that is all that needs to be ſaid upon this Occaſion. For tho
we may, as indeed we muſt, allow it to be an incomprehenſible Myſtery, there
is no Reaſon to cavil at the Goſpel Revelation, or to deny it to be a true di-
vine Revelation upon this Account.
For we live in a World of Myſteries; we muſt believe Myſteries in Abun-
dance, whether we will or no: I mean, there are ſome Truths ſo very plain
even to our Reaſon, that we cannot doubt of them, and yet ſo very high
and myſterious, that we can no more fathom them than we can the Dottrine
of the Trinity.
For thus, that Matter is not Eternal, we are as ſure almoſt as we are of any
Thing, for Matter could not exiſt of it ſelf; and yet how Matter ſhould be
made out of Nothing, is as incomprehenſible by us, as it is how the Oneun-
divided Godhead does perſonally ſubſiſt in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt.
And thus again, that God is Eternal, we are certain by Reaſon; for by
God we mean the firſt Cauſe of all, and he who was firſt could have none
before him ; and yet that any Thing ſhould exiſt without a Cauſe of its Ex-
iſtence is unaccountable; and if we were not ſure that it muſt be ſo, we ſhould
be ready to ſay that it was impoſſible and a manifeſt Contradiction that it
ſhould be fo.
Thus, I ſay, we are led by the Light of Reaſon only to a firm Belief of
fonie Truths, which yet we can give no Account of by our Reaſon. And
I think, it is very hard, that we will not receive an incomprehenſible Doc-
trine, upon thc Credit of a very plain and well atreſted divine Revelation, as
well as we do and muſt do the ſame upon the Evidence of natural Reaſon.
Eſpecially
A
1024
The Sufficiency of the Scripture-Revelation.
ز
Wild. ix. 16.
Eſpecially conſidering the Subject of this incomprehenſible Doctrine, which
is the Eſſence or Subſtance of God, who is an infinite Being, and ſo muſt
needs be incomprehenſible by our finite Underſtandings; by our Underſtand-
ings, I ſay, which are ſo very ſhallow, that I believe I may truly ſay, we
underſtand not the Eſſence or Subſtance of any Thing. For we underſtand
not what is the Elence or Subſtance of Matter or Body, tho' it be a Thing
that all our Senſes are continually exerciſed about: All that we know of it,
is ſome Properties or Accidents thereof; that it is ſomething, but what we
know not, that has Figure and Dimenſions, that is hard, ſoft, fixed, fluid, or
the like. And we underſtand no more, but rather leſs, what the Elence or
Subſtance of our Soul is: All that we know of it is, that it is ſomething
that thinks, and becauſe it thinks we know it muſt be ſomething; and be-
cauſe none of thoſe Properties which we obſerve in Matter have any Relation
at all to Thought, we conclude that the thinking Soul is an immaterial Some-
thing ; tho' what is immaterial cannot be explained by us, unleſs we could
ſay what is material.
Seeing thercfore, as the wiſe Hebrew ſpeaks, we do hardly gueſs aright at
Things that are upon Earth, and with Labour do find out the Things that
are before us; is it any Wonder that we cannot ſearch out, and fully know
and comprehend the Things that are in Heaven? If we are not able to un-
derſtand cven our own Eſſence, and how by an ineffable Union of Spirit with
Matter, the Whole together becomes one Man; is it any Wonder, that by
Job xi. 7. all our ſearching we cannot find out God, that we cannot find out the AL-
mighty to Perfection?
And what hath been thus briefly ſaid, is, I hope, ſufficient to fhew that a
divine Revelation cannot reaſonably be excepted againſt or refuſed, only up-
on the Account of ſome myſterious and incomprehenſible Doctrines that are
therein contained. And if not, then I hope what was ſaid before is
enough to ſatisfy any conſidering Man, that the Goſpel is a true divine Re-
velation.
To conclude all therefore. Having Chriſt and his Apoſtles continually
preaching to us in the Books of the New Teſtament, Let us, as the Text
ſays, hear them; let us reverence theſe ſacred Writings as the Oracles of God,
Jam, i. 21, 22. and receive with Meekneſs the engrafted Word, which is able to ſave our
Souls. But let us be Doers of the Word, and not Hearers only, deceiving
our own felves. For, as the Apoſtle argues, Heb. ii. 3, &c. If the Word
Spoken by Angels was ſtedfaſt, and every Tranſgreſſion and Diſobedience re-
ceived a juſt Recompence of Reward; how shall we eſcape, if we neglečt sa
great Salvation, which at the firſt began to be ſpoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him: God alſo bearing them Witneſs
both with Signs and Wonders, and with diverſe Miracles and Gifts of the
Holy Ghoſt, according to his own Will?
DIS-
1025
DISCOURSE XCIV.
:
New Revelations cannot reaſonably be
deſired.
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham Jaith unto him, They have Mofes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Moſes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perfuaded, tho' onę
roſe from the Dead.
HEN I firſt began to diſcourſe on theſe Words ; I pro-
poſed to ſpeak to theſe three Points.
TWITT
W
I. To ſhew, that the preſent ſtanding Revelation of
God's Will, contained in the Books of the Old and New
Teſtament, is abundantly ſufficient to perſuade Men to
Repentance, if they are not unreaſonably blind and obſti-
nate: They have Moſes and the Prophets; I add, they
have alſo Chriſt and his Apoſtles; let them hear them.
II. To ſhew, that having already ſuch good Grounds of Faith, ſuch full
Directions for Prađice, and ſuch ſtrong Motives to Repentance, it is an un-
reaſonable Requeſt to deſire more. Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent. And,
III. Laſtly, to ſhew, that in caſe God ſhould condeſcend to gratify Men in
this unreaſonable Deſire, working every Day new Miracles before their Eyes,
or ſending their deceaſed Friends to them from the dead, to aſſure them of
a future State, and to warn them to prepare for it; it is highly probable, that
very few or none of thoſe who do not believe, and are not brought to
Repentance, by the preaching and ſtanding Revelation of the Goſpel, would
be perſuaded by this Means. If they bear not Moſes and the Prophets,
Vol. II.
so
nor
1026
New Revelations cannot
nor Chriſt and his Apoſtles, neither will they be perſuaded tho one roſe
from the dead.
The firſt of theſe has been the Subject of ſeveral former Diſcourſes; the
ſecond I deſign to ſpeak to at this Time, viz.
II. To ſhew, that having already ſuch good Grounds of Faith, ſuch full
Directions for Practice, and ſuch ſtrong Motives to Repentance, as I have ſhewn
we have, in that ſtanding Revelation of God's Will
, which is contained in
the Holy Scripture
, it is an unreaſonable Requeſt to deſire more. Nay,
Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the Dead, they will
repent.
And the Unreaſonableneſs of the Requeſt which the rich Man here makes
in the behalf of his Brethren, viz. that God would be pleaſed to ſend one
from the dead to preach to them ; or in general, how unreaſonable it is for
Men now a-days to deſire, or look for more Means of Converſion, or Mo-
tives to Repentance, than God has been pleaſed to afford us in the ſtand-
ing Revelation of the Goſpel; will appear, if we conſider theſe following
Things.
1. That the Principles of Faith and the Motives to Repentance which
we have already, being well grounded upon Matters of Fatt, which have
been once alrcady ſufficiently proved and atteſted, it is altogether needleſs
that any freſh or farther Proof ſhould be given of them; and it is what
we never think reaſonable to deſire in other the like Caſes.
That when God requires us to believe or do any Thing, and ſends a ſpe-
cial Meſſenger to acquaint us with his Will, he ſhould grant to this Meſſen-
ger ſuch Teſtimonials, as are fufficient to ſatisfy reaſonable Men, that he is
no Impoſtor, but a Teacher ſent from God, is indeed a Thing that may
fairly be expected. And if God ſhould not do thus, we ſhould be excufa-
ble in not hearkning to ſuch a Meſſenger, becauſe we could not know
whether he was' a true or a falſe Prophet; and God does not require, neither
indeed is it reaſonable, that we ſhould believe every Pretender to Revela-
tion. And the cleareſt Proof of any Man's being ſent from God to teach
us any Thing, being a Power of doing ſuch Miracles and mighty Works,
as are manifeſtly above the Skill and Strength of a Man to do, it was there-
fore highly requiſite, and what might reaſonably be looked for, that God
ſhould grant ſuch a Power as this to all thoſe whom he has ever inſpired with
new Light, and commiſſion'd to make any new Revelation of his Will to
Mankind. And this he has always done.
He
gave this Power to Mofes in a large Meaſure, becauſe the Matters
that Men were to truſt him for, were many, and very conſiderable.
Hc
gave it alſo to ſome of the ſucceeding Prophets, but in a leſs Meaſure,
becauſe their Buſineſs, for the moſt Part, was only to interpret, or to preſs
the Obſervation of the Law of Mofes, which had been ſufficiently proved
before.
And he gave it in the largeſt Meaſure of all to our Saviour and his
Apoſtles; becauſe the Revelation made by them was of Truths very my-
ſterios, ſome of them above the Reach and Comprehenſion of human Rca-
fon. It was alſo a Revelation in a Manner wholly new, even to the Jews
themſelves, and much more to the Gentiles: And beſides, it was alſo a
Revelation in many Points, to Appearance, contrary to a former divine
Revelation ; inaſmuch as it is ordered the Abolition of many Things which
had been before enjoyned by divine Authority ; 'viz, all the Ritual and Ce-
remonial Law of Moſes. And therefore to gain Credit to their Teſtimony,
that they were inſpired and ſent by God to teach ſuch Things, it was very
requiſite
YA
testinderen in een matvarovation
reaſonably be deſired.
1027
requiſite that they ſhould produce more, and more plain and undeniable
Teſtimonials of their divine Miſlion, than Moſes himſelf had donc, And
fuch Teſtimonials they had, ſuch they did produce, working more Mira-
cles, and thoſe, as I may ſay, more wonderful and miraculous, than Moſes
and all the Prophets together had wrought before.
But when theſe Teſtimonials had been once fairly produced and examină
ed, and by all reaſonable Men allowed to be true and ſufficient; and when
Chriſt and his Apoſtles had made and publiſhed all that Revelation which
they were commiſſioned to make ; and when to prevent all Miſunderſtand-
ings of it, or Miſtakes concerning it, they had committed it all to Writing ;
and the Men that lived in thoſe Times, and were capable of enquiring into
the Truth of it, were well aſured that the Books ſaid to be writren by
the Apoſtle's and Evangeliſts were indeed theirs, and contained in Sub-
ſtance all the ſavie Things, and no other, which they had before declared
by Word of Mouth, and confirmed by Miracles : After this, I ſay, when
the Divinity of the Revelation was thus once, at the firſt Publiſhing of it,
ſo fully confirmed, there was no Need that it ſhould be proved any more,
and all other Proof thereof would have been ſuperfluous ; becauſe the whole
Matter, both Doctrine and Proof, bcing once faithfully recorded, and thoſe
Records well atteſted, there could afterwards be no reaſonable Cauſe to call
it again in Qucftion. So that the Reaſon of working Miracles being then
ceaſed, it was reaſonable that the Power of working Miracles ſhould ceaſe
too; at leaſt till ſuch Time as God ſhould think fit, to makc fome Alte-
ration in, or Addition to his former Revelations; which we have good Rca-
ſon to think he will never do; or till he ſhould pleaſe to undertake the
Converſion of thoſe Nations to the Chriſtian Faith, to whom the Kņow-
ledge of the former Miracles that had been wrought for its Confirmation could
not be ſo well communicated by credible Hiſtory, as it is to us.
For, as was hinted before, credible Hiſtory is all the Proof and Evi-
dence that we ever think reaſonable to require, in other Caſes of the like
Nature.
As for Inſtance: When a new Law is made concerning any Matter, it
is requiſite, according to the Cuſtom of our Country, that it ſhould paſs
both Houſes of Parliament, and that the King ſhould ratify and confirm
it; and that afterwards it ſhould be ſome Way To publiſhed and promulged,
that all the Subjects that are then alive fhould have ſufficient Aſſurance .gi-
ven them that ſuch a Law is made. But after this Law has been once
ſo paſſed, and ratified, and promulged, it is paſſed and ratified and
promulged for ever; and no Man is ſo unreaſonable as to expect
that every Parliament that is called afterwards, ſhould read and paſs
over again all the Laws that have been made before their Timę; or
that every King that ſucceeds to the Thronė fhould afreſh ratify and
publiſh all the Laws that were made by all his “Predeceſſors. But all the
Proof that we ever require of the Authority of any ancient Law, is a true
Copy of it, and a good Hiſtory or Record of its being made at ſuch a
Time, by ſuch a King, confirmed by the Tradition of all the intermediate
Ages to our Time, which have allowed of its Authority, by citing it as a
Law of the Land, by.pleading from it, and by giving Judgment according to it.
And he who will not allow of the fame Proof and Evidence of the Au-
thority of the Chriſtian Inſtitution, ſo many hundred Years ago eſtabliſhed,
but would needs have new Miracles and new Revelations to confirm the
former, is every whit as unreaſonable as that Criminal would be, who being
indicted upon ſome ancient Statute, ſhould refuſe to plead to his Indictment,
upon-Pretence that he knew not whether there was any ſuch Law or not;
it being made, if ever it was niade, long before his Time, and there being
none
1028
Nec Revelations cannot
none now alive that were preſent at the making of it. Shew him the
Law in the Statute-Book; why, how does he know, he'd ſay, but that
the Printers had a Mind to put a Cheat upon the Nation, by printing à
Law of their own making, as a Law made by ſome of our ancient Kings?
Nay, ſhew him the Original Record, ftill he'd ſay, there have been Abundance
of Forgeries in the World, and how does he know but that this is one ?
The Record, he'd own perhaps, looks like an ancient Deed, and has all
the Marks of ſuch Antiquity as it pretends to; but after all, it is poſſible ir
may be, and therefore he cannot be ſure it is not, a Forgery; and till he
is aſſured of this, he will not plead to an Indi&tment that is grounded upon
it. But if the King and Parliament that now are, will be pleaſed to de-
clare that this is a good Law, and if he himſelf may be allowed to be by
when they ſhall declare it; or if at leaſt two or three Witneſſes that he
can truſt ſhall teſtify upon Oath, that they were preſent when it was paſſed
into a Law, then he will allow it to be a good Law; and after that, will
be content to ſuffer the Puniſhment of it, if he ſhall ever again be a Tranſ-
greffor.
Now what Man is there, that would think this a reaſonable Demand?
Or what Judge or Court would ever allow of ſuch a Plea? And yet, as
unreaſonable as it is, it is juſt the ſame with theirs, who, pretending to be
more wiſe and cautious than their Neighbours, will not allow of the ſame
Sort of Proof, though indeed much better in its Kind, of the Truth of
the Chriſtian Religion ; but tho' we have as authentick Hiſtories as any are
in the World, ſuch Hiſtories as the greateſt Adverſaries of Chriſtianity have
not been able to ſay any Thing to invalidate the Truth of, which declare
that Chriſt and his Apoſtles taught ſuch and ſuch Doctrines, and wrought
ſuch and ſuch Miracles to confirm the Truth of their Doctrine, yet will not
believe that the Doctrine of Chriſtianity is true and divine, unleſs they may
have ſpecial Meſſengers ſent to them to declare afreſh all the ſame Things
which the Apoſtles once did ; and thoſe endued with a Power of working
in their Sight and Preſence the ſame Miracles over again, that are ſaid to
have been formerly done by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, to confirm the Teſti-
mony that they gave.
2. The Unreaſonableneſs of that Requeſt which the rich Man here makes
in the behalf of his Brethren, viz. that God would make a new Revela-
tion for their particular Converſion; or in general, the Unreaſonableneſs of
our now defiring freſh Revelations, new Miracles, or Apparitions of Men
from the dead, to confirm the Truth of thoſe Things which are already
ſufficiently proved to us by the ſtanding Revelation of the Goſpel; will far-
ther appear, if we conſider, that to us who live now in Chriſtian Coun-
tries, other Grounds of Faith or ſtronger Motives to Repentance, than we
have already in the ſtanding Revelation of the Goſpel, might be inconſiſtent
with the Excellency of Faith, might deſtroy the Virtue of believing,
might be too great a Force and Conſtraint upon us, ſuch as would in a
Manner take away our Liberty of Choice.
For there is no Virtue at all in believing what we fee; there is no Praiſe
or Thanks at all due for doing what we are driven or forced to do; and
for us, who have already abundantly ſufficient Grounds to believe and em-
brace Chriſtianity, to have freſh Miracles wrought (very Day before our
own Eyes, ſuch Miracles as we could .not poſſibly doubt the Truth of, to
confirm thoſe Doctrines which are already ſufficiently confirmed, would not
be to perſuade' us, but to force us to be Chriſtians : So that then the State
we are now in would not be, as God deſigned it ſhould be, a State of
Trial; for the Trial of Wiſdom is, when there are ſome Reaſons on both
ز
and
Sides;
reaſonably be defired.
1029
Sides;
and he is the wiſe Man who in that Caſe gives Judgment on that
Side on which the Reaſons are ſtrongeſt.
But againſt what I have now ſaid perhaps it may be objccted, that the
Evidence which we deſire of the Truth of Religion is no more than we are
told has been already given to ſome Men, particularly to thoſe who lived
in our Saviour's and his Apoſtles Times ; and we cannot ſee why it would
be more inconſiſtent with the Nature of Faith and Religion now than it
was then, or how it would more deſtroy our Freedom than it did theirs, or
how it would be a greater Force upon our Choice than it was upon theirs,
to have the very ſame Evidence of the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion which
they had.
But in anſwer to this, it may be conſidered ; that as they then had ſome
Evidence of the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion which we have not, ſo
we now have ſome Evidence thereof which they had not. They indeed
ſaw with their own Eyes ſome of the Miracles that were wrought for the
Confirmation of Chriſtianity; but they had not, as we now have, a credible
Hiſtory or Record of a very great Number of Miracles that were wrought
for that purpoſe. And therefore, without conſidering at preſent which of
theſe Evidences of the Truth of the Facts upon which our Religion is
grounded, is the moſt convincing, thus much is plain; that if we, who
have already very good Reaſon to believe them upon the Credit of a well
atteſted Hiſtory, were alſo admitted to be Eye-witneſſes of ſome freſh Mi-
racles, ſuch as we are told were then wrought, both theſe Evidences toge-
ther would be ſtronger and more irreſiſtible, than either of them alone : So
that conſequently, if we who have already one of theſe Evidences, were allow-
ed to have the other alſo, we ſhould have more Evidence in the whole than
they had ; our Choice conſequently would not be ſo free as theirs was, it
would not be ſo much in the Power of our Will to be Infidels, as it was
in theirs.
True, perhaps you will ſay, we ſhould indeed in that Cafe have more
Evidence than they had, but that is not the Thing we deſire; all that we
could wiſh for, is the very ſame Evidence that they had; and upon this
Condition we could be well contented to want that hiſtorical Evidence
which we have and they had not; for we cannot but think, that the Eyi-
dence that they had is much ſtronger than ours, and that they had much
greater Reaſon to be Chriſtians than we have. For, 1. The Apoſtles of
Chriſt who, as it is ſaid, both ſaw his Miracles, and were enabled by the
Power of the Holy Ghoſt to do the like themſelves, had plainly greater
Reaſon to believe, than even thoſe had who heard from their Mouths the
Teſtimony that they gave concerning our Lord, and ſaw the Miracles that
were done by their Hands in Confirmation of their Teſtimony. And, 2.
They who ſaw with their own Eyes the Miracles that the Apoſtles wrought,
had more Reaſon to believe, than thoſe had to whom they were only re-
ported by Eye-witneſſes ; and therefore much rather than we have, who re-
ceive this Report only by a Hiſtory that was written many hundred Years
ago. Now this is all that we deſire, viz. to be upon the ſame Level with
thoſe who lived in the Primitive Times, and to have as much Reaſon to be
Chriſtians as they had: And we cannot ſee why this Requeſt ſhould be
thought unreaſonable ; we do not underſtand why there would not be then
as much Freedom, and conſequently as great Virtue in our believing upon
ſuch ſtrong Evidence, as there was in theirs.
In Anſwer to this therefore, I ſhall conſider diſtinąly the two Cafes be:
fore-mentioned, and compare the ſame with ours.
I
Vol. II.
3
P
(1.) I
1
1
1030
New Revelations cannot
Luke X. I.
ز
(1.) I ſhall conſider the Caſe of the Apoſtles, who both ſaw our Lord's
Miracles, and were enabled by the Power of the Holy Ghoſt to do the like
themſelves.
And that they had a ſurer Ground of Faith than any ſince, or any beſides
themſelves ever had, I believe muſt be granted : But then it is to be conſi-
dered on the other Side;
1. That the Apoſtles were but few in Number, only twelve Perſons ;
or if we ſhould reckon into the Number, as in this reſpect equal to the
Apoſtles, all thoſe that were called by our Saviour himſelf to be his Dif-
ciples, and who were very much, tho' not ſo conſtantly, in his Company as
the Apoſtles were, we read but of ſeventy of them ; or if we add to theſe
all thoſe that were convinced by our Saviour's Miracles that he was the
Chriſt, and that owned themſelves his Diſciples while he was upon Earth,
it is probable that all theſe together were no more than five hundred; viz.
1 Cor. xv. 6. thoſe five hundred Brethren, to whom, when met together in Galilee, our
Lord ſhewed himſelf alive after his Paſſion,
2. It may be alſo conſidered ; that their Caſe was extraordinary and pe-
culiar, and that this Advantage of greater Evidence, as we reckon it, which
they liad above all others, was no more than was neceſſary to qualify them
for that ſpecial Office, which they, and none but they, were to be employ-
ed in; which was to bear Witneſs to the Men of that Generation by
Word of Mouth, and to all future Ages by their written Teſtimony of the
Doctrines and Miracles of our Saviour ; for no Man is a proper Witneſs
of any Matter of Fact, but only he who was an Eye-witneſs thercof.
3. It may be farther conſidered, that as they had a more clear and un-
exceptionable Evidence of the Truth of Chriſtianity, than any beſides ever
had, ſo they had alſo a greater Burthen laid upon them, than any Chriſti-
ans ſince have had; and it might be no more than neceſſary that the
Grounds of their Faith ſhould be as much furer and ſtronger than thoſe
on which other Men's Faith is built, as their Duty was larger and more
difficult than other Men's Duty is. For a weaker Foundation is as well
able to ſupport a low Building, placed in a Bottom, and well ſheltred
from Storms, as a much ſtronger is to bear a high built Tower, ſituated on
the Top of an Hill, or by the Sea ſhore, and continually expoſed to violent
Winds and Tempeſts.
And this was the Condition of the Apoſtles in Compariſon with ours.
We have indeed ſeveral Temptations to reſiſt by the Power of our moſt
holy Faith; but then they are only ſuch Temptations as are common to
Men, and for the overcoming whereof a Faith grounded only upon good
Hiſtorical Evidence is ſufficient ; for by the Power of ſuch a Faith a great
many in all Ages have happily overcome them. But the Apoſtles had Dif.
ficulties and Temptations of another Sort to contend with they wreſtled
not only againſt Fleſh and Blood, but againſt Principalities, againſt Powers,
againſt the Rulers of the Darkneſs of this World, againſt ſpiritual Wick-
edneſs in high Places. It was their Buſineſs to go in an untrodden Path, to
break the Ice, and to make plain the Way for all that were to follow
arid our Work, very eaſy in Compariſon with theirs, is only to follow in
that Way which they have made plain and ſmooth, to that Kingdom of
Heaven into which they could not enter but thro' manifold Tribulations.
That the Apoſtles therefore had ſtronger and more convincing Proofs of
the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion than we have, and ſuch as they could
not ſo eaſily reſiſt, as we may thoſe which are afforded to us, may be grant-
ed; and yet it may be unreaſonable for us to deſire the ſame, unleſs we
were to be put to the ſame Trials of our Faith that they were; which in a
Chriſtian Country can hardly be.
+
And
1
}
*
wwwgrond
reaſonably be deſired.
1031
And indeed, as deſirous as we ſeem to be of having ſuch Evidence of
the Truth of our Religion, as we are told the Apoſtles had; I believe there
are very few of us but had rather be contented with leſs Evidence, than
have ſo much as the Apoſtles had with its appendent Burthen ; which was
to travel all the World over, cven into the moſt rude and barbarous Coun-
cries, to plant Chriſtianity; expecting wherever thcy camc, Bonds and Amic-
tions, meeting every where with the moſt violene Oppoſition and rougheſt
Uſage; encountring every where the greateſt Dangers, and ſure at laſt to
be made a bloody Sacrifice to the Malice and Fury of their Perſecutors.
How much St. Paul alone endured; and it is like the Sufferings of the
other Apoſtles were not much leſs; you may ſee in 2 Cor. ti. 23, &c. and
yet he was not then come to the End of his Sufferings. In Labours a-
bundant, in Stripes above meaſure, in Priſons frequent, in Deaths oft: Of
the Fews five times received I forty Stripes ſave one ; thrice was I beaten
with Rods, once was I ſtoned, thrice I ſuffered Shipwreck, a Night and
a Day I have been in the Deep; in Journeyings often, in Perils of Wa-
ters, in Perils of Robbers, in Perils by my own Country-men, in Perils by
the Heathens, in Perils in the City, in Perils in the Wilderneſs, in Pe-
rils in the Sea, in Perils among falſe Brethren: In Wearineſs and Pain-
fulneſs, in Watchings often, in Hunger and Thirſt, in Faſtings often, in
Cold and Nakedneſs
. Beſides thoſe Things that are without, that which
cometh upon me daily, the Care of all the Churches. And therefore he
might well ſay, as he does, i Cor. iv, 2, &c. I think that God hath fet
forth us the Apoſtles laſt, as it were appointed to Death; for we are made
a Spectacle to the World, and to Angels, and to Men ; we are Fools for
Chriſt's ſake, we are weak, we are deſpiſed; even unto this very Hour we
both hunger and thirſt, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no cer-
tain dwelling Place, and labour warking with our Hands ; being reviled,
perſecuted, defamed; we are made as the Filth of the World, and are the
Off-ſcowring of all Things unto this Day. It was therefore plainly necef-
ſary, that a Faith which was to undergo theſe fevere Trials, ſhould be
built upon the ſurcit Grounds; but for us, and to enable us to overcome
the World, a Faith that is founded upon leſs certain Evidence may be as
ſufficient.
(2.) The ſecond Caſe before-mentioned was of thoſe who heard with
their own Ears the Teſtimony which the Apoſtles gave concerning our Lord,
and ſaw with their own Eyes the wonderful Works that they did in Con-
firmation of their Teſtimony. We could wiſh at leaſt, that we had ſuch
ſtrong Evidence of the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion as they had ; and if
we had, we ſee not, why there would not be as much Choice, and conſequent-
ly as much Virtue in our believing, as there was in theirs.
But here it may be conſidered,
1. That it was the Lot but of very few even of thoſe that lived in the
Apoſtles Times, except of the Jews that dwelt in Judea, to hear the Apo-
files themſelves, or to ſee with their own Eyes the Miracles that they
wrought; and even of theſe there were but few, that had the Opportunity of
ſeeing many of their mighty Works. So that all Things conſidered, the
Evidence that we have of the Truth of our Religion, if it be not fully
equal to, is very little inferior to that which they had: For it being, as has
been formerly ſhewn, morally impoſlīble, that the Goſpel Hiſtory which is
now in our Hands ſhould be forged or ſpurious, or corrupted and altered;
what can be thought to be wanting in the Clearneſs of the Evidence that we
have, it being given in Writing, and not by Word of Mouth, is made up
by the Fulneſs and Abundance of it. We have in the Writings of the Apo-
files and Evangelifts, ſeveral Witneſſes teſtifying the fame Miracles, and
1
every
1032
New Revelations cannot
every one of them witneſſing more Miracles, than any, except thoſe who
were conſtant Attendants upon our Lord, or Companions of the Apoſtles
were in a Capacity to witneſs. But,
2. Granting it to be true, that in the Apoſtles Times thoſe to whoni
the Goſpel was preached, had generally clearer and ſtronger Evidence of the
Truth of Chriſtianity than we have now ; yet I ſay, even that Evidence of
Senſe which they had, was not more apt or likely to convince or perſuade
them, than the Proof which we now have, tho' in it ſelf it be leſs, is to
convince and perſuade us.
For when Men have already taken up an Opinion, no Matter upon what
Grounds, or when by their worldly Intercfts they are engaged to be of
ſuch an Opinion, it cannot be expected that the ſame Reaſons, I mean
Reaſons of the ſame Strength in themſelves, ſhould be ſufficient to perſuade
them to alter their Opinion, which would have ſufficed to have fixed and
eſtabliſhed them in their former Notions.
And this is plainly the Difference between thoſe Times and ours. For
when the Revelation of the Goſpel was firſt made by Chriſt and his Apo-
ſtles, all, both Jews and Gentiles, were moſt ſtrongly prejudiced againſt it;
each of them having been bred up in a Perſuaſion that their own Way of
Worſhip was right; and the Jews in particular having had good Aſſurance
that their Law given by Moſes, to which the Doctrine of Chriſtianity ſeem'd
very oppoſite, had been of divine Inſtitution. But however, when a Man
has been bred up in the Belief of any Thing, and has believed it a good
while, he takes it for granted that he had Reaſon to believe it, whether
he had fo or not; ſo that the Prejudice againſt Chriſtianity was as power-
ful, tho' not altogether ſo juſt, in the Gentiles, whoſe Religion was mere-
ly fabulous, as in the Jews, whoſe Law indeed was of divine Inſtitution.
And beſides, which was an Impediment alike common both to the Jews
and Gentiles, they could not either of them then embrace and profeſs the
Chriſtian Religion without apparently hazarding the Loſs of all Things that
were dear to them in this World; and how very apt a ſtrong worldly Inte-
reſt is to blind Men's Eyes, and to byaſs their Judgments, is what we can-
not but daily obſerve in all other Caſes.
But our Cafe now is quite otherwiſe; our Prejudices and our Intereſt
are both for Chriſtianity; for we fucked it in with our Mothers Milk,
and we found it in the eſtabliſhed Religion of the Country where we were
born ; for which Reaſons we believed it, or at leaſt were ſtrongly inclined
to believe it, before we knew or had heard of any other Reaſons : So that
to us, who are already inclined on this Side; to us, who to be ſure, are
not prejudiced againſt it; to us, whoſe Intereſt leads us to continue in the
Religion we were firſt bred up in, ſuch Proof as we always accept and allow
of in other Caſes of the like Nature, is Proof ſtrong enough. And there-
fore much rather, when we have, as indeed we have, a ſtronger and more
uncontrolled Tradition for the Truth of the Goſpel Hiſtory, than of any
Hiſtory in the World beſides; we ſhall be inconſiſtent with our ſelves, if we
do not allow it to be ſufficient.
So that upon the whole Matter, conſidering the Prejudices both from
Education and Intereſt, which they lay under who lived in thoſe Times
when the Goſpel was firſt revealed and preached; even their own Eye-fight
of fome of thoſe Miracles that were then wrought to confirm it, was not
more perſuaſive than is that good Aſſurance that we now have by credible
and undoubted Records that ſuch Miracles were then wrought. The Proof
they had, conſidered in it ſelf, was indeed ſtronger than ours; but conſider-
ing our different Circumſtances, that Proof was not more apt or likely to
convince them, than that which we have given us is to convince and per-
+
fuade
1
و
reaſonably be deſired.
1033
fuade us.
And if we had now the very ſame Proof and Demonſtration
of the Miracles wrought for the Confirmation of our Chriſtian Religion,
viz. The Evidence of our own Senſes; this, which was but ſufficient to
them, might to us be ſuch a Proof as would be, in a Manner, a Force
upon us: Such clear Denionftration ineeting with no ſtrong Prejudice or
conſiderable Intereſt on the other Side, might be enough to over-power uis,
ſo that we could not be Infidels if we would, and then there would be
no Virtue in believing.
3. The Unreaſonableneſs of deſiring more Proof of the Truth of Religi-
on than God has been pleaſed to afford us by the ſtanding Revelation of
the Goſpel, and particularly of defiring that God would be pleaſed to work
new Miracles for our particular Satisfaction, or for the Conviction of ſome of
our Friends that are not perſuaded by the Goſpel Revelation, will farther
appear; if we conſider the equal Right that all other Men have to deſire the
ſame, and the many Inconveniencies and Abſurdities that would follow, in
cafe all Men ſhould be gratified in this Deſire.
For as to the firſt of theſe, viz. the equal Right that all other Men
have to defire the ſame; what Reaſon can I pretend for my Infidelity,
which another Man may not alſo as well plead for his? Have not I as
good Proof of the Truth of Religion as my Neghbour has? have not I as
free Recourſe to the Holy Scriptures as he, and the ſame Evidence of the
Truth and divine Inſpiration of them that he has? and arc not we alſo in
other reſpects alike? being born in the ſame Country, and having had the
Same Education, and confequently being probable to have the ſame Inclinati-
ons towards, or the ſame Prejudices againſt, or Ayerſion to the Chriſtian Faith?
And if ſo, what Rcaſon can I plead for any cxtraordinary or peculiar Fa-
your! For is not he God's Creature as well as I ? and hath not God the
ſame Tenderneſs and Regard for him that he hath for me, and conſequent-
ly the ſame Deſire of his Welfare, that I can ſuppoſe he hath of mine?
Why then ſhould not God grant him this ſame Requeſt, whether in the
Behalf of himſelf or his Friend, as well as I can expect he ſhould grant it
me? In a Word, why may not every Man deſire the ſame as well as I ?
and why ſhould not God grant it to all that deſirc it, as well as to any
one?
But now if God ſhould do this, ſee what Inconveniencies and Abſurdi-
ties would follow thereupon ?
One Sort of Men would not believe, unleſs they might ſee Apparitions :
If one went unto them from the dead, they would repent. And ſo for their
fakes the World muſt be filled with Ghoſts, the dead muſt never be at Reſt
in their Graves, and the Souls in Bliſs who once rejoyced in the Thought
of being for ever got clear out of a troubleſome World, muſt be content,
to gratify theſe Men, to leave their Place in Abraham's Bofom, and to be
deprived of the beatifical Viſion, and the unſpeakable Joys of Heaven, as
long and as often as any of theſe unreaſonable Men are pleaſed to deſire it.
But another Sort of Men it may be there are, that would not like this
Kind of Proof: A tranſient Apparition of a Ghoſt, they'd look upon perhaps
as a Thing too liable to Cheat and Impofture; they'd therefore deſire fonię
more plain and ſenſible and permanent Miracles than this; ſome ſuch Mira-
cles as thoſe were which our Saviour and his Apoſtles wrought; and if they
could but ſee ſuch, they make no Doubt but they ſhould be convinced.
And ſo for their fakes, and for their Conviction, half the Men that are
born into the World, muſt be born lame or blind, that ſo they may be
afterwards cured by Miracle, for the Satisfaction of theſe Men: And a great
many muſt be poffeſt with Devils, and be grievouſly torn and tortur'd by
them, that theſe Men may have the Pleaſure of ſeeing with their 'own
Vol. II.
sQ
Eyes
1034
New Revelations cannot
Eyes the evil Spirits caſt forth; and of obſerving how much more calm and
ſober the Men are after the Devil is gone out, than they were before.
But even theſe Miracles, it is like, would not ſatisfy all; but fome it may be,
would be apt to ſuſpect, that there might be ſome Trick or Colluſion in them,
and that what they ſaw, was done only by a Confederacy between the Phyſician
and the Patient, to amuſe and deceive the Beholders; and therefore, what they,
it may be, would deſire for their particular Satisfaction, would be; to ſee a dead
Man raiſed to Life again after he had been dead ſeveral Days, and began to fink;
and ſuch a Miracle as this, they are ſure, would convince then. And ſo
for their fakes a great many Men muſt dye two or three Times over, or
much oftner ; becauſe perhaps every Time before they have been dead a
Week, ſome other Perſon that was not preſent before, inay have a Deſire
to fee with his own Eyes the ſame Experiment tried over again.
But even this Miracle alſo would perhaps be excepted againſt by fome,
and nothing leſs would ſatisfy them than the very ſame Evidence which
the Apoſtles themſelves had, who converſed with our Saviour for ſome
Years together, and heard all his wiſe Diſcourſes, and ſaw all his Miracles
and mighty Works, and were preſent with him when he expired on the
Croſs, and aſſiſted at the laying his dead Body in the Sepulchre, and with-
in three Days after ſaw him alive again, touched and kandled him, eat and
drank with him; and after they had thus, ſeveral Times, by the Space of
forty Days, been by many infallible Proofs aſſured of the Reality of his
Rcfurrection, ſaw him viſibly taken up in his Body into Heaven.
They that had this, they grant, had very good Proof and Evidence of
the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion; and had they but been of this happy
Number, they are ſure they ſhould not only have believed, but alſo willingly
have ſuffered as much as the Apoſtles themſelves did, for bearing their Ter.
timony to the Truth of thoſe Things which they had ſeen and heard.
And what now muſt be done for the Satisfaction of theſe Men? For theſe
have as much Right to a full Satisfaction as any others; and by the ſame
Reaſon that others do expect to be gratified in what they deſire, theſe may
may do ſo too.
And therefore in order to thcir Satisfaction, it is neceſſary that our Saviour
ſhould be born into the World in every Age of it, or indeed much oftner ;
and that in every country at leaſt, if not in every Town and Village, he
ſhould live and preach and do Miracles, and be crucified and riſe again;
for that theſe Things have been once done, they cannot, they ſay, believe
only upon the Teſtimony of other Men who ſay they did ſee them: And
therefore by the ſame Reaſon, if they themſelves ſhould ſee them, other
Men that ſhould come after; or live in other Countries, would have as little
Cauſe to believe their Teſtimony.
So that for the full Satisfaction of all ſuch doubting Men as theſe, our
Saviour muſt have ſuffered often ſince the Beginning of the World, and
mult continue to do ſo very frequently, as long as the World ſhall laſt, be-
cauſe with ſome Men nothing but ſeeing is believing.
But that this ſhould be, is what I preſume none beſides themſelves can
think it reaſonable, either for Men to ask, or for God to grant.
4. Laſtly, the Unreaſonableneſs of defiring any farther or additional Proof
of the Truth of Religion, beſides what is already afforded us in the ſtanding
Revelation of the Holy Scripture, will farther appear; by confidering our
oten Intereſt in being convinced and perſuaded of the Truth of Religion
by ſuch Arguments and Motives as are in themſelves ſufficient for that
Purpoſe, although they be not ſo very ſtrong and forcible as we could wiſh
they were.
+
And
reaſonably be deſired.
1035
And this Argument I ſhall handle in the Way of Reproof, and a juſt
and ſeaſonable Reproof I think it, to ſuch bold and preſumning Perſons as
I have been now ſpeaking of, who will needs ſtand upon their Terins with
Almighty God, and will not be perſuaded to believe and repent, but juſt
by ſuch Reaſons and ſuch Motives as they themſelves fhall be pleaſed to
require. Tell not us, ſay they, of Moſes and the Prophets, and of Things
that were done a great while ago, we know not when ; we will have freſh
Revelations, and now Miracles, or Meſſengers from the dead, or elſe we
will not believe and repent; that we are reſolved on.
Very well, then I ſay, you may, if you will, continue ſtill in your Un-
belief and Impenitence. Nevertheleſs I would adviſe you, before you fully
determine to perſiſt in this Reſolution, to take a little Time to conſider
ſeriouſly, whose Intereſt and Concern it is, either that you ſhould believe,
or that you ſhould not believe; conſider who it is that will be a Gainer or
a Sufferer, either by the one, or by the other. For let me tell you, if
there be really a Heaven and a Hell, and a Judgment, and a Life to come,
it is not your not believing them that will make them not to be: And if
thcſe Things are true, it is your own Life and Soul that are at Stake; and
if you are reſoly'd to loſe both unleſs you may be ſaved your own Way,
you your felves will be the greateſt, nay you your ſelyes will be the only
Sufferers.
And this is a Conſideration that affects the Caſe very much, and makes
ir very unreaſonable to infilt upon having ſuch Satisfaction in this Cafe, as
in ſome other Caſes might, not ſo very unreaſonably, be deſired.
For if any Man tells me a Story which it is for his Intereſt I ſhould
believe, it is his Concern to give me ſuch Aſſurance of it as I ſhall re-
quire, even altho' leſs than I require would be in all Reaſon ſufficient; and
therefore if I will not believe one or two Witneſſes, tho' it may be un-
reaſonable in me not to believe them, yet it is his Buſineſs, and what it
behoves him to do, to produce, if it be poſſible, ten or twenty Witneſſes,
or as many more as I ſhall ask for; and if one Sort of Proof, tho' in it
ſelf it be ever ſo good, will not ſatisfy me, it is his Part, and what he
ought in Reaſon to do, if he be able, to bring other Proofs of it; and ſo
to go on multiplying his Witneſſes and his Proofs, until ſuch Time as I
fhall declare my ſelf fully ſatisfied: And the Reaſon is, becauſe the Loſs or
Inconvenience will be his, and only his, in Caſe he cannot convince me of
the Truth of his Relation.
But now on the other Side, if the Story which he tells me be true, and
it be for my Intereſt and Advantage only, not at all for his, that I ſhould
believe it to be truc; if, I ſay, he will be neither a Gainer nor a Lofer,
whether I believe his Report, or whether I do not believe it; then, if
he gives me ſuch Evidence of the Truth of it, as is ſufficient to convince a
Man of Reaſon, he has done enough; he has done all that belonged to him
as a Friend to do. And if after this, I make it my Buſineſs to cavil at
and to except againſt his Evidence, and go about to preſcribe to him what
Sort of Proof he ſhould give me of the Truth of what he relates ; declar-
ing withal, that leſs or other Proof than juſt that which I require ſhall ne-
ver ſatisfy me; he may juſtly reject my Suit as unreaſonable, and condemn
me for a Fool, that will not ſee my own Intereſt, nor know when a Friend
has done enough.
And this is exactly our Caſe.
God has ſent his Son to us with the Promiſe of eternal Life, and has
given us füfficient Aſſurance of his divine Miſſion, and thereby of the
Truth of that Revelation which he made. Now if we will believe this,
well and good, the Profit will be all our own; we ſhall ſave our own
Souls
1036
New Revelations cannot
Souls alive: But God will receive no Advantage to himſelf by our belie-
ving; his perfect Happineſs being not capable of any Increaſe. But if we
will not believe this Teſtimony that God has given of his Son, if we cx-
cept againſt his Witneſſes, and cavil at his Evidence, and will not be-
lieve but juſt upon that very Sort of Proof which we our felves arc
pleaſed to pitch upon; why then, we may even take our own Courſe,
we may be Unbelievers ſtill; but it is we only that ſhall ſuffer by our Unbe-
lief, the infinite and eſſential Happineſs of God being as little capable of
Diminution as of Advancement. And as, if we believe and repent, God
will be glorified in our Salvation, ſo, if we will not believe and repent, he
will be no leſs glorified in our Deſtruction.
Seeing therefore, whether you believe, or whether you do not believe,
God will be neither a Gainer nor a Lofer, but the Profit or the Damage
will be all your own; it is plainly your Intereſt as well as your Duty; to
give Credit to ſuch Evidence, as really and in it ſelf is credible; and ſuch,
I hope I have already ſhewn that to be which is given us of the Truth
of Chriſtianity; and not to ſet your ſelves to cavil at it, and to ſtudy Ex-
ceptions to it; not to take upon you to preſcribe to God Almighty, and
boldly to tell him what Sort of Evidence he muſt give you, or elſe you
will not be ſatisfied.
Do not then ſtand in your own Light; do not bring Deſtruction upon
your felves when you may avoid it ; but give Ear to what Moſes and the
Prophets, and Chriſt and his Apoſtles, ſpeak to you in the Holy Scriptures ;
and hear them without Prejudice, with a Mind ready to hearken to Rea-
ſon, and reſolved to be perſuaded by it: And then what they will ſay to
you will be abundantly ſufficient to ſatisfy you; for they ſay as much in this
Caſe, or more, as by the common Voice and Reaſon of all Mankind is
judged to be ſufficient in all other Cafes of the like Nature.
But if you are reſolved not to be perſuaded, ſo long as there is any Poſli-
bility of Doubt or Scruple left; if you are reſolved not to believe, unleſs
you may have juſt that very Evidence given you that you your ſelves are
pleaſed to require ; if you will boldly and arrogantly take upon you to teach
God, as if he knew it not, what Evidence he ought to give Men of the
Truth of Religion, and are reſolved to find or make Exceptions againſt any
other: Look you to it, for if God has done enough already, he is under
no Manner of Obligation to do more. More, did I ſay? Nay, he needed
not to have done ſo much; for it was mere Grace and Favour in God,
that he has done ſo much as he has done; that he has made us any Pro-
miſes at all, and given us any Aſſurance of them. And therefore for what
he has done we ought to be thankful, and not to find Fault with him that
he has done no more. Such Impudence and Saucineſs as this, for I can
call it by no better a Name, from a Man to his Maker, from a mean in-
conſiderable Creature, to the great Lord of Heaven and Earth, is, I ani
ſure, no proper Qualification to merit extraordinary and peculiar Favours.
For as our Saviour ſays, to ſome in a like Caſe, to ſome who formerly
Mart. xii. 39. made the like unreaſonable Demand that you now do: It is an evil and
Mark viii. 12. adulterous Generation that ſeeketh after a Sign, and therefore there shall
no Sign be given. Verily I ſay unto you, there ſhall no Sign be given to
this Generation.
Let us then be content with that Aſſurance which God has given us of
thie Truth of Religion ; for greater than this we ſhall not have, until it be
too late. Let us thankfully accept of, and readily comply with this, and
not expect or wait for more ; for God will not gratify us in our unreaſon-
able Deſire. He is reſolved to deal with us as with Men, to incline, not
to determine our Choice; to perſuade, not to force us to be happy. And
+
having
reaſonably be deſired
· 1037
having already given us the ſtanding Revelation of the Goſpel, which is ſuf-
ficient both to inſtruct and convincc us, and having prov'd the Truth of this
ſufficiently to us, he will not be making new Revelations, or ſending more
Prophets divinely inſpir’d, or working freſh Miracles every Day. He has
donc enough already to ſatisfy our ſober Judgments ; and he will not do e-
very Thing that we can think of, to gratify our wild and extravagant Fancies.
And there is the leſs Reaſon that he ſhould do ſo, becauſe if the ordi-
nary Means which he uſes for our Converſion do not ſucceed, the Fault
lies wholly in us; and therefore it is highly probable, fo certain that it needs
not be tried, that any other Means proper for God to uſe to reclaim us,
would be alike unſucceſsful. If they hear not Moſes and the Prophets,
neither will they be perſuaded thoone roſe from the Dead.
This is the laſt Reply that Abraham makes to the rich Man's Requeſt;
and it was the third of thoſe three Points which I at firſt propounded to
ſpeak to; but which I muſt reſerve for the Subject of my next Diſcourſe.
1
Vol. II.
SR
DIS
1038
DISCOURSE XCV.
New Revelations would probably be
unſucceſsful
$
als
LUKE XVI. 29, 30, 31.
Abraham faith unto him, They have Mofes and the
Prophets; let them hear them.
And he ſaid, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went
unto them from the Dead, they will repent.
And he ſaid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the
Prophets, neither will they be perſuaded, thoone
roſe from the Dead.
N diſcourſing on theſe Words, I have already done thoſe
two Things.
TYTU
With
9
I. I have ſhewn that the preſent ſtanding Revelation
of God's Will in the Holy Scripture is abundantly ſuffici-
ent to perſuade Men to Repentance, if they are not un.
reaſonably blind and obſtinate. This is intimated in the
firſt Verſe of the Text; They have Mofes and the Pro-
phets, (Chriſt and his Apoſtles,) let them hear them. And,
II. I have likewiſe ſhown, that having already ſuch good Grounds of Faith,
ſuch full Dire&lions for Practice, and ſuch ſtrong Motives to Repentance, it
is unreaſonable to deſire more. This was what the rich Man had done at
the twenty ſeventh and twenty eighth Verſes, and which he ſtill continues
to do in the ſecond Verfe of the Text, even after Abraham had told him
that the ſtanding Revelation of God's Will in the Holy Scripture was ſuffi.
cient; Nay
, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the Dead,
they will repent.
He ſays it poſitively, they will repent : He ſpeaks it as a Thing that no
Doubt could be made of. In Anſwer to which, therefore, Abrahan tells
him, in the laſt Verſe of the Text, that that which he thought ſo very cer-
tain,
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful. 1039
tain, was not ſo much as probable: If they hear not Mofes and the Pro-
phets, neither will they be perſuaded though one roſe from the Dead.
And this was the third Point I propounded to ſpeak to, in diſcourſing on
theſe Words, viz.
!
j
III. To lhew, that in Caſe God ſhould condeſcend to gratify Men in this
unreaſonable Deſire, working every Day new Miracles before their Eyes, or
ſending their deceaſed Friends to them from the Dead, to aſſure them of a
future State, and to warn them to prepare for it, it is highly probable, that
very fer, or none, of thoſe who do not believe, and are not brought to
Repentance by the preaching and ſtanding Revelation of the Goſpel, would
be perſuaded by this Means. If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, I
add, nor Chriſt and his Apoſtles, neither will they be perſuaded though one
roſe from the Dead.
And the Truth of this will, I ſuppoſe, ſufficiently appear, if theſe fol-
lowing Things be conſidered
1. That we cannot have better or ſtronger Motives to Obedience and a
Holy Life, than are already offered in the Holy Scripture to perſuade us.
2. That the Proof and Evidence already given us of the Truth of Religion,
is ſuch as cannot be fairly excepted againſt; and that there is no Proof there-
of that could be offered, but what is liable to Cavils and unreaſonable Ex-
ceptions.
3. That if God ſhould gratify all Men in this Requeſt, the Abundance and
Commonneſs of the Miracles that muſt then be wrought, would go near to
deſtroy the Efficacy and Perſuaſiveneſs thereof.
And laſtly, That it is Matter of Fact and Experience, that new Miracles
have been generally unſucceſsful upon thoſe who have not hearkened to, nor
been convinced by, a ſtanding Revelation of God's Will.
1. I ſay, we cannot poſſibly have, as to the Matter of them, ſtronger Mo.
tives to Obedience and a holy Life, than thoſe which are already offered in
the holy Scripture to perſuade us. For there we have Life and Death ſet before
us, Bleſſing and Curling : On one hand, the Promiſe of this Life, and of that
which is to come; and on the other hand, all the Evils that we can juſtly dread;
the Wrath of him who is a conſuming Fire; who often puniſhes Tranſgreſ-
ſors with remarkable Judgments in this Life, and has threatned to all impeni-
tent 'Sinners, eternal Torments in the next.
Now if a new Revelation was to be made, and we our felves were to
contrive the Matter of it, what ſtronger Motives than theſe could we think
of? Or if one ſhould come from the Dead to preach to us, if Lazarus
were ſent on purpoſe to perſuade us, what could he offer more towards it ?
Could he give us Aſſurance of any thing better or more deſirable than of
God's Readineſs to forgive us, upon our Repentance; and of complear and
perfect Happineſs both of Body and Soul to all Eternity, if we do repent?
Or could he threaten any thing more like to deter us from Sin, than intole-
rable and everlaſting Miſery? if not, to what Purpoſe ſhould he be ſent to
us? or indeed to what Purpoſe ſhould there be any new Revelation at all?
For theſe Things are already promiſed and threatned clearly enough in the
holy Scripture; Life and Immortality are already fully brought to Light by the
Goſpel; and if the Hope of Eternal Life and Happineſs, and if the Dread of
everlaſting and intolerable Torments will not perſuade us, nothing certainly
will or can perſuade us.
All that, I think, could in any new Revelation be added to that En-
couragement that is already given us in Scripture to Virtue and Godlineſs, or
to that Diſcouragement that is therein given us to Vice and Wickedneſs,
would be an Aſſurance that there ſhould be always as remarkable a Difference
made,
1
1040
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
Heb. xi. 1.
made, by the Providence of God, between good and bad Men, in this
World, as we are told in Scripture there will be, by his righteous Fudgment
in that which is to come. And a good Aſſurance given us of this by ſome
new Revelation, confirmed by our own conſtant Obſervation that it was al-
ways well with the Righteous, and ill with the Wicked in this World, we
may think perhaps would do much more towards the Reformation of Man-
kind, than only thoſc Promiſes and Thrcatnings of future Happineſs or Miſery,
that we meet with in the Scripture have done, or are ever like to do.
And this indeed might be: But then it is to be conſidered, that a new
Revelation to this Effect would be inconſiſtent with the Nature of Religion,
and would fruſtrate the Deſign of God in ſending us into this World, which
was to prove and try us; to ſee whether we love the Lord with all our
Heart; whether we can believe him for thoſe Things which we do not fee;
and whether we are ſo wiſe as to prefer a greater future Good, before a leſs
that is preſent, a bleſſed and glorious Immortality after this Life, before the
Pleaſures of Sin which are but for a Seaſon. For if the Reward of Virtue,
and the Puniſhment of Vice, were always viſible and preſent, there would be
no Room left for Faith in God, which is a firm Belief of the Truth of his
Promiſes and Threatnings, though we do not ſee a preſent Performance of
them. Faith, as the Apoſtle defines it, is the Subſtance, or * confident Ex-
Ham, in loc. pectation of Things hoped for; the Evidence, or † Conviction of Things not
+ "Exifc@ ſeen. And if all the good Things, both of this Life and of the next, were
the certain Portion of Virtue, and all the evil Things that can be ſuffered,
both in this world and in the other, were the certain and never-failing Con-
fequence of Sin, there would be no Rcom left for a virtuous and wiſe Choice;
nay indeed, there would be hardly Matter for Choice at all: For it cannot be
conceived, that a Creature that has Underſtanding, and a Power of chuſing
and refuſing, ſhould knowingly chuſe all Miſery, rather than all Happineſs.
Such a Revelation as this being therefore ſo evidently inconſiſtent with the
Nature of Faith and Religion, and with the Deſign of God in ſending us
into this World, cannot be expected. And I ſay that, baiting this, there
can be nothing added to the Matter of the Scripture Revelation. . From
whence therefore it plainly follows, that ſuch as are not perſuaded by the
Goſpel Motives, to Repentance, are not capable of being perſuaded by any
ſuch Motives, as, conſiſtently with the Nature of Faith, and Religion, and
Virtue, could be offered to them; and it cannot be ſuppoſed that any true
divine Revelation ſhould ever offer any Motives to perſuade us, that are not
ſuch.
But it may be ſaid, perhaps, that though better or ſtronger Motives to Re-
pentance cannot be offered by any new Revelation, than are offered already in
holy Scripture, yet we might by a new Revelation, have better Aſſurance
given us of the Truth of the Goſpel Motives; and that if we had, it is very
like they would be then more prevailing than they now are.
· And this likewiſe I believe muſt be granted. But then it is to be conſider-
ed, that the Nature of Faith and Religion, and of that State of Trial which
we are now in, requires that there ſhould be a reaſonable Boundary ſet to
the Clearneſs of that Evidence that is given to Men, of the Truth of thoſe
Motives whereby they are to be perſuaded, as well as to the Force and
Strength of the Motives themſelves: Becauſe, as I noted in my laſt Diſcourſe,
ſuch very clear and ſtrong Evidence of the Truth of Religion as leaves no
Room for a Poſſibility of Doubting, would deſtroy our Freedom of Choice,
and, with it, the Virtue and Excellency of Believing; for it is not Faith to
believe what we ſee and feel, and it is no Commendation to a Man to be
good and virtuous, if his Virtue be not the Fruit of a wiſe Judgment
and
a free Choice; which it would not be, if his Judgment was over-born by ir-
refragable
I
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
1041
refragable Demonſtration. And if that farther Proof and Evidence that is de-
fired of the Truth of Religion, be no other than ſuch as will leave us a Free-
dom of Choice, and a Poſſibility of Doubting; then I ſay, it is not likely, it
ſhould be more convincing to us, than that which we have already in the
ſtanding Revelation of holy Scripture. For it may be conſidered farther, in
the ſecond Place;
2. That the Proof and Evidence already given us of the Truth of Religion,
is fuch as cannot fairly be excepted againſt ; and that there is no Proof there-
of that could be given us, unleſs it be ſuch as is not reſiſtible, and conſe-
quently ſuch as is not fit for God to give us, while we are here in a State of
Trial; bar what is liable to fooliſh Cavils and unreaſonable Exceptions : So
that conſequently the ſame Temper and Diſpoſition of Mind, and the ſame Un-
willingneſs to believe, which now diſpoſe Men to Infidelity, and prompt them
to make Exceptions to the preſent Grounds of the Chriſtian Faith, would
work the ſame Effect, in caſe other Proof and Evidence were given of the
Truth of it.
I ſay, firſt, That the Proof and Evidence already given us of the Truth of
the Chriſtian Religion, is ſuch as cannot fairly be excepted againſt.
To thew this has been the Deſign of ſeveral former Diſcourſes: And
therefore to what has been ſaid I ſhall only add, that if the Exceptions that
are made to the Evidence already given us of the Truth of the Chriſtian Re-
ligion were fair and reaſonable, they would be allowed by Mankind to be ſo
in other Caſes of the like Nature ; which yer they are not. Nay, if they
who make theſe Exceptions in the Caſe of Religion, did themſelves think
that they were juſt and reaſonable, they ought to make the ſame in all
other Caſes that are equally liable to the ſame Exceptions; and in all other
ſuch. Caſes, they ought to live and act as if they had the ſame Doubts and
Scruples upon them, which they ſay they have in the Caſe of Religion. Buţ
we fée the quite contrary every Day we live.
For that ſame Infidel who will not allow of the Teſtimony which was given
to our Saviour by his Apoſtles, though they gave the beſt Aſſurance that it
was poſſible for Men to give, both of their knowledge of what they teſti-
fied, aud of their Honeſty in relating it; yet readily allows, that in all other
Caſes the Teſtimony of two or three credible Witneſſes ſhould be received,
without any collateral Evidence of the Truth of their Teſtimony; and thinks
it reaſonable that all Diſputes and Controverſies among Men concerning their
Civil Rights, their Eſtates, nay, and their Lives too, ſhould be thereby deter-
mined. And he that queſtions whether the Books of the New Teſtament
were written by the reputed Authors, yet makes no Queſtion but that other
Books, of as ancient or older Date, and of the Authority of which there is
not half ſo, much traditional Evidence, were written by thoſe Perſons to
whom they are aſcribed; and he would think thoſe very unreaſonable Men,
who when he was arguing any Point of Learning with them upon the All-
thority of Virgil, or Cicero, or Seneca, ſhould refuſe to admit his Argument,
till he had firſt undeniably and demonſtratively proved that the Æneids
were written by Virgil, or that the other Pieces that have been allowed in
all: Ages. ever ſince to have been written by Cicero or Seneca, were not fallly
fathered: upon thoſe Authors. The Infidel who doubts of the Truth of the
Gospel Hiſtory, at the ſame Time has no Doubt at all of the Truth of other
Hiſtories, as ancient, and much more poſſible to be falſe ; and of the Truth
of which there is not the hundredth Part of that Evidence that there is of
thre: Truth. of this. And he that pretends to be uncertain, whether there ever
was ſuch a Man as Jeſus of Nazareth, and whether he ſaid and did the
Things recorded of him by the Evangeliſts; and whether by the preaching
of his Apoſtles he did ſpread his ſpiritual Empire over all the Countries of
Vol. 11.
SS
the
1042
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
the World ; an Empire which is ſtill kept up in moſt of the Countries over
which it was firſt extended, and of which there are evident Marks and Me-
morials ſtill remaining, even in thoſe Countries that have ſince revolted from
it: He, I ſay, that doubts of theſe Things, altho' witneſſed by the Writings
of thoſe who were Eye-witneſſes thereof, yet makes no Doubt but that there
was ſuch a Man as Alexander the Great, who lived above three hundred
Years before, and that he tranſlated the Empire of the World from Perſia to
Greece; and he alſo gives full Credit to the other Things which he finds re-
lated of him, by Curtius, Plutarch and Arrian, altho' none of theſe Authors
were Eye-witneſſes of his Wars and Greatneſs, but either copied what they
wrote from former Hiſtories, or took it up from Reports and although there
are perhaps no Remains of that Empire now left in the World. And if he
was but as ſure of a good Eſtate, as that the Hiſtory of Alexander's Expediti-
on and Conqueſts is in the main a true Hiſtory, he would not, I believe, give
the hundredth Part of its value to aſcertain his Title to it.
Thoſe therefore are manifeſtly unreaſonable Exceptions to the Proofs of
Chriſtianity, which no Man will allow, which even thoſe that make them
in this Caſe do not think reaſonable to make, in other Caſes of the like Na-
ture : So that it is not at all likely, that any Perſon, that is not convinced
by theſe Proofs, ſhould be convinced if more were given.
For, as I farther noted, there is no Proof that could be given us of the
Truth of the Chriſtian Religion, unleſs it be ſuch as is not reſiſtible, and
conſequently not fit for God to give us, while we are here in a State of
Trial, but what is liable to fooliſ Cavils, and unreaſonable Exceptions.
This, I think, is ſo ſelf-evident, that nothing plainer or more undeniable
can be ſaid to prove it. For though the Demonſtration of the Truth of Re-
ligion were as plain as Demonſtrations in the Mathematicks, yet even theſe
may be cavilled at, by ſuch as will allow of no Poſtulata, nor grant the
Truth of the cleareſt Axioms. Nay, there have been Scepticks in the plaineſt
Matters of Senſe, and ſome have denied Motion, at the ſame Time that their
own Tongues were moving to deny it.
Not that I think the Demonſtration of the Truth of Religion is as clear as
any Propoſition in Euclid, or as the ſhining of the Sun at Noon, for that can-
not be; and I have already given Reaſons why, if it might, it ſhould not be
ſo; but it is as clear as ſuch a Matter is capable to be. And I dare be bold
to ſay, that there is no other Proof of Religion fit to be offered, or reaſon.
ably to be deſired, to which a Sceptick might not make as juſt and plauſible
Exceptions, as he can to the ſtanding Proofs of Chriſtianity. For one ſingle
Miracle done in his own Preſence would be nothing near ſo convincing as
the many Miracles wrought by Chriſt and his Apoſtles were, of ſome or other
of which there were more than ten thouſand Witneſſes; and if he can ſup-
poſe that ſo many were deceived, in plain Matters of Senſe, he may rather
Tuppoſe that he, a ſingle Man, may be impoſed upon. And an Apparition
of a deceaſed Friend would be a Matter wherein any one Man might be
more probably cheated, or be more eaſily perſuaded that he was cheated,
than the Apoſtles could be in the Reſurrection of our Lord, when he was ſeen
by them very frequently, and ſometimes by a great Company of them met to-
gether, by the Space of forty Days, And a ſingle Miracle that is over as ſoon
as done, could not make ſuch a deep and laſting Impreſſion upon a Man's
Mind, as that conſtant Power of working Miracles, and eſpecially the Gift
of Tongues, which laſted a whole Life, muſt needs do upon the Apoſtles, and
thoſe that lived in their Time, who were either Parrakers of theſe Gifts
themſelves, or conſtant Witneſſes thercof in others.
1
:
In
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful. 1034
:
In ſhort, whatever Miracles we can deſire may be wrought for our Con-
viction, either they muſt be ſeen by us with our own Eyes, or elſe they muſt
be received by Teſtimony from others.
And though they ſhould be ſeen by us with our own Eyes, yet ſo long as
it is againſt our Inclination, or inconſiſtent with that Love which we bear to
the World, or to our Sins, to believe that they are true Miracles, we ſhould
eaſily be apt to fancy that they were only melancholy Deluſions, or Tricks put
upon us by deſigning Men, which our firſt Fright or Amazement hindred us
from diſcovering the Fraud of; and ſo they would probably have no Effect
at all upon us, longer than till our Fright or Amazement was well worn off,
But if we ſhould only have an Account of them by Teſtimony from
others, they would be yet leſs likely to perſuade us; becauſe there can be no
Teſtimony concerning any ſuch Matter of Fact, more clear and unexception-
able, than that which we have already, of the Truth of our Saviour's and
his Apoſtles Miracles; ſo that if we believe not this, we Mhould hardlier be-
lieve any other Teſtimony, becauſe we can ſcarcely have ſo good Affurance
of any Man's Truth, as we have of the Sincerity and Veracity of all thoſe
who are the preſent Witneſſes to our Religion; and we can hardly be ſurer
that we hear any Man whom we know ſpeaking to us, than we are that
we hear the Apoſtles ſpeaking to us, in the Books of the New Teſtament.
And therefore I think it plainly follows, as I farther noted, that the ſame
Temper and Diſpoſition of Mind, and the ſame Unwillingneſs to believe the
Truths of the Goſpel, which now diſpoſe Men to Infidelity, and prompt
them to ſtudy and make Exceptions to the Proofs already given us of the
Chriſtian Faith, would work the ſame Effect, if other Proof and Evidence
were given of it, and that Men would then quickly make as good Exceptions to
that, as they do now to theſe. For from what has been ſaid, I think it is
plain, that if Men do not ſee the Truth, when it is placed in ſo clear a
Light as it is in already, the Reaſon muſt be, becauſe they wilfully ſhut
their Eyes; or elſe are ſo blinded by a Love of this World, or of their fin,
ful Luſts, that if the Light were ten times brighter than it is, they would ſee
no more than they do now. And it would be to as little Purpoſe, in order
to the Converſion of ſuch perverſe and obftinate Men, to add any more or
ſtronger Proofs of the Truth of Religion, as it would be to light up Ą-
bundance of Torches to a Man that is quite blind.
For this is indeed the true Cauſe why Men will not hear Mofes, and the
Prophets, why they will not believe Chriſt and his Apoſtles, teſtifying the
Certainty of a future State, and other Truths of Religion ; it is not, I ſay,
becauſe there is any juſt Exception to their Teſtimony, but becauſe they do
not like the Matter of it, and ſo are reſolved not to believe. They love
their Sins ſo well, that they can upon no Account be perſuaded to part with
them; and being ſo reſolved, it is an eaſy Thing to cavil at any Morives or
Arguinents that are urged to perſuade them to it: Seeing they will not ſee,
and hearing they will not hear nor underſtand ; and to Men ſo obſtinately
reſolved againſt Conviction, no Proof can be convincing enough.
And this is the fad Effect of Love to Sin; it vitiates the Judgments of Men,
ſo that they cannot diſtinguiſh between Things that differ moſt vaſtly; it
darkens their Underſtanding, ſo that the plaineſt Propoſition, or the cleareſt
Conſequence in the World, if it be againſt the Intereſt of Sin, ſeems dark
and obſcure to them; and it renders their Minds ſo averſe to Religion, that
they cannot, with any Patience, ſo much as hear the Arguments that are of-
fered to prove it : And be a Reaſon ever ſo good, it is not to be hoped it
ſhould be convincing to a Man who will not hear it, or who will not al-
low himſelf calmly to conſider it,
}
From
1044
.
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful
:
tuc.
:
From all that hath been ſaid, therefore, upon this Head, it plainly appears ;
that the proper Cure of Infidelity, is not the Addition of more Proof of the
Truth of Religion, but a right Preparation and Diſpoſition of Mind to con-
fider well the Proof thereof that is offcrcd; which is ſufficient to convince
and perſuade all thoſe that have a Love of Truth, and a Will diſpoſed to Vir-
The Cauſes of Infidelity muſt be firſt removed, and then the Cure of
it will be eaſy, by thoſe Means which God has provided, and directed us to
uſe, and there will be no Need of his working Miracles for Men's Convic-
tion ; but till the Cauſes of it are removed, it is hardly to be cured, even
by a Miracle.
But it will be ſaid perhaps, that though freſh Revelations, and new Mi.
racles, might not be ſufficient to convincc all, they might however convince
ſome ; becauſe there are ſeveral Degrees in the Perverſeneſs and Obſtinacy
of Men, Some indecd there may be, whom no ſuch Proof of Religion as
is fit to be given us in this State of Trial, would perſuade, whoſe Caſe
therefore muſt be given over as deſperate: But then there are others, who,
Acts xxvi. 28. as King Agrippa was, are almoſt perſuaded to be Chriſtians, and when the
Scales are already near even, a ſmall Weight put into the lighteſt will make
it over-balance the other; ſo that it may reaſonably be hoped, that ſome
ſmall Addition to the Proof of Religion, no more than might be made to
it without deſtroying either our Freedom of Choice, or the Excellency of
Faith and Virtue, would prevail with theſe half Chriſtians.
And perhaps it might; but God is wiſer than we are, and knows better
than we what is fit for him to do towards the Converſion of Men : We
ought therefore to conclude, that he does all that is fit to be done, tho' we
do not ſee but that he might do more.
But this, it may be, will not be taken for an Anſwer, but will rather be
thought a Way of avoiding a Difficulty too hard to be accounted for. And
therefore I ſay farther; and it was the third Thing which I propoſed to be
conſidered,
3. That if God ſhould gratify all Men in this Requeſt, working new Mi-
racles every Day for the Conviction of particular Perſons; and, as I have
formerly noted, there is no Reaſon in the World, why any one Man ſhould
be gratified in this Requeſt rather than others, when they have all equal Rea-
fon and cqual Right to deſire it ; ſhould God, I ſay, gratify all Men in this
Requeſt, the Abundance of the Miracles that muſt then be wrought, would
be lo far from adding to the Proof of Chriſtianity, that it would rather leſſen
or weaken that Proof of it which we have already; becauſe Miracles, the
propereſt Proof of a publick divine Revelation, would not be then ſo con-
vincing as they are now.
For that which moſt of all affects Men in a Miracle, is the Unuſualneſs of
it; becauſe it is ſuch a Thing as was never, or but rarely before, ever ſeen
or heard of: As the blind Man that had been cured by our Saviour well ob-
ferves, Joh. ix. 32. Since the Beginning of the World it hath not been heard,
that any Man hath opened the Eyes of one that was born blind. Had it
been a common Thing, it would have been no Miracle; I mean it would
not have appeared ſo, it would not have been thought ſo by Men. For that
which makes Men wonder even at a true Miracle, is not ſo much becauſe
it is ſuch an Operation as they cannot give a fair Account of by natural
Cauſes; for this they cannot do, (I am confident I may fay, they have not
yet done it) of many of the Works and Productions of Nature : But they
therefore conclude fuch a Thing not to be a natural Operation, becauſe it is
not uſual, becauſe it is ſuch a Thing as was never before known to be done.
And if the ſame Thing, which now, for this Reaſon, we ſhould account a
Miracle, was done every Day, the Virtuoſi would preſently ſet themſelves to
+
invent,
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
1045
1
T
<
invent, and would quickly fancy they had found out ſome natural Solution
of it: And I believe there are not many Miracles that have been done,
which they might not, after long Study, bc able to give as clear and pro-
bable an Account of by natural Cauſes; as they have done of Gravity, of
Fire, of the Loadſtone, of Viſion, of the Production of Vegetables, of the
Generation of Animals, and of many other. Things, which yet are doubtleſs
the Works and Effects of natural Cauſes.
So that, I ſay, the moſt probable Conſequence of having Miracles ſo, very
common as they muſt be, if thcy were wrought for the Conviction of par-
ticular Men, would be this, that they would ceaſe to ſerve for that Purpoſe
for which Miracles were deſigned; becauſe being common, they would be
diſregarded, or would quickly be looked upon to be the Effect of natural
Cauſes only. There would not be wanting ſome that would offer to give an
Account how they were done; and all thoſe would be deſpiſed by the
Scorners of Religion, as too much addicted to Superſtition, who rather than
attribute the greateſt Miracle to a ſupernatural Power would not acquieſce
in that Solution, how filly ſoever, that was given of it by mere Matter and
Motion.
And in particular, I queſtion not, but that if it was a common Thing for
dead Men, after they had lain in their. Graves for ſome Time, . to come
forth again, cand ſhew themſelves alive to their Friends, this wonderful Effect
would be attributed by a great many to ſome Vital Principle in the Body,
which only ſlept for a while, as it does in Corn or other Seeds, while they
are kept dry and above Ground, but afterwards, when the Body was buried
a while, was excited by ſoine natural Virtue that was in the Earth to exert ic
felf, and fo by its Plaſtick Power formed the Body into the ſame Shape it,
was in before.
This
, I ſay, would in all Probability be the Effect that the greateſt Mi-
racles would have in the World, if they were very common: They would
only ſerve to ſet the Philoſophers Wits to Work, to inyent new Forms of
Matter, and new Laws of Motion, by which to ſolve them; and any Solu-
tion of them, though ever ſo improbable, though only by Occult Quali-
ties, would ſerve Turn, and be thought better than to recur to an Almighty
Power. The Conſequence of which would be, that this which we deſire as
an additional Proof of Chriſtianity, would in effect deſtroy one of the beſt
Proofs of it that we have already. But,
4. Laſtly, If it be ſuppoſed that Miracles would ſtill be thought Miracles,
notwithſtanding their Commonneſs, yet Abraham might well deliver it as a
general Truth, to which there are none or very few Exceptions; , that he
who is not wrought upon by a ſtanding Revelation of God's Will
, would
not be perſuaded by an extraordinary Meſſage, or a new Miracle; ., becauſe it
is Matter of Fact and Experience, that this laſt Method has been generally
unſucceſsful, upon thoſe who have not hearkned to, nor been convinced by
a ſtanding Revelation.
For this was the very Caſe of the Jews in our Saviour's Time; the Pa-
rable was literally fulfilled in them. For as they would not believe Moſes
and the Prophets, teſtifying of our Saviour, ſo neither did they any more be-
lieve our Saviour himſelf, when he came down to them from Heaven, in
the Power of God: And as they did not believe him while he lived amongſt
them, and went about preaching and doing Miracles
, fo neither did they be-
lieve him a Jot more after he came again to them from the Dead. Never
were there ſuch Signs and Miracles wrought for Men's Conviction, and yet
never was there ſuch a Number of obſtinate Infidels as then. Very few,
even of thoſe who were Eyewitneſſes of our Saviour's Miracles, were the
better for them; but many were a great deal worſe, wilfully blafpheming
Vol. II.
that
I
ST
1046
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
:
xii. 10.
.
12
that Spirit by which he wrought them, and attributing thoſe Operations to
the Hap of the Devili which they were convinced in their own Judgments
John ix. 39. were done by the Power of God. The opening the Eyes of the Blind, did
bat make thoſe that ſaw the Miracle more blind than they were before
xi. 47. and When önce a dead Lazarus did come forth out of his Grave, and ap
pear to them, which was the very Thing that the rich Man here deſires, in
the Behalf of his Brethren, as being, in his Judgment, the moſt powerfuf;
ånd' ſo like to be the moſt effectual Method to reclaim them; when I ſay,
this was done by our Saviour, in the Preſence of a grear: Number, ſo that
the Truth of the Miracle could not be doubted, and was not denieħ by any
of them, all the Effect that it had upon thoſe obſtinate and incredülous
Men, was only that it made them enter preſently, ſooner perhaps than other-
wiſe they would have done, into a cloſe Conſultation to put to Death both
Jeſus and Łazarus too.
Some Examples indeed, it muſt be granted, there are on the other Side ;
for we are told, in Aets ii
. 41. bf a great Number; about three thouſand,
that believed upon the firſt Preaching of St. Peter, and the Sight of that great
Miracle, the Gift of Tongues, wherewith the Apoſtles were endued.
But then it may be conſidered, that it was not the Miracle that convinced
Ver. 13. them; I mean, not that alone; for many that were then preſent, and heard
the Apoftles ſpeaking with Tongues; were fo far from being perfuaded there-
by, that they moft fallly blaſphemed that, as they had done all our Savịout's
Miracles before, attributing the Fruit of that moſt evident Power of the
Holy Ghoſt to new Wine. And it may be: -farther noted, that thoſe who
were perſuaded by it, were ſuch as before theỹ ſaw the Miracle were in a
goodi Diſpoſition to embrace that pure Religion that is taught in the Goſpel,
or elſe that Miracle, would not have perſuaded them; for the Perſons con-
vinced thereby were not of the Pharifées or unbelieving Fews that had rejected
our Saviour before; but they were devòut Perfons, Jews or Profelytes, who
had come at that Feaſt of Pentecoſt, from other Parts of the World to Je-
rufalem, to worſhip, and who had probably never heard of our Saviour be-
fore, more than by uncertain Report; but being well read in Moſes and the
Prophets, and giving good Heed to them, were converted, more by the ma-
nifeſt Accompliſhment of all the ancient Prophecies concerning the Meſſias,
in the Perſon of our Saviour, than by the Sight of that great Miracle.
This therefore being Matter of Fact and Experience, what has been
done and come to paſs already; that new Miracles have been generally un-
fucceſsful upon fuch as have not regarded a ſtanding Revelation of God's
Will, we may reafonably infer, that it is highly probably, if not certain,
that the ſame Experiment tried over again would have no better Succeſs.
Acts xiii. 48.
The Sum of all therefore is this. Such as are, as St. Luke ſays they were
* Télarypévouess who were converted by the Preaching and Miracles of the Apoſtles; *pre-
ζωήν αιώνιον.
diſpoſed or fitted for eternal Life; that is, ſuch as are modeſt and teachable,
who hear without Prejudice, and judge without Partiality, and have no In-
tereſt of Sin or the World that ftands in Competition with their Deſire to
obtain everlaſting Happineſs; füch as enquire out the Truth with the ſame
Indifference that a Traveller does his Way, who has no Inclination to one
Way more than to another, but only deſires to be directed right, and is re-
ſolved to take that Way which he is perſuaded is the right, though it ſhould
not prove ſo very clean, and ſmooth, and pleaſant, as he hoped it would ;
ſuch, I ſay, as are of this honeſt and docible Mind, will be perſuaded by
a good Reaſon, eſpecially if it "be as good as the Matter is capable of, tho'
it falls fhort of Demonftration. And if there be Reaſon, or Appearancc of
Reaſon on both Sides, they will judge on that Side on which the Reaſon
ſeems moſt weighty. And for the Conviction of ſuch as theſe, the ſtanding
Revelation
Ver. 5.
3
ز
, if indeed it be
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful 1 047
Revelation of the Goſpel, being ſo well proyed as it is is abundantly ſuffi-
çient", ſo that ſuch ſhall not need new Miracles; or new Revelations. And
on the other Side, ſuch as only, do need them, that is ſuch as being of
perverſe Minds, and ſtubborn Wills, and devoted to Sin, will not hearken to
Moſes and the P.rophets, nor to Chriſt and his. Apoſtles, ſpeaking in the
Scripture, would very probably receive no Benefit from new Miracles or
new Revelations. For nothing will ſerve to convince thoſe who will not be
convinced at all as no Arguments can be ſufficient to perſuade a Man to that
which he is, Arongly- prejudiced, and fully reſolved againk. And thiş being the
Cale of all thoſe who do not hear Mofes and the Prophets, and Chriſt and
his Apoſtles, preaching to them in the Holy Scripture, of, are not perfuaded by
them, we may well conclude, with Abraham in the Țext, that any other Means
that might be uſed to reclaim them, would moſt probably prove as ineffe&tual
as this has been, and that they would not be perfuaded, though one roſe from
the Dead.
And now, having. Shewn, that the preſent ſtanding Revelation of God's
Will
in the holy Scripture is ſufficient to convince and perſuade Men; having
alſo thewn, that more. Proof and Evidence than we have of the Truth of our
Religion cannot reaſonably be defired; and haying likewiſe ſhewn, that any
other Proof or: Evidence thereof would probably be ineffectual, upon thoſe
who will not hear Moſes and the Prophets, and Chriſt and his Apoſtles, preach-
ing to them in the Holy Scripture; I have finiſhed all that I propoſed to do
in diſcourſing on theſe Words
I ſhall conclude all with an uſeful Exhortation; firſt, to Infidels, who
will not, by all that has been ſaid, be perſuaded to admit this divire- Revela-
tion; and ſecondly, to Chriſtians, who do receive it.
I. Το
you
who are yet Infidels, if there are any ſuch here, as I hope there
are not:; or if theſe Diſcourſes ſhall happen to fall into the Hands of any
ſuch; I beg leave to addreſs my ſelf, in a few Words
And I would defire you, in the firſt Place, to prepare and difpofe your
Minds to hear gravely, and without Prejudice, the Reaſons, that are offered to
prove the Truth of Chriſtianity, by conſidering ſeriouſly the great Importance
of Religion, if it be true. And if you do but conſider this, you will quick-
ly ſee that it is, well worth your while to be at ſome Pains to ſatisfy your
ſelves fully whether Religion be true or not. For if Religion be true ; and
you cannot be ſure it is not, till you have well examined the Grounds and
Proofs of it ; you have a great Concern at. Stake, and in a Matter of ſuch
Moment, it becomes not a wiſe. Man to be determined by a Jeſt or a Quibble.
And if you ſeriouſly conſider the great Importance of Religion, you will like-
wiſe readily ſee, that of the two you had much better be miſtaken in believing
,
true ; ſo that confequently, if it can ever be reaſonable for a wiſe Man to be
under a Prejudice, it would be moſt reaſonable that you ſhould be prejudiced
on the side of Religion. You will alſo then ſee, that if in any Care it be Wif-
dom to be.over-credulous, that is, to believe beyond the Strength of the Evi-
dence, it is ſo in the Caſe of Religion ; becauſe the greateſt Damage you can
ſuffer by Over-credulity, in Caſe Religion be all a Cheat, is infinitely leſs
than will be the Conſequence of unreaſonable Infidelity, if indeed Religion be
ܪ
true.
Next, I would deſire you to examine your ſelyes ſeriouſly, whether in your
Enquiries into the Grounds and Reaſons of Religion, you have not hitherto
had ſome Byaſs upon your Minds; whether at the ſame Time that you have
fet your ſelyes to conſider of the Proofs of the Chriſtian Religion, you have
not ſecretly wiſhed that you might not find them ſatisfactory to your Reaſon.
And if ſo, I defire you to examine farther, what was the Cauſe of this;
whether
ن
1
1048
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
1
whether it was not ſome worldly Pleaſure or Profit, which you foreſaw you
ſhould be debarred from, in caſe you ſhould happen to be convinced of the
Truth of the Chriſtian Religion. And if it was, I hope, that the ſame ſe-
rious Conſideration of the great Importance of Religion, which I before ad-
viſed in order to the removing unreaſonable Prejudices, will alſo ſuffice to
ſatisfy you, how unworthy of any Love or Regard all worldly Pleaſure or
Profit is, in Compariſon with that eternal Happineſs which is promiſed in the
Goſpel ; ſo that conſequently, when you are enquiring into the Grounds and
Reaſons of our Hope of that Eternal Life, all other Thoughts ought to be laid
aſide, and you ought to have no Eye at all to any Thing elſe; becauſe, to a
Man who muſt be unſpeakably happy or miſerable to all Eternity, which is
the Caſe of all of us, if indeed Religion be true; it is not a Matter worth
thinking of, whether his worldly State and Condition will be rendred better
or worſe, by his endeavouring to ſecure to himſelf a bleſſed Portion in the
other World.
And if by theſe Conſiderations your Minds ſhall be freed from Prejudices,
and from all Byaſs of worldly Intereſt; I would, after this, deſire you to
take afreſh into your Conſideration, what has been offered in the foregoing
Diſcourſes, for the Proof of the Chriſtian Religion, and the much more that
has been better ſaid by others upon the ſame Argument; for there can be no
Hurt in conſidering theſe Things over and over again, although after all, you
ſhould remain as unſatisfied as you are now.
But I cannot but hope, I can-
not but think, that if you do conſider, without Prejudice or Partiality, the
Reaſons that have been offered to prove the Truth of Chriſtianity, you muſt
needs be convinced thereby.
However, if the Reaſons that are, or may be offered for the Proof of
it, ſhould not be ſufficient perfectly to cure your Infidelity,' and to make you
become zealous Chriſtians ; they may be, and they certainly are, ſufficient
to ſatisfy you that the Chriſtians have ſome Reaſon for their Belief; even
the ſame at leaſt, if not better, that you your felves are ſwayed by in all
other Caſes; and conſequently, that they are not ſuch very eaſy and credu.
lous Fools as you perhaps have hitherto taken them to be. I am confident
you muſt grant, that if the Reaſons of our Religion are not demonſtrative,
they are at leaſt probable; and that if our Religion be not true, it has at leaſt
a fair Shew and Appearance of Truth.
And if you will but only allow this, it is then a reaſonable Requeſt; and
what I would next deſire of you; not to make a Boaſt of your Unbelief, not
to ridicule our holy Religion, nor to make it your Buſineſs to profelyte Men
to Atheiſm and Infidelity.
1. Not to make a Boaſt of your Unbelief; for if indeed you have no Reli-
gion, yet what Intereſt can you have in telling the World ſo ? Nay, is there
any Thing that you could do, more to your own Prejudice ? For though you
are not under the Direction and Influence of any religious Principles, yet ſo
long as you appear to have ſome Religion, you will be employed and truſted
as other Men are: Men will believe you to be honeſt, till they ſhall find to
the contrary; and in the mean Time you will have an Opportunity of raiſing
your felves to Wealth and Honour. But when once the World ſhall come
to know, that you are Men of no Principles, that you are under no Reſtraints
of Conſcience, that you will do whatever you can ſafely do for your own
Advantage; that is, whatever you can do without Danger of a Priſon, a Pil.
lory or a Gibbet; and they will have Reaſon to think all this of you, when
you your ſelves ſhall tell them that you are of no Religion : Who, do you
think, will employ you? who, do you think, will truſt you? So that the only
Way you will then have to make your Fortunes, will be by open Force and
Violence; and in that you will meet with ſuch Oppoſition from all the World,
as will quickly work your Ruin.
But
ܪ
2
un
.
1049
you ; that not only thc ignorant and illiterate, but the wiſeft, the graveſt, the
But you think, it may be, that it is a mean and ungenerous Thing to dif-
own your Principles, or rather your no Principles; that it is beneath a Man
co ſecm to be what he is not; and to put on a Face of Religion when he
has none, how profitable focyer his Hypocriſy might be to him.
Very well; then you may, if you are willing to ſuffer the Inconvenience
of it, freely own your ſelves to be of no Religion ; but at the ſame Time
you
ſhould do well to conſider, that the greateſt Part of the World is againſt
moſt learned and the moſt noble Perſons, have gencrally been Men of Re-
ligion; or at leaſt, which is all we can judge by, have outwardly profeſſed
themſelves perſuaded of the Truth of it, and have expreſſed the greateſt Zeal
and Concern for it. And therefore,
2. Tho'you do bclicve nothing of it your ſelycs, and ſcorn to conceal
your Unbelief, you may, however, be civil to our Religion ; for it is but
good Marners to treat with ſome Reſpect that which thoſe with whom you
converſe account ſacred. Beſides, whether Religion be true or falſe, "the
Subject of it is grave, and therefore ought to be handled with a decent Re-
verence. Do not then ſhew ſuch ill Breeding, as to make that the Subject
of your Sport and Raillery, which all beſides your ſelves account the moſt
ſerious Thing in the World. Be not guilty of ſo much Indecency, as to dif-
courſe of any Matter in a Manner ſo unſuitable to the Nature of it. But
if you will necds be attacking our Religion, compoſe your ſelves firſt to Gra-
vity and Seriouſneſs; and let it be ſeen by your Way of treating us, that
your Deſign is manly and generous, only to undeceive and diſabuſe us, not
to make Sport with us. Produce your Cauſe, as the Prophet ſpeaks, and Ifai. xli. 21.
bring forth your ſtrong Reaſons ; by them, it may be, if you propound them
ſeriouſly, you may convince us that we are in a Miſtake; but we are now in
too grave an Humour to be wrought upon by a Jeft; and how ſtrong ſoever
your Objections againſt Religion are, by a light and trifling Way of ex-
preſling them, you will make them loſe all their Force. But indeed,
3. To what Purpoſe is it for you to make it your Buſineſs, any Ways, or
by any Arguments, to endeavour to profelyte Men to Atheiſm and Infidelity.
For whether our Religion be true or falſe, it is better for you, as well as
for all the World beſides, that it ſhould be generally believed ; and that Men
ſhould think themſelves obliged to live according to the Rules and Precepts
of it. You cannot, ſurely, be ſo unacquainted with the World, if you have
lived any Time in it, or read any Thing of Hiſtory, but that you muſt needs
know, that before the Principles of Atheiſm and Deiſm prevailed fo much as
they have done of late Years, there was a great deal more Truth, and Juſtice,
and Honeſty, and fair Dealing in the World than there is now. So that if
you ſhould ſucceed in your Endeavour, if you ſhould be able cither to reaſon
or to laugh Religion quite out of the World, the moſt probable, nay the moſt
certain Conſequence of it would be, that when the godly Man ceaſed, the
faithful would alſo fail from among the Children of Men; that then they
would ſpeak Vanity every one with his Neighbour, with flattering Lips and pr. xii. 1, 2.
with a double Heart would they ſpeak: That then Strength would be the
Law of Juſtice, and that which is feeble would be found nothing worth.
If therefore you have, as you think perhaps you have, found out the Cheat
of Religion ; it is your beſt Prudence, however, to keep your Diſcovery to
your felves. Delight your felves as much as you will with the Contempla-
tion of your own Happineſs above other Men, in that you are now freed
from the Terrors of Conſcience, and the Fears of another World, by means
of that notable Diſcovery which you have made of the Vanity of Religion;
pleaſe your ſelves as much as you will, with thinking that you are not now,
as others are, tied to ſpeak Truth when it is to your Diſadvantage,' to ſuffer
Vol. II.
any
Wild. ii. 11.
SU
2
La merrera 'cas a
1050
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
ز
any Thing in this world for Conſcience fake, or to be juſt and honeſt in
your Dealings, when you can get conſiderably by Fraud and Oppreſſion, and
can order the Marter ſo ſecrctly as to be ſafe from Diſcovery, and conſe-
quently from all Shame and Puniſhment from Men: But be the Advantage
which you have gained to your felves, by diſcovering the Cheat of Religion,
ever ſo great, yet the greater it is, and the greater you think it, ſo much
the more cautious you ought to be not to make known to others what you
have ſo happily diſcovered; for when once others ſhall come to know as
much as you think you do, viz. that all Religion is a Cheat, all
your
Advan-
tage above them will ceaſe; they will then be all upon the ſame Terms with
you; they will then be all as much at Liberty to defraud, oppreſs, or other-
wiſe injure you, as you are now to defraud, oppreſs, or injure them. You
ought not therefore, in Prudence, to try to convince them of their Miſtake,
tho' you were ſure it was a Miſtake; for why ſhould you make it your Buſi-
neſs to cut in ſunder thoſe Cords of Religion by which they are now tied
up from doing you Miſchief:
In a Word, Either Religion is true and well-grounded, or it is not; and
which ſoever it be, it is better both for them that do believe the Truth of it,
and for you alſo, that they ſhould continue in the Belief of it; why then
ſhould you be at Pains only to do Miſchief?
For put Caſe, firſt, that Religion is vain and groundleſs, it muſt be con-
felfed however, that it is of ſome preſent Advantage to them that do believe
it ; becauſe it ſerves to bear them up under the unavoidable Pains, and
Troubles, and Miſeries of this mortal Life, with the comfortable Hope of
a bleſſed Immortality; and it will be no Diſadvantage to them hereafter; for
when they are dead, if indeed there be no Life after this, they will be as if
they had never been; they will not be then in a Capacity of grieving for
their Diſappointment. And it is alſo for your preſent Advantage, that they
that are miſtaken in believing the Truth of Religion, ſhould continue in their
Miſtake; becauſe it makes them better to you in every Relation than they
would otherwiſe be, more juſt and merciful Governors, more loyal and obe-
dient Subjects, more loving Parents, more dutiful Children, more gentle Mal-
ters, more faithful Servants, and more juſt, honeſt, and loving Neighbours ;
why then ſhould you be at any Pains to cure that Miſtake, if it be a Miſtake,
which does them no Harm, but rather Good; and which is likewiſe ſo pro-
fitable for you? eſpecially when you cannot be ſo vain as to expect to merit
Heaven, if indeed there be no Heaven, by your Zeal for the Truth of A-
theiſm.
But if indeed Religion be true; and you cannot be ſure it is not, how de-
ficient ſoever you may think our Proofs of it are; as I ſhall not need to ſay,
that it will be better for them that believe it, that they ſhould perſiſt in their
Belief of it; fo I ſhall not need to ſay much to ſhew that it will, in the E-
vent, be better for you, that you ſhould not endeavour to pervert them ;
for, certainly, if there be a Hell, they will be condemned to the hotteſt Place
in it, who not only withdrew themſelves from their Subjection to Almighty
God, and would not ſuffer him to reign over them; but made it alſo their
Buſineſs to corrupt others, to form a Party againſt Heaven, and to raiſe an
univerſal Rebellion againſt God.
Theſe Things, and more to the like Purpoſe, I would ſay to the Atheiſts,
if I thought they were here to hear me. And I ſhould not be without
Hope, that altho' what was ſaid before in the foregoing Diſcourſes was not
ſufficient to cure their Infidelity, what has been now ſaid might ſerve to con-
vince them that it is the wiſeſt Courſe to keep their Infidelity to themſelves ;
that how little ſoever they believe of the Truth of Religion; it is not Pru-
dence to tell the World that they are Men of no Principles, and conſequently
A
not
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful
1051
.
not fit to be employed or truſted; that it is not good Manners to make a Jeſt
of ſerious and ſacred Things, and to affront the common Reaſon and Judg-
ment of Mankind; and that it is not for their Intereſt to endeavour to bring
other Men over to their Side, becauſe if none had more Religion than them-
ſelves, they could not be ncar ſo ſafe and ſecure in thcir Rights and Poffeffi-
ons, and in their Lives, they only Things they value, as they now are.
But I do not think there are any here preſent, concerned in this Part of
my Diſcourſe, and therefore ſhall lengthen it no farther. I am perſuaded Heb. vi. 2-
better Things of you, and Things that accompany Salvation ; for your Preſence
here, in the Houſe of God, and in the Aſſembly of Chriſtians, makes it rea-
ſonable to believe, that you are already convinced, not only of the Being and
Providence of God, but likewiſe of the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion, and
of the divine Inſpiration and Authority of the holy Scriptures.
2. To you therefore who are Chriſtians, I ſhall now turn my Diſcourſe :
And I beſeech youl, Brethren, ſuffer the Word of Exhortation ; it is only Heb. xiii. 22.
this.
Since you have Moſes and the Prophets, and Chriſt and his Apoſtles, and
believe that they are Meſſengers ſent to you from God, to inſtruct you in his
Will; receive the Truth and the Law at their Mouths; mind what they ſay,
and be careful to follow their Directions in all Things.
For even we who have the Scriptures, the lively Oracles of God, may pe-
riſh for want of Knowledge, as well as they that have them not, unleſs we
make that Uſe of them which they were given for; unleſs we are diligent
in reading them, and careful to practiſe what they teach. For the rich
Man ſpoken of in this Parable had the Scriptures, but his mere having them
did not keep him from Hell. And his five ſurviving Brethren had likewiſe
the Scriptures, and yet were then in a fair Way of following their Brother
to that Place of Torment. They had Moſes and the Prophets, but they did
not hear them.
And this alſo may be our Caſe, who have not only theſe, but alſo Chriſt
and his Apoſtles preaching to us, if we do not hear them; for what Advan-
tage can it be to us to have good Inſtructors, if we will not mind what they
ſay; if we ſtop our Ears to all their Counſels and Reproofs? No Man was
ever made a Scholar only by having a good Library in his Poſſeſſion : No Man
ever learnt any Art or Science, tho it was ever ſo well taught in any Book,
only by keeping the Book in his Chamber, or carrying it about in his Poc-
ket: And as little ſhall we be the wiſer, only by having the holy Scriptures,
though, as the Apoſtle ſays, they are able to make us wiſe unto Salvation, if 2 Tim. iii. 15.
we do not read and ſtudy theni with an honeſt Deſign to furniſh our ſelves
from thence with a Stock of uſeful Knowledge, and with a firm Reſolution
to lead our Lives according to the Directions which they give us.
Nay, ſo far ſhall we be from receiving any Advantage only by our having
the holy Scriptures given us, and free Liberty allowed us to look into them,
a Privilege we of this Nation have above moſt of our Neighbours, that if we
do not read and ſtudy them, it will be much the worſe for us; our Con-
demnation will be the greater, and our Deſtruction ſo much the more cer-
tain. For the Caſe of thoſe who offend thro' Ignorance, when their Igno-
norance is unaffected, is very pitiable ; and tho' we cannot certainly ſay how
God will deal with thoſe who had no clear Revelation of his Will made to
them, this we may be ſure of, that God, who is a merciful God, will deal
mercifully with them. If I had not come and ſpoken unto them, ſays our Joh. XV. 22.
Saviour, they had not had Sin. But the Caſe will be quite otherwiſe with
thoſe, who knew their Maſter's Will, and did not do it; they, as our Saviour Luk. xii. 47.
ſays, ſhall be beaten with many Stripes. And it will be all one if they did
not know it, if their Ignorance of it was occaſioned by their own Fault, in
neglecting
2
1052
New Revelations would probably be unſucceſsful.
neglecting thoſe Means of Knowledge which God had afforded theni; and
much rather, if their Ignorance of their Duty was affected and choſen, that
they might fin with leſs Diſturbance of Mind. For our Saviour's Judgment in
this Caſe is very plain; and it is his Judgment by which we muſt ſtand or
fall to all Eternity, Joh. iii. 19. This is the Condemnation, that Light is come
into the World, and Men loved Darkneſs rather than Light, becauſe their
Deeds were evil.
Having therefore Moſes and the Prophets, and alſo Chriſt and his Apoſtles,
continually preaching to us in the Books of holy Scripture, let us hear them;
this is both our Duty and our Intereſt.
And that our Study of the Scripture may be with good Succeſs, and we
may thereby be thoroughly furniſhed unto all good Works, let us pray, as we
are taught by our Church, in a moſt excellent Collect ſuited to the Subject I
have been diſcourſing of.
Bleſſed Lord, who haft cauſed all holy Scriptures to be written for our
Sunday in Ad
Learning; grant that we may in ſuch wiſe hear them, read, mark, learn,
and inwardly digeſt them, that by Patience and Comfort of thy holy Word,
we may embrace and ever hold faſt the bleſſed Hope of everlaſting Life,
which thou haſt given us in our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt. Amen.
Collect for 2d
vent.
DI S
1053
DISCOURSE XCVI.
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separa-
tion.
eró..
1
A Viſitation Sermon.
MIC
**
BEBE
JOHN VI. 66, 67, 68.
From that Time many of his Diſciples went back,
and walked no more with him.
Then ſaid Jeſus unto the twelve, Wil ye alſo go
away
Then Simon Peter anſwered him, Lord, to whom
Shall we go? Thou haft the Words of eternal
Life.
1
N theſe Words there are four Things conſiderable.
I. A remarkable Accident that befell our Saviour in the
Courſe of his Miniſtry, his being deſerted at once by a
great many of his Diſciples: Many of his Diſciples went
back, and walked no more with him.
II. The Occaſion of this great Deſertion, intimated in
that Clauſe, cu téte, from that Time, or upon that Occaſion.
III. A Queſtion thereupon put by our Lord to thoſe few that ſtill
remain’d with him: He ſaid unto the twelve, Will ye alſo go away? ?
And,
IV. And laſtly, the honeſt and diſcreet Anſwer which Simon Peter in the
Name of the reſt returned to this Queſtion; Lord, to whom ſhall we go?
Thou haſt the Words of eternal Life.
Each of which Particulars will afford fome uſeful Obſervations, which in
the Sequel of this Diſcourſe I ſhall briefly touch upon, the Time not per-
mitting me to do more, and then make ſome Application of the whole.
I begin with the firſt, viz.
Vol. II.
X
I. The
SX
1
1054
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
ز
1. The Relation of a remarkable Accident that befell our Saviour in the
Courſe of his Miniſtry, viz. his being deſerted at once by a great many of
his Diſciples : Many of his Diſciples went back, and walked no more with
him. The Evangeliſt doth not ſay how many, but that we may probably
collect from the former Part of the Chapter : For at the tenth Verſe we
are told, that the Number of thoſe that were with him before, and had
been miraculouſly fed by him with five Barley-loaves, and two ſmall Fiſhes,
was about five thouſand; and that upon that they all of them acknowledged
that he was the Chriſt, as you may ſee at the fourteenth Verſe, This is of
a Truth, ſay they, that Prophet which should come into the World ; and
thercupon preſuming, according to the Notion generally received among the
Jews at that Time, that the Meſſias was to be a mighty temporal Prince,
they would fain then have perſuaded him to take upon him the Kingdom.
Nay, as the Evangeliſt notes at the fifteenth Veric, They would have ta-
ken him by Force, and made him a King; which when our Saviour had a-
voided by conveying himſelf privately away, they would not however be
thereby diverted from perſuing their intention ; but perceiving which Way
his Diſciples were gone over the Sea, and ſuppoſing that he had appoint-
ed to meet them on the other Side, they took Shipping the very next Day
to follow him: And when they had found him, knowing that he had not
gone over in the ſame Boat with his Diſciples, and that no other Boat had
gone over beſides, except thoſe wherein they themſelves had paſſed, ſo that
conſequently he muſt needs have conveyed himſelf over the Sea by a Mi.
racle; they ſeemed hereby itill the more confirmed in that Belief which
they had of him before. And ver behold on a ſudden, even the very ſame
Day, upon Occaſion of ſome Diſguft which they took at his Doctrine, they
all forſook him, leaving him, as it ſeems, alone, only with his twelve Apo-
Ales. Many of his Diſciples went back, and walked no more with him.
From whence we may obſerve,
1. That Infallibility itſelf is not ſufficient to prevent Schiſms and Sepa-
rations in the Church. For ſurely they will not deny that our bleſſed
Lord and Saviour himſelf was an infallible Teacher, who believe that his
pretended Vicar is ſo; and yet for all that, he was deſerted by a great many
of his Diſciples; there were many more that forſook him, than there were
that continued to adhere to him. Nay, indeed his Infallibility may be
ſaid in ſome Senſe to have been the Occaſion of this great Schiſm ; for the
Reaſon of their forſaking him was, becauſe he ſpake to them the Words of
Truth; for had he but ſuited his Doctrine to the carnal Palates of his
Hearers, they would ſtill have continued with him.
And if Infallibility will not ſerve for this purpoſe, there is, manifeſtly, no
ſuch abſolute Neceſſity, no ſuch great Uſefulneſs of an infallible Guide in
the Church, as the Romaniſts pretend; who alſo from thence only, with-
out any ground from Scripture, boldly infer that there is ſuch a one. For
we have already an infallible Rule both of Belief and Practice in the
Holy Scriptures ; and this Rule is ſufficiently plain to, and eaſily enough
applicable by, all ſuch as are of honeſt Minds, and give due Attention and
Regard to it. An infallible Guide, if there were any ſuch now-a-days,
could not teach more than the Holy Scriptures do, of ſuch Things as are
neceſſary to be known by us; neither could he teach the ſame Things
plainer than they teach them: And if Men were of perverſe and carnal
Minds, they would give no more Heed to the infallible Guide, than they
do now to the infallible Rule; that is, they would hear him no longer
than while his Doctrine pleaſed them, or while it was for their Advantage
to continue in his Communion; and when cither his Doctrine was ungrate-
ful
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
1055
ز
ful, or it was not ſafe to adhere to him; they would do by him, as the
Diſciples in the Text did by our Saviour, who was beyond all Diſpute an
infallible Teacher ; they would go back, and walk no more with him.
2. Another Thing that may be obſerved from hence, is this, that it is no
juſt Objection againſt any Church, that there are a great many that diſlike it,
and ſeparate from it.
Let not then our Adverſaries of the Church of Rome any more object
againſt us, as they have uſed to do, that their Church is at Unity within it-
ſelf, that they are all of one Mind, agreeing in the ſame Form of Doc-
trine, and holding together in the ſame Worſhip; whereas no ſooner did
the Reformed Churches ſeparate from them, but they were immediately di-
vided into innumerable Selts among themſelves; each pretending to greater
Purity and Perfection than the other. For beſides that the Truth of this
Matter of Fact might be well doubted, viz. whether there be greater Di-
viſions among Proteſtants, than among Papiſts; which Point I will not
at this Time diſpute: This I dare boldly ſay, that the Unity which they
boaſt of, is in great Meaſure owing to the Inquiſition, and ſuch other Means
of holding their People in their Communion, as we neither do, nor think
lawful to uſe.
And then after all, the Separation of other Sects from the Reformed
Churches is not a juſter Objection againſt them, than the Separation of
the Reformed Churches themſelves from the Church of Rome, with which
they once held Communion, is againſt that Church: So that if there be any
Thing in this Argument, it holds every whit as ſtrong againſt them, as an
gainſt us.
But the Truth of it is, the Argument it ſelf is of no Force againſt ei-
ther one or the other. But in the Caſe of Separation
But in the Caſe of Separation the only Point to
be conſidered, in order to the diſcerning where the Blame lies, is for what
Cauſe the Separation was made. For if the Ground of our ſeparating from
the Roman Charch be, as indeed it was, becauſe we could not communi-
cate with her without Sin, this juſtifies our Separation, and is indeed a juſt
Objection againſt that Church which enjoyned ſuch unlawful Terms of Com-
munion. And on the other Side, if the Doctrine that we profeſs and teach,
be purc and orthodox, and our Worſhip, to ſay the leaſt of it, ſuch as
may in cvery Part of it be lawfully joined in ; if even they who diſſent
from us, cannot fix on any one Thing in our Communion which thcy
can prove is unlawful; if conſequently the Ground of their Separation from
us, be either becauſe they will not endure found Doctrine, or becauſe they
have itching Ears, which nothing will pleaſe but Novelties; they indeed
are highly to blame who ſeparate from us upon ſuch trifling Accounts ;
but it is no more a juſt Obječtion againſt our Church, that there are ſome
that feparate from it, than it was againſt that Church which was at firſt al-
ſembled, and governed by our Lord himſelf in Perſon, that there were
ſome who when they had liſted themſelves under him and as his Diſciples,
did afterwards, upon an unreaſonable and groundleſs Diſguft, go back and
walk no more with him.
3. What may farther be obſerved from hence in general, is this, that the
Example of a Multitude is not a ſufficient Inducement to follow their Practice,
any farther than the ſame may be juſtified by Reaſon. For in the Text
we are told, that many of our Lord's Diſciples, probably not fewer than
five thouſand, went away from him at once, and, as far as appears by the
Hiſtory, there were only twelve that remained with him, a very ſmall
Number in Compariſon with that great Multitude that went away; and
yet there can be no Doubt, but that theſe were the true Church, and that
they which went away were Schiſmaticks.
3
From
1056
The Unreafonableneſs of Separation.
1
18.
From whence therefore, by the Way, we may obſerve, how vain and
trifling that Argument is, which they of the Church of Rome do urge in
behalf of their Church, and to perſuade us to return to it, taken from the
great Multitude of thoſe that are of the Roman Communion, in Compari-
ſon with the Reformed Churches.
For granting that the Roman Church is of much greater Extent than the
Reformed ; nay, if we ſhould grant it to be of larger Extent than all the
Chriſtian Churches beſides, that are not of her Communion, which yet is
certainly falſe; this is but a very ſorry Argument to prove her to be the
true, and only true Chriſtian Church.
For if the Truth be always on the side of the greateſt Number, which
was the true Church in Abraham's Time, when he was of a Religion by
himſelf? Was it in his ſmall Family, or amongſt the idolatrous Nations that
dwelt round about him? Or which was the true Church in all that long
Tract of Time from Mofes to our Saviour ? Was it not confined to a
very ſinall Spot of Land, even when it was at its largeſt Extent? And
that again contracted to a much leſs Compaſs in Elijah's Time, when
1 Kings xix. there were not in ten of the Tribes of Iſrael, above ſeven thouſand Men
who had not bowed the Knee to the Image of Baal?
Again, if that be always the true Church which is the largeſt, Time was
when the Arian Hereticks were the true Chriſtian Church, and the Ortho-
dox Profeſſors of Chriſtianity, who were but a very few in Number, in
Compariſon with them, were conſequently miſerably deluded, and rank
Hereticks. And thus, according to this Rule given by the Romaniſts for
finding out the true Church, Truth and Goodneſs are really nothing at all,
but vary according to the Fancies and Cuſtoms of Men ; and what is true
and good now, may in the next Age become very falſe and wicked.
But by what hath been ſaid, it appears, that the true Worſhipers of God
have ſometimes been but a very few, and that the true Church of Chriſt has
in ſome Ages conſiſted but of a very ſmall Number; and what has been
once, may be again. So that, tho we ſhould grant that the Roman Church
is larger than any one, or even than all the Reformed Churches together;
yet ſtill theſe may be the true Churches of Chriſt, and that not.
may not the true Religion, and the right Worſhip of God be confined to
a narrow Compaſs now, as well as it hath been in former Times ?
The Truth is, Number or Fewneſs, are both merely accidental and extrinſical
Things; ſometimes a Multitude may be in the right, and ſometimes, proba-
bly much oftner, they are in the wrong; and whether they be in the right
or no, is a Thing to be enquired into, not to be taken for granted. For
Truth and Goodneſs are always the ſame, but the Fancies and Opinions of
Men are infinitely various and uncertain. And therefore ſeeing God hath
not left it to us to determine among our felves by moſt Votes, which is the
true Religion, and the right Worſhip of God, but hath himfelf clearly
ftated and fully determined this Matter in the Books of Scripture many
hundred Years ago; that Determination of his is, and will ever be moſt un-
doubtedly true: It is that therefore that we muſt ſtick to, and abide by, let
the Crowd, or the Multitude go which Way it will.
And ſo much for the firſt Thing ; many of his Diſciples went back, and
walked no more with him.
ز
For why
II. The ſecond Thing which I took Notice of in the Words, was the
Occaſion of this great Schiſm, intimated in that Clauſe, ću tóty, from that
Time, or, as it may be rendred, upon that Occaſion : Many of his Diſciples
went back.
Now
2
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
1057
ز
Now what the Occaſion was, we muſt learn from the foregoing part of
the Chapter; and it was, in ſhort, this.
Our Saviour well knowing the Hypocriſy of that great Crowd that fol-
lowed him, and that all their pretended Zeal for him was really nothing
elſe but Intereſt, plainly tells them of it, Verſe 26. Verily, verily, I ſay un-
to you, ye ſeek me not becauſe ye ſaw the Miracles, but becauſe ye did eat
of the Loaves, and were filled; and thereupon takes Occaſion to perſuade
them to withdraw their Hearts and Affections from this World, and from
their temporal Intereſts and Concernments, and to give themſelves up to be
inſtructed by him in the Way and Means of Salvation, Verſe 27. Labour not
for the Meat which periſheth, but for that Meat which endureth unto everlaſting
Life, which the Son of Man ſhall give unto you, for him hath God the Father
Sealed. And this Subject he proſecures in the remaining Part of the Chapter,
ſhewing by many Arguments, that there was no Way for them to attain to the
Bleſſedneſs of the other World, but by receiving and believing his Doctrine, and
leading their Lives according to it. And īre Téte upon this Occaſion, many of
them went back, and walked no more with him. While he fed them with
the Loaves, and while they hoped he would be a temporal King, and that
they, as being the firſt that had declared for him, ſhould be preferred to
great Places and Dignities under him, ſo long he could not get rid of
their Company, tho’ he had endeavoured to do it; but when once he came
to tell them plainly of their Faults, and to diſſuade them from minding ſo
much as they did the Intereſts of this World; when he had acquainted
them that his Kingdom was a ſpiritual Kingdom, and that the only Way
for them to be made Partakers of it, was by carefully obſerving thoſe ſtrict
Rules of Holineſs and Virtue which he had taught ; at this they were
greatly offended; and it was now as hard to keep them together, as it was
before to diſmiſs them: Upon this Occaſion many went back, and walked
no more with him.
From whence we may obſerve, and it is the only Thing I ſhall at pre-
fent obſerve from hence, that it is the Duty of thoſe who are Miniſters
of the Goſpel boldly to ſpeak the Truth, and reprove Vice, whatever Of-
fence may be taken at them for it.
In other Things indeed it becomes them, and it is a part of that Pru-
dence which it is their Dury to exerciſe in their behaviour towards others,
to be as compliant and complaiſant as they can; and according to St. Paul's
Example, to be made all Things to all Men, that they may by all Means 1 Cor. ix. 22.
gain ſome; but the Truth of the Goſpel is not to be parted with upon any
Terms, neither may they upon any Conſideration whatſoever footh up their
People in their Sins, and cry Peace, Peace, when there is no Peace.
Nay, if they only wink at their Faults, if they only forbear to reprove them
for their Sins, and to acquaint them with the Danger of continuing in them,
they are careleſs of their Charge, and unfaithful to their Truſt; and while
they ſeem tender of giving Offence, do indeed give the greateſt Offence ;
at once expoſing their ſacred Office to Contempt, and hazarding the Salva-
tion of their own Souls. For ſo we are plainly told, Ezek. xxxiii. 7. I have
ſet thee a Watchman unto the Houſe of Iſrael, therefore thou ſhalt hear
the Word at my Mouth, and warn them from me: When I ſay unto the
wicked, 0 wicked Man, thou ſhalt ſurely die; if thou doſt not ſpeak to
warn the wicked Man from his Way, that wicked Man ſhall die in his Ini-
quity, but his Blood will I require at thine Hand.
Here, my reverend Brethren, we ſee our Duty, and the ſtrict Obligati-
on that lies upon us to diſcharge it. And this is what we are to look to,
to do our own Duty faithfully, and leave the Iffue and Event of all to God.
Vol. II.
5 Y
It
1058
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
Verſe 3.
It
may
be that our Boldneſs in thc Diſcharge of our Miniſtry, may provo
a Prejudice to our worldly Intereſt, and many may account us their Ene-
mies, and uſe us as ſuch, only becauſe we are their beſt Friends in tell-
ing them the Truth; but there is no worldly Intereſt whatſoever ſo grcat
as to be fit to ſtand in Competition with the Intereſt of our own, and our
Peoples Soul's.
Or it may be, if we will not hold our Peace; if we will needs be preach-
ing up unpopular Truths, and laſhing the reigning Vices of the Age,
ſome will take Offence at our Freedom, and, now eſpecially that they are,
as they think, at Liberty to profeſs any Religion, or to be of none, will
forſake our Aſſemblies, and either joyn themſelves to ſome other Con-
gregations, whcre they hope they ſhall bear more comfortable Doctrine,
or perhaps will throw off at once all Shew and Profeſſion of Religion :
But be it ſo, the Fear, or the Probability of this, will not juſtify us in ncg-
2 Tim. iv. 2. lecting our own Dury, which is to be inſtant in Seaſon, and out of Seaſon,
and to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all Long-Suffering and Doctrine.
This is the Direction that St. Paul gives to Timothy, and in him to all
the Miniſters of the Goſpel ; and that too, altho' he foreſaw that the Con-
ſequence of it would ſometimes be, that ſuch plain dealing would diſoblige a
great many, and make them forſake the Aſſemblies of the Faithful ; for that
he had this then in his Mind, ſeems highly probable, from what he im-
mediately adds in the very next Words: The Time will come when they
will not endure found Doctrine, but after their own Luſts Mall they heap
to themſelves Teachers, having itching Ears, and they Mall turn away their
Ears from the Truth.
It is true indeed, we ought, as the Apoſtle there directs, to rebuke and
cxhort with all Long-Suffering ; i. e. to temper our Reproofs with ſuch Mild-
neſs, and Gentleneſs, and Prudence, as that, if it be poſſiblc, we may give
no Offence to any. But if it be the Truth it ſelf that gives the Offence,
and not the imprudent Manner of its Delivery, our Buſineſs is not to pleaſe
Men, but God; and we muſt do our Duty, and ſpeak the Words which he
hath put into our Mouth, and rebuke with all Authority, not regarding
what may be the Conſequence of it.
We may think, perhaps, that in caſe our Boldneſs in ſpeaking the Truth,
and reproving Vice, ſhould drive away any from our Affemblies, eſpecially
if they bc Perſons of Note and Authority in the place where they live,
this would be to the Diſadvantage of our Church and Religion.
But no ſuch Matter; for all thoſe that ſeparate froin the Church upon
ſuch an Account, we may truly ſay, as the Apoſtle St. John does of ſome
Separatiſts in his Time; i Epift. ii. 19. They went out from us, but they were
not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would no Doubt have continued with us.
Such are as much the Church's Enemies, before their Separation, as they can be
afterwards; and of the two, ſhe had better have them open Enemies, than
fecret ones. But as for all ſuch as are of honeſt Minds, and ſincere and
hearty in their Profeſſions, they will like us the better, for that for which
the others diſlike us; whereas on the contrary, if we ſhould be afraid to
do our Duty, if we ſhould be mealy-mouth'd, and not dáre to ſpeak the
Truth, for fear of the Diſpleaſure of ſuch Men, this would indeed be a
great Prejudice to our Cauſe; as giving juſt Offence to the beſt Men, and
too great Occaſion, to ſuch as deſire Occaſion, to flight and deſpiſe our
Office.
In fine; what we can be only afraid of in this Caſe, is no more than
what our Saviour, who knew what was in Men, certainly fore-knew
would happen to himſelf; for he knew that the greateſt Part of the Mul-
titude that followed him, followed him for the Loayes, and in hope to ad-
2
vance
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
1059
vance their temporal Intereſt by early appearing to be his Diſciples; he
knew conſequently, that upon his declaring the Truth to them, and re-
proving them for their Worldly-mindedneſs, they would forſake his Compa-
ny; but thò' he forcſaw this Event, he would not be unfaithful in his Of-
fice, nor neglect that Buſineſs for which he came into the World, which
was to bear Witneſs unto the Truth; he choſe rather to have but a few Joh. xviii. 372
ſincerc Followers, than a great Number of hypocritical Profeſſors; and there-
fore would not diſſemble the Truth, altho' he knew that upon his declar-
ing it, many would go back, and walk no more with him.
And now I proceed to the third Thing obferyable in the Text, viz.
06
60
III. The Queſtion which our Lord (upon the Occaſion of this great De-
ſertion) puts to thoſe that ſtill remained with him, Jeſús Said unto the
Twelve, will ye alſo go away.
And with what Deſign this Queſtion was put, might have been doubted,
if it had been put by another; but it is certain, that our Saviour did not
put it to the Twelve, to know their Minds, for as the Evangeliſt ſays, he John ïi. 24;
knew all Men, and needed not that any ſhould teſtify of Man, for he knew
what was in Man.
Theſe Words therefore, Will ye alſo go away? are not ſo much a Que-
ſtion put to them, to know whether they would ſtay or go, as an Option
given them; a leaving it to their Will and Choice, whether they would do
one or the other. As if he had ſaid, " You fec how many there are that
« have taken Offence at my Doctrine, and have, upon that Account, all at
“ once deſerted me; but I am not at all concerned at their Departure, for
" I defiré no Subjects, but ſuch as are willing to be ſo, and will be obe-
“ diént to my Words. If therefore you are of the famie Mind with them ;
cc if my Doctrine does not reliſh with you ; if your Hearts, as theirs, are
wholly ſet upon this world, and the Intereſt of this Life, and you value
not the having a Portion in my ſpiritual Kingdom, or diſlike the Condi-
“ tions of attaining it, it is to no Purpoſe for you to ſtay any longer with
“ me; for this is all the Reward that I promiſe to my Diſciples : You are
" at your own Liberty therefore to go or ſtay as you pleaſe; freely and
willingly you gave up your ſelves at firit to be my Diſciples, and freely and
willinglŷ you ſhall continue ſo, or not at all; as I did not force you
to follow me, ſo neither will I compel you to ſtay with me; do what
you think beft for your ſelyes. If you like the Terms of my Diſciple-
ſhip, and think the Reward that I propoſe, a ſufficient Encouragement,
" and are perſuaded that I am able to make good what I promiſe, then
ſtay with me; but if not, you alſo may follow the five thouſand that
" are already gone away; I will not detain you againſt your Minds.” Will
you alſo go away?
From whence we may obferve theſe two Things.
1. That it is not agreeable to the Nature of the Goſpel to force or com-
pél Men to the Profeſſion of it.
If indeed Salyation were annexed to the outward Profeſſioh of Chriſtia-
nity, and every viſible Member of the Church, were alſo a Member of
Chriſt's ſpiritual Kingdom, it would be ſuch a great Deed of Charity to en-
title' Men to thefe Benefits, as would be ſufficient to compenſate for any
Hardfhip that they were put to in order to it; and if Men wéće, or could
be forced to be ſaved, even altho' it were by Fire and Faggot ; they would
have nó nyore Reaſon to cry out of Perſecution, or to complain of any In-
jury that was done them, than a Man that was juſt ready to be drowned
would Havé, if hie that pulled him out of the Water and ſaved his Life,
ſhould do it by the ſpraining of his Arm.
But
CC
1060
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
But the Caſe here is otherwiſe, for the ſpiritual Kingdom of Chriſt is
made up only of ſuch as willingly ſubmit to it; and tho Force may make
many Hypocrites, it cannot make one truc Chriſtian ; for no outward Force
can compel the Will to conſent, tho it may compel the Mouth to ſpeak,
or the Body to act.
Not but that after all, it is moſt undoubtedly the Duty of Chriſtian
Magiſtrates to endeavour that all their Subjects may be brought both to
the Profeſſion and Belief of the true Chriſtian Faith; and to this End they
ought to ſet up, and eſtabliſh in their Dominions the true Chriſtian Wor-
ſhip, and to take Care that their Subjects may be inſtructed in it; and alſo
to give them all reaſonable Encouragement in the Profeſſion and Exerciſe
of it.
Nay, I will not ſay, that they may not, for I am fully perſuaded that
they niay, make uſe of the Sword wherewith God has entruſted them,
for the correcting and reſtraining the Exorbitances of a miſguided and un-
governable Zeal, and the Outrages of a miſtaken Religion; and for the cut-
ting off of all ſuch Workers of Iniquity, as turn Religion into Rebellion, and
Faith into Faction.
But in what Caſes it is proper to make uſe of the temporal Sword in
Matters of Religion ; what temporal Encouragements are proper to be gi-
ven to the Profeſſion of the true Religion, and what Diſcouragements to
Error and Schiſm, being Subjcêts needful to be enquired into only by them
that have the Power of making or executing Laws, are not ſo proper to
be diſcourſed of here.
But in general, that no Man can, or ought to be compelled to be a
Chriſtian, I think is very plain from our Saviour's Example: For though
his Kingdom was fpiritual, i. e. though he was pleaſed to uſe only ſpiri-
tual Means and Motives to engage Men to be his Diſciples, he could
have uſed other Means if he had pleaſed; for as he himſelf tells us,
Matth. xxviii. 18. All Power in Heaven and Earth was given unto him ;
and therefore, if external Force and Compulſion had been a proper Means
to enlarge his Kingdom, and propagate his Religion, he would, doubtleſs,
have made uſe of it; or at leaſt have commiſſioned and impowered his
Apoſtles to uſe it; and not have only ſaid to them, as he does in the
Words immediately following thoſe aforecited, go ye therefore and teach
all Nations : He would not certainly, as he does in the Text, have left it
to the Choice and Option of his own Diſciples, whether they would
continue in the Profeſſion of his Religion or no: Will ye alſo go
away
?
2. Another Thing that may be obſerved from hence, is this, that no
Licenſe given, no Toleration granted, no Exemption from temporal Penal-
ties in caſe of Separation allowed by Men, is ſufficient to excuſe from the
Guilt of Schiſm thoſe that ſeparate from the true Chriſtian Church, whereof
they were Members, or to render their Schiſm no Sin.
For what think you, if the twelve Apoſtles, upon this Leave given them
by Chriſt, had gone back with the five thouſand, would they not by our
Saviour himſelf, at the great Day, have been judged Schiſmaticks or Apo.
ſtates for their ſo deſerting him?
And yet, as Man, he gave them Leave to forſake him ; he left it to
their Choice, whether they would ſtay with him or no; he uſed no Force
or Compulſion to keep them againſt their Wills; ſo that here was truly
Liberty of Conſcience granted them: They might be Chriſtians if they
would; if not, they might return back to the Synagogue, or go whither
elſe they pleaſed: Here were no worldly Motiyes offered to them to induce
them
+
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
o
them either to ſtay or to go, but the whole Matter was left to their own
Conſcience,
But notwithſtanding this Toleration, as it may be called, it was rroft
certainly their Duty ſtill to adhere to that Profeſion of Chrijlianity, which
they had taken upon themſelves ; and if they had forſaken it, they would
have been guilty of a moſt inexcuſable Sin before God.
And the Caſe is the ſame now: Human Law-givers may give Leave to
their Subjects to be of any Religion, or to be of no Religion ; but if
they do, they cannot make it lawful in it ſelf, either to be Atheiſts, or
to profeſs a falſe Religion, or to forſake the Communion of the true
Church; for to believe a God, and to worſhip him publickly, and to
worſhip him in the Aſſemblies of the faithful, are Duties that are laid
upon us by a higher than any human Authority; and therefore no human
Authority can diſcharge us from them.
The Law can take away and diſcharge us from no Obligation, but that
which itſelf laid upon us; ſo that all the Meaning of the largeſt and moſt
unlimited Toleration that the Law can grant, is no more than this; viz. a
Declaration that Men ſhall not be liable to any temporal Mulets or Penal-
ties, or be any Ways puniſhed by the civil Power, upon the Account of
any Differences in Religion, or for being of no Religion at all: But if
antecedently to the Eſtabliſhment of any Church by the civil Power, and
if antecedently to the enacting of any Penal Laws to oblige Men to hold
its Communion, it was a Schiſm to ſeparate without Cauſe, from that
Chriſtian Church whereof we were Members, and ſuch ſchiſmatical Scpara-
tion was a Sin before God; then ſo it will be ſtill, notwithſtanding any
Licenſe or Toleration that may be granted by the ſecular Power.
But now, that before any civil Laws were enacted in Favour of the
Church, it was unlawful for any Man to ſeparate from that Church where-
of he was a Member, without Cauſe; and that ſuch Separation rendred
Men guilty of the Sin of Schiſm, and that Schiſm was a damnable Sin; is
clearly evident from Holy Scripture.
For in the Apoſtles Days, there was no civil, Eſtabliſhment of any ,
Church; all the civil Powers then in being were either Jewiſh or Hea-
then, and Judaiſm or Paganiſm were the only eſtabliſhed Religions; and
all Profeſſion of the Chriſtian Religion was ſtrictly prohibited under the
ſevereſt Penalties: But for all that, there was a Chriſtian Church even in
thoſe Days, with which all Chriſtians were obliged to hold Communion,
and from which it was a Sin to ſeparate. They continued ſtedfaſtly in the
Apoſtles Doctrine and Fellowſhip, ſaith St. Luke, declaring the Pra&tice of
the firſt converted Chriſtians; Ats ii. 42. Even then it was a Sin to for-
fake the aſſembling themſelves together, as you may ſee, Heb. x. 25. Even
then it was a Duty to mark them that cauſed Diviſions and Offences,
€ontrary to the Doctrine which they had learned, from Chriſt and
his Apoſtles, and to avoid them; Rom. xvi. 17. Even then Strifes and
Diviſions were Aas of Carnality, as we are told, 1 Cor. jii. 3. And Here-
Sy was then one of thoſe Works of the Fleſh, of which the Apoſtle ſays,
that they which do ſuch Things ſhall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Gal. v. 20.
In a Word; There was a Chriſtian Church before there was any Chri-
ftian State; and long before there were any Acts of Uniformity made,
it was an Apoſtolical Canon, let all Things be done decently and in Order : 1 Cor. xiv.40,
which obliged both the Biſhops and Governors of the Church to ordain
ſuch Conſtitutions as were requiſite for the decent and, orderly Çelebra-
tion of the publick Worſhip, and the People to ſubmit thereunta. From
Vol. II.
the
s Z
1062
The Unreafonableneſs of Separation.
Eph.iv. 3:
Rom. xv. 6.
the very · Beginning of Chriſtianity, it was a Duty incumbent on all Chri-
ſtians to endeavour to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace';
and with one Mind, and one Mouth to glorify God, even the Father of
our Lord Jeſus Chriſt : And it was always againſt the Nature and Conſti-
tution of the Chriſtian Church, that there ſhould be Diviſions in it, or s'e-
parations from it.
Seeing therefore Church Communion is a Duty laid upon us by God, it
plainly follows, that no human Authority can releaſe us from our Obliga-
tion to it; and conſequently, that theſe Words, Will ye go away? or,
you may go away if you will, by what Man foever they are pronounced,
cannot make it lawful for us to forſake the Aſſemblies of thc faithful,
and to leave the Communion of that Chriſtian Church in which we were
baptiſed, and of which we are Members, ſo long as the Terms of her
Communion are lawful.
And ſo much for the third Thing. I proceed now to the fourth and laſt
Thing obſervable in the Text, viz.
IV. The honeſt and diſcreet Anſwer that was made by Simon Peter, in
the Name of himſelf, and the other Apoſtles, when this Option was put
to them. Will ye alſo go away? ſays our Saviour ; Lord, ſays he, to
whom ſhall we go? Thou haſt the Words of eternal Life.
From whence we may briefly obſerve theſe three Things,
1. That it is indiſpenſably neceſſary to be of ſome Church or other; this
is clearly intimated in the Apoſtle's Anſwer, Lord, to whom ſhall we go??
He takes it for granted, as a Matter of which there could be no reaſon-
able Doubt, that in Caſe they had left our Lord, they muſt have betaken
themſelves to ſome other Guide; and that if they had forſaken his Com-
munion, they muſt have gone over to ſome other Communion : He fuppo-
fes it as a moſt evident and undeniable Truth, as indeed it is, that it is
not enough for a Man to have Faith to himfelf, to adore God only in
his Heart, or to worſhip him only in his Cloſet; but that it is alſo ne-
ceſſary to make a publick Profeſſion of that Religion which he is of, and
to hold Communion with others of the fame Faith and Profeſſion, in
the common Acts of Worſhip and Devotion. And this is a Point very
needful, and well worthy 'to be conſidered by a great many that now-a-
days do forſake our Churches, not to go to any other religious Aſſemblies,
but to ſpend their Time in Neeping or dofing at home, or in ţipling at the
Ale-houſe. If we go from thee, to whom shall we go?
2. Therefore, what may be farther obſerved from hence is this, that fee
ing it is neceſſary to be of ſome Church or other, it is highly unreaſon-
able to ſeparate from the Church whereof we are Members, till we have
found out a better Church to joyn our ſelves to.
Quite contrary to which is the Practice of many Separatiſts, who firſt de-
fert their own Church, while a's yet they are to ſeek what Religion to be
of, and what Church to go to; they firſt throw off, upon ſome fooliſh Dif-
gult or fanciful Diſlike, the Religion they were bred up in, and then under
a Pretence that they are making Enquiry which is the beſt Religion, ſpend
all the reſt of their Lives without any Religion at all.
It is indeed St Paul's Direction, i Thell: v. 21. That we ſhould prove all
Things ; and this is a Text often cited by theſe Men in Juftification of
chemiſelves; and they value themſelves at no ſniall Rate, for their having,
as they think, the Scripture itſelf on their Side.
But they ſhould do well to read the whole Verſe throughout, and then
they would fee clearly how little this Text makes for them. Prove all
+
Things,
.
1
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separatiou.
1063
:
Things, faith the Apoſtle ; and then he immediately adds, hold faſt that
which is good. The Meaning of which laſt Claufe is at leaſt thus much ;
that when we are ſatisfied of the Goodneſs of our own Way, we ſhould
ſtick to it, and hold faſt the Profeſſion of our Faith without wavering;
it being then both unreaſonable and endleſs to make farther Trials.
But ſuppoſe we are not fully ſatisfied in this Point; ſuppoſe we have
ſome little Doubts and Scruples in our Minds, whether that Religion and
Way of Worſhip that we have been bred up in, be the belt or no: Do
they think that the Apoſtle would have us to be of all Religions, one af-
ter another, that ſo at laſt we may be able 'to judge which is beſt?
This would be juſt as if a Man in his Journey meeting with feveral croſs
Ways, ſhould go a little in one, and a little in another, and a little in a
third, and ſo on; the certain Conſequence of which would be, that having
ſpent his whole Day in making theſe Trials of the ſeveral Ways that
pre-
ſented themſelves, he would be no nearer his Journey's End at Night, than
he was in the Morning.
Or do they think that he would have us be of no Religion, till we
had firſt carefully examined into the Grounds and Reaſons of all: This
would be every whit as ill as the other : For there are very few that by
their Parts and Learning are qualified to undertake, and fewer yet, if any
at all, that have Leiſure enough from the neceſſary Avocations of Life, to
go through with ſuch a difficult and tedious Work as this would be. So
that for a Man to take this Method, would be juſt as if the traveling-
Man , before ſpoken of, meeting with ſeveral croſs Ways, ſhould fpend his
whole Day in fitting ſtill and conſidering which of them to chuſe, but
ſhould go in none of them; how ſhould he ever come to his Journey's
End?
But the Courſe that a wiſe Man in ſuch a Caſe would take, is this.
If he were left wholly to himſelf to judge, he would according to the beſt
of his Skill, and as the Time and Exigence would permir, chuſe that Road
which appeared to him to be the right; or if he had a Guide with him;
on whoſe Skill and Judgment he might with Prudence rely, rather than on
his own, he would take that Way which he directed him to; and when
he was once entred into it, he would go on ſteadily in it, never ſtopping
or ſtaying in the leaſt, unleſs by ſome evident Tokens he ſhould be clear-
ly convinced that he was in the Wrong; and never leaving that Way for
another, unleſs he were fully aſſured that the other was much better. A
Man that takes this Courſe may 'arrive to the Place whither he deſigns,
which it is certain that neither of the other can do: Or if after all he
fhould be in a Miftake, yet having done his beſt, and taken the prudent-
eſt Method that he could, his Miſtake would be pitiable and pardonable.
And I dare be bold to ſay, that that Man, who according to the beſt
of his Knowledge, ferves God faithfully, and worſhips hini with a ſincere
and devout Heart, although in a miſtaken Way, ſhall find morę Favour
with God, and fare better in the other World, than he that is ever learn-
ing, but is never able to come to the Knowledge of the Truth; or who
under a Pretence that he is quite at a Loſs, and in a great Uncertainty, in
what Way God would be worſhiped, paſſes his Days without making Pro-
feſſion of any Religion, and never worſhips God at all.
And therefore before we leave that Way which we have been bred up
and educated in, we ſhould be fully convinced that we are in an Error,
and fix upon ſome other Way to take, and be certainly affured that the
Way we take is better than that we leave. Lord; to whom ſhall we go?
We know not whither elſe to go, and therefore why should we go from
thee. But,
3. And
,54
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
Matt. xxii, 16.
3. And laſtly. Another Thing that may be obſerved from this Anſwer
of the Apoſtle, is this: That there can be no ſufficient Reaſon to repa-
rate from a Church, which has the Words of eternal Life: Lord, to wholz
fsall we go? thou haſt the Words of eternal Life. As if he had ſaid,
We know that thou art true, and teacheſt the Way of God in Truth:
We are ſure that we are ſafe in following thee; so that ſhor:ld we forſake
thee, and follow another, it is impoſſible we ſhould get by the Change. On
a worſe Guide we may eaſily happen, but a better we cannot bave: To
whoni then ſhall we go, if we go from thee? or upon what Account ſhould
we leave thee for any other, ſeeing thou haſt the Words of eternal Life?
And this is a Point, that many of our Diſenting Brethren would do
well to conſider ſeriouſly of; what Reaſon they have to forſake the Com-
munion of the eſtabliſhed Church.
Some perhaps will ſay, that the Terms of her Communion are unlaw-
ful, and that they cannot with a good Conſcience join in her Worſhip.
Now whether or no they ſay true in this, God will judge; bur if they do
ſpeak the Truth, and are really perſuaded as they ſay, here is a reaſonable
Plea for Separation.
But the far greateſt Part of thoſe that ſeparate from the Church, do not
pretend this ; they think our Worſhip lawful, and occaſionally, eſpecially to
qualify themſelves for an Office, they can and do join in it; and her Doc-
trine they likewiſe own to be true and agreeable to the Scriptures. They
grant there is nothing neceſſary to Salvation wanting in our Church, and
nothing deſtructive to Salvation enjoyncd: Nay they ſay farther, and that
they think will fully juſtify them from the Charge of Schiſm, that the
Congregations which they joyn themſelves to, and do ordinarily commu-
nicate with, own the ſame Scriptures, profeſs the ſame Creed, worſhip
the ſame God, and are in all Refpeas of the ſame Religion that we
are of.
But if it be ſo, then why do they go from us? If they believe that we
have the Words of eternal Life, what need they go elſewhere? what can
they hope for more in the Communion of any other Church, than they
might have in their own. If they are really of the ſame Religion with us,
why do they break our Communion why do they make a Rent and a
Schiſm in the Church for nothing?
They indeed that forſake a corrupt Church, or an idolatrous Worſhip,
they that leave the Communion of a Church, in which they think they
could not be ſaved, act prudently and wiſely; but to forſake a Church, and
at the ſame Time to profeſs that they are ſtill of the famie Religion with
that Church which they have forſaken, is a Practice which I think no Ac-
count can be given of. This is certainly to
This is certainly to break the Unity of the
Church for nothing, and needleflly to make a Rent and a Schiſm in the
Body of Chriſt; and that very Thing which they plead in Excuſe for their
Schiſm, does to my Apprehenſion render it altogether inexcuſable: For
if ever Schiſmı be a Sin, it is certainly ſo, when there is no Cauſe for it ;
and there can be no juſt Cauſe to leave that Church which we were
bred in, and are Meinbers of, and to go over to another which profeſſes
the ſame Faith, teaches the ſame Doctrines, and agrees in all the Effentials
of Worſhip with that Church which we leave. For why ſhould a Man
leave the eſtabliſhed Church, and go to another, or ſet up another againſt
it, when by his own Confeſſion he does not mend himſelf by the Change,
but might have been ſaved as well in that Church which he leaves, as in
that which he goes to ?
But
f
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
1065
are
ز
But I know it is pleaded by this Sort of Separatiſts, that though they
agree with us in the Subſtantials of Religion, they differ from us in the
Circumftantials; and therefore go for the moſt Part to other religious
Aſſemblies, becauſe there they think God is worſhiped after a purer
Manner than he is amongſt us: That though there be in the Eſtabliſhed
Church all Things neceſſary to Salvation, and ſhe has the Words of eter-
nal Life; yer ſhe has alſo ſome unneceſſary Obfervances, fome Rites
and Ceremonies which they think might be better omitted, and which
not uſed in thoſe Religious Mectings which they join them-
ſclves to.
But to this the Anſwer is eaſy: Either theſe Circumſtantials of our
Worſhip, theſe Rites and Ceremonies are lawful to be uſed, or not; now
if they be not lawful to be uſed; if, for Inſtance, it be unlawful to be
preſent at, and to join in thoſe Prayers which the Miniſter puts up whilo
he is cloached with a white Garment; or if it be unlawful to receive the
Sacrament upon the Knee, why do they ever do theſe Things at all?
why do they do that to qualify themſelves for an Office, which if it be a
Sin, they ought not to do to gain the whole World? But if theſe Things
be lawful, and the only Thing they have to ſay againſt them, is, that
they are in their Opinion needleſs and ſuperfluous Obſervances; what a
ſmall Reaſon is this to make a Schiſm and Diviſion in the Church?
There can be no End of Separations and Diviſions if they may be juſtified
by ſuch fanciful Diſikes as theſe ; for the Fancies of Men are ſo infinite-
ly different as to ſuch Things, that it is impoſſible that the ſame ſhould
pleaſe all People; ſo that either Church Communion is no Duty, or elſe
ſuch Diſlikes of the Fancy only cannot be a ſufficient Ground of a Sepa-
ration ; for there is no Congregation where the Miniſter is not cloathed
with ſome Garment or other, and where the Sacrament is not received
in fome Poſture or other; and there is no Garment or Pofture, which
ſome may not have a Fancy againſt, as well as againſt theſe, and with as
good Reaſon. Nay, not only the Fancies of diverſe Men, but even of
the fame Men at diverſe Times, are ſo very different as to ſuch Things,
that what they like one Day,' they oftentimes diſlike as much the next ;
ſo that he that goes from a pure and orthodox Church upon ſuch trivial
Accounts, cannot tell himſelf whither he ſhall go at laſt ; but it is moſt
probable, that if he goes on thus indulging his Fancy, he will be one
Day of this Sect, another of another; and a third of a third ; till at laſt
having tried all Sects, and found in every one ſomething that he diſliked,
he will come to be of no Religion at all. Or if not ſo; yet it is highly
probable, that while he thus buſies himſelf about the Ceremonies and Cir-
cumſtantials of Religion, he will neglect the Subſtance of it, and omit
the weightier Matters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, without
which all his Zeal for the external Purity of the divine Worſhip will avail
him nothing
Thus having, as briefly as I could, run through all thofe Particulars which
the Text offered to our Meditation; I proceed in a few Words to apply
what hạth been faid; and indeed the Application is ſo caſy, that I ſhall not
need to be long in it.
For as it hapned to our Saviour in the firſt Verſe of the Text, ſo it hath
hapned to this Church whereof we are Members; many that formerly joyn'd
in her Communion, and ſeemed as hearty and zealous in it as any, have of
late forſaken her.
I will not make the Application ſo near, as to ſay that they then fol-
lowed her for the Loaves, and for their temporal Intereſt, though their
Vol. II.
6 A
leaving
1066 The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
more
why ſhould you leave us? what can you hope for more in any other Com-
leaving her juſt at this Time, might well enough make that be ſuſpected;
neither will I ſay, that the true Reaſon of their leaving her, is, becauſe her
Doctrine is too pure, and too good for them.
But whatever was the Motive of their Separation, it is Matter of Fact
that there are many now gone away, though God be thanked not near ſo
many ; as it was bragged there would be, if ever a Toleration were grant-
cd, many there are that are gone back, and will now walk no
with us.
But the Number of Separatiſts from any Church is not, as I have
fhewed, a juſt Objection againſt it; neither ought it to be any Inducement
to others to follow their Example; for what hath now hapned to our
Church, is not near ſo much as befell our Lord himſelf, who had five
thouſand Diſciples, that deſerted him at once, while only twelve remained
with him.
And what he ſaid to them, I may ſay to you that ſtill continue in
our Communion; if you are diſpoſed to follow the Example that theſe
have ſet you, you have now free Liberty to do it: You alſo may go away
if you pleaſe; there is no Reſtraint now laid upon you by the Laws; the
whole Matter is between God and your ſelves.
But nevertheleſs, let me tell you, you are ſtill as much obliged in Con.
ſcience to hold Communion with us, as ever you were; and if we have
the Words of eternal Life; if the Do&trine which we profeſs and teach,
be pure and orthodox; if the holy Sacraments are duly and rightly ad-
miniſtred among us;
and if our Worſhip be ſuch as you may lawful-
ly join in, here is no juſt Ground for a Separation; and if you ſeparate
without juſt Ground from the Eſtabliſhed Church, in which you were
born and bred, and with which you ought to hold Communion in fa-
cred Things, you rend the Body of Chriſt
, and are Schiſmaticks before
God, altho' you are not guilty of any State-Crime, nor incur any legal
Penalties.
Conſider well then what you do ; if we have the Words of eternal Life,
Were
munion?
Conſider at leaſt, before you go away from us, whither you will go
when you have left us; and forfake not this Church, till you are ſure you
have found out a better, to join your felves to.
It was very reaſonably put by Joſhua to the Children of Iſrael, Foſh, xxiv.
IS, If it ſeems evil unto you to ſerve the Lord, chuſe you this Day
whom you will ſerve ; whether the Gods that your Fathers ſerved that
on the other Side of the Flood, or the Gods of the Amorites in
whoſe Land ye dwell: And it is no leſs reaſonable in this caſe. Some
Religion you muſt be of, or elſe you can have no Hope of Salvation ;
and whatſoever Religion you are of, it muſt needs be your Duty to
make a publick Profeſſion of it; ſo that if you forſake the Eſtabliſhed
Church, you muſt go to ſome other: Chuſe you then, before you for-
ſake the Religion and Communion that you were brought up in, chuſe
you, I ſay, what Religion you will be of, what Communion
you
adhere to.
Will you return back again into Egypt? or, in the Words of Joſhua,
will you ſerve the Gods that your Fathers ſerved, that were on the other
Side of the Flood? I mean, will you go over to the Church of Rome?
i. e. will you go to a Church that has moſt notoriouſly corrupted the Faith
of Chriſt? To a Church that takes away the Key of Knowledge from
her People, not ſuffering them to look into the Holy Scriptures, which
will
are
2
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation1067
.
.
are the Oracles of God, and the Words of Life? To a Church that has
enlarged her Creed to double that of the Apoſtles ; and enjoins as neceſſary
to Salvation, the Belief not only of the greateſt Falſities, but of the moſt
evident Contradictions: To a Church, whoſe publick Service is not under-
ſtood by her Members, and which makes her Children ſay Amen, to
they know not what? In fine; will you go to that Church, whoſe
Worſhip and Service you cannot join in, without being guilty of Ido-
latry!
What is there in this Church that can charm or tempt you to her Com-
munion, unleſs perhaps it be the very caſy Terms on which ſhe promiſes
you Salvation:
And this indeed is a reaſonable Inducement to ſuch as would fain go to
Heaven, and yet are reſolved not to part with their beloved Sins; but in a
Matter of ſuch great Importance to us, as this is, it is good to go upon
ſure Grounds, and not to try an Experiment, that, if it fails, will be fatal
to us.
Now, that Faith and Obedience will carry us to Heaven, is agreed on
all Hands; and the Scripture itſelf plainly aſſures us; but that any Thing
leſs will do it, we have no good Ground to believe. And particularly,
that Confeſſion, with the Prieſt's Abſolution, will do as well as a holy
Life; that thoſe that want good Works of their own, may for Money,
or by ſome Night Penances, purchaſe as much as they want, of thoſe who
abound in Merit : And that they who take little or no Care of themſelves-
while they live, may have ſufficient Care taken of them by their Friends,
when they are dead: Theſe are very comfortable Doctrines indeed, but they
are no where taught in Scripture, nor grounded upon Reaſon; they are
Doctrines, for the Truth of which we have only their Word, whoſe Gain
in teaching them is ſo evident, as may juitly render their Teſtimony
ſuſpected.
But without entring upon a particular Examination of them; this one
Thing alone is a ſufficient Prejudice againſt all ſuch eaſy Methods of Sal-
vation, by whomſoever propoſed ; that they are clearly contrary to that
Account which our bleſed Saviour, who is Truth itſelf, hath given us of
the Way to Heaven ; and to that Advice which he grounds thereupon,
Matth. vii. 13, 14. Enter ye in at the ſtrait Gate; for wide is the
Gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to Deſtruction, and many there
be that go in thereat : Becauſe ſtrait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way,
that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it.
Well then; if you will not go over to the Church of Rome; whither is it
that you will go when you leave us? Will you go and join your ſelves to any
of the ſeparate Aſſemblies here at home? But if ſo, to which of them will
ye go? For here is ſuch Variety of Ways at once offered to you, as is enough
perfectly to confound and diſtract you.
I have not Time now to tell you how many ſeveral Sects there are of
Diflenters from the Church, and much leſs to give you a juſt and complete
Character of them, that you may conſider which of them to chufe; but in
general they may be reduced to theſe four Sorts.
1. Some of theſe Sects there are, that have either no Creed, or no
Sacraments, or no Orders, or no Rule to guide them by, but the Light
within them; Will ye go to any of theſe? But if you do,
But if you do, can you
tell what Religion you ſhall be of, or whether you ſhall be of any
at all
2. Others of them there are, that poſitively deny the moſt fundamental
Articles of the Chriſtian Faith, as the Doctrine of the ever bleſſed Trinity,
the
1008
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
the Incarnation of the Son of God, the Satisfaction of our Saviour, and the
like; Will ye go to them? But if you do, this is to add Hereſy to your
Sehlſın, and to multiply your Iniquity.
3. Others again there are that teach ſuch Doctrines, as either directly, or
in their immediate Conſequences, give too great Encouragement to Vice,
by rendring a good Life unneceſſary : But I hope I have already mention-
ed a ſufficient Prejudice againſt all ſuch eaſy Religions, ſo that you will not
ſo much as once think of going to them.
4. Laſtly, others there are that profeſs the ſame Faith with the Church,
and are, as they themſelves ſay, of the ſame Religion that we are of; and
differ from us only in ſome external Modes and Rites of Worſhip. Will
you go over to there?
But why ſhould you make a Schiſm in the Church for nothing; only
becauſe her Rites and Ceremonies are not exa&tly ſuited to your Fancy?
Why ſhould you break the Unity of that Church whereof you are Mem-
bers, and with which you agrec in all the Eſſentials of Doctrine and Worſhip,
only for the Sake of two or threc harmleſs Ceremonies? which ſhe uſes in-
dced in her publick Worſhip for Decency and Order ſake; but which ſhe
cnjoins not as any Parts of Religion, or as Things neceſſary in themſelves,
and which being no where forbidden in Scripture, cannot, to be ſure, be
Rom. iv. 15. unlawful to be uſed ; for where there is no Law, there is no Tranſgreſſion.
If then the Sect you deſign to go to, be of the ſame Religion with the
Church that you leave, why ſhould you leave her, ſeeing by your own Con-
feſlion, ſhe has the Words of eternal Life, as well as they? And if ſhe has,
to what Purpoſe ſhould you go elſewhere?
Is it, firſt, for better Prayers that you go thither? That can hardly be;
however, it is what you cannot be ſure of, not knowing what their Prayers
will be, till you have hcard them.
Our Prayers indeed are known what they are; they are free to be read
and examined by all : You may, if you will, fatisfy yourſelves before you
join in them, that they are directed to the right Objcct of our Worſhip;
that they are compoſed of ſuch Petitions as are proper to be put up in pub-
and that they are grave and ſerious, and fitted to excite Devotion ;
whereas, if you go to the ſeparate Affemblies, you know not what God
you ſhall worſhip, at leaſt you know not with what you ſhall ſerve God
till you come thither; you are much like a Man that ſubſcribes a Paper or
Petition to his Prince without reading it.
Or, ſecondly, is it for better pieaching that you go thither? That is even
as it happens, and you may as eaſily be diſappointed in this, as in the other
Caſe.
And, without magnifying ouř ſelves too much, this I am ſure I may ſafely
ſay, that inany that have gône from their own Church, to a ſeparate Affem.
bly, to hear a better Sermon, have heard a worſe.
But however that be, ſo long as the Doctrine that is preached in both
Places, is the ſamé, as you grant it is, there cannot be ſo much Difference
in the Words and Phraſes wherein it is expreſſed, or in the Manner of its
Delivery, as will ſerve to juſtify a Schiſm.
And beſides, what the Apoſtle ſays, is moſt undoubtedly true, Pául may
plant, and Apollos may water, but it is God that giveth the Increaſe. If the
Seeds be both of the ſame intrinſick Goodneſs, as is now ſuppoſed, one
may be the more beautiful to the Eye than the other, but the only Things
on which their Fruitfulneſs will depend, are the Goodneſs of the Soil they
are ſown in, and the Bleſſing of Heaven: And the Grace of God, who is
the God of Peace and Order, may, I am ſure, be much more reaſonabış
expected
lick;
i Cor. iii.6,7.
2
The Unreaſonableneſs of Separation.
1,269
de
expected by thoſe that keep the Unity of the Church, and are regular and
orderly in their Stations, than by ſuch as ſeparate from the Eſtabliſh's Church,
whereof they are Members, only to gratify their itching Ears.
In a Word;- ſo long as our Prayers, are good, altho' it were ſuppoſed that
they are not the beſt; and ſo long as our preaching is ſound and orthodox,
altho' it be not altogether ſo taking as ſome other Men's may be ; and ſo long
as the Terms of our Communion are lawful, there can be no Reaſon, that can
juſtify your leaving us. For whither can you go to mnend your ſelves og why
fhould
you go away, from us at alt
; ſeeing we have the Words of etérnal Life
I conclude all therefore with thoſe Words of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. i. 10.
Now I beſeech you, Brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that
ye all speak the Same Thing, and that there be no Diviſions among you ; but
that ye be perfectly joined together in the same Mind, and in the ſame Judg-
ment.
Which God of his great Mercy grant we may all be, for the ſake of our
Lord Jeſus Chrift: To whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghoſt, bę all
Honour and Glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Gohanan
Vol. II.
6 B
DI S.
1070
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DISCOURSE XCVII.
T
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
Preached on the thirtieth of January.
(00000000000000000000000000000000000000000)
John IX. 3.
Feſus anſwered, Neither hath this Man finned, nor
his Parents; but that the Works of God ſhould
be made manifeſt in him.
T
melipianti di
We uuri
mill
HE Occaſion of theſe Words may be ſeen in the fore-
going Verſes: As Jeſus paſſed by, he ſaw a Man which
was blind from his Birth; and his Diſciples asked him,
Saying, Maſter, who did fin, this Man, or his Parents,
that he was born blind? Jeſus anſwered, Neither
hath this Man finned, &c.
For the right underſtanding of which Words of our
Saviour, we muſt firſt enquire into the Ground and
Meaning of the Diſciples Queſtion; Maſter, who did ſin, this Man, or his
Parents, that he was born blind?
And the Ground and Reaſon of their Queſtion ſeems to be an Opinion
which they had entertained, That the good and evil Things of this Life were
by the divine Providence always proportioned to Men according to their dif.
ferent Deſerts ; and particularly, that whenever God ſent upon any
Man
any
ſore and extraordinary Affliction, ſome great Offence, or extraordinary Pro-
vocation was always the Reaſon of it.
And this indeed is an Opinion that is too generally received in the World,
and is the Occaſion of thoſe raſh and uncharitable Cenſures, which People
are too apt to paſs upon others, from the Confideration of the evil Things
which they ſee do befall them in this Life.
They can hardly forbear thinking that Man a great Sinner, whom they ſee
very ſorely aiffleted, although they themſelves know nothing that he has done
amiſs; nor perhaps ever heard any Thing ill of him : But the Judgment
of God, they preſume, is right; and they take it for granted, that he would
not have inflicted ſuch a Puniſhment upon any Man, if he had not well de-
ferred it.
t.
So
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
1071
So the Inhabitants of the Iſland on which St. Paul was ſhipwrecked ar-
gued, with reſpect to him, when a Viper out of the Fire had faltned on
him; Atts xxviii. 4. When the Barbarians ſaw the venomous Beaſt hang on
his Hand, they ſaid among themſelves, No doubt this Man is a Murderer,
whom, though he hath eſcaped the Sea, yet Vengeance ſuffereth not to live.
And thus alſo the Diſciples ſeem to have thought, viz. that ſuch a great
Calamity as Blindneſs, would not have been ſent upon any Man, . but for
fome very great Fault; tho' what the Fault was, or where thc Fault lay, they
could not gueſs.
Had the Man been ſuddenly ſtruck with Blindneſs, they would have made
no Doubt but that it was a Judgment of God upon him, for fonie grcat
Crime that he himſelf had committed ; altho’they had not been able to name
the particular.
But his Caſe was extraordinary, for he was born blind; ſo that the Cala-
mity was ſent upon him before he could have done any Thing to deferve it;
and ſo what Account to give of this, they could not tell.
But they ſeem to have heard of the Opinion of the Pythagoreans, whiclı Grot, in Loc.
was embraced alſo by ſome among the Jews; who held that there is a
Tranſmigration of Souls from one Body to another; ſo that conſequently,
every Man that is born into the World, had a Pre-exiſtence in ſome former
State. And if this Opinion were true, they could not tell, but that this
Man's Blindneſs from his Birth might be a Puniſhment ſent upon him by
God, for his Mif-behaviour in that former State which he was in.
Or if not ſo; yet they remembred, that it was threatned in their own
Law, that God would ſometinies viſit the Sins of the Fathers upon their Chil-
dren: And ſo they could not tell but that this Blindneſs of the Child was
deſigned as a Puniſhment to his wicked Parents, and that the Sin of the Far
ther or Mother was hereby viſited on their Son.
One or the other of theſe, they took for granted, was the Cauſe of this
Man's Blindneſs, viz. that it was a Judgment of God upon him, either for
the Wickedneſs of his Parents, or elſe for ſome great Crime committed by
himſelf, in ſome State that his Soul had formerly becn in, before it was united
to this Body: And therefore thcy came to our Saviour to be reſolved which
of them it was. Maſter, ſay they, Who did ſin, this Man, or his Parents,
that he was born blind ?
In Anſwer to which Queſtion, our Saviour, wiſcly avoiding to ſatisfy their
Curioſity, in a Point that it was needleſs for them to know, viz. whether
the Soul has any Exiſtence, or is capable of contracting any Guilt, before it
conies into the Body; tells them, that they had miſ-ſtated the Caſe; that
the Queſtion ſhould not have been, Whether this Man's Blindneſs was a
Judgment or Puniſhment inflicted on him, for his own, or for his Parents
Sin? but, whether it was at all deſigned for a Puniſhment of Sin; or whe-
ther it was inflicted for ſome other Cauſe? for that the temporal Evils that
befall Men, are not always for Puniſhment, but are ſometimes deſigned for
quite other Purpoſes; and that this laſt was the Caſe of the Man they had
asked about. Jeſus anſwered, Neither hath this Man finned, nor his PB-
rents; that is, it is not any extraordinary Wickedneſs, either in this Man, or
his Parents, that was the Reaſon of his Blindneſs; but it was, that the Works
of God ſhould be made manifeſt in him.
The Meaning of which laft Clauſe, as ſpoken with a particular reſpect to
the blind Man, I take to be this; that he was therefore born blind, to give
Occaſion to our Saviour to exert and manifeſt his Power, in the miraculous
Cure of ſuch a Defect, or Imperfection, in the Body of this Man, as by any
natural Means or Remedies that could be uſed, was altogether incurable ;
and thereby to give an undeniable Proof, that he was endued with a divine
Power,
1072
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
Power, and conſequently that he was the Meſſiah. He was therefore born
blind, that the Power of our Saviour ſhould be manifeſted in him.
But as the Words may be gencrally underſtood, and applied to any other
Caſe of the like Nature, the Meaning is this; that when any temporal
. Evil
or Affliction befalls any. Man, which is not deſigned for a Puniſhment of his
Sin, and to make him an Example of the divine Vengeance, it is not how-
ever byi any Over-ſight or Careleſsneſs of Providence, that he is ſo afflicted;
but that there is always ſome other good and wiſe End of Providence de-
ſigned to be ſerved by it. Neither bath this Man ſinned, nor his Parents;
that is, they have not either of them ſo ſinned, as that he ſhould be born
blind, for a Puniſhment of his own or their Sin; but he was therefore born
blind, that the Works of God ſhould be made manifeſt in him.
From the Words thus explained, I ſhall take Occaſion, very bricfly, to
do theſe two Things:
1. To ſhew, that the temporal Evils which befall Men, are not always in-
fiicted upon them as Puniſhments for Sin.
II. To ſhew, what other wiſe Ends of Providence the temporal Evils and
Affli&ions that befall good Men, do ſerve for.
I. I ſhall ſhew, that the temporal Evils which befall Men, are not always
inficted upon them as Puniſhments for Sin: Neither hath this Man ſinned,
nor his Parents, that he ſhould be born blind; fays our Saviour.
And whiat was true in his Caſe, is undoubtedly true in a great many
others; and the holy Scripture it ſelf furniſhes us with ſeveral Examples of this
Kind : But that of Job being one of the moſt remarkable, I ſhall at pre-
ſent inſtance only in that.
Where, firſt of all, we may take Notice of the Character that is given of
him by the holy Spirit of God, Job i. 1. That Man was perfect and up-
right, and one that feared God, and eſchewed evil. So far was he from
being a greater Sinner than others, that on the contrary, there was none
upon Earth, at that Time, ſo good as he: Haft thou, ſays God himſelf,
conſidered my Servant Job, that there is none like him in the Earth? Job
i. 8. Certainly then, if any Man could ever merit to be exempted, even
from the common Miſeries and Calamities of human Life, it was he. And
yet it pleaſed God to order it quite otherwiſe: And in him that Obſer .
Eccl. viii. 14. vation of the
vation of the Wiſe Man was ſtrictly verified, That there be juſt Men,
unto whom it happeneth according to the Work of the Wicked.
For if, in the next Place, we take Notice of the Afflictions which befell
this good Man, I believe we may truly ſay, that there is no Example of
any the greateſt Sinner that ever lived, that was ſo hardly dealt by, as he
was.
Sometimes indeed, a mighty Oppreſſor is forced to diſgorge his ill
gotten
Wealth, and is on a ſudden, from the greateſt Plenty, reduced to the moſt
miſerable Want. Sometimes again, a notorious Sinner, who eſcapes in his
own Perſon, is very ſeverely puniſhed in his Children ; and has his Puni'hment
multiplied, by enduring, in the Miſery of every one of them, whom he
loves as himſelf, as much Pain and Torment, as he would do if the Cala-
mity that befell them had befallen himſelf. And again, the Puniſhments
that are inflicted upon Men in this Life by the divine Providence, are com-
monly fingle, either miſerable Want and Poverty, or ſome painful Sickneſs
or noiſom Diſeaſe, or perhaps a violent or untimely Death. And when any
of theſe Evils befalls any Man, we can ſcarcely forbear crying out, A Judg-
ment! a Judgment! Surely this Man was a great Sinner, or elſe he would not
have been ſo africted!
+
What
God's Deſign in affli&ting good Men.
1073
ز
What then ſhould we have thought of a Man, in whom all theſe Miſeries
and Afflictions were united, as they were in yob? Who was, one Day, the Job i. 3.
greateſt of all the Men of the Eaſt, having ſeven thouſand Sheep, and three
thouſand Camels, and five hundred Toke of Oxen, and five hundred She-
Afes, and a very great Houſhold; and the next Day was bereft of all his Ver. 21.
Subſtance, and left as naked as he came out of his Mother's Womb; who was Ver. 2, 4,5.
one Day bleſſed with ten hopeful Children, who were very obedient to their
Father, and very loving to one another; and the next Day, was deprived of
them all at once, and that too by a violent Death, by the Fall of an Houſe Ver. 19.
upon their Heads.
And it added not a little to the Greatneſs of thicfe Af-
flictions, that they came all upon him ſuddenly, when no ſuch Evils were
foreſeen, or could reaſonably be feared ; and that they happened all at the ſame
Time; the Meſſenger of one ill Piece of News having ſcarcely told his Tale, Ver.16,17,18;
before he was ſucceeded by another, the Meſſenger of a worſe.
But hitherto he had ſuffered only in his Eſtate, and in his Children ; but
it was not long, before he was brought to ſuffer likewiſe in his own Perſon;
and that too in the worſt Manner that the Devil himſelf could deviſe ; . in Chap. li. 6.
fuch a Manner, as perhaps no other Man, either before or fince, hath ever
fuffered; being ſmitten all over with fore Boils, from the Sole of his Foot Ver. 6, 76
unto his Crown, ſo that he had not one found Part in his whole Body-
And who would not have thought this evil, eſpecially when added to all
the others afore-mentioned, a ſufficient Indication of God's high Diſpleaſure
againſt him? Who that had ſeen ſuch a miſerable Object as he then was,
would not have concluded, as his Friends then did, that all theſe Calamities Ch. iv. 7, &bc.
were certain Expreſſions, and ſure Tokens, of God's ſevereſt Vengeance upon vi'n. 394. xi, .
him, for ſome great and crying Sins, well known to God, altho' concealed
from the World
It is true indeed, all this while his own Life was ſpared; the Devil had no Ch. ii. 6.
Permiſſion from God to touch that; and he was not, as ſome notorious
Sinners ſometimes are, taken off by an untimely Death. But his Affiliation
was not the leſs, but much the greater for this. For though an untimely
Death, to ſuch as live in Eaſe, and Plenty, and Proſperity, and Sin, may be
juſtly reckoned a Misfortune ; yet moſt certainly, to ſuch as are good Men,
and yet are in extreme Want, or Pain, or Miſery, it is a great Happineſs to
be delivered out of their fad and wretched State, tho it be by Death. And
ſo this good Man thought it would have been to him, and therefore, as pa-
tient as he was, could not forbear curſing the Day wherein he was born to
endure ſuch Miſery, and heartily wiſhing for Death to put an End to it.
Wherefore, ſays he, is Light given to him that is in Miſery; and Life unto
the bitter in Soul ? which long for Death, but it cometh not; and dig for
it more than for hid Treaſures; which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when
they can find the Grave. Job iii. 20, 21, 22.
Thus
you
ſee, that all thoſe Miſeries and Calamities of Life, which when
they ſingly befall Men, are ſometimes Acts and Expreſſions of the divine
Vengeance upon them, for ſome great and crying Sins, did all together befall
this good Man; of whom yet, in the midſt of his Calamity, God himſelf
gives this excellent Character, Job ii. 3. And the Lord ſaid unto Satan, haft
thou conſidered my Servant Job, that there is none like him in the Earth, a
perfect and an upright Man, one that feareth God, and eſcheweth Evil?
And ſtill he holdeth faſt his Integrity, although thou movedſi me againſt him,
to deſtroy him without a Cauſe.
And this one Example alonc, is, I think, a ſufficient Proof of the firſt
Point I was to ſpeak to; which was to ſhew, that the temporal Evi:s which
befall Men, are not always inflicted upon them as Puniſhments for sin.
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Vol. II.
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1074
God's Defign in afflicting good Men.
25.
But the Day we are here met together upon, may likewiſe furniſh us with
another great Example of it, in our late gracious Sovereign King CHARLES I.
And we ſhould be injurious to his Memory, if we ſhould not, now at this
Time, briefly reflect thereupon. Of whom we may ſay; as was ſaid of Job,
That he was a perfect and upright Man, one that feared God, and eſchewed
Evil; for even his greateſt Enemies, his wicked Murtherers, could not
charge him with any Vice or Immorality; nor even with any Frailty or In-
firmity, but ſuch as might be conſiſtent with Integrity of Heart and Mind:
And of whom, if we conſider him as a King, we may, I think, truly ſay,
(for what Profit can there be in flattering the Dead ? eſpecially one, whom
a great many now adays make it their Buſineſs, and, I ſuppoſe, hope to find
their Intereſt in it, to blacken and defame) as was ſaid of good King Joſiah;
, 2 Kings xxiii. Like unto him, was there no King before him: May there after him, ariſe
many like him.
A King, that could not, by the Softneſs of his Education, nor by the Eaſe
and Plenty of a Court, nor by the many bad Examples that were ever be-
fore his Eyes, of thoſe who had greater Reſtraints upon them than he had,
be tempted to any Luxury, or Exceſs, or Extravagance in his Way of
Living.
A King, whom the Pleaſures of Senſe, of which he had, or might have
had, as great a Share as any, could not make in Love with Pleaſure, or
fond of this World ; and whom the Multitude of Cares and Buſineſs that
attend a Crown could not make to neglect or omit his conſtant Exerciſe of
Devotion.
A King, that naturally cared for his Subjects, and pitied them as a Father
does his Children; that readily condeſcended to any Thing that he thought
was for their Good; and would have granted more than he did to them, if
he could have done it without betraying the Rights of the Crown, where-
with he was entruſted ; and, which he valued more, the Intereſt of Religion.
And indeed, rather than do either of theſe, he was contented to loſe, not
only his Crown from off his Head, but his Head too.
Such was the Saint of the Day, whoſe Memory we now celebrate, and
whoſe Death we lament. A Sinner indeed we cannot deny him to be, in
the ſame Senſe in which the Scripture ſays that all Men are Sinners ; and that
there is not a juſt Man upon Earth, that doeth Good, and ſinneth not : But
excepting only the Weakneſſes of human Nature, and ſuch Slips and Infir-
mities as the beſt of Men are liable to, we may truly ſay of him, as was
2 King. xxii.2. likewiſe ſaid of Joſiah, that He did that which was right in the Sight of
the Lord, and turned not aſide, to the right Hand, or to the left.
And yet to this juſt Man it hapned according to the Work of the Wic-
ked; or rather, much worſe. For though there have been many cruel
Tyrants, and bloody Perſecutors, and Monſters of Wickedneſs, which have
been made Examples to the World of the divine Vengeance; yet hardly
hath it hapned even to the worſt of them, ſo ill as it did to this the beſt of
Kings, and the beſt of Men.
They have indeed, ſome of them, been over-powered by ſome neighbour-
ing Prince, diſplaced from their Government, and driven into Exile; and
they have, others of them, been riſen up againſt by their own oppreſſed Sub-
jects, and either ſlain in Battel, or elſe, being overcome, they have been de-
poſed from their kingly Power, ſhut up in Priſon, and ſecretly murthered ;
the juſt and wiſe Providence of God fo permitting it to be: But in all Hif-
tory, I believe there is no Example parallel to this in every Reſpect, ſcarcely
any like it; that a Sovereign King, even while he was owned a King, ſhould
have an Army of his Subjects levied in his Name, and, as it was pretended,
by his Authority, againſt his Perſon; that they that endeayoured to depoſe
Rom. jii, 23.
Eccl. vii. 20.
and
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
1075
and kill him, ſhould yet give out, that they were fighting for him ; and that,
when they had got him into their Power, they ſhould ſet up a Court of
Judicature upon him, compoſed out of his own Subjects, who had ſworn
Allegiance to him; that there they ſhould formally arraign and try him,
againſt whom only Treaſon could be committed, for the Crime of High Trea-
ſon; and that at laſt they ſhould proceed ſo far in their hypocritical Impiery,
as to paſs Sentence of Death on him, from whom only the Judges of Life
and Death could legally derive their Power; and to execute, as à villanous
Malefactor, the Father of their Country, their rightful Lord and Sovereign.
The Evils that he ſuffered, conſidered in themſelves, were as great as could
well be endured; but the Manner in which they were inflicted, and the Per-
ſons from whom he ſuffered them, were highly aggravating Ingredients in
his Affliction ; ſo that all Things conſidered, perhaps no Man, our Lord and
Saviour only excepted, did ever ſuffer more.
And now, from theſe two great and notable Examples, I hope we are
ſufficiently convinced, that the temporal Afflictions which befall Men, are not
always certain Tokens of God's Diſpleaſure ; nor always deſigned for the Pu-
niſhment of their Sin upon whom they are ſent.
And what we ſhould learn from the Confideration of this point, is, to
beware how we paſs a Judgment upon any Man, from what befalls him in
this Life; becauſe ſuch Judgment, if it be not falſe, is, at the beſt, raſh and
uncertain ; and we cannot, as the wiſe Man ſays, know Love or Hatred by
Ecclel. ix. 1,2
all that is before us; for all Things come alike to all, and there is one E
vent to the Righteous and to the Wicked. And though nothing comes to
paſs by Chance, and no Evil of any kind ever befalls any Man, but by the
Deſignation of the divine Providence; yet the very ſame Event, which to
one Man is an Expreſſion of God's Anger, to another Man may be an In-
ftance and Token of his Kindneſs; and therefore, when we cannot certainly
tell which it is, Charity obliges us to believe the beſt.
And this leads me to the ſecond Thing propounded; which was,
II. To ſhew what other wiſe Ends of Providence are ſerved by the tem-
poral Evils and Afflictions which befall Men. Neither hath this Man fin-
ned, nor his Parents, that he was born blind, but that the Works of God
hould be made manifeſt in him.
And what was ſaid of this Man's Blindneſs, is as true of any other worldly
Evil that at any Time befalls any Man; if it be not intended for Puniſh-
ment, as it is not always, there are ſome other Works of God that may be
manifeſted thereby ; ſome other wife Ends of Providence that it is deſigned
for
But in diſcourſing on this Head, it would be great Preſumption to pretend
to mention all the Ends of Providence, in any of its Diſpenſations ; ſeeing
the Righteouſneſs of God is like the great Mountains, and his Judgments Pfal. xxxvi. 6.
are a great Deep, and his Ways paſt finding out. Nevertheleſs
, there are Rom. xi. 33:
two Ends of Providence which are general; and which, I believe, we may
ſay, are always deſigned in all the Afflictions of good Men, beſides others
which may be ſpecial, and peculiar to fome Caſes, or which we may not
have Wiſdom enough to diſcern; viz. 1. The ſpiritual Improvement of the
Perſons afflicted, whereby they will be entitled to a greater Reward in Hea-
ven: And, 2. The Benefit of others, who beholding their good Example,
may be thereby both directed and encouraged in the Practice of thoſe Vir-
tuts which are proper to an afflicted State.
1. One End of Providence, in ſending Affiliations upon good Men, is for
their ſpiritual Improvement in Grace and Virtue, whereby they will be en.
titled to a greater Reward in the other World. For there is no Man ſo
good,
3
:
1976 God's Dehgn in afflicting good Men.
1
1
Difficult
good, but he may be made better; and there is no one State of Life, in which
there is Opportunity of." exerciſing all Virtues; and therefore, tho' a Man be
as perfect as any Man can bc, in that State wherein he now is; yer if he be
called to another State, and hath Trial made of him another Way, he may,
and if he acquits himſelf well, he will thereby be rendred more perfect.
And accordingly, it is obſerved by the Apoſtle, Heb. ii. 10. that even our
bleſſed Lord and Saviour himſelf was made perfect through Sufferings; and
Heb. V. 8. that though he were a Son, yet he learned Obedience by the Things
which he ſuffered: And that this fame is the Deſign of God in the Chaſtile-
ment and Correction of all his Sons, we are told by the fame Apoſtle, Heb.
xii. 10, II. He chaſtneth us for our Profit, that we might be Partakers of
his Holineſs. And though no Chaſtning for the preſent, ſeemeth to be joyous,
but grievous; nevertheleſs afterward it yieldeth the peaceable Fruit of Righ-
teouſneſs unto them which are exerciſed thereby.
And upon this Account the holy Pſalmiſt thankfully acknowledges the
Kindneſs of God, in laying Affli&ions upon him, Pſal. cxix. 71. It is good
for me that I have been afflicted'; that I might learn thy Statutes. And
Jam. i. 2, 3, 4. the Apoſtle exhorts us, to count it all Joy, when we fall into diverſe Tem-
ptations; knowing this, that the trying of our Faith worketh Patience : And
let Patience, ſays he, have her perfect Work, that ye may be perfect and en-
tire, wanting nothing.
So that to what was ſaid before, that temporal Adverſities and Affli&tions
are not always. Marks of God's Diſpleaſure, we may now add this; that
when they befåll good Men, they are Tokens and Expreſſions of his Kind-
neſs. He 'means thereby to make them more perfect in Holineſs, that ſo
they may be capable of a more perfect Happineſs; theſe light Afflictions
which are but for a Moment, working for them a far more exceeding and
eternal Weight of Glory; as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 2 Cor. iv. 17. For the more
they are tried, the more they will be refined and purified. And the greater
conquer them, their Victory will be ſo much the greater, when they over-
come; and their Crown will be ſo much the more glorious.
And therefore our Saviour pronounces a Bleſſedneſs to ſuch as are reviled
and perſecuted; and commands his Diſciples rather to rejoice, than to be caſt
down, when ſuch Things happen to them, Matth. v. 10, 11, 12. Bleſſed are
they which are perſecuted for Righteouſneſs ſake; for theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven. Bleſſed are yé, when Men ſhall revile you, and perſecute you.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your Reward in Heaven.
And that this was one End and Deſign of Providence in the Afflictions of
our late martyred Sovereign King CHARLES the Firſt, cannot be doubted,
by thoſe who reflect upon his Carriage and Deportment under his Afflic-
tions.
An excellent Man indeed he was before: But nevertheleſs we may truly
affirm, that he was much improved and bettered by his Sufferings. And of
his profiting under them, all they were Witneſſes, not only his Servants, his
Chaplains, his Friends, but even his Enemies, who attended him in his Re-
*. Eszlav Boots (traints, and have given Teſtimony to the World of his Piety, and Meekneſs,
motor, Tieport and Patience, and Charity. And that excellent Book * compoſed by him-
Sacred Majeſty, ſelf, in the Time of his Diſtreſſes, will, I ſuppoſe, be an everlaſting Evidence
in bis Solitudes thereof to after Ages, notwithſtanding the Endeavours that have been for-
† Life of John merly uſed by ſome to prove it ſpurious; and the Confidence of a late f Au-
Milton, printed thor afferting it to be to, without either producing any new Evidence for
|| Vindication of the Proof of his Affertion; or offering one Word in Anſwer to thoſe I juſt
K. Charles the and rational Exceptions that had been made before, to thoſe only Teſtimo-
Martyr, &c. 24 monies which he infifts upon, to prove it a Forgery; or making any Excepti-
+
.
ditions, 1697
ONS
God's Deſign in affliling good Men.
1077
ons to thoſe later Evidences that have been produced to prove it authen-
tick.
But, to uſe his own Phraſe, we may ceaſe to wonder, that he ſhould have the
Boldneſs, without Proof, and againſt Proof, to deny the Authority of this
Book, who is ſuch an Infidel as to doubt, and is ſhameleſs and impudent
enough, even in Print, and in a Chriſtian Country, publickly to affront our Life of J. Mil-
holy Religion, by declaring his Doubt, That ſeveral Pieces under the Name ton, P.91, 92.
of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, he muſt mean thoſe now received by the whole
Chriſtian Church, for I know of no other, are ſuppoſititious; although through
the Remoteneſs of thoſe Ages, the Death of the Perſons concerned, and the
Decay of other Monuments which might give us true Information, the Spuri-
ouſneſs thereof is yet undiſcovered.
And it is much to be feared that all your pious Deſigns and Endeavours
to ſuppreſs Vice and Immorality, for which, if they ſucceed according to the
Hopes of all good Men, you will highly deſerve the Bleſſing, not only of
the preſent Age, but of all Pofterity too, which will inherit a Bleſſing by
your means ; it is, I ſay, much to be feared, that theſe your pious Deſigns
and Endeavours will not have altogether ſo good an Effect as might be wiſhed;
ſo long as the Foundation of all revealed Religion is ſo openly ſtruck at,
and the publick Records and Evidences of our Chriſtianity, are, without Con-
troll or Cenſure, ſuffered to be called in Queſtion. For if any of the Pieces,
as he calls them, under the Name of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, which are re-
ceived by the whole Chriſtian Church, as Portions of divine Revelation, are
Spurious and ſuppoſititious; who can tell but that thoſe which forbid Swcar-
ing, and Drunkenneſs, and Fornication, and Adultery, and other abomina-
ble Lufts not fit to be named, are ſo, as well as thoſe, which I ſuppoſe this
Author chiefly aims at, which deliver to us the Doctrine of the Trinity, and
other Articles of our Chriſtian Faith? And therefore ſecing the heavenly Doc-
trincs, and the pure and perfect Precepts of Chriſtianity are both built upon
the ſame Foundation of the Prophets and Apoſtles, Jeſus Chriſt himſelf being
ühe chief Corner Stone; if this Foundation be pecked at, and undermined,
and ſo weakned, that one Part of the Building falls to the Ground, I doubt
it will be impoſſible, by any Art, to uphold the other. But to return to 'my
Subject.
2. Another End of God's Providence in ſending Afiations upon good
Men, is, for the Benefit of others; who beholding their good Example, may
be thereby both directed and encouraged in the Practice of thoſe Virtues
which are proper to an afflicted State.
This was probably the Reaſon of Job's Affiliations; this moſt certainly was
one Reaſon why the Hiſtory thereof, and of his Behaviour under them, is
recorded in the holy Scripture; that by his Example others might be incited
to the like Patience and Submiſſion to the divine Will, under all the Adver-
ſities of this Life.
Nay, this was, in Part, the Deſign even of our Saviour's Sufferings, as we
are told by St. Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 21. Chriſt alſo ſuffered for us, leaving us an
Example, that ye ſhould follow his Steps.
And therefore this alſo, we may reaſonably think, was one End and De-
ſign of Providence, in the Afflictions of our late martyred Sovereign, whoſe
Memory we this Day celebrate.
For to excite Men to the Practice of difficult Virtues, there is Need, not
only of Precept to direct, and of Promiſe to ſtir up their Endeavours; but
likewiſe of Example, to ſhew them that the Duties commanded them are not
impracticable ; and thereby to encourage them to do their utmoſt, in an Af-
ſurance that their Labour ſhall not be in vain.
1
Vol. II.
6 D
And
1078
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
ز
t
And the Examples of Kings and great Perſons bcing generally the moſt ta-
ken Notice of, and alſo, upon other Accounts, more influential than thc Ex-
amples of meaner Men ; it was agreeable to the Goodneſs of God, and the
Wiſdom of Providence, to chuſe him out for this Purpoſe, that he might be
an excellent Example to his own, and to all ſucceeding Ages, of all the
Graces and Virtues, that are proper to almoſt every State and Condition
of Life that Men can be in; and to this End, it was expedient that God
ſhould expoſe him to diverſe Temptations, and put him upon almoſt every
Kind of Trial : In all which he acquitted himſelf bravely, like a Man, and
like a Chriſtian.
For in his Proſperity he was not high-minded; he did not truſt in uncer-
tain Riches; he did not forget God; he did not deſpiſe the Poor; he was
guilty of no Exceſs in the Uſe of ſenſual Pleaſures. So that in him, amidſt
the Glories of a Crown, and the Splendor and Plenty of a Court, you might
have ſeen all that Humility, that Temperance, that Chaſtity, that Contempt
of the World, that Mortification and Self-denial, and that ſtrict and regular
Piety and Devotion, which might be expected, but is not always found, even
in a religious Cloiſter.
And
yet in his Adverſity, when it pleaſed God to make Trial of him that
Way, he was no leſs an eminent Example of all the Virtues and Graces that
are proper to that State. Indeed, had he been always bred up in the School
of Adverſity, he could not have born his Afflictions better than he did. And
this Conſideration adds very much to the Excellence of his Example; becauſe
his AMictions, as they were very grievous in themſelves, ſo they were alſo
highly aggravated by their ſucceeding to a State of the greateſt Plenty and
Proſperity. For it is no ſuch great Matter for a poor Man to be contented,
if he was always poor, and was bred up hardly from the Beginning; nor is it
ſo much Commendation to a Man to bear any Affliction patiently, after he
hath been a long while uſed to it: But the greateſt Trial of a Man's Virtue,
is in bearing well a great Change of his Condition for the worſe; and
when from Plenty he is reduced to Want, from great Proſperity to miſerable
Adverſity, from the higheſt Honour to the vileſ Diſgrace; if then he ac-
quits himſelf well, and bears this great Change of his Fortune with Meekneſs
and Equanimity, he becomes an excellent Pattern to the World, of the moſt
difficult and heroick Virtues.
Such therefore was that Prince whoſe Memory we now celebrate; who
was exactly the ſame in all Conditions; and ſhewed himſelf, even at the firſt
Trial, a perfect Maſter of all thoſe Virtues which are ſuitable to an afflicted
State, which others can ſcarcely learn after they have been long in it. Such
was his Piety, that in every Thing that happened to him, he meekly reſigned
himſelf to the divine Will, and chearfully ſubmitted to whatever God was
pleaſed to ļay upon him, in a firm Belief that what God ordered was beſt.
And ſuch was his Charity, that he freely forgave the rude Inſolencies and
Affronts of his own Subjects; even of thoſe who had been in a particular
Manner highly obliged by him: And he not only forgave them himſelf, but
prayed earneſtly to God, to forgive them too.
And this humble and dutiful Behaviour towards God, under the ſevereſt
Trials, and this Charitable and Chriſtian Behaviour towards Men, under the
greateſt Provocations to Anger and Revenge, fully juſtified his Integrity, and
perfected his Example; ſo that now, from the various Accidents both of
Proſperity and Adverſity, which befell him, and his Behaviour under them,
all Men, in all Eſtates, may be inſtructed in the Duties of their Condition ;
and by the Pattern of ſuch a great King, and ſuch an excellent Man, may be
encouraged to the Practice thereof. And if it had not happened to this juſt
Man according to the work of the Wicked, we ſhould have wanted one
of
+
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
1079
-
{
.
of the inolt cxcellent Examples of Piety and Virtue that ever the World
produced.
And upon theſe Grounds, I ſuppoſe, it is, that the Church always celebrates
the Memory of Martyrs with Joy and Gladneſs ; niay, and keeps even the
Days of their Martyrdom, as Feſtivals, not as Faſts; as Days of Rejoicing,
not of Mourning, viz. partly, becauſe of the great Advantage which the
Church reaps from the Inſtruction and Encouragement of their Examples, who
have ſuffered for the Truth's fake; and partly, becauſe thoſe Days on which
they ſuffered the worſt of Deaths, were even to them 'themiſelyes, the beſt
Days of their wholc Life; the Days which did put a Period to all their
Miſeries, and give them Admittance to everlaſting Joys. And therefore the
ancient Church, called them not the Days of their Death or Martyrdom, but
their Birth-Days; becauſe they were then delivered out of an evil and
troubleſome World, and born again unto a new and endleſs Life of unſpeak-
able Felicity; ſo that to them the Day of their Death was, in Truth, much Ecclef, vii. í.
better than the Day of their Birth.
And upon both theſe Accounts, we alſo might very well celebrate this
Day of the Martyrdom of our late pious and gracious Sovereign King
CHARLES I. as his Birth-Day, and keep it as one of our higheſt Feſtivals,
had he fallen, as the ancient Martyrs did, by the Hands of Infidels, or Strangers ;
or by any other Hands than our own. But this is our Unhappineſs, and in-
deed a moſt juft Cauſe of the bittereft Grief, and deepeſt Humiliation to us ;
that we can never think of his exemplary Piety and Goodneſs, without, at
the fame Time, reflecting upon our own great Wickedneſs; and that the more
we admire his Virtues, the more we muſt condemn oar ſelves, throʻ whoſe
Iniquity it thus happened to him.
For though the Juſtice of God may be eaſily cleared and vindicated in
ſuffering the beſt of Men to be grievouſly afflicted, to be reviled and perſe-
cuted, and even to be barbarouſly murthered, by the Hands of the Wicked;
though, I ſay, theſe Diſpenſations of Providence, ſo far as they are the Acts
of Providence, are both juſt in themſelves, and ordained to wiſe and good
Ends; this will by no means ſerve to excuſe thoſe wicked Men, who are
the Means and Inſtruments of the Amictions of the Righteous; becauſe eve-
ry Act is to be judged of by it ſelf, and not by the Effects which may fol-
low from it, but are not the natural Conſequences thereof. And if we may
not do Evil, that Good may come ; and our Damnation is juſt, if we do
that which is evit, tho' we deſign Good by it ; as the Apoſtle teaches, Rom.
iii. 8. much leſs may we allow our ſelves to do Evil, only becauſe God can
bring Good out of it; and much more will our Damnation be juſt, if we do
Evil with an evil Deſign, altho' God can turn our Injury into Good, to them
to whom we meant it for Evil, or may otherwiſe ſo order it, that it ſhall
produce very beneficial Effects to Mankind.
For who can think that the Perfecutors of the Apoſtles and firſt Chriſtians
were the leſs to Blanie, becauſe God in his Wiſdom ſo contrived it, that the
Blood of the Martyrs became the Seed of the Church, and the moſt effectu-
al Means of ſpreading Chriſtianity in the World? Or who will go about to
excuſe from the greateſt Sin that ever was committed, the Betrayers and Mur-
therers of our Lord, becauſe what they did, was what God himſelf had fore-Acts ii, 23.
ordained for the accompliſhing the Redemption of Mankind ?
And therefore, by the ſame Reaſon, althothe Sufferings of our late
martyred Sovereign did, without all Doubt, conduce much to his own ſpiri-
tual Advantage, and to the increaſing the Glory of his celeſtial Crown: And
he, by his pious Deportment under them, became an excellent Example to
all others who are, or ſhall be called to the like Sufferings; and while we con-
ſider theſe Advantages thereof, both to him and us, we may juſtly comme-
3
iv. 28.
morate
1080
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
C. 30.
1
morate the ſame with Joy and Thankfulneſs; and might reaſonably keep this
as we do the Days of other Saints with Feaſting and Rejoycing; yet when we
conſider, on the other Hand, who were the Means and Inſtruments of his Af-
fiations; this opens quite another Scene, and brings a black Cloud upon this
moſt glorious Day, and juſtifies the Wiſdom of that Authority which has
commanded us to keep it in a quite different Manner, even with Weeping,
and with Faſting, and with Mourning; becauſe there is no Way to ex-
piate a national Guilt, but by a national Repentance. For tho' it may cha-
ritably be believed, nay, tho' it be certainly true, that there was not an actual
Conſent of all the People, perhaps not of an hundredth Part of the People,
even of that Generation, to this Act of great Wickedneſs and horrid Barba-
Stat. 12 Car.II. rity, By which the Proteſtant Religion hath received the greateſt Wound
and Reproach, and the People of England the moſt inſupportable Shame and
Infamy ; yet when it is conſidered, that it was done by thoſe, who had
then, by the Help and Aſliſtance of better meaning Men, attained to an
uncontrollable Power, and that it was done under the Name and Authority
of a Parliament; though the Party which called themſelves ſo, and which
paſſed the Ordinance for erecting that prodigious and unheard of Tribunal,
which they called, An High Court of Juſtice, for Tryal of His Majeſty,
were not a tenth Part of the whole ; and when it is farther conſidered,
that a great many of thoſe, who did not give an actual Conſent thereto by
their Voices, gave too great a Conſent thereto by their Silence, and by their
not endeavouring in Time to hinder it; the whole Nation, I fear, can hardly
be thoughit guiltleſs.
Nay, and even we alſo who live now, ſo many Years after the Act is
donc, may yet be juſtly thought to give too great a Conſent to it, and to
be, in ſome Sort, Partakers with our Fathers, in the Guilt of ſhedding this
righteous Blood; if we can ſpeak of this villainous Act, or of the Prepara-
tions to it, without Abhorrence: Nay more, if we do not heartily gricve
and mourn at the Remembrance thereof. For if you look into Ezek. ix. 4,
5,6. you will ſee that even in the Judgment of God himſelf, they which do
not mourn for the Sins of others, and eſpecially for the publick Abomina-
tions that are done in the midſt of the City or Nation to which they belong,
are Partakers therein.
And beſides, it may be alſo conſidered ; that tho'we, who live now, were
not any of us of the Number of thoſe that were actually concerned in this
villainous Ad, of murthering the Lord's Anointed; being perhaps not then
born, or not of competent Age to be concerned in ſuch Matters; yet it is
an uſual Thing with God, and what he has expreſſly threatned, to viſit the
Exod. xxxiv.7. Sins of the Fathers upon the Children, and upon the Childrens Children, un-
to the third, and to the fourth Generation, And if he ſometimes does this,
for private and perſonal Sins; much more, may we reaſonably think, he of-
ten does the ſame, for ſuch Sins as are publick and national ; becauſe tho '
one Generation paſſes away, and another comes, the Nation never dies; the
Nation is ſtill the ſame in this Age, that it was in the laſt, and will be the
ſame in the next.
And this Threatning of God, I think, has been in ſome Meaſure verified
upon us.
For we have already felt many Stroaks of the divine Vengeance,
as we have great Reaſon to believe, upon this very Account. It is reaſon-
able, I ſay, to think this, becauſe ſome of the Judgments which have bc-
fallen us fince, have been the natural Effects and Products of this Day's
Wickedneſs; for ſuch, I think, we muſt all allow to be, thoſe many Years
of Anarchy and Confuſion which immediately ſucceeded this bloody Tra-
gedy; and alſo, to name no more, thoſe diſmal Fears and Apprehenſions
that we have ſince been in of Popery and arbitrary Power; occaſioned, in
great
2
God's Deſign in afflicting good Men.
1081
great Meaſure, by the Expulſion of the royal Seed and their Education in a
foreign Country and Religion.
That theſe will be the laſt Expreſſions of God's Anger againſt us for this
great Sin, we hope ; but at the fame Time, we have much greater Reaſon
to fear they will not, ſo long as the ſame Wickednelles do abound which
have drawn down thoſe many heavy Judgments of God upon us, which we
have already felt; and we can have no reaſonable Aſſurance that we ſhall noc
be puniſhed yet ſeven times more for our Iniquitics, unleſs now by a ſin-
cere Repentance, and a thorough Reformation of our Lives, and an unfeigned
Humiliation of our Souls, and an utter Deteſtation of all ſuch villainous Prac-
tices for the future, we endeavour to appeaſe the Anger of God, and to move
him to Compaſſion towards us.
This then let us do ; and then let us pray, as we are taught in our Litany,
and we may reaſonably hope God will hear our Prayer : Remember not, Lord,
our Offences, nor the Offences of our Fore-fathers; neither take thou Venge.
ance of our Sins : Sparë us, good Lord, pare thy People, whom thou haft
redeemed with thy' precious Blood; and be not angry with us for ever.
Amen.
1
5
Vol. II.
6 E
DI S.
1082
DISCOURSE XCVIII.
St. Paul and St. James reconciled. .
A Commencement Sermon.
Free
JAMES II. 24
Te ſee then how that by Works a Man is juſtified, ,
and not by Faith only.
Dantel
F it was an uſual Thing to take two Texts to a Sermon,
I would ſubjoin to the Words, which I have now read
to you, thoſe in Rom. iii. 28. or ſome other Text out of
ſonie of St. Paul's Epiſtles to the ſame Purpoſe, There-
fore we conclude that a Man is juſtified by Faith; and I
would read them both together, as the Theme or Subject
whereon I intend to diſcourſe at this Time.
For this is indeed my preſent Deſign ; not to handle
theſe Words of St. James by themſelves, that is, as laying down a Notion
of Juſtification, to Appearance contrary to what St. Paul teaches in that
other Text : But to thew that St. Paul and St. James, tho' they differ in
Words and Expreſſions, do yet really both teach the ſame Doctrine; that
neither doth St. Paul, in excluding Works from having any Thing to do
in our Juſtification, mean to exclude fich Works as St. James here declares
to be neceſſary; neither on the other Side doth St. James, in aſſerting the
Neceſſity of good Works together with Faith, and as the Effects of it,
mean to attribute more to them than St. Paul does.
But before I proceed to fhew how theſe two Apoſtles may, as I think,
be fairly reconciled, it may not be amiſs to premiſe this one Thing, viz.
That if that Solution of this Difficulty, which I ſhall by and by propoſe,
ſhould not ſeem clear and ſatisfactory, and if we could not think of any o-
ther Way whereby theſe two divine Writers might, to our Apprehenſion,
be reconciled together, and made to ſpeak the ſame Thing; it would never-
theleſs, in that Caſe, be reaſonable to fick to the Words of St. James,
in their ſtrict and moſt natural Signification, and to ſuppoſc that St. Paul
is to be interpreted by him, rather than he by St. Paul; and conſe-
quently to take for granted, that the Doctrine, which we are here taught
in expreſs Words by St. James, viz. that works are neceſſary as well as
Faith, to render us ſuch as God will approve of and juſtify at the laſt
Day,
2
you
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1083
Day, is undoubtedly true; altho' we could not tell, which Way St. Paul's
Words might be fairly interpreted in the ſame Senſe. This, I ſay, appears
reaſonable upon ſeveral Accounts.
As namely,
1. Becauſe we have an expreſs Teſtimony of Scripture, that in St. Paul's
2 Pet.iii, 16.
Writings there are ſome Things hard to be underſtood, which they that are
unlearned and unſtable wreſt to their own Deſtruction. And it is probable
that thoſe Places wherein he treats concerning Juſtification by Faith only,
may be reckoned into that Number. And this St. Auguſtin ſays expreſſly;
viz. That the chief Difficulty of all in St. Paul's Epiſtles, is his ſo much
Commendation of that Faith, which he ſays does juſtify; by which ignorant
Men underſtanding nothing elſe but only an Aſent of the Mind to the Truths
of the Gospel, which indeed is the prime and moſt proper Notion of the
Word, do thence infer, that a good Life is not neceſſary to juſtify and
ſave a Man.
And indeed if St. Peter had not made this Obſervation concerning the
Obſcurity of ſome of St. Paul's Writings, it is nevertheleſs no more than
what every one that reads the Bible muſt needs obſerve; viz. that the Epif-
tles of St. Paul, eſpecially where he handles Controverſy, are the hardeſt to
be underſtood, except perhaps the Prophecies that are not yet accompliſhed,
of any Parts' of the New Teſtament.
And on the other Side, it is no leſs obvious to be obſerved, that the
Epiſtle of St. James, and this Chapter of it in particular, is, to Appearance,
very plain and clear; and that, both in the Concluſion which it lays down,
viz. that we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith only, and alſo in the
Arguments whereby this Concluſion is made good, from the fourteenth
Verſe of this Chapter to the End.
Now if the Caſe be thus, as it plainly ſeems to be, nothing can be more
unreaſonable than to interpret this place of St. James by thoſe of St.
Paul, that is, a plain Place by an obſcure one; and on the other Side,
nothing can be fairer than when we meet with any crabbed or difficult
Place in any Author, to ſee whether his Meaning be not elſewhere
expreſſed more clearly; and if it be, to conclude that the intricate Place hath
the ſame Meaning with the plain one, altho' we know not how well to re-
concile the Words and Phraſes thereof to it.
And this is the Caſe here: For tho' St. Paul and St. James were diffe-
rent Writers, yet the Author of both their Epiſtles was the ſame, viz. the
Holy Spirit of God, by whoſe Inſpiration they both wrote: Their Writings
are conſequently both of them Parts of that one everlaſting Goſpel, by
which God will judge the World ; and they do both of them contain, only
in different Expreſſions, the Articles of the ſame Covenant between God
and us.
It is reaſonable therefore in this Caſe, to obſerve the ſame Me-
thod that we do in other the like Caſes, viz. to put ſuch a Senſe and In-
terpretation, on any difficult and ambiguous Paſſage that we meet with any
where therein, as to make it agree to, and conſiſt with, thoſe other Paſſages
in the ſame Book or Writing, which ſeem to be more plainly expreſſed,
and of the Meaning of which there can be no Diſpute.
2. Another Reaſon why I think, if we could not eaſily reconcile St. Paul Vide Grot, in
with St. James, we ought rather to embrace the literal Senſe of St. James, Jam. ii. 14.
than that of St. Paul, and to conclude with him that good Works are ne-
ceſſary to our Juſtification and Salvation, as well as Faith, is; becauſe, as is
obſerved by ſeveral of the Ancients, this Epiſtle of St. James, as likewiſe
the firſt of St. John, the ſecond of St. Peter, and that of St. Jude, was
written on purpoſe to rectify the Miſtakes that ſome were fallen into through
their Miſunderſtanding of ſome of St. Paul's Writings.
Now if this be ſo, we may reaſonably conclude, that St. James deſigning
this Diſcourſe of his concerning Faith and Works as a Commentary upon,
|.
OL
1084
St. Paul and St. James reconciled. .
1
or an Explication of what St. Paul had written before upon the ſame Subject,
was very careful to avoid all that Obſcurity and Ambiguity of Expreſſion,
which had occaſioned the Writings of St. Paul to be ſo grolly miſunder-
ſtood, and wreſted to ſuch ill Purpoſes, as St. Peter obſerves they had been
by ſome ignorant and perverſe Men; and conſequently that St. James uſes
the Words Faith and Works in that Senſe which is moſt natural and obvious,
in that Senſe wherein common Readers were moſt like to underſtand them :
Whereas St. Paul's Epiſtles, I mean thoſe wherein he handles this fame Sub-
ject, being written with another Deſign, as I ſhall ſhew hereafter, it may
well be ſuppoſed, that he, having in his writing them an Eye to his main
Deſign, which was to ſhew the Neceſſity of embracing the Chriſtian Faith,
and the no Obligation that lay upon Chriſtians from the ceremonial Law of
Mofes, was leſs cautious in his other Expreſſions, as not fearing that any
Perſon, inſtructed in the Chriſtian Religion, would ever ſo grofly miſunder-
ſtand and pervert his Words, as to think that he intended to give Encourage-
ment to a lewd and diffolute Life.
But this nevertheleſs ſome did think, at leaſt they pleaded St. Paul's Au-
thority for it ; that if Men did but believe aright, it was no great Matter how
they lived. . Againſt theſe therefore our Apoſtle St. James ſets himſelf in this
Chapter, and ſhews at large that Chriſtianity did not conſiſt only in a true
and orthodox Faith; that a bare Belief in Chriſt, or of the Truths of the
Goſpel, without bringing forth Fruits in our Life and Converſation, an-
ſwerable to ſuch a Belief, would be in no wiſe ſufficient to juſtify or ſave us.
And that in writing this, he had an Eye to what St. Paul had written
before upon the ſame Subject, is farther probable, becauſe he makes uſe of
that very Inſtance of Abraham to prove the Neceſſity of good Works to
gether with Faith, which St. Paul had before brought againſt the Jews, to
ſhew the Sufficiency of Faith alone without Works, that is, without thoſe
ceremonial Obſervances, which they would have preſſed upon all other Chri-
ftians, and which they laid more Streſs upon, and did put more Confidence
in, than in the weightier Matters of the Law, Juſtice, Mercy, and
This Epiſtle of St. James therefore being written after St. Paul's Epiſtles,
and ſo very probably, with a Deſign to explain them where they had been
miſunderſtood; it is reaſonable to take for granted, that what St. James here
plainly aſſerts, touching the Neceſlity of Good Works together with Faith,
is the Senſe of St. Paul, altho' we could not eaſily bring St. Paul's Words
to it. Eſpecially if it be conſidered farther in the third Place,
3. That tho' this Epiſtle of St. James had been never written; nay tho'
there had not been one plain Text in the whole Bible expreſſly aſſerting the
Inſufficiency of a mere Belief, or of an empty fruitleſs Faith; yet we could
not underſtand thoſe Paſſages of St. Paul, wherein he ſo much magnifies
Faith, and decries Works, in any other Senſe than what St. James plainly
teaches, without making thoſe Paſſages in St. Paul to evacuate all the reſt
of the Bible, and to contradict the whole Deſign of the Goſpel.
For there is never a Page, hardly a Verſe in the whole Bible, wherein
the Nature of that Covenant which God hath made with Mankind is ſpoken
of, which doth not either in expreſs Words, or by plain Conſequence con-
tradict and diſprove that wild Notion of being ſaved only by a bare Belief,
tho' we take no Care to lead our Lives ſuitably to our Belief.
Now this is the Method that we obſerve in the Reading of other Books ;
we conſider the Scope and Deſign of the whole, and judge of the Senſe of
particular Paffages with Reference to that: And if there be any ſingle Paſſage
which we apprehend not the Meaning of, or which, at the firſt Reading,
ſeems to have another Meaning than is agreeable to the Author's main De-
Fidelity.
ſign,
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1085
:
A
ſign, we build nothing upon fuch a Paſſage, but wait a while to fee if the
Author will not elſewhere explain himſelf: And if he does not, and if at
laſt we cannot diſcern how that Paſſage can, without ſomewhat ſtraining the
Words, be reconciled with others; we conclude however and take for grant-
ed, that the Author, if he appears to be a Perſon of Judgment, is conſiſtent
with himſelf, and conſequently that in that Paſſage, however the Words of
it may ſound, he did not mean to thwart and contradict all the reſt of his
Book.
And this is the Caſe here. For the Deſign of our Saviour's coming into
the World was to make Men holy; all that he did, and taught, and ſuffered,
had a Tendency to effect this Delign į and his whole Goſpel is in a Mant-
ner made up of Precepts, and Exhortations, and Encouragements to Godlineſs
and Virtue, and of ſevere Threatnings againit all Manner of Sin. The Wrath
Rom. i. !
of God is, therein, revealed from Heaven, againſt all Ungodlinefs and Un-
righteouſneſs of Men, who hold the Truth in Unrighteouſneſs. Theſe Things
are plain and. undeniable; this is manifeſtly the Scope and Deſign of the
whole Bible; and therefore altho’ ſome few Pallages in St. Paul's Writings
fhould, in their moſt obvious Meaning, ſeem to imply the contrary to this;
it would be reaſonable however, to believe and affert the indiſpenſable Ne-
ceſſity of an holy Life, together with an orthodox Belief, rather than
upon
them alone to ground a Doctrine, which, if true, would plainly evacuate all
the reſt of the Bible, and perfectly thwart and contradict the whole Deſign of
the Goſpel.
And this I think a ſure Ground for them to go upon, who have not Leiſure
to ſtudy the Point, or who after all their Study are not able clearly to diſcern
how theſe two Apoſtles may be fairly reconciled in their ſeemingly contradic-
tory Affertions ; one ſaying, that we are juſtified by Faith, and the other,
that we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith only.
Which Difference nevertheleſs, I believe, it is not ſo hard a Matter to re-
concile, as at the firſt Sight it may appear to be; the ſeeming Contrariety be-
tween them lying, as I ſuppoſe, only in their uſing in different Senſes, the
Words Juſtify, Faith, and Works ; every one of which Words is capable
of, and is very often in Scripture uſed in different Senſes. For,
B
1
ܪ
1. As to the Word Juſtify, not to trouble you with the Etymology of it,
which is but an uncertain Way of knowing the common Acceptation of a
Word; nor yet with the Senſe which Heathen Writers have uſed the Word
in, from whence we cannot with Certainty collect in what Senſe the ſacred
Writers do uſe it; it may be ſufficient to obſerve, that the moſt obvious and uſual
Signiñcation thereof in holy Scripture, is, to receive to Mercy, to abſolve and
acquit froiua former Tranſgreſſions. When God juſtifies a Man, it is by forgiving
him his Treſpaſſes, and accepting, eſteeming, and rewarding him as a righteous
Perſon, altho’ he is not really and ſtrictly ſuch. And thus St. Paul himſelf ſeems
to expound the Word, in Rom. iii. 25. Being juſtified freely by his Grace, thro' the
Redemption that is in Chriſt Jeſus, whom God bath ſet forth to be a Pro-
pitiation thro' Faith in his Blood ; to declare his Righteouſneſs for the Re-
miſſion of Sins that are paſt, thro' the Forbearance of God. In which Text,
being juftified, and having our Sins remitted, ſeem to be uſed as Terms of
the ſame Signification. And the Pſalmiſt, meaning to deſcribe the Bleſſed-
neſs of a juſtified Perſon, thus expreſſes it : Bleſſed are they whoſe Iniqui- Pfal.xxxii. 194
ties are forgiven, and whore Sins are covered 3 Bleſſed is the Man to whom Rom. ix.s,&
the Lord will not impute Sin. And indeed, this is all the Juſtification that
finful Men, and ſucli all Men are, are capable of: "For being in Truth Sin-
ners, they cannor, by a juſt God, be acquitted as innocent; they can there,
fore be juſtified no other Way, but by having their Sins forgiven them,
Vol. II.
and
7,8,
1086
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
33
34.
Rom.v.9.
and by being received to Mercy; for if God ſhould enter into ſtrict Judg-
ment with us, no Man living could be juſtified in his Sight, as the "Pfal-
miſt ſays, Pſalm cxliii. 2.
To juſtify therefore, in the common Scriptural-Notion of it, is, to ab-
Rom. viii. 22 Solve from Guilt, to diſcharge from Puniſhment; and accordingly it is fre-
quently in Scripture oppoſed to Condemnation. It is God that juftifieth,
ſaith the Apoſtle, who is he that condemneth? and in another Place, being
juſtified by his Blood, we ſhall be ſaved from Wrath, throhim.
Now taking the Word in this Senſe, there is a two-fold Juſtification.
Firſt, When we take upon us the Profeſſion of the Chriſtian Religion
in Baptiſm; for then our paft Sins are forgiven us, then we are received into
a Covenant of Grace and Pardon.
But this is not a full Juſtification ; for our Sins are not then clearly par-
doned and forgiven, becauſe they may, after this, be ſtill imputed to us;
and ſo they will bc, in Caſe we afterwards do either in Profeſſion or in
Works deny that Faith, which we then take upon us. Our. ſecond there-
fore, and our complete and final Juſtification, is not till the great Day of
Judgment, when God will for ever acquit from the Guilt, and free from
the Puniſhment of all their paft Sins, all thoſe who continued faithful to that
Covenant, which they entred into with God at their Baptiſm.
Suppoſing therefore at preſent, that St. Paul and St. James do by Faith
and Works both mean the ſame Things; yet if they do not both ſpeak of
the ſame Juſtification ; if St. Paul, when he ſpeaks of Juſtification by Faith,
means the firſt Juſtification, which is diſpenſed to us in Baptiſm; and St.
James, when he affirms that we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith
only, means the ſecond and final Juſtification at the laſt Day; there is plainly
no Manner of Contrariety between them. For it may be true, that in or-
der to our being admitted into the Covenant of Juſtification and Pardon
nothing more may be required, but only that we firmly believe and embrace
the Chriſtian Religion ; and accordingly we may obſerye, that as a previous
Diſpoſition to Baptiſm nothing elſe ſeems to be required, but only that we
ſhould believe the Goſpel, and in Profeſſion renounce our former Sins, ac-
cording to that of St. Philip to the Eunuch, Afts viii. 37. If thou believelt
with all thine Heart, thou mayſt be baptiſed: And yet it may be true too,
that our being put into a juſtified State by Baptiſm, will in the Event be
no Advantage to us, but rather only increaſe our Condemnation, unleſs af-
terwards we continue true and faithful to that Profeſſion which we then take
upon us, and are careful to perform our Part of that Covenant which we then
enter into with God. Now, I ſay, this laſt ſeems to be what St. James affirms,
and the firſt all that St. Paul teaches, at leaſt in many of thoſe Places,
where he ſays, we are juſtified by Faith.
For that by the Juſtification which St. James ſpeaks of, when he ſays
we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith only, he means our final fil-
ſtification at the great Day, upon which that Salvation will immediately be
beſtowed upon us, which at our Baptiſm was only promiſed, and aſſured to
us upon certain Conditions, is evident, by his uſing Juſtification and Salva-
tion, in this Diſpute, as Terms equivalent. For thus he expreſſes the Doc-
trine of the Text, in the fourteenth Verſe, where he firſt begins to handle the
Subject; What does it profit, my Brethren, if a Man Say he hath Faith,
and have not Works ? can Faith ſave him? It is plain that he means the
ſame Thing there by being ſaved, that he does in the Text and other Verſes
of this Chapter, by being juſtified; and conſequently that by Juſtification,
in this Diſcourſe of his concerning Faith and Works, he means that final
Juftification, upon which Salvation is immediately conſequent.
+
And
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1087
ta
And on the other Side, that St. Paul in very many at leaſt, if not in all
thoſe Places wherein he attributes Juſtification to Faith only without Works,
means thereby only our firſt Juſtification, that is, our being admitted into
the Covenant of Grace, and being put into a juſtified State by Baptifm,
will, I ſuppoſe, be no leſs evident, if theſe two Things be conſidered.
I. That in many Places he ſpeaks of Juſtification as a Thing paſt, which
he could not do if he had meant the ſame Thing by Juſtification that St.
James does. For thus writing to the Corinthians, he ſays, i Cori vi. 11.
Ye are, or ye have been juſtified in the Name of the Lord Jeſus: And
Rom. vi. 1. ſpeaking of himſelf and other Chriſtians that were then living,
and conſequently not finally juſtified in St. James's Uſe of the Word, he
ſays, that being juſtified by Faith they had Peace with God. And upon this
he grounds their Hope, that they ſhould alſo, if they continued in Faith, be
finally juſtified by God at the laſt Day, Verſe 9. For if while we were
Sinners Chriſt died for us, much more then, being now juſtified by his Blood,
we ſhall be ſaved from Wrath thro' him.
2. It may be alſo farther obſerved, that in many places he expreſſly joins
Fuſtification with Baptiſm, as an Effect or Concomitant of it;
as in Tit.
iii. 5, 7. Not by Works of Righteouſneſs which we have done, but accord-
ding to his Mercy he ſaved us by the waſhing of Regeneration, and renew.
ing of the Holy Ghoſt, that being juſtified by his Grace, we ſhould be made
Heirs according to the Hope of eternal Life; and in 1 Cor. vi. 11. Such
were ſome of you ; but ye are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified, but ye are ju-
ſtified ; they were juſtified, it ſeems, at the ſame Time that they were waſhed,
that is, at their Baptiſm, when they openly and folemnly renounced thoſe
wicked Works which they had formerly lived in, and took upon them the
Profeſſion of the Chriſtian Faith.
Now therefore, if this be granted, which ſeems to be very probable, that
St. Paul generally means this by Juſtification, viz. only our being admitted
into a State of Grace and Fayour with God, at our Baptiſm; in which
State if we continue by perſevering in Faith and Obedience, we ſhall at laſt
be juſtified and acquitted finally in the great Judgment; it will be eaſy to
underſtand all thoſe Places wherein he attributes this to Faith only, in a Senſo
very agreeable to the Doctrine which St. James here teaches. It will
be eaſy then to underſtand what St. Paul means, Rom. iy. s. where he
ſays, that God juſtifies the ungodly; then I ſay, that Paſſage which hath
been thought the ſtrongeſt, will appear to be no Objection at all againſt St.
James's Doctrine ; the Meaning thereof being only this, that the Grace of
God in Chriſt Jeſus is ſo large, as that he does not refuſe cven the vileſt
and greateſt Sinners, but readily accepts them to Favour, upon their Belief
of the Goſpel, and cloſing with the Terms of it: And there will be then
no Difficulty at all in underſtanding how Abraham was juſtified by Faith
only, according to St. Paul, and how he was juſtified by Works, that is, not
by Faith only, as St. James expreflly affirms he was, at the twenty firſt Verſe
of this Chapter. For the Caſe was thus. Upon his giving a full and hearty
Aflent to the Truth of the divine Promiſes, he was immediately received
into God's Favour and Acceptance, even before the Sincerity of his Faith
had been actually tried by his Obedience: Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him for Righteouſneſs, Rom. iv. 3. ſo that he was then in a ju-
ſtified State; and yet if after this he had declined to leave his Country and
his Father's Houſe, or even to ſacrifice his Son at God's Command, he
would by this Diſobedience have fallen from that State of divine Favour,
and not have been finally juſtified by God; but then all his former, as well
as his later Sins, which had been once remitted to him, with a temporary
and conditional Remiſlion, upon his firſt entring into the Covenant of Grace,
ز
1
by
1088
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
by Faith; by Virtue of which Remiſſion, he was, while he continued in
the Covenant, a juſtified Perſon; would nevertheleſs have been imputed to
him, and he condemned for them, if he had ſwerved from his Obedience.
In ſhort therefore, the Juſtification which St. Paul generally ſpeaks of, is
that whereby we are made Heirs of Salvation, as he himſelf explains it in
the aforecited Text, Tit. iii. 7. That being juſtified by Grace we ſhould be
made Heirs, according to the Hope of eternal Life: But the Juſtification
which St. James ſpeaks of, is that by which we are actually admitted into
the Poſeſion of this Inheritance. And therefore, tho' in order to the firſt
Juſtification nothing more be neceſſary, but only that we cloſe with, and ac-
cept of thoſe Terms of Reconciliation, which God offers to us: Yet in or-
der to the ſecond Juſtification, it is moreover neceſſary that we should ſtand
to, and perform thoſe Terms; that we ſhould make good that Covenant
which we before entred into; or elſe, though we are now already juſtified
in St. Paul's Senſe, that is, are now already by our embracing and believing
and profeſſing the Goſpel, in ſuch a Capacity and Likelihood of obtaining e-
ternal Life, as an Heir is of enjoying his Father's Eſtate ; we ſhall never be
juſtified, in St. James's Senſe, that is, we ſhall never actually poſſeſs and en-
joy the Eſtate, but notwithſtanding our preſent Heirſhip, ſhall at laſt be caſt
off, and diſinherited for our Diſobedience.
And this Obſervation concerning the different Senſes, wherein theſe two
Apoſtles do ſometimes uſe the Word juſtify, may, I ſuppoſe, be alone fuffi-
cient to reconcile them in moſt, if not in all thoſe Paſſages wherein they
ſeem to differ. But,
II. The Word Faith or Belief, which they do both uſe in treating of
this Subject, is likewiſe a Word capable of, and frequently in Scripture uſed
in different Senſes; and I believe it may eaſily be made appear, that in thoſe
Places wherein St. Paul attributes ſo much to Faith, wherein he is thought
to declare that that is the only Condition of our final Juſtification, and Ad-
mittance into the Poſſeſſion of the promiſed Inheritance, he means quite an-
other Thing by Faith than St. James does, when he ſays that that alone is
not fufficient, even all that St. James means by Faith and Works too.
I will not trouble you now with all the Significations, in which the Word
Faith or Belief is uſed in holy Scripture ; but ſhall take notice only of two,
which I ſuppoſe moſt applicable to the Caſe in Hand.
1. The firſt Senſe of it which I ſhall take notice of, is that which in-
deed is the moſt obvious and proper Meaning of the Word; that is, when
by Faith is meant, an Aſſent of the Mind to the Truth of ſome revealed
Propoſition. And in this Šenſe St. James uſes the Word: By that Faith,
which being without Works, he ſays, is not ſufficient to juſtify or ſave us,
he plainly means nothing more than only a Belief of thoſe Truths, which
are revealed in the Goſpel. And the Cafe that he puts, is this, that a Man
believes there is a God, and that thoſe Things which he has revealed are true,
and that all his Promiſes and Threarnings ſhall be made good, but neverthe-
leſs takes no Care to live well; and in this Caſe he ſays, that ſuch a Faith
as this is an empty dead Faith, and that it will be of no real Advantage
to us, any more than it is to the Devils, who believe all theſe Truths as firm-
ly as we can do, but without any Benefit to themſelves, becauſe the Promi-
ſes being not made to them, they are not thereby incited to the doing of
Good.
But the Promiſes are made to us; and therefore it can hardly be concei-
ved, it is ſcarcely to be ſuppoſed that any Man that firmly believes all the
Truths of the Goſpel, and conſiders his own Intereſt therein, ſhould never-
theleſs allow himſelf in a wicked Life, Faith is naturally ſuch an active, ,
+
lively
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1089
lively and working Principle, that it can hardly fail to fhew it ſelf by its
Effects.
2. And for this Reaſon, ſecondly, the Word Faith, which moſt properly
ſignifies nothing but the Caule or Principle, is oftentimes in Scripture put to
fignify both the Cauſe and the Effect too, that is, both a Belicf of the Gof-
pel-Truths, and alſo a Life led anſwerably to ſuch a Belicf.
And in this large and comprehenſive Senſe it is clearly evident that St.
Paul does uſe the Word in diverſe Places, and eſpecially in thoſe Epiſtles
where he treats of Juſtification by Faith, as may appear from
his often-
times uſing other Words and Phraſes inſtead of the ſingle Word Faith. For
what he ſometimes calls Faith, he at other Times in thoſe fame Epiſtles,
calls the Law of Faith, and the Obedience of Faith: And in Rom. X. 16. Rom.iii. 27,
he moſt clearly explains his own Meaning to be, to include and comprehendi.5. xvi. 26.
Obedience in the Word Faith, whenever he attributes ſo much to Faith :
But they have not all obeyed the Goſpel; for Efaias faith, Lord, who hath
believed our Report ? In which Words the ſame Thing is plainly meant by
obeying the Goſpel
, and believing the Report of the Preachers of it ; from whence
it clearly appears, that the Faith or Belief which he ſo much magnifics in
that Epiſtle, is not an idle ineffe&tual Belief, but ſuch a Faith as makes Men
to be obedient.
Foraſmuch therefore as the Faith, which St. Paul ſpeaks of, when he ſays
we are juſtified by Faith, includes in it all that St. James means by Faith
and Works too; it is plain, that tho' we ſuppoſe that they do both uſe the
Word juſtify always in the ſame Senſe, there is not however any Contra-
riety in their Doctrines, altho' one ſays, that we are juſtified by Faith, and
the other, that we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith only. But,
III. There is alſo an Ambiguity in the Word Works; and it is not im-
probable, nay I ſuppoſe I ſhall make it very plain, that theſe two Apoſtles
St. Paul and St. James, in their ſeveral Diſcourſes upon Juſtification, do
likewiſe uſe this Word in very different Senſes; and that St. Paul, when he
excludes Works, does not mean the ſame by Works that St. James does
when he affirms that we are juſtified by Works, and not by Faith only.
And if St. James, by Works, when he affirms them to be neceſſary to-
gether with Faith, means thoſe Works of Piety, Juſtice, and Charity, and
other moral Duties which are required in the Goſpel; as to any one that reads
the former Part of the Chapter it will be evident that he does; and on the
other Side, if St. Paul, when he excludes Works, means by Works, only. ei-
ther thoſe materially good Works, which Men might do without the Grace
of the Goſpel, or the Merit of good Works, or elſe thoſe ritual Obſervan-
ces which were required by the ceremonial Law of Mofes; then, though
their Words and Expreſſions be different, yet their Senſe may be the very
fame.
Now concerning this place in St. James, I think there can be no Dif-
pute; he plainly takes both Faith and Works in the moſt proper and uſual
Acceptation of the Words: By Faith, when he affirms that Faith alone is
not ſufficient, he plainly means a mere Belief of the Truths of the Goſpel ;
and by Works, when he affirms that they are neceſſary together with Faith,
he plainly means ſuch a Sort of Life and Converſation, as the Belief of the
Goſpel-Truths is naturally apt to produce, a Converſation becoming the Goſpel
of Chrift: And both theſe he affirms to be neceſſary, in order to our final
Juſtification at the laſt Day.
And on the other Side, St. Paul, if at any Time he ſpeaks of the ſame
Fuſtification that St. James does, means by Faith, when he ſays we are
juftified by that only, all that St. James means by Faith and Works too, as
Vol. II.
hath
6 G
1090
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
!
..
Heb, vi, I.
.
hath been ſhewn already, and by Works, when he ſays we are juſtified without
Works, he means only, either the Merit of good Works, or ſuch Works,
as might be done by unregenerate Men without the Grace of the Goſpel, or
elſe the ritual Obſervances of the Mofaical Law.
And that he uſes the Words in theſe Senſes, and does not mean to ex-
clude from being a Condition of our final Juſtification, that hearty Obedi-
ence to the Precepts of the Goſpel which a firm Belief of the Truths of it
is naturally apt to produce, will farther appear, if theſe two Things be con-
fidered: 1. The Occaſion and Deſign of thoſe Diſcourſes of St. Paul,
wherein Faith is ſo much magnified, and Works are ſet fo light by: And,
2. The ſeveral Cautions that are here and there intermixed in thoſe Dif-
courſes, as it were on Purpoſe to prevent our miſtaking his Meaning, and
thinking that we may be ſaved by Faith alone, without a good Life.
1. We may conſider the Occaſion and Deſign of thoſe Diſcourſes of St.
Paul, wherein Faith is ſo much magnified, and Works are ſet ſo light by;
and which conſcquently do ſeem moſt to contradict the Doctrine here taught by
St. James.
And I premiſe this firſt of all; that fione of St. Paul's Epiitles ſeem to
have been written as if they were intended to comprehend the whole Chri-
ſtian Religion ; they rather ſuppoſe Chriſtianity already planted in thoſe Places,
to which his Epiſtles are directed : It was not conſequently his Intention, in
every Epiſtle that he wrote, to teach all the Principles of the Doétrine of
Chriſt, and to lay again the Foundation of Repentance from dead Works, and
of Faith towards God; for all this had been done before; thoſe fame Apo-
ſtles, by whore Miniſtry they had been converted and baptiſed, having alſo
Mat.xxviii.zo.then, according to the Commiſſion given them by Chriſt, taught them to
obſerve all Things what foever our Lord had commanded. As ſuch therefore
the Apoſtle conſidered the Perſons to whom he wrote, viz. as true Diſciples
of Chriſt, as Perſons that had before been taught to obey as well as believe
the Goſpel ; and ſo had no Fear upon him, that by his uſing the Word Faith
or Works in an uncommon Senſe, and yet in ſuch a Senſe as the Controver-
fy he was handling led him to uſe them in, they to whom he wrote would
ever be in Danger of embracing an Opinion ſo contrary to the firſt Princi-
ples of the Chriſtian Religion, as it plainly was, to think that they might be
ſaved only by believing, without obeying the Goſpel.
The main Deſign then, I ſay, of moſt of St. Paul's Epiſtles, I mean of
the controverſial Parts of them, ſeems to be to furniſh the Chriſtians to
whom he wrote, with Anſwers to thoſe Objections, which the Enemies to
Chriſtianity, among whom they lived, did make againſt it. And moſt of the
Churches to which his Epiſtles are directed, were made up chiefly of Gen-
tile-Converts, with whom nevertheleſs there were ſome Jewiſh-Converts alſo
intermixed; but the far greateſt Part of the Inhabitants of thoſe Places were
profeſſed Jews or Gentiles, who, tho' both zealous, each for their own Way,
and againſt each other, yet readily joined their Forces together, as againſt a
common Enemy, to hinder the Growth and ſpreading of Chriſtianity.
So that St. Paul had three Sorts of Adverſaries to deal with, viz. the
Gentiles, the Jews, and the Judaiſing Chriſtians.
(1.) The Gentiles;. who had been long bred up under the Inſtitution of
their Philoſophers
, and by their good and wholeſome Precepts of Morality,
were in a good Readineſs and Diſpoſition to embrace the Goſpel; which, in
general, commanded little more than they were taught before by their own
Philoſophers, only requiring a fricter and more perfect Obſervance of thoſe
Rules, and adding new Motives and Encouragements to it, from the plain
Revelation of a future State of Rewards and Puniſhments
, of which, before
the
ز
1
ز
2
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1091
.
the coming of Chriſt, Men had but an obſcure Notion, and very Acnder
Aflurance.
The main Objection therefore which theſe had to make againſt St. Paul,
was, that he took, as they thought, a great deal of Pains to little Purpoſe, in
going about to eſtabliſh a new Belief and a new Profeſſion of Religion among
them ; ſeeing that as to Practice, they had been taught all the ſame Things in
Subſtance by their own Philoſophers ; ſo that conſequently they thought he
might have ſpared his Labour. They were of the Mind of our modern
Deifts, that natural Religion was ſo good and perfect, that it needed no Re-
velation to improve it.
Againſt theſe therefore, the Apoſtle proves the Neceſſity of the Chriſtian
Diſpenſation, and of Faith in Chriſt, becauſe though Men had been taught
well before, they had never practiſed as they had been taught; that by Reaſon
of the Weakneſs of human Nature, they had never lived up to what they
knew was their Duty; that therefore no Man ever was or could be juſtified
in God's Sight, by the Law of Nature, or the firſt Covenant made with
Mankind, which required ſtrict and unſinning Obedience; that conſequently
it was neceſſary to believe in Chriſt, and to enter into that more gracious Co-
venant, which he by his Blood had made between God and us; whereby he
had encouraged good Works with better Promiſes, and offered to afford us
divine Strength and Succour to aſſiſt our Endeavours: By which Covenant of
Grace in Chriſt, though indeed we were ſtill obliged to the ſame Duties
which the Law of Nature had laid upon us, we might be juſtified, which by
the other we could not be; becauſe that required ſtrict and unſinning Obe-
dience, whereas this made Allowance for the Weakneſs of human Nature,
and left Room for Repentance, if at any Time through Careleſſneſs or Sur-
priſe we ſhould come ſhort of our Duty. And to ſhew the Advantage of
this Covenant made by Chriſt, and the Impoſſibility of being juſtified any
other Way than by having our Sins remitted to us through Faith in his Blood;
feems to have been mainly deſigned by the Apoſtle, in the former Part of his
Epiſtle to the Romans.
Now the firſt Covenant made with Mankind being indeed a Covenant of
Works, without Grace, therefore in Oppoſition to, and to diſtinguiſh this
from that, he, with good Reaſon, calls this, ſometimes Grace, ſometimes the
Law of Faith, ſometimes the Preaching of Faith, and ſometimes barely
Faith; which he ſays is the only Way by which it is poſſible for us to be
juſtified, becauſe our Nature is ſo corrupt and degenerate, that we cannot
perform perfect and unſinning Obedience. But,
(2.) The Jews were alſo as conceited of themſelves as the Gentiles, and
as unwilling to accept of the Covenant made by Chriſt, becauſe they truſted
to be ſaved by the Obſervation of the Law of Moſes.
And therefore the Apoſtle likewiſe, againſt theſe, endeavours to ſhew thať
they were Sinners as well as the Gentiles, and ſtood in as much Need of a
Saviour as they. And this he does in the four or five firſt Chapters of his
Epiſtle to the Romans; in ſome Paſſages of which, eſpecially in the firſt
and ſecond Chapters, he ſeems to have a peculiar Reſpect to the Gentiles ;
and in other Places to the Jews more eſpecially, and in ſome to both of
them.
And the Sum of his Argument is this ; That ſince all, both Jews and
Gentiles had ſinned, and come ſhort of the Glory of God, it was therefore
neceſſary that a Redeemer ſhould come to make Atonement for their paſt Sins,
and to eſtabliſh a new Covenant between God and Men ; which he calls
Faith, or the Law of Faith, to diſtinguiſh it from the Law of Mofes,
which was truly a Law of Works; and by this Covenant of Grace or Faith
in Chriſt, which was open and free for all to enter into, both Jews and
Gentiles,
į
1092
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
Gentiles, he ſays, might be juſtified, which they could not either of them
be by the Law of Works, nor the Jews any more than the Gentiles by
the ceremonial Law of Mofes ; that being never deſigned by God as a Con-
dition of Juſtification, as having only temporal Rewards and Puniſhments an-
nexed to it.
Seeing therefore the Jews as well as the Gentiles had broken the firſt Law
given to Mankind, which required unſinning Obedience; he ſays, there was
no Means of Juſtification now left for either of them, but by Faith in Chriſt,
that is, by coming into that new Covenant which Chriſt had eſtabliſhed by
his Death, and offered to us in the Goſpel. But,
(3.) Beſides theſe two, the Apoſtle had alſo a third Sort of Adverſaries to
deal with, which did coſt him as much Trouble as either of the former; and
they were ſome who being born and bred Jews, had been converted to
Chriſtianity by the preaching of the Apoſtles, but nevertheleſs ſtill retained
ſuch a great Liking and Veneration for Moſes and his Law, that they thought
they were yet bound to obſerve it as much as ever : And not only ſo, but
they would fain have forced the fame upon the Gentiles too, telling them,
that notwithſtanding Chriſt, they were bound to be circumciſed as the Jews
were, and to keep the Law of Moſes, and that otherwiſe they could not be
ſaved.
Againſt theſe therefore, the Apoſtle proves at large, eſpecially in his Epiſtle
to the Galatians, that the Law given by Moſes was never deſigned to oblige
the Gentiles, nor the Jews neither any longer than till the coming of Chriſt;
that that Law was, to the Jews themſelves, only a School-maſter to bring
them unto Chriſt, that is, to prepare and diſpoſe them to receive his moſt pure
and heavenly Doctrine; that therefore now, after the Revelation and preach-
ing of the Goſpel, that Law was of no farther Uſe: After that Faith is
come, ſays he, that is, after the Goſpel is preached, we are no longer under
a School-maſter, Galat. iii. 25. That the ceremonial Law was made up only
of Types and Shadows, whereof Chriſt was the Subſtance, and that therefore
the Subſtance being now come, they were to ceaſe; that the ceremonial
Law was given only to exerciſe the Jewiſh Nation for ſome Time, and
was then to give Way to a better Law, the Law of Faith or Evangelical
Obedience; that Abraham himſelf was juſtified by the ſame Means and
Method which is now propounded in the Goſpel, viz. by a lively Faith
in the Promiſes of God, working in him a ready Obedience to whatſoever
God required of him; and that he was thus juſtified before he was circum-
ciſed, and therefore ſo might they be too, withour Circumciſion, and ſuch
other ritual Obſervances.
In the Management of which Diſpute with the Judaiſing Chriſtians, the
Apoſtle calls the Chriſtian Religion, as oppoſed to the Jewiſh, by the Word
Faith, to diſtinguiſh it from the Obſervation of Moſes's Law, which was
called Works, or the Works of the Law. And uſing the Word in this Senſe,
he ſays, we are juſtified by Faith, and by Faith only, that is, by the Faith and
Obedience of the Goſpel ; and that there is no Need at all of Works, that
is, of ſuch Works as were enjoined by the Ceremonial Law, which they laid
ſuch great Streſs upon ; for thus he often explains himſelf, expreſſly calling
thoſe Works which he rejects, the Works of the Law, thereby plainly diſtin-
guiſhing them from Works of Evangelical Obedience, and clearly intimating
that it was not his Intention to exclude theſe, tho' he did thoſe.
Thus the Apoſtle managed the Controverſy he was engaged in with
theſe three Adverſaries: And that his main Deſign was to oppoſe one or
other of them in all thoſe Places, wherein thoſe Paſſages are found which ſo
much magnify Faith, and vilify Works, which are eſpecially the Epiſtles to
the
+
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1093
the Romans and Galatians, will, I ſuppoſe, readily appear to any one that
fhall attentively read them over; and I think it will be impoſſible to make
out the Context, or to ſhew how thoſe Places do at all tend to the
carry-
ing on theſe Deſigns, if we take the Words Faith and Works in any other
Senſe than I have before ſaid St. Paul does uſe them in.
2. But, ſecondly, That the Apoſtle St. Paul did not intend to exclude
ſuch good Works as St. James here requires, viz. Obedience to the Pre-
cepts of the Goſpel, from being neceſſary to our final Juſtification at the
great Day, will yet farther and more plainly appear ; if in reading over
thoſe Epiſtles, we do but obſerve the ſeveral Cautions that are here and
there intermixed, as it were on purpoſe to prevent our putting ſuch an Inter-
pretation upon his Words.
And firſt in the Epiſtle to the Romans, in Chap. ii. Ver: 6. he tells us
plainly, that God will render to every Man according to his Works, Tri-
bulation and Anguiſh upon every Soul of Man that doth Evil; and Glory,
Honour and Peace, to every Man that worketh Good: Which Paſſage
would be very odly put in, in a Diſcourſe wherein he was proving the Suf-
ficiency of Faith alone for Juſtification, if thereby he had meant ſuch a Faith
as might be without good Works.
But in the thirteenth Verſe of that Chapter he contradicts that Opinion
moſt expreſſly: Not the Hearers of the Law, ſays he, Mall be juſt before
God, but the Doers of the Law Mall be juſtified. It ſeems then that St.
Paul's Juſtification by Faith only, was not a Juſtification without Works
the Faith, that he there ſpeaks of, muſt needs therefore be ſuch a Faith
as includes Works in it: The Doers of the Law Mall be juſtified.
And ſo again, in the third Chapter, at the twenty firſt Verſe, after he had
ſaid that both the Circumciſion and Uncircumciſion muſt be juſtified by Faith,
and that they could not be juſtified any other Way; that they might not
take Faith in ſuch a narrow Senſe as to exclude good Works, he adds,
Do we then make void the Law thro' Faith? God forbid; yea, we eſtabliſh
the Law.
And to the ſame Purpoſe again, and in the fourth Chapter and firſt Verſe,
What ſhall we ſay then? ſhall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound?
God forbid. Howe ſhall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein ?
And again, Ver. 15. What then? mall we Sin, becauſe we are not under
the Law, but under Grace? God forbid.
And laſtly, to name no more, in the eighth Chapter of that Epiſtle,
Ver. 1. when he was come to the Concluſion of this Controverſy, having
ſhewn at large the Inſufficiency of all other Ways, and the abſolute Necef-
ſity of accepting the Goſpel-Truths, in order to Juſtification, he goes on to
ſhew the Bleſſedneſs of thoſe who believed in Chriſt, in theſe Words ;
There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Chriſt Jeſus :
But then, left they ſhould miſtake him, and think that a bare Belief in
Chriſt, or the Profeſſion of his Religion only, was enough to entitle them
to this Bleſſedneſs, he adds, who walk not after the Fleſh, but after the
Spirit.
The like Care he has alſo taken in his Epiſtle to the Galatians, where
he handles this Controverſy again, with a ſpecial Reſpect to the Jewiſh Law;
where we may obſerve, that to prevent all Miſunderſtanding of what he
had delivered touching the Sufficiency of Faith without Works, he takes fre-
quent Occaſion to declare his Meaning to be, only to exclude the Works of
the Law, not the Obedience of the Goſpel.
Particularly in the two laſt Chapters he is very large in explaining what Kind
of Liberty he had been before pleading for: Stand faſt therefore, ſays he, in
the Liberty wherewith Chriſt hath made us free, and be not entangled again
Vol. II.
with
6 H
1094
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
with the Toke of Bondage, Gal. v. 1. And what Bondage he meant, appears
in the next Verſe, Behold, I Paul ſay unto you, that if you be circumciſed,
Chriſt shall profit you nothing; that is: If you ftill truſt to be ſaved by your
Jewiſh Obſervances, you diſclaim and renounce the Covenant which Chriſt hath
made for you, and ſo can expe&t no Benefit from it. Whoſoever of you, ſays he,
are juſtified, that is, hope to be juſtified, by the Law, ye are fallen from Grace.
For re, throʻthe Spirit, wait for the Hope of Righteouſneſs, by Faith; we,
that is, we Chriſtians, no leſs than you Jews, do wait for the Hope of Righ-
teouſnefs, that is, for a Reward of our Righteouſneſs: But then it is not ſuch
a Righteouſneſs as yours, a Righteouſneſs conſiſting in the Obſervation of
Rites and Ceremonies, but thro' the Spirit, that is, by a ſpiritual Righteouſ-
neſs; and it is by Faith, that is, it is ſuch a Righteouſneſs as is wrought
in us by Faith, that is, by our Belief of the Goſpel of Chriſt. For,
ſays he, Ver. 6. In Chriſt Jeſus, neither Circumciſion availeth any Thing, nor
Uncircumciſion, but Faith; not any Faith, but Faith which worketh by Love,
or Faith which is made perfect by Love. Which Words he repeats again in
Chap. vi. Ver. 15. only inſtead of Faith putting in another Word, not ſo
ambiguous : In Chriſt Jeſus, neither Circumciſion availeth any Thing, nor
Uncircumciſion, but a nece Creature. And the ſame Apoſtle in another paral-
lel Place, in another of his Epiſtles, puts it out of all Doubt what he means
in the firſt of theſe Places, by Faith, when he expreſſes the ſame by Obedi.
ence: Circumciſion is nothing, and Uncircumciſion is nothing, but the keeping
the Commandments of God, I Cor. vii. 19.
And now by all that hath been ſaid, I ſuppoſe, it ſufficiently appears, that
by Faith St. Paul means ſomething more than only a bare Belief of the Gof-
pel-Truths, when he niakes it the sole Condition of Juſtification; and that by
Works, he does not mean Works of Evangelical Obedience, when he excludes
them from being neceſſary in order to it: So that St. Paul does not, any
inore than St. James, exclude ſuch good Works, as are the natural Effects of
a true, lively, and Chriſtian Faith, from being neceſſary together with Faith,
in order to our full and final Juſtification at the laſt Day.
And from all that hath been ſaid, I think it appears, that St. Paul and St.
James agree very well together; which was the Point that I propoſed to make
good. St. James indeed ſays here, that Faith alone, or a bare Belief of the
Goſpel, will not do without Works anſwerable to our Belief; Ye fee, how
that by Works a Man is juſtified, and not by Faith only: St. Paul, on the o-
ther Side, ſays, that we are juſtified by Faith: But tho' his Manner of Ex-
preſſion be different from, and, in the Letter, ſeemingly contradictory to St.
James's
, his Meaning is plainly the ſame. He affirms indeed, that we are juſtified
by Faith: But then, as I have ſhewn, he means the ſame Thing by Faith, that
St. James does by Faith and Works too; he means ſuch a Faith as Abraham's was,
for that is his Example as well as St. James's; he means ſuch a Faith as however it
is tried, approves it ſelf by a ready Obedience, as Abraham's did: And the Works
which he rejects as uſeleſs and unneceſſary, or as not ſufficient, are not ſuch as
Abraham's were, the Fruits of a lively Faith ; but either mere ritual Obſer-
vances, or elſe ſuch Works, as tho' materially good, are not done out of a
good and virtuous Principle. In a Word, he oppoſes Faith, his juſtifying
and ſaving Faith, not to Evangelical Obedience, but either to unſinning Obe-
dience, by which none can be juſtified, becauſe all are Sinners; or to an Opi-
nion of Merit, which there can never be any Ground for; or, laſtly, to the
Rites and Ceremonies of Moſes's Law, which Law, he ſhews, was not then
obliging, and fo could not be the Condition of Juſtification.
The Uſe we ſhould make of what hath been ſaid upon this Subject, is this
we ſhould be hereby incited to the diligent Performance of that whole Con-
dition, that according to the Doctrine taught by both theſe Apoſtles is required of
I
US
St. Paul and St. James reconciled.
1095
us in order to Salvation; which is, not only to believe in Chriſt, and to make
Profeſſion of the Chriſtian Faith, but likewiſe to live as becomes the Goſpel
of Chriſt, and to bring forth plentcouſly all the Fruits of Rightcouſneſs.
And this likewiſe St. Peter teaches, in his ſecond Epiſtle, i. s, duck with
whoſe Words I ſhall conclude; Beſides this, giving all Diligence, add to
your Faith, Virtue ; and to Virtue, Knowledge ; and to Knowledge, Tempe-
rance; and to Temperance, Patience; and to Patience, Godlineſs; and' to
Godlineſs, brotherly Kindneſs; and to brotherly Kindneſs, Charity. For if
theſe Things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye fall neither be
barren nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. But he
that lacketh theſe Things, is blind, and cannot ſee afar off, and hath forgot-
ten that he was purged from his old Sins. Wherefore the rather, Brethren,
give Diligence to make your Calling and Election ſure: For if ye do thefe
Things, ye ſhall never fall: For ſo an Entrance shall be miniſtred uinto you
abundantly, into the everlaſting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jeſus
Chriſt.
Which God of his infinite Mercy grant, for the Sake of the ſame our
Lord Jeſus Chrift; to whom, dr.
..
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1096
DISCOURSE XCIX.
Uncharitable Judgment reproved. .
Preached on the Faſt Day for the Storm,
Jan. 19. 1703 .
hoe
LUK E XIII. 4, 5.
Or thoje eighteen, upon whom the Tower in Siloam
fell
, and New them, think ye that they were Sin-
ners above all Men that dwelt in Jeruſalem?
I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye hall all
likewiſe periſh
1
1
Alinham
T
HE Occaſion of theſe Words you may fee at the firſt
Verſe of this Chapter: There were preſent at that Seaſon,
Some that told our Saviour of the Galileans, whoſe Blood
Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices; that is, as this
Story is made up by the probable Conjecture of learned
Men, who coming to Jeruſalem at the Paſſover, and being
known or ſuſpected by Pilate to have been fonie of the
Followers of that Judas, ſpoken of by Gamaliel, who had
maintained, that it was not lawful for the Jews, being Abraham's Seed, to
whom God had given the Land of Canaan, to pay Tribute to the Roman
Emperor, and thereby acknowledge Subjection to a foreign Power ; were ſet
upon by Pilate in the very Temple, and ſlain by him while they were of-
fering their Sacrifices ; by which Means their own Blood became mingled
with the Blood of their Sacrifices.
Now with what Deſign this Story was told to our Saviour, is uncertain ;
whether only as a Piece of News, or to ſhew the bloody Temper of Pilate,
or to engage him to declare his Opinion concerning the Cauſe for which the
Galileans ſuffered, or whether perhaps for ſome other Reaſon, which we now
cannot ſo much as gueſs at; but he from thence takes Occaſion to reprove
and condemn, what was, it is likely, then a common Practice among them;
what is, I am ſure, too common a Practice among us, viz. the cenſuring
and
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
1097
N
ز
ever.
and judging as Reprobates and vile Sinners, all ſuch as fall under any re-
markable Calamity, or are taken off by a violent or untimely Death. And Luke xiii, 2.
Feſus anſwering, ſaid unto them, Suppoſe ye that theſe Galileans were Sin-
ners above all the Galileans, becauſe they ſuffered ſuch Things? I tell yoll,
Nay.
And then, that this Saying of his might not be underſtood as meant to
be reſtrained only to that one Caſe; he himſelf mentions another of like
Nature, which, it ſeems, had then lately happened in Jeruſalem, of eighteen
that had been killed by the Fall of a Tower upon their Heads; and who, as
it alſo ſeems, had upon this Account undergone the like uncharitable Cen-
ſure: Think ye, ſays our Saviour, in the Text, that they were Sinners above
all Men that dweli in Jeruſalem? I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye
mall all likewiſe periſh.
For the better underſtanding of which Words, and of the Doctrine which
we are therein taught, we may obſerve;
1. That our Saviour here does not in the leaſt diſcommend, much leſs
does he forbid the attributing particular Events to God's Diſpoſition and Pro-
vidence; whether they are effected and brought about by the Malice and Wic-
kedneſs of Men, as was the Slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate ; or by the
Efficacy of natural Cauſes, as was the Death of thoſe eighteen upon whom
the Tower in Siloam fell; or by any other Means, or immediate Cauſe whatſo-
He does not in the leaſt intimate, that it was beſides, or without the
Knowledge and Diſpoſition of God, that the Galileans were ſo ſlaughtered
by Pilate; or that the Fall of the Tower upon thoſe eighteen here ſpoken
of, was nothing elſe but Chance, or evil Accident. Nay, the contrary to
this, he has in other Places of his holy Goſpel plainly taught, viz. that no
Evil docs ever befall us, but either by the ſpecial Order, Direction, and Work-
ing of Providence; or by a limited Power granted by God to other Cauſes;
upon ſome ſpecial Occaſion; ſuch as in the Caſe of Job he gave to Satan, Job i. 12.
firſt over his Eſtate, with an Exception of his Perſon; and afterwards over - i. 6.
his Body, to afflict, but not to deſtroy it. For our Lord has told us, that
even the Hairs of our Head are all numbred; that the Care of God's Pro- Matth. x. 30,
vidence extends even to the Graſs of the Field, and to the Fowls of the Air ; -vi. 26, 28.
that not ſo much as a Sparrow falls to the Ground without God, and there --X. 29.
fore much leſs a Man, who is of more Value than many Sparrows.
We may therefore, nay we ought, in all particular Events that befall our
ſelves or other Men, to ſee and acknowledge the Hand and Providence of
God; we may ſay, that it is his Work, and that his Hand has done it. Only
what we ought to forbear, is, the pretending to give an Account of the Rea-
ſons of the divine Adminiſtrations, to ſay why God has done this, or why
God has done that; why he gave the Galileans into the Power of Pilate,
or why he was pleaſed to deſtroy theſe eighteen by the Fall of a Tower upon
their Heads: For theſe Things we cannot certainly know without ſpecial
Revelation, becauſe the Ways and Counſels of God are unſearchable ;
ought not therefore to pretend to know them; we do fooliſhly and rafhly,
when we offer to give our Judgment concerning them.
2. It may be farther obſerved, that our Saviour does not here deny, but
that the eighteen ſpoken of in the Text, and likewiſe the Galileans that had
been before ſpoken of, were Sinners, and conſequently well deſerved the
Calamities that had befallen them; he only denies that they were greater
Sinners than many others were whom the like evil Accidents had not be-
fallen : Suppoſe ye that they were Sinners above all the Galileans ? or think
ye that theſe were Sinners above all that dwell in Jeruſalem, becauſe they
ſuffered ſuch Things? I tell you, Nay.
Ver. 31.
we
1
Vol. II.
61
Altho"
1098
Uncharitable Fudgment reproved.
Altho' therefore, we may ſay in general, that all temporal Judgments are
the Expreſſions of God's Diſpleaſure againſt Sin; we cannot take upon us to
ſay with Certainty, what Sins, or, whoſe Sins in particular they were that
drew down the Judgment. And if one Man be ſtricken, and another Man
eſcapes, we cannot ſay that he that was ſtricken was a worſe Man than he
that eſcaped: We cannot ſay that his being ſo ſtricken is an Argument that
God was more highly diſpleaſed with him than he is with others who live to
a good old Age, and at laſt die peaceably in their Beds; we cught not to
conclude, that he is now in a bad Condition in the other World, becauſe he
fared ſo ill in this; we ſhould not deem our ſelves the Favourites of Hea-
ven, or imagine our ſelves more righteous than our Neighbours, becauſe we
eſcaped better than they. But rather the Examples of God's ſeeming Sevc-
rity on others ſhould put us upon examining and reforming our Lives; other-
wiſe our own preſent Eſcape will be only a temporary Reprieve, and what
we flatter our ſelves is an Impunity, will be only a Reſervation of us for a
Rom. xi. 22. greater Vengeance. Behold, ſays the Apoſtle, the Goodneſs and Severity of
God: on them which fell, Severity; but towards thee, Goodneſs, if thou cori-
tinue in his Goodneſs; otherwiſe thou alſo ſhalt be cut off; And, Suppose ye,
ſays our Saviour, that theſe were Sinners above others, becauſe they ſuffered
ſuch Things? I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye mall all likewiſe
periſh : Ye ſhall likewiſe periſh; that is, either by that or ſome other, per-
haps by a much worſe Calamity; or if ye are not thus corrected and puniſhed
in this World, ye will for that Reaſon be more ſurely condemned in the
ز
next.
In diſcourſing on theſe Words, I ſhall therefore do theſe two Things:
1
I. I ſhall ſhew, that it is a very unwarrantable and uncertain Judgment,
which we make of any Man from the Evils that befall him in this Life, or
from the Manner of his Death: Suppoſe ye, that they were Sinners above
others? I tell you, Nay. And,
II. That the right Uſe that we ought to make of any Evil or Calamity
befalling another Man, either in his Life, or in his Death, is, by the Conſio
deration thereof to be incited to reform and amend whatever is amiſs in our
own Lives, leſt the ſame Evil that has befallen him, or a worſe, ſhould be-
fall us: Except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh.
I. I ſhall fhew, that it is a very unwarrantable and uncertain udgment
which we make of any Man from the Evils that befall him in his Life, or
from the Manner of his Death : Think ye that thoſe eighteen upon whom the
Tower in Siloam fell and flew them, were Sinners above all Men that dwelt
in Jeruſalem. I tell you, Nay.
And in diſcourſing on this Point I ſhall ſhew,
1. That there is no Warrant from Scripture for paſſing ſuch a Judgment.
2. That there is no good Ground from Reaſon for pafling ſuch a Judg-
ment.
3. That ſuch Judgment is liable to great Miſtakes and Uncertainties,
4. That in fome Inſtances, we are aſſured it would have been falſe.
1. That there is no Warrant from Scripture for paſſing ſuch a Judgment.
For it is no where in Scripture plainly ſaid, that every good Man ſhall certainly
be proſperous in this world, and that every wicked Man fhall certainly ſuffer
fome fad Calamity, or be taken off by a violent and untimely Death. It is
no where ſaid in Scripture, that a good Man ſhall never die by a fad Acci-
dent, and that a wicked Man fhall never paſs a long Life in Health and Pro-
(perity, and at laſt deſcend to his Grave in Peace.
Nay,
2
;
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
1099
..
Nay, ſo far is the holy Scripture from giving us any Encouragement to paſs
our Judginent upon Men from the good or evil Things that befall them in
this Life, that on the contrary it exprefly declares that a certain Judgmeno
cannot be paſſed concerning any Man this Way. There is a Vanity that is
done upon Earth, ſays Solomon, that there be juſt Men unto whom it hap-
peneth according to the Work of the Wicked ; again, there be wicked Men to
whom it happeneth according to the Work of the Righteous, Eccl. viii. 14. And
I conſidered in my Heart even to declare all this, lays the ſame wiſe Obſerver,
Eccl. ix. 1, 2. that the Righteous, and the Wiſe, and their Works, are in
the Hand of God; no Man knoweth either Love or Hatred by all that is
before them. All Things come alike to all; there is one Event to the Righ-
teous and to the Wicked; to the Good, and to the Clean, and to the Unclean;
to him that ſacrificeth, and to him that ſacrificeth not; as is the Good, so is
the Sinner, and he that ſweareth, as he that feareth an Oath.
Thus you ſee plainly, there is no Warrant from Scripture for paffing ſuch
a Judgment upon Men from what befalls them here; and therefore ſuch
Judgment, being not ſo warranted, muſt needs be raſh, uncharitable and un-
certain. Eſpecially, conſidering, as I propounded to fhew, in the ſecond
Place,
2. That there is as little Ground from Reaſon, for paſſing ſuch a Judgment,
as from Scripture.
For if there be any reaſonable Ground for ſuch Judgment, it muſt, I think,
be drawn from the Nature of God, confidered as a Being of infinite Purity
and Juſtice, and the wiſe Governor of the World. But all that can with
Certainty be argued from hence, touching this Matter, is only this:
Firſt ; God being of infinite Purity and Holineſs, we may be ſure that he
hates Sin, and that he has a Love for all good Men; but nevertheleſs, from
what befalls a Man in this World, we cannot judge certainly whether he be
a good Man or no; becauſe the very fame Afiation or Miſ-hap, which by
the Diſpenſation of Providence is ſent upon one Man in Vengeance, niay be
ſent upon another Man in Mercy; what is deſigned for Puniſhment to one
Man, 'may be deſigned for a fatherly Correction only to another.
Again; God being perfect in Juſtice, we may be ſure that he never puniſhes
or afflicts any Man undeſervedly; but it does not therefore follow, that he that
is now puniſhed is a greater Sinner than he that is now ſpared. For he that
is now judged may be only chaſtned of the Lord, that he ſhould not be con-
demned with the World; he may receive all his evil Things here, and have all
his good Things reſerved for another State: And he that is now ſpared, inay
be kept only to be made a ſeverer Example of God's Vengeance another Time,
either in this World or the next. According to what is ſaid concerning Pha-
raoh, Exod. ix. 16. In very Deed, for this Cauſe have I raiſed thee up, or,
as it is in the Hebrew, made thee ſtand; that is, for this Cauſe have I hither-
to preſerved thee in Life, and made thee to ſurvive the Plagues that have
taken away many of thy more innocent Subjects; for to Mew in thee my
Power, and that my Name may be declared throughout all the Earth. Thus,
as St. Peter ſays, the Lord knoweth how to reſerve the Unjuſt unto the Day 2 Pet. ii. 9.
of Judgment to be puniſhed.
And laſtly, God being the wiſe Governor of the World, and alſo perfect in
Holineſs and Juſtice, we may be ſure that he will judge the World in Righ-Pfal. ix. 8.
teouſneſs, and miniſter Judgment to the People in Uprightneſs, as the Pſal-
miſt ſays; we may be ſure that he will render to every Man according to his Rom. i. 6.
Works; we may conſequently be ſure that he will make a wide Difference
between the good and the bad; and may argue as Abraham did, Gen. xviii. 25.
That the Righteous ſhould be as the Wicked that be far from thee; ſhall not
the Judge of all the Earth do Right? But it does not therefore follow, that
this
IIOO
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
ز
ز
this great Difference that will certainly be made between the Righteous and
the Wicked muſt needs be made in this World ; it is enough that it will cer-
tainly be made ſome Time or other; now, or at another Time. Nay, this
Life being properly only a State of Trial, and the next of Retribution, it is
moſt congruous that this Difference ſhould not be conſtantly made in this
World.
3. As the Judgment that we paſs upon Men from what befalls them in
this World is altogether ungrounded and unwarranted, ſo it is likewiſe liable
to great Miſtakes and Uncertainties; becauſe we may be miſtaken in the Na-
ture of thoſe Things which we account good or evil; or, if we are not mil-
taken in that, if they are indeed as good or as evil as we think them, we may
yet be miſtaken, when we judge them Arguments of God's Love or Hatred,
of his Favour or Diſpleaſure.
And here opens a large Field of Diſcourſe, not to be bounded by the ut-
moſt Limits that your Patience would allow to a Sermon: And therefore,
that I may not treſpaſs upon it too much, I will have Reſpect, in what I
ſhall ſay upon this Head, chiefly to the Caſe of ſuch as thoſe ſpoken of in the
Text, and in the foregoing Words.
(1.) Then, I ſay, We may be miſtaken in the Nature of thoſe Things
which we account good or evil.
Particularly, we uſually account it a great Bleſſing for a Man to live to the
Pſal
. xc, 19. full Term of human Life, which, as the Pſalmiſt ſays, is threeſcore and ten,
or fourſcore Tears, and then to die peaceably in his Bed ; and a great Mif-
fortune for a Man to be cut off in the Midſt of his Days, to be taken away
in the Flower of his Age; eſpecially if it be by a violent Death. But I ſay,
that if we conſider the Thing well, we ſhall perceive that the Difference be-
tween that which we account a Bleſſedneſs, and this which we account a
Misfortune, is rather imaginary than real; that it is not in the Things, but
in the Perſons; becauſe that to a good Man, any Death, at any Time, is a
Rev. xiv. 13. Happineſs, Bleſed are the Dead which die in the Lord; and to a wicked
Man, who lives and dies in his Wickedneſs, the longeſt Life is no Bleſſing,
and the eaſieſt Death no Comfort.
To a good Man, I ſay, an early or a late Death are either of them, in
ſome Reſpects, an Advantage; for if he dies young, he is the ſooner freed
from the Miſeries of this evil World, and tranſlated to a ſecure and everlaſting
Happineſs, where he is placed out of the Reach of Sin and Temptation, and
out of Danger of falling away from God. And is not this an Advantage ?
to be taken from his Work at Noon, and then to receive his Wages, when
others are forced to endure the Burthen, and Heat, and Toil of the whole
Day ; nay, perhaps to continue till late Night, working out their Salvation
with Fear and Trembling. But then, on the other Side, if it pleaſes God to
grant him a long Life, this alſo will turn to his Advantage ; for tho' he be
not ſo happy now at preſent, as his Co-æval is who died younger, yet he has
this to comfort him, and bear him up under the Toil and Labour which he
is ſtill to undergo; that the longer he continues in this State of Warfare, and
the more Enemies he encounters and overcomes, his Victory will be ſo much
the greater, and his Crown the more glorious ; that tho' he ſtays longer for his
Pay, he ſhall receive it at laſt with large Intereſt; that his patient Continuance
in Well-doing ſo long will be recompenced with a more ample Reward
2 Cor. iv. 17, and that his light Afflictions which are but for a Moment, will work for him
a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory. So that upon the whole
Matter, every good Man may ſay with St. Paul, Phil. i. 21. To me to live is
Chriſt, and to die is Gain.
But now, on the other Side, to a wicked Man to die foon is a Curſe, and
yet to live long is no Bleſſing. For if he be cut off young, he dies like a
Fool,
2
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
IIOI
Fool, and is hurried away into endleſs Miſery, without having enjoyed ſo
much as his Portion of good Things in this Life. And if his Days be pro.
longed, ſtill he is an unhappy Man; for the longer he lives, the more Time
he has to account for; and every Day's Mif-behaviour will add to his Pu-
niſhment ; and the longeſt Life is but as a Moment, in Compariſon with that
Eternity which he will then be condemned to ſpend in fruitleſs Repentance
and unprofitable Sorrow.
Well
, but however, you will ſay, it is better to die in an Houſe, than in
the Street or Fields; to be carried to the Grave by one's Friends, than to be
eaten up by Fiſhes or wild Beaſts. It is a ſad Thing, you will ſay, to be
burned in one's Bed, or be cruſhed to Pieces by the Fall of an Houſe; to
be caſt away at Sea in a Storm, or to be dried up and withered in an In-
ftant, by a Flame of Lightning; and the like.
I anſwer: If Death it ſelf be terrible, as it certainly is, to the Man that
lives in Sin, it is and inuſt be terrible, whatever Shape it comes in : But if it
be not terrible in it ſelf, as to a good Man, who is at Peace with God, and
in his own Mind, it is not; I do not fee, why the Garb and Dreſs of it
ſhould ſo much fright us; or why we ſhould judge any one Sort of Death
much better or worſe than another.
There are, I think, but two Things that can reaſonably be thought to
make very conſiderable Difference between one Sort of Death and another,
viz. either becauſe one is more painful, or elſe becauſe it is more ſudden than
another. We will therefore conſider theſe two Things diſtinctly.
1. Whether a violent Death be more painful than what we call a natural
Death: For if it be fo, I grant it is in that Reſpect worſe.
But of this, I think, we can be no competent Judges, becauſe it is a Mat-
ter of only inward Senſe; for we never tried either of them our ſelyes, nei-
ther have we ſpoken with any that have tried either of them, and much leſs
both of them. The only Way therefore that is left for us to judge by, is
the Obſervation that we make concerning others; and if Groans, and Sighs,
and Complaints, frequent Swoonings, convulſive Motions, and Fits of Mad-
neſs, be any Indications of extreme Pain, and I think they are the beſt we
know of, there will be nothing then wanting to perſuade us, that they who
before they die, lie burning many Days in a high Fever, or are tormented
with a long Fit of the Gout, or Stone, or Cholick, in Extremity, do endure
as much, if not greater Torture, than they that are broken upon the Wheel,
or burnt in the Fire, or ſuffer any other Sort of violent Death.
The Truth is, human Nature is capable of ſo much Pain, and no more;
and I believe there are many Diſeaſes that cauſe us as much Pain as our Na-
ture in this State will bear; and if any Pain exceeds theſe Limits, if it once
grows intolerable, human Nature ſinks under it. Extremity of Pain will ſoon
put an End to it felf, and releaſe the Soul from that troubleſome Vehicle,
which cauſes it intolerable Uneaſineſs. So that in the State that we are now
in, a moderate Pain may be lingring and laſting; but if it be violent, it can.
not long continue. But,
2. This perhaps may be accounted the great Unhappineſs of a violent
Death, that it is for the moſt part ſudden and unexpected; that the Soul and
Body, thoſe two old Friends, are parted, without taking a ſolemn Leave of
each other; and the Man is hurried away to Judgment, without any Warn-
ing.
And this, I confeſs, is a dreadful Conſideration to a wicked Man: It is a
ſad Thing for ſuch an one, by the Fall of a Tile, or the Kick of an Horſe,
to be ſent away into the Regions of Darkneſs, when perhaps he had never
before once ſeriouſly thought of Death, when he had not made the leaſt Pre-
paration for it.
Vol. II.
But
бK
)
II02
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
che
ز
But there are natural Ways of dying as ſudden as by any ſad Accident
whatſoever ; and it is as fad a Thing for ſuch an one to go away in his Sleep,
or to die of an Apoplexy, or to be ſeized with an incurable Lunacy. Nay,
indeed, it is a ſad Thing for ſuch an one to die at all ; becauſe no Death, it
is to be feared, can be good, after a wicked Life. For it is not the ſaying,
Lord, have Mercy, that will cure our evil Habits; that will kill our vicious
Affections; that will render us, all in an Inſtant, good, pure, and holy, and
ſuch as God would have us to be. And tô keep the Cominandments, which
Matth. xix. 17. our Saviour ſays is what, if we would enter into Life, we muſt do, is mani-
feſtly another Thing than it is only to own, tho' with the greateſt and trueſt
Profeſſions of Sorrow, that we have not kept them.
But then the Suddenneſs of Death, is an evil only to ſuch as are not pre-
pared for it by an holy Life. For to a good Man no Death is bad, no Death
indeed is ſudden; becauſe a good Man is always prepared to die, and is ever
in Expectation of Death: And nothing can be ſaid to be ſudden, but what
was unexpected, and unlooked for. A good Man therefore, knowing his
Time to be uncertain, never puts off the doing of any neceſſary Work of his
Salvation till to Morrow, that can be done to Day: And he that every Day
does the work of the Day, is always ready to give an Account to God of
his Work; And bleſſed is that Servant, whom his Lord when he cometh,
mall find ſo doing. To him therefore it can be no Surpriſe, if as hc walks
about his lawful Buſineſs, he drops down in an Apoplexy; or if when he firſt
awakens out of his natural Sleep, he finds himſelf in another World: And it
is all one to him, if he receives his Death by the Shot of a Bullet, by a Flaſh
of Lightning, or by the Fall of a Tower or an Houſe. The Manner of dy-
ing can make no great Difference, when either Way it is over in the Twink-
ling of an Eye; and when as ſoon as ever the Man's Soul is releaſed from the
Priſon of the Body, this Houfe of Clay, it finds the bleſſed Angels ready to
receive it, and conduct it to Heaven; and the Son, its Redeemer, and all
the holy Company of the Spirits of juſt Men made perfett, ready to congra-
tulate its ſafe Arrival to the Manſions of everlaſting Joy and Bleſſedneſs. Or,
if this be a Surpriſe, it is ſuch an önc as we ſhould rather deſire and rejoice at,
than be afraid of; ſuch an one as it was to St. Peter, when having, as I may
Acts xii. 6, &c. ſay, left himſelf in the Priſon aſleep between two Soldiers, and bound with
two Chains, he found himſelf, at his awaking, under the Conduct of an Angel,
walking in the Streets of Jeruſalem. A ſudden Surpriſe indeed it was, but
it was a bleſſed one; it was ſuch as might well make him at firſt in ſome
Doubt, whether what had happened to him was true, or he had only ſeen a
Viſion; but it was alſo ſuch an one, as when he came to himſelf, and was
ſure of the Truth of it, could not but yield him great Pleaſure and Satiſ-
faction,
Thus, you ſee, we may be miſtaken in the Nature of thoſe Things which
we account good and evil; and particularly, that a long Life, and à natural
Death, are not fo certainly good ; nor a ſhort Life, and a violent Death, ſo
certainly evil as they are commonly ſuppoſed to be. The great Difference
between the one and the other, depends upon the Goodneſs or Wickedneſs
of the ſeveral Men to whom they befall: To a good Man, all Things are
good; and to a wicked Man, all Things are evil. And the very fame Event
which to one of them would be the beſt, may to the other of them be the
worſt Thing that could happen. So that we cannot with Certainty pro-
nounce any Man bleſſed, or miſerable, from the Accidents that befall him.
But,
(2.) Granting the common Opinion which we have of theſe Things to be
true, that they are indeed as good or' as evil as we commonly think them to
be; yet we may be miſtaken, when we judge them Arguments of God's Love
OL
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
II03
or Hatred, of his Favour or Diſpleaſure. No Man knoweth Love or Ha-Eccl. ix. 1,
tred, by all that is before them, ſays Solomon; that is, no Man can certainly
I
know how God ſtands affected towards any Perſon, by the Things, whether
good or evil, that befall him in this world. And the Reaſon of this I have
already intimated, viz. becauſe this Life is properly a State of Trial only, not
of Rétribution; and while God is making Trial of Men, it may be very
conſiſtent with his Juſtice, and Hatred to Sin, to ſpare when they deſerve Pu-
niſhment, and to ſeek by his Goodneſs to draw them to Repentance; and
it may be likewiſe very conſiſtent with his Holineſs, and with the Love that
he bears to good Men, to afflict them with temporal Evils, for the Trial of
their Faith, for the Exerciſe of their Patience, for the Correction and Cure.
of ſomewhat that is amiſs, or for ſome other End that he deſigns to bring
about this Way. Nay, it may be very conſiſtent with his Goodneſs to take
them off by a violent, as well as by what is called a natural Death; becauſe
how much ſoever that can be ſuppoſed to be worſe than this, God is able
to make them infinite Amends in another State; and he will certainly make Rom. viii. 28.
all Things work together for Good to them that love him.
I proceed now, in the fourth and laſt Place,
4. To ſhew, that as the Judgment which we are apt to paſs upon Men,
from what befalls them in this Life, or from the Manner of their Death, is
always raſh, uncharitable and uncertain, ſo in ſome Inſtances that have been,
we are aſſured, ſuch a Judgment would have been falſe.
For thus, he that from the Afflictions, the more than common Afflictions,
that befell Job, in which alſo there were ſeveral Marks and Characters of a
fpecial Hand and Providence of God, ſhould have concluded, as his Friends
did, that however he had been blameleſs in the Sight of Men,' he was ne-
vertheleſs certainly known to God to be a Man of ſuperlative Wickedneſs,
would have paſſed upon him a Judgment directly contrary to the Judgment
of God himſelf, who teſtified of him, Job i. 8. that there was not a Man
like him upon the Earth, a perfect and an upright Man, one that feared God,
and eſchewed Evil.
And how falſe their Judgment was, who thought the Galileans that were
ftain by Pilate, greater Sinners than the other Galileans that eſcaped ; and
thoſe eighteen upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell and ſlew them, Sinners
above all Men that dwelt in Jeruſalem; our Saviour himſelf, who perfectly
knew what was in Man, here plainly tells us, Think ye that they.were Sin- Joh. ii. 25;
ners above all others, becauſe they ſuffered ſuch Things? I tell you, Nay.
But theſe however, it may be you will ſay, were Sinners, and great Sin-
ners too, although not greater than ſome others that were not in like manner
taken off. Thus much ſeems to be allowed by our Saviour himſelf in this
Way of Expreſſion ; Think ye that they were greater Sinners ?
And what if this be granted: nay, and what if it be farther granted, that
the eyil Accidents that befell them were in Judgment, and Puniſhment upon
them for their Sins ? it does not therefore follow, that becauſe they fared
worſe than other Men in this World, they ſhall alſo fare worſe than others in
the next. Nay indeed the contrary to this may with better Reaſon be pre-
ſumed, viz. that having received this Puniſhment of their Sin in this World,
by a temporal Judgment, the Juſtice of God was, in and through the Me-
rits and Satisfaction of Chriſt, thereby ſo fully appeaſed, as that the ſame Sin
ſhall not be imputed to them to their eternal Condemnation ; according to
that of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. xi. 32. When we are judged we are chaſtned of
the Lord, that we ſhould not be condemned with the World. For it may
be
conſidered, that the Judgment which the Apoſtle there ſpeaks of, was not
only of the Calamities of Life, but likewiſe of that temporal Death which
was inflicted upon ſome that had been guilty of great Irregularities in the Ce-
lebration
I
$
1
1104
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
Ver. 8.
lebration of the holy Communion, as may be ſeen, ver. 30. For this Cauſe
many are weak and ſickly among you, and many ſeep. Even thoſe that ſlept,
that is, who were ſmitten with Death, as well as thoſe that were ſmitten with
Diſeaſes, were, as the Apoſtle ſeems plainly to intimate, chaſtned of the Lord
here, that they might not be condemned with the World hereafter.
Thus though it be ſuppoſed that a violent Death were always ſent for the
perſonal Tranſgreſſion of the Man that ſuffered it, we could not therefore
conclude, that becauſe he was taken away in Judgment, he was ſo taken away
in God's Diſpleaſure, as to be excluded from his Mercy in the other World.
But I ſaid before, and that I ſtill abide by; That in judging a Man to be
Eccl. vii. 20. a Sinner; in any other Senſe, I mean, than as we are all Sinners, there not be-
ing a juſt Man upon Earth that doeth Good and ſinneth not; or in judging
a Man to be a greater Sinner than others, only becauſe he comes to his Death
by a ſad Accident, ſuch as that ſpoken of in the Text, or becauſe he is taken
off by any other Sort of violent Death; we paſs ſuch a Judgment as in ſome
Inſtances of theſe kinds would have been plainly falſe.
I Kings xiii. For what ſhall we think of the Prophet of Judah, who was ſent by God
to propheſy againſt the Altar at Bethel, and in his Return home was ſain by
a Lion? whoſe Story you have in the thirteenth Chapter of the firſt Book of
Ver. 9. Kings. It is true indeed, he had tranſgreſſed the Order that was given him
by God, not to eat Bread or drink Water there. But then it is to be con-
ſidered, that his Tranſgreſſion of this Precept, which was at moſt but a cere-
monial Precept, was not out of any Averſion he had to it, or out of a rebel-
lious Spirit; for he ſhowed all the Willingneſs that could be to comply with
it; and when the King himſelf had invited him to a royal Entertainment
at his Palace, he had refuſed to accept of his Kindneſs upon any Terms, even
although the King would have given him half his Houſe, only to have dined
with him ; and the Reaſon of his Refuſal, he ſays himſelf, was becauſe he had
been otherwiſe ordered by God. And in the ſame obedient Mind he con-
tinued after that, for having delivered his Meſſage, he immediately ſet forwards
on his Journey, and was on his Way returning hone; when he was over-
Ver. 14. taken by a reverend old Man, who told him that he alſo was a Prophet' as
he was, and that he had lately received a Revelation from God, by which
that former Order given him not to eat or drink there, had been revoked,
and by which he himſelf had been commanded to invite him to his Houſe,
and to entertain him there with Bread and Drink. His Tranſgreſſion there-
fore, of the Order that God had given him, though not to be juſtified, yet
ſeems not to have proceeded from any Wickedneſs in his Mind; he was in-
deed over-credulous in believing another Man's Pretence to Revelation, againſt
a clear Revelation that had been given to himſelf; but it appears to have
been an Error of his Judgment only, not a Fault in his Will; for it ſeems
highly probable from the whole Story, that he would not upon any Account,
by no Inducements or Perſuaſions whatever, have been prevailed with to go
back, had he not been really perſuaded that the other Prophet had indeed re-
ceived ſuch a Revelation as he pretended, vacating and countermanding, in
that Particular, the Revelation which had been before made to himſelf.
But now the Crime of the old Prophet of Bethel who lyed to this Pro-
phet, and who knew that he lyed when he told hiin he had received ſuch a
Revelation, was manifeſtly exceeding great: For what Crime almoſt can be
conceived greater, than it was to utter a known Untruth in the Name of
God? Had therefore the Death of the Prophet of Judah by the Lion been
deſigned chiefly as a Puniſhment for Sin, the wilful Deceiver, one would
think, ſhould rather have been ſo puniſhed, than he that was, I had almoſt
ſaid, innocently, deceived ; his Crime being of the two, evidently, much the
greateſt. But it hapned quite otherwiſe ; the true Prophet was Nain by a Lion,
---
I
and
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
1105
:
and the Deceiver and falſe Prophet eſcaped, and for ought appears to the con
trary, died in Peace in his Bed. It is therefore highly probable that the
Death of this Prophet who was Nain by the Lion, though it might be truly
called a Judgment of God upon him for his Diſobedience, yet was not de
ſigned by God ſo much for his Puniſhment, as to give Confirmation to the
Truth of that Prophecy which he had before uttered againſt the Altar in
Bethel. And this it did, even to the full Satisfaction of that falſe Prophet
who had deceived him; who therefore ordred himſelf to be buried in the
ſame Grave with him, that ſo when the Time fliould come wherein this
Prophecy was to be fulfilled, as he was then well affured it ſhould be, his
Bones might not be diſturbed.
Another Inſtance of this Kind, wherein ſuch Judgment concerning a Man
from the Manner of his Death would have been plainly falſe, we have in
Joſiah, who was ſlain by the Sword of his Enemies, and in the Vigor of his 2 Kings xxiii.
Age, under forty Years old. And now who that had read only the Hiſtory 29. xxii
. s.
of his Death, would not have concluded that he was certainly one of the
worſt of the Kings of Judah, at leaſt, much worſe than his Grandfather xxi, 1.
Manaſſeh, who lived fixty ſeven, and reigned five and fifty Years, and at laſt
died in Peace. And yet if you read the whole Hiſtory of both their Lives,
you will find that as Manaſſeh had been the very worſt, fo Joſiah was the beſt
King that had reigned in Judah: For of him the Scripture it ſelf teſtifies,
that he did that which was right in the Sight of the Lord, and walked in xxii. 2.
all the way of David his Father, and turned not aſide to the right Hand
or to the left. And in another Place, that like unto him there was no King Ver. 2.5.
before him, that turned to the Lord with all his Heart, and with all his
Soul, and with all his Might, according to all the Law of Mofes, neither
after him aroſe there any like him.
But there is no Sort of violent Death that can with better Reaſon be
thought a Judgment of God upon the Perſon that ſuffers it, than that
which is inflicted by the Sentence of the Magiſtrate, who is God's Deputy
and Vicegerent upon Earth, who acts in God's Place, and of whoſe Judg-
ment it is expreſſly ſaid in Scripture, that it is God's Judgment. Te judge not Deut. i. 17.
for Man, but for the Lord, ſaid Jehoſaphat to the Judges whom he had ap-
pointed in the Cities of Judah. And, He, ſays the Apoſtle, ſpeaking of the Rom. xiii. 4.
Civil Magiſtrate, is the Miniſter of God, a Revenger to execute Wrath ироп
him that doeth Evil. If therefore we might ſay of any Man that dies a
violent Death, that he is ſmitten of God for his evil Deeds, we might, I
think, with the moſt Certainty ſay it of thoſe who are formally tried and
condemned to Death as Malefactors, by the Sentence of theſe Miniſters of
God, theſe Executioners of his Wrath; and who are put to Death by that
Sword which God himſelf has given into their Hands. But what ſhall we
ſay then of thoſe ancient Worthies, who by this very Judgment were tor- Hebi xi.35,36,
tured, and had Trial of critel Mockings and Scourgings? and not only ſo, 37, 38.
but who were ſtoned, and fawn afunder, and ſain with the Sword? For
ſo the Author to the Hebrews tells us a great many were, of whom yet the
World was not worthy. Or what then ſhall we ſay of all the holy Apoſtles
of our Lord, and of the noble Army of Martyrs both of the preſent and
former Ages, who by the Sentence of God's Deputy, the Civil Magiſtrate,
have been condemned to various kinds of Death, by many Degrees more
ſad and painful than either the Galileans ſuffered who were ſlain by Pilate,
or thoſe eighteen upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell?
When therefore we ſee any Man ſtricken, as it were, by the Hand of God,
and taken away by a violent Death, either by the Judgment of the Magiſtrate,
or by a ſad Accident; though we may and ought to reſt ſatisfied in it, ſo far
as the Providence of God is therein concerned, firmly believing that God is
Vol. II.
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righteous
2 Chron.xix.6.
ΙΙο6
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
Pfal. cxlv. 19. rightéous in all his Ways, and holy in all his Works: We ought not however
to ſay, nay we ought not ſo much as to think within our ſelves, Surely this
Man was a great Sinner; greater than we who are left alive ; greater than
others that die peaceably in their Beds, and in a good old Age. For whatever
another Man has ſuffered is no more than we all, even the beſt of us, do de-
ſerve to ſuffer; and it is not any Worthineſs in any of us, but only the great
Mercy and Long-ſuffering of God, that has kept us ſo long in Life and
Şafety. And if upon this we take Occaſion to judge uncharitably of our
Brother, or to pride and pleaſe our ſelves in a fond Conceit that we are the
ſpecial Favourites of Heaven, that God ſees no Sin in us, and that we need
no Amendment; we ſhall at length find to our Coſt, that God's preſent For-
bearance of us is only a Reſervation of us for ſome greater Puniſhment, either
in this World or in the other.
And this leads me to the ſecond Point I propounded to diſcourſe of, viz.
i
II. To ſhew, that the right Uſe which we ought to make of any Evil or
Calamity befalling another Man, either in his Life, or in his Death, is by the
Conſideration thereof to be incited to reform and amend whatever is amiſs in
our own Lives, left the ſame Evil that has befallen him, or a worſe, ſhould
befall us : Except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh.
For it is certain, that all the temporal Judgments of God are ſent upon
Men for the Puniſhment of Sin; though not always of their Sin in particular,
or of their's more eſpecially who are ſtricken by it. For the temporal Judg-
ments of God are moſt commonly deſigned for national Puniſhments: And
when a whole Nation deſerves to be rooted out for their ſcandalous Wicked-
neſs, it is indeed great Mercy and Goodneſs in God, that he is pleaſed to
make ſome few of them only Examples for a Terror to the reſt. Herein
God deals with a ſinful Nation, as it is cuſtomary for earthly Governors or
Commanders of Armies to do in the Caſe of Sedition or Mutiny; it is not
fit that the Crime ſhould be wholly unpuniſhed, becauſe then the Authority
of the Governor would quickly become vile and ſlighted; and yet ſhould all
that partake in the Crime be involved in the Puniſhment, the Execution
would be too bloody and ſevere. In ſuch a Caſe therefore they commonly
mix Mercy with Severity, and take out by Lot, as they judge needful, one out
of ten, or one out of twenty, or one out of an hundred; and having done
Execution upon them, let the reſt go free, in Hope that by the Puniſhment
which ſome have ſuffered, and which they all had been in Danger of, they
will be deterred from committing the like Crime again.
And thus, I ſay, God often deals with a finful Nation, when it is Time
cxix. 106. for him to work, becauſe they have made void his Law; he nevertheleſs, even
in Judgment, commonly remembers Mercy, and ſmites only fome, and lets
others eſcape, cuts off ſome, and gives others a longer Time of Trial.
And not only ſo, but in ſetting ſome out for Execution, he ſeems alſo to
take them juſt as if it were by Lor, by mere Chance and Accident. In theſe
national Judgments he commonly lets the Arrows of his Vengeance flie, as it
were at random, juſt as if he were not at all concerned who were ſtricken, or
who eſcaped. Such, I ſay, the Adminiſtration of his Providence in execut-
ing his Vengeance in this World commonly ſeems to us; and it muſt needs
ſeem ſo, when, according to the beſt Judgment that we can make concerning
Men, we ſee the Good and the Bad, the Righteous and the Wicked, and as
many in proportion of the one Sort as of the other, afflicted by the ſame
Judgment, deſtroyed by the ſame Plague, or cut off by the ſame evil Ac-
cident.
And yet this Method of the divine Providence, is in Truth the wifeft that
could be taken; the moſt ſuitable to the Nature and Deſign of temporal, and
eſpecially
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
1107
eſpecially of national Judgments; and wherein there is an admirable Mixture
of Wiſdom, of Juſtice, and of Goodneſs.
For ſhould none but good Men ſuffer in a national Calamity, this would
make it look as if the World were governed by a wicked Spirit; and beſides
would give too great Encouragement to Men to live in Wickedneſs, by ma-
king it appear to them the moſt probable Means of ſaying and ſecuring them-
ſelves from Harm. It is therefore plainly neceſſary, that in a national Judg.
ment, ſome at leaſt ſhould be choſen out from among the wicked to be made
Examples.
And yet, on the other Side, ſhould none but notorious wicked Men ſuf-
fer in ſuch a Calamity, this would give too much Ground to think that this
Life was deſigned by God for a State of Retribution as well as of Trial to
Men; and conſequently that there might poſſibly be no other Life after this.
And beſides, ſuch an Execution as this would not ſo well anſwer the End
of a national Judgment: For what Judgment or Puniſhment would it be to
a Nation to have none cut off from it, but only ſuch as it ſelf would wiſh
to be cut of ſuch as it would be glad to be rid of? ſuch as being Dif-
turbers of the publick Peace and Welfare would have been taken away by
human Juſtice, if that could have its due Courſe againſt all Crimes and up-
on all Öffenders ? But it is truly a Judgment and a Calamity to a Nation to
be deprived of ſome of its beſt Members, to have thoſe cut off that are the
moſt uſeful to ir, and do the moſt Good in it. So that a Nation is then
moſt ſeverely puniſhed when the Judgment lights chiefly upon ſuch; the Loſs
of a few good Perſons out of it being a much greater Loſs and Damage to
it, than it would have been to have had ten Times the ſame Number of
other Men taken away.
When therefore the Providence of God takes this Courſe, and deſtroys
both the good and the bad by the ſame common Calamity, this both is
an Argument of God's higheſt Diſpleaſure, and alſo gives juft Ground to fear,
that he deſigns not to ſtop at this, but to go on and puniſh the ſinful Nation
ſtill ſeven Times more for their Iniquity.
I ſay, firſt, it is an Argument of God's higheſt Diſpleaſure at preſent. And
in this Senſe I underſtand thoſe Words of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chap. xxi.
Ver. 3, 4, 5. Say to the Land of Iſrael, Thus faith the Lord; behold I am
againſt thee, and will draw forth my Sword out of his Sheath, and will cut
off from thee the Righteous and the Wicked. Seeing then that I will cut
off from thee the Righteous and the Wicked, therefore ſhall my Sword
go
forth out of his Sheath againſt all Fleſh, from the South to the North ;
that all Fleſh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my Sword out
of his Sheath; it ſhall not return any more. It ſhall not return any more ;
that is, it ſhall go on deſtroying till it has made a full End.
And this was what I farther ſaid; viz. that when God proceeds after this
Manner, deſtroying in any publick Calamity the Righteous with the Wicked,
this affords great Cauſe to fear that his Juſtice will not be ſatisfied with this
one Execution, but that he intends to puniſh the ſinful Nation ſtill ſeven
Times more for their Iniquity. For ſo, when he gave good King Foſiah,
the beſt King that ever reigned in Judah, to be ſlain by the Sword of his
Enemies, the Reaſon was, becauſe he was reſolved to deſtroy this Nation,
to remove Judah alſo out of his Sight, as he had removed Ifrael; and there- 2 Kings, xxčji. .
fore he took him firſt away, that his Eyes might not ſee the evil that he 27.
was bringing upon his People. And whenever he ſuffers good Men, eſpeci-
ally if they were remarkably ſuch, to be taken away by the deſtroying An-
gel in a common Plague or Calamity, whoever wiſely and religiouſly con-
fiders the Matter, will always be apt to fear it is for the fame Reaſon; ac-
cording to that of the Prophet, Iſaiah lvii. 1. The Righteous periſheth, and
xxii, 2.
3
mo
1108
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
Kom. ix22.
no Man layeth it to Heart; and merciful Men are taken away, none conſi-
dering, that the Righteous is taken away from the Evil to come.
And as it is an Argument of God's levereſt Diſpleaſure againſt a whole
Nation, when he thus takes away, as it were without Diſcrimination, the
Righteous and the Wicked; ſo this ſame is likewiſe an Inſtance and Ex-
preſſion of his wonderful Grace and Goodneſs to particular Men: Indeed,
he ſhews herein as much Goodneſs and Tenderneſs to particular Perſons, as
he could poſſibly do, while he is executing his juſt Vengeance upon that whole
ſinful Nation which they compoſe. For what can be more gracious, what
can be more agreeable to the infinite Goodneſs of that God, who is not
2 Pet. iii.g. willing that any ſhould periſh, but that all ſhould come to Repentance, than
it is to take away in a common and national Calamity, ſuch as will be the
leaſt Sufferers by it in their own Perſons, ſuch as are fitteſt to die? and to
endure with much Long-ſuffering the Veſſels of Wrath fitted to Deſtruction;
that is, ſuch Perſons as if he ſhould then take them away muft be unavoid-
ably miſerable to all Eternity; but who may, and it is to be hoped, will,
by this Goodneſs and Forbearance of God be led to Repentance ?
But if neither by the Judgment that has befallen others, nor by the Good-
neſs that has been thewed to themſelves, they be brought to Repentance,
their Caſe then will be worſe than if they had been taken off ſooner. For
unleſs they repent, the longer they continue in the World, they will have
only the more Sins to anſwer for; and by deſpiſing the Riches of God's
Rom ii. 4,5,6. Goodneſs, and Forbearance; and Long-ſuffering; they will only treaſure up to
themſelves Wrath againſt the Day of Wrath, and Revelation of the righ-
teous Judgment of God, who will render to every Man according to his
Deeds. Except
je repent, ye jhall all likewiſe periſh.
I crave your Patience only while I make Application of what has been
ſaid to our ſelves, with Regard to a Caſe that has lately happened among us,
and which is a principal Occaſion of our preſent Meeting.
And I might almoſt ſay of the Words of the Text, as our Saviour in
Luke iv. 21. did concerning a Text which he was then preaching upon, out
of the Prophet Iſaiah; This Day is this Scripture fulfilled in your Ears.
For we have had lately among our ſelves an Inſtance like to that ſpoken of
in the Text, only much more ſevere and terrible. For many more we have
heard of than eighteen that have been killed upon the Land, much in
ſuch Manner as theſe Men were, by the Fall of Walls and Houſes upon
their Heads; and I fear I might ſay, there have been more than as many
hundred caſt away and drowned at Sea in the late dreadful Storm; none
of which had more Reaſon to fear, or expect their Death at that Time,
than we had, who by the Goodneſs of God are ſtill alive.
Now why they were taken away, and why we were left, we our ſelves
can give no Reaſon. Only this we may be ſure of, that it was not becauſe
we were better than they, that they are dead and we alive: This we may
be ſure of, that there were not worſe Men taken away, than are fill remain-
ing among us; nay, and it is farther highly probable that there are not bet-
ter Men now alive, than ſome were, who by thàt violent Tempeſt were for-
cibly driven into that Haven where they would be, into the Haven of eter-
nal Reſt and Peace. It is impoſſible therefore for us to give a Reaſon of
this Diſpenſation of Providence as to particular Men; and of what we are
not able to make a true Judgment, the Judgment that we give, if it be not
uncharitable, muft at leaſt be raſh and uncertain. Let us therefore, as the
Apoſtle exhorts, 1 Cor. iv. s. judge nothing before the Time, until the Lord
come, who both will bring to Light the hidden Things of Darkneſs, and
will make manifeſt the Counſels of the Hearts : And then ſhall every Man
have Praiſe of God. Think ye, ſays cur Lord, that they were Sinners above
all that dwelt in Jeruſalem I tell yorld, Nay.
But
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
110g
But whether they were Sinners or no, or whether they were Sinners above
others or no, that have been taken away in this ſad Calamity, the Calamity
it ſelf was doubtleſs a Judgment of God upon us all, even upon the whole
Nation, for our manifold and crying Sins: And when the Judgments of God llai. 26. 94
are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the World ſhould learn Righteouſneſs.
They that have been taken away by this Judgment, ſeemingly in God's Dir-
pleaſure, are Examples to us of that Vengeance which we had all of us de-
ſerved, and which we had alſo all of us felt, if he had ſuffered his whole Dif-
pleaſure to ariſe.
Let not us therefore who have eſcaped, ler not even ſuch of us as have
eſcaped by a ſignal, or even wonderful Providence of God, as ſome have
done, think ever the better of our ſelves for this; for we are not by this ab-
ſolved; our Judgment is but only delayed for a while. And it may be re-
membred, how that the Lord having ſaved the People out of the Land of Jude 5.
Egypt, and that too by Signs and Wonders, by a mighty Hand and a ſtretched
out Arm, yet afterward deſtroyed them that believed not.
But even this cannot yet be ſaid of us, that we are ſaved; all that can be
ſaid, is, that we are not yet deſtroyed; but how ſoon we may be, God only
knows; and that too by a much worſe Deſtruction than they were who pe-
riſhed in the late dreadful Tempeſt. For the ſame Hand that then ſmore us,
is ſtill held over us; and though we hope that the Winds and Storms have
already fulfilled all that was given them in Command by God, yet the ſame
Word at which they aroſe can arm and ſend forth any other of his Creatures
for our Deſtruction. The ſame Power that has ſhaken the Tops of our
Houſes, can ſhake the Foundations alſo, and make them become in an In-
ſtant an Heap of Rubbiſh to cover and bury our dead Carcaffes in; and he that
has given ſo many of late to be ſwallowed up by the Sea, can, if he pleaſes;
command the Earth alſo to ſwallow up us that remain. Some Menaces of
this Kind, it is ſaid, we have lately had in ſome Parts of the Nation. But
this we may be aſſured of, that unleſs we improve to good Purpoſe the Re-
ſpite which God now affords us, we ſhall yet fall under a heavier Condemna.
tion than if we had been called to Judgment ſooner: Except ye repent, ye
ſhall all likewiſe periſh.
And that we have not yet repented to good Purpoſe is evident, becauſe for
all the Evils that God has hitherto ſent upon us, his Anger is not turned
away, but his Hand is ſtretched out ſtill
. For there are four Things which
God calls his four fore Judgments, the Sword, and the Famine, and the noi- Ezek. 14. 2 1.
fom Beaſt, and the Peſtilence; the firſt of which, and, if David thought
right, the foreſt of all God's Judgments, the Sword, has been now, almoſt 2 Sam. xxiv.
without Intermiſſion, for ſeveral Years paſt, and is ſtill very heavy upon us ;
though, God be thanked, not ſo heavy as in other Countries where the Seat
of the War has been; nor yet ſo heavy as it might have been, and, as we
have Reaſon to fear, it ſtill may be. For if in the War we are now en-
gaged in, we ſhould be unſucceſsful, it may, and probably will be, in its
Conſequences, a great deal forer Evil than any that has yet befallen us; and
much better would it have been for us to have periſhed before, though by
the worſt of Accidents, than to live to ſee, which yet we muſt then expect
to ſee, our Country devoured by Strangers, our holy Religion aboliſhed, and
Popery and Slavery entailed upon us and our Poſterity for ever.
Great Reaſon there is therefore that we ſhould pray continually, as we
do, for good Succeſs in this War, on the iſſue whereof the Fate of the
whole Nation, both as to Temporals and Spirituals, does, to all Appearance,
depend; and upon whatever other ſpecial Occaſion we are at any Time cal-
led upon to faſt, and to humble our ſelves before God, in a Senſe of his
heavy Diſpleaſure, it ought to be a conſiderable Part of our Prayer, that God
Vol. II.
would
/
14.
6M
IIIO
Uncharitable Judgment reproved.
would be now with us, to help us, and to fight our Battles ; and that, how-
ſoever he may think fit to correct us for our Sins, he would yet never de-
liver us up into the Hands of thoſe Men whoſe Mercies are cruel. This is
what, among other Things, we have been now begging of God; and I hope
the Conſideration of his great Diſpleaſure againſt us, manifeſtly ſhewed forth
in the late terrible Storm, has made us do it with more than uſual Seriouſneſs
and Devotion.
But faſting and praying alone will not obtain our Pardon; they alone will
not avert from us the Judgments of God, or procure the Continuance of his
Mercies. The heathen Ninevites underſtood better than this, by the Light
of Nature only; and therefore when their Deſtruction had been threatned by
Jonah the Prophet, they, by the ſame Proclamation which ordered general
Faſting and Supplication, enjoined likewiſe a general Reformation of Manners ;
Jonah iii. 6, 7, 8. when the Word came to the King of Nineveh, he cauſed
it to be proclaimed and publiſhed through Nineveh, by the Decree of the
King and his Nobles, ſaying, Let Man and Beaſt be covered with Sackcloth,
and cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil Way,
and from the Violence that is in their Hands. This is the Magiſtrate's Part,
to forbid, and, ſo far as in them lies, by wholſome Laws, and a vigorous Ex-
ecution of them, effectually to reſtrain and ſuppreſs, at leaſt the open Practice
of Wickedneſs. And in this, there has, I think, been nothing wanting on the
Part of our moſt religious and gracious Queen. May all her Miniſters of
State, and Officers of Juſtice but do their Duties as well; may You, the Ma-
giſtrates of this Capital City, be herein a good Pattern to the whole King-
dom; and may there be on the People's Part, and I pray God there may be
in all of us as ready and full a Compliance with Her Majeſty's pious Deſigns,
as there was in the Subjects of Nineveh; and then we may reaſonably hope,
that our Faſting and Prayer will be as availing as theirs was; that when God
Jonah iii. 10. ſees our Works, and that we turn from our evil Way, he alſo will repent of
the Evil that he thought to do unto us. Then, and upon no other Ternis,
we may reaſonably expect that he will bleſs us with Victory and good Succeſs,
and in his own due Time with ſuch a Peace as may tend to the Glory of his
great Name, the Preſervation of his Church and true Religion, the Honour
and Safety of Her Majeſty, and the Security and Proſperity of theſe King-
doms.
Which God of his Mercy grant, for the ſake of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt
, to
whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoſt be all Honour and Glory, now
and for ever. Amen.
DIS
IIII
DISCOURSE C.
The Lawfulneſs and the right Man-
nerof keeping Chriſtmas, and other
Chriſtian Feſtivals.
Preached on CHRISTMAS-D AY, 1704.
makes
letuse ees on these are those that has come to
ప్రపత్తులు
ISAIAH V. 11, 12.
Woe unto them that riſe up early in the Morning, that
they may follow ſtrong Drink, that continue until
Night, till Wine inflame them.
And the Harp, and the Viol, the Tabret and Pipe,
and Wine are in their Feafts :. But they regard
not the work of the Lord, neither conſider the
Operation of his Hands.
f
HE Prophet had in the Beginning of this Chapter ſhewed un-
der the Parable of a Vineyard, the baſe Ingratitude of the
T
Jews towards God, and the Judgments which they might deſer-
vedly expect; Now, ſays the Prophet, will I ſing to my
well Beloved a Song of my Beloved, touching his Vineyard.
My Beloved hath a Vineyard in a very fruitful Hill
. And
he fenced it, and gathered out the Stones thereof, and planted it with the
choiceſt Vine, and built a Tower in the midſt of it, and alſo made a Wine-
preſs therein, and he looked that it ſhould bring forth Grapes
, and it brought
forth wild Grapes. And now, O Inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and Men of Fu-
dah, judge, I pray you, between me and my Vineyard. What could have been
done more to my Vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore when I
looked that it ſhould bring forth Grapes, brought it forth wild Grapes? And
now, go to, I will tell you what I will do to my Vineyard : I will take away
the Hedge thereof, and it ſhall be eaten up; and break down the Wall there-
2
of
III2
The Lawfulneſs and the right Manner
ܪ
of, and it ſhall be trodden down, and I will lay it waſte; it ſhall not be
pruned nor digged, but there ſhall come up Briars and Thorns. I will alſo
command the Clouds that they rain no Rain upon it. And then follows the
Application. For the Vineyard of the Lord of Hoſts is the Houſe of Iſrael,
and the Men of Judah his pleaſant Plant; and he looked for Judgment, but
behold Oppreſſion ; for Righteouſneſs, but behold a Cry.
And then after this general Charge laid againſt them of Ingratitude, Un-
fruitfulneſs, and notorious Wickedneſs, the Prophet proceeds in the remain-
ing Part of the Chapter to make it good in ſeveral Particulars, inſtancing
eſpecially in their Coverouſneſs and Injuſtice, ver. 8. their Intemperance, Pro-
phaneſs, and Irreligion, ver. 11. their affected Blindneſs and Ignorance in
their Duty, ver. 13. their Wilfullneſs, Preſumption, and Impudence in fin-
ning, ver. 18. their prophane ſcoffing at, and delpiſing the divine Threat-
nings, ver. 19. their confounding the Notions of Good and Evil, ver. 20.
their fooliſh Conceitedneſs of themſelves, ver. 21. their valuing themſelves
upon their Strength to do Wickedneſs, ver. 22. and their notorious Bribe-
ry, Injuſtice, and perverting of Judgment, ver. 23. And at the mention of
moſt of theſe, the Prophet denounces ſeverally a ſpecial Woe againſt the Per-
ſons allowing themſelves in the Sins there particularly mentioned; and at the
Concluſion of all, from the twenty fourth Verſe to the End, declares the
high Diſpleaſure that God had taken againſt his People, for theſe their many
and great Provocations, and the terrible and ſevere Judgments, which he had
already ſent and executed upon them for the ſame; and was determined, if
they ſtill went on to provoke him as they had done, to continue and increaſe
until he ſhould have utterly deſtroyed them. This is, in ſhort, the Sum and
Deſign of this whole Chapter.
The Words which I have choſen at preſent to diſcourſe of, in the
eleventh and twelfth Verſes, contain the ſecond of thoſe particular Charges
againſt the Jews, which I beforementioned; and which I called a Charge of
Intemperance, Prophaneſs, and Irreligion ; and it is alſo one of thoſe which
denounces a ſpecial Woe againſt the Perſons that were liable to it. Woe unto
them that riſe up early in the Morning, that they may follow ſtrong Drink,
that continue until Night, till Wine inflame them. And the Harp and the
Viol, the Tabret and Pipe
, and Wine are in their Feafts, but they regard not
the Work of the Lord, neither conſider the Operation of his Hands. And
this I called a Charge laid againſt them, not only of Intemperance and Senſit-
ality, tho' that be the Thing that ſeeins to be moſt directly charged upon
them, but likewiſe of Prophaneſs and Irreligion ; for it ſeems to be here in-
timated, that the Intemperance and Senſuality which they allowed themſelves
in, was at fuch Times as were ſpecially deſigned and appointed by God for
a religious Commemoration of his Benefits; the Harp and the Viol, the Ta-
bret and Pipe, and Wine are in their Feaſts, but they regard not the Work
of the Lord; i. e. that Work of God in Memory of which thoſe Feaſts
were kept. It was therefore a Fault in them, and a great one too, that they
regarded not the Work of the Lord, neither conſidered the Operation of his
Hands; and it was another great Fault, that they allowed themſelves too free-
ly in Gluttony, Drunkenneſs, and Senſuality; but that which was a great Ag-
gravation of both theſe Faults was their Complication, that is, that they ſpent
that very Time in the Practice of theſe Sins, wherein they were under a
ſpecial Obligation of exerciſing themſelves in thoſe Duties, viz. on the ſolemn
Feaft-Days, appointed and ordained on purpoſe, religiouſly to commemorate
the Bleſſings and Benefits they had received from God, and to return him their
hearty Thanks for the ſame. The Harp and the Viol, the Tabret and Harp,
and Wine are in their Feaſts; there was Mirth and Jollity enough, and too
much; but at the ſame Time little or no Religion; there was not more too much
of
1
2
of keeping Chriſtmas and other Feſtivals. I113
of the former, than there was too little of the latter ; for they regarded
not the Work of the Lord, neither conſidered they the Operation of his
Hands.
This it ſeems was too often the Jews Way of keeping their religious
Feaſts: In the feaſting Part, they took Care not only to do, but to overdo;
but in the religious Part they did nothing at all: So far were they from
ſpending the Time of the ſacred Feſtival in devout Praiſes and Thankſgivings
to God, for thoſe Mercies or Deliverances which thoſe Feſtivals were ordained
to commemorate, that they had no Regard to, or Conſideration of them at
all; their only Care and Thought was to make Proviſion for the Fleſh, to
fulfil the Luſts thereof; and in that they were as careful and thoughtful as
they could poſſibly be; riſing up early in the Morning, that they might fol-
low ſtrong Drink, and continuing until Night, till Wine inflamed them.
And I wiſh I could ſay that this was not alſo too often the Chriſtians
Way of keeping their holy Feafts; ſure I am, it is too too commonly our
Way of keeping them ; and eſpecially of this great Feſtival of all, which we
at this Time celebrate, in Memory of the greateſt Miracle of the divine
Mercy that was ever ſhewn to Mankind, viz. God's ſending his own Son
into the World for their Redemption. On this Feſtival, and I ſhall add too,
in Commemoration of this Benefit? what more cuſtomary than for Men to
riſe up early in the Morning, that they may follow ſtrong Drink, and to con-
tinue until Night, till Wine inflame them? Now, if ever, we look to hear
the Sound of the Harp and the Viol, of the Tabret and Pipe; this is reck-
oned the proper Seaſon for Muſick, and Noiſe, and Merry-making; now al-
ſo is Wine in our Feaſts ; this is the Time, the Time of the whole Year,
for good Eating and Drinking : But then our Thoughts are conimonly ſo
taken up, and our Time ſo much employed in theſe Things, that we have
no Mind to, or no Leiſure for any Thing that is good ; God is not in all
our Thoughts, not now, I ſay, when in Reaſon he ought to be moſt there;
we Regard not in our Minds the Work of the Lord, neither do we conſider
the Operation of his Hands.
But ſince the Caſe is ſo, will ſome perhaps be ready to ſay, that this Fef-
tival, however at firſt perhaps piouſly deſigned, is now ſo very much abuſed,
why is it not rather quite laid aſide? Why ſhould we continue the Obſer-
vation of a Feaſt, which is ſo commonly, ſo cuſtomarily, nay, ſo conſtantly,
every Year an Occaſion of much Sin? and Time was, we have been told, Amo 1644.
and you may perhaps ſome of you remember, when this Counſel ſo far pre-
vailed, that this Day was by Order obſerved as a Faſt: Time was, when the An. 1645,69c.
Churches on this Day were generally kept ſhut, and the Shops were ordered
to be kept open ; and a Sort of Inquiſition was ſet up againſt even thoſe Kinds
of Food, which had been moſt cuſtomarily in Uſe at this Seaſon. But what
Warrant the then Reformers had for this, from the Pattern ſhewed to them
in the Mount, according to which they pretended to make all their Reforma-
tion, I could never yet learn.
For the Jewiſh Feaſts, (the Feaſt of the Paſſover, kept in Memory of their v. Bp. Patrick
Deliverance out of Egypt; that of Pentecoſt
, in Memory of the Overthrow in Ex. xxiii.
of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and of the giving the Law upon Mount Si-
nai; and the Feaſt of Tabernacles, in Memory of their dwelling ſo long in
the Wilderneſs in Tents, and of the Wonders which God did there; theſe
Feaſts, I ſay) had, as is plainly intimated in the Text, been abuſed by ſome
looſe and diffolute Perſons amongſt the Jews, juſt as ours have been; they
had been made by ſome the Seaſons, they had proved to ſome the Occaſions
of much Exceſs and finful Extravagance: But were they for this Reaſon
thought fit to be laid aſide and aboliſhed? Were they for this reaſon for-
bidden to be obſerved any longer?
; Vol. II.
3
No,
14.
2
6N
IL14
The Lawfulneſs and the right Manner
ز
ز
No, perhaps you will ſay, for theſe were of divine Inſtitution, and there-
fore could not by any Human or Eccleſiaſtical Authority be laid aſide, as ours
may be; the Celebration of which has been ordained only by human Pru-
dence, and the Authority of the Church.
And this indeed is true ; that thoſe Feſtivals which were inſtituted by God,
could not be aboliſhed by Men; neither could any Man, how much ſoever
they were abuſed, have taken upon him to aboliſh them, without ſetting up
his own Wiſdom againſt God's.
I did not therefore ask why the Jews themſelves, i. e. why the High-Prieſt,
or the Sanhedrim, or the King for the Time being, or whoever elſe is fup-
poſed to have had the ſupreme Eccleſiaſtical Authority in the Nation ; I did
not, I ſay, ask, why theſe did not lay aſide the Celebration of thoſe Feafts,
in which there had been commonly ſo much Luxury, Drunkenneſs, and In-
temperance, and ſo little Religion; but I only ask'd in general, why they
were not laid aſide and aboliſhed and laid aſide, without Doubt, they miglar
have been, and aboliſhed, by the ſame Authority by which they had been
ordained, i. e. by God himſelf: But it did not, you ſee, ſeem good to the
divine Wiſdom to take this Method of preventing the ſinful Abuſe of ſuch
holy Feſtivals; all that God himſelf thought fit to do in the Caſe, was to
warn the People againſt thus prophaning a religious Inſtitution, and to de-
nounce a Woe againſt thoſe that did; Woe unto them that riſe up early in the
Morning, that they may follow ſtrong Drink, &c.
For he knew how inſenſible we generally are of the divine Benefits, how
apt we are to let them ſlip out of our Minds, and how neceſſary it is that
our Memory thereof ſhould be frequently refreſhed; he knew how very re-
quiſite it was that ſome ſpecial Times and Seaſons ſhould be appointed for
this Purpoſe, there being great Danger that that good Work will never be
done at all, for the doing whereof ſome ſpecial Time is not appointed : He
knew alſo that they that were wiſe and religious would conſider and under-
ſtand the Loving-Kindneſs of God, not only in granting the Bleſſing or Be-
nefit commemorated, but likewiſe in ordering them to rejoice in his Good-
neſs, and to continue the Memory thereof with folemn Praiſes and Thankl-
givings; and that ſuch as were looſe and ſenſual, and given to Intemperance,
would not have been reſtrained from their Rioring and ſinful Extravagances,
only by aboliſhing ſuch Seaſons of publick Praiſe and Rejoycing; but that
if they had not had thoſe, they would have taken other Occaſions of fulfill-
ing the ſame fleſhly Luſts; ſo that only to have aboliſhed ſuch Feſtivities,
would not have been a Means of reforming the wicked Part of the World,
that would ftill have been as lufting, as ſenſual, as intemperate, both then,
and at other Times, as it too commonly was upon the holy Feſtival; for the
ſame corrupt Heart would, at all Times, and upon all Occaſions, have produced
plentifully the ſame corrupt Fruits; but to thoſe who were piouſly and well diſpo.
ſed, it would have been indeed a great Detriment and Diſadvantage, by the Abo-
liſhment of thoſe Days, to have been deprived of thoſe bleſſed Opportuni-
ties which were therein afforded them, of contemplating the divine Goodneſs,
and impreſling the Senſe thereof ſtrongly upon their Minds, and working
themſelves up to the higheſt Degrees of Love and Gratitude to God their moſt
bountiful Benefactor.
In a Word; it is Matter of Fact, that theſe Feſtivals, tho' they had been
much prophaned and abuſed by ſome wicked and licentious Perſons, were
not, however, by any Command of God laid aſide, or forbidden to be
any longer obſerved ; and it is, I think, highly probable, that the Reaſons
above-mentioned, or ſuch like, were the Reaſons why they were nevertheleſs
continued : But however that be, fince they were by the Wiſdom of God
thought fit to be ſtill continued and obſerved, notwithſtanding the ill Uſe
3
that
of keeping Chriſtmas and other Feſtivals.
1115
that ſome prophane and profligate Perſons had made of them ; I can ſee no Rea-
ſon, why the Governors of the Chriſtian Church may not, in a like Caſe,
reaſonably follow the Pattern which the Wiſdom of God has ſet them;
and ſtill continue the Obſervation of thoſe Chriſtian Feſtivals, and of this in
particular, which were inſtituted at firſt with a pious Deſign, and from the
religious. Obſervation whereof ſuch as are piouſly and virtuouſly inclined may,
and do, without Doubt, receive much ſpiritual Advantage ; altho'there be now,
as there were formerly among the Jews, ſome lewd and prophane Perſons,
who, by their wicked- Abuſe of them, ſpending them in Exceſs and Drunk-
enneſs, and other Lufts of the Fleſh, do haften, aſcertain, and much increaſe
their own Damnation.
For tho' it cannot, indeed, be ſaid, it is not pretended by us, that any
of theſe Feſtivals, or this of Chriſtmas in particular, was inſtituted, as the
Jewiſh Feſtivals before ſpoken of were, by the ſpecial Direction and Com-
mand of God; ſo that it might be aboliſhed by human Authority, which
thoſe could not be, without oppoſing or contradicting a poſitive divine In-
ftitution : Yet this we may fay, and this we do affirm, that the Bleſling
and Benefit which we now commemorate, viz. the Redemption of the
World, by the Incarnation of the Son of God, who was manifeſted as at
this Time, to deſtroy the Works of the Devil, was an infinitely greater
Benefit, than the Deliverance of the Ifraelites out of Egypt, than the De-
ſtruction of Pharoah and his. Hoft in the Red Sea, or than the miraculous
Preſervation of the Jews for forty Years in the Wilderneſs; ſo that if they
deſerved to be kept in perpetual Remembrance, by annual Feſtivals, inſtitu-
ted in Commemoration thereof, much more does this deſerve to be in like
Manner remembred with Joy and Thankfulneſs. There was good Reaſon
therefore that the Church ſhould appoint ſome Day or Days in the Year,
whereon this ſhould be done ; for a publick Work of Religion, as this
is, muſt have a ſpecial Time appointed for it, or elſe it cannot be done
at all.
+
Now this is all that the Church does; ſhe appoints a certain Time where-
on all her Members ſhould meet in religious Affemblies, to ſing and give
Praiſes to God for this his ineſtimable Benefit; and that they may be fur-
niſhed with proper Matter for Devotion and Meditation, ſhe provides Pray-
ers to be uſed, and appoints Portions of Scripture to be read, and Sermons
to be preached, ſuitable to the Occaſion ; and that they may have Leiſure,
and be in better Diſpoſition of Mind for this holy. Exerciſe, ſhe diſcharges
them, for that Time, from the Works and Labours of their ordinary Call-
ings; and, as ſuitable to ſuch a Time of rejoycing, ſhe commends the Ex-
erciſe of Charity and Hoſpitality; and ſhe may, perhaps, be ſaid alſo to
permit, but that is the moſt that can be ſaid, a freer and more plentiful Uſe
of the good Creatures of God, than the Conditions and Circumſtances of
Men could furniſh them with at all other Times of the Year; but all the
while the ſtrictly enjoyns them to keep within the Bounds of Temperance
and Sobriety; and whether they eat or drink, or whatever elſe they do,
not unbecoming an holy Feſtival, to do all to the Glory of God.
Thus, I think, it appears that there was good Reaſon at firſt for the ap-
pointing this holy Feſtival to be kept, in ſuch devout and religious Manner
as the Church has directed it to be kept. And if there was good Reaſon
for its firſt Inftitution, there is, I think, the ſame Reaſon why it ſhould
continue ſtill to be obſerved, and that notwithſtanding ſome Abuſes that have
crept into, and fome Inconveniences that have ariſen by, the Obſervation
thereof. For what is there ſo good that has not been miſuſed? Or what is
there ſo uſeful that has not been attended with ſome Inconveniences even
in eating and drinking many Sins are every Day committed? Is it fit there-
fore
+
I116
The Lawfulneſs and the right Manner
fore that a Law ſhould be made to forbid Eating and Drinking; or that
publick Officers ſhould be appointed to deliver out to every one his Mear
and Drink by Weight and Meaſure? There is great Exceſs in Apparel,
would it be reaſonable therefore to forbid the wearing of any Cloaths, or
to command that no Cloathis ſhould be made, but ſuch as are abſolutely
neceſſary, and thoſe of the courſeft Stuff, and after the plaineſt Faſhion ?
And as little Reaſon is there to aboliſh a religious Feſtival, which was well
deſigned, and which is of excellent Uſe to ſuch as are piouſly and well diſ-
poſed, and which, according to the Obſervation of it which the Church di-
rects, is a very probable Means to reclaim even thoſe that are vicious, and
by reminding them of the Mercies and Bleſſings of God, which otherwiſe
they would never have thought of at all, to bring them to ſome Senſe of
Duty and Gratitude; as little Reaſon, I ſay, is there to aboliſh ſuch a reli-
gious Feſtival, only becauſe ſome prophane Perſons do, and will, take Occa-
ſion to ſpend it in Rioting and Drunkenneſs, and Uncleanneſs. For that
they do thus ſpend it, whoſe Fault is it? Is it not their own? Does the
Church, which appoints it to be obſerved, direct that it ſhould be obſerved
in this Manner
No, perhaps you will ſay, that indeed ſhe does not, the commands it to
be kept in a quite different Manner ; but however thus, notwithſtanding all
the Proviſion ſhe has made to prevent it, it has been kept, and thus, after
all the Care ſhe can take about it, it probably will be kept by a great many ;
and therefore to cut off Occaſion from ſuch as will take Occaſion, we think
it had better not be kept at all, but be made again, as it once was, a Day of
ordinary Work and Labour.
And do you think then, indeed, that the Aboliſhment of this Feſtival
would help very much to reform the World: No ſuch Matter. For do
not they that eat to Exceſs at this Time, eat as much to Exceſs at any
other Time, when they have Plenty before them of ſuch Proviſion as they
like? Are not they that are drunk on the Chriſtmas Holidays as free to be
drunk at any other Time of the Year, when they can find Time and Money
for it? Do not they that now riſe up early in the Morning to follow ſtrong
Drink, and continue till Night, till Wine inflame them, do the ſame, when-
ever elſe in the Year they can get to be releaſed for a Day or two, from
the Labours of their Calling? Are not they that now ſpend whole Days and
Nights in exceſſive Gaming, to the Neglect of their Buſineſs, and the Waft-
ing of their Eftates, and the Impoveriſhment of their Families, as ready and
deſirous to do the ſame at any other Seaſon of the Year, when they can
meet with (and ſuch are never hard to be met with Perſons) as idle, and as
Spend-thrift as themſelves? Nay, do not they that ſpend the Chriſtmas Ho
lidays in Idleneſs and Exceſs, and ſinful Pleaſures, moſt commonly ſpend all
other Days dedicated to Religion after the ſame Manner? Do not they com-
monly make the ſame Uſe of a Faſting Day, that they do of a Feſtival? Do
not they commonly ſpend the Lord's Day it ſelf as idly and as ſinfully as
they do Chriſtmas-Day? It is not therefore the Day that corrupts, or helps
to ſpoil the Men, but they are the Men that corrupt and ſpoil the Day.
And therefore, if in order to prevent and reform this Abuſe, it be neceſſary
to aboliſh any one Day that has too cuſtomarily been thus abuſed and pro-
phaned, it will be neceſſary, for the ſame Reaſon, to aboliſh all other Days
that have been in the like Manner prophaned, or that are liable to be in like
Manner abuſed: And then, that Men may have no Time or Leiſure for
their Vices, it will be neceſſary that they ſhould be kept, as the Iſraelites
were in the Egyptian Bondage, to hard and continual Labour; for if ever
they are ſuffered to ceaſe from their Burthens, they will (ſuch of them, I
mean, as are wickedly and prophanely inclined; they will be employing
that
of keeping Chriſtmas and other Feſtivals.
1117
)
:
that leiſure Time in making Proviſion for the Fleſh, to fulfill the Lufts
thereof. Then, that none may have Time for their Vices, none muſt have
any leiſure Time from their works for the Exerciſe of Religion ; for the
ſame Time that the pious and religious do ſpend in the Exerciſe of Devotion,
the ſame will the prophane and profligate ſpend in the finful Luſts of the
Fleſh; the Conſequence of which will be, that as then there will probably
be leſs Vice and Looſeneſs, leſs Rioting and Drunkenneſs, ſo there will be
likewiſe leſs Religion, and leſs Devotion ; for theſe can no more be practiſed
without Time than the other. And, I doubt, the World, in the whole,
would be then much worſe than it is now; for it is better, that with a Mix-
ture of bad, there ſhould be ſome good Perſons in the World, than that
there ſhould be none at all good in it; and none good. there could be, if all
Men were held to their Labours and their Burthens, without ceaſing and
without Intermiſſion.
There is no Reaſon therefore, I think, that any Day of Religion, no
Reaſon that this in particular ſhould be aboliſhed, only becauſe ſome Peo-
ple are ſo wicked as to turn it into a Day of Intemperance and Senſuality ;
becauſe the aboliſhing the Day would not alone ſerve to prevent the Wick-
edneſs that is acted upon it; it would but only put off the acting it from
this Day, to ſome other Day; and in the mean Time, they that are de-
voutly inclined, would, by the Day's being laid aſide, be deprived of an ex-
cellent Means of Religion, and Help to their Devotion; and that great My-
ſtery of Godlineſs, which we now commemorate, God manifeſt in the
Fleſh, would more ſeldom be had in Remembrance and reflected upon; and
in Time to come, this annual Memorial of it being deſtroyed and taken away,
would be in Danger of being quite forgotten.
Thus, much I thought it reaſonable to ſay at this Time to juſtify the Wil-
dom and Piety of the Church, as well in till retaining the Obſervation of this
great Feſtival, in Memory of the Birth of the King of Heaven, as in its firſt
Inſtitution; and that notwithſtanding the ill Uſe that the prophane and licenti-
ous have made, and, it is likely, will ſtill make of it.
But nothing can be ſaid to juſtify their wicked Abuſe of it; for, Woe unto
them, ſays the Prophet in the Text, that riſe up early in the Morning that
they may follow ſtrong Drink, that continue until Night till Wine inflame
them: And the Harp and the Viol, the Tabret and Pipe, and Wine are in
their Feaſts; but they regard not the Work of the Lord, neither conſider the
Operation of his Hands.
The proper Application of which Words to the great Feſtival that we at
this Time celebrate, will be, I ſuppoſe, by ſhewing, firſt, what that Work of
the Lord is which we ought at this Time to have Regard to, and to excrciſe
our Meditations upon. Secondly, what Thoughts and Affections towards God
the Conſideration thereof is proper to work in us, and what Influence it
ought to have upon our Lives. And thirdly, and laſtly, how very unſuitable to
the Occaſion of our preſent Joy and Thankſgiving, the Cuſtom is, of thoſe
prophane and licentious Perſons, who ſpend this Time in Rioting and Drunk-
enneſs, and other finful Lufts of the Fleſh; of all which very briefly.
1. Then, I fall briefly ſhew, what that Work of the Lord is, which we
ought at this Time to have a ſpecial Regard to, and to exerciſe our Medita-
And this has been often already intimated; that Work of God
which we are now more eſpecially to conſider, is his ſending, as at this Time,
his own Son into the World, for the Redemption of Mankind. And here
we ſhould do well to conſider more particularly,
(1.) The Greatneſs and Dignity of the Perſon that was ſent, the only be-
gotten Son of God: He who was the Brightneſs of the Father's Glory, and Heb. i. 3:
the expreſs Image of his Perſon ; upholding all Things by the Word of his
Vol. II.
Power ;
tions upon.
60
I
1118
The Lawfulneſs and the right Manner
Phil. ii. 7.
"Εαυτον κένωσε.
Power; that eternal AbyQ, of whom St. John ſpeaking, ſays, In the Be-
ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God; the ſame was in the Beginning with God. All Things were
made by him, and without him was not any Thing made that was made.
The Senſe of which is very well expreſſed in the Creed commonly call’d the
Nicene Creed, wherein declaring our Belief of this Article, we are taught
to ſay, I believe in one Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the only begotten Son of God, bem
gotten of his Father before all Worlds ; God of God, Light of Light, very
God of very God, begotten not made, being of one Subſtance with the Father,
and by whom all Things were made. Such was the Perſon whoſe coming in-
to the World we at this Time commemorate.
(2.) Another Thing proper to be now conſidered by us, is the Manner of
his being ſent; that he came not in the Glory of his Father, with the holy
Angels, as he will come hereafter, when he thall return to judge the World;
nay, that he came not with ſo much Glory as the Angels of Light had been
uſed to appear in, when they were ſent by God on ſome Meſſage to Men;
but he emptied himſelf, as the Apoſtle expreſſes it; he laid aſide his Majeſty
and Glory; he diveſted himſelf for a while, not indeed of his eternal God-
Head, for that could not be, but of the Glory which he had with his Father
before all Worlds, and took upon him the Form of a Servant, and was made
in the Likeneſs of Men. He whom the Heavens and the Heaven of Heavens
could not contain, condeſcended, by aſſuming the human Nature, the Soul
and Body of Man to himſelf, to be, as it were, circumſcribed and linited
within the ſame narrow Bounds that we are: The Word was made Fleſh and
dwelt
among us ; and neither was his dwelling among us after the Manner of
earthly Kings and Princes, with State and Magnificence, in Splendor and Plen-
ty; but he appeared among us as one of the meaneſt of Men, as the Son of a
Carpenter, of a Man who earned his living by his Labour ; with whom alſo,
until the Time that he began to preach, which was not till he was about
thirty Years old, he is generally believed to have worked at the ſame Trade.
Neither after that, was his Way of living advanced; for he had then no Houſe
of his own to lay his Head in, no Eſtate of his own to live upon, but was
for the moſt part maintained by Charity and Contribution. Was ever ſuch
Condeſcenſion before heard of Or could it enter into the Heart of Man that
ſuch a Thing could be? Great indeed, might the Apoſtle well ſay, is this
Myſtery of Godlineſs, God manifeſted in the Fleſ. But,
(3.) Another Thing proper to exerciſe our Meditation upon at this Seaſon,
is the End and Deſign of this Incarnation of the Son of God; which in
neral, was the Redemption of Mankind from that wretched, deplorable and
deſperate State, which by Sin they had plunged themſelves into. For this pur-
poſe, faith the Apoſtle, the Son of God was manifeſted, that he might deſtroy
the Works of the Devil, 1 Joh. iii. 8. And God ſo loved the World, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whoſoever believeth in him ſhould not periſh,
but have everlaſting Life. For God ſent not his Son into the World to con-
demn the World, but that the World thro' him might be ſaved: So we are
told by our Saviour himſelf, John iii. 16, 17. This was the gracious Deſign
of God and our Saviour, in this wonderful and myſterious Undertaking; to
make Peace for us, and to preach Peace to us; to reconcile us to God, and to
ſave us from our Sins, and to redeem our Souls from Deſtruction.
In order to which, and as a Means of accompliſhing which gracious Deſign;
and that is another Thing proper to be now conſidered, and meditated upon ;
(4.) He not only took upon him our Nature, in that to converſe freely and
familiarly with us, and to teach us both by his Precepts, and by his Example,
the Way we were to take to be happy; but in this Nature united to the Di-
vinity, he paid the Price of our Redemption, he gave his Life a Ranſom
for
ge-
of keeping Chriſtmas and other Feſtivals.
III
1
for all : For in him, as the Apoſtle ſays, we have Redemption thro' his Blood, Col. i. 14.
even the Forgiveneſs of Sins. And this indeed ſeems to have been the main
Deſign of his coming;_the chief Reaſon for which it was neceſſary that he
ſhould become Man. For the ſame Precepts and Rules of holy Living might
have been given by an Angel, or even by a mere Man inſpired by God, and
furniſhed with Power ſufficient to prove his divine Miſlion, beyond all Con-
tradiction; and the ſame excellent Example which he gave, was not, I ſuppoſe,
impoſſible to have been given by another Man, aſſiſted and ſtrengthned unto
all good, by the powerful Operation of the Holy Ghoſt: But to redeem lofi
Mankind, to ſatisfy the Juſtice of God, to make Peace between God and
Men ; that was what could not be done either by Angels or Men; that was
what none could do but the Son of God: None but He could pay the Price
of fo large a Purchaſe; for no Creature's ſuffering could have been equivalent
to the Deſtruction of the whole Race of Mankind, which was thereby to be
bought off. For this purpoſe therefore the Son of God aſſumed our Nature,
that, an ineſtimable Value being added to his Suffering as a Man by the
Union of the divine Nature with the human, he might by one Oblation of
himſelf once offered, make a full, perfect, and ſufficient Sacrifice, Oblation,
and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole world. This was what he came
to do; this was what by his Incarnation, i. e. by his being manifeſted in the
Fleſh, he was capicitated to do; this was what he actually did do for us: For, Phil. ii. 8.
as the Apoſtle ſays, being found in Faſhion as a Man,' he humbled himſelf,
and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Croſs. And this is
that wonderful Work of God, which we ought, now eſpecially, to regard;
this is that Operation of his Hands, which the preſent Feſtival calls upon us to
conſider.
But mere Meditation or Contemplation only is not a ſufficient Commeino-
ration of this great Myſtery; unleſs we make it as uſeful and practical to our
ſelyes as we can. This therefore was the next Thing I propounded to do,
viz.
2. To ſhew, what Thoughts and Affections towards God the Conſideration
of theſe Things ſhould work in us, and what Influence it ought to have upon
our Lives.
(1.) What Thoughts and Affections of Mind towards God the Conſidera-
tion of theſe Things ſhould work in us.
And the natural Return for Love is Love: If therefore God so loved the
World, as to give his only begotten Son, to take upon him the human Nature,
in that to paſs a wretched and painful Life, and to die an accurſed Death for
their Redemption, how can we chuſe but love him again, and devote our
ſelves Souls and Bodies entirely to his faithful Service ? For this, as the Apo- 1 Joh. v. 3. -
ſtle ſays, is the Love of God, that we keep his Commandments; we can te-
ſtify and make Proof of our Love to God, no other Way. This therefore,
(2.) Is the Influence which the Conſideration of that great Myſtery of God-
lineſs, which we now commemorate, ſhould have upon our Lives; we ſhould
look upon our ſelves as the redeemed of the Lord, and not live any longer
to our ſelves, but unto him that died for us; being bought with a Price, 1 Cor.vi, 20;
and that not with corruptible Things, as Silver and Gold, but with
the pre- 1 Pet.i.18.
cious Blood of the Son of God made Man, we ſhould affert our Freedom
from the Slavery of Sin and the Devil, and glorify God, both in our Body
and in our Spirit, which are his.
And this leads me to the third and laſt Thing which I propounded to do,
and wherewith I deſign to put an end to this Diſcourſe, viz.
3. To fhew, how very unſuitab to the Occaſion of our preſent Joy and
Thankſgiving, the Cuſtom is of thoſe prophane and licentious Perſons, who
ſpend this Time in Rioting and Drunkenneſs, and other ſinful Lufts of the
Fleſh,
I
1
II 20
The Lawfulneſs of keeping Chriſtmas, STC.
Tit. ii. 14.
Fleſh. For the Myſtery we now commemorate is the Birth of the Son of
1 Joh. iii. 8. God, who was manifeſted for this Purpoſe, that he might deſtroy the Works
of the Devil: Can any Thing then be more abſurd, than that we ſhould ſpend
the Tinie of this holy Feſtival in the Practice of thoſe wicked Works which
he came to deſtroy? The Bleſſing we now pretend to thank God for, is our
Redemption from the Power of Sin, and the Dominion of Darkneſs : Can
any Thing be more contradictory to this Pretence, than now at this very
Time to ſell our ſelves again to that Slavery from which we ſeem to rejoice
that we were redeemed ? He gave himſelf for us, that he might redeem us
from all Iniquity, and purify unto himſelf a peculiar People zealous of good
Works. Is it not then a very unſuitable Way of commemorating this Benefit,
that Iniquity ſhould abound now, rather more than at other Times: And that
our Love to God, and Zeal for his Service, ſhould now be more cold, when
it ought to be moſt flaming and operative? Is it not very abſurd, that at this
very Seaſon ſet apart on Purpoſe to commemorate our Lord's Birth, and in
the doing of which we pretend to be at this Time employed, we ſhould ſo
far forget, or ſo little conſider, what was the Deſign of his Coming, as to live
and act in the greateſt poſſible Contradiction thereto; not only making
this Feſtival an Occaſion and Opportunity, but ſeeming likewiſe to think it an
Excuſe or Juſtification of our allowing our ſelves in ſuch Irregularities and Ex-
travagancies of Life and Behaviour, as we our ſelves ſhould be aſhamed of at
any other Time?
That this is the Manner of a great many People's keeping Chriſtmas, I am
ſure I ſhall not need to tell you; but I hope better Things of
you,
and
Things that accompany Salvation. I hope you do, and I pray God we all of us
may, ſo regard the Work of the Lord, ſo ſeriouſly conſider and reflect upon
the Deſign of our Saviour's firſt Coming, as to keep this Feaſt in Remembrance
thereof in a Manner agreeable to the Occaſion of it, and likewiſe to order
our whole Lives conformably thereunto; that ſo at his ſecond Coming to judge
the World, we may be found an acceptable People in his Sight, through the
ſame our Lord Jefus Chriſt, to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoſt,
be all Honour and Glory, now and for ever. Amen.
im
DI S
II 21
DISCOURSE CI.
The Subject's Duty.
.
Preached March 8. 1704. being the Day of Her
Majeſty's happy Acceſſion to the Throne.
BAHAN
EW
PROV. XXIV. 21.
My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King; and
meddle not with them that are given to Change.
I
HASISHWESTHA CHIT
CC
ce
Know not how to begin a Diſcourſe upon this Subject bet-
ter, than in thoſe Words wherewith the judicious Mr.
Hooker begins his learned Diſcourſe of the Laws of Ec-
cleſiaſtical Policy: “ Hc, Says he, that goes about to per-
“ ſuade a Multitude that they are not ſo well governed as
they ought to be, ſhall never want attentive and fa-
“ vourable Hearers; becauſe they know the manifold De-
« fects whereunto every Kind of Regiment is ſubject, but
« the ſecret Lets and Difficulties, which in publick Proceedings are innume-
" rable and inevitable, they have not ordinarily the Judgment to conſider.
“ And becauſe ſuch as openly reprove ſuppoſed Diſorders of State, are taken
“ for principal Friends to the common Benefit of all, and for Men that carry
ſingular Freedom of Mind; under this fair and plauſible Colour, whatſo-
ever they utter paſſes for good and current; that which is wanting in the
Weight of their Speech, being ſupplied by the Aptneſs of Mens Minds to
accept and believe it. Whereas, on the other side, if we maintain Things
« that are eſtabliſhed, we have not only to ſtrive with a Number of heavy
« Prejudices deeply rooted in the Hearts of Men, who think that herein we
« ſerve the Time, and ſpeak in Favour of the preſent State, becauſe thereby
we either hold or ſeek Preferment; but alſo to bear ſuch Exceptions as
“ Minds ſo averted before-hand uſually take againſt that which they are loth
" ſhould be poured into them.
But what would not be ſo well taken from me, will, I hope, be better
raken when coming out of the Mouth of a very wiſe Man; and ſuch an one
you will ſurely all acknowledge Solomon to have been. And he it was, (it
Vol. II.
6P
1
was
II 22
The Subject's Duty.
was he who excelled in Wiſdom all that were before him, and all that have
lived ſince ;) or rather, it was Wiſdom it ſelf ſpeaking by his Mouth, which
has given this Advice in the Text, which I would now perſuade you to fol-
low: My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King; and meddle not with them
that are given to Change.
Concerning which it may be firſt obſerved in general, that it is given
here as a Father's Advice to his Son; My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the
King; and from hence we may reaſonably conclude that it is very good Ad-
vice, and that to follow it will be very much for our own Profir and Ad-
vantage: For that is the only End that a Father has in the Counſel and
Inſtruction that he gives his Son; he never means any thing by it but his
Son's Good; he never adviſes his Son to any Thing, but what he thinks it
will be for his Intereſt to do: And whenever he uſhers in any Advice in
ſuch Manner as this here is introduced, with a ſolemn and particular. Com-
pellation, ſerving to excite and fix the Attention to what follows; My Son,
do this; or, My Son, do that; it is very reaſonable to ſuppoſe, that he
judges the Advice which he is then about to give, to be Matter of the
greateſt Uſefulneſs and Importance ; it is a sign that it is what he would
have his Son take a ſpecial Regard to, and be very careful to obſerye. And
ſuch is, moſt nianifeſtly, the Counſel which the wiſe Father here gives to
his Son; it is concerning Matters of the higheſt Importance, and of the
neareſt Concern to every Man; My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King ;
and meddle not with them that are given to Change.
I. For that the firſt Branch of this Advice is ſuch, will, I ſuppoſe, bę rea-
dily granted by all, My Son, fear thou the Lord; for the Fear of the Lord
is the Beginning of Wiſdom; the Fear of God induces and comprehends our
whole Duty to him: If we fear God as we ought to do, and as a good Son
fears his Father, we ſhall readily obey him in every Command that he lays
upon us. Nay, this comprehends all our Duty, not only to God, but to
Men too, to whom we are to perform all the Offices of our Relation to
them for God's ſake, and out of a Principle of Conſcience and Obedience
to God. Of this Fear of God then we may ſay, as our Saviour does of
the Love of God, and we may truly ſay it, for indeed the Love of God, and
the Fear of God, are in Subſtance the ſame ; that it is the firſt and great
Commandment which if we are careful to keep, according to its true and
comprehenſive Meaning, we ſhall be deficient in no Part of Duty.
;
II. But the ſecond Branch of the wiſe Father's Advice to his Son is alſo,
next to the former, of the higheſt Importance, and of the neareſt Concern,
Fear the King ; My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King. By which
is meant, that our next Care to that of keeping a good Conſcience towards
God, ſhould be that of behaving our ſelves orderly and regularly in that
Station which God has placed us in, of Subordination and Subjection to thoſe
Men that are ſet over us by God, with a Power to order and enact ſuch
Conſtitutions, only not contrary to the divine Laws, as are neceſſary to con-
ſerve Juſtice and Peace in that Society over which they preſide: Fear the
King, that is, “ Obey him, keep his Laws, and behave thy ſelf in all Things
“ as a dutiful Subject towards him; or if thou canſt not with a good Con-
" ſcience obey his Commands, yet do not dare to reſiſt his Authority. If
“ what he commands be lawful, do readily as thou art commanded : Or if it
“ be not lawful, which may ſometimes be ; for the Laws of Men are not
" always agreeable to the Laws of God; yet even in that Caſe, thou art not
diſcharged from thy Subjection to him; for when thou canſt not obey,
& thou muſt ſubmit; and that not only becauſe thou canſt not help it, but
although
3
The Subje&t's Duty
I123
ز
although thou couldīt ; if thou canſt not do as he bids thee, thou muſt.
« take patiently the Puniſhment that is impoſed upon thee for thy Dil
cc obedience.
This is the Duty of Subjects to their Governors, as it is briefly taught in
the Text, fear the King: And more largely in other Places of holy Scri-
prure ; as in Ecclef. viii. 2. I counſel thee to keep the King's Commandment,
and that in Regard of the Oath of God: In Rom. xiii. Let every Soul be
ſubject unto the higher Powers; for there is no Power but of God; the
Powers that be are ordained of God. Whoſoever therefore refifteth the
Power, reſiſteth the Ordinance of God, and they that reſit ſhall receive to
themſelves Damnation. Wherefore ye muſt needs be ſubječt, not only for
Wrath, but alſo for Conſcience fake. And in 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit your
ſelves to every Ordinance of Man, for the Lord's ſake ; whether it be to
the King as Supreme, or unto Governors as unto them that are ſent by him,
for the Puniſhment of Evil-doers and for the Praiſe of them that do well
.
For ſo is the Will of God, that with Well-doing ye may put to Silence the
Ignorance of fooliſh Men. As free, and not uſing your Liberty for a Cloke of
Maliciouſneſs, but as the Servants of Chriſt. Honour all Men; love the
Brotherhood ; fear God; honour the King.
This, I ſay, is the Duty, as it is plainly taught in Scripture, of Subjects to
their Governors ; that is, to them who have the ſupreme Authority of the
Nation to which they belong, by whatſoever Name or Title they are called;
that is, to the Legiſlative Power, in what Hands foever it is lodged by the
particular Conſtitution of the Place. For there may be, and in ſome Coun-
tries there is, the Name and Title of a King, without the Power ; and
there may be, and in ſome other Countries there is, the Power of a King,
without the Name : Nay, there is indeed in every Country, State, Kingdom,
or Commonwealth, the kingly or the ſupreme Power lodged ſomewhere
or other, either in one, in few, or in more Hands: This Power, I ſay,
there is in the Government of every Nation, as well in a Democracy, or
Ariſtocracy, as in a Monarchy; and as well in the moſt limited Monarchy,
as in that which is the moſt arbitrary and abſolute; and I ſay, it is this
kingly Power, wherever it is by the Conſtitution feated or lodged, that is
to be feared and obeyed: For the Scripture only declares in general, the
Duties of Governors to their Subjects, and of Subjects to their Governors;
but it does not expreſſly define or preſcribe any one Form or Manner of
Government, as neceſſary to be ſet up and preſerved in all Nations; bur
leaves every Country to it ſelf to eſtabliſh that Form of Government which
is moſt ſuitable to its own particular Temper and Genius. Only when any
Sort of Government is ſet up and eſtabliſhed, there being, as was ſaid before,
in every Form of Government, a kingly, that is, an abſolute and arbitrary
Power lodged ſomewhere or other, either in one Hand or in more; it then
commands Obedience, and forbids Reſiſtance to this ſovereign Power: It
commands Submiſſion to this Power, as to the Ordinance of God, for there
is no Power but of God, and the Powers that be are ordained of God; and
it declares, that they that being placed in Subjection to this Power, do make
Reſiſtance to it, reſiſt the Ordinance of God, and ſhall receive to themſelves
Damnation.
And thus much of the ſecond Branch of the wiſe Man's Advice to his
Son; My Son, fear thou the King. But before I come to ſpeak of the
third, Meddle not with them that are given to Change, I think it may be
of good Uſe to make ſome brief Obſervations upon the two former Branches
of it, conſidered as given together in the ſame Breath, as connected with
each other, as depending one upon the other ; fear the Lord, and the King.
And,
3
1. From
$
1124
The Subjeét's Duty.
Ver. 4.
1. From the Order in which theſe two Branches of his Advice are placed
Fear thou the Lord, and the King; it may be obſerved, that God is to
be firſt feared, then the King; or that God is to be more feared than the
King; that no Power upon Earth has Authority to make Laws contrary to
the divine Laws, or to diſcharge its Subjects from thoſe Obligations which
were before laid upon them by the Law of God. This is ſo evident,
that the Apoſtles, when they had been charged by the Jewiſh Sanhedrim
to forbear preaching in the Name of Jeſus, Axts iv. 16, 17. to do which
they had before reccived a Command from God, boldly appealed even to
the Council themſelves, to judge, and declare, whether in ſuch Caſe their
Order ought to be obeyed; as knowing that they themſelves would not
dare to affirm, that a human Law could evacuare or ſet by a contrary Law
of God. Ver. 19. Peter and John anſwered and ſaid unto them, Whe-
ther it be right in the Sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto
God, judge ye.
2. From the Advice of fearing and obeying the King, being immediately
ſubjoined to that of fearing God, and both being given as it were in the
ſame Breath, Fear the Lord, and the King; it may be obſerved, that our
higheſt Obligation, next to that of obcying God, is to obey and ſubmit our
felves to thoſe whom God has made his Deputies and Viceroys here upon
Earth: And this is thc Relation wherein earthly Kings, that is, the ſovereign
Powers of every State or Nation, do ſtand to God; By me Kings reign;
by me Princes rule ; fo we are told, Prov. viii. 15, 16. The Moſt High
ruleth in the Kingdom of Men, and giveth it to whomſoever he will; ſo
Rom. xiii, 1. we are taught, Dan. iv. 32. And There is no Power but of God; the
Powers that be are ordained of God; ſays the Apoſtle. And again, He is
the Miniſter of God to thee for Good: he is the Miniſter of God, an Avenger
to execute Wrath upon him that doeth Evil. And from this Relation
wherein the ſupreme Powers of every Nation do ſtand to God, they them-
Exod. xxii. 28. ſelvcs are ſometimes in Scripture called Gods; they are ſaid to judge, not
2. Chr. xix. 6. for Man, but for the Lord; and the Judgment that they give, is called God's
Deut. I. 17. "Fudgment. Having therefore a Sort of God-like Power communicated to
them by God, it is but fit that, next to God, they ſhould be had in the
higheſt Honour by their Subjects; and that after the Care of Religion, the
Subjects next chiefeſt Care ſhould be to behave themſelves dutifully to thoſe
whom God has ſet orer them, in order to preſerve Peace and Juſtice in the
World ; Fear the Lord, and the King.
3. From the Connexion that is made in the Text, between theſe two Du-
ties, the Fear of God, and of the King, it may be farther obſerved, and moſt
certainly inferred, that they are not repugnant and contradictory, nay, that
they are very conſiſtent with each other. So that a good Man may both fear
God and the King too; and there can never be a Neceſſity lying upon
any Man from his Obligation to diſcharge one of theſe Duties, to neglect or
tranſgreſs the other. It is not therefore true Loyalty, but Cowardice, or
Worldly-mindedneſs, that ever makes Men give up their Religion and Con-
ſcience to the Humour of their Prince; and yield a blind Obedience, with-
out Reſerve or Exception, to all his Commands, how unjuſt, how unreaſon-
able, how ungodly and irreligious foever they be; for ſuch Submiſſion as
this to the Will of Princes, is a manifeſt Contradiction to the firſt Branch of
the Advice here given, Fear the Lord. And on the other Side, it is not
true Religion, and a well-informed Conſcience, but an ignorant and miſ-
guided Zeal, or a Form of Godlineſs without the Power of it, that ever
turns Religion into Rebellion, and Faith into Faction; that eyer arms Sub-
jects againſt their Sovereign, that ever depoſes Princes, and unſettles the
State, and diſturbs the Peace and Order of the World: This is as manifeſt a
Contra-
+
3
The Subje&t's Duty.
1 1 25
Contradiction to the ſecond Branch of the Advice, fear the King ; My Son,
fear thou the Lord, and the King ; we may certainly do both theſe, or
elſe both would not have been commanded. But it is a Thing too evi-
dent to be denied, that the Laws of Princes are not always conformable
to the Laws of God; and when they are not ſo, it is impoſſible that they
ſhould be both complied with by an active Obedience: For, as our Savi.
our ſays, No Man can ſerve two Maſters; to be ſure, not two, whoſe Com-
mands are · repugnant and contradictory. In this Caſe therefore, Subjects
are not in Duty bound to do as they are commanded by their Governors ;
and yet neither in this Caſe docs the Precept enjoining them to fear the
King, become void and of nonc Effect; only it then ties them to an Obe-
dience of another Sort; that is, to a Submiſſion of themſelves to ſuffer the
Puniſhment of that Law which they could not with a good Conſcience
yield an active Obedience to : Still the King, that is, thc ſovercign civil
Power, muſt be feared ; and he is feared and obeyed as much as in this
Caſe he ought to be, when his Authority is not reſited, when, out of Con- 1 Pet. ii. 2 1.
ſcience towards God, we endure Grief, ſuffering, wrongfully; for, as the
Apoſtle ſays, hereunto are we called ; becauſe Chriſt alſo ſuffered for us,
leaving us an Example that we ſhould follow his Steps; and so is the Will
of God, that with well-doing we should put to Silence the Ignorance of
fooliſh Men. But,
4. Laſtly, What may be farther obſerved and argued from the Connexion
that ſeems to be here made between theſe two firſt Branches of the wiſe
Man's Advice, My Son, fear thou the Lord, and the King, is this; that
Religion towards God is the beſt and ſureſt Ground of Loyalty and due
Obedicnce to the King. He that fears God as he ought to do, will alſo
fear the King for God's ſake, and becauſe God' has commanded' him fo to
do; his Loyalty will be a part of his Religion; and he, for the faine Rea-
fon for which he will be ever at all loyal, will be always fo: But he that
honours his Prince upon any other Principle, will honour him no more,
nor no longer, than while he finds his own Intereſt in it ; he flatters his King,
but he is no true Friend to him ; he ſerves hini only for Reward, and
will be as ready to betray as to ſerve him, when he can get more by that
than by this.
Ver. 15
IÍI. And now I come to ſpeak of the third Branch of the wiſe Father's
Advice to his Son; Meddle not with them that are given to Changé. In
Order to the Explication of which, it may be needful to inquire,
1. Who they are that may be ſaid to be given to Change. And,
2. What it is to meddle with ſuch Men.
But before I do theſe Things, I think it will be expedient, both to pre-
vent'any Miſunderſtanding of what ſhall be ſaid, and likewiſe for ſome other
good Purpoſes, to take pårticular Notice to whom it is that the Advice in the
Text, not to meddle with ſuch as are given to Change, is directed; My
Son, meddle not with them that are given to Change.
And here it may be conſidered, that the Giver of this Advice was' Sólo-
mon, who was himſelf King over Ifrael, who had himſelf the whole kingly
Power, in whom ſolely, and without any Partner or Sharer in the Govern-
ment, the whole ſovereign Authority of the Nation, both legiſlative and ex-
ecutive, was lodged; for this, you know, was the Conſtitution among the
Fews, the whole Sovereignty was in the King alone : Counſellors he might
have, but they had no Share with him in the Legiſlature, for it was at his
free Election to take their Advice or not; and what he' enacted, whether
with their advice or without it, was good Law. Such a King, I ſay, was
Vol. II.
Solomon,
6Q
2
1126
The Subje&t's Duty.
ز
Solomon, who gives this Counſel, not to meddle with ſuch as are given to
Change ; and it is evident that he gives the Advice to another, not to him-
felf; he gives it to his Son, who was a Subject, not to himſelf, who was
an abſolute and a ſovereign Prince. He gives it to the ſame Perſon whom,
in the Clauſe juſt before, he had commanded to fear the King; therefore
to be ſure, not to the King himſelf, but to ſuch only as were in Subjec-
tion to him.
And what I argue and infer from hence, is this, that the Advice in the
Text, not to be given to Change, nor to meddle with ſuch as are given to
Change, though as a Matter of Prudence it may concern all, King as well as
People; the ſupreme Governors of a Nation, as well as thoſe who are
under Government: Yet as a Matter of Duty, it can and muſt belong only
to ſuch as are in Subjection; that is, only to the People and Subjects. For
though, as the Apoſtle ſays, there is no Power but of God, and the Powers
that be are ordained of God, that is, though the Power which they have is a
Portion of the divine Power ; 'yet there is no one particular Form of
Government, that can truly be ſaid to be of divine Inſtitution and Appoint-
ment; and if there be not, then there is no one Form of Government, but
what may be changed and altered, provided that they who make the Change
have ſufficient Authority to make it: And ſufficient Authority he or they
muſt be allowed to have, to make any ſuch Change or Alteration in the
Form and Manner of the Government, who has, or who have for the
Time being, the ſupreme and ſovereign Authority in that Nation wherein
ſuch Change is made. For the ſovereign Authority of every State or Na-
tion, whether it be lodged in one Hand, or in many, is, and in the Na-
ture of the Thing muſt needs be, abſolute, unlimited, and uncontrollable:
That which is the higheſt Authority in any Nation, may do what it pleaſes ;
and becauſe it is the higheſt upon Earth, can be accountable to none but
God for what it does. This ſovereign Authority therefore, I ſay, may
make what Changes and Alterations it ſelf pleaſes, in the Frame and Con-
ftitution of the Government; and whatever Changes it makes, they are law.
ful and valid, provided that no natural Right of any other Man be thereby
invaded and violated.
Suppoſing therefore Government to be founded originally in the paternal
or patriarchal Right, yet if that ſingle Perſon in whom the whole fove-
reign Power was lodged by this Right, either to give Eaſe to himſelf, find-
ing the Weight of the Government too heavy for himſelf to bear alone;
or to give Eaſe to his People, finding that it is with great Unwillingneſs
and Reluctance that they ſubmit to be governed by his ſole Will and Plea-
ſure, or for any good Cauſe and Conſideration him thereunto moving,
ſhall think fit to call to his Afiftance any of his Subjects, conſtituting them
his ſtanding Council, and declaring and enacting, that he will do nothing
without them, and that no Act or Law of his, done without their Approba-
tion, ſhall be of Force and binding to his Subjects: From this Time for-
ward the whole Frame and Conſtitution of the Government will be clearly
altered, and that which was before an abſolute, will thenceforward be-
come a limited or mixed Monarchy; and this Change in the Conſtitution,
being made by him that had the ſovereign Power, will be good and valid ;
neither will it be lawful for him to re-aſſume again, without Conſent of
this Council, that Portion of the Sovereignty which he had before freely
parted with, and transferred to them.
And if
, the Government being thus ſettled, the ſovereign Power for the
Time being, that is, this King with his Council, ſhall both agree to make
a farther Alteration in it; if they ſhall both agree to lay aſide their own
Superiority,
?
The Subje&t's Duty.
1127
Superiority, and to devolve the ſovereign Power that is then lodged in them,
on the People ; and ſhall enact and declare, that no Law ſhall be good
and valid, but what the Majority of the Populace ſhall agree to ; by this,
that Government, which was at firſt an abſolute, and afterwards a limited
Monarchy, will become a perfect Commonwealth; and after that they ſliall
have thus transferred the whole Government upon the People, and frecly
parted with their own Right to it, it will be unjuſt in them to re aſſume
this Power, any otherwiſe than by the free Gift of the People on whom
they had transferred it.
And on the other Side, the Caſe will be exactly the ſame, if it be ſup
poſed, that the Right of Government was originally in the People ; for
ſtill it will be capable of the like Changes and Alterations: The Sovereign-
ty, wherever it is lodged, may be alienated and parted with to others. If
therefore the Sovereignty being, as is now ſuppoſed, lodged in the People,
they, finding the Inconveniencies of numerous popular Aſſemblies, ſhall think
fit to transfer this Power to ſome few Perſons delegated and choſen by
themſelves ; from this Time forward theſe Delegates or Repreſentatives of
the People are the ſupreme Power, and the People become mere Subjects
to them, and may not forcibly take again to themſelves that Power which
they have freely parted with. And again, If this repreſentative Body of the
People, in which the Sovereignty will be then lodged, finding the inconve-
niences of this Sort of Government, by Reaſon of the Factions they are
ſubject to, ſhall think fit to make Choice of one ſingle Perſon, to preſide
and moderate in their Aſſembly, with a negative or a caſting Vore, or
with what farther Degree of Power they ſhall think convenient to be-
ſtow upon him: This is a farther Alteration of the Manner of the Go-
vernment; becauſe, what Power they give him, they give from themſelves,
and may not challenge or claim it back again as their Due, after they
have freely parted with it :. And when they do chooſe ſuch a Governor,
they may chooſe him upon what Conditions, they may conſtitute him with
what Limitations they pleaſe; they may, if they will, appoint ; him only
for a Year, or other limited Time; or they may, if they think that bet-
ter, appoint him for Life ; or they may, if they are ſo minded, order
that the Power which they give him ſhall deſcend to his Heirs after
him and they may call him King, or Duke, or Stadtholder, or give him
whatever other Title they ſhall think better. And if after. this, finding
Inconveniences in this mixed Sort of Government, they in whom the ſu-
preme Power is then lodged, that is, this King, or Duke, or whatever
elſe he is called, with his Council or Parliament, ſhall both agree together
to make a farther Alteration in the Government; if they ſhall agree to
transfer the whole Sovereignty to him, and he ſhall conſent to accept of
it, and they do both by a ſolemn Act decree and ordain this Eſtabliſh-
ment; that Government which was at firſt a Democracy, and after that a
mixed Monarchy, will thenceforward become an abſolute Monarchy; and
any of all theſe Changes or Alterations in the Form or Manner of Go-
vernment, being made by ſuch as, for the Time being, were lawfully
poſſeſſed of the ſovereign Power, will be regularly made ; and being once
made, will be valid and binding: And in whatſoever Hands the Sovereign-
ty ſhall be thus regularly placed, it cannot be regularly taken from thence
again, but by his or their own Ceſſion or Conſent.
Thus, I think it is evident, that no Change or Alteration of the Form of
Government, from one Sort to another, is in it ſelf unlawful to be made,
provided it be made by thoſe who have power to make it ; that is, by
the Government it ſelfs I mean, by him, or them, who, for the Time be-
ز
2
ing
1128
The Subje&t's Duty.
ing, have the ſovereign Power in their Hands; becauſe, as I ſaid before,
there is no one Sort or Form of Government, that can truly be ſaid to be
of divine Inſtitution. The Power of Government indeed, that is, the
Prov. viii. 15. Power and Authority that Governors have, is from God: By me, ſays he,
Rom. xiii. 1. Kings reign, and Princes decree Juſtice ; and, there is no Power but of
God, ſays the Apoſtle ; but the Deſignation and Appointment of particular
Perſons to the Adminiſtration of the Government, this is human; and the
Diſtribution of the Power of Governinent into one, or into more Hands,
this is likewiſe human: This is the Ordinance of Man only, and what .
ever is ordained by Man, is in its own Nature alterable, and may at any
Time be altered, by the ſame Power that ordained it. I do not ſay, it
may be altered by the ſame Perſons that ordained it ; for it is poſſible that
by ſuch Ordinance the Power may be transferred from one Perſon to ano-
ther, and what Power any Man has once given away from himſelf to an-
other, he cannot reclaim as in Right; he may receive it again as a Gift
from him to whom he gave it, but he cannot challenge it again as his
Due. I ſay therefore, I do not affirm, that whatever has been ordained by
Man, may be altered by the ſame Perſons that ordained it; I only affirm,
that it may be altered by the ſame Power that ordained it. I affirm, that
the ſame human Power which has ſettled the Sovereignty in one Hand,
may diſtribute it into ſeveral Hands; or if it has ſettled it in many Hands,
it may take it thence, and give it into one Hand. That ſame human
Power which has made the Perſons of ſuch as have the Adminiftration of
the Government elective, may ordain that they ſhall be ſucceſlive: That
fame human Power that can ſettle a Crown in Entail, can alſo cut off the
Entail of a Crown: That ſame human Power that can ſettle the Succef-
fion of a Crown unconditionally, may appoint Conditions, without per-
forming which, he that is next Heir in Courſe fhall not inherit : And
whatever Eftabliſhment of the Government the ſupreme and fovereign
Power of any Nation makes in one Age, the ſupreme and ſovereign Power
for the Time being, of the ſame Nation, may in the next' Age make null
and void. For the ſupreme Power of every Nation is, and muſt needs
be, in every Age, lodged frimewhere or other; and the higheſt Power
for the Time being, may, for its own Time, make what Laws and Or-
dinances it ſelf pleaſes, as to the Settlement and Adminiſtration of the
Government ; which will be good Laws till they are repealed. But then
the ſame ſovereign Power which has Authority to make a Law, has, and
always muſt have, as much Authority to repeal it ; and no one Generation
of Men can ever in ſuch Matters ſo bind the Hands, and reſtrain the
Power of the Generations to come, but that they, in their Time, will
have the ſame full Power to order publick Affairs according to their own
Liking, that the preſent Generation has. There being therefore no meče
human Conſtitution, but what in its own Nature is alterable; and I now
take it for granted, that the particular Form or Manner of any Govern-
ment is a mere human Conſtitution, it plainly follows, that the Precept
in the Text, forbidding to change, or to meddle with thoſe that are
given to Change, is not given to the ſupreme legiſlative Power, which
may make what Changes in the Form of Government it thinks reaſon-
able ; but only to mere Subjects, whoſe Duty it is to be quier, and to
ſubmit to the Powers that be; and who will act out of their Sphere, and
in a Matter above their Capacity, in Caſe they ſhall take upon them to
unſettle that Form of Government, whatever it is, that is already eſtabliſhed,
or to frame and ſet up a new one.
1
Thc
The Subječt's Duty.
1129
The ſupreme legiſlative Power, wherever lodged, is therefore no other-
wiſe concerned in this Precept, than only as in a Matter of Prudence: And
ſo far indeed they are very nearly concerned in it; it being rarely that
any conſiderable Change can be made in the Form of a Government that
has been long cſtabliſhed, and under which the Commonwealth has pro-
ſpered and flouriſhed, without more Danger of Hurt than Hope of Good
to the Community: An Alteration in the Government being like a Rc-
paration in the Foundation of an Houſe, which if it be neceſſary to be
made, muſt be made, and yet unleſs it be made very cautiouſly, cannot
be done without endangering thc Downfal of the whole Fabrick. When-
ever therefore the ſupreme Power of any Nation undertakes to make any
Change in the eſtabliſhed Form of Government, they ought in Prudence
to be very well ſatisficd that ſuch a Change is neceſſary; and they ought
likewiſe wiſely to foreſee all the Conſequences that may probably follow
from ſuch a Change, and to be well aſſured, that there will be more
Good than Hurt in it : But when they are well ſatisfied in this, they
may then, without any Breach of Duty or Juſtice, make ſuch Alterations
therein as they judge needful; they do no more than they have full
Power and Authority to do, in making ſuch a Change, and it is the
Duty of Subjects to acquieſce in the Wiſdom of their Superiors.
And the Reaſon why I have now mentioned, and inſiſted lo largely up-
on this Point is, as I have already hinted, not only in Order to give
you the truc Meaning, as I conceive, of this Precept, Meddle not with
them that are given to Change ; but likewiſe to give Eaſe and Satisfaction
to the Conſciences of Men, as to ſome Altcrations that have been lately
made in the Government of our own Nation.
For you all know, I ſhall not need to tell you, that the ſupreme
legiſlative Power of this Nation, is by the Conſtitution lodged in the King
or Queen for the Time being, and in the two Houſes of Parliament;
that what is enacted by their joint Authority, is a Law of the Land,
to which they do all three give their Conſent: And in this eſſen-
tial and moſt fundamental Conſtitution of the Government, there has not,
God be thanked, been made, and I hope never will be made, any Change
or Alteration. But as to the Succeſſion to the Crown, there have been of
late made ſome very conſiderable Limitations; and well had 'it been for
the Nation, if the ſame had been made an hundred Years ſooner. For
whereas formerly the Crown deſcended of Courſc to the next in Blood,
without any Exception, Condition, or Limitation; it is now limited * to
deſcend to the next Heir that is a Proteſtant; and thereby not only one
Perſon in particular, who is of uncertain Birth, but likewiſe ſeveral others
of the Popiſh Religion, of whoſe Legitimacy there has been no Doubt,
are debarred and excluded from the Succeſſion: And it is alſo declared
to be a Forfeiture of the Crown, for any one that is poſſeſſed of it, to be
reconciled to the Church of Rome, or to marry with a Papift.
Now this, you know, is what ſome amongſt us are ſtumbled at: Firſt,
ſuch a Change, they think, ought not to have been made; and, ſecondly,
now that it is made, they think, it is null and invalid.
But the firſt of theſe is a Point which I am at preſent no ways concerned
to enquire into ; neither, I think, are you: They that have Power to make
ſuch a Change are the beſt, they are indeed the only proper Judges of the
Prudence, the Reaſon, the Neceſſity of it.
* i W. de M. Sef. 2. Cap. 2.
12 W, III,
Vol. II.
6 R
All
1130
The Subje&t's Duty.
All therefore that I am concerned to do, in Order to give Eafe and
Satisfa&tion to the Conſciences of thoſe Subjects who have any Doubts or
Scruples about the Matter, is only to Thew, that they who made this Al-
teration, as to the Succeſſion of the Crown, had Power ſufficient to make
it, and conſequently that now it is made, it is valid and binding ; ſo that
all thoſe who are obliged by Law to declare, as all Perſons in Place and
Office now are, that they do not believe, that any Perſon hath now any
Right or Title to the Crown of this Realm, otherwiſe than according to
this Settlement of the Succeſſion, may ſafely and with a good Conſcience
make this Declaration.
For this I take to be an undoubted Truth, that no Man has a natural
Right to any Thing in this World, more than to the Neceſſaries of Life :
Whatever Right any Man has to Eſtate, or Dignity, or Dominion, except
only over the Fruit of his own Body, is merely human; that is, it is a
Right that is given by the Law of the Land, or the Conſtitution of the
Realm; thus, that the eldeſt Son ſhould inherit all his Father's real Eſtate,
is no Law of Nature; for by Nature all his Children have Right alike :
And even here with us, where this is the general Law of Inheritance, yet
there are real Eſtates in ſome places, that deſcend after another Manner,
all to the younger Son, or to all Sons alike; and in ſome other Coun-
tries perhaps, the whole real Eſtate of every Perſon, after the Deceaſe of
the Poffeffor, may revert to the Crown from which it was granted, and the
Exchequer, or publick Treaſury, may be alſo the ſole Heir to his perſonal
Eſtate. And if no Man has a natural Right to an Eſtate, much leſs can
he have a natural Right to Government; I mean, out of his own Fa-
mily : It is the ſupreme Power of every Nation that gives this Right to
whom it pleaſes, and in ſuch Manner as it pleaſes : It is this fupreme
Power of every Nation that eſtabliſhes in ſeveral Nations a different Sort
of Government, and which in Monarchies makes the Crown of one Na-
tion to be elective, and of another ſucceſlive; and which, in hereditary
Monarchies, excludes, in one Country, all the Females and their Illue;
and, in another Country, admits the next in Blood to inherit, whether
Male or Female, and in the ſame Proximity of Blood, prefers the Male
before the Female. And I never yet heard it offered to be proved, that
any of theſe Conditions or Limitations of Succeſſion to a Crown, were
Breaches of a Law of Nature, or Violations of a natural Right.
Now therefore, if this be true, that no Man has a natural Right to the
Government of a Kingdom, it remains, that the only Right which any
Perſon hath thereto, muſt be a legal Right, that is, ſuch a Right as is
given him by the Law and Conſtitution of the Realm; and the Law can
give no Right any longer than while it ſelf is in Force ; and the ſame fo-
vereign legiſlative Power that can make a Law, has as much Authority to
repeal a Law; and the Law which gives any ſuch Right, being by ſuf-
ficient Authority repealed, the Right which was ſolely founded upon that
Law, muſt needs become null and void : For the Right having no other
Foundation but that Law, that Foundation being removed by the Repeal
of the Law, the Right that was built upon that, and nothing elſe, muſt needs
fall to the Ground.
To me therefore it ſeems very plain, that whatever Right, either that
particular Perſon, of the Legitimacy of whoſe Birth there is ſo much
Doubt, or any other Perſon or Perſons whatſoever, that are nearer of Kin
to the Crown, than that Family is on which it is now entailed, had or
might be ſuppoſed to have had, in Caſe there had been no Change made
in the Laws relating to the Succeſſion, it is by the Change that has been
/
now
I
The Subject's Duty.
سد معه مجمع دید مس
1131
1
now made in thoſe Laws clearly cut off and deſtroyed; ſo that now we
may truly declare, that neither he nor thcy, who by this laſt Law arc cx-
cluded, have any Right or Title whatſoever to the Crown of this Rcalm:
For no Right ever had thcy, or could they havc, but by Law, and the
Law has now given this Right from them to others; and the ſupreme le-
giſlative Power of the preſent Time, has certainly as much Power and Au-
thority to grant this Right of Succeſſion to whom it will, as the ſame le-
giſlative Power of the former Times had.
So that I think no Perſon can now have any reaſonable Doubt of the
Lawfulneſs of making this Declaration, which all in Places and Offices
are bound to make, unleſs he doubts whether this laſt Law, ſo limiting
the Succeſſion to the Crown, be a Law of the Land ; that is, whether
it was enacted by the ſupreme legiſlative Power of the Nation, viz. the
King and the Two Houſes of Parliament, in whom, according to our
preſent Conſtitution, the ſupreme legiſlativc Power is moſt certainly lodged.
And to him who has any Doubt in his Mind, whether or no this be a
Law of the Land, I have little to ſay but this, that if he himſelf do not
remember the making of the Law, which I ſuppoſe moſt of us do, he
may look into the Statute Book, and ſee if it be not there printed with
the reſt ; or he may, if he has ſtill a Mind to be more certain of it,
ſearch the Records, and ſee if the original Act be not there entred and
kept, as one of the Laws and Statutes of this Realm. Or if this will
not ſatisfy, I leave him to be told by the Lawyers, for it is not within
my Profeſſion to tell him that, that according to the Conſtitution of our
Government, as it now is, and as it has been for ſeveral Hundred Years
paſt, the King for the Time being in Poffeſſion of the Crown, and re-
cognized and acknowledged by the States of the Realm, is, without farther
Enquiry into other Titles, lawful and riglıtful King, at leaſt ſo far, as that
an Act of Parliament paſſed by him is a good and valid Law: This I ſup-
poſe the Lawyers will tell him ; this, I am ſure, they muſt ſay, or elſe
they muſt grant, that well nigh half the Statutes, not only of the preſent,
but of former Tinies, according to which they plead, and according to
which the civil Rights of the Subjects are judicially determined, are not
good Laws and Statutes.
Thus I think I have made it appear, that this Precept, Meddle not with
them that are given to Change, does not teach the Duty of fovereign
Powers, who may lawfully make what Changes and Alterations in the
Frame and Conſtitution of the Government they themſelves think fit ; but
only of Subjects, whoſe Duty it is to be quiet and contented in their
Station, and to ſubmit to that Form of Government which is eſtabliſhed,
believing, as the Apoſtle teaches, that there is no Power but of God, that
the Powers that be are ordained of God; that whoſoever reſiſteth the Power,
reſiſteth the Ordinance of God; and that they that reſiſt ſhall receive to
themſelves Damnation.
And now I come to ſpeak very briefly to the two Points before pro-
poſed to be ſpoken to, in Order to the Explication of the third and laſt
Branch of the wiſe Man's Advice to his Son, Meddle not with them that
are given to Change, viz. to enquire, 1. who they are that may be ſaid to
be given to Change ; and, 2. what it is to meddle with ſuch Men.
(1.
) Who they are that may be ſaid to be given to Change. And,
1. Firſt of all, this they certainly are, who are uneaſy in that State of
Subjection which God has placed them in, who think themſelves better
able to govern the Kingdom, than thoſe are in whoſe Hands Providence
has depoſited this Care ; for they who have this Conceit of themſelves,
and
ز
1132
The Subje&t's Duty.
and yet according to the preſent Etabliſhment are never like to be called
to the Government, or to any Share of it, cannot but with the Deſtruc-
tion of the preſent Eſtabliſhment, in Order to inake Room for them-
ſelves to come in. O that I were made Judge in the Land, that every
Man which hath any Suit or Cauſe might come unto me, and I would
do him Juſtice! So faid Abſalom, 2 Sam. xv. 4. He thought the Admi-
niſtration of the Government not ſo well managed by his Father David,
as it would be by himſelf; and this fond Self-Conceit naturally put
him upon endeavouring to dethrone his Father, and to place himſelf in
his Room.
2. They may be ſaid to be given to Change, and do ſufficiently ſhow
that they are ſo, who though they do not expreſs ſuch an high Opinion
of themſelves, yet are ever expreſſing a very low and mean Opinion of
thoſe in whoſe Hands the Government is placed; who make it their Bu-
ſineſs to pry into, and enquire out all the Overſights or Miſcarriages of the
preſent Adminiſtration; and what Government is there, or ever was there,
ſo perfect, in which there have not been ſome Overſights or Miſcarri-
ages? who ſet themſelves to divulge and ſpread abroad all the ill Things
they know, or have heard of, concerning their Governors; who on all
Occaſions magnify every little Failing, aggravate every ſmall Miſcarriage,
judge of the Prudence of every Undertaking, by its Succeſs; and if any
Enterpriſe that is taken in Hand miſcarries, will never ſuffer ſuch Unſuc-
ceſsfulneſs to be attributed to Chance, or Providence, or any other Cauſe,
but either to groſs Ignorance or Unskilfulneſs, or wilful Male-Adminiſtra-
tion. For to what Purpoſe is all ſuch Talk, but only to diſcontent Men's
Minds, to render them uneaſy in their Station, and to diſpoſe them to
attempt a Revolution? They who allow themſelves to talk at this Rate,
have, it may be, too much Wit to venture the burning of their own
Fingers ; but if they can influence and perſuade others to it, that will
anſwer their End as well: If they can but move others to Mutiny and
Sedition, they make no Doubt but they ſhall afterwards find good fiſh-
ing for themſelves in the troubled Waters; and that if they can but in-
fluence the ignorant and eaſily miſ-guided Multitude to pull others down,
they ſhall afterwards be able with Eaſe to ſet themſelves up.
3. They may yet more truly be ſaid to be given to Change, at leaſt
they_do more plainly ſhew themſelves to be ſo, who if they can find
no Faults in the Adminiſtration of publick Affairs, do without Scruple
make them ; who ſet themſelves to forge and frame any Lies that may
do Hurt concerning the Counſels, the Actions, or the Perſons of their
Governors; in order to poffefs Men's Minds with unreaſonable Fears and
Jealouſies, thereby to render the Perſons of their Governors odious, and
their Government weak and precarious. But,
4. They eſpecially are moſt evidently given to Change, or rather they
are more than given to it, they are actually attempting it; who in Caſe of
any, whether true or ſuppoſed, Diſorders of State, go out of their own
Way and Sphere to rectify or redreſs them; and this they certainly do,
who, being nere Subjects, do uſe any other Means to get their Grie-
vances redreſſed, than only Prayers and Tears. What Power they may ex-
ert for this Purpoſe, who have any Portion or Share of the Legiſlature
veſted in them, as with us each Houſe of Parliament manifeſtly has,
I will not take upon me to ſay; they know beſt the Extent of their own
Power, and upon what Occaſions, and in what Degrees it is neceſſary
or proper to exert it, in Order to preſerve the Balance that is eſtabliſh-
ed by the Conſtitution : But it is manifeſtly irregular, for mere private
Subje&is
I
The Subje&t's Duty.
1133
14
Subjects to gather together in Tumults, or to break out into open Re-
bellion againſt the ſovereign Power, on Pretence of doing themſelves
Right. This is a conſiderable Advance towards a Change, and in Pro-
bability, how oppreſſive ſoever the preſent Government is, towards a
Change much for the worſe: The Miſeries of Anarchy, Confuſion, and
Civil War, being commonly much greater, and more univerſally felt,
than the Miſeries occaſioned by the Tyranny and Oppreſſion of any Go-
vernment.
Theſe are ſuch as may be ſaid to be given to Change. And,
(2.) They who may truly be ſaid to meddle with thoſe that are given
to Change, are ſuch who give them any Manner of Encouragement in
this their irregular Proceeding; that is, who gladly give Ear to their un-
charitable, malicious, and falſe Reports; who love to hear the Govern-
ment blackned and defamed; who are well pleaſed that the Miſchief is
done by other Hands, which they themſelves, for their own Safety's ſake,
were afraid to undertake. They do give them ftill greater Encourage-
ment, who ſuffer themſelves to be cheated into an Opinion of ſuch
Men's Honeſty, by the loud Prerences that they make of Zeal for Li-
berty and Religion : Indeed, were it not for ſuch abuſed and milled
People as theſe, no Sedition would ever be very formidable. But they,
above all, may moſt truly be ſaid to meddle with ſuch as are given to
Change, who join and take Part with ſuch whoſe open Deſign it is,
no Marter upon what ſpecious Pretences, to diſſolve the preſent Govern-
ment, and to ſet up a new one : They who do thus meddle with ſuch
as are given to Change, are no whit better than thoſe are whom they join
with, and may juſtly expect the ſame Reward, even that mentioned in the
Verſe following the Text: Their Calamity ſhall riſe ſuddenly, and who
knoweth the Ruin of them both?
I ſhall obſerye but one Thing more, concerning the Precept in the
Text, I mean, the two laſt Branches of it ; fear the King, and, meddle
not with them that are given to Change: And this I ſhall do, only in
Order to deduce one very juſt, and I think alſo uſeful, and very ſeaſonable
Inference from the whole, and ſo conclude.
It is this: That theſe two Branches of the wiſe Man's Advice, as they are
given to none but Subjects; for the King himſelf is not to fear the
King, and thcy who have the Power of the Government may lawfully,
as I have ſhewed already, not only attempt, but make changes in it, if
they ſee Cauſe; ſo they are plainly given to all that are mere Subjects ;
and that whether the King be ſo good a King as they could wiſh for or
no, or whether the Government be as gentle and perfect as it miglit be
or not. For the Text takes no Notice of the perſonal Qualifications of the
King, neither of his Wiſdom and Virtue, nor of his Want of them, nor
yer of the Excellencies or Imperfections of the Government; but it ſpeaks
in general of any King for the Time being, when it commands Subjects
to fear their King: And it ſpeaks of any Sort or Kind of Government,
that for the Time being is regularly eſtabliſhed, when it forbids the Sub-
jects to meditate or endeavour the making Alterations in it.
Now if it be the Duty of Subjects to fear their King, even though he
be not ſo good an one as they could wiſh; and not to project or un-
dertake to make any Change in the Government, even though it be for
the better; for that to be ſure is what all ſuch Medlers do think, at
leaſt it is what they will not fail to give out: If it be the Duty of mere
Subjects to take theſe Things as they find them, becauſe none can regu-
larly go about even to reform the Government, but the ſovereign Power,
Vol. II.
6 S
/
3
1134
The Subjeal's Duty.
ܪ
And yet,
or at leaſt only ſuch Perſons as have ſome Share of the Sovereignty lodged
in them; and then only according to that Meaſure thereof which they
have, and within thoſe Bounds which are ſet to their Power by the Con-
ftitution ; much rather are all mere Subjects bound, both in Dury, and
alſo in Intereſt, to fear and obey a good and gracious Sovereign, and
not only to be quiet and contented, but very thankful too, if they have
the Happineſs to be under a Government that cannot be mended, a
Government that ſeems as perfect as a human Conſtitution can be. And
this, God be thanked, is, in both theſe Reſpects, manifeſtly our Cafe at
this preſent Time. For,
1. As to the Conſtitution of our Government, that is certainly the beſt
in the whole World: The Utopians would be hard put to it ſo much as
to imagine a better : It is a Conſtitution wherein the Power of the Sword
is fully lodged in the Sovereign, and yet with all the Security that can
be that it ſhall never be miſuſed; whereby the Rights and Prerogatives
of the Crown, and the Liberties and Properties of the People, are with
equal Care preſerved; wherein the Sovereign has all the Power that can
be to do Good, and none to do Hurt. In a Word, it is a Conſtitution,
during the Continuance whercof, the People can never be enſlaved and
ruined, but with their own Conſent, by Repreſentatives of their own
chooſing; and it may be reaſonably hoped, that they will never be ſo
fooliſh as to give their Conſent to their own Deſtruction.
2. If this might be ſuppoſed, we ſhould nevertheleſs be ſafe from
preſent Ruin, having (God be thanked, and on this Day of Her Ma-
jeſty's happy Acceſſion to the Crown we have, more eſpecially, Reaſon
to be thankful for it; having, I ſay,) ſuch a Sovereign now on the Throne,
as might ſafely be truſted with the higheſt and moſt unlimited Preroga-
tives, becauſe we are morally aſſured, ſhe never would uſe them but to
promote the Good and Welfare of her People. A Queen that is in-
tirely in the Intereſts of her People, and cannot reaſonably be ſo much
as ſuſpected to have any Intereſt of her own, diſtinct from theirs. A
Queen, that has been remarkably careful about Matters of Piery, and
expreſſed the moſt earneſt Deſire to tranſmit to Pofterity the ſame excel-
lent Religion that is eſtabliſhed among us. A Queen, that is ſo far from
endeavouring to enrich her ſelf by the Spoil of her Subjects, that ſhe has
not only been, beyond Example, provident in the Management of the
publick Treaſure, but alſo as frugal in her own Expences, as with De-
cency, and with the Preſervation of the Honour of the Crown ſhe could
be, with this only Deſign, that ſhe might ſpare as much as was poſſible
out of her own Revenue towards the publick Uſe, that ſo her Subjects
might be the leſs burthened.
But it would be endleſs to ſay all that might be ſaid upon this Subject,
I am ſure without Flattery, and I verily believe, without the Suſpicion of
it; and I am ſenſible I have already kept you too long.
I ſhall therefore only add this one Thing, viz. that being ſo extremely
happy as we now are, both in the Conſtitution of the Government, and
in the Adminiſtration of it; we have nothing elſe to do, but to be thank-
ful to God for theſe Bleſlings, to endeavour to walk worthy of them,
and to pray for their Continuance: And in Order to this laſt, to put up
our hearty Supplications to the Throne of Grace, that God would be
pleaſed to grant the Queen a long Life, and to direct her Counſels, and
proſper her Endeavours for the publick Good; and that when he ſhall
be pleaſed to tranſlate her hence to a better Kingdom, which for our
own Sakes we cannot but with may not be in our Time, he will then
bleſs
?
The Subjects Duty.
1135
bleſs our Poſterity with a Succeſſion of ſuch Princes, and, if it may be,
from her own Body, who, like her, may govern wiſely, and live vir-
tuouſly, and by the Authority both of their Laws and of their godly Ex-
ample, may perfect that Reformation which, ſuch is our preſent Corrup-
tion, both as to Principles and Morals, it is to be feared her Reign
alone, though we wiſh it may be a very long one, will not be ſufficient
to accompliſh.
nd may God of his infinite Mercy vouchſafe to hear and grant theſe
our Petitions, for the ſake of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. To whom, &c.
Forum
WIX
Pueden
DIS
1136
DISCOURSE CII,
The Way of trying Prophets. .
0000)
I John IV. 1.
Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits
whether they are of God: Becauſe many falſe Prom
phets are gone out into the World.
A
The Closinten
FTER that the Chriſtian Religion had been ſufficiently
taught and proved by the Preaching and Miracles of our
Saviour and his Apoſtles, it pleaſed God, for wiſe Rea-
ſons, no Doubt, to permit great Oppoſition to be made
to the Truth and Purity of it; not only by its former
profeſſed Enemies, the Jews and Heathens, but likewiſe
by ſome among the Chriſtians themſelves; fome, I mean,
who overpowered in a Manner by that ſtrong Evidence,
whereby Chriſtianity in general had been confirm’d, could not avoid Convic-
tion, nor, with any Eaſe in their own Minds, decline the taking upon
them the Name of Chriſtians ; and yet,
and yet, not liking nor reliſhing well
that Submiſſion and Obedience of the Underſtanding, and that Strictneſs
of Life which it obliged them to, ſet themſelves ſo to explain, that is in-
deed, ſo to corrupt the Faith of Chriſt, as to take away all that Myftery
from its Articles of Belief, which they could not well comprehend ; and all
that Striêtneſs and Severity from its Precepts, which, as laying an ungrateful
Reſtraint upon their Luſts and Paſſions, they found it hard to bring them-
ſelves to comply with.
The firſt of this Kind that we mect with in Scripture, or Eccleſiaſtical
Hiſtory, was that Arch-Heretick Simon Magus ; but he was quickly follow-
ed by ſeveral others, his Diſciples or Imitators ; ſome of whom we find taken
Notice of by St. Paul, and the other Apoſtles, in their Epiſtles; and the
Number of them was ſo increaſed before St. John's Death, who out-lived all
the other Apoſtles, that he ſays, in the latter Part of the Text, that there
were then, many falſe Prophets gone out into the World. Upon which Ob-
fervation
ز
The Way of trying Prophets.
1137
fervation, he very reaſonably grounds the Caution and Advice which he gives,
in the former Clauſe of it: Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but
, try the
Spirits whether they are of God.
And if it was thus even in the Apoſtles Days, if even then, there were
fome, as St. Paul calls them, falſe Apoſtles, deceitful Workers, transforming 2 Cor. xi. 1 3;
themſelves into the Apoſtles of Chriſt ; it is no Wonder that it has been fo
in the Ages ſince, or that it is ſo now. Nay indeed, this is what we had
great Reaſon to expect: or rather it is what we might be ſure would be; be-
cauſe it had been expreſſly forctold long ago, by Prophets of unqueſtionable
Authority. There ſhall ariſe falſe Chriſts, and falſe Prophets, ſays our Sa. Matth. xxiv.si
viour, and many ſhall come in my Name, and ſhall deceive many. And, of 24.
your own felves alſo, ſays St. Paul
, ſhall Men ariſe, ſpeaking perverſe Things, Acts xx. 30.
to draw away Diſciples after them. And again, There muſt be alſo Hereſies 1 Cor. xi, 19.
among you, that they which are approved may be made manifeſt among you.
And, as there were falſe Prophets among the Jews, ſays St. Peter, ſo hall 2 Pet. ii, 2;
there be falſe Teachers among you, who privily ſhall bring in damnable He-
refies, even denying the Lord that bought them. And many ſhall follow their
pernicious Ways.
And the Methods whereby theſe Scducers have endeavoured, and indeed
with too great Succeſs, to draw Men from the Truth of the Goſpel, have
been various ; ſome have endeavoured it, by forging and ſetting forth Gospels
and Epiſtles under the vencrable Names of the Apoſtles. This was an early
Artifice; but Thanks be to God, it was, by the Care and Vigilance of the
firſt Chriſtians, ſoon diſcovered, and is now impracticable. Others have done
it by corrupting their genuine Writings; but this Fraud alſo has been ſeldom
long undetected, and would in vain be now attempted any more.
And others
have endeavoured the ſame by ſetting up oral Tradition as a Rule of Faith,
together with the Scripture, and as a neceſſary Supplement thereto; and boldly
affirming that all the Doctrines by them taught, which are not to be found
in Scripture, have been delivered down to them from Chriſt and his Apoſtles
this Way. But this Method of Deceit has been likewiſe ſo fully laid open and
confuted in the learned Writings of thic Proteſtants againſt the Corruptions
of the Church of Rome, that it may reaſonably be hoped, there is little or no
Danger of our now being deceived thereby.
Nevertheleſs, there are two other Methods of Deccit, which we are ſtill,
and always ſhall be, in Danger of; the firſt is, of thoſe who wreſt and
per-
vert the Senfc of Scripturc, by a falſc Interpretation of it; the other is, of
thoſe who pretend themſelves to be afreſh inſpired by God, in ſuch Manner
as the Apoſtles were.
Againſt the former of which we may be in good Meaſure ſecured, by
conſtant reading, and diligent Study of the holy Scripture; and treaſuring up,
and deeply impreſſing on our Minds, thoſe great Truths of Religion, whe-
ther relating to Belief or Practice, which are there clearly taught; and re-
ſolving to admit of no Interpretation of any more obſcure or doubtful Texts,
even tho' we have not Skill or Learning enough to ſhew the Falſity of ſuch
Interpretation, whereby Countenance ſeems to be given to any Opinion that
is not according to the Analogy of Faith, or to any Practice that is not
agreeable to that Strictneſs and Purity of Life which the holy Goſpel every
where enjoins.
And how we may be ſecured againſt the other Method of Deceit, viz.
that of thoſe who falfly pretend to Inſpiration, is what we are taught in the
Text, and will be my Buſineſs to explain, and ſhew more at large in my
following Diſcourſe: Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits
whether they are of God, becauſe many falſe Prophets are gone out into the
World. Many falſe Prophets, ſays he, are gone out, that is, many that falle-
Vol. II.
ly
6 T
1138
The Way of trying Prophets.
€
Heb. i. 1.
ly pretend to the Teaching of the Spirit. For they were ſuch falfe Pro-
phets as theſe, which the Apoſtle ſeems to have had chiefly in his Mind; and
that I take to be the Reaſon why he calls them Spirits, as well as Prophets.
Believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God.
And this Caution and Advice can never be given unſeaſonably, becauſe as
there were many ſuch falſe Prophets in the World, in the Apoſtles Time,
ſo there have been ever ſince, and probably ever will be while the World
ſhall laſt. Every Age has afforded Plenty of ſuch Enthuſiaſts, whoſe Fraud,
or Madneſs, or Folly, has in duc Time been made manifeſt unto all Men.
And yet the continual Diſcoveries of former Cheats of this Kind have not
proved ſufficient to diſcourage others from ſetting up the fame Pretence to
Inſpiration, neither have they afforded to the People of following Times ſuf-
ficient Caution to beware of the like Impoſtures.
For even now, after all the Experience that the World has already had
in ſuch Matters, there is a new Set of Prophets lately riſen up among our
ſelves; and as the wildeſt Enthuſiaſts have had, ſo have thèſe alſo thcir
Followers.
Nevertheleſs I will not yet take upon me to ſay, that theſe are falſe Pro-
phcts: it is Time that muſt ſhew that ; and a very little Time, it is likely,
wi! thew it ſufficiently. But, all that I affirm now is Matter of Faci,
that they call themſelves Prophets, that immediate divine Inſpiration is what
they pretend to ; and that they ſay with great Confidence, that they are the
Meſſengers of the Lord of Hofts, and that all the Diſcourſes which they
utter in their Extaſics, are the Oracles of God, and the Warnings of the eter-
nal Spirit.
And who can, now at firſt, be ſure that they are not ſo? For why may
not God, who at ſundry Times, and in diverſe Manners, Spake in Times paſt
to our Fathers by the Prophets, ſpeak alſo in the like Sort to us their Chil-
dren? We, indeed, can ſee no Reaſon, why, after the full Revelation of the
everlaſting Gospel
, by our Saviour and his Apoſtles, there ſhould be any new
Revelations given, eſpecially to ſuch as do already receive, and profeſs to
give intire Credit to, the Goſpel-Revelation. But God's Thoughts are not
always as our Thoughts; and many Things may be requiſite or neceſſary for
ſome wiſc and great Purpoſes, which we, not knowing the Counſels and De-
ſigns of Providence, may not ſee any Reaſon for. And, as on the one Hand,
if we ſhould give Ear and Credit to theſe Perſons, as to the Meſſengers of
God, when indeed the Lord has not ſent them, nor ſpoken by them, we
may be led into ſuch Miſtakes as may prove fatal to us ; ſo, on the other
Hand, if we ſhould ſlight and reject their Warning, when indeed a Spirit
or an Angel has ſpoken to them, we may be found to have fought againſt
God. Whether therefore they be true, or whether they be falſe Prophets,
which do now, or which may at any Time hereafter thus take upon them to
ſpeak to us in the Name of God; it is very good and reaſonable Advice
which the Apoſtle here gives, in relation to them: Believe not every Spirit ;
but try the Spirits whether they are of God.
I. Believe not every Spirit. And this firſt Part of the Apoſtle's Advice, I
take to imply in it theſe four Things.
1. That we ſhould not readily give any Ear at all to ſuch as pretend to
Luke xvii. 23. Inſpiration. Go not after them, nor follow them, ſays our Saviour. In-
deed, to a very ſtrong Proof of any Man's Inſpiration, if it be offered to us,
if it be laid in our Way, we ought to yield; at leaſt ſo far, as to be there-
by put upon farther enquiring into the Matter; becauſe we cannot be ſure
that God will not any more communicate his Will to Men, in ſuch Manner
as he has formerly done, by the immediate Inſpiration of his Holy Spirit.
But I ſay, that if no ſuch Evidence of divine Inſpiration be plainly laid be.
fore
Ifa. lv.8.
!
The Way of trying Prophets.
1139
fore us, without our ſeeking, we ſhall not need to go out of our Way to
ſeek for it; becauſe we have no Reaſon at all to doubt, but that the Reve-
lation of God's Will already made to us in the holy Scripture, is abundant-
ly ſufficient for all thoſe Purpoſes, for which a divine Revelation might be
expected, or could reaſonably be deſired. For this Word of God, we are
told, is a Lamp unto our Feet, and a Light unto our Path. This we are Phil. cxix.105.
aſſured, is able to make us wiſe unto Salvation ; wiſer than which we need 2 Tim. iii. 15.
not deſire to be. This we are allured, is profitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, -16.
for Correction, and for Inſtruction in Righteouſneſs; that is, for every good
Purpoſe. This we are aſſured, was given, that the Man of God might be-17.
perfect, throughly furniſhed unto all good Works: And if it was given for
this Purpoſe, there can be no Doubt but that it is ſufficient for it: Or,
without conſidering the Teſtimony that the holy Scripture gives of its own
Sufficiency, we might otherwiſe be ſatisfied that it is ſufficient; becauſe the
Wiſdom of God has not, that we know of, thought fit, in all the Ages ſince
the Apoſtles Times, to make any other publick Revelation of his Will to
Mankind. And if the holy Scripture, as rationally interpreted, explained,
and applied by the Paſtors of the Chriſtian Church, and the Preachers of the
Goſpel, has been ſufficient to guide into the Way of Truth, and to bring
to eternal Life, all that have been ſaved in all this Time, for 'ſixteen hun-
dred Years paſt; we may reſt aſſured, that it is ſtill as ſufficient for the ſame
Purpoſes. And therefore having now all thoſe Books of holy Scripture in
our Hands, which have always hitherto, ſince the Apoſtles Times, ſerved for
the Inſtruction of the Chriſtian Church ; and being alſo well furniſhed with
ſpiritual Guides and Paſtors, regularly ordained, and lawfully commiſſioned
to explain and preach to us the Doctrine of the Goſpel; with whom, in
bleſſing their Miniſtry, our Saviour has promiſed, that he will always be
Mat.xxviii.207
preſent, even unto the End of the World: As we ſee no Need that there is
of new Revelations, ſo we have no Reaſon to expect them. And therefore
for us, who believe upon ſuch good Grounds the Perfection of Scripture, as a
Rule both of Faith and Manners, to ſeek out now for new Lights, would
be juſt the ſame Folly, as it would be to ſearch for a Candle to add Light
to the Sun. But,
2. What I take to be farther implied in this firſt Branch of the Apoſtles
Advice, Believe not every Spirit, is this; that how confidently foever any
Man may give out himſelf to be an inſpired Prophet, we ſhould not be for-
ward to believe his Pretences. And for this there is a very good Reaſon
given in the Text it ſelf, viz. becauſe many falſe Prophets are gone out into
the World. And if this was a good Reaſon then to make Men very ſhy and
cautious of admitting any Man's Pretence to Inſpiration, it is much more ſo
now ; for then, when the Apoſtle gave this Advice, as there were many falſe
Prophets, ſo, we are ſure, there were many true ones too. And as, when
of the Money thar is current abroad, there is ſoine good, as well as ſome
counterfeit, he that takes Money by Tale only, may probably take ſome good,
as well as ſome bad, and by good Luck, may take none but what is good ;
whereas, when the Coin is generally corrupt, he muſt have almoſt the ſame
good Luck, if he ever receives any good; ſo it is here: Then, when there
were true, as well as falfe Apoſtles, a Man that uſed no Caution might yet,
by very good Hap, only fall into the Hands of a true Apoſtle. Whereas,
ever ſince the Apoſtles Days, a like uncautious Man muſt have had the ſame
good Hap, not to fall into the Hands of a Seducer; becauſe, ever ſince the
Apoſtles left the World, tho' every Age has produced a great many that have
given out themſelves to be inſpir'd, we are not ſure
we are not ſure there has been
any one that has been really ſo; and, as to far the greateſt Part of them we
have undeniable Evidence, that if they were inſpired at all, it was by an evil
Spirit,
1
1
I
1140
The Way of trying Prophets.
Spirit, and not by the holy Spirit of God. And therefore, having as yet no
Inducement to think it is otherwiſe now, than it has been for fixteen hundred
Years paſt, nothing can be more reaſonable than the Caution which the Apo-
ſtle here gives, not to be forward to give Credit to any that ſhall now ſet
up with the like Pretences. It is as much Favour as any new Prophet can
now in Reaſon defire, conſidering what Ground we have to ſuſpect an Im-
poſture, that we ſhould not condemn him unheard ; but to have any Incli-
nation at all in his Favour; to imagine or ſuppoſe it likely that he may be
a true Prophet, before he has given any plain Evidence of a divine Miſlion,
is an Argument of ſuch Weakneſs, Indiſcretion, and Unwarineſs, as we
ſhould be aſhamed of in any Matter of our worldly Concerns, wherein there
was the like Uncertainty; or rather, wherein there was ſuch grcat Probability
of our being impoſed upon.
And therefore,
3. Another Thing meant, as I ſuppoſe, to be implied in this firſt Part of
the Apoſtle's Advice, Believe not every Spirit, is; that we should never ac-
cept any Perſon whatſoever as inſpired, without his firſt giving good Proof
of his divine Inſpiration. What Proof, in this Caſe, is ſufficient, and may
be reaſonably required, I ſhall have Occaſion to conſider by and by. But
very good and ſufficient Proof, I ſay, is what we ought to inſiſt upon and
demand, before we give any Credit at all to any Man that pretends to In-
ſpiration. Becauſe, there being, as the Apoſtle here ſays, many falſe Prophets
in the World, that is, many that falſely pretend to Inſpiration; it is poſſible,
at leaſt, it is as likely as not, that the Man that comes to us with this Pre-
tence is an Impoſtor: Or if he be not; yet, ſo long as he gives no Evidence
of his Inſpiration, we are guilty of no Fault in not receiving him as an in-
fpired Prophet; for it can never be a Fault, not to believe without Reaſon;
and that is no Reaſon to us which does not appear. Nay indeed, ſuppoſing
him to be really inſpired, yet, while he gives no Proof of his Inſpiration, ſo
far is our refuſing to receive him as an inſpired Prophet from being a Fault,
that it is no more than we are bound in Duty to do; we ſhould be to blame
if we received him; we do well and wiſely in rejecting him: For it would
be juſt the ſame Raſhneſs and Indiſcretion in us (tho' perhaps it might not
be attended with the like hurtful Conſequences) to receive as an inſpired
Prophet, a Man that is really inſpired, while as yet there is no Evidence ap-
pearing of his being ſo inſpired, as it would be to give Credit to an Impoſ-
And beſides, it may alſo probably be a Miſtake of much worſe Con-
ſequence, to receive as an inſpired Prophet a Man that is not inſpired, than
it would be not to receive as ſuch, a Man that is really inſpired : For if we
receive as an inſpired Prophet a Man that is not inſpired, we run a Hazard
of being deceived by him to our eternal Ruin; whereas, if for Want of ſuf-
ficient Evidence of Inſpiration, we ſhould not give Credit to a Man that is
really inſpired, the only Hazard we ſeem to run, is, of not knowing ſome
Truths, which might be upon ſome Accounts uſeful to be known, but with-
out the Knowledge of which we may do very well; becauſe the holy Scrip-
ture alone, we are well aſſured, is able to make us wiſe unto Salvation.
4. Laſtly: What muſt be ſtill farther meant to be implied in this firſt
Branch of the Apoſtle's Advice, Believe not every Spirit, is this ; that we
should not ever take any Man's Word only for his being an inſpired Prophet.
The Reaſon is, becauſe if we admit, as of ſufficient Force to prove Inſpira-
tion, a Man's own Affirmation that he is inſpired, we muſt believe every Spi-
rit, directly contrary to the Apoſtle's Warning. For it is not to be ſuppoſed
that any Man that is deſirous to be taken for an inſpired Prophet, will ever
be wanting in giving an ample Teſtimony to himſelf. Either therefore this
Proof of divine Inſpiration muſt be wholly ſet aſide; or elſe, we muſt allow
of it by whomſoever it is offered; and whoever gives out himſelf to be a
Prophet,
tor.
ز
1
ز
I
The Way of trying Prophets.
1141
Prophet muſt forthwith, without farther Examination, be received as ſuch.
*But
upon theſe Terms, our bleſſed Saviour himſelf, who was certainly ſent
by God, did not require or expect that Credit ſhould be given to him: Nay,
he expreſſly acknowledges, that if he had not given other Proof of his divine
Miſſion, his own Teſtimony, by it ſelf, had not been credible. If, ſays he, John v. 3 t.
I bear witneſs of my felf, my witneſs is not true.
And
yet
thc Matter which a Man witneſſes concerning himſelf may be
truc, tho' his witneſſing it be not alone a ſufficient Proof of its Truth. Thoʻ-----yiii. 14.
I bear Record of my ſelf, ſays our Saviour in another Place; yet my Record
is true, for 1 know whence I came. Altho' thercfore we are not to give in-
tire Credit to any Man that confidently affirms his own Inſpiration; for if we
ſhould do that, we muſt believe every Impoſtor; yet if the Man that gives
out himſelf to be inſpired, be otherwiſe a Man of Probity, Honely, and
Modeſty; if he has always before been thought to have a clear Head and a
ſound Judgment, and was never known or ſuſpected to be ſubject to Vapours
and Whimſies; and if when he affirms his own Inſpiration, he does it in a
grave and becoming Manner, and with all the Appearance that is poſlible of
Truth, and Sincerity, and Self-Perſuaſion: And laſtly, if there be nothing
in the Matter which he utters as by divine Inſpiration, that is blaſphemous,
impious, wicked, unworthy of God, or apparently contrary to ſound Doc-
trine; in theſe Caſes, I ſay, the Man's own conſtant Affirmation that he is
inſpired, may very reaſonably put us upon farther enquiring into the Matter,
in order to the obtaining the fulleſt Satisfaction that we can about it.
And this leads me to diſcourſe of the ſecond Branch of the Apoſtle's Advice
in the Text, very fitly ſubjoined to the former, viz.
II. Try the Spirits whether they are of. God. For there being many falſe
Prophets, or falſe Pretenders to Inſpiration, in the World, it is not reaſon-
able that we ſhould, before, or without Trial, believe every Spirit. And
yet, on the other Side, being well aſſured that there have been formeriy ſe-
veral that have been divinely inſpired, and that have ſpoken as they were
moved by the Holy Ghoſt; and being nor abſolutely certain, that there never
will be any more ſuch Perſons ; neither is it reaſonable that we ſhould im-
mediately damn, as a Cheat and Impoſtor, every Man that gives out this Pre-
tence, while as yet no Signs or Tokens of Impoſture do appear; but the
right and the wiſe Way is to wait awhile, before we give Judgment; and
before we either receive or reject, to try the Spirits whether they are of
God.
But how, it may be asked, ſhall we try them? What Proof of any
Man's
being inſpired, who pretends himſelf ſo, may reaſonably be required, or ex-
pected
I anſwer in general, ſuch as other Prophets, formerly ſent by God, have
been enabled to gives ſuch as Moſes, the Law-giver of the Jews, and ſuch
as Chriſt and his Apoſtles, the firſt Preachers of the Goſpel, did give. For
every Man that pretends to teach as by Inſpiration, takes upon him to be a
ſpecial Ambaſſador ſent from Heaven on ſome extraordinary Meſſage: And
no Man is ever received as an Ambaſſador till he ſhews his credential Letters.
More particularly, there are two Proofs of divine Inſpiration; one, or the
other, or both, of which we may with good Reaſon demand of any
Man
that ſets up with this Pretence: Eſpecially, in Caſe the Revelation he pre-
tends to have had, be of publick Concern, and he requires in the Name
of God that we ſhould give him Credit : And they are Prophecy, and
Miracles.
1. Prophecy, or the foretelling Things to come. This Way Moſes, and
Chriſt and his Apoſtles, made Proof of their divine Miſſion. They foretold
Vol. II.
ſome
6 U
I 142
The Way of trying Prophets.
ſome Things that were not to be till many Years after, as well as others
which were then ſhortly to come to paſs; and thoſe too, Events not depend-
ing on the neceſſary working of natural Cauſes, but only on the Pleaſure
of God, or the Will of free Agents: Which Kind of Events, we have Rea-
ſon to think, cannot be foreknown by any but God, nor be certainly fore-
told but by Revelation from God; according to that of the Prophet,
Shew the Things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye
Ifa. xli. 23.
are Gods.
But then this Proof of divine Inſpiration, tho' it be indeed as good as
any that can be given, is a convincing Proof to thoſe only who happen to
live either at, or after, the Time when the Prophecy is fulfilled : It is no
Proof at all, it is an Amuſement only, to thoſe who live but at the Time
when the Prophecy is firſt given out; becauſe it is a Courſe of Time,
which that Generation of Men may never live to fce, that muſt ſhow
whether the Thing foretold does come to paſs or no, and conſequently,
whether the Man that forctold it was a true or a falſe Prophet. There is
therefore,
2. Another Proof of divine Inſpiration, that may with good Reaſon be ex-
pected and required of any Man, at the very Time when he utters his
pretended divine Revelations; and that is, Miracles. Thus Moſes proved
his divine Million to thoſe to whom he was ſent. And thus our Saviour
and his Apoſtles proved their divine Miſlion to thoſe to whom they firſt
preached the Goſpel ; they did the Works of God, that is, ſuch Works as
could not be done but by the Power of God.
This therefore, I ſay, is what may now alſo be reaſonably expected from
thoſe who do now a-Days pretend to Inſpiration, and declare that they are
ſent by God on an extraordinary Meffage to us. Let them, as Moſes did,
turn the Water into Blood, and the Duſt into Lice; and divide the Cha-
nel of the Sea, ſo that Men may paſs through it, as on dry Land: Or let
them, as our Saviour and his Apoſtles did, with only a Word ſpeaking,
heal the Sick, cure the Cripples, give Sight to the Blind, caſt out Devils,
and raiſe the Dead: Or let them, as the Apoſtles did, ſpeak with Under-
ftanding in Languages which they never learned; and then we ſhall have
fome Reaſon, to liſten to what they have to ſay to us: But till then we
ſhall have none; till then we ſhall be blameleſs in not believing them,
even though they be true Prophets ; for even of himſelf our Saviour ſays,
John XV. 24. If I had not done among them the Works that none other Man did, they
had not had Sin. And if the unbelieving Jews would not have been to
blame in not believing Chriſt, unleſs he had proved his divine Miſſion by
Miracles; by the ſame Reaſon neither ſhall we be now to blame, if we
hearken not to theſe new Prophets (even ſuppoſing them to be true Pro-
phets) unleſs they alſo give the like Proof of their divine Miſſion. And of
himſelf
, whom yet, moſt certainly, the Father had fančtified and ſent into
the World, he ſays again, If I do not the Works of my Father, believe me
not. And if he, the Son of God, was not to be believed upon other Terms
than his working of Miracles, much leſs is any other Man. In not belie.
ving therefore theſe new Pretenders to Revelation, unleſs they ſhall alſo
work Miracles to prove their Miſſion, it is plain we are ſafe; but if we
ſhould believe them, we know not what Hazard we may run of being de-
ceived by them. And by the ſame Reaſon that we believe their con-
fident Pretence to Revelation, upon their own Teſtimony only, without
Miracles; we muſt believe the like Pretence of any other Perſons that ſhall
ever come to us with the like Confidence; that is, we muſt give up our ſelves
to be deluded by every Impoſtor.
X. 37
2.
But
The Way of trying Prophets.
5
1143
But perhaps it will be ſaid, that however there might be Need of Mira-
cles to prove the divine Miſſion of Moſes, becauſe it was a neže Law
which God gave to the Jews by him ; and of our Saviour and his Apo-
ſtles, becauſe the Matter of their Revelation was likewiſe, in great Meaſure,
new; and
not only ſo, but did alſo in Part aboliſh the Law that had
been before given by Moſes; yet there is not the ſame Reaſon to require
or expect Miracles from thoſe, who though they pretend to Inſpiration, yet
do not profeſs to be Authors of a new Revelation, or Preachers of another
Goſpel; becauſe a Revelation that has been once well confirmed by Mira-
cles, ſhall not need to be ſo confirm'd again ; at leaſt, not to ſuch as believe the
Hiſtory of thoſe Miracles whereby it was formerly confirmed.
And this indeed is true : But then I ſay likewiſe, that as there is no Need
of Miracles to prove the Truth of a Revelation which has been already
well proved by Miracles, and which by credible Hiſtory we are aſſured has
been ſo confirmed ; ſo neither is there any Need of freſh Inſpiration for
the teaching of a Doctrine which has been already fully taught by Perſons
divinely inſpired, by Perſons whoſe divine Inſpiration is acknowledged; and
who, though they be gone from us, do yet continue to preach to us by
thoſe Writings which they have left behind them; and will continue to do ſo,
for ſo long as theſe their Writings ſhall continue in the World.
And this is now the Caſe with us. Our Saviour, who, we are ſure, camé
from God, preaches to us now, as much as he did once to the Jews, tho '
in another Manner, in thoſe Sermons of his which are recorded by the
holy Evangeliſts: And the Apoſtles, who were commiſſioned by our Savi-
our to preach his Goſpel, do fill preach it, and will ever be preaching it
to us, as long as thoſe Books and Epiſtles, which they left behind them,
ſhall continue in the World, and be known to be theirs; and theſe holy
Scriptures have been ſufficient for the Inſtruction of all Chriſtians hitherto;
ever ſince the Apoſtles Days. What Need then is there of new. Inſpiration,
if there be no new Matter to be taught? Or what needs any Man pretend
to Inſpiration, while, by his own Confeſſion, he preaches no other Doc-
trine than is already taught in that holy Scripture, which all thoſe whom
he ſpeaks to, do already acknowledge was given by Inſpiration of God?
But ſuppoſing that the Thing is really ſo as they give out, viz. that
they are indeed afreſh inſpired by God with the Knowledge of thoſe ſame
Truths which are contained in Scripture ; yet ſtill we are ſafe in noť heark-
ning to them, as to Prophets and inſpired Perſons, and in not receiving
what they utter, as Matter lately revealed to them; at leaſt, not till they
ſhall give good Evidence of their divine Miſſion ; becauſe we do already re-
ceive, upon the Teſtimony of the holy Scripture, all that which they pre-
tend to teach us by new and freſh Inſpiration. And if we do receive, as
a divine Truth, and as divinely revealed, any Doctrine or Prophecy which
is indeed ſuch; what matters it whether we receive it from this Prophet
or from that? From an old Prophet, or a new one? From a divine Reve-
lation that was made ſeventeen hundred Years ago, or from one that was made
but Yeſterday !
In a Word therefore: The Doctrine, whatever it is, of thoſe pretended
Prophets, is either old or new ; it is either the Doctrine of the Goſpel
, or it
is another Goſpel ; let themſelves ſay which it is. For if they ſhall ſay the firſt,
viz. that their Doctrine is no other than the Doctrine of the Goſpel : To
what purpoſe then, we may well ask, do you pretend, or with what Truth
can you pretend, that you are taught it now by immediate divine Inſpira-
tion; when, by your own Acknowledgment, you were taught it before,
and we may all of us learn the ſame from the long ago divinely inſpired
Scripture?
1144
The Way of trying Prophets.
Scripture : But if they ſhall ſay the other, viz. that the Matter which they
are inſpired with is new, and what we could not have learned from the
Scripture; we may then (as was ſaid before) very reaſonably require of
them to give ſuch Proof of their Inſpiration and Miſſion, by Signs and
Wonders and mighty Works, as our Saviour and his Apoſtles, and all that
have hitherto been ſent by God to publiſh a new Revelation to the World,
have given; till when, we ſhall have no Reaſon to hearken to them at all;
and if we do, it will be at our great Peril.
But if they fhı!l ſay, and that is indeed all that I think they can with
any Appearance of Reaſon farther pretend) that the Revelations now made
to them are partly old, and partly new; inaſmuch as, though what they
now utter as divine Oracles, be not in Subſtance new, becauſe it is no
other than what is really and truly contained in Scripture; it is nevertheleſs
what would not, what perhaps could not, have been diſcerned to be therein
contained, without freſh Illumination; and that they are now cnlightned
with a clearer Knowledge of ſome Truths contained in Scripture than any
others yet have been ; that they are by ſpecial Inſpiration of the Spirit, en-
abled to open the Book that has been always hitherto ſealed up, and to
give the true Senſe of ſeveral dark and obſcure Paſſages in Scripture, the
Meaning whereof has not hitherto been apprehended, or which have been
grolly miſunderſtood by all former Interpreters, and would perhaps never have
been rightly underſtood but by Inſpiration.
In this Caſe, if this be what they ſay, there is one Thing however that
we may very reaſonably require and demand of them, before we give them
Credit, viz. that they ſhould make out to us, by Reaſon, the Truth of
that Interpretation of Scripture, which they ſay they have been taught by
Revclation ; and if they can and ſhall do this, we will readily reccive their
Interpretation, even tho' we ſhould not belicve them to be inſpired.
And this is no unreaſonable Demand; becauſe a true Interpretation of a
Text of Scripture, though it be ſuppoſed to be ſuch an one as a Man could
not have hit upon only by the working of his own Reaſon, yet when it is
found out, may be capable of being made plain to others, by rcaſoning and
Argumentation.
We have an Inſtance of this in the preaching of the Apoſtles; they, by
the Illumination of the Holy Spirit, were directed to, and inſtructed in the
Meaning of all thoſe Paſſages in the Old Teſtament, whether Types, or
Prophecies, which related to the Meſſias ; which, without ſuch Illumination
they would not have underſtood : But then, after that they themſelves
were let into the Knowledge of them this Way, they were able by rea-
ſoning to make plain to others the Truth of their Interpretation of thoſe
Places, and to ſhew how exactly applicable they were to, and how punc-
tually they were fulfilled in our Saviour Chriſt. This may be obſery'd in
| almoſt all thoſe Sermons of the Apoſtles, which are related in the Hiſtory of
their Afts, and likewiſe in all their Epiſtles.
And of St. Paul in particular it is obſerved, that entring into a Syna-
gogue of the Jews, he reaſoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and
alleging that Chriſt muſt needs have ſuffered, and riſen again from the
Dead; and that that Jeſus whom he preached unto them, was Chriſt.
And of the ſame Apoſtle it is noted in Aets ix. 22. that immediately after
his own miraculous Converſion, before he had conferred with any of the
Apoſtles, or heard any of their Sermons; when therefore the good Under-
ſtanding which he himſelf had in Scripture, muſt have been chiefly, if not
only, from divine Illumination ; he confounded the Jeres which dwelt at
Damaſcus, proving that Jeſus was the Chriſt. But now how could he
prove
Acts xvii. 2, 3.
2
ܕܕ܀
The Way of trying Prophéts.
1145
prove this, ſo as to confound and ſilence the Jews, but only by out-reaſon-
ing them in the Interpretation that he gave of the Prophecies of the Old
Teſtament which had foretold the Meſſias? And it may indeed be difficult
to find out the true Key to ſome ancient Prophecy ; but when that is once
found out, whether by Study or divine Illumination, it may be caſy enough
afterwards, by the Help of that Kcy, to lay the whole Prophecy open,
and to make the Interpretation of it clear, even to an ordinary Capacity.
Let therefore, as I ſaid, our New Prophets do thus, and then, without en-
quiring how they came by their Knowledge, we will readily admit their In-
terpretation of Scripture.
But if they cannot do this, if they cannot ſhew that the Interpretation
which they give of Scripture is rational, and the Application which they
make of it juſt and agreeable; we muſt then come upon them again with
our former Demand, and require of them to demonſtrate the Truth of
their Interpretation, and the Juſtneſs of their Application of Scripture, and
likewiſe their own Truth, in pretending to have received this Knowledge
from the Holy Spirit, by their working Miracles. For to give ſuch a Senſe
of Scripture as true, which cannot be made out to be true by a rational In-
terpretation, is all one, in Effect, as to give out a new Scripture ; and we
cannot, with good Reaſon, receive any Diſcourſe or Writing as Scripture,
even though it be not contradictory to any former Revelation, upon leſs
Evidence than that upon which we acknowledge the divine Inſpiration of
that holy Scripture which we have already received.
And this Proof of Inſpiration by Miracles, is indeed what may now with
more Reaſon be demanded of our New Prophets, than it could have been
of our Saviour Chriſt, or of the holy Apoſtles.
For the Coming of Chriſt, as a Prophet and a Lawgiver, had been long
before foretold by former Prophets, particularly by Moſes: A Prophet ſhall Deut.xviii.15)
the Lord your God raiſe up unto you, of your Brethren, like unto me; him
fall ye hear in all Things whatſoever he ſhall ſay unto you. So that
though our Saviour had wrought no Miracles, yet his Pretence to a divine
Miſſion had been very credible ; becauſe from former Prophecies, the Jews
had good Reaſon, juſt at thar Time, to expect ſuch a Prophet as our Sa-
viour gave out himſelf to be. And he himſelf argued ſometimes with the
Jews upon this Foot, Search the Scriptures, for they are they which teſtify John v. 39.
of me.
And ſo likewiſe our Saviour, after that his own divine Miſſion had been
well proved and confirmed, promiſed and foretold, that his Apoſtles, whom
he would commiſſion to preach his Goſpel after his Aſcenſion, ſhould be Johnxvi. 13)
guided by the Holy Spirit into all Truth; ſo that if they in their own
Perſons had wrought no Miracles in Proof of their Inſpiration, their
Pretence to Inſpiration had nevertheleſs been well and fully enough grounded
upon and prov'd by our Lord's Promiſe and Prediction.
But what Promiſe in Scripture, what Prediction of Chriſt or his Apo-
ſtles, or of any ancient Prophets, can our new Prophets produce, foretell-
ing their Coming, and aſſuring us of their Inſpiration? We have many
Predictions in Scripture, that falſe Chriſts and falſe Prophets ſhould ariſe,
and deceive many; but we have none, that I know of, foretelling that any
ſhould ſpeak or write by immediate Inſpiration of the Spirit, after that the
holy Apoſtles ſhould have left the World; having firſt committed to Writ-
ing all ſuch Things as the Spirit of God had dictated to them, and com-
manded them to write. We have no Prophecy of Scripture, that I know
of, foretelling, that in After-ages God would raiſe up other Prophets like
unto them, to whom he would communicate his Will in ſuch Manner as
Vol. II.
6 X
he
1146
The Way of trying Prophets.
he had done to them, by immediate Inſpiration of the Holy Spirit.
Spirit. So
that the Pretence of our new Prophets to ſuch Inſpiration, being not found-
ed on Scripture, muſt fall to the Ground, unleſs it be ſupported by Miracles,
there being plainly no other Foundation to reſt it fufficiently upon.
Well! But you will ſay then, what if theſe Men ſhould now give ſuch
Proof of their Inſpiration as we may reaſonably require ? What if their Pre-
diâions ſhould come to paſs? Or what if they ſhould do Miracles?
I anſwer; When this ſhall be, it will be ſoon cnough to reſolve
that Queſtion; but till then we ſhall not nced to trouble our felves about
it. And yet to ſay ſomewhat briefly to it now may not be amiſs; becauſe
it may well be ſuppoſed, that a Man that already counterfeits Revelations,
will not be long before he will ſet upon counterfeiting Prophecies or Mi-
racles: I mean whenever he ſhall have a convenient Opportunity, and ſhall
find his Followers and Admirers in a good Diſpoſition to be deluded ;
and the Devil, we may be ſure, whoſe Intereſt is highly ſerved by ſuch
Deluſions, will not be wanting to lend his utmoſt Aſliſtance towards carrying
on the Cheat.
1. Then, let it be ſuppoſed, that they foretell Things to come ; that is,
that ſome Things which they foretell do come to paſs; I mean preſently,
or within a ſhort Time ; for if the Accompliſhment of their Predictions be
nor till a long while hence, it may ſerve for an Argument to our Poſterity
of ſuch Men's Inſpiration, but it can be none to us. In this caſe, I ſay,
one Thing to be conſidered by us, is the Nature of the Event that was
foretold; becauſe if it was a Thing that was produced by the working of
natural Cauſes, the foretelling it was not a certain Proof of divine Inſpira-
tion ; for the Devil is without doubt a better natural Philoſopher than any
Man, and ſo may foreſee, and may inſpire his Emiſſaries to foretell ſeveral
Events of this Kind, which no mortal Man, by his own Wit and Skill
only, could have foretold. And the only Things, which, as I ſuppoſe, none
but God can foreknow, are ſuch Events as depend upon the working of the
Will of ſome free Agent.
And again, even of theſe Events, commonly called future Contingencies,
ſeveral, it may well be ſuppoſed, are already foretold in ſome dark Prophe-
cies of the holy Scripture, which though not underſtood by us, may yet be
underſtood by the Devil; who, if not naturally of greater Wit, muſt yet
needs, by his longer Obſervation, Experience and Study, have attained to
much greater Skill in ſuch Matters than any ſhort-livd Man can do. So
that a true Interpretation of ſome Scripture-Prophecies, which have not hi-
therto been underſtood by Man, may poſſibly be had from the Devil, and
conſequently, is not a ſure Proof of divine Illumination.
Again; If the Events that have been foretold by any pretended Prophet,
are ſuch, the Foreknowledge whereof, even by the Devil himſelf, cannot
be accounted for either of thefe Ways, ſome Conſideration is then to be
had of their Number. For when God endues any Man with the Spirit
of Prophecy, in order to his gaining Belief to ſome Meſſages of publick
Concern which God has charged him with, it cannot be ſuppoſed but that
he will enable him to give full and fufficient Proof of his divine Miſſion;
and a full and ſufficient Proof thereof, in Cafe no other Proof of any
other Kind but only. by Prophecy, be given of it, can hardly be given, but by
a Man's truly foretelling a great many future Events.
And yet, laſtly, if a Man ſhould
truly foretell a great many future Events,
even this would not be a good Proof of divine Inſpiration, in Cafe any
one, though but one only, of his Predictions ſhould fail to be accompliſhed
in its Time. For a wife and cunning Being, ſuch as the Devil, that old
Serpent,
The Way of trying Prophets
1 147
.
ALA
Serpent, certainly is, may by a probable Conjecture only, forerell ſeveral
future Contingencies, and may rarely be out in his Gueſs; 1o that a Man
may be only an Emiſſary or Inſtrument of the Devil, who does truly
foretell ſome ſuch Things; and it is certain he is no other, in caſe there
bc a Failure in any one of thoſe Predictions which he gives forth as by
divine Inſpiration ; becauſe the Spirit of God, which ſearcheth all Things,
and underſtands even the Thoughts of Men long before, cannot be dccci .
ved in any Thing. And this Rule is plainly given in the Scripture it
felf. And if thou ſay in thy Heart, Howe shall we know the Word which Deut.xviii-2 1;
the Lord hath not ſpoken? When a Prophet Speaketh in the Name of 22.
the Lord, if the Thing follow not, nor come to paſs, that is the Thing
which the Lord hath not spoken; but the Prophet hath Spoken it preſump-
tuouſly. But,
2. Let it be farther ſuppoſed, that a Man now pretending to Inſpiration
ſeems alſo to do Miracles; it is to be remembrcd, that it is foretold, that
the Coming of the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, is after the working 2 Theil. ii. 9.
of Satan, with all Power, and Signs, and lying Wonders. So that though
true Miracles are undoubtedly a good, perhaps the beſt, and for the preſent
the moſt convincing Evidence of divine Inſpiration, yet there is in this
Caſe great Room for Deceit, and conſequently great Need of Caution.
Two Things eſpecially, there are, in this Caſe, needful to be carefully en-
quired into.
Firſt, the Truth of the Fact. We ſhould be well aſſured that the won-
derful Thing ſaid to be done, was really done; and for this Purpoſe it may
be required, that it ſhould be done either in our own Sight and Preſence, or
in the Sight and Preſence of many other credible Perſons; Several of
whom ſhould, without any Contradi&tion from any other Perſons that were
then preſent, teſtify the ſame, as a Matter of their own certain Knowledge.
And when we ſhall have received this Satisfaction as to the Fact, it will
be then farther needful to be ſtrictly enquired into, whether it was a true
Miracle, that is, whether it was an Operation plainly exceeding the known
Power of natural Cauſes, and of cvil Spirits; as it is evident moſt of the
Miracles of Mofes, and our bleſſed Saviour were. Exceeding, I ſay, the
known Power of evil Spirits, as well as of natural Cauſes; and how grcat
their Power is, we can hardly certainly know; only we may very reaſon-
ably think, that the Prince of the Power of the Air, as the Devil is called
Eph. ii.2.
in Scripture, is able to do far greater Things than any that as yet have been
ſo much as reported to have been done by our new Prophets.
Well, but you will ſay, ſuppoſing that thus far alſo we ſhould receive
all the Satisfaction that we can reaſonably deſire; that is, that the won-
drous Work which we are fully perſuaded was done by ſome pretended
Prophet, after the beſt Trial and Examination that we can make of it, does
appear to be miraculous; may we then reaſonably give Ear to what the Man
has to ſay to us!
Yes truly, I think we may; nay indeed, I think we ſhall be to blame if
we do not. But yet, I do not ſay, that immediately upon this we ought
to receive, as a divine Oracle, every Thing that this Man ſhall utter. If,
ſays Moſes, there ariſe among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, Deut. xiii. 2,3.
and giveth thue a Sign or a Wonder, and the Sign or the Wonder come to
paſs, whereof he ſpake unto thee, Saying, Let us go after other Gods, which
thou haſt not known, and let us ſerve them: Thou Malt not hearken unto
the Words of that Prophet, or that Dreamer of Dreams; for the Lord
your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with
all your Heart, and with all
And our Saviour himſelf tells us,
That there shall ariſe falſe Chriſts and falſe Prophets, and ſhall fbew great Mat. xxiv. 24.
Signs
.
your Soul.
!
I
1148
The Way of trying Prophets.
ز
OL
Signs and Wonders, inſomuch, that if it were poſſible, they ſhall deceive
the very Ęleet.
But what is then to be done? If falſe Prophers may give the ſame
Tokens, to Appearance, of a divine Miſſion, that true Prophets have
done; how ſhall we do to know certainly which are true, and which
are falſe
I anſwer, even in this Caſe, which yet we may well think does very
rarely happen, there is one other Method of trying the Spirits, whether
they are of God, which we may be certain will not fail nor deceive us ;
and that is, by their Doctrines: What therefore we ſhould have to do, if
ever we ſhould meet with ſuch an appearing Evidence of any Man's In-
ſpiration, as we could not after the ſtricteſt Search diſcern any Fraud in,
would be to examine well the Nature of thoſe Doctrines which he teaches
as by God's Command and Authority, and to obſerve whether they be
according to Godlineſs, whether they be worthy of God. And if they are
not ſo, we ought not either to receive the Doctrines, or to accept the
Man as a Prophet, no not even upon the ſtrongeſt Evidence that can be
given of Inſpiration ; becauſe it is a contractiction to the Truth and Holi-
neſs of God, that he ſhould cver commiſſion any Man to tcach any Doc-
trine, contrary to Truth or Holineſs. For he abideth faithful, as the
2 Tim.ii. 13. Apoſtle ſays, he cannot deny himſelf; and it would be to deny himſelf, to
commiſſion any Man either to withdraw his Creatures from their due
Obedience to him, or to invalidate the Credit of foriner divine Revelations, or
to teach any Do&rine derogating from his eternal and eſſential Attributes,
his Juſtice, Holineſs, Goodneſs, or Truth ; or to ſet up other Gods, or to
entice Men to Idolatry, or to preſcribe, or ſo much as to give Licenſe,
any Encouragement to impiety, Prophaneneſs
, Falſhood, Lying, Perjury, De-
ceit, Injuſtice, Uncleanneſs, Intemperance, or any moral Wickedneſs. And
therefore, our Saviour, in Matth. vii. 16. immediately after he had given a
Caution to beware of falſe Prophets, adds theſe Words, le ſbałt know
them by their Fruits, that is, by the Fruits of their Doctrines; by the Na-
ture and Tendency of them : So that whatever Appearance a Man may
2. Cor. xi. 13, make of Honeſty, For Satan himſelf is transformed into an Angel of
Light; therefore it is no great Thing if his Miniſters alſo be transformed
as the Miniſters of Righteouſneſs; or what Proof foever he may give of his
Truth, or what Evidence ſoever of divine Inſpiration; we may be moſt
certain that he is not a Meſſenger from God, if the Matter of his Doc-
trine be contrary either to the Principles of natural Religion, or to the
eternal Laws of Reaſon, or to the Truth of a former divine Revela-
tion. If we, ſays St. Paul, or any Man, or even an Angel from Heaven,
preach any other Goſpel unto you, than that which we have preached unto
you, and which ye have received'; let him be accurſed.
Thus we are to try the Spirits whether they are of God; which, if
we do fincerely, and with true Love to God and Truth, the bleffed Con-
ſequence will be, that, how much foever falſe Prophets do abound, and
2 Tim. iii. 13. however evil Men and Seducers may wax worſe and worſe, deceiving
and being deceived, we ſhall be aware of their Devices; and being not
Eph. iv. 14. like Children, toſſed to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of
Doctrine, by the Sleight of Man, and cunning Craftineſs, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive, ſhall hold faſt the Profeſſion of our Faith without
2 Tim. iii. 14. wavering; and continue in the Things we have been taught, knowing of
1 Cor. xv. 51. whom we have learned them; and be ſtedfaſt and unmoveable, always
abounding in the Work of the Lord, foraſmuch as we know that our La-
bour is not in vain in the Lord.
Which God grant, for the ſake of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. To whom, &c.
14.
Gal. i. 8, 9.
Heb. X. 23.
I
D IS
}
1149
DISCOURSE CIII.
1
Of Children's bearing the Iniquities
of their Fathers.
16
LAMENT. V. 7.
Our Fathers have finned, and are not, and we have
born their Iniquities.
T
alltinim
HE Title of this Book, called The Lamentations of ye
remiah, declares its Author ; and the Subject or Matter
of it ſufficiently ſhews upon what Occaſion it was writ-
ten; viz. either the Death of Joſiah, or the Deſtruction
of Jeruſalem, or both.
For that it was written upon Occaſion of Foſiah's Death,
is probably argued from what we read in 2 Chron. xxxv.25.
And Jeremiah lamented for Joſiah; and all the ſinging
Men and ſinging Women ſpake of Joſiah in their Lamentations to this Day,
and made them an Ordinance in Iſrael; and behold they are written in the
Lamentations.
But that it was written upon Occaſion of the Deſtruction of Ferúſalem,
and the Captivity in Babylon, is, I think, ſtill more probably argued, from
that Preface or Introduction to this Book, which, though not in the He-
brew, we meet with in the Greek Tranſlation thereof by thc Seventy, in
theſe Words; “ And it came to paſs, that after Iſrael was carried captive,
" and Jeruſalem deſtroyed, Jeremiah ſat down weeping, and lamented, or
“ uttered forth, this Lamentation upon Jeruſalem, and ſaid,” How doth the
City ſit ſorrowful, &c.
But it may be, and indeed I think it the moſt probable Opinion of all,
that the Book, as it now is, was written upon both theſe Occaſions ; I mean,
that upon the Death of good King Fofiah, which hapned ſome Years before
the Captivity, Jeremiah did lament for him, in ſome ſuch Words as we
now meet with in this Book: But that afterwards, upon the Deſtruction of
Jeruſalem, and the carrying of the People captive into Babylon, he reviewed
his former mournful Song, and added thereto, and intermingled therewith,
ſome other Pallages that were more peculiarly expreſſive of thoſe ſad Cala-
mities.
c
Vol. II.
6 Y
The
I
1150
of Children's bearing
The Book it ſelf conſiſts of two principal Parts; the firſt, contained in
the four firſt Chapters, is chiefly a ſorrowful Deſcription of the miſerable
Condition of the Jews, by the Loſs of ſuch an excellent King, by the
Ruin and Deſtruction of their City and Kingdom, and by their own Slavery
in Babylon. The other Part, comprehendeđ in this fifth Chapter, is a
Prayer to God for Deliverance from that fore Affliction which they were
then under ; wherein, to move God to Compaſſion, their ſad and miſerable
State is again ſet forth, and humbly repreſented to him.
The Words I am now to diſcourſe of are a Part of this Prayer. And,
as ſuch, they may be taken and underſtood three Ways.
1. As a ſimple Affirmation of a Matter of Fact; Our Fathers have ſinned,
and are not, and we have born their Iniquity.
2. As a Complaint, or an Expoftulation with God about it; as if it had
been ſaid, Why is this? or what Juſtice or Reaſon is there in it, that we
“ ſhould be puniſhed for our Father's Sins? Or,
3. Laſtly, As a Petition to God, that it might be ſo no longer, but that
this Entail of Puniſhment might be now cut off.
And accordingly, in my Diſcourſe on the Words, I ſhall do theſe three
Things :
I. I ſhall prove the Matter of Fact, viz. that God does ſometimes make
the Children bear the Sins of the Fathers.
II. I ſhall ſhew, that this Method of God's dealing with ſinful Men is not
to be complained of as unjuſt. And,
III. Laſtly, I ſhall fhew, that it is nevertheleſs a proper Matter of Pe.
tition or Prayer to God, that he would be pleaſed to cut off this Entail of
Puniſhment, and not remember againſt us the Iniquities of our Fathers.
And in the handling of each of theſe Heads, I ſhall have a particular
Reſpect to that which is the Occaſion of this Day's Humiliation and Faſting:
I. I ſhall prove the Matter of Fact, viz, that God does ſometimes make
the Children bear the Sins of the Fathers. Our Fathers have ſinned, and
we have born their Iniquities.
And for the Proof of this we ſhould need to look no farther, than to that
very Caſe which the Text refers to, 'viz. the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem, and
the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon; which came not to paſs till about
2 Kings xxiii. threeſcore Years, or more, after that wicked Part of Manaſſeh's Reign, where-
by God had been provoked, and upon which he had determined to inflict
this heavy Judgment upon them.
But this is not the only Inſtance of this kind that the Scripture furniſhes
2 Kings X. 11. us with. For, for the Idolatry of Ahab, his whole Family was cut off; for
2 Sam. xxi. 1. the Sin of Saul in killing the Gibeonites, the Kingdom after his Death was
plagued with three Years Famine, Year after Year, in the Reign of David;
Ver. 9, 14. and the ſame Sin was again moſt ſeverely puniſhed in Saul's own Family,
when it could not be expiated, nor the Plague that was thereby occaſioned
be removed, but by the hanging up of ſeven of his Ifue. And it was for
1 Sam. ii. 33. the Sin of Eli, and his Sons, that his whole Poſterity was deprived of the
Prieſthood, and that all the Increaſe of his Houſe died in the Flower of their
Age.
And what need I add more? for we may ſee with our own Eyes a ſtand-
ing Example of this in the whole Nation of the Jews, a People once be-
loved by God, and highly favoured above all other Nations; but they, when
Mat. xxvii. 25. they crucified the Lord of Life and Glory, ſaid, His Blood be on us, and on
our Children: And ſo it has been ever ſince: For from that Time to this,
they
26, 27.
}
the Iniquities of their Fathers.
1151
they have never been in ſuch a flouriſhing Condition as before. It was not
many Years after, that their City, and Temple, and Commonwealth were
entirely deſtroyed, and their whole Nation diſperſed ; ever ſince which they
have wandered about the World as Vagabonds, every where hated and de-
fpiſed, and in ſome Places and Ages moſt miſerably butchered and flaugh-
tered; ſo that if one ſhould add together the prodigious Numbers of them
that have been maſſacred in ſeveral Ages and Countries, chiefly in, and ſoon
after, the Siege and Deſtruction of Jeruſalem, one would think it hardly.
poſſible that any of them ſhould be remaining; and yet ſtill they do remain;
and in great Numbers too, ſome of them in almoſt every Country in the
World, and every where unmixed with other People, to be, as it were, liv-
ing Monuments of God's heavy Diſpleaſure.
Or, we may, if we will, ſee ſtill a greater Example of this Entail of Pu-
niſhment in our ſelves ; I mean in the whole Race of Mankind; upon all
whom there is, as we foc and feel by our own ſad Experience, crtailed a
Curſe, and a Diſeaſe, for the Tranſgreſſion of our firſt Parents; for it is
to that we all now owe our preſent Miſery and Mortality: By one Man Sin Rom. v. 12.
entred into the World, and Death by Sin; and so Death paſſed upon all
Men.
And laſtly, if we reflect upon that which is the Occaſion of our now
humbling our ſelves before God, viz. the barbarous Murder of King
Charles the Firſt, of bleſſed Memory, by his own Subjects, the People
of this Land, and the Rebellion which preceded it, I believe we may think
that we alſo have ſome Reaſon to ſay, with the Jews in the Text, Our Fa-
thers have ſinned, and are not, and we have born their Iniquities: For
well may thoſe Evils and Calamities be thought to be ſent upon the Na-
tion for that Sin, which have been in natural Conſequence the Fruits of it.
And ſuch were, plainly, thoſe many Years of Miſery, of Anarchy or Ty.
ranny, and of great Confuſion, which immediately followed; and which
continued until the happy Reſtoration of King CHARLES the Second;
during which Time we might have taken up and applied to our felves a con-
ſiderable Part of this Book of the Lamentations ; we might have ſaid, as
the Prophet here does, How hath the Lord, afflicted Zion for the Multitude Lam. i. 5, 6.
of her Tranſgreſſions? From the Daughter of Zion all her Beauty is de-
parted; her Princes are become like Harts that find no Paſture; they are
gone without Strength before the Purſuer. How hath the Lord coveredi. 1,9,10,15,
the Daughter of Zion with a Cloud in his Anger, and caſt down from Hea-
ven to the Earth the Beauty of Iſrael, and remembred not his Footſtool in
the Day of his Anger? Her King and her Princes were among the Gen-
tiles; the Law was no more; the Prophets alſo found no Viſion..from the
Lord. The Elders ſat upon the Ground, and kept Silence, they caſt Duſt
upon their Heads, and covered themſelves with Sackcloth. All they that
' went by clapped their Hands at her; they hiſſed, and wagged their Head,
Jaying, Is this the City that Men called the Perfečtion of Beauty, the Joy
of the whole Earth? All her Enemies alſo opened their Mouth againſt her,
and ſaid, We have ſwallowed her up; certainly, this is the Day that we
looked for; we have found, we have ſeen it. The Prieſts and the Pro-
phets were ſlain in the Sanɛtuary of the Lord; the young and the old lay on
the Ground in the Streets; the Virgins and the young Men fell by the Sword.
They that were brought up in Scarlet did embrace Dungħils. The Adver-Chap. iv. 5,12,
ſary and the Enemy entred into the Gates of Jeruſalem ; they shed the Blood" 3, 20.
of the Fuſt in the midſt of her. Alſo the Breath of our Noſtrils, the Anointed
of the Lord, was taken in their Pits; of whom we ſaid. Under his Shadow
we Mall be ſafe. Then was our Inheritance turned to Strangers, and our Chap. v. 2, 4.
Houſes to Aliens; we drank our Water for Money, and our Wood was ſold
unto
16,20,21,,
2
1152
of Children's bearing
Lam. v. 5, 8. unto us. Oür Necks were under Perſecution ; we laboured and had no Reſt.
Servants alſo did rule over us; and there was none to deliver us out of their
Hand.
But from their Hand, God be thanked, we have now for many Y cars
been delivered! By the wonderful and moſt providential Reſtoration of
King CHARLES the Second to his juſt Rights, we alſo were reſtored to
our ancient Government, both in Church and State, and to the publick and
free Profeſſion of the true Religion, together with our former Peace and
Proſperity.
And yet, for all this, I doubt I may truly ſay, that we do even ſtill in
ſome Meaſure bear that Iniquity of our Fathers which we this Day deſire
to be humbled for.
For if we look back to the Times paſt, it will be eaſy to diſcern, that
even the War which we are at this Time engaged in, had its firſt Ground
in the Wickedneſs of this Day. For when the Father was cut off, and his
Throne and Power uſurped, the young Princes were forced to wander where
they could find a Place: And there, in the Court of a neighbouring King,
they might caſily learn ; there one of them, we are too ſure, did Icarn,
Cuſtoms and Manners, both in Government and Religion, clearly different
from thoſe which had been here received and eſtabliſhed. And ſuch Dili-
gence, we well remember, was uſed, and ſuch Progreſs made, during a ſhort
Reign of leſs than four years, in endeavouring to bring in the ſame Cuf-
toms and Manners among us, that if that Reign had continued much
longer, we muſt, unavoidably, to all Appearance, have been brought under
very great Bondage, both Spiritual and Temporal. But it pleaſed God, of
his Goodneſs, to cut ſhort thoſe Days, ſo that our Enemies had not Time
enough to acconipliſh their wicked Deſigns; it pleaſed him, I ſay, by a
wonderful Deliverance, ſuch as could not have been looked for, to preſerve
to us then our Rights, Properties and Religion: Upon which we might
have ſaid, in the Words of the Pſalmiſt, Our Soul is eſcaped as a Bird out
of the Snare of the Fowler ; the Snare is broken, and we are delivered.
But however, though God was graciouſly pleaſed not then to puniſh us ſo
much as he ſeemed to threaten he would do, and as we were afraid he
would have done; he was not ſo far reconciled to us as to forgive our Sin
wholly, and ſuffer us to go altogether unpuniſhed; but when he removed
one Judgment, ſent another in its Room. So that though it may, I hope
truly, be ſaid, that we are now made whole of that Diſeaſe, of which before
we were fick almoſt to Death; it muſt nevertheleſs be granted, that even the
Remedy by which we were cured, and by the Uſe whereof we are ſtill
preſerved in Health, though not ſo bad as the Diſeaſe, yet has been, and
ſtill is, very painful and afflicting. For there was no Way to keep out
Popery and Slavery, then preſſing hard upon us, but by engaging in-War with
a potent Enemy, whoſe Strength now, after ſo many Years Experience as
we have had of it, we have learned, I ſuppoſe, not to deſpiſe.
Foraſmuch therefore as this tedious and expenſive War, which we have
been now, for many Years, engaged in, and of which God knows when we
ſhall ſee an End, was, when it was firſt undertaken, and ſtill is, the neceſſary
Remedy of thoſe much worſe Evils that we were before in Fear, and in-
deed in very great Danger of; and foraſmuch as the great Danger we were
in of thoſe Evils, was directly and naturally occaſioned by the young Princes
being ſent abroad to wander in foreign Countries, by thoſe who had firſt re-
belled againſt and murdered the Father, and then ſeized upon his and their
Inheritance ; I think I may truly ſay, that though our Fathers who linned are
not; yet we, in this heavy Judgment of God ſtill-lying upon us, do to this
Day bear their Iniquities; and how much longer we ſhall do ſo, under this,
or ſome other Judgment, God only knows.
But,
the Iniquities of their Fathers.
1153
But, I obſerved before, that theſe Words might be underſtood, not only
as affirming a Matter of Fact, that thus it is, but alſo as implying a Com-
plaint, or an Expoftulation with God about it, Our Fathers have ſinned, and
we have born their Iniquities. As if it had been ſaid, “ Why is this? or
« what Juſtice or Reaſon is there in it, that we ſhould bear the Iniquities
“ of our Fathers that ſinned? Why is it, that when they are dead and gone
out of the World, who did the Sin; we, who being not then born, could
* not; we, who if we had been then living, would not have conſented to,
nor been Partakers in their Wickedneſs, ſhould be puniſhed for it?"
And .
therefore I propounded, in the ſecond Place, and to that I now proceed,
CC
<C
II. To ſhew, that this Method of God's dealing with ſinful Men, is not
to be complained of as unjuſt. And this I hope will ſufficiently appear, if
theſe following Things be conſidered.
1. That the temporal Evils, by which the Sins of the Fathers are puniſhed
in their Children, are, many Times, no other than the natural and neceſſary
Effects of thoſe Sins which the Fathers were guilty of.
This I have ſhown to be in great Meaſure true, as to thoſe Evils which we
of this Nation have felt, and do ſtill feel, in Puniſhment, as we may well
think, of the Sin that was committed as on this Day by our Fathers, in the
barbarous Murder of the Lord's Anointed.
And the ſame is plainly true in many other Inſtances.
For thus the Prodigal waſtes away, in Rioting, Exceſs, or Gaming, that
Portion of worldly Goods which was left him by his careful Anceſtors, or
neglects thoſe Opportunities of improving his Stock, which the good Provi-
dence of God afforded him; and by this means comes to Beggary, he and
his Children after him: But how can it otherwiſe be, unleſs God ſhould every
Day work Miracles, and multiply Men's Treaſure, as once he did the poor
Widow's Oil, on purpoſe to maintain them in their Luxury, Extravagance, or
Sloth
And ſo likewiſe the intemperate and unclean Perſon fills his Body with
foul Humours, and contracts loathſome Diſeaſes; and theſe of Courſe de-
ſcend to thoſe that derive their Bodies from his: and it muſt needs be ſo,
unleſs God ſhould interpoſe with his Almighty Power, to put a Stop to the
natural Effects of our Folly and Madneſs. This indeed he might do, if he
pleaſed ; but that he ſhould do ſo, can with no Reaſon be expected. And
when it thus happens, and the Father lives to ſee it, this muſt needs be a
ſore Affliction and Puniſhment to him ; but to the Children it is only a Mif-
fortune, and on God's Part it is only a Permiſſion ; who cannot therefore be
charged with Injuſtice for ſuffering Things to take their natural Courſe.
It may be conſidered, that the temporal Evils and Calamities wherewith
God puniſhes the Sins of the Fathers in their Children, are, for the moſt part,
only Privations of thoſe Mercies which he had freely beſtowed upon them
once; or Denials of ſuch Favours as he might, if he had pleaſed, have con-
ferred upon them, but was under no Obligation, in Juſtice, to grant, altho
they had been deſcended from the moſt virtuous Parents. Or, in other
Words, the Children of wicked Parents are not ſo happy and proſperous as
God could have made them, if he would: Their Puniſhment is commonly
no more than this, that God does not ſhew them ſuch Favour, as he does,
it may be, ſhew to ſome others, but is not obliged to ſhew to any. And
what Injuſtice is there in this? May not he do what he will with his own?
May not he have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy, and ſhew Favour to
whom he pleaſes
Thus it was in the Caſe of Rehoboam, from whom God was pleaſed to
ſuffer ten Tribes to revolt, for the Sin and Idolatry of his Father Solomon ;
Vol. II.
6 Z
But
1154
Of Children's bearing
But he needed not to have left hiin one Tribe; to reign over one Tribe
was more than he, or his Father either, could have challenged of God as a
Due; God did him no Wrong therefore in giving him no more than one
Tribe: And we cannot ſay that he did, without denying to God, the ſo-
vereign Lord and Proprietor of all Things, that Power and Liberty which
we our felves claim of beſtowing our free and unmerited Favours on whom
we will. For what Man is there, who, having a Place or Gift to bcftow,
will not chuſe to beſtow it rather on one whoſe Father was his Friend, than
on one whoſe Father was his Enemy? and who can think him to blame
for ſo doing? If we therefore, who are only Stewards of thoſe Things which
we poſſeſs, and pretend to give away, may do thus, certainly God, the true
Owner and Proprietor of all Things, may do the ſame, without the leaſt
Imputation of Injuſtice.
And ſuch have been the Calamities which have befallen this Nation, ſince
the Perpetration of that horrid Wickedneſs which we this Day lament; thoſe
Evils I mean more eſpecially, which have in natural Conſequence been
produced or occaſioned thereby; very grievous Calamities indeed they have
been in themſelves, but yet they have been rather Denials or Privations of
Good, than poſitive Inflictions of Evil. For though we ſuffered for ſeveral
Years after the Commiſſion of this great Wickedneſs, the manifold Incon-
veniences both of Anarchy and Tyranny; and have never ſince been ſo well
ſettled, either in Government or Religion, as we were before; yet after all
that is come upon us, the moſt that can be ſaid, is, that we have not been
ſo happy a Nation as we might have been, and probably ſhould have been,
had not the Guilt of that royal and innocent Blood that was as this Day
fhed, lain upon us; but ſtill, God be thanked, we have been more happy
than moſt of our Neighbour-Nations; we have, in the main, enjoyed a much
greater Meaſure of Liberty and Peace, of Plenty and Proſperity, than moſt
of them have done. So that though we have been always, like the Iſraelites
of old, murnuring and complaining; and, like Solomon's Fool, crying out
of the Badneſs of the Times, and enquiring, why the former Days were
better than theſe? yet I believe if they who have been the moſt full of Com-
plaints, had, when they were firſt born into the World, been endued with a
Foreſight of all that has ſince happened in the World, and it had then been
put to their Choice to have lived in what Part of the World they had pleaſed,
it would have puzzled them to have found out any Country in the whole
Earth, wherein they could rather have choſen to have lived; or wherein if
they had lived, they would have ſuffered fewer Difficulties, or leſſer Incon-
veniences, or have enjoyed a greater Meaſure of Eaſe, Safety, Plenty, and
Proſperity, than they have done here. So that though it may be true, and
I think it probable that it is ſo, that we have in our Age born, in ſome Mea-
ſure, the Iniquities of our Fathers, yet upon the whole, we have no Reaſon
to be diſcontented with our Lot, or to complain as if we were hardly deale
with. But,
3. In Order to the farther clearing this Method of the divine Providence
from the leaſt Imputation of Injuſtice, it may be conſidered, that God has a
ſovereign and uncontrollable Dominion over all our Perſons, as well as over
our Poſſeſſions; that we our ſelves are his Goods, as well as any of thoſe
Things are, which we, by his Bounty, do enjoy; for it was he that made us,
as well as all other Things; and he might not have created us at all, or he
might have made us Birds, or Beaſts, or Fiſhes; Monſters, or Naturals; and
if he had done ſo, we could not have complained: For, as the Apoſtle ar-
gues, Rom. ix. 12. Shall the Thing formed ſay to him that formed it, Why
haſt thou made me thus? Hath not the Potter Power over the Clay, of the
ſame Lump to make one Veſſel unto Honour, and another unto Diſhonour ?
Hc
the Iniquities of their Fathers.
1155
He therefore being our ſovereign Lord, to whom we are indebted for all
we have, and to whoſe mere Grace and Goodneſs it is entirely owing, that
we our felves have any Being at all; he may, in Right of that abſolute Do-
minion which he has over us as our Creator, without any Injuſtice, put us
into whatever Condition he pleaſes, or alter it for the worſe whenever he
will, without aſſigning any other Cauſe or Reaſon of his doing ſo, but his
own Pleaſure only. Nay, he may, if he will, wholly take away that Life
and Being, which he freely gave us, whenever he liſts; when we are but a
Month, or but a Day old, as well as when we have lived here threeſcore or
fourſcore Years; and in all this he does us no Wrong; becauſe it was a free
and unmerited Favour, that we ever lived at all, and nothing can oblige him
to continue to us an undeſerved Favour, unleſs he plcaſes, or for a longer
Time than he fees good.
In ſhort; whatever Condition God is pleaſed to put any of his Creatures
into, if it be but better than Non-exiſtence, or not being at all, that he
may put any of his Crcatures into, though they bę perfectly innocent, with-
out doing them any Wrong: And therefore it can be no Injuſtice in God,
to take Occaſion from the Sins of our Fathers, or Progenitors, to deal ſo by
us as he might have done, though neither they nor we had finncd. For he
may certainly, without Injuſtice, do that upon any Occaſion, which he might
have juſtly done upon no Occaſion at all.
4. It may be alſo conſidered farther, that very many, if not moft, of the
Evils and Calamities by which God puniſhes the Sins of the Fathers in their
Children, are ſuch as are very great Puniſhments to the Parents, but are often
very ſmall Evils, nay, ſometimes are very great Bleſſings and Favours, to the
Children which ſuffer theni.
For thus, the untimely Death of a hopeful Child is indeed a very fore Af-
fliction to the Parent, eſpecially when he reflects upon it as a Puniſhment
ſent by God upon him for his Sin: But it is a Bleſling to the Child him-
ſelf, who dies in the Lord, and is conveyed into Paradiſe, out of a trauble:
ſome World, before he ſo much as knew the Trouble of it.
And thus likewiſe, to a Man that has toiled and drudged all his Days, cn-
deavouring by Fraud, Oppreſſion and Extortion, to heap together a great deal
of Wealth, and to raiſe a Family, it muſt needs be a great Grief and Dir-
appointment, to ſee his Wealth, all his ill-gotten Goods, mouldſing, waſting,
or, as the wiſe Man expreffes it, feeing away; ſo that his Children, whom
he has brought up in all Delicacy and Softneſs, are in Danger of being re-
duced to Beggary, or muſt be forced to get their Living by hard Labour ;
but to the Children themſelves, for whoſe Sake it is that he is fo much con.
cerned, this Diſpenſation of Providence may be the greateſt Bleſſing that
could befall them ; and ſo it will be, if the Conſideration thereof impreſſes
upon their Minds a ſerious Senſe of Religion, and helps to mortify them to
this World, and puts them upon taking good Courſes, and makes them to
beware of ſplitting themſelves upon the ſame Rock.
And ſo likewiſe, if it be ſuppoſed, as I do indeed ſuppoſe, that we have
born, and do ſtill bear, the Iniquities of our Fathers, who ſinned, and are
not; particularly that great Iniquity which was acted as upon this Day, the
barbarous Murder of an excellent Prince, together with the other Wicked-
neſſes that were preparatory thereto; there may be, however, a great deal of
Goodneſs, as well as of Juſtice, in this Diſpenſation of Providence. For to
them who had a Hand in this Sin, if they had any Affection at all to their
native Country, or any Care and Concern about Poſterity, it could not but
be an Affliction to ſee what Deſolation they had by this Sin, and the Prepa-
rations to it, brought upon their Country; to behold what Diſorder and Con-
fuſion they had put every Thing into, and to contemplate the Miſeries which
3
were
1156
Of Children's bearing
were thereby entailed upon their Poſterity : But now to us their Children,
even thoſe Evils that we have ſuffered, or do yet ſuffer, upon that Account,
may in Conſequence be a Bleſſing. And ſo they will be, if we thereby
ſhall be warned to avoid thoſe Sins, which have drawn down ſuch Miſeries
upon us ; ſo they will be, if we thereby ſhall be taught to bear ſteady Loy-
alty to our Sovereign, to yield due Obedience to the Laws, to conform rc-
gularly to that excellent Worſhip which, by God's Providence, has been ſince
reſtored, and is now eſtabliſhed among us; to be humble, contented, and
orderly, in our ſeveral Stations; to ſtudy to be quiet, and to do our own Bu-
fineſs, and to ſeek and endeavour after the Things that make for Peace. If
we, I ſay, ſhall be ſo happy as, by all the Evils that have befallen us, to
learn theſe Virtues and Graces, we ſhall have no Reaſon to complain of our
having ſuffered thoſe Evils, from which we ſhall have reaped ſuch great Ad-
vantage. For, much better will it be for us, to have born the Puniſhment
of our Fathers Iniquity, without the Guilt of it, than it would be to incus
the like Guilt our ſelves, as perhaps without ſuch Warning we ſhould have
done, altho' we might eſcape the temporal Puniſhment thereof. Any Evil
is to be reckoned as good, when it prevents or cures a greater Evil; and
there is no Evil of Affliction ſo great as the leaſt Evil of Sin.
In this therefore, and ſuch like Caſes, when by the Judgments of God,
whether for their own or others Sins, Men are taught Righteouſneſs, they have
no Reaſon to complain. When the Wickedneſs of the Fathers is, with this
good Effect, viſited upon their Children, tho' the Matter of the Puniſhment
ſeems to light upon the Children, it is yet in Truth a Puniſhment only to the
wicked Parents ; but to the Children it is a great Bleſſing, and what they
will have Reaſon to bleſs God for to all Eternity. Such Puniſhments as
this are like the Pillar of the Cloud, wherewith God once conducted the If
raelites thro' the Red Sea; they have a double, and a very different Aſpect;
for, on the one Side, viz. that which looks towards the Parents, they are all
Blackneſs, and Darkneſs, and Melancholy; they cannot but be heartily con-
cerned at the Miſeries which they have entailed upon their Poſterity: But
on the other Side, viz. that which looks towards the Children, they are all
Light and Brightneſs, ſerving to direct them in the Way they are to go, and
helping them to ſteer in the right Courſe to the heavenly Canaan, the Land
of everlaſting Bleſſedneſs.
Thus the divine Juſtice might be vindicated, in puniſhing, as it ſometimes
does, the Sins of the Fathers in their Children, tho' it be ſuppoſed that the
Children themſelves have done nothing to deſerve Puniſhment. But then I
add, in the fifth and laſt Place,
s. That whatever the temporal Evils and Afflictions are, wherewith God is
at any Time pleaſed to puniſh the Sins of the Fathers in their Children,
they are never more nor greater than the Children themſelves do deſerve to
ſuffer, merely for their own Tranſgreſſions. And therefore they can have
no Reaſon to think it hard that God is pleaſed to take Occaſion, from the
Sins of their Fathers, to inflict upon them thoſe Plagues and Puniſhments,
which otherwiſe perhaps he would not have inflicted; becauſe, without In-
juſtice, he might have laid the ſame upon them much ſooner, and in a larger
Meaſure, only upon the Account of their own perſonal Guilt and Tranſ-
greſſion.
This was certainly the Caſe of the Jews who were carried captive to Ba-
bylon. They ſaid, and perhaps truly, Our Fathers have finned, and we have
born their Iniquity; they ſaid, and perhaps truly, the Fathers have eaten
Sour Grapes, and the Childrens Teeth are ſet on Edge; but they needed not
to have looked farther for a Reaſon of all the Calamities that had befallen
them, than to themſelves only. They had had indeed a good King, who
after
3
the Iniquities of their Fathers.
1157
after the wicked Reign of Manaſſch, by which the People had been cxcced-
ingly corrupted, had ſhewn them an excellent Pattern, and had carneſtly c13-
deavoured to reform the State of Things; but it docs not appear by the Hil-
tory, that the People were at all reformed by his Care. And therefire the
Prophet Ezekiel ſharply reproves then, when they were in the Capiiiity in
Babylon, for laying the Blame of the Bondage which thcy then endurel, only
upon the Tranſgreſſion of their Fathers in the Reign of Manaſeh, as if they
themſelves had done nothing at all to deſerve it. What mean ye", that ye Ezek. xviii. 2.
uſe this Proverb concerning the Land of Iſrael
, ſaying, The Fathers have
eaten four Grapes, and the Childrens Teeth are ſet on Edge? He does not
ſay, that there was not then, nor ever had been, any Ground in Fact for that
proverbial Speech; but only asks the Queſtion, What mean ye, to uſe this
Proverb? In which Words it is not implied, that the Proverb was never
true, but only that they in particular had no Reaſon to uſe it; that is, that
they had done cnough themſelves to deſerve all they ſuffered, and a great
deal more, and ſo ſhould not have needed, in Excuſe as it were of them-
felves, to have laid all the Blame upon their Fathers. And therefore it fol-
lows in the next Verſe, As I live, faith the Lord, ye ſhall not have Occa-
fion any more to uſe this Proverb in Ifrael. Which Words are not, as I
ſuppoſe, to be underſtood, as if the Proverb might never be uſed ; that is,
as if God never had, nor never would inflict tcmporal Evils upon Children
for the Sins of the Fathers; for he himſelf plainly declares the contrary,
Exod. xxxiv. 7. and in more than ten Places beſides, Viſiting the Iniquity
of the Fathers upon the Children, and upon the Childrens Children, unto the
third, and unto the fourth Generation; and I have already had Occaſion to
mention ſeveral Examples of God's thus dealing with Men: But the Mean-
ing of thoſe Words, Ye ſhall not have Occaſion to uſe this Proverb, I tako
to be this, that ſince they were ſo conceited of themſelves, and ſtood ſo mucli
in the Juſtification of their own Innocence; God was reſolved to continue
his Judgments upon them ſo long until their Eyes ſhould be opened to ſec
their own Guilt, and to be ſenſible that all the Sufferings which they had
endured, had been no more than a juſt Puniſhment upon them for their own
Tranſgreſſion only ; Te ſhall not have Occaſion to uſe this Proverb any
more.
And this ſame, I doubt, is now our Caſe. Very willing we are to ſhift
off the Blame from our ſelves, and to ſay, as in the Text, Our Fathers have
finned, and we have born their Iniquity: And, it may be, we have; I think
it probable enough that we have done fo; and particularly, that the innocent
Blood ſhed as upon this Day, has ſince in many Inſtances been revenged upon
us : But be it fo, we, however, ſhould not need to go ſo far off for a Reaſon
of all our Calamities; becauſe, if our Eyes be but open, we may eaſily ſee a ſuf-
ficient Cauſe of them nearer Home. This I dare ſay, that whoever reads
the Hiſtory of the Times before that great Rebellion brake out, and compares
the State of Things then with what it is now ; I mean as to Matters of Re-
ligion and Morality; as to the Exerciſe of Piety, Juſtice, and Sobriety, will
have little Reaſon to think that we are better than our Fathers; he will, I
fear, rather have Reaſon to ſay that we are a great deal worſe; ſo that we
need not look farther than to our ſelves only, for a Cauſe of all thoſe Evils
that have befallen us, or which we have yet Cauſe to fear. Or if what we
have hitherto ſuffered has been only for the Sins of our Fathers, we have
Reaſon to fear, that as our Wickednefs is, to all Appearance, greater than
theirs, ſo our Poſterity will live to fee worſe Times than we have done.
For then, in the Days of our Fathers, there was, at leaſt, a Form of God-
lineſs; and now there is hardly ſo much as that: Then the publick Devoti-
ons were performed regularly, the Churches duly frequented, the Pater fa-
Vol. II.
milias
7 A
I
1158
of Children's bearing
milias followed to his Pariſh-Church by his whole Houſhold; good Orders,
and good Hours were then kept in Families; Children and Servants were ca-
techiſed and taught their Duty; and that leiſure Time from Buſineſs in Even-
ings, which is now by too many ſpent in intempcrate Clubs, or in the Diver-
fions of an impudent and ungodly Theatre, was then generally paſſed away
in innocent and friendly Converſation among Neighbours, and in family
Diſcipline and Devotion. Then Vice, however it might be ſecretly practiſed,
was aſhamed to be ſeen; there was no Prophaneneſs in the Streets: None
had the Confidence then to ſpeak openly againſt Rcligion, to make a Mock
at Sin, to ridicule the holy Scriptures, to deny the Lord that bought them, to
plead for Irreligion, to publiſh Blaſphemy in Print, or to appcar other than a
Friend to Piety and Goodneſs: Nay, then the Stage it ſelf, at leaſt in Com-
pariſon with what it has been ſince, was chaſte, modeſt, and virtuous. But :
what the State of Things is now, in all theſe Reſpects, I ſhall not need to
obſerve; we all ſee it, and know it full well. And if I ſhould ſay moreover,
that there are ſome ſtill among us as deeply tainted with thoſe Principles of
Sedition and Rebellion which brought about this Day's Tragedy, as any of
their Fathers were, and who, if they had lived in their Days, would have
been as forward as the forwardeſt of them were, in unhinging the Govern-
ment, and deſtroying thc Church; nay, and in bringing their Sovereign to
the Block. Thoʻſome, perhaps, would be angry at my ſaying this, I fear it
would be only for my ſpeaking a Truth out of Seaſon; and they, I believe,
would be moſt angry with me for ſaying it, who beſt knew it to be a
Truth.
Upon the whole then, it being ſo apparent that we are not better than our
Fathers, (I would to God I could ſay that we are not worſe,) tho' it may be
true, that we do in ſome meaſure bear thcir Iniquities, we have yet no Reaſon
to complain ; neither have we morc Occaſion than the Jews in Captivity had
to uſe that Proverb, The Fathers have eaten Sour Grapes, and the Childrens
Teeth are ſet on Edge : But rather, I am ſure, we may well uſe thoſe Words
Ezra ix, 13. of the Prophet Ezra, applying them to our ſelves, and ſay, After all that is
come upon us, for our evil Deeds, and for our great Treſpaſs, our God has
puniſhed us leſs than our Iniquities deſerve; and he would have done ſo, al-
tho' he had not granted us any of thoſe wonderful Deliverances which he has
been pleaſed in our great Extremities to vouchſafc unto us.
But whether we now have Reaſon to uſe that Proverb or not, it is certain
that it may ſometimes be uſed; it is certain, that God does ſometimes viſit
the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children. And therefore, tho’ when this
happens, it is not, as I have ſhewn, to be complained of; yet we may at any
Time, very rcaſonably and piouſly deſire of God, that it may not ſo happen
And this was the third and laft Point I propounded to ſpeak to, viz.
to us.
III. To fhew that it is a proper Matter of Petition or Prayer to God, thar
he would be pleaſed to cut off this Entail of Puniſhment, and not make us
bear the Iniquities of our Fathers.
In this Senſe, I obſerved beforc, the Words of the Text, conſidered as Part
of a Prayer to God, may be underſtood, viz. as urging a Reaſon to move
God to have Compaſſion upon his People in Captivity: Our Fathers have
finned, and are not, and we have born their Iniquities: As if it had been ſaid,
“ Hitherto we have born them, but let it be ſo now no longer ; let thy ſuf-
« tice be ſatisfied with that Vengeance which thou haſt already taken, in the
Miſeries which our Fathers endured in their own Perſons, and which they
“ lived to ſee brought upon us their Children by their Means; now therefore,
“ ſince they are not, ſince they, being gone out of this World, are no longer
« ſenſible of thoſe Evils which we ſuffer in it; we humbly pray thee, that
" thou
the Iniquities of their Fathers.
1159
00
“ thou wouldſt have Pity upon us their Children, and not afflict us any longer
upon their Account: It is Time, we hope, now, that thou ſhouldſt make a
new Trial of us, and ſee if we will not behave our felves better than our
« Fathers did.
And there are other Examples in Scripture of Prayer or Petition of this
Kind: We have finned with our Fathers, ſays the Pſalmiſt, we have com- Pfal. cvi. 6.
mitted Iniquity, we have done wickedly; Our Fathers underſtood not thy
Wonders in Egypt; and ſo on. What could they mcan by thus confeſſing
the Sins of their Fathers, but to deprecate the Evils whereby thoſc Sins had
deſerved to be puniſhed in their Poſterity ?
It is therefore an unrcaſonable Exception which ſome have made to that
Petition in our Litany, Remember not, Lord, our Offences, nor the Offences
of our Forefathers ; as if
, (for that is what they would make the World believe
of us,) we herein complied with the Papiſts, in praying for the Dead : But
no ſuch Matter, we do not herein pray for the Dead, for thoſe who, as the
Text expreſſes it, are not; we only pray for our ſelves, who arc alive, that
we may not bear their Iniquitics. And what Petition can be better grounded
and warranted than this is, when we are ſo plainly told in ſeveral Places of
Scripture, that God does viſit the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children?
And as cauſeleſs is their Anger, who are diſpleaſed with us for keeping this
Day, as a Day of ſolemn Fafting, Humiliation, and Prayer, on which to the
Diſhonour of our Nation, and the Reproach of the Reformed Religion, the
bleſſed King CHARLES the Firſt was barbarouſly murdered by his own Sub-
jccts, the People of this Land; and that too in the moſt ſhameful Manner,
tried in a pretended High Court of Juſtice, and by them ſentenced to be ex-
ecuted as a Malefactor.
But why are they angry with us for keeping this Day? is it becauſe they
do not like that a Day of Faſting ſhould be kept upon ſuch an Occaſion ?
Then, it ſeems, they approve of the Fact; they think it was well done; they
think it was a Thing not to be aſhamed or repented of: But, Who can ſtretch 1 Sam. xxvi. 9.
forth his Hand againſt the Lord's Anointed, and be guiltleſs? If then we
will take the Judgment of the Scripture before theirs, it was a Sin, and a great
onc too; and, if ever any ſingle Act was ſuch, it was a national Sin; for it
was done by them that had then uſurped the ſupreme Authority; and there
was alſo too general a Conſent of the People to it: There is good Reaſon
therefore, that the whole Nation ſhould be humbled and ſorrowful for it, and
with one Voice and Cry deprecate the Puniſhment thereof.
But it is a long while ago, they ſay, ſince this was done; it is fit therefore
now that the Day ſhould be laid aſide: If it was a Sin, it was not, however,
Our Sin, but the Sin of our Fathers; and they are not : What matters it then
to us what they did? They have anſwered for it to God, and received their
own Doom; and why ſhould we, who had no Hand at all in the Thing,
take the Guilt of it upon our ſelves ?
But if our Fathers, who ſinned, are not, we may ſtill bear their Iniquities ;
it is expreſlly ſaid in. Scripture, that God viſits the Sins of the Fathers upon
the Children, even to the third and fourth Generation. If then, we are ſtill
liable to the divine Judgments upon that Account, I think there is Reaſon
good that we ſhould ſtill continue to pray, as we have hitherto done, that
theſe Judgments may not befall us; but that God will be reconciled to the
Land; and when he makes Inquiſition for Blood, not lay the Guilt of this
innocent Blood to the Charge of the People of this Land, nor ever require it
of us or our Poſterity. And it will be too ſoon to leave off praying thus ;
nay, it will, I think, be too ſoon ſo much as to enter into any Debate about
it, until, at leaſt, the Term of this expreſs divine Threatning ſhall be expired,
that is, until the third and fourth Generation ſhall be paſt and gone, and
the
3
1160
Of Children's bearing
the Children, and the Childrens Children ſhall be gathered unto their Fa-
thers.
And more than this needs not, I hope, be ſaid upon this Point, to thoſe
who, by their Preſence in this Place, upon this Occaſion, do ſufficiently ſhew
their Approbation of the keeping this Day, and that they think there is buc
too great Reaſon for it. For I will not ſuppoſe it poſlible that any of you
have been now mocking of God, while you have ſeemed to be praying to him.
I only add therefore, that to make the Prayers we have now put up to God
availing, we muſt forſake our Sins, as well as confeſs them. As therefore we
have been now confeſſing that they were the crying Sins of this Nation that
brought down this heavy Judgment upon us; ſo let us be careful that we fin
no more, left a worſe Thing come unto us. And as we have been praying
that God would not lay to our Charge the Guilt of that innocent Blood,
which was as this Day ſhed; ſo let us be cautious never to give Conſent to
any ſuch Sin, nor to any Approaches towards it.
This is the Way to get the Entail of Puniſhment cut off; I do not ſay,
that this will certainly do it; for we have inſtances in Scripture, of the Sins
of Fathers puniſhed in their Children, even when the Children were not ſuch
Sinners as the Fathers had been: But that this is the likelieſt Means we can
uſe to do it; and that without this there can be no reaſonable Expectation
that it ſhould be done.
In a Word then, and to conclude all: That the whole Nation
may
formed, let every one of us take Care to amend himſelf. And that the Go-
vernment both in Church and State may be maintained, and our holy Reli-
gion and the publick Peace preſerved, which, I hope, is what we do all hear-
tily deſire. Let every one of us mind his own Buſineſs, and move regularly
in his own Sphere, and leave it to Kings to govern Nations, and to God to
govern the World.
And when by our AMi&tions we ſhall be brought to this religious, loyal,
humble, peaceable and contented Temper ; then, and not before, we may
reaſonably look to ſee good Times; then we may pray, and reaſonably hope
it will be with good Succeſs, that God will comfort us again now, after the
Time that he has plagued us, and for the Tears wherein we have ſuffered
Adverſity.
be re-
Which God of his Goodneſs grant, for the ſake of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt
.
To whom, &c.
LIITI
TIR
DI S.
1161
DISCOURSE CIV.
The Divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy,
and the gracious Deſign of its In-
ftitution.
Preached March 8. 1708. being the Day of Her
Majeſty's happy Acceſſion to the Throne.
to
- peste toate
porting the one that the con
RoM. XIII. 4.
He is the Miniſter of God to thee for good.
!
HE main Deſign of the Apoſtle in the firſt half of this
Chapter, is to teach the Duty of Subjects, and to preſs the
Practice thereof.
T
Their Duty in general he declares to be Subjection; that
is, both Submiſſion to the Authority of their Governors, and
Obedience to their Laws; Ver. 1. Let every Soul be ſub-
ject to the higher Powers.
And the Reaſons or Motives whereby in that, and in the following Ver-
ſes, he enforces this Dury, are chiefly two; both which are alſo intimated in
the Text, viz. 1. The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy; He is the Miniſter
of God: And, 2. The gracious Deſign of its Inſtitution; for good: He is
the Miniſter of God to thee for good. Both which Points I ſhall therefore
now in Order ſpeak to; and the Conſideration of them both may ſerve as
well to ſuggeſt to the Magiſtrate his Duty, as to bind Subjects to theirs ;
and likewiſe for ſeveral other good Purpoſes, ſome of which I ſhall note as
I go along.
ز
I. One Thing here declared, is the divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy;. He
is the Miniſter of God: Which Words do import two Things: 1. That it
is of God, or by divine Appointment, that ſome do bear Rule over others
And, 2. That the Authority exerciſed by the Magiſtrate is a Ray or Por-
tion of the divine Authority, communicated to him, and entruſted with him
by God.
Vol. II,
7 B
2. That
4
1162
.
The divine Inftitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
A
1. That it is of God, or by divine Appointment, that ſome do bear Rule
over others.
I do not ſay, that the particular Form of Government is, in every Na-
tion, eſpecially preſcribed by God. I ſee no Reaſon to affirm that it was
always ſö, even in Judea itſelf; and much leſs that it has been ordinarily ſo,
in any other Nation.
Neither do I ſay, that the Perſon bearing the Office of Magiſtracy is al-
ways of divine Deſignation and Appointment; or that he is nominated to
his Office by God; and that no Perſon, not ſo deſigned or nominated, may
lawfully bear it. For the Titles and Claims to Government have been va-
rious ; of ſeveral of the Jewiſh Judges and Kings, the Title was indeed ſuch
a ſpecial divine Appointment'; but of the firſt Kings that ever were in the
World, the Title was, moſt probably, only their paternal Right to rule and
govern their own Children and Deſcendents: And in other countries, and
in later Times, of ſome the Title has been Election, and of others heredi-
tary Succeſſion: And of all the Kings now reigning in the World, and
claiming to do ſo by hereditary Succeſſion, there is not perhaps any one
whoſe Title was not originally founded in Election or Conqueſt. It is moſt
reaſonable therefore now, that in every Place that ſhould be taken to be
the moſt rightful Government which is eſtabliſhed; the Powers that be are
ordained of God; and that the beſt Title to Government which has pre-
vailed by Preſcription, or is ſettled by the Conſtitution: And whoever in
any Place, ſhould now ſet up himſelf upon any other Title, would be
but a Diſturber of the Peace of the World; would be the Author of much
Confuſion, and might juſtly be treated as an Enemy to his Country.
I do not, I ſay, therefore, affirm either that the Form of Government
in every Place, is, or ought to be, of divine Preſcription ; or that the Per-
ſon exerciſing the ſame is always of divine Deſignation, any otherwiſe than
as all Changes and Revolutions in Government are brought about by the
working or Permiſſion of the divine Providence: In which Senſe the Pſal-
Pfal. Ixxv.7. .miſt ſays, that God is the Judge, he putteth down one, and ſetteth up an-
other; and the Prophet Daniel, that the moſt High ruleth in the Kingdom
of Men, and giveth it to whomſoever he will; and that he removeth Kings
Jer. xxvi.6. and ſetteth up Kings: And the Prophet Jeremy, that God had given, among
other Lands, the Land of Judea into the Hand of Nebuchadnezzar the
King of Babylon his Servant, becauſe in his Providence he had permitted him,
tho' without any juſt Title thereto, to make a Conqueſt thereof.
But whatever the Form of Government be, that, whether by divine Ap-
pointment, or by Conſent, or Conſtitution, is received and cftabliſhed in any
Countrey; and whether the Perſon who has the Adminiſtration of the ſame
be, in any other Senſe than only providentially, of divine Deſignation, or
not; what I ſay and affirm, is, that the Government it ſelf, which he ex-
erciſes and adminiſters, is of divine Inſtitution; that is, that it is the Will of
God that ſome ſhould bear Rule, and that others ſhould be in Subjecti-
on; and that they which bear Rule, ſhould enact Laws for the Preſerva-
tion of Juſtice and Peace among their Subjects, and duly execute the Laws
made for that Purpoſe: In which two Things, the whole Power and Exerciſe
of Sovereignty do conſiſt.
And that Magiſtracy it ſelf is thus of divine Inſtitution, is the leaſt, I
think, that can be underſtood to be meant in thoſe Words of Solomon,
Prov. viii
. 15. By me Kings reign, and Princes decree Juſtice ; or by thoſe
of the Apoſtle at the firſt Verſe of this Chapter; There is no Power but
of God; the Powers that be are ordained of God. Or by St. Peter, i Epift.
ii. 13. Submit your felves to every Ordinance of Man, for the Lord's ſake,
whether it be to the King, as ſupreme, or unto Governors, as unto them
Dan. iv. 17.
ii. 22.
2
that
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c. 1163
that are ſent by him, for the Puniſhment of evil Doers, and for the Praiſe
of them that do well. But,
:
.ܐ
II. When the Magiſtrate is called here the Miniſter of God; the Meaning,
I ſuppoſe, is no more than this, viz. not only that the Office it ſelf is by di-
vine Appointment or Inſtitution ; but alſo, that the Authority by which
the Magiſtrate acts, and the Power which he exerciſes in the Execution of
his Office, is a Ray or Portion of the divine Authority and Power, derived
to hiin from, and communicated to him by, God.
For the Apoſtle here ſays, he is a Miniſter, that is, a Servant, and if Ser-
vant to another, then plainly, not his own Maſter, and if not Maſter of
himſelf, much leſs can he be, in his own Right, Maſter of another. The
Authority therefore by which he acts, the Power which he exerciſes in the
Government of his Subjects, are not, properly, his own, are not natural or
eſſential to his Perſon, are not inherently in himſelf; but muſt be derived
to him from that ſuperior Being who has Authority over both him and
his Subjects; who can commiſſion him to bear Rule over them, and can lay
it as a Duty upon them to be ſubject to him.
And ſo it follows in the Text; he is the Miniſter, or the Servant, of God.
And it muſt needs be ſo; if he be any Body's Servant, it muſt be God's :
For it would be abſurd to ſay, that he is their Servant over whom he bears Rule;
becauſe that would be in Effect to ſay, that it is all one to command, and
to obey; to have Power over, and to be ſubject to.
I do not indeed deny but that, according to the Conſtitution of ſome
Countries, the Magiſtrare, even the higheſt Magiſtrate of all, may be choſen
to his Office by the People. It is plainly fo, in all elective Kingdoms,
where the ſupreme human Power is placed in one nominated by the Peo-
ple, ili one who before ſuch Nomination had no more Right to it than
any other Man, and who, according to the Conſtitution of the Country,
could not lawfully have been put into the Poſſeſſion of it any other Way :
But nevertheleſs I ſay, that even in this Caſe, though the People name the
Perſon, they do not give him his Authority; they chuſe the Officer, but
when that is done, he is God's Officer, not theirs; He is the Miniſter of
God, not the Servant of the People; he has his Commiſſion and Autho-
rity from God, though he had his Nomination from them. And if it
be the ſovereign Power of all, which according to the Conſtitution, he is,
by virtue of ſuch Election, choſen to, being poſſeſſed of that, he has no
Superior but God; he has none above him upon Earth, to queſtion, cenſure
or puniſh him; and whoſoever reſiſteth the Power, reſiſteth the Ordinance
of God.
And in this there is no Incongruity or Abſurdity at all. It ſhould not
therefore, methinks, be ſo ſtrange to any, as ſome ſeem to think it, thar
the ſovereign Power upon Earth ſhould be ſubject only to God, and not
be accountable to the People; not even although he became at firſt poſſel-
ſed of ſuch Power only by their Suffrage, or by their voluntary Acceptance
of him ; and much leſs if he came to it by any other Title: Eſpecially,
there being Inſtances of the like Nature continually before our Eyes; I mean,
wherein the Officer has his Nomination from one, and receives his Autho-
rity from another; and is accountable for the Exerciſe of his Power, not to
thoſe that choſe him, but to ſome Power ſuperior both to him and them, from
whom, after he was choſen, he had his Authority to act.
For thus it is with us, in all Corporations that have Charters, and it may
be, in ſome others; they are empowered by their Charters, or claim by
Preſcription, to chuſe their own Mayor, or other chief Magiſtrate; but when
he is chofen, it is from the Queen that he has his Authority; and after he
--
is
1164
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
Ver. 1.
Ver. 2.
is placed in his Office, he is not their Servant that choſe him, but their
Governor. And in Cafe he ſhould miſ-behave himſelf in his Office; he is
not accountable to thoſe that choſe him to it, but to the Queen, by whoſe
Commiſſion he acted in it. They indeed may complain of him, or bear
witneſs againſt him; but it belongs to that ſuperior Power, Superior both to
him and them, from whom he had his Authority, to judge, whether he did
miſ-behave himſelf or not; and, if he did, to inflict on him a proper Pu-
niſhment.
Nay, this was in Truth the very Caſe of the Roman Emperors, in the
Apoſtolical Times; they were choſen Emperors by the Army, or the Senate;
but the Dignity they were choſen to was Imperial, their Power, conſequent-
ly, was ſovereign. And therefore, to them, as inveſted with ſuch Authori.
ty, the Apoſtle here in this Chapter, declares it to be the Duty of every
other Perſon, not excepting the Electors themſelves, to be ſubject; Let
every Soul be ſubject to the higher Powers. Of them, in Poſſeſſion of the
Imperial Dignity, he ſpeaks, when he ſays, There is no Power but of God;
the Powers that be are ordained of God. Againſt them, being inveſted with
ſovereign Authority, he declares it to be unlawful for the Subjects to make
Reſiſtance, and denounces Damnation to ſuch as dare to do it. With re-
gard to them, (for it muſt have been with a ſpecial Regard to the Emperor
then reigning, whether it was Claudius or Nero, both of them very bad
ones) he ſays, Whoſoever reſiſteth the Power, reſiſteth the Ordinance of God;
and laſtly; it was of one of them, that he ſays here in the Text, He is the
Miniſter of God; that is, he acts by a divine Commiſſion; and the Power
which he regularly exerciſes is delegated to him by God.
And it muſt needs be ſo, the ſupreme Magiſtrate muſt have his Power
from God; becauſe he can have it no other Way; for that it is not origi-
nally and eſſentially in himſelf, has been already ſhewn; and that he can-
not have it from the People is evident, becauſe it is ſuch a Power as the
People never had, nor could have; and what they have not themſelves, they
cannot give to another.
For Inſtance; the ſupreme Magiſtrate has, by the Conſent of all, the Power
of Life and Death; he bears the Sword, the Apoſtle here ſays; and he bears it, he
farther ſays, not in vain ; he may therefore warrantably make uſe of it, as there is
Occaſion to cut off evil Doers: But now I ſay this Power cannot be given to him
by the People, becauſe it is what they themſelves have not. For no Man, as a
private Man, has Power over his Brother's Life; but he would be a Murther-
er, ſhould he, of his own Head, kill even a Malefactor : Nay, no Man has
Power over his own Life, not even in thoſe Caſes wherein the Magiſtrate, by
the Allowance of all, has Power over it: For a private Man would be Felo
de ſe, ſhould he, though immediately after he had murthered another, and
for that very Reaſon too, kill himſelf; and yet when this Crime, his having
murthered another, is confeſſed in Court, or fully proved againſt him before
the Magiſtrate, it may with much better Reaſon be doubted whether the Ma-
giſtrate can lawfully pardon him, God himſelf having ſaid, whoſo ſheddeth
Man's Blood, by Man Mall his Blood be ſhed, than whether he may lawfully
condemn him to ſuffer the Death he has deſerved.
And as this Authority could not be granted to Magiſtrates by ſingle Men,
no Man ſingly having Power over his own or another's Life, ſo neither
could it be granted by the Community: For how ſhould they, in a Body,
or as in Company, come to have a greater Power, than was among them all
the while they were ſingle ?
Beſides ; this Poſition, that the fovereign Power of the ſupreme Magiſtrate
is derived to him from the aggregate Body of the People, as by their Grant
or Conceſſion; as it is directly contrary to what the Apoſtle here affirms, viz.
Ver. 4.
Gen. ix, 6.
3
that
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
1165
.
that there is no Power but of God; ſo it is plainly grounded upon a Suppoſition
that is falſe in Fact; viz. that there were a great Number of Men living
together upon the Earth before the firſt Inſtitution of civil Government;
which whole Multitude had then by natural Right, the ſame Power over ſingle
Men, which is now excrciſed by the Magiſtrate.
This indeed might poſſibly have been true, in Caſe this Multitude had
ſprung together out of the Earth; or if they had been all created by God
at one and the ſame Time: but it cannot be true upon Suppoſition that they
all deſcended from the ſame firſt Parents, Adam and Eve; for it being ſo,
no Man, cxcept only the firſt Man of all, ever came into the World, but he
was naturally, at the very Inſtant of his Birth, in a State of Subjection to
ſome other Man: No Man, ſince the firſt, was ever, properly ſpeaking, free-
born. For in his natural Capacity, he was born a Subject to his own Parents,
and in his political Capacity, to the King, or other chief Governor of that
Kingdom or State, of which, at his Birth, he became a Member: The
People could not therefore give to any Man that Authority over cither themſelves
or others, which they themſelves never had; they could not give to another what
was not their own to give; they could not give to one Man what another
Man was then in the lawful Poſſeſſion of.
Thus, I hope, it appears, that Government is of divine Inſtitution, and
that the Authority of thoſe that are placed in Government is from God;
both which, I ſuppoſe, were meant by the Apoſtle, in theſe Words, he is the
Miniſter of God.
And from this Truth, theſe following Things may fairly be inferred.
1. That it ought to be a main Part of thc Magiſtrate's Care, indeed his
chiefeſt Care of all, to promote the Honour of God, whoſe Miniſter he is.
Should I
go about to declare, how, or by what Mcans, he may beſt do
this, I might be thought, perhaps, to touch too nearly upon Politicks; and
therefore I wholly forbear that. But I hope it may paſs for good Divinity,
and nothing more, to ſay in general, that the Magiſtratc, even the ſovereign
Power of all, being a Subject of God, bcing, as the Apoſtle here ſays, the
Miniſter, or the Servant, of God, being put in Truſt by God, and acting in
whatever he does, as a Magiſtrate, in God's Name, and by his Commiſſion,
ought, in the whole Adminiſtration of his high Office, to have an Eye to
God's Glory; and conſequently to provide, the beſt he can, by wholeſome
Laws, and a due and prudent Execution of them, for the perpetual Eſta-
bliſhment of the true Religion, and for the well inſtructing of all his Sub-
jects therein; for the Encouragement of Piety and Virtue, and for the cf-
fectual Suppreſſion of all Prophaneſs, Vice, and Immorality. For of the
King, as Supreme, as well as of ſubordinate Governors and Magiſtrates, the i Pet. ii. 14,
Apoſtle ſays, that they are ſent by God, for the Puniſhment of evil Doers,
and for the Praiſe of them that do well.
2. If the Magiſtrate be the Miniſter, or the Servant of God, then he, as well
as his People, is ſubject to another Power, even to the great God of Heaven
and Earth, by whom Kings reign, and who is King of Kings, and Lord of Prov. viii. 15.
Lords. Then he, no leſs than they, muſt expect to be called to Account 1 Tim.vi. 15.
for all the Talents his great Maſter was pleaſed to entruſt him with; and that
he may be able to give a comfortable Account thereof, it ought to be his En-
deavour, as it is moſt certainly his Duty, to employ all his Authority and
Power for thoſe good Purpoſes for which they were given to him by God;
that is, to protect his Subjects from Violence and Injury, to maintain Religi-
on and Juſtice, and to preſerve Peace among Men.
For although he be not (the higheſt Power of all moſt certainly is not)
accountable to any upon Earth ; becauſe there is none upon Earth ſuperior to
him ; (and none can be accountable for what they do to any but to ſuch as
Vol. II.
have
7 C
1166
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
6,7
have Power over then, to queſtion, to controll, to puniſh them) yet, with
Regard to God, he is upon the ſame Level with the meancſt of his Subjcals;
he is under the ſame Obligation in Duty, he is under a ſtronger Obligation
in Gratitude, to behave himſelf well in his Station, that they are under to do
the ſame in theirs; and thercforc, if he bc failing in what is required of
him, muſt look for no more Mercy from God, the righteous Judge of all,
than will be afforded to others of inferior Rank that are alike guilty.
By this Argument the Apoſtle exhorts Maſters to diſcharge faithfully the
Eph.vi.9.
Dutics that are laid upon them, with Relation to their Servants; Ye Maſters,
do the ſame Things unto your Servants, knowing that your Maſter alſo is in
Heaven, neither is there Reſpect of Perſons with him. And his Argument
is of the fame Force to engage all other Superiors to the like Care; for as
the Maſter has a Maſter in Heaven, ſo has the Judge a Judge, the Ruler a
Ruler, the King himſelf a King. And, as we are told in Job xxxiv. 19.
God accepteth not the Perſons of Princes, nor regardeth the Rich more than
2 Chron. xix. the Poor, for they are all the work of his Hands. Therefore take Heed
what ye do, ſaid Fehoſaphat, in his Charge to his Judges, for ye judge not
for Man, but for the Lord, and there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God,
nor reſpect of Perſons.
3. If the Magiſtrate be the Miniſter of God, acting by his Commiſſion,
and exerciſing a delegated Authority under him, then it muſt needs be the
Duty of Subjects, a Branch of that Duty which they owe to God himſelf,
to yield Obedience to all thoſe Laws and Conſtitutions of their earthly Go-
vernors, which they, not exceeding the Powers granted them by their Com-
miſſion, ſhall
, in their Wiſdom, think fit to enact, for the Preſervation of Ju-
ſticc, and Peace, and good Order among their Subjects; that is, they are to
obey them in whatſoever they commands, that is not contrary to the divine
Law; for I know no other Bounds or Reſtraints ſet to the ſovereign Magi-
ftrate's Authority but that. If indeed he command what God has forbidden,
or forbids what God has commanded, he takes upon him to do more than
he has Authority for ; and in that Caſe, we ought to obey God rather than
Men: But in all other Caſes, the Laws of the State are to be punctually
obeyed, though we ſee not the Reaſon of them ; nay, though they ſhould
appear to us not ſo well conſulted, nor ſo prudently contrived as they
might have been ; and this, not only to eſcape the Penalty of the Law, but
1 Pet. ii. 13. alſo out of Conſcience towards God. Submit your ſelves to every Ordinance
of Man, for the Lord's fake, ſays St. Peter. And ye muſt needs be ſubject,
not only for Wrath, but alſo for Conſcience Sake, ſays our Apoſtle, at the
fifth Verſe of this Chapter. And upon this Ground it is, that in Tit. iii. 1.
he ſays it as a Duty upon all Preachers of the Goſpel, to be very earneſt and
frequent in preſſing this point upon their Hearers. Put them in Mind, ſays
he, to be ſubje&t to Principalities and Powers, and to obey Magiſtrates.
Nay, though the Laws of our earthly Governors ſhould, in fome Inſtan-
ces, be contrary to the divine Laws, upon which Suppoſition the Magiſtrate
does certainly exceed the Bounds of his Commiſſion, yet this does not void
their Authority; they are the Miniſters of God for all this; or elſe there
were none that were ſo, there were none that could be called ſo, when the
Apoſtle wrote this Epiſtle; and there is a Duty lying on Subjects, even in
this Caſe; viz. not to oppoſe, nor to reſiſt the Power ; but quietly and pa-
tiently to ſuffer the Penalty of thoſe Laws which they cannot, without fin-
ning againſt God, yield an active Obedience to. Whoſoever reſiſteth the
Power, refifteth the Ordinance of God, ſays our Apoſtle, and they that reſiſt
ſhall receive to themſelves Damnation. And, this, ſays another Apoſtle, is
thank-worthy, if a Man for Conſcience towards God, endure Grief, Suffering
wrongfully.
4. Laſtly,
Acts V. 29.
ز
19.
2
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c. 1167
4. Laſtly ; If the civil Magiſtrate be the Miniſter of God, that is, if he acts
by a divine Commiſſion, and all the Authority he has over others be deri-
ved from God; then even his Authority, though he be the higheſt of all
earthly Powers, is not abſolute and unlimited; then he can act with Autho-
rity no farther, nor otherwiſe, than as he is warranted to do by his Commiſſi-
on; and then alſo, the ſame God, the ſovereign Lord of all, who has grant-
ed him a Commiſſion for one Purpoſe, may grant another Commiſlion to an-
other Perſon, for another Purpoſe.
I mean plainly this; which is not only a Suppoſition of what might be,
but is alſo true in Fact, God has given the civil Magiſtrate Commiſſion and
Authority to govern well all the Pcople committed to his Charge, to enact
and execute all needful Laws for the Preſervation of Juſtice and Peace among
his Subjects ; nay, and to him alſo it appertains to provide for the Eftabliſh-
ment of the true Religion, and for the regular Excrciſe thereof; and God
has alſo armed him with the Power of the Sword, to cut off evil Doers of
all Sorts; that is, not only thoſe who invade the civil Rights of others, but
likewiſe ſuch as turn Religion into Rebellion, and Faith into Faction; and
from Subjection to this Authority of the civil Magiſtrate, or ſupreme legiſla-
tive Power, no Order of Men whatſoever is exempt : He is Supreme in all
Cauſes, and over all Perſons ; Let every Soul, ſays the Apoſtle, be ſubjeet
to the higher Powers. But it is not within the Commiſlion of the civil
Magiſtrate, as ſuch, to baptize, to preach the Goſpel, to ſerve at the Altar,
to excommunicate, to abſolve, and to miniſter in holy Things. The Pow-
er of performing theſe ſacred Offices is granted by another Commiſſion, and
to another Order of Men; and they have their Authority to do theſe Things
as immediately from God, as the civil Magiſtrate has his. For it was not to
the civil Magiſtrate, but to them, that our Saviour ſaid, Go ye into all the Mar. xvi. 15.
World, and preach the Gofpel to every Creature: It was to them, that is,
only to his Apoſtles, and their Succeſſors in the Miniſtry of the Goſpel by
lawful Ordination, that he ſaid, Go, and diſciple all Nations, baptiſing them Matth. xxviii.
in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt; teach- 19, 20.
ing them to obſerve all Things whatſoever I have commanded you ; and lo
I am with you alway, even unto the End of the World. It was to them
that he gave in Command, to do after his Deceaſe, and to continue to do
until his ſecond Coming, what he himſelf had juſt then before done, when
He took Bread and bleſſed it, and brake it, and gave it to the Diſciples, - xxii. 26,
and ſaid, Take, eat; this is my Body ; and when he took the Cup, and gave
Thanks, and gave it to them, ſaying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my
Blood of the New Teſtament, which is ſhed for many for the Remiſſion of
Sins. And laſtly, it was to them that he ſaid, As my Father hath ſent me, John xx. 21,
even fo fend I you; whoſe ſoever Sins ye remit, they are remitted unto 23.
them, and whoſe foever Sins ye retain, they are retained.
Well! But what if the civil Magiſtrate will take upon him to do theſe
Things in Perſon? Or what if he ſhould preſume, by his own Authority
only, to command or commiſſion others, not qualified by lawful
. Ordination,
to do them:
I anſwer, he may do ſo, if he will; for who ſhould hinder him? But
what he does of this Kind, being done without fufficient Authority, muſt
certainly be done without Effect. He may do ſo, if he will; and if he
that does ſo be the ſupreme Magiſtrate of all, there is no Power upon Earth
that I know of to correct or puniſh him for his Fault: But he that is high-Eccleſ. viii.
er than the higheſt regardeth, and there be higher than they: There is cer-
tainly a Power above, that both can and will puniſh Offenders, though they
be of the higheſt Rank; and mighty Men Mall be mightily tormented.
27, 28.
i
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1168
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
1
16.
xiii. 33.
4
He may therefore, if he pleaſes, ſay to the Prieſts, as Corah and his Com-
Numb. xvi. 3. pany did to Moſes and Aaron, Ye take too much upon you, ſeeing all the
Congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them;
wherefore then lift ye up your ſelves above the Congregation of the Lord?
Sam, xiii. 9.
Or he may, as King Saul did, ufurp the Prieſt's Office, when after a long
waiting for Samuel to no Purpoſe, he himſelf offered a Burnt-Offering, think-
ing himſelf
, as he ſaid, under a sort of Neceſſity of doing it, becauſe of
2 Chron. xxvi. his preſent Diſtreſs; and as was done by King Uzziah afterwards, when he
went into the Temple of the Lord, to burn Incenſe upon the Altar of In-
1 Kings xii.31.cenſe. Or laſtly, he may do, as King Jeroboam did, who made, or conſe-
crated, by his own Authority only, Prieſts of the loweſt of the People,
which were not of the Sons of Levi ; but I am ſure, if he believes the
Truth of thoſe Hiſtories, he will have but little Encouragement to follow
thoſe Examples; eſpecially, if he conſiders farther, that all that do the like
Things, are guilty before God of the like Fault, though they may not be al-
ways alike puniſhed for it in this World.
The Magiſtrate then has his Authority from God; He is the Miniſter of
God; and ſo have likewiſe the Diſpenſers of his holy Word and Sacraments;
they, as to the fpiritual Powers which they are entruſted with, are not the
Servants of the State, but the Miniſters of Jeſus Chriſt.
There is therefore no ſuch Abſurdity as ſome would make us believe, in
two diſtinct Powers, within the ſame State or Nation, ſo much independent
on cach other as theſe are ſuppoſed to be. Neither, methinks, ſhould the
Notion of it in this Cafe ſeem at all ſtrange or uncouth, when it is no more
than we ſee every Day in other Inſtances. For do not the Mayors or other
chief Magiſtrates, in every City and Corporation within this Kingdom, act,
all alike, by Commiſſion from the Queen, as Sovereign over all, without
deriving any Authority from one another? And within the ſame City, does
not the ſame ſovereign Power grant diverſe Commiſſions, to diverſe Perſons,
for diverſe Purpoſes; to every one of which, all the Inhabitants of that
City are bound to be in Subjection ? And do not all the Perſons ſo com-
miſſioned, move and act, each in his proper Sphere, without more Depen-
dence on each other than the Sovereign is pleaſed to contrive and order ?
What more Abſurdity then is there, in a King's diſcharging the King's Duty,
and a Prieſt the Prieſt's, fuppoſing that neither of them does receive his Au-
thority from the other, but from God ?
Neither can any ſuch publick Inconvenience as ſome imagine, or at leaſt
would make other People apprehend, ever follow from the Eſtabliſhment
of two ſuch independent Powers ; upon Suppoſition that they both receive
their proper Authority from a Power that is ſuperior to them both, and
that they are both ſubject to his Regulation and Correction ; provided alſo
that both theſe ſubordinate Powers do keep within the Bounds of their pro-
per Commiſlions; and if they do not, he, by whoſe Authority they both
act, and who is ſuperior to them both, knows how to lay the Blame where
the Fault lies, and is able to maintain his own ſupreme Authority over them
both. For we ſee the ſame Thing every Day in other Inſtances ; every City,
every Town has its proper Officers, and thoſe of various Sorts, and to vari-
ous Purpoſes; but nevertheleſs, having all of them their Authority from the
ſame ſovereign Power of the State, and every one of them having his pro-
per Buſineſs aſſigned him, they all move regularly, every one in his own pro-
per Sphere, without giving one another any Manner of Diſturbance. And
therefore ſo likewiſe may the civil Magiſtrate, and the Miniſter of the Gof-
pel do, thoʻthey have neither of them their Commiſſion from the other, but
both from God: Nay, ſo they muſt do, if they both act within the Bounds
of their reſpective Commiſſions; for their Commiſſions are of different
Kinds,
ܛܼ
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
1169
Kinds, and to quite different Purpoſes; their Buſineſſes do no Ways interfere
with, or hinder each other, but rather quite otherwiſe. For the Prieſt's
Power is no Diminution at all to the King's; nay it rather tends to eſta-
bliſh it ; it being one Thing, among others, given him in Charge by God,
to put the People in Mind to be ſubject to Principalities and Powers, and Tit.üi. ta
to obey Magiſtrates. And, on the other Side, the kingly Power is no Hin-
drance at all to the Prieſt in the Diſcharge of his miniſterial Office : It
may be, and it oftentimes is, very helpful and aſſiſtant to him therein ; it
is always ſo, when according to the Promiſe of God made long ago to his
Church, and which we have the Happineſs to ſee verified among us, King's Ila, xlix. 23:
are her nurſing Fathers, and Queens her nurſing Mothers.
Well! But what if theſe two Powers ſhould claſh ? Would not that be a
great Inconvenience ?
!
Yes, moſt certainly: And ſo it would be, in any Kingdom, in any State;
in any City, if the ſubordinate Magiſtrates and Officers, all acting by the
Sovereign's Commiſſion, and who had every one their ſeveral Offices aſſign-
ed them, ſhould claſh, or ſhould encroach upon one another. But the Poſ-
ſibility of ſuch an Inconvenience happening from ſuch a Conſtitution, is no
Reaſon why Things ſhould not be ſo conſtituted; becauſe however
otherwiſe they were ordered, they would still be liable to ſome Incon-
venience or other, from the irregular Luſts and Paſſions of Men ; much
leſs is it an Argument and Proof, againſt Fact, that they are not ſo conſtituted.
And in Caſe this ſhould happen, ſtill, as was ſaid before, there is a Remedy;
for it being ſuppoſed that all theſe ſubordinate Officers are ſubject to one
ſupreme Power, he will know where to lay the Blame, and he will be able
to puniſh the Offender, whoever he be, that dares to aſſume or exerciſe an
Authority that was not granted him.
But iet us ſee however, at laſt, what would be the Conſequence, in Cafe
the civil and Eccleſiaſtical Officer, under God the ſovereign Lord of all,
ſhould claſh or interfere; or ſhould either of them encroach upon the other ;
and let us ſee, what in that Cafe would be to be done, by the one, or
by the other of them; or by the People, ſuppoſed to be ſubject to them
both.
Suppoſe then, Firſt, that the Prieſt, as ſuch, takes upon him to act as a
civil Magiſtrate. What muſt be ſaid in this Caſe, is, that moſt certainly he
is highly to blame for his ſo doing; there being plainly no ſuch Power
within his Commiſſion as a Prieſt. For if the Kingdom of our Lord Jeſus Eph. i. 12.
Chriſt, who is Head over all Things to the Church, was not, as himſelf own’d, John xviii:26.
of this World; much leſs can that of his Miniſters be ſo.
The Remedy therefore of this Inconvenience is very obvious; and the
civil Magiſtrate has it in his own Power. . For ſeeing the Man was not,
by his being ordained a Prieſt, diſcharged from his Allegiance to his So-
vereign, nor made leſs ſubject to him than he was before, the Prince has
ſtill full Power over him, to deal with him juſt as he would, or might, do
with any other of his Subjects that was guilty of the like Crime; he may
amerce, he may impriſon him; he may, if his Offence be what the Law
has made capital, condemn him to Death; and will be juſtified before God,
and in his own Conſcience, for ſo doing; nay, he would be to blame if
he ſhould not do ſo: For he beareth not the Sword in vain; but is a
Revenger to execute Wrath upon him, whoſoever he be, that doth evil.
Or put Cafe, Secondly, that the Prince takes upon him, in Virtue of his
ſovereign Authority, wholly to prohibit the Prieſts in the Exerciſe of their
miniſterial Office; that he forbids them to preach the Goſpel within his
Dominion, to baptiſe any of his Subjects, to hold any Aſſemblies for Chri-
ftian Worſhip, or the like; the Conſequence of this would be, that the
Vol. II.
Prieſts,
7 D
1170 The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
Ga!. i. 1.
Ver. 14.
iv. 19.
I
Prieſts, the Miniſters of Jeſus Chriſt, being not of Men, neither by Man,
but by Jeſus Chriſt, and God the Father, who raiſed him from the Dead,
would be ſtill bound to go on in the doing of their Duty; and if thereupon
he ſhould queſtion them for their Diſobedience to his Order, it would be their
Part to ſay, as the Apoſtles did in the like Cafe to the Rulers of the Jews,
Acts iv. 19. Whether it be right in the Sight of God, to hearken unto you more than
unto God, judge ye. And if after this, he ſhould proceed farther to puniſh
them for it, it would then be their Duty to behave themſelves as the Apo-
ſtles likewiſe did in that Cafe; that is, to ſuffer meekly and quietly, the
Confifcation of their Goods, the Impriſonment of their Perſons, or even
Death it ſelf; and to rejoyce that they were accounted worthy to ſuffer, for
the Name of Chriſt. For if ye ſuffer for Righteouſneſs Sake, ſays the Apo-
1 Pet. ii. 14. ſile
, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their Terror, neither be troubled.
And again, Let them that ſuffer according to the Will of God, commit
the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Or let it be ſuppoſed farther, Thirdly, that the Prince, whether with or
without a Prohibition to the lawfully ordained Miniſters of the Goſpel, takes
upon himſelf to exerciſe their proper Office ; or, by Virtue of his ſupreme
Authority over all, to appoint others, not lawfully ordained, to perform it;
what would be the Conſequence of this and what would be the Prieſt's Duty
in this Care
I anſwer; the Conſequence would be, that, as was ſaid before, there
would be a perfect Nullity in every Thing that the Prince did of this Kind;
and the Prieſt's Duty in this Caſe would be, to remonftrate to the Prince
in the moſt decent and reſpectful Manner, the Unlawfulneſs of ſuch his At-
tempt; nay, and to withſtand him too, with ſuch a Sort of Force as the
moſt dutiful Son might uſe to reſtrain and hold back his Father from run-
ning into a Fire, or falling into a Pit; as the Prieſts of the Temple did,
2 Chron. xxvi. when their King went into the Temple of the Lord, to burn Incenſe upon
16,17,19. the Altar of Incenſe : They went in after him, ſays the Text, and with-
ſtood Uzziah the King, and ſaid unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee
to burn Incenſe unto the Lord, but to the Prieſts, the Sons of Aaron, that
are conſecrated to burn Incenſe. Go out of the Sanctuary, for thou haft
treſpaſſed, neither ſhall it be for thine Honour from the Lord God. Thus
much, I ſay, the Prieſts may ſay and do; but if by all this the Prince will
not be reſtrained from his facrilegious Attempt, I know nothing more that
they can lawfully do, but only refer the Matter to the Judgment of God;
who did in that Caſe of Uzziah ſufficiently vindicate the Honour of his
own Inſtitution; and will always do ſo, in ſuch Manner as to his infinite Wif-
dom ſhall ſeem beſt.
Or Laſtly, for I think this is the only Caſe different from the three for-
mer that can be pur, let it be ſuppoſed that theſe two Powers do direct or
order contrary Things: And here the Queſtion will be, how the People,
who are ſuppoſed to be ſubject to both theſe Powers, ought in that Cafe
to behave themſelves. And the Impoſſibility of the People's obſerving both
their Orders, is mightily urged as an unanſwerable Argument that there can-
not be two ſuch independent Powers within the ſame State or Nation.
But why not ? Why not a Prince and a Prieſt, each acting by Commil-
fion from God, as well as a Prince and a Father ; to both whom the ſame Per-
ſon, as a Subject to one, and as Son to the other, is obliged by the Law
of God to yield Obedience ? For neither does the Prince receive his kingly
Power over this perſon from the Father; nor does the Father receive his
fatherly Power over him from the Prince; but both have their ſeveral reſpective
Powers over him by divine Inſtitution: And it is as poſſible that the Prince and
the Father ſhould order contrary Things, as that the Prince and the Prieſt
ſhould
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
1171
ſhould do ſo. Let them therefore who make this ſuch a wonderful Diffi-
culty, ſay, what the Son is to do in thar Caſe, and then they will readily dif-
cern what the Subjcct is to do in this.
Now it is certain that no Law of the State can wholly vacate the Father's
Authority over his Son, fo as to make it lawful in the general for a Son to
diſobey his Father; and yet the Father himſelf being a Subject of the State,
the Exerciſe of his paternal Power may be reſtrained in ſome particular In-
ſtances, by the Laws of the State; ſo as that it may not be lawful either for
him to command, or for the Son at his Command to do, ſome particular
Things, which he, unleſs ſo reſtrained, might lawfully have required, and the
Son, unleſs the State had forbidden them, had been bound, at his Father's
Command, to have done.
And the Caſe is the ſame here; the Prieſt being, as well as the civil Ma-
giſtrate, the Miniſter of God, the civil Magiſtrate cannot vacate his Commiſ-
ſion. No Law of the State can make it lawful for the People to deny or
refuſe all Obedience to their ſpiritual Guides, to thoſe who, as the Apoſtle ex-
preſſes it, are over them in the Lord; for that would be to make void a Law i Theff.v. 12,
of God, commanding the People to obey them that have the Rule over them, Heb. xiii, 17.
and to ſubmit themſelves : But then the Miniſters of Chriſt being themſelves
(no leſs than the People committed to their Charge) obliged to be ſubject to
Principalities and Powers, and to obey Magiſtrates, Let every Soul be ſub-
ject to the higher Powers; it plainly follows, that their Power and Autho-
rity over their People, though, as to its Original, that is, as it is derived im-
mediately from God, it may be ſaid to be co-ordinate with the Magiſtrate's;
yet as to the Exerciſe of it, in ſome Particulars, is ſubordinate thereto, and
ſubject to ſuch Regulations as are lawfully preſcribed thereby.
And therefore in a Chriſtian Kingdom or State, and I have no Occaſion
now to conſider any other Caſe, the Prieſt, the Miniſter of Jeſus Chriſt,
cannot, in Oppoſition to the ſupreme Power of the Nation, lay any Thing
as a Duty on the Conſciences of the People, but what he can prove to be
ſo from that Goſpel of Chriſt, of which he is ordained a Miniſter. But the
ſupreme Magiſtrare's Authority, even in religious as well as civil Caſes, is
more extenſive: The proper Subject-Matter of his Power is whatſoever God
has given no Order about, óne Way or the other; and every Law of his is
good and binding to ail his Subjects, which is not contrary to a divine Law.
So that to know whoſe Order is to be obſerved, in caſe they ſhould or-
der contrary Things, the ſingle Point to be conſidered, is, wherher the Mat-
ter about which they do give out different or contrary Orders, be a Thing
which the Law of God has given any Direction about; or not? for if it be,
there is no Queſtion to be made, but that the Direction given about it by
God himſelf is to be punctually obſerved, whoſoever he be that orders the con-
trary : And on the other Side, if it be a Marter about which the Law of
God has given no Direction, there is no more Doubt to be made but that
the Prince's Order is to be obſerved rather than the Prieſt's; becauſe even
the Prieſt himſelf is ſubject to the Prince in all ſuch Things, and if he him-
ſelf cannot be juſtified in diſobeying any ſuch Order of the State, much leſs
can any Order of his juſtify others in the like Diſobedience.
And now, having ſpoken ſufficiently, as I ſuppoſe, of the divine Inſtitu-
tion of Magiſtracy, which was the firſt Point I was to ſpeak to; I ſhould
proceed to ſpeak ſomewhat of the other; viz.
ز
II. The gracious Deſign of its Inſtitution ; He is the Miniſter of God to
thee for Good.
And here it would be eaſy, if I had now Time for it, to ſhew, both that
the Good of the People was the Deſign of God in his Appointment of Ma-
giftrates;
1172
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
giſtrates; and alſo that this Deſign of God is very well anſwered; that it is
indeed much for the People's Good that they are thus put in Subjection to the
Power of the Magiſtrate; that they do indeed lead their Lives here more
quietly and comfortably under the Reſtraint of Government, than they could
poſſibly do without it, in Caſe (and that would be the Caſe then) every Man
might do what was right in his own Eyes.
And from the Conſideration of both theſe Things it would be eaſy to ſhew,
by Way of Inference, both the Magiſtrate's and the Subject's Duty, with Re-
gard to cach other. For,
1. If the Magiſtrate was ordained for the Good of the People, and this
was the Deſign of God in appointing him to his high Office; then this alſo
ought to be his Deſign in the Adminiſtration and Execution of it. It muſt
needs therefore be his Duty, to the utmoſt of his Power, to defend them
from Violence, to protect them in their Rights, to preſerve them in Peace ;
neither to oppreſs them himſelf, nor to ſuffer them to be oppreſſed by thoſe
that are put in Authority under him: And, in a Word, to promote all the
Ways he can, both their ſpiritual and their temporal Welfare.
2. If it be for the Good of the People themſelves that they are put in
Subjection to Magiſtrates, then it is plainly their Dury, and a very reaſonable
one too, to be contented and well pleaſed with their Lot of Subjection :
And not only ſo, but likewiſe with all Willingneſs and Chearfulneſs to yield
ſuch Obedience and Submiſſion to their Governors as is due ; and to make
them the beſt Returns they are able for the great Benefits which they receive
from their Care and Labour, by a moſt thankful Acknowledgment of the
fame.
And if I was ſpeaking to this point, in any other Place but this, eſpecially
on this Day of your Majeſty's happy Acceſſion to your Throne, it would
be an unpardonable Omiſlion, not to take particular Notice of our own Hap-
pineſs in this preſent Reign; or not to ſhew the manifold Obligations that we
and all your Majeſty's Subjects are under, both to accept with all Thankful.
neſs the many and great Benefits we receive from, and have now long en-
joyed under your Majeſty's moſt gracious and auſpicious Government; and
alſo to make the beſt Returns we can for the ſame, in ſuch a dutiful Reſpect
to your Majeſty's Perſon, and ſuch a willing Obedience to your Majeſty's
Commands, as are fit to be paid by the moſt obliged People to the beſt
of Princes.
3. Laſtly; The Good of the People being the chief Thing deſigned by God
in his Inſtitution of Government ; and it being alſo what, by God's Bleſſing
on his own Inſtitution, is always (even under the worſt conſtituted, and un-
der the worſt managed Government) in good Meaſure and Degree procured
thereby; it muſt needs' be farther incumbent on Subjects, in Conſideration
of the Benefits they receive from the Magiſtrate's Care and Protection, above
all Things to return their hearty Thanks to Almighty God for this great
Bleſſing; becauſe in Truth it is from God, as the Fountain, that all good
Things do come; by whoſe foever Hand, or by whatſoever Means, they
are conveyed to Men: And likewiſe to put up conſtantly their humble Pe-
titions to the ſame Almighty Being, for the Continuance of this Bleſſing;
Prov. xxi 1. becauſe, as Solomon ſays, The King's Heart is in the Hand of the Lord,
as the Rivers of Water; He turneth it whither ſoever he will. And to
both theſe Duties we are exhorted by the Apoſtle, 1 Tim. ii. 1. I exhort,
that firſt of all
, Supplications, Prayers, Interceſſions, and giving of Thanks
be made for Kings, and for all that are in Authority, that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable Life in all Godlineſs and Honeſty.
But I have not Time now to proſecute theſe Points, nor ſo much as to
mention ſeveral other Things which might be uſefully obſerved and ſpoken to
upon this Occaſion.
I ſhall
2
The divine Inſtitution of Magiſtracy, &c.
1173
1
I ſhall therefore conclude all with a good Collect of our Church; con-
taining, I think, the moſt proper Application I could make of this whole
Diſcourſe.
Almighty God, whose Kingdom is everlaſting and Power infinite, have
Mercy upon the whole Church; and ſo rule the Heart of thy choſen Ser-
van Anne our Queen and Governor, that ſhe (knowing whoſe Miniſter ſhe is)
may above all Things ſeek thy Honour and Glory; and that we and all her
Subjects, (duly conſidering whoſe Authority she hath) may faithfully ſerve,
honour, and humbly obey her, in thee, and for thee, according to thy bleſſed
Word and Ordinance, through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord; who with thee and
the Holy Ghoſt liveth and reigneth ever one God, World without End.
Amen.
MO
booooo
SVC
Pami
DI S-
Vol. II.
!
1174
1
DISCOURSE CV.
0
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giv-
ing, and the manifold Advantages
of Charity-Schools.
LUKE VI. 30.
Give to every Man that asketh of thee.
C
remote cowrid
collida
IVE to every Man that asketh of thee. But who is there,
you will ſay, ſufficient for this? what one Man is there of
Ability, to give Relief to all thoſe many that need Relief,
to feed all that are hungry, and cloath all that are naked?
What Man is there fò rich, who, if he ſhould attempt to
do this, would not quickly reduce himſelf to the Condi-
tion of thoſe who are moſt néceſſitous; and be himſelf as
great an Object of Charity, as any of thoſe had been whom he had re-
lieved ?
It is certain therefore, that theſe Words are not to be underſtood ſtrictly
and literally ; but according to Equity, and with reaſonable Limitations and
Reſtrictions. And what theſe Limitations and Reſtrictions are, and when
we may in Reaſon and Equity be ſaid to diſcharge this Precept, which, ac-
cording to the Letter, is manifeſtly impracticable, it will be my chief Buſi-
nefs at this Time to ſhew.
Firſt then: Some may ask Relief who need it not; nay, who perhaps are
in better Condition to give, than thoſe are, of whom they ask an Alms; fo
that if it were a Chriſtian's Duty to give to every one that asked, i. e. to
every one that pretended Want; the greedy and covetous, who can never be
ſatisfied with what they have, would ſoon ſwallow up all, and the charitable
Chriſtian would quickly be ſent a begging; and that too among thoſe, whom
he would not find ſo free to part with their Money to him, as he had been
to others. Theſe therefore, are plainly not the Askers whom our Lord here
means, when he bids us, Give to every Man that asketh.
Secondly, Some may ask Relief, who, tho’ they need it enough, yet are not
worthy to be relieved, being well able to maintain themſelves by their own
Induſtry,
porno
+7
The Rules and Meafores of Alms-giving, &c.
1175
Induſtry, in ſome honeſt Labour or Employment; only that they chụíc to
bcg, either becauſe it is the eaſieſt Way of getting a Living; or elſe per-
haps, becauſe they find they can get more by begging, than they could earn
by honeſt working: Such are, for the moſt part, our wandring Beggars, Tra-
vellers, as they commonly call themſelves, who have no fettled Habitation,
but rove about from one Part of the Kingdom to another, perhaps with
counterfeit Sores, or Lameneſs, or with their Baftard, or, it may be, only bor-
row'd Children, at their Backs, or in their Arms, to move Compaſſion; beg-
ging froin ſome, and ſtealing from others, as Opportunity beſt ſerves, and
deſigning to bring up their Children after them to their own Tradę.
But ncither are theſe any of the Askers whom our Lord here commands
us to give to; Give to every Man that asketh of thee: Nay, ſo far is it
from being our Duty to give any Relief to ſuch, that it is expreſſly forbid-
den, not only by the Law of the Land, but by the Law of God too; as
you may ſee in 2 Theſ. iii. 6. Now we command yout, Brethren, in the
Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that ye withdraw your felves from every
Brother that walketh diſorderly, and not after the Tradition which he re-
ceived of us: And what he means by the diforderly Walker, he himſelf ex-
plains in the eleventh Verſe; For we hear there are some which walk dif-
orderly among you, working not at all. And ſo far was it from being their
Duty to maintain in their Idleneſs ſuch diſorderly Walkers, by thc Alms of
the Church, that on the contrary he tells them, they ought to treat ſuch as
excommunicated Perſons, and to have no Company or Dealings at all with
them; We command you to withdraw your felves from them : For ſo he
himſelf explains that Phraſe, at the fourteenth Veſſe, Note that Man, and
have no Company with him. And the Command which he gives here, he
tells them, at the tenth Verſe of that Chapter, was in Perſuance of a fornier
Command which he had given in general, concerning all ſuch idle and dil-
orderly Perſons : For when we were with you, fays he, this we commanded,
That if any Man would not work, neither ſhould he çat.
The proper Treatment of ſuch Askers, or Beggars, as theſe, is, firſt to find
them Work, the Want of which is the uſual Pretençe, tho'I believe ſeldom
the true Cauſe, of their going about begging; and then to force them to
work, by hard Fare, and due Correction.
But when the Beggars of both theſe Sorts are removed out of the Way,
both thoſe who do not want, and thoſe who need not want, but thro' their
own Fault; there will be ſtill Objects enough left for the Exerciſe of this Chrif-
tian Precept, Give to every Man that asketh of thee
. For indeed the true and proper Objects of Charity, and of which it is
probable there will be always Plenty enough, (for the Poor, we are told,
Levit. xxv. 35. Mall never ceaſe out of the Land,) are the helpleſs Poor, i,e,
ſuch as cannot maintain themſelves. Such are Infants and Children, left
poor Orphans by their Parents, and not yet of Age and Strength to be cm-
ployed in working : Such are thoſe, who by Reaſon of Age, Lameneſs, or
Sickneſs, are diſabled from working in their Çallings, as they have been uſed
to do, and their Hands failing them, have no other Support : Such alſo are
thoſe, who being as diligent and induſtrious as they can be, to maintain them-
felves and Families, in thoſe Callings and Employments which they have
been brought up to, are not able to earn enough for that Purpoſe, being
either overburthened by a numerous or ſick Family, or not able at all Times
to get ſo much Work, as they could, and willingly would go through with.
Theſe, I ſay, and ſuch like, are the Perſons that do both moſt need, and moſt
deſerve our Charity; theſe are thoſe whom the Text {peaks of, who ask of
uş, and to whom, when they ask, it is our Duty to give 5 Give to every
Man that asketh of thee. Whoever is truly in Want, and not able to fup-
1
3
port
1176
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
port himſelf, is a proper Object of Charity; and to all that are ſuch, to every
Man that asketh of us, it is our Dury to give according to our Ability.
I ſay, according to our Ability; for this is certainly another Limitation or
Reſtriction, that muſt neceſſarily be put upon this univerſal Precept of Cha-
rity; Give to every Man that asketh of thee; i. e. do it if thou art able :
For the Deſign of it could not be to oblige any Man to give beyond his
Ability; as the richeſt Man of all muſt needs do, if he ſhould relieve cvery
one that was in real Want, even tho it were by the ſmalleſt Alms; but only
to engage us, within our Ability, to extend our Charity as far as we can ;
not to confine it to a few, nor to reſtrain it to Relations, or Friends, or
Country-men, or to ſuch only as are of our own Sect or Perſuaſion, or to
ſuch only as have deſerved well of us, or at leaſt have not deſeryed ill: But
whenever we meet with a proper Objcct of Charity, with one that greatly
needs Relief; then, according to our Ability, we muſt be free in imparting
and communicating to him ſuch Things as we have: And to the ſame Senſe
the Apoſtle exhorts us, Gal. vi. 10. As we have Opportunity, let us do Good
unto all Men.
But no one Man is of Ability to do good unto all other Men: No Man
has to give to every one that asketh of him, i.e. to every one that truly
needs Relief: And therefore the Precept being ſo manifeſtly impracticable in the
ſtrict Senſe of the Words, i.e. if it be underſtood as laying an Obligation up-
on every individual Man, to ſupply the Wants of every other Man that is
in Need; it ought, I think, to be underſtood rather as given to all in Con-
junction, to the whole Society of Chriſtians, to the Company of Chriſt's Dif
Sciples : That the Care of the Poor ſhould be a common Care, lying upon
them all; and as obliging every one to contribute his Part or Proportion to-
wards it. Give to every Man that asketh: i. e, Let every one that is in Want
be relieved ; let none be ſuffered to periſh for Need: And in Order to this,
let all that have any Thing more than they are bound to uſe upon themſelves,
devote ſo much of what they have to charitable Uſes, that out of that Stock
or Fund of Charity, which is raiſed by the Contribution of all that are able
to give any Thing, there may be ſufficient to ſupply all the reaſonable Ne-
ceſſities of all that are in Want.
Or elſe, if the Preccpt be underſtood, as given to ſingle and individual
Perſons; the beſt Method, as I ſuppoſe, and I think the only one, of practiſ-
ing this Advice, is, by every Man's alloting a certain Portion of his own
Income to charitable Uſes, and beſtowing the ſame among thoſe Poor, who
are of his own Neighbourhood or Acquaintance ; leaving others, becauſe it is
not in his fingle Power to relieve all that need ; leaving others, I ſay, whoſe
Wants he is not ſo well acquainted with, or who, tho' they may have Reaſon
to ask, yet have not ſo near a Claim to his Charity, to be relieved in like
manner by others, who know their Needs better than he does; and who, by
Reaſon of their Neighbourhood, or Relation, or Acquaintance, are more
ſtriąly obliged to provide for, and ſupply their Wants, than he is.
And if now it be asked, who they are that are thus obliged, according to their
Ability, to contribute towards the Relief of the Poor and Needy? And, hou
much every one is to give towards it?
To the firſt, the Anſwer is eaſy: He that hath two Coats, let him im-
part to him that hath none; and he that hath Meat, let him do likewiſe,
ſays St. John Baptiſt, Luke iii. 11. And, Whoſo hath this World's Goods,
and feeth his Brother have Need, and ſhutteth up his Bowels of Compaſſion
from him, how dwelleth the Love of God in him? ſays another St. John,
the Apoſtle of our Lord, 1 Epiſt. iii. 17. By which it plainly appears, that
every one that has any Thing more than he muſt needs uſe himſelf, he that
hoth two Coats, and has Need to wear but one of them, as well as he that
3
has
and the Advantages of Charity-Schools.
1177
has Abundance of Superfluities, is to give thereof, for the Rclicf of thoſe
that have nothing, or not cnough.
It is a great Miſtake therefore of ſomc, who, to cxcuſe themſelves, would
lay the whole Burthen of kceping the Poor upon the Rich, as better ablc,
in thcir Opinion, to bear the whole, than they are to bear any part of it.
And by the ſame Reaſon, they might lay the whole Burden of Taxes, and of
all other publick Charges, upon them too.
But the Truth is, there is no Reaſon at all, cither for the one, or the ✓
other of theſe. For it is agrecable to the Will of God, that there fiould be
great Variety and Diſparity in Men's Conditions ; that ſome ſliould be high,
and others low; that ſome ſhould be richer, and others poorer : According to
a Man's Station and Condition in the World, ſuch muſt his Expcnces be; he
muſt keep a better Table, he muſt be attended in better Manner, he muſt
bring up his Children after another Way; and according to the Rate of their
Education, he muſt provide for them a larger Portion, than a poorer Man
needs to do: So that to them who arc of higher Quality, and better Con-
dition in the World, there are plainly more Things that may truly be rec-
koned neceſſary, than there are to others that are in a meaner Station; tho
Charges of which being defrayed, the rich Man may have no more Super-
fluity, no more that he can ſpare from himſelf, than a poorer Man: I do
not mean, that he may not ſpare a greater Sum in it ſelf; but I mean, not a
greater Sum in proportion to his Eſtate and Quality, than a poorer Man, in
proportion likewiſe to his Eſtate and Condition in the World, may ſpare to
give away, with as little Inconvenience to himſelf and his Family. The Man
that is in mcan or moderate Circumſtances, cannot indeed give a Pound to
charitable Uſes, ſo well as a rich Man may do; but he may give away a Shil.
ling with as little Miſs of it, with as little Abatement in his Way of living,
and with as little Inconvenience to himſelf and Family, in all other Rcſpects,
as he that has twenty times his Eftatc or Income, can give away twenty times
as much. And whoever has any Thing to ſpare, any Thing that he is not
forced by mere Neceſſity to uſe and employ upon himſelf, and thoſe that
depend upon him for their Subſiſtence, is bound, out of thar Superfluity, be
it little or much, to give ſomewhat towards the Support of thoſe, who havc
nothing elſe to ſupport them, but the Charity of others. Even he that was
once a Thief to ſupply his own Wants, is bound to labour with his Hands,
to help to comfort thoſe who have not Hands to work for themſelves, as
well as for Neceſſaries for his own Uſe: For ſo the Apoſtle teaches, Eph.iv. 28.
Let him that ſtole, ſteal no more; but rather let him labour, working with
his Hands the Thing that is good, that he may have to give to him that
needeth. And therefore it is a good Rule of Charity, tho it be taken out
of an Apocryphal Book, that was given by Tobit, to his Son Tobias, Tob.iv. 8.
If thou haſt "Abundance, give Alms accordingly: If thou haſt but a little, be
not afraid to give according to that little ; for thereby thou layeft up a good
Treaſure for thy ſelf againſt the Day of Neceſſity.
But the other Queſtion afore-mcntioned, namely, how much every Man
that is able to give any Thing, ought to give towards the Maintenance of the
Poor and Helpleſs, is a Queſtion not ſo eaſy to be reſolved; becauſe the right
Reſolution of it depends upon the Conſideration of ſeveral Circumſtances,
which are various and mutable, and hardly ever twice alike.
For it may be, that at ſome Times there may be but few Poor, and then
a ſmall Contribution from all ſuch as are able to give, may be ſufficient for
their Support : And at other Times, it may be, (as it was in the primitive
Church, at the firſt preaching of Chriſtianity by the Apoſtles,) that the Mul-
titude of the helpleſs Poor may be ſo great, that the whole annual Income
or Increaſe of the Rich, may not be ſufficient to maintain both themſelves
Vol. II,
and
7 F
1178
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
and the Poor; but it may be neceſſary to follow that Example that was ſet
by the firſt converts to Chriſtianity; of whom it is ſaid, Acts iv. 34, 35,
As many as were Polefors of Lands or Houſes, fold them, and brought the
Price of the Things that were fold, and laid them down at the Apoſtles
Feet; and Diſtribution was made unto every Man, according as he had
need.
And again : Though it has been ſaid already, and may be truly ſaid in ge-
neral, that one Man is able to give away as much as another, i.e. not in
Quantity but in Proportion; that one may give a tenth, a twentieth, a
thirtieth, or any other part of his Income or Increaſe, as well as another Man
that has a greater Inconie, can give away the ſame Proportion of that ; yet
this Saying is liable to ſome Exceptions: For it may be, that of two Men
who had the ſame Sort of Education, who were bred up in the ſame Way
of living, who are of juſt the ſaine Station and Degree in the World,
and who have exactly the ſame Comings in ; one may have none to keep but
himſelf, and none to provide for after he himſelf is dead; and the other may
have a great Charge of Children both to maintain and to provide for: And
when there is ſuch a great Difference in the Circumſtances of thoſe, who may
be reckoned to have the ſame Eſtate, it cannot be expected that he that has ſo
many more neceſſary Occaſions of his own, both of ſpending and of laying
up, than the other has, ſhould be able to ſpare ſo much in quantity, or even
in proportion to his Income, as the other may do, for charitable Uſes.
Moreover, it may be alſo conſidered; thát a Burthen that would be very
light to all, if every one would bear his Proportion of it, may become ex-
ceeding heavy to ſome, if others, eſpecially if many others, withdraw their
Shoulders from it. And this Difference there is alſo in this caſe, between
ſome Times and others: Sometimes there has been a Spirit of Charity viſible
among Chriſtian People, a Zeal of good Works, a holy Emulation or Stri-
ving to out-do each other in well-doing: So it was in the Primitive Church;
their Love was fincere, and their Charity fervent; none was then for ſhifting
off the Burthen from himſelf to others; but every one rather ſtrove to bear
as much of it himſelf as he could, and to give all the Eaſe that might be to
others. But at other Times it may be quite otherwiſe: Our Saviour himſelf
foretels, Matth. xxiv. 12. that ſome Time before his ſecond Coming, Iniqui-
ty ſhall abound, and the Charity of many Mall wax cold: And St. Paul
ſpeaking of the ſame Time, ſays, 2 Tim. iii. 2. that then Men Mall be com
vetous, and Lovers of themſelves. And when it is thus, when a great many
of thoſe who ought freely to contribute their Proportion towards defraying
the common Charge of the helpleſs Poor, are ſo far from that, ſo far from
giving any Thing that they can keep, that they will hardly pay even what
they are affeffed by Law to a Poor-Rate, till they are in Danger of being
diſtrained upon for it; and what they are ſo compelled to pay, comes from
them like ſo much of their Heart's Blood : It muſt needs be, I ſay, that then
the Burthen muſt lie heavier upon thoſe that are charitably and well diſpof-
ed; and that the ſame Proportion of their Income or Increaſe, which at an-
other Time, if all were willing to bear their Share of the Charge, would be
more than ſufficient for the Relief of all that are in Want, may not then
be near enough for that Purpoſe; but it may be neceſſary then for ſuch as
are of charitable Minds, to be willing of themſelves, to give not only to their
Power, but even beyond their Power, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 2 Cor. viii. 3.
it may be needful then for ſuch to allot a much larger Share of all their
worldly Goods to charitable Uſes, than in better Times it would be requiſite
to do.
So that all the Anſwer that I ſuppoſe can be given to this Queſtion; how
much every Man ought to give to thoſe that ask or need Relief? Or, how
2
much
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1179
a
much every Man ought to ſee apart and appropriate to the Uſes of Charity?
muſt be in ſome general Rule; ſuch as theſe :
1. All that ask muſt have; Give to every Man that asketh of thee ; i. c.
as I have alrcady explained that Phraſe. All that ask with Reaſon, or all
that have Reaſon to ask, though perhaps they may be aſhamed to beg : All
that are really in Want, and not able by honeſt Diligence, in a lawful Way,
to ſupply their own Wants, muſt be relieved ſo far as their own Labour is
inſufficient; or muſt be ſupported altogether, if they are not able to Labour
at all, by the Alms and Charity of others : But not of one ſingle Man; for
no one Man is ſufficient thus to relieve or ſupport all that Need; but by
the joint Charity and Contribution of all that can {pare any Thing from
themſelves : and the leſs Care there is taken for a ſufficient Supply of the
Wants of ſuch needy and helpleſs Perſons by a Poor-Rate; the more Care
muſt be taken of them by a private Diſtribution of Charity ; and the few-
er there are that will be perſuaded to give freely, the more free and ge-
nerous in their Gifts muſt they be, who are perſuaded that Alms-giving is a
neceſſary Duty without which, they cannot be juſt before God; and for the
liberal Exerciſe whereof, they ſhall be greatly rewarded.
For it is certain, that no Man was ſent into this world to be ſtarycd; but i
every one that is born into the World, if he be able to labour, hath a
Right to be maintained by his Labour ; and every one that cannot Work,
has a Right to be maintained without working; and there is, in that ample
Plenty and Proviſion which God has made for all his Creatures, fufficient
Portion, that is truly the poor helpleſs Man's; and which, though he cannot
lawfully take to himſelf by Force or Fraud, from others who are poſſeſſed
thereof; yet they, on the other Side, who are poſſeſſed of it, cannot with-
hold or detain from him without manifeſt Injuſtice on their Side ; accord-
ing to that Saying of the wife Man, Prov. iii. 27. With-hold not good from
them to whom it is due. So that whoever has more of this World's Goods
than he has Need of for his own Uſe, is for the Reſidue or Overplus only
a Truſtee for the Poor; and he is not a righteous Man, he is falſe to his
Truſt, and unjuſt in his Stewardſhip, if he detains their Portion from them.
2. Another general Rule, as to the Meaſure and Proportion of what every
Man ſhould lay aſide, for the Uſe of the helpleſs Poor, may be gathered
from thoſe Words of the Apoſtle, in 1 Cor. xvi. 2. Let every one of you lay
by him in Store as God has proſpered him: Like to which is that of the
Son of Syrach ; Eccluſ. xxxv. 10. Give unto the moſt High, according as he
hath enriched thee, and as thou haſt gotten. The Meaning is, that every
Man, whether his Gains are much or little, provided they be but any Thing
more than in a frugal Way of living, according to his Station in the World,
he is obliged to expend, to maintain himſelf and Family; ought to lay aſide
at leaſt a conſiderable part, if not the whole, of what he can ſo ſpare, to
beſtow, as there is Occaſion, and as Opportunity offers, for the Relief of the
helpleſs Poor.
I ſay, Firſt, What a Man can ſpare from himſelf in a frugal Way of li-
ving, according to his Degree and Station in the World: For there is no
Queſtion, but that they on whom God has beſtowed a large Share of world-
ly Goods, are allowed by him to live after another Manner, in greater
Plenty and Grandeur, than a Poor Man can do; and in ſo living, they do
truly ſpend the Bulk of their Eſtates as they ought to do, and exerciſe a
truer Charity to the Poor, than they would do if they ſhould fare hardly,
and live fordidly, and meanly, very much below their Condition, and then
give away all that they ſo ſaved to the Poor. For in living fome Way an-
ſwerably to their Eſtate and Condition, they are helpful to the working and
induſtrious Poor, whom by this Means they find with honeſt Employment;
and
$
1180
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
and to a Man that is able to work, it is a much better Charity to main-
tain him in Work, than it would be to maintain him in Idleneſs. Only
then they muſt remember, that as there are ſome Poor that can work, and
whom they therefore do well to keep in Work; ſo there are other Poor that
cannot work, and ſo muſt be maintained by Alms and free Gifts.
And for this Reaſon it is alſo neceſſary (as I hinted before) that even
they that have the greateſt Incomes, and who may and ought to live in a
Manner ſuitable thereto, ſhould yet be frugal in their way of living, and
careful not to out-ſpend themſelves; nor indeed to ſpend ſo much, but that
they may have ſomewhat left, ſomewhat that is proportional to the greatneſs
of their Eſtate and Income, to beſtow for the Relief and Support of this
other ort of Poor, which can no do nothing of Work, or not enough Work
to earn their living by.
And therefore if there be any (and there are indeed too many ſuch) that
having good Eſtates, do out-ſpend themſelves in high living, or loſe what they
have by Careleſneſs, or waſte it in Profuſeneſs or Gaming; ſo that though
they give little or nothing away to the Poor, yet they are ſo far from having
any Thing to ſpare, that they are rather continually running into Debt:
Theſe, I ſay, muſt not think to excuſe themſelves from their Want of Cha-
rity and Alms-giving, by ſaying (altho' they can ſay it truly) that they have
nothing to give away; that all they have, is ſcarcely enough for their own
Uſe; and that if they had as much more than they have, they could very
well employ it upon themſelves: For tho' their Caſe be indeed ſuch as they
repreſent it, yet it is their own Fault only that it is ſo; and one Fault will
not ſerve to excuſe another. For if even they that have nothing of their
own, but only Hands to work with, are yet obliged to work with thoſe
Hands, that they may have to give to him that needeth, as the Apoſtle
teaches in a Place already cited; much more, certainly, are they, who are
bleſſed by God with a large and plentiful Eſtate, ſo that they have no need
to work, obliged to be ſo frugal and husbandly in the ſpending it, as that,
after their own Occaſions are ſerved, there may be a good part of it left, to be-
ſtow in Alms, for the Support of the Poor and Helpleſs.
And this Overplus, this, be it more or leſs, that any Man can ſpare from
himſelf in a ſober and frugal Way of living, anſwerable to his Eſtate and
Degree, is either in whole or in part the Poor's Portion.
Sometimes, I ſay, it is ſo only in part; as namely,
Firſt, When a Man's Income is raiſed only by a Trade, or Profeſſion,
or Employment, which in Time to come may decline, wear off, or quite
fail; or for the Management whereof, a Man may in time to come, be .
rendred altogether unfit, by Sickneſs, Old-age, decay of Strength or Senſes,
and the like. For in this Caſe he is not a wiſe Man, but is ſent by Solo-
mon to the Ant to learn Wiſdom, Prov. vi. 6. who is not both ſo diligent
and induſtrious in his Buſineſs while it laſts; as alſo ſo frugal in the ordering
of his Expences, as to lay up ſomewhat, beſides what it is reaſonable for him
to allot to charitable Uſes; fomewhat, I ſay, beſides for himſelf, in a wiſe
Proviſion againſt theſe not improbable, not uncommon Accidents.
Secondly, Some part only, and not the whole, of what a Man can lo
ſpare from his neceſſary preſent Expences, may be reckoned the Poor's Por-
tion, in Caſe he has ſome, and eſpecially if he has many that depend upon
him, not only for a preſent Maintenance, but likewiſe for the Means and
Foundation of a future Subſiſtence after his Death. For in this Cafe it is
but reaſonable, that he ſhould ſo leſſen his Way of living, as to lay up more
than otherwiſe he needed to do; that ſo, neither his Children may be
brought up in an higher Way of living, than they will probably be able to
maintain themſelves in afterwards ; nor want a ſufficient Stock, by the wiſe
2
and
and the Advantages of Charity-Schools
L 181
.
and diligent Management whereof, they may be able to keep themſelves in
as good Faſhion as they have been brought up in.
But unleſs it be in theſe Caſes, I think the whole of what a Man can (pare
from himſelf, in ſuch a frugal Way of living as is anſwerable to his Eſtats
and Quality, may well be reckoned a Portion belonging to the helpleſs Poor;
and to be in ſome Meaſure miſapplied, if any Part of it be given from thein
ſo long as there are Poor enough of that Sort to give it to; which it is proba-
ble there always will be.
For if a Man's yearly Income be raiſed by the Fruits and Profits of an
Eſtate; of ſuch an Eſtate, I mean, as is not waſting and periſhable, or for
a Term of Years, but permanent and of Inheritance; and if his yearly In-
come ariſing thereby, be more than he has, or probably ever will have, a
reaſonable Occaſion to ſpend upon himſelf; and if he has no Children to
provide Portions for, either in his Life-time, or after his Deceaſe: To what
Purpoſe ſhould this Man continually ſave and lay up, and increaſe his Store?
Or what Reaſon can he give for his ſo doing, which will not imply in it,
either an unreaſonable and irreligious Diſtruſt of God's Providence, or elſe
an inordinate Love of Riches? And certainly he may very well apply the
whole of this Overplus, to the Uſe of the helpleſs Poor, to the feeding the
Hungry, and clothing the Naked, or to ſome other Works of Piery or
publick Charity, when he has plainly no Reaſon to apply any Part of it to
any other Uſe: He may well give it to the Poor, when he has none elſe to
give it to.
Thirdly, Another general Direction, as to the Quantity and Proportion,
that it is reaſonable for every Man to lay aſide out of his Income for the
Uſe of the poor and helpleſs, may be taken from the Reaſon and Equity
of that Law which was given to the Jews concerning this very
Matter;
which being a Law given to all, to them that had little coming in, as well
as to thoſe that had much, and to them that had a great Charge of their
own to maintain, as well as to thoſe that had fewer and ſmaller Occaſions
of Expence, may reaſonably be thought to have laid no greater Burthen up-
on any than what might well be born by all, and to have enjoyned the lay-
ing aſide no greater a Proportion of every Man's Income or Increaſe" for
charitable Uſes, than what might well enough be ſpared, even by thoſe
who had the leaſt coming in, and the moſt Charge of their own to keep;
which Proportion therefore they that had greater Eſtates, and were not bur-
thened with ſo large a Family of their own, might in Reaſon and Equity
(though they were not by the Letter of the Law) be thought bound to
exceed.
The Law which I mean, and now refer to, you may fee in Deut. xvi..
28, 29. At the End of three Years thou ſhalt bring forth all the Tithes of
thine_Increaſe the ſame Year, aud ſhalt lay it up within thy Gates: And
the Levite, and the Stranger, and the Fatherleſs, and the Widow which are
within thy Gates, ſhall come, and ſhall eat and be ſatisfied; that the Lord
thy God may bleſs thee in all the Work of thine Hand which thou doeſt.
Now though it muſt be confeſſed, that this, as it was a Law given to the
Fews, does not oblige Chriſtians; yet as it was a Law grounded on Equity
and Reaſon, we may from hence fairly argue and collect (as the Apoſtle St.
Paul frequently does, even from the ceremonial Parts of the Law of Moſes)
what is the Duty of Chriſtians in the like Caſe. For,
Firſt, If ſo much as this, equivalent to a thirtieth Part of every Man's Crop;
that is
, to be ſure, a great deal more than a twentieth, not much leſs perhaps
than a tenth Part, of every Man's yearly Gain or Increaſe (beſides ſeveral
other Charities elſe-where preſcribed by the Levitical Law) was due to
the Poor, ſuch a Due as could not be with-holden from them without In-
Vol. II.
juſtice;
7 G
1182
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
ter.
juſtice; if without allotting at leaſt thus much to charitable Uſes, a Man
could not be juſtified as a righteous Man, by the Jewiſh Law; it was ne-
eeſſary, that in order to be accounted by God a merciful or charitable
Man, he ſhould give more to charitable Uſes, than he was ſtrictly commanded
to do by this Law. And,
Secondly, It may be farther argued from hence, that feeing our Righteouſneſs
muſt exceed the Righteouſneſs of the Scribes and Phariſees, not only the
Righteouſneſs which they practiſed, but the Righteouſneſs which they were
taught to practiſe by' the Law of Moſes; a Chriſtian can hardly have a good
Aſſurance towards God, and be juſtified in his own Conſcience, if his Righte-
ouſneſs in this Particular comes ſhort of theirs: A Chiſtian's Charity certainly
ſhould not be leſs than a Jew's Righteouſneſs.
But after all, ſeeing in the New Teſtament, which is the Law of Chriſtians,
there is not any Thing particularly preſcribed and commanded, as to the
Quantity or Proportion which every Man ought to give to thoſe that ask; I
ſhall not take upon me to preſcribe or direct any Thing more in this Mat-
For that is true Charity, whether it be little or much, that a Man gives
freely, and with a chearful Mind, and out of Obedience to God, and a
tender Commiſeration of the Wants and Neceſſities of others.
This Matter therefore is, in great Meaſure, left to be judged of by our
felves, after due Conſideration had both of the Number of
proper Objects,
the Preſſingneſs of their Wants, what Proviſion is otherwiſe made for them,
and what is a competent Relief; and likewiſe of the Obligations we are
under to thoſe of our own Family and Houſhold.
And tho' in any Caſe almoſt that can be put, howſoever circumſtantiated,
it may be caſy to ſay, what is manifeſtly a Deficiency in Charity, viz. when
a Man that is well able to give away a good deal, gives away very little, a
Trifle, next to Nothing, not ſo much, it may be, as he allows himſelf to
ſpend, and does ſpend every Year, without grudging, and without any Miſs
of it, upon mere Vanities and Superfluities : And tho' it be alike eaſy to ſay,
on the other Side, what is manifeſtly an Exceſs or Profuſeneſs in Charity,
viz. when a Man, without any Regard to thoſe whoni Nature and near Re-
lation has made the more peculiar Objects of his Care and Kindneſs, gives
away to Strangers all that he can ſpare from his own proper Uſe, or all that
he does not ſpend upon his own ſelf; to the utter Diſappointment of the juſt
and reaſonable Expectations of his own Family and Houſhold: Though, I
ſay, it may be thus in moft Cafes eaſy enough to ſay, what is manifeſtly a
Defect, and what is manifeſtly an Exceſs in Alms-giving, yet in the Medium
between theſe two Extremes, in which the Virtue of Charity or Alms-giving
does lie, there may be great Latitude; and of two Perſons in exactly the ſame
Circumſtances, one may give more, and for his greater Liberality may deſerve
to be highly commended; and yet the other, who gives leſs, may not be
juſtly liable to Blame. And therefore all that the Apoſtle himſelf thought fit
to preſcribe in the Caſe was this, 2 Cor. ix. 7. Every Man according as he
purpoſeth in his Heart, every Man as God hath proſpered him, ſo let him
give.
But nevertheleſs, tho' it be thus in great Meaſure left to every Man's own
Conſcience, to judge how much, or what part of his Gains or Income it is
fit he ſhould appropriate to, or beſtow in charitable Uſes; it highly concerns
us all to judge fairly concerning this Matter; becauſe whatever we judge con-
cerning it, God will judge over again ; and it is his Judgment, not our own,
by which we muſt ſtand or fall for ever.
And while we are judging of this, it ſhould likewiſe be ſeriouſly thought
of by us, that tho' a lefſer Charity may be graciouſly accepted, it will not be
ſo highly rewarded as a greater Charity will be ; for, he, ſays the Apoſtle,
2 Cor.
and the Advantages of Charity-Schools
1183
1
;
2 Cor. ix. 6. which soweth Sparingly, shall reap Sparingly, and he that fow-
eth bountifully, ſhall reap alſo bountifully.
And now, tho’I fear I have already detained you too long, I nevertheleſs
beg your farther Patience, while I briefly apply what has been ſaid, to a par-
ticular Occaſion: And it is this.
There are a great many poor People, who by their diligent working are
able to provide themſelves and their Families juſt with the Neceffaries of Life;
Meat, Drink, and Cloaths; for which Reaſon they are not proper to be entred
upon the Liſt of ſuch as are to be kept by a Poor-Rate; becauſe that is deſigned
only for thoſe who by Reaſon either of Infancy, or Age, or Sickneſs, or
other Diſability, cannot work at all, or by all the work they can do, cannot
earn enough for their Support: Many ſuch, I ſay, there are, who by their
Labour can make a Shift to find themſelves and their Families with mere Ne-
ceſſaries ; but that is all they can do: They have nothing to ſpare, to lay out
for the Education of their Children, not are they able to inſtruct them them-
ſelves; nor, if they were, have they any Time to ſpare from their neceſſary
Labours, to do it in. The Conſequence of which is, that theſe Children,
thus left to themſelves, do commonly ſpend their whole Time in Play and
Idleneſs, and quickly learn of one another to lie, and ſwear, and pilfer, and
to ſpeak prophanely and obſcenely, and all other Vices which in that Age
they are capable of learning: And when they grow up to be older, having
never been inſtructed in Religion, nor, it may be, ſo much as taught to read
in the Bible, they make no Conſcience how they behave themſelyes, either
in Services, or any other Employment that they are put to; very often will
take to no honeſt Buſineſs at all, are not only not uſeful, but very often hurtful,
in their Generation, and paſs away their Manhood, and their old Age too, if
they live to it, in the ſame groſs Ignorance that they did their Childhood,
receiving no Benefit at all from their being born in a Chriſtian Country, but
only the bare Name of Chriſtian.
To prevent therefore the manifold Miſchiefs ariſing from a Want of religi-
ous Education, and to give Hope that the next Generation may prove better
than the preſent ; a great many pious and well-diſpoſed Perſons have lately
taken in hand to procure Contributions for the ſetting up Charity Schools, for
the virtuous and chriſtian Education of the Children of the Poor: In which
Schools the poor Children are taught to read, and write, and work; and are
carefully inſtructed, out of the Church Catechiſm, and other good Books, in
the Principles of the Chriſtian Faith and Practice. And in ſome of theſe
Schools, where the Contributions are ſufficient, the poor Children are decently,
but plainly cloathed: All which Care is taken about them, they behaving them-
ſelves orderly, till they are fit to be put out to Services, or Apprenticeſhips,
or to ſome Employment whereby they may earn their own Living. And
ſuch Progreſs has been made in this good Work, by God's Bleſſing upon the
Charity and Zeal of thoſe who have undertaken it, that in a very few Ycars
laſt palt
, (for it is but a few Years ſince the Deſign firſt began) moſt of the
conſiderable Towns in England and Wales, have already ſuch Charity Schools
erected in them: And there is hardly a County in England, in which there
are not ſeveral of theſe Schools ſet up, as you may ſee in the printed Account
of them, except the two Counties of Devonſhire and Cornwall; in which I
cannot find that the Work is yet ſo much as begun. But I truſt we ſhall
not lye much longer under this Řeproach: Nay, I hope that as we have been
hitherto more backward in this good Work, than any other Part of the Na-
tion; ſo we ſhall now be more zealous in it than any of them, and by our
Speed and Diligence therein, make ſome Amends for our having ſo long neg.
lected it.
To
به
1184 The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
I do the ſame to you, the Governors and Members of this capital City ;
To this End, I have already recommended it to moſt of the conſiderable
Towns within this Dioceſe, which I hope will have good Effect: And now
who, I hope, will think it your Honour, as I am ſure it is your Duty, to give
a good Example, in every Thing that is praiſe-worthy, to other places of lef-
ſer Note in the Diocere.
Hoping therefore, that by what was ſaid in the foregoing Diſcourſe, you
are fully convinced that it is your Duty, 'to devote to, and lay afide for,
charitable Uſes, a good Portion out of your annual Income or Increaſe: What
I have farther to do, and for which I beg your Patience a little longer, is
only to repreſent to you, what an excellent Charity this is, which I now
propoſe to you, and conſequently how very reaſonable it is, that ſome Part
of the Money ſo devoted to, and laid by for, pious and charitable Uſes, ſhould
be beſtowed this Way.
And this will appear by conſidering, 1. The Perſons who are the Objects
of this Charity: And, 2. The Nature of that Relief that is hereby afforded
to them.
1. By conſidering the Perſons who are the Objects of this Charity, who
are, without all Diſpute, very proper Objects of Charity. For rarely, if ever,
in Scripture, are the Objects of Charity reckoned up, but the Fatherleſs are
particularly mentioned: And Fatherleſs they may well be accounted, not only
who are left Orphans by their Parents, but likewiſe they, whoſe Parents, tho
living, yet being in ſome Meaſure diſabled from working, either by Age or
Sickneſs, or over-burthened by a numerous Family, are not able to do the
Office of Fathers to them, hardly to provide them with Neceſſaries, much
leſs to ſpare any Thing for their Éducation.
In other Objects to whom we extend our Charity, we may eaſily be miſ-
taken, and we are doubtleſs very often miſtaken in them. Every Day al-
moſt inakes freſh Diſcoveries of ſuch as have robbed the truly Poor, and
taken the Bread, as it were, out of their Mouths, by pretending Sickneſs,
Sores, Lameneſs, or Want of Work; or by carrying about counterfeit Cer-
tificates of Shipwreck, Fire, Inundation, or other highly pitiable, becauſe
merely providential, Loſſes or Misfortunes. But in applying our Charity this
Way, we go upon the ſureſt Grounds; here we may be more confident that
we are not impoſed upon, as to the Objects to whom we extend our Kind-
neſs: For, however they that come, or pretend to come, to us from a-far
off, may put upon us by forged Certificates, or by telling their own ſad and
lamentable Story with ſuch Life and Paſſion, that being not able to contra-
diet it, we cannot forbear believing it: Here we are ſubject to no ſuch Chcat,
becauſe we know the State of our own Neighbours better, or we can with
Eaſe inform our ſelyes, whether they are lazy or induſtrious, orderly or extra-
vagant; whether they have few Children or many; and whether or no,
what they may fairly be ſuppoſed able to gain by their honeſt Labour, be
ſufficient to ſupport and educate them.
And particularly, as to thoſe who are the moſt immediate Objects of this
Charity, viz. the Children themſelves, we may be ftill more certain that we
are not cheated. A ſtrong Man may, by ſome Art that may be uſed, ap-
pear to be weak and fickly; or a found Perſon may, by counterfeit Lame-
neſs, or by Sores made and kept open on purpoſe, appear to us unable to
work; but a grown Man or Woman, can by no Art that can be uſed, be
made to appear to us in the Form of a Child: And if we fee with our
own Eyes that it is a Child, we may be ſure that it wants Inſtruction ; and
conſequently, that if his Parents either can not, or do not make Proviſion for
this Child; to provide for it other Ways, is a moſt needful and ſeaſonable
Kindneſs. But,
3
2. If
and the Advantages of Charity-Schools.
1185
2. If we conſider the Deſign of theſe Charity Schools, and the Kindneſs
that is thereby meant to be donc to ſuch poor Children, the Excellency
and Uſefulneſs of this Expreſſion of our Charity to them, will thence farther
appear.
Now, (1.) one Deſign of theſe Charity Schools, is to keep ſuch poor Chil
dren from Idlencſs, the Mother of all Sin; to take them out of the Way of
Temptation, and to inure them to Buſineſs, ſuch as in that tender Age they
are capable of; the bleſſed Conſequence of which is like to be, that when
they ſhall be grown up, they will have no Deſire or Inclination to live idly,
but will readily betake themſelves to the Exerciſe of ſuch honeft Employ-
ments as they ſhall be brought up to.
So that what Money is laid out this Way, is laid out to the moſt Adyan-
tagc, both to them on whom it is laid out, and to the Publick.
Firſt to them on whom it is laid out: For is it not plainly for the Advan-
tage of a poor Man, to have a conſtant Penſion given him, rather than only
a Meals Meat? Is it not plainly a greater Kindneſs to ſupport him during
his whole Lifc, than only for a ſhort Time? But now that is what in Effect
this Method of Charity does to the poor Children whom it rciieves: It does
in Effect ſettle upon them a perpetual Penſion or Annuity; and that too with-
out more Charge than it would have been to have given them only a pre-
ſent Relief. Nay indeed that Ability which this sort of Education gives them
to maintain themſelves ever after by their own Labour, is a much truer
Kindneſs to them, than it would be to ſettle upon them a Penſion or An-
nuity, on which they might live ever after in Eaſt and Idleneſs.
In this reſpect alſo, what Money is laid out this Way, is laid out to very
great Advantage to the Publick: For by this Means, many are brought up to
honeft Trades and Employments, and are thereby made uſeful Members of
the Society, who would otherwiſe, very probably, have been the Plagues of
it; who having paſſed their Childhood and firſt Youth in Idleneſs, in playing
and loitering about, would never after have been diſpoſed, or well able, to
take to Buſineſs; and who having then Icarned to lye, and chcat, and pilfer,
would have improved continually in thoſe Vices, as they had done in Years,
until they had been cur off, it may be, before the Middle of their Days, by
the Executioner of publick Juſtice. But,
(2.) Another, indeed the main, the moſt direct and immediate Deſign of
theſe Charity Schools, is to inſtruct thoſe poor Children that are taken into
them, in the Principles of the Chriſtian Religion: In order to which, they
are not only taught to read, but carefully inſtructed in the Church Catechiſm;
the Anſwers in which, they are not only taught to repeat, but alſo made to
underſtand: They are beſides, kept conſtantly to their Prayers, made duly to
frequent the Church, and have their whole Behaviour narrowly obſerved, in
Order to check the firſt Appearances of Sin in them, by proper Reproof or
Correction.
And in this Reſpect, the Charity Money employed to this Uſe, is certainly
beſtowed to good Purpoſe; indeed to the beſt Purpoſe that ſuch Money could
be laid out.
For by other common Expreſſions of Charity, we yield Relief only to the
Bodics of Men, either putting them into a Capacity of maintaining them-
ſelves and Families by their own Labour, or ſupplying to them out of our A-
bundance, thoſe Neceſſaries of Life, which their own honeſt Induſtry was not
ſufficient to procure: But by this we help to put them into the beſt Capacity
of providing for another and better Life: By this we help to teach them the
moſt uſeful Art, that of living; and the moſt gainful Trade, that of laying
up Treaſures in Heaven, which will never fail them,
Vol. II.
7 Η
Beſides,
1186
The Rules and Meaſures of Alms-giving,
Beſides: Other Inſtances of Charity commonly terminate in thoſe Objects
to whom immediately we expreſs our Kindneſs. Thus, when we give Bread
to the Hungry, or Drink to the Thirty, or cover the naked with a Gar-
ment, we afford indeed moſt ſeaſonable Relief and Comfort to our poor
Neighbour himſelf, who is ir great Diſtreſs : But the Benefit reaches no far-
ther, unleſs it be accidentally, than to his own Perſon; and that too but for
a ſhort Time: Whereas what we beſtow in the good Education of the Chil-
dren of the Poor, and in well-ſeaſoning them at firſt with the Principles of
the true Religion, is of more univerſal and laſting Benefit: It does them good
not only for the preſent, but for all their Lives after ; according to that Ob-
ſervation of the wife Man, Prov. xx. 6. Train up a Child in the Way be
ſhould go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. And the good
Inſtructions which they receive in their early Years, and which, it is to be
hoped, they will retain and be influenced by as long as they live, are a Be-
nefit, not only to themſelves, but to the whole World beſides; for they make
them better and more uſeful in every Relation, than they would otherwiſe
be. And the Benefit thereof reaches likewiſe beyond their own Times; it
may reach to many Generations, and it is to be hoped it will: For none but
ſuch as are very ignorant themſelves, can endure that their Children ſhould
be bred up in ignorance. So that they who ſhall be ſenſible of the great Be-
nefit which they themſelves received from the Charity of others, by being
taught to read and write, and inſtructed early in the Grounds of Religion,
will labour and ſtrain hard, rather than their own Children ſhould be without
the ſame Benefit: And, if they be good Men (and there is no Means more
likely to make them ſuch, than a good Education) they will both know it
to be a Part of their Duty, and not ſuffer themſelves in the Neglect of it,
to bring up their own Children in the Fear of God, and in the Knowledge
of their Duty; according to the good Example of Abraham the Father of
the Faithful; of whom God himſelf gives this Teſtimony, Gen. xviii. 19. I
know him, that he will command his Children and his Houſhold after him,
and they ſhall keep the Way of the Lord, to do Juſtice and Judgment.
The manifold Excellency and Uſefulneſs of this Exerciſe and Expreſſion of
Charity being therefore ſo manifeft, I ſhall add nothing more to perſuade you
to it.
I ſhall only pray God, who is able to make all Grace abound, that ye al-
ways, having all Sufficiency in all Things, may abound to every good Work ;
through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord, to whom, doc.
:
W
The
1187
The Lord Biſhop of Exeter's Letter to
the Clergy of his Dioceſe.
I
>
Good BROTHER,
HE ARTILY recommend to you the Perufal of Dr. Moſs's
excellent Sermon herewith ſent to you, and of the Account
of the Charity-Schools in England and Wales thereto annex-
ed. By the former you will ſee, what I doubt not but you
are already fufficiently perſuaded of, the great Piety, and the
manifold Advantages of ſetting up ſuch Schools; and by the
latter, what a good Diſpoſition there is in the whole Nation to ſo good
a Work; the beſt appearing Ground of Hope, I think, we have of the Con-
tinuance of God's Favour towards us.
It was a Matter both of Wonder and Concern to me, to obſerve, that in
the ſaid Account of the Charity-Schools, there is not so much as one Place
noted in the whole Dioceſe of Exeter, wherein any ſuch School hath been
yet erected; it will be our Part therefore now, by a greater Zeal for this
Work of Piety and Charity, to make ſome Amends for our Backwardneſs
therein.
In order to which, I earneſtly recommend it to you, to communicate the
Contents of the aforementioned Sermon and Account, and likewiſe of this
Letter, to ſuch of your neighbouring Gentry and Clergy, as you have Reaſon
to hope will be ready to further ſuch a pious Deſign ; and if you can pro-
cure any Gifts, or annual Subſcriptions towards it, then, upon Conſultation
with them, to ſet up, with all the Speed that may be, fome School or Schools
of this Kind, in ſuch Place or Places within your Neighbourhood, as ſhall
be thought moſt convenient.
And let not, I beſeech you, the Smallneſs of the firſt Gifts or Subſcriptions
be any Diſcouragement to you, from beginning this Work: For thoſé Schools,
of this Sort, in other Parts of the Kingdom, which are now the moſt flou-
riſhing, had at firſt but a ſlender Beginning; and when the Work is once be-
gun, it will quickly recommend it ſelf, and the Charity of a few, will, I
doubt not, provoke very many.
My Stay in the Country now will be very ſhort, ſo that I cannot expect,
go to Parliament, to ſee any Progreſs made in this Work; but I hope,
when I ſhall make a Viſitation throughout the Dioceſe, which, God willing,
I deſign to do next Summer, to find it in a good Forwardneſs. And being
perſuaded, that you cannot any Way do better Service to God and Religion,
than by encouraging this Work of Charity, I muſt own, that I ſhall have the
beſt Opinion of thoſe of my Clergy, whom I Mall find to have been the moſt
forward to promote it.
I heartily commend you, and your Labours, to the Bleſſing of God, and
remain,
before 1
Your loving Friend and Brother,
Exon. Sept. 4.
1703
OFSP. Exo N.
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Principal Matters contained in the
Two VOLUMES. .
The Reader is deſired to take Notice, that when any Figures
are joined by a Rule —, the ſame Subject continues to be
treated of, from the former to the latter Page ſo connected.
1
A
A.
ſupported by the Conſideration that God,
who orders them, is our all-wiſe and all
BUSE, The poſſibility of a thing merciful Father, 836,7.
See Gifts of
being abuſed no argument againſt God. Grievous Afflictions overthrow the
the uſe of it, 1115,6.1109. Hope of the Hypocrite, but ſettle and
Action, What required to make one confirm that of the good Chriſtian,
morally good, 451,2. Hopes and fears
9279
the Springs of Action
958. ALMs, take heed that ye do not your
ADORNING the Doctrine of Chriſt, Alms, &c. fhould rather be read, take
what, and how neceſſary, 162-8. heed that ye do not your Righteouſneſs, &c.
See Light.
447-9
ADULTERY, How far forbidden the ALMS-GIVING. See Poor, Charity.
Jews by their Law, 266. What farther ALMS-GIVING, in ſome proſperous Cir-
Prohibition was added to it by our Sa. cumſtances almoſt the only Duty whereby
viour 266–71. The Reaſonableneſs of a Man can exerciſe and prove his Sincerity
that Addition, 271–4. Tho' it may towards God, and Confidence in him,
ſeem a greater Reſtraint, yet our Obe- 459-61. Not to be performed purely for
dience even to the old Law is render'd the Applauſe of Men, 462. This Duty not
more eaſy by it,
274 to be practis’d, nor omitted, merely for the
ADVERSITIES. See Afflictions. fake of publick view, ibid. Our Alms-
Afflictions. See Sufferings of good giving, when done in private, not to be
Men.
publifhed, ibid. Moſt unprofitable,
Afflictions in ſome meaſure the Lot when done for the praiſe of Men, 463.
of all good Men, 24,5. Afflictions do Which is a Reward moſt vain and
not make Men bleffed ſimply of them- worthleſs, ibid. Eſpecially as it deprives
ſelves, 25. See Mourners. Some Aſſurance us of the Praiſe and Rewards of God,
of God's Love neceſſary to ſupport us 463-4. Our Lord commands us to
under Aflictions, 31,2. Afflictions well give Alms in private, to prove our Sinu
71
cerity,
An Alphabetical INDEX of
1
cerity, and ſecure our Reward, 464,5. tions or Exerciſes, 747.
But ſuch an
And encourages publick Charities, that Anxiety about, or Fear of future Evils,
we may glorify God, and give good Ex as ift. exceeds our Faith, when we ci-
ample to Men, 4o5. The open Reward ther think the Evil we fear ſo unavoidable,
promiſed to ſecret Alms.giving is to be that God cannot hinder it, 747,8, or
expected chiefly in the Day of Judgment, fo grievous as to be impoflible for us to
406-7
See Religion. bear it, notwithſtanding the divine Af-
Altar, to bring a Gift to the Altar, liſtance, 748,9. Or, 2dly, puts us up-
What
232,3 on unlawful Means to prevent its com-
Amen is an Hebrew Word, ſignify- ing, 749. For ſuch Anxiety implies a
ing truly, verily, &c. 618,9. At the Disbelief of God's over-ruling Provi-
end of a Diſcourſe or Sentence it repeats dence,ibid. and a Diſtruſt of God's infinite
or affirms what had been ſaid before, Power, 749,50. and is unreaſonable as
619,20. At the end of a Prayer, it ex it chuſes Sin, a greater Evil, to avoid the
preſſes a Deſire that the Prayer may, and leſs Evil of Puniſhment, 750. Or 3dly,
a Hope that it will, be granted, 620,1. makes us as uneaſy, as if the Evil we
And is a Repetition of the private Prayer fear were actually preſent, 750,1. An-
of a ſingle Perſon, ibid. Our Lord re- riety on the account of future Evils vain
quiring us to ſay Amen at the end of and unreaſonable, 753_0. For if the
Prayer, teaches us that all publick Prayer Evil we fear be ſmall, there is no Rea-
ought to be expreſs'd in a Language and ſon to be anxious about it before-hand,
Style which may eaſily be underſtood 753,4. Nor ſhould a great Evil be in-
by all who are to join it, 621,2. And creaſed to no purpoſe, by a fruitleſs An.
that we ſhould mind what is ſaid, ibid. xiety, 754. Which is very unreaſonable
And in Scripture often put for or, indeed, if the Evil be only poſſible, but
188 not likely to come to paſs, 754,5. But
Angels, not to be prayed to, 503,4 be it both very grievous, and very pro-
Anger, Perſons flow to Anger not bable, yet poſſibly it may not come, and
the Poor in Spirit,
8 Anxiety will help to bring it upon us,
Anger, the Torments attending it, 755. And if it be very grievous and una-
45,6 voidable, yet Anxiety will neither pre-
Anger and its Degrees, 43,5. Blame vent nor leſſen it, 755,6. This Anxiety
able when we are angry at all, and ought and Fear may be moderated and reme-
not; and this ſpecified in fourCaſes,45—8. died by Reaſon and Religion, 756. For
Blameable when we are ſooner angry, a Remedy of the Anxiety, ift. learn true
48,9. When we are more angry, 49. Notions of the things Men are moſt a-
And when we are longer angry than is fraid of, which are not ſo bad as we ge-
reaſonable, 49,50. What Anger reaſon- nerally take them to be, 756,7. In-
able and innocent, 226,7. What Anger ſtanced in Diſgrace, 757: Poverty 757,8.
faulty and inexcuſable, 227,8. Mali- Pain, 758. Death, ibid. A ſecond Re-
cious Anger, and reproachful and ſcorn- medy for Anxiety is a Belief of God's
ful Language, forbidden by Chriſt un Providence ordering all things in this
der a greater Penalty than the Law ap- World, 759. Having a peculiar Care
pointed for Murder itſelf,
224 of, and Love to all Men, ibid. And
ANGRY without a Cauſe, What, never afflicting them but for their Good,
225–8 759,60. The beſt Remedy againſt An-
ANOINT thy Head, and waſh thy Face, wiety is a good Conſcience, 760. As it
636,7
See Fafting. makes almighty God our fure Friend, ibid.
Anxiety. See Bread, Thought, Care. And by ſecuring our main Concern, ſers
The Torment, Abſurdity, and Unrea us at reſt as to any thing elſe, 761.
fonableneſs of Anxiety,685,6. What An- Laſtly, drive out the Fear of temporal
xiety for the things of the Morrow not Evils by the Fear of God's Wrath, ibid.
forbidden, 744-7,
Neither a Belief
See Truſt in God.
that Evils may poſſibly befall us, 744-6. APOSTLES. See Evangeliſts. The
Nor uſing our Skill to judge what E- original Copies of ſome of their Epiſtles
vils may happen, 746. Nor Care and remaining in Tertullian's time, 975. A
Foreſight, when we think Evils are perfect Agreement between the Doctrines
coming upon us, to prevent them, 74637. taught by them, and thoſe taught by our
Nor any general or particular Proviſion Saviour 1021. Evidence from the Gof-
againſt Calamities, by proper Confidera- pel of their divine Miſſion, ibid. The
fame
3
the principal Matters, &c.
As we
moderne
fame Atteſtation from God of the Truth
pray for the Neceſſaries of Life, allows
of their Doctrine, as our Saviour had, us to labour for them, 544. Teaching
1021,2. The Caſe of St. Paul conſider:
us to ask our Daily-bread this Day of
ed, 1022. Several Reaſons why we God; informs us, that God is the Giver
fhould not wiſh to have the ſame Evi- of Life, and all good things, 545. As
dence of Faith as the Apoſtles had. we ask theſe things of God, who alone
1030, I can give them, ſo ought we to thank
APPAREL, the Vanity of thoſe Perſons him for them, when we receive them,
who affect, or are proud of, too ſplendid 545,6. This Petition diſcountenances
Apparel,
695,6 immoderate Deſires of worldly good
ASSURANCE of Salvation; the want things, eſpecially for a very long time
of it in ſome good Perſons, more inno- hence, 546,7. And teaches us the Na-
cent, and leſs dangerous than an ill ture of Contentment, or whar Portion
grounded Aſurance of it, 103,4. Alu we ought to be content with, 547. And
rance towards God, is no certain Argu- how much we are obliged to frequent
ment of a Man's being in a State of Sal and conſtant Prayer, 547, 8.
vation,
913 pray, ſo ought we to labour, for Necef-
ſaries, 548,9. Seeing we beg our Bread
B.
of God, we ought not to receive it from
BACKBITING, Talebearing, &c. to be the Devil, i. e, not to get or keep it by
avoided and diſcouraged.
II I----3:
wicked Means, 549. Praying for our
117,8 Daily-Bread we pray for the Supply of
BAPTISM with Water, neceffary, 212. others Wants as well as our own, and ſo
901. Yer not ſufficient to Salvation of muſt endeavour to ſupply them accord-
it ſelf without our performing the Co- ing to our Power,
540, so
venant made in it,
201, 2 British Conftitution, the peculiar
BATTOLOGY, What, 479, &c. See Happineſs of it, 849.11394. The Form
Repetitions. of it, 1129. Some Conliderations offer-
BEATITUDES ; the Bleſſedneſs pro ed to ſatisfy the Conſciences of thoſe who
mis'd in them of two kinds, Preſent and think that the late Alterations made in
Future, 4, 5. The preſent Bleſſedneſs it ought not to have been made, and
not promis'd to each of them in the ſame though they are made, are null and in-
reſpect, 4. Nor the Future to every one valid.
II29-31
ſeparately, but to all in Conjunction, 4,5 BROTHER. The Scripture Notion of
BECKET Thomas, a Mover of Scdi- that Word, 224, 5.
that Word, 224, 5. Our being all Bre-
tion in the State, canoniz'd by the Pope, thren, what it ſhould teach us.
FIO, I
I 27
Brotherly Love preſs'd, FIO
Belief. - See Creed.
BPSZI2. What,
643
BBLIEve, what the Senſe of that
C.
Word every where in the N. T. 902.
See Faith. CALLED. To be called in Scripture
BLESSEDNESS. See Beatitudes. See often ſignifies to be,
I 21,2. 187
Poor, Mourners, &c. Candle lighted, All Chriſtians com-
Blessing of God moſt neceſſary to pared to it, 143—6. The Deſign of
our worldly Proſperity. 714,this Compariſon,
ISI
BOUKs obſcene. See Pictures, .
Care.' All Care about wordly things
Bread in the Lord's Prayer ſignifies not forbidden, 671—7. 707. Difference
all things neceſſary for the Support, Con- between diligent Care in honeſt Employ- /
venience or Comfort of Life, 541, 2. ments, and Anxiety and Solicitude for
And may take in Neceſſaries for our the Neceſſaries of Life, 672, 3. 70495.
Souls, 542. But that not meant by our See Thought. The Gare of the Event to
Saviour, ibid. Daily Bread fignifies what be caſt upon God, not the Care of the
is neceſſary, and no more than is neceſ- Means, 677. Some ſort of Care exceſ-
ſary for our Subſiſtence, 542, 3. Ask five and forbidden, 680. Men prone to
ing our Daily Bread for this Day ex this exceſive Care, ibid. 706,7. Care is
cludes all anxious Thoughts, even about immoderate and blameable, when we de-
Neceffaries, for the Time to come, fire more than is neceſſary and conve-
543. The Reaſonableneſs of asking nient, and cannot be ſatisfied with what
temporal things with this Limitation, is enough, 670, 1. Or when we are too
543,4. Our Saviour by teaching us to anxious and folicitous even about Neceſ-
faries,
1
I
:
An Alphabetical INDEX of
i
ſaries, 671. And we are too anxious a from it, 722, &c. For our Saviour pro-
bout Neceſſaries, when our Care and miſes to this Care all neceſſary Food and
Solicitude is ſuch as does no good, 680, Raiment, 723. Provided we take an ho-
1. When it is unreaſonable, 681. When neft Care for a Maintenance, 723, 4.731.
we take more Gare about wordly things And this promiſed Supply ſhall be af-
than they deſerve, 682. When it hin forded us, ſo long as it ſhall be good for
ders us from a due Care of our ſpiritual us to live in this World, 724,5. Unleſs
Concerns, 682, 3. When this Care in-
When this Care in- in the Caſe of Perſecution, when God
duces us to commit Sin, 683. When it makes us Examples of ſuffering for his
is grounded upon and accompanied with own Glory, and the Benefit of the
a Diſtruſt of God's fatherly Care and Pro World, 725. And even in the time of
vidence, ibid. When it looks too far
When it looks too far Perſecurion a good Man is rarely deſti-
forward, 684,5. And when it will not tute of Neceſſaries, ibid. And often by
let us enjoy with Comfort, what God has Contentment happier than the unfatif-
given us at preſent, 685,6. The Sin fied Rich, 725,6. We are aſſured that
fulneſs of exceſſive Care, 688, 83C. The our due Care about Matters of Religion
Vanity and Unprofitableneſs of it, 693, ſhall be attended with a Competency of
4. It's Unreaſonableneſs, whether we Neceſſaries for Life. Firſt, From the
conſider what God has done for our Conſideration of God's Goodneſs and
ſelves or for inferior Creatures, 689–93. Providence, 726,7. See Truſt in God.
694–7. The Care of our Souls above 2dly, From the expreſs Promiſes of God
all other things moſt neceſſary and rea in holy Scripture, 727,8. Solomon, a
703-8 For it is much more remarkable Example of this, 0728,9.
important than the Purſuit of Riches, There is no Reaſon to fear being brought
704–6.707,8. See Treaſure, Wordly to Poverty by making. Religion our
Goods, Riches. Eaſier to procure Necef- chief Care, from any thing in the Na-
faries, than Aſſurance of everlaſting Hap- ture of Religion it felf, 732, &c. The
pineſs, 704–6. Neceſſaries may be ca- making Religion our chief Care is
red for as we come to have occafion for conſiſtent with all ſuch Care as is need
them; but the Affairs of our Soul muſt ful for the Body, 732-4. This Care
be minded before hand, and continually, not ſo much a Buſineſs of Time, as of
700,7. We may provide more Riches Concern, Thought, Watchfulneſs and
than are good for us, but can never lay Reſolution, 734. See Religion. Their
up too much Treaſure in Heaven, 207, Pretence vain, who object that it muſt
8. The Care to obtain the Kingdom of be impoſſible for them to live, ſhould
Heaven is the chief End of our being they make Religion their chief Care, fee-
created, and living in this world, and ing they now uſe all Means, and make
therefore ſhould be attended to above all it their whole Gare to get a Maintenance,
other things, 710m-2. See Kingdom of and yet can ſcarce live, tho' they keep
God. This Gare far more profitable than to themſelves all they get, 739,40. And
any worldly Care, 712. Becauſe by this theirs, who pretend if they were firſt
we provide for our Soul: Whereas all rich, they would then ſeek the King-
our worldly Care provides only for the dom of God.
740, I
Body, 712, 3. It tends to make both CENSURERS. The buſieſt Cenſurers
Body and Soul everlaſtingly happy, of other Mens Lives, commonly leaft
whereas worldly Care procures only the careful of their own, 776,7. See Judg-
Pleaſures of a Moment, 713,4. It can-
ing
not but be to good purpoſe, whereas CHANGE. See Government. They
worldly Care is moſt commonly in vain, may be ſaid to be given to Change, who
714. For that is ſeldom ſufficient to get are ambitious of having a Share in the
or keep the good things of this World, Government, 1131, 2. Who love to
714, 15. And in poffefſing them does expoſe the Miſcarriages of the Govern-
not meet with that Satisfaction it expect- ment, 1132. Who frame Lies that may
ed, 715-7. But he that ſeeks firſt the prejudice it, ibid. Who go out of their
Kingdom of God, is ſure to obtain what Sphere to rectify the Diſorders of the
he purſues, 718. And to find full Satif- State, 1132, 3. They may be ſaid to med-
faction in what he obtains, 718,1. See dle with thoſe that are given to change,
Hunger and Thirſt after Righteoufneſs. Nor who give them any manner of Encou-
ſhall the Care we beſtow upon our Souls ragement in their irregular Proceedings.
bring us to want, but rather ſecure us
I 133
CHARITY
2
:
)
the principal Matters, &c.
1
}
CHARITY to the Poor one of the Sufferings not to be paralleld in Hiſtory,
greateſt Commandments, as being a Du ibid. He made great Improvements un-
ty of Natural Religion, 189,90. As der them, 1076. His 'Eixwi Bacinia a
likewiſe moſt plainly and fully command Proof of this, ibid. A fir Perſon choſen
ed by God, 190.
And as to its Conſe- by Providence to be an Example of ſuf-
quences, ibid. Charity, proper Objects fering Virtue, 1078. Why we who
of it, 391. Not thoſe who do not want, live now ſo many Years ſince his Mar-
392. 1174. Nor thoſe who, though in tyrdom, ought to keep up the Remem-
want, are able to maintain themſelves, brance of it, 1080, 1. 1159. The ill
392. 1174, 5. But the helpleſs Poor, 393. Conlequences of his Martyrdom were
1175,6. See Charity Schools. To theſe we entailed upon Pofterity, 1080. 1151, 2.
mutt give according to our Ability, 393, How they may be improved into Blef-
4. 1176. Who they are that muſt give, ſings,
IISO, 1160.
394,5. 1176,7. How much every Man
CHASTITY. See Adultery, Woman,
mult give, is a Queſtion difficult to re Marriage, Faſting
folve, becauſe it depends upon Circum Children of God,
122, 3
ſtances that are various and mutable, 395, CHILDREN, The Anxiety of Parents
6. 1177,8. 1182. General Rules for about a Proviſion for them, excellently
ſettling the Proportion of our Alms; remedied by the Conſideration of God's
Firſt, The Neceſſities of the Poor are to being a wife and gracious Father to all
be conſidered, 306,7. 1179. 2dly, Give Mankind, 837. Parents ought to breed
all
you can ſpare in a frugal way of liv their Children ſuch, as God's Promiſes
ing, according to your Condition, 397,8.
are made to.
838
1179,80. But ſome part of that may be CHILDREN fometimes bear the Ini-
reſerved if a Man's Income be precarious, quities of their Fathers, 1080. Prov-
398. 1180. 3dly, Or if he has Children ed from ſeveral. Inſtances in Scripture,
or Dependents to provide for, ibid. At IIGO, I. The Juſtice of God vindicat-
leaſt a twentieth Part of the clear In ed in ſuch a Procedure, ift, Becauſe the
come ſhould be given to the Poor, 399; temporal Evils which the Children ſuffer,
400. 1181,2. But the more we give, are the natural Conſequences of their Fa-
the better, 400, 1. 1182, 3. Living ſuit thers Sins, 1153. 2dly, Becauſe they are
ably to our Condition, a Charity to the in- moſtly only Privations of thoſe Mercies
duftrious Poor, 397.1179. Profuſeneſs no
which God out of his free Will had be
Éxcuſe for Uncharitableneſs, 398,1180. ſtowed upon the Fathers, 1153,4. 3dly,
Charity towards Enemies, as well as o God, by virtue of his ſovereign Domi-
thers, neceſſary, 416,7. Duties of Cha nion over his Creatures, may put the
rity, how to be learnt eaſily, 845,6. moſt innocent of them into any Condi-
Charity and Beneficence a great Orna tion that is better than Non-exiſtence,
ment to Religion, 167, 8. Chriſtian 1154,5. 4thly, The Calamities that are
Charity, the Perfection of it what, 423: brought upon the Children are often ve-
CHARITY-Schools, a Complaint of ry ſmall Évils, or perhaps Bleſſings to
their late Erection in the Dioceſe of them, though very great Puniſhments to
Exeter, 1183.1187. The great Advan the Father, 1155,6. sthly, They are never
tage of them, 1183. The moſt proper greater than the Children themſelves
Objects of our Charity, as by this means have deſerved by their own Tranſgreſ-
we are ſure it is not thrown away upon fions, 1150,7. That God wou'd be pleaſed
Cheats and Counterfeits, 1184. As we not to make us bear the Iniquities of our
keep the poor Children from Idleneſs, Fathers; a proper Matter of Prayer, 1958,
the Mother of all Sin, 1185. And by. Our Liturgy vindicated in that par-
this Method promote the Advantage of ticular,
1159
the Publick, ibid. As we do good not
CHRIST conformed to the Cuſtoms of
only to their Bodies, but to their Souls, the Jewiſh Church, tho' of Jewiſh Inſti-
by promoting their being inſtructed in tution, 3. See the Law. Christ came
the Chriſtian Religion, 1185. And as not to do our Work for us, 18o. The
this will prove a Benefit to ſucceeding Greatneſs of his Sufferings and Patience,
1186 357,8. A Pattern of loving Enemies,
CHARLES I. King, his Character, 432, 3. No Affecter of Novelty, 499.
1074. 1078. A remarkable Inſtance that
See Scribes, Jews.
temporal Evils do not always befal Men CHRISTIANITY, how promoted. See
for the Puniſhment of Sin, 1074, 5. His Deſign, Duties
. It made its way in the
Vol. II.
7 K
World
Ages,
1
---
An Alphabetical INDEX of
1047,8
World notwithſtanding the Oppoſition from the Church to which we belong
of Power and Intereſt, 991.999. Tho' till we have found a better that we may
it was directly contrary to the Luſts and join our felves to, 1062,3. 1066. The
Pallions of Men, 1004. Though it pro-
Offices of the Church not to be uſurp'd
poſed to Mens Belief ſuch Doctrines as by the Civil Power, 1167-). If the
appeared fooliſh or incredible; 1004,5. Officers of the Church ſhould encroach
Though deſtructive of all Forms of Re- upon the Authority of the State, what
ligion eſtabliſhed in the World, 100s. would be the Conſequence, 1169.
Or
1026. 1032. The Swiftneſs of its Pro Civil Power prohibit the Miniſters of
greſs an Argument that it was propagat-
the Church in the Exerciſe of their Of-
ed by more than natural Means, 1003,4. fice, 1169, 70. Or actually uſurp it,
The Importance of the Truth of it 1170. If the two Powers command
ſhould make us rather over credulous, two contrary things, which we are to o-
than prejudiced againſt it, 1047. It bey,
1170, 1
fhould make us lay afide all the Byaſs CIRCUMCISION, how far neceſſary,
that worldly Intereſt or Pleaſure gives and what fignified by it, 901,2
us,
A City on an Hill, all Chriſtians com-
CHRISTIANS. See Candle lighted, Ci- pared to it, 143-6. The Deſign and
ty on an Hill, Salt, the Sun, the Light of Fitneſs of this Compariſon, and the Ob-
the World. Chriſtians wicked, their great ligations ariſing from it, 149,50
Guilt and Danger, 147, 8. 105. The Clergy ought in a more eſpecial
great Wickedneſs of too many, 204,5. Manner to be exemplary in their Lives,
Primitive, their Juſtice, 105. Their
143. ISO
Charity and Beneficence,
167
COALS of Fire, to heap them upon
CHRISTIANS of the firſt Ages not ſo our Enemy's Head, what. See Enemy.
over credulous as they are ſometimes re COMMANDMENTS, our Lord's Addi-
preſented, 973. Nor ſo ignorant, 974.
tion to the ſixth Commandment, 219,&c.
The Suppoſition that the Chriſtians fti To the ſeventh, 265, 83C. To the
fled and deſtroyed thoſe Hiſtories which third, 301, &c. The third Command-
were wrote againſt them, entirely ground- ment cited by him, Matth.v. 33. though
leſs,
990,1. not in the very fame Words, 302. See
CHRISTIANS JUDAIZING. See Ju-
See 74- Oaths. The Commandments which Chriſt
daizing. indiſpenſably obliges us to obey, are not
CHRISTMAS Holy-Days prophaned by the Ceremonial, 183. Nor the Judi-
Licentiouſneſs, 180,1. 1113. "The Un- cial, ibid. But the Moral Commandments
ſuitableneſs of ſuch Behaviour to the Oc- of the Jewiſh Law, 183,4. And ſome
cafion, 1119,20. The Abuſe of them no poſitive Commandments which he him-
Reaſon for laying aſide the Obſervance ſelf enjoin’d, 184. All equal as to the
of them, 1113. This proved from the Authority commanding, ibid. But fome
Example of the Jewiſh Feafts, 1113-5. greater or leſs than others, in regard of
Greater Reaſon for obſerving this and o their ſubject Matter, 185. Of the dif-
ther Chriſtian Feſtivals than the Jews ferent Manner in which they were com-
had for obſerving theirs. III5. Several manded, 185,6. And of their Conſe-
very proper Reflexions at this Seaſon: quences, 186. Doing and teaching o-
Ift, We ought to conſider the Dignitythers to do them highly rewardable, 188.
of the Perſon that was ſent into the Breaking, and teaching others to break
World, 1117,8. 2dly, The manner of
2dly, The manner of the leaſt of them, worthy of
, great Pu-
his being ſent, 1118.3dly, The End niſhment,
188,9
and general Deſign of his Incarnation, COMMUNION frequent, promotes
viz, redeeming Mankind from the State Church Unity,
of Sin in which they were plunged, i A COMPASSIONATE and pitiful Tem-
bid. But more eſpecially paying the Price per neceſſary for both Rich and Poor,
of our Redemption, 1918,9. Theſe
Theſe 20,1. The preſent and future Bleſſed-
Conſiderations ſhould work in us the neſs of ſuch as are endued with this Tem-
greateſt Love to him, I119. Ought to per,
21, 2
have the greateſt Influence upon our COMPULSION. See Perſecution.
Lives,
ibid. CONDITION. Sce Treſpaſſes.
CHURCH. See Papifts, Diviſion. Condition, living frugally accord-
Neceſſary to be of ſome Church or other, ing to our Condition, a Charity to the
1062. Highly unreaſonable to ſeparate induſtrious Poor, 397. 1179,80
CONFIDENCE
IOO
2
the principal Matters, &c.
i
160-7I
222
CONFIDENCE See Aſſurance, Privi- 2dly, Approve the Goodneſs of our A-
leges. ctions, both as to their Matter and In-
Constitution. See Britiſh, Jewiſh. tent, 155—7. 3dly, By our Prudence
Contempt of the World. See World. endeavour to make Piery appear lovely,
CONTEMPTUOUS Behaviour, the Guilt 157-). 4thly, Be exact in the Dif-
and Danger of it, 221, 2. 228; 9 charge of publick Duties, 159. Sthly,
CONTENTMENT with their Condition Diligently practiſe thoſe Virtues which
neceſſary for the Poor and for the Rich, are evidently worthy of Praiſe and E-
14. The preſent and future Bleſſedneſs ſteem, 162,3. More eſpecially Tempe-
of the contented, 14,5. Neceſſary to rance, 16394. Juſtice, 164–6. Meek-
preſerve publick Peace;
102,3 neſs or Humility with their Fruits and
CONTENTION, Fomenters of it, 94,5 Effects, 166,7. Charity and Beneficence,
112,3 167,8. This how reconciled with the
CONTENTIOUSNESS,
94 Secrecy required in performing ſome
Coverous worldly Man, compared to ſuch Duties, 168,9. 454-6. Motives
a Dog, 715,6. Covetouſneſs ſets no to practiſe,
Bounds to its Deſires,
716
DISCIPLES, What meant by that
Covetouśness and true Religion ab- Word,
3,4
ſolutely inconſiſtent,
6636 DISCOURSe obſcene. See Pixtures.
The Council, what among the Jews, DISGRACE undeferved, how caſy to
221,2. To be in Danger of the Council be deſpis’d,
7577
what, as threatned by Chriſt,
DISSENTers. Some Confiderations
Credibility of a Report depends offer'd to them, 1064,5. They cannot
upon three Particulars, 946. ift, That ſeparate from us on Account either of
the Matter of the Report be credible in better Prayers or Preaching than there is
it ſelf, 946,7. And that Matter is cre-
in our Church,
1068,2
dible in it ſelf which, though it could Divisions in the Church upon the ac-
not be found out by natural Reaſon, yet count of indifferent Things, proceed not
implies no Contradiction, 947. 2dly, from the Spirit of Chriſtianity, 2, 3. Un-
That its Author be a Perſon of good reaſonableneſs of ſuch, 106495. 1068,9.
Credit, 947. 3dly, That he give the should be diſcouraged by all, 100, 1.
beſt Proofs that can be of his Veracity in Ill Effects of them, 1002. An Enume-
that particular, 947,8. The Credibility ration of ſome of the Diviſions from our
of a written Teſtimony, 977. See Te Church, 1067,8. See Schiſm.
ftimony. Divorce, Our Saviour's Law about
Creed. Proper Conſiderations when it rather a Direction to Chriſtian States
we repeat it,
960-4 than to private Chriſtians, 288. How
Credit, not gained by common a Subject proper for a Sermon, 288,9.
Swearing,
334, Mofes did not expreflly and directly per-
mit it, 289. Before the Law was given,
D.
the Jews uſually put away their Wives
for any Cauſe or Diſlike, 289, 90. This
DAY of Grace, Some have outlived Liberty ſomewhat reſtrain’d, by its be-
it,
261,2 ing denied a Man to command his Wife
DAILY. See Bread.
back, and made unlawful ever to marry
DEATH, how far not dreadful, 758. her again, if ſhe was once married to a-
Makes a manifeſt Diſtinction between nother, 291. The Law of Divorce
the Hypocrite and good Chriſtian, 916, chiefly deſign’d the Relief of the Wo-
7. Neither an early, nor a violent, nor men, ibid. The Nature of a Bill of
a ſuddain Death, ſo certainly evil as it Divorce, ibid. A Woman divorced
is commonly ſuppoſed to be,' 1100—2 might marry any other Man, except the
Debts. See Sins.
Prieſt, ibid. Chrift forbids Divorce for
Decrees, See Glory.
any Cauſe but for Adultery, 291,2. How
Delay. See Repentance.
he that puts away his Wife for any other
Design, The Defign or Aim of all our Cauſe, cauſeth her to commit Adultery,
good Works ſhould be the Glory of 292. The Man after ſo unlawfully di-
God and the Edification of our Neigh- vorcing his Wife, may no more marry
bour, 152, 3. See Kingdom of God. Five any other Woman, than ſhe another
Rules purſuant to this Deſign, ift, We Man, ibid. No Man may have more
muft avoid too retired a Life, 153-5. than one Wife living at the ſame time,
unleſs
An Alphabetical INDEX of
$
1
unleſs his firſt Wife be divorced for A on his Part who gives the Challenge, 3759
dultery, 293-6. He that has put away 6. and his who accepts and anſwers it,
his firſt Wife for Adultery, not forbid-
376,7
den by Chriſt to marry another, 296, 7. Duties of Chriſtianity almoſt all of
But this forbidden by the Laws of the them carry their Reward with them,459,
Land, ibid. A Caution inferred to the 60. Duties of Juſtice, Mercy and Charity,
Unmarried, as to their Choice in match- and of our ſeveral Relations, how to be
ing, 297,8. To married Perſons, to eaſily learnt, 844-7. The great Rea-
make themſelves eaſy by mutual Kind. ſonableneſs and Eaſineſs of all theſe Du-
neſs and Forbearance, 299. And to all, ties,
849, 50
by no means to create Uneaſineſs be-
tween married Perſons, 299, 300
E.
Do as he would be done unto, This Rule
not to be interpreted by our unreaſonable EDUCATION religious, makes a virtu-
Wiſhes, 840,1. But by our juſt and ous Life eaſy,
855
reaſonable Deſires, i. e. Do to others as An EFFECT in Scripture ſometimes
you would juſtly and reaſonably defire attributed to a neceſſary partial Cauſe, as
they ſhould do to you, 841, 2. The if it were the adequate Cauſe of that Ef-
Rule thus expreſſed greatly enlightens fect, 558,9. Effects of our Lord's Ser-
our Underſtanding, and influences our mon upon the Mount, on the Jews who
Will, 842, 3. This Rule always kept heard it; they were aſtoniſhed at the
in mind,' is of manifold Uſe, 843. For Excellency of his Doctrine, 937. Ad-
it teaches us our Duty to each other in mired his Perfon, ſpeaking ſo far above
all Caſes of Juſtice, 844. Of Mercy and his Education, ibid. Were amazed at
Charity, 845,0. And in all Relations his miraculous Works, ibid. And con-
wherein Men ſtand to one another, 846. cluded him to be an extraordinary Pro-
We are obliged to obſerve this Rule, by phet, the Chriſt, or Meſſias, ibid. What
the great Reaſonableneſs and Equality of Effects our Lord's Sermon ought to have
it,847,8. Becauſe it is the only Means of upon us who read it, 937,8. Since his
obtaining and preſerving Peace in our Authority, which the Jews only thought
own Minds, 848. And of obtaining the probable, is demonſtrated to us by the
Joys of Heaven,
848,9 fulfilling of Prophecies in him, by his
Doctrines, Great Care to be taken Miracles, and above all by his Reſurre-
what Doftrines or Opinions we teach or ction, to be perfectly divine, 938,9.
maintain, 197,8. Several Marks of falſe We ought not only to admire the Wif-
Doctrines, 179. 198. 878,9. 889,90. dom of it, but fet our ſelves with all
1011. All eſpecially are to be ſuſpected Readineſs and Diligence to obey it, 939
which make the Way of Religion ſeem EFFICACY of God's Word and Sa-
broad and eaſy, 858,9. 1067. 1148. crament does not depend upon the Wor-
What Regard to be had to ſuch as teach thineſs of Miniſters, but the Grace of
ſome falfe Doctrines,
895-7 God, 917,&c.
&c. See Miniſters.
Dogs; who meant by that Word, EIKH“, Engl. without a Cauſe, Matth.
Matth. vii. 6. 796,7. A covetous Man v. 22. Whether this Word be retained
compared to a Dog,
. or rejected, of no great Conſequence,
The Doxology at the End of the
225,6
Lord's Prayer contains both an Acknow ' ΕΚ τέτg may be rendred from that
ledgment of the Greatneſs and Majeſty of Time, or Upon that Occaſion, 1056
God, 6167. And ſome Reaſons mov End of Man's living in this World,
ing us to ask, and tending to incline Al is to prepare himſelf for a better, 710, I
mighty God to grant the Requeſts we ENEMY, what meant by Enemy in the
have put up, 617. Our Lord adding Law, 419. Hatred of an Enemy, how
this Doxology to that Form and Pattern far permitted or commanded the Jews in
of Prayer which he has given us, teaches the Law, 419, 20. Love of Enemies not
us in general that our Prayers ſhould be commanded by the Law, 420,1. but by
accompanied with Adorations, Praiſes the Goſpel, 421. To love our Enemies,
and Thankſgivings, 618. That Doxo- what, 421-3.
.
The Practice of this
logy teaches us particularly Submiſſion, Duty no hindrance to the legal Puniſh-
Truſt, and continual worſhipping of ment of Malefactors, 424. Nor does it
God, and aiming at his Glory, ibid. imply the lame Treatment of Friends and
A Duel what, 3756 Unlawful both Enemies, 424,5. nor therefore likely to
incline
.مرر71
the principal Matters, &c.
incline any to become our Enemies, in they did not combine together to write
hopes to obtain our Love and Kindneſs, it, ibid. They are never inconſiſtent
425. Not baſe, but moſt honourable to with one another, ibid. St. Matthew
love, and court the Friendſhip of our E and St. Luke reconciled in their relation
nemies, proved from the Example of Al- of Judas's Death, ibid.
of Judas's Death, ibid. And in their ac-
mighty God, 428,9. Without the Pra count of our Saviour's Genealogy, ibid.
ctice of this Precept we are not better Evidence. See Revelation, Credibi-
than the worſt of Men, 429,30. Ano-
lity, Faith, Senſe.
ther Argument for loving our Enemies, Evil, to be overcome of it, what,434.
is, that Mercy and Clemency is the moſt To overcome Evil with Good, what,ibid.
glorious Attribute of God himſelf, 431. Evil ſignifies three things: 11, The Evil
And that it is therefore our greateſt Per- of Sin, 613. 2dly, The Evil of Puniſh-
fection to reſemble him in this, 431. ment, ibid. 3dly, The Evil one, i. e. the
437,8. The Example of Chriſt a Motive Devil, who is the Cauſe of all Sin and
to this Dury, 432,3. And that thoſe, Miſery, ibid. From all theſe we pray to
who in ſome Reſpects are our Enemies, be delivered, in that Petition, Deliver us
are often in other Reſpects our Friends, from Evil, ibid. See Temptation.
and worthy of our Love, 433. The Be EXAMINATION of our paſt Life a pro-
nefits we receive from Enemies, ibid To per Preparation for all folemp Worſhip,
heap Coals of Fire upon an Enemy's Head, 233,4. Examination of our Hearts and
what, 433,4. Whence this Metaphor Ways, how neceſſary, 014. How per-
taken, 434. Loving our Enemies, the form’d, ibid.
Sec Heart.
likeliest way to make them our Friends, Example good, The Method of ſet-
433,4. contributes much to our Eaſe and ting it, 152, &c. Motives to do ſo,
inward Quiet, both at preſent, 434,5. 169--71. See Deſign. Men apt to live
and hereafter, 435. Our Ilope towards by Example rather than Precept, 202.
God depends much upon our doing this But this unreaſonable, 201. 203. 920.
Duty, 435,0.
See Treſpaſes.
Excuses for Common-Swearing con.
ESSENCE.
We underſtand nothing of ſidered, 331, &c.
See Swearing.
the Eſſences of Things, 1024. No Eye for Eye; a Rule for the Jewith
wonder the Eſſence of an infinite Being Magiſtrate, not for private Men, 344.
ſhould not be underſtood by us, ibid. Eye ; a Similitude between the Light of
ESTEEM. See Reputation, Deſign. a Lamp or Candle, and the Eye of the
ErERNAL Torments See Hell. Body, 647–9. Eye; by the Eye, Matth.
ETERNAL Things, no Proportion be- vi. 22-3. our Lord does not mean the In-
tween Temporal and Eternal Things, tention, 649,50. nor the Appetites and
486,7. 71394.
Affictions of the Mind, 650,1. nor the
Eternity. We can have no poſitive whole inner Man, 651. nor Bounty and
Notion of it, 960,1. See Happineſs, Liberality by the lingle Eye, nor Cove-
Hell, Life. touſneſs by the evil Eye, 651,2. but the
Evangelists were in the bett Capa- Underſtanding, or the Judgment, 652.
city to know the truth of the things they For the Underſtanding is to the Soul
wrote 994,5. Under the Itrongeſt Ob what the Eye is to the Body, 652,3 And
ligations to write nothing but the Truth, this interpretation is very pertinent and
We have the greateſt Evi- agreeable to the Context,
654
dence of their Honelty and Faithfulneſs, EYE-WITNESS. No neceſſity for one
997—1000. Their İmpartiality in re to prove that any Book was written by
lating thoſe things which might be ac the Perſon who is ſaid to be Author of it,
counted diſgraceful to their Maſter or
945,6
themelves, 997,8. Were Perſons not
liable to any juſt ſuſpicion of unfaithful-
F.
neſs in their Relations, 998. They could
have no worldly Deſign to promote
in FAITH in Prayer; a ſufficient Ground
framing thoſe Stories which they related, for it, 504,5. Faith, without a ſuitable
999. No Threats nor Puniſhments could Practice, not ſufficient to Salvation,902,3.
make them defiſt from bearing freſh Te The Grounds of our Faith reaſonable, tho'
ftimiony to the Truth of the things rela we did not hear the Apoſtles themſelves
ted, ibid. The Differences between the ſpeak, 97697. They are more convincing
Evangeliſts in relating the ſame Story very than if we had been in the fameCircumſtan-
inconſiderable, 1008. An Argument that ces with thoſe that did, 1030,1. Unreaſon-
VOL. II.
able
995,6.
7 L
o
An Alphabetical INDEX of
637
able for us to deſire ſuch Evidence, mit, muft faſt when commanded by pub-
1031-3. That Faith is the more ex. lick Authority, 634. Proper to faſt af-
cellent which is not grounded upon De ter falling into a great Sin, 634,5. when
monſtration, 977,8. Upon this account publick and national Wickedneſs is not
it is unreaſonable to deſire new Reve- ſufficiently lamented by publick Faſts,
lations, 1028,9. 1040, 1. The Fol- 635. when in Danger of God's Judg-
ly and Danger of rejecting that Evi ments, ibid. when thoſe Judgments are
dence of Faith, which we now enjoy, actually come upon us, ibid. whenever
1034-7 there is Occaſion for more ſolemn Prayers
Faith, defined to be an affent of the and Supplications, 635,6. For this Rea-
Mind to the Truth of ſome revealed Pro ſon enjoined by the Church in Ember
poſition, 1088. In this fenfe St. James Weeks, 636. What our Lord intended
uſes the word, ibid. It is fometimes in commanding us to anoint our Head
uſed to ſignify both the Cauſe and the Ef and waſh our Face when we fait, 036,7.
fect, i.e. a Life led anſwerably to the be- In publick Faſts, enjoined by Authority,
lief of the Goſpel-Truths, 1089. In this Men may, and ought to appear to faſt,
Senſe St. Paul uſes the word, ibid. 1094.
It is often uſed by him for the whole FATHER. Being taught to call God
Chriſtian Diſpenſation, 1091. 1092, 3 Father, affures us of his Goodneſs and
FASTING ſometimes ſignifies Abſti- Readineſs to help us, 504. See Succeſs
nence from pleaſant Food, and a very of our Prayers, under the Head Prayer.
moderate and ſparing Uſe, even of the Our Father, declares him a common Fa-
meaneſt and leaſt nouriſhing Meats,628,9. ther, good to all, 504,5. The Confide-
Faſting, in the ſtricteſt Senſe, is a total ration of his being our gracious Father,
Forbearance of Meat and Drink whilft affords great Comfort under our Infir-
the Faſt continues, which was anciently mities, 835,6. Our Father which art in
from Morning until Evening, 629. This Heaven, implies him infinitely able to
the only proper Scripture-Notion of help us, sos. Due to God as a Father,
Faſting, ibid. 'Our Lord ſuppoſes Faft- Honour and Reverence in Heart and A-
ing to be an acknowledged Duty, as he ction, yo6. eſpecially when we approach
had done Alms and Prayer, 627,8.629,30. him in religious Worſhip, 506,7. Imi-
and this in ſuch a manner as has the Force tation and Reſemblance, 507,8. Truſt
of a Commandment, 630. He found and Dependence, 508,9.
, Obedience,
Fasting not only grounded upon expreſs sog. meek and patient Submiflion to all
Precept given to the Jews, but taught by his Corrections, 509,10. As God is our
the Light of Reaſon and Nature, 630,1. common Father, ſo all we are Brethren,
From the N. T. Fasting appears to be and ſhould ſo behave ourſelves, 510. We
acceptable to God, by Examples of it ſhould pray together to our common
there praiſed, 631. a ſpecial Virtue and Father, sit. and intercede with him for
Efficacy there attributed to it, ibid. and all Mankind, ibid. As God is our Fa-
a Reward promiſed to it, 631,2. accep ther in Heaven, we ſhould rely on his
table to God as a sign of Repentance Power, and adore his great Majeſty,
and Devotion, or Means of Virtue, 632.
ibid.
One end of Faſting is to ſubdue the car Faults. Every Man ought to ſpy
nal Defires of the Fleſh, ibid. but to this out and correct his own Faults, 787.
end it muſt be habitual Faſting, or a con This more eſpecially neceſſary for thoſe
ſtant Abftinence, ibid. Another, to main who take upon them to correct and re-
tain the Dominion of the Soul over the form the Faults of others, 787,8. whoſe
Body by frequent Acts of Self-denial, undertaking to do ſo is otherwiſe ſhame-
and what Faſting proper for this Purpoſe, leſs, 788. Without Pretence of Rea-
633. A third to exerciſe a Revenge up- fon, 788,9. fruitleſs and miſchievous,
on our ſelves for our Sins, ibid. This is 789. A Caution inferr'd to Miniſters,
a natural Fruit, and a proper Expreſſion, ibid. Magiſtrates, 790: Parents, and
of a fincere Sorrow for Sin, ibid. The Maſters of Families,
ibid.
Advantage of iſ, ibid. In this Caſe it Fear of God induces and compre-
muſt be ſevere, 634. A fourth, to help hends our whole Duty to him, 1122;
ụs in Devotion and Prayer, ibid. How God first, that is more, to be feared than
we muſt regulate it to this End, ibid. the King,
I 124
Proper Times and Occaſions of Fasting, FESTIVALS Religious. See Chriſtmas
634.6. All, whoſe Health will per
Holydays.
FLESH
3
the principal Matters, &c.
€
140
Flesh and Blood of the Son of Man, Yet no certain Sign of God's Tavour to
John vi, ſignifies the Doctrine of Chriſt,64 them, and then much leſs are his tempo-
Fool. What meant by ſaying Thou ral Gifts any Sign of his Favour or ap-
Fool, 229,30.
And when wicked and probation, 0167. Therefore we are not
dangerous
230 to judge of Actions or Cauſes by Succeſs,
FORGIVENESS. The Conſideration of but by Scripture and Realon, 917. Nor
doing as we would be done by, a Mo- bedejected by Adverſity, or puffd up by
tive to it, 845,6. See Treſpaſes. Proſperity,
ibid.
Forms of Prayer one Advantage of GLORY. There are Degrees of Glory
them, 621. See Set Forms of Prayer, in Heaven, 139,40. This a juſt Incitem
under the Head Prayer.
ment to great Diligence in doing our
FRUGALITY. See Induſtry. Neceſ- Dury,
ſary in order to Charity,397,8. 1!79,80. GLORY of God.
See Deſigns
The prudence of it in general, 963
GOD often afflicts thoſe whom he
FRUITS. What thoſe Fruits are, by loves, 26,7. See iflictions, Judgment.
which falſe Prophets may be diſcerned God often, but not always, forbears to
from rrue ones, 887,&c. Not the man inflict temporal Judgments upon the Pen
ner of their Life and Converſation, ſo as nitent, 39,40. Seeing God, three Senſes
that we are obliged to reject all Doctrines
of that Expreſſion,
85-7
preached by wicked Men, 887,8. For God's Perfections ought to be imita-
fome wicked Miniſters, teaching true ted by us, 438,9. See Father.
See Father. Not the
Doctrines, are not falſe Prophets, ibid. incommunicable Perfections of his divine
And Hereticks, notwithſtanding their Nature, 439,40. Nor his Knowledge,
Sheeps cloathing, their · ſeemingly or unleſs with proper Bounds, 440. Buc
really virtuous Conduct, are falle Pro his moral Perfection only, and in this
phers, 888,9. But thoſe Fruits are the the more like we are to him, the better,
Fruits of their Doctrines, thoſe Practices 440. Particularly as to the Integrity of
which their Doctrines naturally tend to his Moral Perfection, 440,1. 445. For
promote, 889,90. And we muſt judge
And we muſt judge the Poſſibility of this, conſider that the
of the Fruits of Mens Doctrines either Perfection of any thing is to be meaſured
by our natural Reaſon, 894. Or by the by its Nature, 442. And Men are per-
Word of God, 894,5. If we diſcern the fect, as God is perfect, when they re-
Fruits of their Doctrines to be evil, we ſemble him as much as their Nature al-
muſt reject the Doctrines as falſe, and lows, though they do not equal him in
the Men as falſe Prophets, if they pre- Goodneſs, ibid.
Goodneſs, ibid. When they are per-
tend to no other Authority, but that of fect and ſincere in their Will and Endea-
divine Miſſion and Inſpiration, 895. But vour, tho' not in their Work, 442,3.
if the Teachers of ſuch Doctrines have And when they continually aim at their
been ordained by the Governors of the higher Degrees of Perfection, 443,4;
Church, we are not totally to reject In all God's Commandments, 445. And
them, if their Doctrine be found in the that always, ſo imitating the perfect Du-
main, 895. Our Lord thus determined ration of his Goodneſs,
445
this very Caſe with reſpect to the Scribes God's Goodneſs and Knowledge of
and Phariſees,
896 our Wants before we ask does not render
Prayer needleſs, 488,9.807,8. See Father.
G.
God the only Object of Prayer, 503,4. See
Name, Kingdom, Will of God, Tempta-
GALILEANS. How Pilate mingled. tion. God the Giver of Life and all good
their Blood with their Sacrifices, 1096 Things, 545. And therefore he ſhould
GARNET, one of the Chief in the receive our Thanks for them, 545,6,
Gunpowder Plot, a Romiſh Saint, 127 See Mammon, Trust in God, Care,Thought,
What it ſignifies, 223 Righteouſneſs. God's great Condeſcen-
Gentiles Magnified their Philoſo fion to remove our Doubts, and ſtreng-
phy and all natural Religion, I 090,1 then our Truſt in him, 824. See Suc-
GHOST HOLY.. His Conſolations
His Conſolations cefs in Prayer, under the Head Prayer.
make Men happy under Aflictions, 27 God does to us what he would have us
Gift
See Altar, do to others, 839. Therefore we ſhould
Gifts of God the moſt excellent and do to others what we would have them
ſpiritual, are ſometimes given to bad do to us, 839,40. See Gifts of God.
Men, for the Benefit of others, 216,
GODLINESS.
See religious Life.
GOSPEL,
TEENNA,
An Alphabetical INDEX of
į
V
And as
Gospel, wherein ſtricter, wherein Heart, 215,6. How to know whether
eaſier, than the Law, 231. It is not our Hearts be right with God, 014.
certain in what Year the Goſpels were
927.
written, 283. That of St. John, the la Hell deſcribed as a Priſon, and its
teſt of them, ibid. That of St. Mark, Terrors, 259,60. Its Torments eternal,
dictated by St. Peter, 994.
St. Luke's
260. 959. The intenſeneſs of them,
wrote nor from the Writer's own Know 262. The Deſcriptions in Scripture of
ledge, but from the credible Informa Hell and Heaven not to be underſtood
tion of others, 995 The ſame muſt be literally, ibid.
See Life.
granted of ſome few Particulars in all the Hell-Fire, to be in Danger of it,
Goſpels, 995
See History. what,
14,5
Government eaſy and tyrannical, HISTORY. The Evangelical History is
the Difference between them,849. God's contain'd chiefly in the four Goſpels and
Government moft eaſy as to his Laws about Acts of the Apoſtles, 994.
our Dealings with each other, 849,50. dible if we conſider the Circumitances of
No particular Form of Government can the Matters therein recorded, 081-92.
be ſaid to be of divine Inſtitution, 1126. They are for the moſt part plain Matters
No change of one Form of Government of Senſe, 981,2. And thoſe done in the
into another is in itſelf unlawful, pro- Preſence of a great many, 182. The
vided it be made by thoſe who have Matters recorded are ſuch, and related in
power to make it, 1126-8. Tho' the ſuch a Manner by the Evangeliſts, that
power that all Governors have is from if the Hiſtory had been falſe it could ne-
God, yet the Appointment of particular ver have gain’d Credit, 082-8. 096.
Perſons to the Adminiſtration of the Go As it contains matters of Fact, it would
vernment is human, 1128.1162-5. Tho' have been eaſy to have diſproved any one
Changes in Government are lawful, yet that had been falſe, 983. Eſpecially as
moſtly dangerous, 1129. Moſt reaſon the Facts are related to have been done
able that in every Place that ſhould be ta in the ſame Country, in which the Hi-
ken to be the moſt rightful Government ſtory was firſt publiſhid, ibid.
which is eſtabliſhed,
I 162
the Hiſtory was publiſh'd within a few
GRACE.
See Day. Years after the Things therein recorded
Grace of God, without it we can are ſaid to be done, ibid. As the Facts
not do his Will, 537,8. Prayer made are related with all the Circumſtances
the Condition of obtaining it, 611. For that are proper to render an Enquiry into
feited by Sin, therefore to be beg'd as a the truth of them eaſy, 084. As the Facts
Favour, 611,2. We muſt labour for it are related to have been done publickly
and with it,
613,4 and well-known to a great many, it was
eaſy for any one to diſprove the Relation
if it was falſe, 985. As they were of
the greateſt Conſequence they engaged
HABITs evil, their Force, 855,6. 863 every one to make the ſtricteit Enquiry
Hallow. To hallow any thing fig- into the truth of them,987,8. And not-
nifies either to make it holy, or ſet it a- withſtanding all this, the Hiſtory re-
part for ſacred Uſes, 515. Or to uſe it maining ſtill of good Credit, not pre-
as an holy thing, after it is ſo conſecrated, tended to be diſproved either by Jews or
۳۲۰
See Name of God. Mahometans, is a certain Argument of
Happiness wherein it conſiſts, 958. its being genuine, 288. It never was
the Happineſs which the Scripture pro- diſproved by other Hiſtories, 189. But
poſes to us of endleſs Duration, 958,9. in many Particulars confirmed by them,
repreſented as the compleateſt we are 1002. 1003.1006. Why no more particu-
capable of, 962.
See Life. lars mentioned by other Hiſtorians 1 006,7.
Happy. Who the moſt happy of all Upon all Accounts at leaſt equal Grounds
God's Creatures,
36,7
to believe the Goſpel- Hiſtory, as any
Have. To bave ought againſt any, other, 970. 1041. Upon ſeveral AC-
what,
232
counts much greater, 992. 996,7. 999.
HEARING the Word of God is in or Holiness indiſpenſably neceſſary,!79.
practice, and moſt vain and inſig- 180. No Doctrine to be admitted, which
ficant without it,
904,5, &c. 915,6. diſpenſes with it,
198,9
HEART. See Pure. Our Care for out HONOUR.
See Reputation.
ward Righteouſneſs muſt begin at the
HONOUR
H.
1
der to
1
the principal Matters, &c.
IOII
ibid. 14
157,8
Honour lays an Obligation on all of his Birth are of ſuch a Nature as
Men to ſpeak the Truth, 993"might eaſily be diſproved, if falſe, 985,6.
Hope. See Trust in God.
See Hiſtory. His Life ſpotleſs and un-
HUMILITY, why called Poverty of blameable,
Spirit, 2. What Humility is, ibid. Thes Jewish Doctors uſually compoſed
natural Fruits of it, ibid. 166.' The pre- Prayers for their Scholars, 492. The
ſent Bleſſedneſs of it, as creating Love Jewiſh Conftitution what, I 125
and Eſteem, 113. 117.
And this to Jews. See Divorce, Revenge. The
our Religion as well as our felves, 166, Miſtakes and Abuſes they were guilty of
7. Tranquillity of Mind, 10. 13. An as to Oaths, 321. For what Reaſon
Aptneſs to obey the Goſpel, 10,1. As called Dogs in Scripture, 796,7. Seves
having the Promiſe of God's Grace, ul. ral flagrant Inſtances of their Depravity
The future Bleſſedneſs of it,
reckon'd up by Iſaiah, 1112. Their
Humility neceſſary for all, the Rich Prophaneneſs and Intemperance at their
as well as the Poor,
12,3 religious Feafts, 1112, 3: See St. Paul.
Hunger and Thirſt after Righteoul IMAGINATIONS relating to finful A-
neſs; the Bleſſedneſs of thoſe who do ctions make us guilty before God of Sins
ſo, not abſolute but comparative, 59,00. we never acted, 81.268,9. Greatly mul-
Who they are that do ſo, 01----3. The tiply any ſingle Act of Sin,
81,2
preſent Bleſſedneſs of ſuch, as they en-
IMITATION of God's Excellencies.
joy ſpiritual Health, 64,5. Their future See God's Perfections under the Title
Reward, 65. Their Defire ſhall be fa- God, Father.
tisfied, 65-7. Their Satisfaction a IMPRUDENT Severity and Singularity
complete Happineſs, 67,8. See Gare. prejudicial to Religion,
HYPOCRites diſtinguiſh'd from true INCONSIDERATION, more ruin'd by it
Chriſtians by a State of ſtrong Tempta- than by Infidelity it felf,
обо
tion, which will deſtroy the Virtue of INCONTINence. See Marriage.
the one, but confirm that of the other, INDUSTRY, Temperance and Frugali-
924—7. and by fore and grievous Af ty neceſſary both for Poor and Rich, 16,
Aictions, which overthrow the Hope of 7: The preſent Bleſſedneſs and future
the Hypocrite, but ſettle that of the Reward of theſe Virtues,
good Chriſtian, 927-). And by the
INFALLIBILITY not ſufficient to pre-
Approach of Death, which diſcovers the yent Schiſms in the Church, 1054. No
weak Foundation of the Hypocrite's Neceſſity for an infallible Guide, 1054,5
Hope, and overwhelms him with Ter INFERIORS, Meekneſs towards Infe-
rors, but increaſes the Hopes of the Up- riors, wherein it conſiſts, 53,4
right, and fills him with Comfort, 929, INFIDELITY, the Folly of it ſuppoſing
30.
But moſt eſpecially by the Day of there were no Certainty in Religion,
Judgment,
930,1. 962-4. 1047. 1050. The Imprudence
of publıſhing it, with reſpect to this
1.
World, 1048. Much greater of propa-
gating it, 1049, 50. See Faith, Chriſtia-
St. JAMES. His Epiſtle at firſt not
univerſally received, 972. See St. Paul. INFIRMITIEs unavoidable, Comfort
IDOLATRY. The Overthrow of it under them from the Conſideration of
deprived many of a Livelihood, 987 God's being our moſt wiſe and good
Jesus proved to be the Chriſt, 178,9. Father,
835,6
As well from his own Teſtimony of him INJUSTICE of all Kinds, the Folly
ſelf, whilſt on Earth, 1010-12. as from and Madneſs of it,
250 mm 3
God's, by the ancient Prophets, 1012,3.
INTENTION. See Deſign, 649, 5o
by John the Baptiſt, 1013. by a Voice INTERCEssion for all Men in Prayer,
from Heaven, 101394. See Prophecy, a Ground for it,
SIL
Miracles. By raiſing him from the Dead, INTEREST, Arguments drawn from it
1019. The Afurance we have of this moſt ſtrongly perſuade us to any thing,
Truth is the greateſt poſlible, 1020. The
Knowledge of his Pedigree, and the o INTERPRETING. See Law, Laws of
ther Marks of his being the Meſiab, a God, Effet.
Marter of the greateſt Conſequence to JOB, His Character, 1072. The
the World, 085. 1012, 3. The Cir Greatneſs of his Sufferings in his Eftare,
cumſtances which the Evangeliſts relate his Children, and his Perſon, 1072, 3•
Vol. II.
A
17,8
1
nity, &c.
058
Emman
7 M
E
2
An Alphabetical INDEX of
1
A ſignal Inſtance that temporal Evils are leſs and over-curious Inquiſitiveneſs into
not always inflicted for the Puniſhment the Faults of others, 774. Judging. eaſy
of Sin,
ibid. to be avoided, therefore more ſinful when
JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS rejected the we are guilty of it, 775. Judging, cen-
two firft Chapters of St. Matthew, and furing ſuch as are not under us, an Uſur-
all the Epiſtles of St. Paul, 972. This ſurpation on God's Right, ibid. It is
no Argument againſt the Authority of contrary to that Juſtice and Equity due
them,
ibid.
to our Neighbours, 775,6. It is un-
JUDGING may be taken either in a charitable, 776. Sins of the worſt fort,
good or bad Senſe, but moſt commonly included in raſh judging, 784. Judging
uſed in a bad one, wherever the Judg. others fooliſh, as it takes us off from our
ment of Men is mentioned in Scripture, own Concerns, 776,7. It is fooliſh, as
762, 3. We are not forbidden to make it brings upon us the Hatred and Cenſures
or give our Judgment of things, with of others, 277. As it provokes God to
reſpect to Truth and Falthood, Good judge us with the ſame Judgment where-
and Evil, 763,4. Nor of our felves or with we judge others, 777,8. Abſurd
our own Actions, 764. Nor is all judg- for one Sinner to judge another, 782.
ing or condemning the Perſons or Acti- Remedies to prevent and cure the Sin of
ons of others here forbidden, ibid. Par- Judging, are ift, To be in Charity with
ticularly not the judging of the Civil all Men, 778. 2dly, Never to make or
Magiſtrate, ibid. Which is not properly give our Judgment concerning any Per-
the Judgment of Man, but of God, 764, ſon whom we are at Enmity with, 778,9.
: . Neither is all private Judging for- 3dly, Where we may, and ought to judge,
bidden, 705. As where the Crime is we ſhould yet be very flow in making
notorious and evidently ſeen, ibid. Nor our Judgment, 779. 4thly, Often call to
a charitable Jealouſy of what we do not Mind the Miſtakes we have already com-
ſee, in thoſe under our Care, or for bro- mitted in judging others, ibid. sthly,Never
therly Admonition, 705,6. Nor a Judg- talk of other Mens Lives and Actions, at.
ment of Prudence and Caution, of which leaſt ſpeak nothing ill of them, but for
an Inſtance given, 766,7. But we are the weightieſt Reaſons, ibid. Othly, Fre-
certainly forbidden all falfe and injurious quent Reflection upon, and endeavour-
Judging, 767. and all raſh Judging, ibid. ing to amend our own Faults, will cure
And this we are guilty of when we us of our own Proneneſs to judge others,
judge hardly of our Neighbour, only from ibid. 782, 3. 787. Perſons prone to
uncertain Report, 767,8. When we judge and cenſure others, are commonly
paſs Sentence againft him, without hear worſe than thoſe whom they cenſure,
ing what he has to ſay in his Defence, 784-7. For the Faults commonly
768. When we put the worſt Interpre- judged of and cenſured, are either ſmaller
čation upon ſuch Words or Actions as or fuppoſed Faults, called Motes 784-6.
are capable of a good Senſe, 768, 9. But the Sins implied in raſh and uncha-
When we aggravate his Crime, and de- ritable judging are very grievous, and not
termine the Degree of his Guilt, 769. eaſily repented of, repreſented by Beams,
When we condemn a Man as a Repro-
786,7
bate from one or two Actions, without JUDGMENT, in the laſt Judgment, ſpe-
regarding the general Tenor of his Life, cial Regard will be had to Works of
769,70. When we pretend to judge of Mercy, 21. Why called by St. Peter
Mens Thoughts and Intentions farther the Time of refreſhing, 40. To be in
than they are declared by plain Words Danger of the Judgment, what under the
and certain Signs, 770. When we judge Law of Moſes, 220. What as threat-
of Mens State towards God, by the good ned by our Saviour, 220, 1. Judgment
or evil things which befal them in this of God juft and ſtrict, 258,9. The Sen-
World, 770, 1. 1075.
See Judgments tence therein paft upon the Impenitent
temporál." We are forbidden all need- moſt ſevere, 259,00. The Day of Judga
leſs judging, when neither any Of ment will ſet right all Miſtakes of Men
fice calls, nor Charity moves us to its concerning themſelves or others, 120, 1.
773. And we muſt not declare our Diſtinguiſh the Hypocrite from the good
Judgment, even in notorious Faults, un- Chriſtian, 930,1. Judgments temporal.
lefs obliged to it by Juſtice or.Charity See God.' In all the temporal Judgments
to our felves or others, 773,4. Under whether brought about by the Wicked-
needleſs judging is comprehended a need- neſs of Men, or by natu Cauſes, we
ought
Z
the principal Matters, &c.
2
II OO.
11 25
opp
ought to acknowledge the Hand of Pro We are never diſcharged from our Sub-
vidence, 1097. Though all temporal jection to him, tho' in fome Caſes we
Judgments are Expreſſions of God's Dif are from our Obedience, 1122, 3. 1124,
pleaſure againſt Sin, yet we cannot take F. 1166. The bad Qualifications of
upon us to ſay what, or whoſe Sins were King, no Reaſon for our Diſobedience,
the Occaſion of them, 1098. 1185,6. 1133. Whence Kings called Gods in
The paling ſuch a Judgment unwarran Scripture, 11 24. The King's Power noc
table by Scriprure, 1098, 9. No Ground inherently in himſelf, but derived from
from Reaſon for it, whether we argue God, 1163. Though in Elective King ,
from God's Purity and Holineſs, 1099. doms the People chuſe the King, yet is
nor his Power derived from them, I 163,
being Governor of the World, 1099. 4.
His Power of Life and Death could
Such a Judgment liable to great be conferred by none but God, 1164.
Miſtakes, 1100. We may be miftaken That his Power is derived from the ag-
in the Nature of thoſc things which we gregate Body of the People, is a Poſition
account good or evil, 1100--2. And falſe in Fact, 1164,5. Fearing God and
eſpecially when we reckon them Marks the King; are not two Duties inconſiſtent,
of God's Love or Hatred, 1102, 3. As I 124,5: Loyalty to the King is beſt fe-
As ſuch a Judgment is raſh, ſo we may cured by our Religion towards God,
be aſſured in many Inſtances it would
have been falle, 1103. Inſtanced in the KINGDOM of God, underſtood ge-
Galileans, ibid. In the Prophets of fun nerally, ſignifies his fovereign Power and
dah and Bethel, 1104,5. In Jofrab, 1105: Dominion, preſerving and ordering all
In the holy Martyrs, ibid. Temporal Things, 522. The coming of God's
Judgments are moſt commonly deſigned Kingdom in this Senſe not Matter of Pe-
for national Puniſhments, 1106. The tition, but of Joy and Thankſgiving,
Wiſdom of God in puniſhing the Good 522, 3. Underſtood ſpecially, ſignifies
and Bad promiſcuouſly, 1106,7. This that free Subjection which all reafonable
Procedure is an Argument of God's Creatures ought to pay him, 523. This
higheſt Diſpleaſure, 1107,8. The Ufe twofold, his Kingdom of Grace, and his
we ought to make of God's Judgments, Kingdom of Glory, ibid. ift, His King-
11068. The great Storm confider'd dom of Grace, or the Profeflion and Pra-
as a ſignal Judgment of God, and the Uſe etice of the Chriftian Religion, 524.
to be made of it,
I 108-10 The Reaſon of that Name, ibid. This
Justice and Honeſty in all our Deal- again both external, being the outward
ings, a neceffary Ornament of Religion, State or Profeffion of true Religion,
164-6. Juſtice as neceſſary as Piery, which was once the Jewifh, but is now
234-6.243, &c. Acts of it when pre the Chriſtian, 5249 5. What we mean
ferable to Acts of Worſhip, 235,6, &c. by praying that his Kingdom in this
See Injuſtice. The Duties of Juſtice be Senfe may come, f25, And God's in-
tween Man and Man, how to be learnt ternal Kingdom of Grace when Chrift
with Eaſe,
844 rules in Mens Hearts, and renders them
Justify. In what Signification the ſincerely obedient to him, ibid. What
Word uſed in Scripture, 1085,6. A is meant by praying, that this internal
twofold Juſtification: Ift, At our Admiſ- fpiritual Kingdom of Grace may come,
fion into the Chriſtian Religion by Bap- $26. zdly, God's Kingdom of Glory af-
tiſm, 1086. 2dly, Our final Juſtifica- ter the Judgment, ibid. We muft not
tion at the Day of Judgment, ibid. pray for the coming of this Kingdom of
The former is what St. Paul refers to, God abſolutely, but in Subordination to
when he mentions Juſtification by Faith, the other Senſe of it, 526,7. As we
the larter what St. James refers to, when pray for the coming of God's outward
he mentions Juftification by Works, 1086 Kingdom of Grace, we ought to endea-
8 Vour by all means that the Chriftian
Church may be enlarged, 527. Efpeci-
K.
ally by good Example, 527m). See De-
fign. As we pray, that God's inward
KING. Accountable to God only, Kingdom of Grace may come, we ought
1 26. Depoſing and murdering him for to yield him our own Hearts, and an en-
the Cauſe of Religion, wicked and in- tire Obedience, 529. As we práy,
that
confiftent with all Government, 126,7. God's Kingdom of Glory may come, we
oughe
/
::-
!
An Alphabetical INDEX of
1
LAWS.
220
8
9.
ought to be diligent in preparing for it, of God all equally oblige, 204, 8c.
530,1. Kingdom of God, Matth. vi. 33.
Whence the Neceſſity of
ſignifies the Glory and Happineſs which altering and repealing human Laws, 943,
God has prepared for good Men in a 4. This no Argument againīt the Suf-
nother Life, 700, 1. To ſeek it what, ficiency of a divine Revelation, 944.
701. To ſeek it firſt ſignifies, to be pi- See Revelation.
ous betimes, and beſtow as much Time LAW-Suits ſeem to be abſolutely for-
as is poſſible upon the Work of our Sal- bidden by our Lord, Matth. v. 40. 380,
vation, 702
And to make Religion the 1. But the intolerable Conſequences of
chief Buſineſs of our Lives, 703. See ſuch a Prohibition are a juſt Prejudice a
Cara
gainſt that Interpretation, 381. Thoſe
KINGDOM of Heaven, What meant Words taken by themſelves do not ne-
by that Phraſe, 28. What to be called ceſſarily forbid all Law-Suits, 382. But
the leaſt or greateſt in it,
187 taken with the Context forbid only the
KNOWLEDGE of our Duty may be malicious Abuſe of Law, 382–4. "Nor
ſeparated from the Practice of it, and is all going to Law forbidden, 1 Cor. vi.
then by no means available to Salvation, 7. But luing in Heathen Courts, 384
915. 919. Therefore practical know -6.
And that Fault or Injuſtice in one
ledge of Books, and Portions of Scripture, of the Parties, which occaſions the Suit,
moſt valuable, 015. And Practice, the 386,7. What ſort of Law.fuit without
End of our uſing any of the Means of ſuch a Fault, 386. Law. Suits, though
Knowledge, Hearing, EC.
ibid. not finful, yet dangerous, 387. And
KPI'EIE, one Senſe of that Word, theſe Cautions to be obſerved in the Uſe
of them: We muſt be ſure our Cauſe is
juſt, 387,8. And the Thing contended
L.
for of conſiderable Value or Conſequence,
388. We muſt not enter into it for the
LABOURERS. See Servants.
ſake of Contention, but Juſtice, ibid.
LAMENTATIONS of Jeremiah, upon
Nor make it a means of Revenge, 388,
what Occaſion written,
1149
But chiefly we muſt be in perfect
LANGUAGE provoking. See Peace. Charity with our Adverſary, 389
Reproachful and ſcurrilous, the Guilt LAZARUS in Abraham's Borom.
and Danger of it, 222–4. 228,9. See The Deſign of the Parable,
940
Anger, Satisfa&tion.
LENDING to the Poor commanded,
The LAW, Why Chriſt declared, 410,1. See Uſury.
that he came to fufil it, 172,3. What A Lie, always counted diſhonourable,
meant by the Law and the Prophets, 173,
995
4. To deſtroy them what, 174. What
Life EVERLASTING. What meant
it is to fulfil them, ibid. Chriſt did no- by it in the Creed, 060. Some Refle-
thing to deſtroy the Law, neither by his xions on that Article, 960---4. Suppor-
Life and Converſation, 174,5. Nor by ing there were no certain Proofs of a
his Doctrine, 175. How he fulfilled Life after this, yet in common Prudence,
the moral Law, 175,6. How the judi we ought to take the beſt Care we can,
cial, 176. How the ceremonial, ibid. that if there ſhould be one, we may be
How the Prophets, 176,7: Its Perpe. happy in it, 962–4. 1047. rogo.
tuity how to be underſtood, 178. The Light, if the Light that is in theé be
ceremonial Law not deſtroyed but ex Darkneſs, Matth. vi. 23. This Expreſ.
pired, 177,8. Inferences from all this, fion not improper, 648. See Eye.
178–81. The true Meaning, not the LIGHT, To let our Light ſhine before
Letter only, of the Law, to be obſerved, Men, what, and how beſt performed,
210-14 Yet no ſuch Interpretation 152, &C. How reconciled with the Se-
of it to be allow'd as makes void the crecy required in ſome Duties, Matth. vi.
Letter,211-3. See Goſpel. How to know
.
168,9. 4546
perfectly what Alteration our Lord's Ser Light of the World, Chriſtians in ge-
mon has made in the Law, 360--2. Po- neral are or ought to be, 143-6. The
ſitive Laws given the Jews oblige not Fitneſs of, and Duty ariſing from, the
other Nations, unleſs reinforced in the Compariſon,
148,9
N.T.
411
LITANY. See Children.
LAWS of God, the true Method of LITURGY of the Church of England,
expounding them, 233. See Law. Laws if taken from the Maſs-Books, as it is
not,
3
the principal Matters; &c.
668,9
MAN.
1000.
not, that would be no juſt Objection à them only; 66394. And their Wills are
gainſt it,
499, Soo
not only different, but often contrary to
Lord, Lord, Who ſay thus to each other, 664. This inſtanced in ma-
Chriſt, but yet ſhall be excluded from my Particulars, 064-6. Mammon's Ser-
his Kingdom, 201—-7. They who are vice compared with that of God, 666,
baptized into his Name, but do not per &c. Mammon's Propoſals are deceitful,
form the Covenant made in their Bap- 666,7. His Wages ſometimes not paid,
tiſm, 901,2. They who make Profef- 667. At other times foon loft, ibid.' No
ſion of the Chriſtian Religion, without perfect Happineſs when longeſt enjoyed,
an inward Afſent to the Truth of it, ibid. And often the Ruin of their Por-
902. They who profeſs and believe the feſſors, ibid. The Service of God requi-
Chriſtian Religion, but do not live an ted often in part, with the Neceflaries
ſwerably to their Belief, 902,3. They and Conveniencies of this Life, 668.
who hope and truſt in Chriſt for Salva But chiefly and certainly with the ſub-
tion, but do not take care to do what ſtantial, folid, and never-failing Happi-
Chriſt has commanded, 903,46 They nefs of Heaven,
who are punctual in God's Worſhip,
The Soul is the Mar, 712, 3.
Prayer, Reading, Hearing, Sacraments, Man, in what reſpect the moſt unhappy
but do not practiſe Juſtice, Righteouſ- Part of the Creation,
750, I
neſs, Peace and Love towards Men, 904 MARRIAGE neceſſary, where Incon-
-7.915,0. Calling Chriſt; Lord, Lord, tinence cannot otherwiſe be avoided, 284,
by hearing the Word of God, and Pray- F. What to be conſidered in the Choice
er molt vain and inſignificant without of a Match, 297---9. Agreement in
Practice,
905-7 Religion much to be regarded in ſuch a
Lord's Prayer. See Prayer.
Choice,
ibid.
Love. See Neighbour, Enemy, Bro MARTYRDOM, the Lot of all the A-
tberly.
poſtles and Evangeliſts, but St. John,
Not likely any Man would ſuffer
M.
Martyrdom for a known Falfhood, ibid.
Why the Church celebrates the Days of
MAGİSTRATE. His Power to puniſh the Martyrdom of the Saints as Feſtivals,
not aboliſhed by our Lord's Precept a 1079. Why King Charles's Martyrdom
gainſt Revenge, 361,2. Nor by that of not a Feſtival,
1079,80
loving our Enemies, 424. Otherwiſe MASTERS of Families. See Faults.
Chritt would, in this particular, have No Man can ſerve two Maſters; true
deſtroyed the Law, 362,3. This Power with ſome Exceptions, 659,60. For we
of the Magiſtrate confirmed by the Gof- may ſerve two Mafters who are ſubordi-
pel, 363,4. We muſt not defend our nate the one to the other, 659. And
felves againſt him by forcible Reſiſtance, two of equal Authority if their Wills
368,9. See Kings. The Magiſtrate's
The Magiſtrate's are always the ſame, 659,00. And two
judging the Perſons and Actions of others Maſters of different Wills ſucceſſively,
not forbidden,764,5.. See Faults. He
660
may uſe the temporal Sword in Matters MATTHEW Saint, The two firſt
of Religion, on fome particular Occaſi- Chapters of his Goſpel rejected by the
ons,
1060 Judaizing Chriſtians,
994
MAMMON is a Syriac Word, ſignify Meats and DrinksAdvice in the Uſe
ing fometimes Riches or Treaſure; 660. of them,
282
Sometimes the Idol or Devil who falſly Meek, who, 42, 3,&c. The Beha-
is thought, or pretends to be, the Dil- viour of the Meek in Proſperity or Ad-
poſer of worldly Wealth, 660, 1. A Ser verſity, 52, 3. Towards God, 53. To-
vant of Mammon is one who thinks wards Men in all Relations, 53-5. Their
Riches the higheſt Happineſs of Man, preſent Bleſſedneſs, 55,6. The Meaning
and ſeeks them above all other Things, and Certainty of the Promiſe that they
061. Whereas the Servants of God, in Shall inherit the Earth,
56,7
all Conditions, ſet the higheſt Value up MEEKNESS does not extinguiſh buc
on Heaven, and ſeek that in the firſt moderate Anger, 43. The Bounds it
Place, 662,3. No Man can ſerve God preſcribes that Paſſion, 45-50. It in-
and Mammon, 663. For theſe two Ma- Auences our whole Converſation, 52.
ſters do both of them require, that their Creates Efteem both for our felves and
Servants ſhould be wholly devoted to our Religion,
166,9
Vol. II.
MERCY,
į
7 N
An Alphabetical INDEX of
Mercy, how it differs from Charity, God ſhould permit him to do more and
69,70. Who are proper Objects of it, greater Miracles than any ever did, who
ibid. What inward Affection of the were commiſſion'd by himſelf, 1018,2.
Mind, towards ſuch Objects is meant by Our Saviour's were ſuch as every one
Mercy, 70. The outward Acts and Ex- preſent were capable of judging of, 981.
erciſes of Mercy, ibid. Endeavouring to Their being done in the Preſence of ma-
prevent any Evils that may befal others, ny, is an Argument that none were im.
70-3. And to caſe and deliver them poſed upon by their Senſes, 982. The
from
any Evils already befal’n them, 73, Miracles which the Apoſtles wrought,
4. Contrary to all Rigour and Revenge, gave a great Aſſurance of the Truth of
21,2. The greateſt Inſtance of Mercy, their Teſtimony, 1001. The Gift of
22,3. 74. The preſent Bleſſedneſs natu- Tongues, one of the moſt convincing,
rally flowing from the Practice of the 1001,2. Miracles not impoſſible to an
Duty, 74.95
The Reward promiſed Almighty Power, 1007,8. Whereini
to the Practiſers of it; they ſhall ob conſiſts the Nature of a Miracle; 1044.
tain Mercy, 75,0. From Men, 76. If it were common, it would ceaſe to
From God in this World, ibid. And in be look'd upon as ſuch, 1044,5. The
the other World, 76–8. Mercy and many Miracles wrought by Chriſt and
Charity, how to be learnt eaſily, 845,6 his Apoſtles before ſo many Witneſſes, ;
MERITS.
The Unreaſonableneſs of more convincing than if any ſingle one
any one's Deſire, thar Rewards and Pu were wrought before a Sceptick now,
niſhments ſhould be diſtributed in this 1042. New Miracles without a proper
World according to every Man's Merit, Diſpoſition of Mind would be ineffectu-
1039,40. That things were diſtributed al, 1044. This proved from Matter of
fo, a prevailing Opinion formerly, and Fact, and the Example of the Jews in
too generally received now, 1070. The our Saviour's Time,
1045-7
Perſon that was born blind, John ix. a Modesty, A remarkable Inſtance of
difficult Cafe for the Men of this Opini. St. Peter's,
994
on to reſolve, 1071. Upon what Prin Moral Precepts to be obeyed before
ciples they proceeded,
ibid. the Poſitive or Ceremonial,
185
Messiah. See Jeſus.
MORROW, What meant by taking
MINISTERS of God, how to be reſpect- Thought for the Morrow, and how and
ed, 518. See Faults. Wicked Lives when it is ſinful,
68495 - 74293
of ſome Miniſters, not a ſufficient Ground MOUNTAIN. See Sermon.
for ſeparating from an eſtabliſhed Church, MOURNERS, That they ſhould be
888.919. Do not render their Miniſtry bleſed, ſeems ſtrange and incredible to
ineffectual, ibid. 917,8. See Fruits. This the World, 23.
the World, 23. The Mourners, whom
Truth ought to be firmly believed, and our Lord pronounces bleſſed, of two
well conſidered by us, 918,9. The great Sorts, 24. Either good Men mourning
Obligation that lies upon them boldly to in Affliction, 24, 5. Or Penitents that
ſpeak the Truth, and rebuke Vice, 1057, rightly mourn for their Sins, 34. In due
8. They ought to temper their Re- Seaſon, 35. And in due manner, ibid.
proofs with Mildneſs,
1058 Sec Sorrow. Godly pious Mourners in
Miracles, expecting to be maintain Affliction blefied at preſent, 26. Partly
ed by Miracles, without our own Care by their Senſe of God's Goodneſs in af
and Induſtry, is vain and ſinful, and a flicting them, 26,7: Partly by the Com-
tempting of God, 675-7. See Thought forts of God's Spirit under their Afflicti-
and Care. Miracles juſtly required to ons, 27. Laſtly by the bleſſed Effects of
prove Men divinely inſpired, or ſent by their Afflictions, ibid. which teach them
an extraordinary Miſſion from God, 872. Patience, 28. With Confideration and
883--5. 1026. 1142-5. Yet all ſeem Amendment of their Ways, 28, 9. And
ing Miracles, not a ſufficient Proof in Contempt of the World, 29, 30. The
theſe Caſes, 885,0. The Miracles which future Bleſſedneſs of ſuch Mourners, 30, 1
our Saviour wrought, an Argument of MOURNERS for Sin, their preſent
his divine Million, 1016-9. The af- Bleſſedneſs, even whilſt they mourn, 36
cribing them to the Power of the Devil -8.
8. Their future Bleſſedneſs in this
was malicious, 1016,7. And ground- Life, conſiſting in a good Hope of
lefs, 1017,8. The Devil, if he had the God's Mercy, 38,9. And of eſcaping
Power, would not uſe it to ſuch a De God's temporal Judgments, 39,40. Their
fign, 1017,8. Nor is it credible that future Bleſſedneſs in another Life, 40,1
MOURNING.
2
the principal Matters, &c
A
.
MOURNING. All Mourning for Sin OATHS. All Oaths not forbidden in
does not entitle to Bleſſedneſs,
34,5
theſe Words, Swear not at all, 303.304,
MOUTH. The Meaning of that &c. The true Deſign of theſe Words,
Phraſe, be opened his Mouth, 4 304. 307,8. 309, 10.
This Expreſſion,
MULTITUDE. See Wicked.
though univerſal, may be taken in a li-
Murder, what Chriſt forbids under mited Senſe, 305-7. That it ought
that Notion, 230. See Satisfaction. to be fo underitood, prov'd by ſeveral
Murderer, how puniſhed by the Arguments taken from the Context, 307.
Law of Mofes,
220, I No expreſs Prohibition is there found of
the only proper Form of ſwearing, by
N.
the Name and Majeſty of God, 307,8. It
is not faid Oaths are evil, but that they
NAMĖ. To take God's Name in come of evil, 308,9. Laſtly, the Pro-
vain, what
302, 3 hibition of ſwearing is reſtrained to com-
NAME of God in Scripture, moit mon Converſation, or light Matters,
commonly put for God himſelf, 514, 309, 10.
309, 10. The fame proved from Rea-
5. in ſaying, Hallowed be thy Name, fon and Scripture, 312. Becauſe Oaths
we both give Honour and Praiſe to are abſolutely neceſſary for the Ends of
God our felves, and pray that he may Government and Juſtice, 312,3. An Oath
be honoured and glorified by others, not morally evil in it felf, but, rightly
Ś15-7. And oblige our felves to en uſed; a good and religious Act, 314) si
deavour this may be done, 5 17. Ift, in 322. Proved alſo from the Words uſed
ourſelves, ibid. Worſhipping God by the Prophets foretelling the Conver-
conſtantly, eſpecially in Publick, 517. fion of the Gentiles under the Mejias;
And that in a due Manner, 517,8. Treat- 315. And yet more ſtrongly from ſome
ing with due Reverence all things rela- very great Examples; as of the primitive
ting to him, his Houſe, his Days, his Chriſtians, 316,7. Of the Apoſtles,
holy Word, his Miniſters, 518. Care- 317,8. And of Chriſt himſelf, 318,9.
fully abſtaiping from diſhonouring him Chriſt forbids Jewiſh Abuſes of Oaths;
in Word or Deed, 518,9. 2dly, We 321,2. And chiefly ſwearing in com-
are obliged to do all we can that God mon Converſation, 322. The Sinful-
may be honoured by others, s19. In or neſs and Folly of common Swearing,
der to this, we ſhould firſt declare upon
all Occaſions God's glorious Attributes Obedience. See Father, Knowledge;
and wonderful Works, 519, 20. 2dly, Will of God, Lord, Lord.
Be always ready to defend the Truth OBEDIENCE to all God's Laws, with-
and Excellency of our Religion, 520. out it the moſt excellent Gifts and At-
3dly, Set an eminently good Example, tainments, preaching, prophefying, and
520,I working of Miracles, ſignify nothing
Necessaries for Life are not to be towards the procuring of 'Salvation,
procured by Sin, tho' we were ſure to
911,2
periſh for want of them, 683. See OBSCENITY. See Piętures.
Thought, Care, Bread.
OCCASIONAL Conformiſts, their Se-
NEGLIGENCE in our worldly Con- paration a ſinful Schiſm, 926. 1064,5.
cerns unlawful, 669,70. See Thoughty Their Plea, that they think ſome of the
Care.
Rites and Ceremonies in our Church un-
NEIGHBOUR, his Edification. See neceſſary, will not juſtify their Schiſm, ,
Deſign, what meant by Neighbour in the
1065
Law, 417,8. What Love of our Neigh OCCASIONS. See Sins. To cut off
bour commanded in the Law, 418,9. the Occaſions of Sins moft neceſſary and
Loving him as our ſelf, what, 418. Our reaſonable, 275–7.
What we may
Lord makes all Men without Diftin not do to this End, particularly we may
&tion our Neighbours, 421. Even Ene not deſtroy the whole Body, 277,8. All
mies,
ibid. Occaſions of Sin impoſſible to be cut off
NUMBER. See Wicked,
at once, ibid. Nor diſable our ſelves to
do good, 278,9. Nor ſin in one kind,
0.
to cut off the Occaſions of finning in a-
nother, 279, 80. What Occaſions of
OATH, what; 314. Whence proceeds Sin diſtinguiſhed into probable and ne-
the Credit which is given to it, 947,8. ceffary, 280. What may or ought to
be
322, &c.
An Alphabetical INDEX of
!
be done as to the cutting off both theſe Peace of Mind. Equity in our Deal-
Sorts of Occaſions, 282-5. Motives to ings neceſſary to the obtaining it, 848
this Duty, 286. To chuſe the Occaſion is PEACE. What a private Man is to
to chuſe the Sin, ibid. Eaſier to avoid do to obtain or preſerve the Peace of
the Temptation than to reſiſt it, ibid. the World, and of the Catholick
No Proportion between the Importance Church, 97,8. Of the National Church
of thoſe things that tempt us to Sin, and to which he belongs, 99-101. Of the
eternal Rewards and Puniſhments, 286,7 Civil State, 101-4: Among his Neigh-
To Orrend, what,
277 bours and Acquaintance, il-3. It is
OPINIONS. See Do&trines.
our Duty to ſeek our own Peace, 115,6.
This beit preſerved by avoiding all pro-
P.
voking Actions, 116,7. Particularly we
muft avoid and diſcourage Backbiting
Pain. Not reaſonable to live always and Tale-bearing, 117,8. Uſe no ill
in anxious Fear of Pain,
758 Language, or contemptuous Behaviour,
PAMPERING the Body, unlawful, 270 118. Nor needlemy contradict the O-
PAPISTS. What Ground to ſuſpect pinions, 118,9. nor meddle in the Af-
they are falſe Prophets, 897,8. Their fairs of others, 119. Peace, when bro-
Doctrine of Infallibility uſeleſs, 1054, 5. ken, how renewed,
III.2 1
Their Boaſt, that their Church is at U Peacefulness, wherein it confifts,
nity within it ſelf, without any Grounds, 89. is careful not to give Offence, 90.
1055. The Reaſon of our ſeparating backward to take Offence, 90, 1. ready
from them, ibid. The Vanity of their to be reconciled, 01,2. uneaſy to ſee o-
Argument drawn from the Number that thers quarrel, 93. Contrary to this is
are in Communion with their Church, Contentiouſneſs, 94. and fomenting of
1056. Several Corruptions of their Diviſion and Contention, 94,
Church enumerated,
1066,7
PEACE-MAKERS, who, 88,9. Not
PARDON of Sin; the Conditions of it, to be blamed as Buſy-bodies, 107–11.
556-60. See Treſpaſes. One of them. Their preſent Bleſſedneſs, 121. Their
Repentance,
615
future Reward,
121-3
PARENTS. See Faults. Parents ought PEACE-MAKING, How this Duty
to breed their Children to Virtue early, may beſt be diſcharged, 97, &C.111—3.
858. See Education.
Motives to it, 107, 113,4. Objections
St. PAUL. In the Diſpute concern- againſt attempting it, 106,7. anſwered,
ing Juſtification, St. Paul to be inter-
107-II
preted by St. James, not St. James by PEARLS. To caſt Pearls before Swine,
St. Paul, 1082. This upon ſeveral Ace what,
counts : ift, Becauſe there is expreſs Te A Penny. How much, 559
ftimony in Scripture, that in St. Paul's People. See Kings, Subjects.
Writings there are ſome things hard to PERFECT. To be perfect as our bea-
be underſtood, 1083. This appears like- venly Father is perfeet, how our Duty,
wiſe from common Obfervation, ibid. 439, &c. In what Senſe poſſible, 441
zdly, Becauſe the Epiſtle of St. James
S ۳
was, as well as ſome others, wrote on Perfection, a very great one to
purpoſe to rectify the Miſtakes ſome had love our Enemies, 423. 431. 437,8. See
fallen into, by miſunderſtanding St. God's Perfections under the Title God.
Paul's Epiſtles, 1083,4. 3dly, Becauſe PERSECUTED, what it is to be pere
St. Paul's Words, taken in a literal Senſe, ſecuted, 125,6. To be perſecuted for
would contradict the whole Deſign of Righteouſneſs ſake, and entitled to Blef-
the Goſpel, 1084,5. See Jupify, Faith, ſedneſs, it is neceſſary both that our Suf-
Works. " It was not the Deſign of any ferings be undeſerved, 126,7. That we
of his Epiſtles to comprehend the whole fuffer for the Profeſſion or Practice of
of Religion, 1090. But moſt of them Chriſtian Religion, 127-30. A Diffi-
were deſign'd to furniſh the Chriſtians culty removed, 131–3. The preſent
to whom he wrote, with Anſwers to the Bleſſedneſs of Perſons ſo perſecuted, con-
Objections which the Enemies of Chri- fifts in having their evil things in this
ftianity made againſt it, ibid. He rea- Life, 135,6. in the Honour done them
ſons againſt three forts of Adverſaries, by God, 136,7. in Conſolations from
the Gentiles, 1090,1. the Jews, 1091,2. God, 137. in a ſatisfied Conſcience, ibid.
and the Judaizing Chriſtians, 1092 in Aſſurance that they are the Sons of
God,
794, EC.
the principal Matters, &c.
I 2, c.
1059,00
God, 137,8. in a good Hope of Heaven, Poor. See Charity to the Poor.
138. Their future Reward, having a Poor. What. Bleſſedneſs belongs to
promiſed certain Felicity, ibid. and of the Poor, as ſuch, s. Poor, able to work,
greater Felicity than others, 139,40. In not to be maintain'd in Idleneſs, 7,8.
ferences from this Bleſſedneſs of theirs, More Charity to maintain ſuch in Work
140, 1
than in Idleneſs,
307. 1179,80
PERSECUTION for Righteouſneſs Jake, Poor'in Spirit. By Poor in Spirit,
ſcarce to be avoided even in Chriſtian not meant all Poor, 5,6. nor Romiſh
Countries, :28-30. The patient en Mendicants, 6-8. nor the Meek and
curiog of it entitles to Bleſſedneſs, 131. Peaceable, 8. The Poor in Spirit are
Why ſome are called to it, and rewarded both the humble and lowly in their own
for it, and not others, 131-3. None Minds, 9. And thoſe who are of a
of God's Promiſes of temporal Goods are Temper ſuitable to a State of Poverty,
to be underſtood, as promiſing Exem-
ption from Perſecution, 725. Though Possession, a good Title to an Eſtate
we are prepared to undergo Perſecution, till a better is ſhewn, 906. This Maxim
yet we are not imprudently to run into made uſe of againſt thoſe who deny the
it, 802,3. Perſecution not agreeable to Books of Scripture to be wrote by the
the Nature of the Goſpel,
Perſons whoſe Names they bear, with-
Saint PETER dictared St. Mark's our firſt ſhewing they have no Right to
Goſpel, 994. His Modeſty diſcern'd in be fix'd to them
ibid.
it, ibid. Probably firſt called to be an POVERTY. A voluntary Poverty not
Apoſtle,
ibid. required of all Chriſtians, 1. but rather
Pharisees. The Scribes and Phari- condemned by Scripture, 7,8. Virtues
fees; who, and what they were, 203,4. becoming a State of Poverty, and which
How highly eſteemed by the Jews, 200. that State naturally produces; as, I fty
What led Chriſt to declare their Righ- Humility, 13. 2dly, Patience, 14. 3dly,
teouſneſs inſufficient, 201—3.
Their Contentment with their Condition, 15,
Righteouſncſs, what, 204. greater than 4thly, Truſt and Hope in God, 16. 5thly;
that of many wicked Chriſtians, 204,5; Induſtry, Temperance, and Frugality,
Wherein deficient, and to be exceeded ibid. 6thly, Contempt of the World,
by ours, 206,7. Theirs was partial, 18. 7thly, A pitiful and compaſſionate
ours muſt be univerſal, 206,7. Theirs Temper, 20. Poverty not very terrible,
chiefly avoided Sins forbidden, ours muſt
alſo perform the Duties commarded, Power. See King, Magiſtrate. Two
207, 28. Theirs regarded only the Letter diſtinct independent Powers in the ſame
of the Law, ours muſt obſerve the Lec. Nation, no Abſurdity, 1168. Sec
ter, and the full Meaning of it, 210-4 Church.
Theirs only outward, ours muſt alſo be PRAISE of Men for our good Works,
inward in the Heart, 214-6. Theirs not altogether unlawful to be deſired, or
acted by a wrong, ours muſt proceed up- delighted in, 449, 50. if done moderate-
on a right Principle,
ly, and with Submiſſion to the Will of
Pictures exciting to Uncleanneſs, God, 451. But when we do well only
Plays, obſcene Books, Poems, Songs, and for the Praiſe of Men, that is no Virue,
Romances, which treat of wanton Love, 451,2. But extremely wicked to deſire
and excité unchafte Behaviour, filthy the Praiſe of Men in order to ill Pur-
Communication and Diſcourſe, pamper- poſes, 452. What ſeeking the Praiſe
ing the Body, are by Conſtruction forbid of Men, our Lord condemns, ibid. and
by our Saviour, and to be avoided, 269, why, 452-4. This Text how recon-
70 ciled with, Let your Light so ſine before
Pity. See Compaſionate Temper. Men, that they may ſee your good Works,
PLACES, holy, how to be reve 454.–6. See Light, Deſign, Alms, Pray-
renced,
518 er, Faſting. The Praiſé of Men vain and
PLAYS. See Pictures.
unprofitable in it felf, 463. When the
PLEASURES of Sin deceitful, 862,3 End of our Actions, deprives us of a moſt
POLYGAMY, the Unlawfulneſs of it, valuable Good, the Preiſe and Rewards
293-6
of God, 46394. Praiſe of Men, but a
POOR, uncharitable dealing with forry Comfort, when we know we do
them the Danger of it, 245,6. See not deſerve it,
Profuſeneſs.
To Pray always, continually, with
Vol. II.
2
757,8
.
216,7
A
3
OUT
7 O
----
.
An Alphabetical INDEX of
:
}
805:
out çeaſing, means at leaſt that we ſhould edneſs and Folly of ſeeking the Praiſes
pray very often, 815. That we ſhould of Men in our Prayers, 471,2. and con-
make Prayer a Part of our Task and Bu- fequently of putting up Mens private
fineſs, ibid. That at leaſt we ſhould not fingle Prayers in publick Places, 472.
neglect thoſe Times and Seafons of Pray- Our Lord commands our private Prayers
er which are ſet apart for it by divine or to be put up in the moſt ſecret manner
human Authority, ſuch as the Lord's that is poſſible, 4-72. 473,4. but ſtill re-
Day, the Feaſts and Faſts of the Church, quires publick Prayer, 472, 3. The Ends
& C. 816. And that we ſhould alſo em of Devotion not to be attained without,
brace all other fit Occaſions of Prayer, fecret Prayer, 474,5. 810,1. Secret
ibid. That we ſhould pray at leaſt eve- Prayer proceeds from, and improves our
ry Day, ibid. both in the Morning and Belief of God's Omniſcience, 475.811.
in the Evening, 817. Or rather three Nothing can juftly excuſe the Omiſlion,
times a Day, ibid. And that we ſhould nor hinder the Uſe of it, 475,6. It
be always in a praying Temper, ibid. yields us the greateſt Comfort, by aſſur-
But ſuch Precepts do not command using us of our Sincerity, 476,7. 81 1. and
to ſpend our whole Time in Prayer, and of our Reward, both by God's Promiſe,
do nothing elſe, ibid. We ſhould our ſelves 477. and by its own proper Tendency,
always endeavour for that which we pray 477,8. God's Goodneſs and Knowledge
to God for, 517. God's allowing us to of our Needs before we ask, does not
pray to him, our great Privilege and Ho- render Prayer needleſs, becauſe God
nour,
821,2 commands us to pray, 488. And Praya
Prayer vain and inſignificant, with er makes us fenfible of our Wants, and
out Obedience to God, 904, &C. 200. our Dependence upon God for the Sup-
Prayer, or Petition, a Definition of it, ply of them, 488. Is a Means of work-
The Eſſence of it is an inward ing in us thoſe good Diſpoſitions which
Defire of the Soul, 805,6. No Man fit us to receive the things we deſire,
prays any longer than whilft he inward- 489. And it is an actual Exerciſe of ma-
ly deſires thoſe things which he out ny Virtues,
ibid.
wardly asks, ibid. The Subject Matter Set Forms of PRAYER are not unlaw-
of Prayer is ſome good thing which we ful, 492. See Repetition. They who
want, 806. It muſt be directed to God ſeparate from the Church for her uſing
only as its Object, 503,4. 806. To en a Form of Prayer, would have ſeparated
courage our Prayers, we muſt believe from the Apoſtles, who prayed by a
that God is able to grant them, 806. Form, 493,4. Three Objections againſt
Prayer is a Duty moſt reaſonable in it a Form of Prayer anſwered: ift, That
ſelf, 807,8. and expreſſly commanded, a Form of Prayer cannot be ſuited to all
by God, 808,9. Publick Prayer and ſe- Occaſions, 494,5. 2dly. That a ſet Form
cret Prayer, two diſtinct Duties, and is a ſtinting of the Spirit, 495-7. 3dly,
both neceſſary, 809.-11. Publick Prayer That praying by a Form is contrary to
does moft Honour to God, edifies our that praying by the Spirit, which is moſt
Neighbour, and is moſt certain of Suc- pleaſing to God,
ceſs, 809,10. Prayer muſt be fervent, Our Lord's PRAYER twice deliver'd,
814. Prayer muſt be frequent and con upon two Occaſions, 490,1. Deſign'd
ftant, 814-8. conſtant and importunate, both for a Pattern, 492, and for a Form
ibid. If our Prayers be not always heard, of Prayer, ibid. Lord's Prayer, its Mat-
this is cauſed by ſome Defect either in ter full, comprehending all things need-
our ſelves, or in our Prayers, 819. ful for our ſelves or others, 498,9.
Where there is no ſuch Defect, our Neither Matter nor Words new, but
Prayers for temporal good things are taken moſtly from the Forms uſed by the
granted, or ſomething better than the Jews, 499. Its running in the Plural
particular thing we prayed for, 819– Number ſhews it was chiefly to be uſed
But then our Prayers for fpiritual in publick, soo, and extends our good
Bleſſings, particularly for God's Grace, Wiſhes to others, when we uſe it alones
will be granted in kind,
821 ibid. The Order of the Peritions teach-
Prayer, all Parts of religious Wor es us to prefer God's Glory before our
ſhip comprehended under that Word, own Occaſions, soo, 1. Three princi-
470, 1. Our Saviour, Matth. vi. does pal Parts of the Lord's Prayer, the Pre-
not command it, but ſuppoſes it an ac face, the Petitions, and the Concluſion,
knowledged Duty, 409--71. The Wick, sok What is to be learnt from the
Preface
407,8
21.
2
the principal Matters, &c.
.
Preface to the Lord's Prayer, 503, &c. Proof of divine Inſpiration, 1141,20
Lord's Prayer contains every thing that What Cautions are required in admitting
can be reckoned a Part of Prayer, 72293. any Man's Propheſying, as a Mark of his
is both an Expreſſion of our Devotion being a true Prophet,
1146
towards God, and an Inſtruction and In PROPHETS and falſc Prophets, who,
citement to our ſelves, 623. A wicked 870,1. Falle Prophets aroſe very early
Man continuing in his Wickedneſs can in the Chriſtian Church, 1936. That
not ſay any one Sentence of our Lord's there ſhould come fome in the latter A-
Prayer with true attentive Devotion, ges expreſſly foretold, 1137. The falſe
624,5. A good Man attentively and de- Prophets our Lord warns us to beware of,
voutly uſing it, muſt be made better by either ſuch as take upon then to be
it, both by its natural Tendency and the Teachers without Conmiſſion from
divine Bleſſing,
625,6 God, either ordinary or extraordinary,
Prayer by the Spirit, as underſtood or elſe fuch as work falſe Miracles, and
by the Diſſenters, not commanded in teach falſe Doctrine, 883-1). We muſt
Scripture, 497,8. Prayer in or with the firſt and chiefly beware not to be miſled
Spirit, as practicable when we pray by by ſuch into any hurtful Error or ſinful
a Form, as when we pray extempore, Practice, 8-71,2. 2dly, We muſt uſe
498. The Spirit of God given in Pray our belt Skill to diſcern between true
er, to what End, 496.498. Succeſs of and falſe Prophets, 872. Rejecting Pre-
our Prayers, what Aſſurance given us of tences to Inſpiration, unleſs confirmed by
it, 824, &c. Particularly, becauſe God Miracles and pure Doctrine, wortliy of
is more truly our Father even than our God, ibid. 883,4. 1138,9. See Mira-
earthly Parents, who yet will not deny cles. And refuſing to hear all ſuch as are
their Children any reaſonable Requeſt
, not warranted to teach by a regular
825-7. Becauſe God knows the Wants Commiſſion, or the extraordinary Power
of his Children, and how to ſupply them of Miracles, 872. 885. 3diy, Avoiding
better than any Man does, and ſo often all ſuch as by any of theſe Means are
actually grants our Prayers, by giving diſcerned to be falle Prophets, 872. The
us what he knows is beſt for us, though various Methods they have uſed of fe-
not the particular thing we ask, 827. ducing, 1137. Two of their Methods
Becauſe God has infinitely more power, of Deceit we ſhall always be in Danger
828. and infinitely more Goodneſs than of; falſe Interpretation of Scripture, and
any earthly Parent, 828,9. See Father.
See Father. Prerences to Inſpiration, 1137.
Comfortable Inferences from God's be to guard againſt the former, ibid. Two
ing repreſented as fo gracious a Father, Proofs eſpecially to be inſiſted on, by
833, c. which Prophets ſhould prove their divine
PRIESTS. See Church.
Miſſion, Prophecy, 1141, 2, &c, and
Princes. See Kings.
Miracles, 1142. "That Prophet that
Privileges of Church-Memberſhip, preaches only the fame Doctrine which
&c. not to be preſumed upon, 908,2 we have already received, needs no new
Profession of Chriſtianity without Inſpiration, 1143. If his Doctrine is
believing it, and living anſwerably to pretended to be a farther Explication of
our Belief, not ſufficient to Salvation, what is already contain’d in Scripture,
902,3 what Proof of his Miſſion is then to be
PROFUseness, no Excuſe for not giv- required, 1144,5. Several Marks to be
ing Alms,
398. 1180 obſerved in the Predictions of a Prophet,
PROMISEs of the Law, how to be un- 1146,7. In his Miracles, 1147. In his
derſtood,
57 Doctrine, 1148. We muſt beware of
PROMISES temporal, are made only falſe Prophets, becauſe of the Danger
for ſo long Time as God ſees fit to con of being deluded by them, by their fair
tinue them, 724,5. And with an Ex Shew and Sheeps. Cloathing, 873. and
ception of the Caſe of Perſecution, 725,6 becauſe of the miſerable Conſequences
Prophecy. Our Saviour's propheſy- of being deceived in, and deluded by,
ing, a Mark of his Miſſion, 1014-6. ſuch falſe Prophets, 873. The being
That there have been ſome who have made a Prey of, 874. and miſled to our
forerold future Contingences, tho' not eternal Ruine, ibid. The Warnings given
ſent from God, is no Argument to the us, will render us inexcuſable, if milled,
contrary of this, 1015, 6. The Diffe- ibid. What
The Diffe- ibid. What ſort of Caution requiſite,
rence between them, ibid. A proper 1138-41. Why God permits falſe
Prophetsg
How
1
An Alphabetical INDEX of
3
.
21
1.1 34
228,9
894
Prophets, 874,5. 1018. How far he per- fy, 84, 5. and Peace of Conſcience, 85.
mirs them, ibid. Means to be ſecured a Its future Reward, the Sight of God,
gainſt the Seduction of falſe Prophets are, 854—7. Purity of Heart neceſſary, 215,6
iſt, To accept thoſe only for Teachers,
who are lawfully called and ordained to
Q.
that Office by the Governors of the
Church, of which we were born Mem QUAKERS,
303. 897
bers, 875–8. One Exception to this QUARREL, how a peaceful Perſon
Rule, viz. when the publick Doctrine of ſhould act when engaged in one, 119-
ſuch a Church, ſubſcribed by its Mini-
fters, is wicked and corrupt, plainly Queen. An Elogium upon the late
contrary to Reaſon and Scripture, 875. Queen,
In all other Caſes this Rule moſt prudent
and ſafe, 876-8. This Rule does not
R.
recommend a blind Obedience or impli-
cic Faith, 878. 2dly, To examine the RAČA, What ſinful Behaviour meant
Doctrines, even of our lawful Teachers, by ſaying Raca,
by the Word of God, 878,9. For falſe READINGS, See Various.
Prophets may creep in amongſt thoſe who Reason muſt be truly attended to in
are lawfully ordained, 886. 3dly, To diſcerning between Good and Evil, oss,
feek the Truth ſincerely, and practiſe re 6. in judging the Fruits of Doctrines,
ligiouſly whatever we are perſuaded is
our Duty, 879. 4thly, Conſtant and REBELLION. See Princes.
earneſt Prayer to God, that his Spirit RECONCILIATION, moſt honourable
may enable us to diſtinguiſh between to ſeek it firſt,
GI-3
Truth and Error, and that the Deceits REFORMATION, Zeal for the Refor-
of falſe Prophets may be laid open, and mation of others, in Perſons that allow
that he would grant his Church faithful themſelves in Sin, is not the Effect of
and able Miniſters, 879,80. What thoſe · true Religion, 787. See Prudence.
Fruits are by which falſe Prophets may be RELIGION, We ſhould be always rea-
diſcerned from true ones. See Fruits. dy to defend the Truth and Excellency
We may juftly ſuſpect thoſe to be falſe of it, 520. Religion does not conſiſt on-
Prophets, who will not ſubmit their Do- ly in Exerciſes of Devotion, 677. 732.
ctrines to be examined by Reaſon or See Care. Many Duties of Religion tend
Scripture, ſuch as Quakers and Papiſts, to promote or ſecure our temporal In-
897,8. and who teach that Holineſs is tereft, 735 There are no Duties of
unneceſſary, 179. 180. 198. See Law. Religion, the Practice whereof naturally
PROSPERITY. See Gifts of Gode tends to bring us to Want, 735,0. Nei-
Proverbs, ſufficient that they be true ther the religious Exerciſes of Prayer, &c.
for the moſt part,
059
which take up ſome of our Time, 736.nor
Prudence to be uſed in all thoſe the ftrict Obfervation of Juſtice in our
Methods we take to reform others, 799 Dealings, which hinders ſome forts of
801. See Temper.
Gain, 736,7. nor
nor liberal Alms, 737.
Prudent Caution to be uſed in the For, ift, No Man is obliged to give a-
publick Profeſſion and Exerciſe of our way more than he can fpare, unleſs in
Religion in general,
802, 3 extraordinary Caſes, ibid. 2dly, A Man
PUBLICANS, who,
430 may give away a great deal, and yet not
Pure in Heart, who,
79 be the poorer for it, 737,8. 3dly, Almſ-
PURITY in Heart, defiled by ſuch giving never makes Men miſerably poor,
Thoughts as are evil in themſelves, 79,
but often to thrive much better than o-
8o. Thoſe are ſuch as are contrary to thers, 738. All Men tenacious of the
Piety, 80. to Juſtice or Charity, ibid. Religion they are brought up in, 987,8.
or to Sobriety, ibid. And by ſuch Not for the Intereſt of the Infidel even
Thoughts as are evil, becauſe relating in this World to laugh at Religion, 1048.
to, or tending to produce ſinful Actions, At leaſt it ought to be treated with a de-
ibid. Such as fooliſh Imaginations, 81, cent Reverence, 1049. For the Intereſt of
2. or Conſentings of the Will to Sin, Society in general, that there ſhould be
82. or to the Means of Sin, 82, 3. Pu- ſuch a thing,
1049, 50
rity in Heart how preſerved, 83,4. Its Religious Life, the two great Im-
preſent Bleſſedneſs, viz. Virtue made eas pediments of it, its Difficulty and Singu-
larity,
...
1
2 2
the principal Matters, &c.
834
I
2.
larity, 851. Not ſo difficult as to be of Scripture,
impoſſible, 853,4. See wicked Life. How Reproof every Man's Duty, upon
far difficult and ſingular, 85495: The Occaſion, to give it, and therefore ne-
firſt Beginning of a religious Life com- ceſſary for every one to be unreprovable
monly attended with great Difficulties, himfelf, 790, 1. See Faults. Reproof,
855. But theſe greater to ſome than o we are not to beſtow it where we are fa-
thers, 855,0. But never ſo great as
tisfied it will do no good to the Perſons
reaſonably to diſcourage any from entring reproved, but provoke them to hurt us,
upon it, 856. Continuance in a religious 794-1. This Caution not inconſiſtent
Life alſo is difficult, by reaſon of our with thoſe Precepts, which ſeem to for-
corrupt Inclinations by Nature, evil bid our deſpairing of any Man's Repen-
Cuſtoms, and great Diſcouragements tance; 798. The private Sins of yet
from without, 856,7. Becauſe it is a modeſt Sinners require a private Reproof,
ftrait ſmall Path, out of which ’tis very 799, 801. Publick Sins a publick Re-
eaſy to ſtep aſide without the utmoſt proof,
ibid.
Prudence and Watchfulneſs, 857. And REPETITIONS, vain Repetitions, what,
becauſe every ſtepping aſide is a great 479. A Fault the Heathens were guil-
Ştop and Hindrance to us, ibid. And ty of, who uſed to ſpend much Time
becauſe much Patience is neceſſary that in ſaying over and over again the ſame
we may perſevere to the End, ibid. The Words, 480.
Words, 480. And which our Saviour
great Difficulty of a religious Life ſhould himſelf calls much Speaking, ibid. Occa-
make us undertake it with a ſtrong Re fioned by wrong Notions of God and
folution to overcome and perſevere, 852. Providence, 480, 1. And can ſcarce be
Difficulty no juſt Diſcouragement from committed by thoſe, who believe God
a religious Life, conſidering it will ſure- regards them as a gracious Father, and
ly bring us to Heaven at laſt, 866. Nor knows their Needs before they ask,481,
Loneſomeneſs, it being better to be hap In forbidding vain Repetitions, our
py alone, than niiſerable in much Com- Saviour did not forbid all long Prayers,
pany,
866,7 482, 3. Nor putting up very frequently
REPENTANCE, what true, what not, the fame Requeſts to God, 483. Nor
231,2. 246,7. Neceſſary for the Ac- uſing the ſame Words, when we repeat
ceptance of our religious Worſhip, 243, the fame Petitions, 483,4.499,500. Nor
Ec. See Satisfaction.
expreſſing the ſame Senſe by the ſame
RePENTANCE, timely, Motives to it; Words more than once in the fame Pray-
leit our Sins come under God's juſt and er, or Office of Prayer, 48495. 486,7.
ſtrict Judgment, 258,9. And leit we be But our Lord condemns, as much Speak-
caſt into Priſon, i.e. into Hell, 259,00. ing, the continuing our Prayers to a cer-
And there ſuffer endleſs Puniſhments, tain Length, whether our Devotion
260. Repentance, the Miſchief and Dan- continues ſo long or no, 485. And when
ger of delaying it, 254-7. 260,1.858. we are too particular in our Petitions for
Becauſe the preſent Opportunity of do earthly Bleſſings, 485,6. And too much
ing it may be the laſt, 261,2. And all ſtudy for rhetorical Expreſlions, as if we
Delay of Repentance increaſes the Diffi- thought to move God by our Eloquence,
culty of it, 262,3. And till we have a 486. Aud extravagant ridiculous Tiu-
greed with our Adverſary, we are always tologies, ſuch as the Heathens uſed for-
at his Mercy, 263,4. Repentance a ne merly, and the Papiſts now, 486,7. The
ceſſary Condition of obtaining the Par- Repetition of the Lord's Prayer and Glo-
don of our Sins, 457,8.615. See Tres- ria Patri, in our Liturgy, not con-
paſes. Death-bed Repentance, the Dan- demn’d by our Saviour's Rule, 487, 8
ger of it, 858. 909,10. We have more REPUTATION, A good one repreſent-
and ſtronger Motives to Repentance than ed in Scripture as deſirable, 449, 50.
the Jews before our Saviour's Time had, As God's Gift, 450.
940, I
Part of the Reward of good Actions,
REPROACHES of wicked Men a moſt
ibid.
dangerous Perſecution, 129,30. See Resist not Evil, Matth. v. 39. How
Language.
to be underſtood,
REPROBATION abſolute, confuted by RESTITUTION. See Satifaction.
what our Saviour ſays, that God is an Resurrection of our Saviour, was
infinitely wiſę and good Father to all what the Witneſſes of it might rather be
Mankind, 833-5. And by other Texts hore certain of, than of any other of his
VOL. II.
Miracles,
345, &c.
7 P
An Alphabetical INDEX of
Miracles, 981,2. Almoſt all their Sen- Injuries, not to gratify private Revenge, ,
fe: might judge of it, ibid. The con 344, s. Only as they might claim of
current Teſtimony of a great many Wit- the Judges the Execution of this Law,
neſſes, a farther Confirmation of it, 982. 345. But Chriſt continuing to Magi-
Though our Lord's Reſurrection was po- ftrates the legal Power of puniſhing
ſitively atteſted by none but his Friends Injuries, 346,7. forbids in general pri-
and Diſciples, yet is it ſufficiently teſti vate Perſons to return Evil for Evil,
fied,
086,7 345,6. eſpecially revenging themſelves
REVELATION, The Arguments for the with their own Hands, 347. And even
Sufficiency of a ſtanding one, ſtronger malicious legal Proſecutions, wherein our
to us than to the Jews before our Savi- Damage is not repaired, but our Adver-
our's coming, 940, 1. The Poſſibility fary only ſuffers, 347,8. Except where
of ſuch a Revelation as might be a com-
the Law of our Country requires us to
plere Rule for the Faith and Practice of all profecute the Offender, 348,9. And
future Ages, without needing any Addi- where a Man proſecutes the Offender, not
tion, proved from the infinite Wiſdom out of Revenge but Charity to the Pub-
and Power of God, 942, 3. 944. Norlick, 349. revenging one Wrong to pre-
is it unconceivable; becauſe a Revelation vent more, not juſtifiable, 349. 353.
once given, nothing more is required which is true in very great, as well as in
than a proper Uſe of Reaſon in under ſmaller Injuries, ſuch as ſmiting the Cheek,
ſtanding it, and drawing juſt Conſequen- &c.357. For Chrift forbad Revenge in
ces from it, 943. The Neceflity hu- all thoſe Caſes wherein the Law allowed
man Lawgivers are under of altering it, which comprehended the greateſt In-
their Laws, no Objection to this, 943,4. juries, ibid. And our Lord's own Pra-
A Revelation may be ſufficiently atteſted etice proves the ſame, who did not re-
to be written by the Perſon whoſe Name turn the greateſt Injuries, 357,--.. and
it bears, tho' there are no Eye-witneſſes who deſigned in the Inſtances mention-
of his writing it, 945,6. See Gredibility. ed by him to enlarge, not reſtrain, the
Very poſſible that the Perſon to whom Precept of forbearing Revenge, 359. and
a Revelation is made, ſhould have ſuffi even the Injuries our Lord inſtances in,
cient Evidence that it proceeds from may in ſome Circumſtances be very great
God, 248,9. To ſuppoſe the contrary ones, 359–61. Great Difference be-
makes God of leſs Power and Skill than tween Revenge and Puniſhment, 301,2.
Men, who can expreſs their Minds in The Precept forbidding Revenge makes
ſuch a Manner as to be underſtood by way for that which requires us to love our
each other, 949. The ſeveral Pretences Enemies,
to Revelations no Argument againſt the
REVERENCE both inward and out-
Certainty of real ones, 249,50. The ward, neceſſary in religious Worſhip,
Poſſibility of a ſtanding Revelation makes
506,7
it probable that there is one, 950,1. If Riches, not unlawful to poſſeſs them,
there is one, it may be ſtrongly preſumed 640,1. Nor all Deſire and Endeavour
it is that contained in the Holy Scripture, to get them, 641. See Treaſures, Mam-
951. See Scriptures. When the Divi-
When the Divi- mon, worldly Goods.
nity of a Revelation is once fully con Right Eye, Right Hand, our Lord's
firmed, it is unreaſonable to expect any
Command to pluck out the one, and cut
other Proof of it, 1026-8. This il off the other, not to be litterally under-
luſtrated by the Example of human ſtood,
278,2
Laws, 1027,8. A new Revelation un RIGHTEOUSNESS. See Hunger and
reaſonable, as it would deſtroy the Ex Thirst after Righteouſneſs. Righteouſneſs
cellency of our Faith, 1028,9. And two-fold, either actual, or imputed, o 1,
from the Inconveniencies and Abſurdities 2. How certainly to be obtained, 01-
of it, 1033,4. It would be fruitleſs in 7. Perfect only in Heaven, 66. See
a great Meaſure, 1034. The Folly of Phariſees. Righteouſneſs of God, what,
rejecting a Revelation in which our great- 701. To ſeek it, what, ibid. To ſeek
elt Intereſt is concerned, 1034-6 it firſt, fignifies both being righteous
Revenge, what, 44. See Mercy. betimes, 702. and making Religion our
In what Senſe allowed the Jews, 344. chief Concern, 703. The Neceſſity and
Eye for Eye, &c. No Law for private Reaſonableneſs of this, ibid. &c.' See
Men but for Magiſtrates only, ibid. This care.
Law was given to deter Men from doing RIGOUR See Mercy.
Rocky
416
8
the principal Matters, &c.
1
ROCK, What is meant by a Man's able for not affuming a greater Autho-
building his Houſe upon a Rock, 923 rity than God had given them, 934. The
Romish Church. See Papiſts.
Difference between Chriſt's Teaching
and theirs conſiſted, if, In the Matter
S.
of his Doctrine; he ſpeaking of the ſub-
ftantial Duties of Piety, Juſtice and
SABBATH Chriſtian, what, 214. He Mercy; they chiefly of Rites and Ce-
keeps the Sabbath beſt who does moſt remonies, 434,5. 2dly, In the Manner
good upon it,
784,5 of his Teaching, which was with a far
The SACRAMENTs of the Goſpel not greater Authority than that of the Scribes,
to be offered, nor adminiſter'd to thoſe 435,6. 3dly, In the Proof which Chriſt
who deſpiſe them as inſignificant Cere- gave of his Authority to teach in ſuch
monies,
802 Manner as he did; and this he had done
Thou hast SAID, the Meaning of that before his preaching, by working Mi-
Expreſlion,
318 racles,
936
SAINTS departed, not the Object of SCRIPTURE a bright and true Light
Prayer,
503,4 for the Diſcovery of Good and Evil,
SALT. All Chriſtians compared to it, 056.854, 5. 878. See Word of God.
143-6. The Fitneſs of, and Duties a Holy SCRIPTURE is a ſufficient ttand-
riſing from, this Compariſon, 146,7. ing Revelation, as to the Matter contained
The Reaſonableneſs of diſcharging thoſe in it, *953-7.1139. It contains ſuffici-
Ducies, 147
The Puniſhment of o ent Directions for our Practice, 953. The
mitting them,
147,8 Suppoſition that ſeveral Books which
SALVATION. See Aſſurance.
were writ by the Apoſtles are now loft,
SAND, what is meant by a Man's is neither an Argument that they were
building his Houſe upon the Sand, 223,4 uſeleſs, 954,5. or that theſe now re-
SANHEDRIM. See Council.
maining, are not ſufficient, 956,7: A
SATISFACTION to be made for all In- probable Reaſon, why God fuffered
juries, 236,7. Particularly in Caſe of thoſe to be loſt, which are ſuppoſed to
Murder, 237. of wounding, maiming or be ſo, 957. That all thoſe Books are
disfiguring any Perſon, 237,8. of re preſerved which are neceſſary for Mens
proaching and reviling Language, 238. Salvation, argued farther from God's
of Slander, 238,9. of Wrong done our Providence and Love to Mankind, 957.
Neighbour in his Eftate, Money, or And from his Juſtice ibid. Unreaſons
Goods, 239240. What muſt be done able for Infidels to object the Inſuffici-
by him that is unable to make Satisfa- ency of Scripture in this reſpect, 953.
&tion, 240, 1. Satisfaction neceſſary to 957. 1044. 1048. The Scripture propo-
our being pardoned by God, or his ac ſes Motives ſufficient to perſuade Men
cepring our religious Worſhip, 243, 4. to do what it requires, 958,9. 1039.
This plain froin Scripture, and particu We have ſufficient Reaſon to believe
larly as to Sacrifices, 244,5. Prayers, that the Books of Holy Scripture were
245. Faſting, 245,6. The ſame thing written by thoſe Perſons who are ſaid to
clear from Reaſon, eſpecially as to Pray be the Authors of them, 966. It lies
er for Pardon, 246--8. This no Excuſe upon thoſe who deny it, to diſprove it,
for neglecting the Worſhip of God, ibid. The univerſal Reception of the
249, 50. Satisfa&tion ought to be made Books of Scripture, and that too from
ſpeedily, 240,7. 249. 255, &c. All this a their firſt Publication, a Proof of their
powerful Diſſuaſive from Injuſtice, 250,1 being genuine, 967,8. There is as good
SCANDAL, what,
277 Proof of this, as we can have of a Mat-
Schisms. See Diviſions. Cannot be ter of ſuch a Nature, 068.977. 1042.
prevented by Infallibility it ſelf, 1054, F. The Abfurdity of the Infidel's arguing,
Schiſms in a Church, no Objection a that the Scripture may be all Fiction,
gainſt it, 1055: 1066. It is not the 069,700. The true Reaſons of his doubt-
ſmaller Party which is always guilty of ing of its Authority, is becauſe he cannot
the Schiſm, 1055,0. Schiſm is not ex- comply with the Strictneſs of its Pre-
cuſed by Toleration, and Grant of Liber-
cepts, 970. The Authors of ſome parti-
ty of Conſcience,
10602 cular Books of Scripture being not cer-
SCRIBÉS. See Phariſees.
tainly known, is no Argument againſt
SCRIBEs who, 933. Their manner of the Authority of thoſe Books, 971,2.
Teaching, what, 933,4. Not blame. No more is that which is drawn from
fome
An Alphabetical INDEX of
800,1
A
1
fome Book of Scripture being rejected by mitted to Memory, 1. Why delivered
particular Sects of Men, 972. Nor that on a Mountain, 2. Why delivered by
which is drawn from others being not him fitting, ibid. obliges not only the
univerſally receiv'd in the moſt early Clergy, but all Chriſtians, 394. 143-6.
Times, 972-4. Whence it happen'd, That in St. Luke not certainly the ſame
that ſome Books at firſt were not uni with thac in St. Matthew, 6. That on
verſally receiv’d, 973. This Cbjection the Mount not only corrects the falſe In-
ſtrengthens the Proof of the Authority terpretations which the Phariſees had
of the once controverted Books, and is a put upon the Law, but commands ma-
corroborating Evidence of the Authority ny things wholly new, 420. See Effects.
of all the others, 073: The Objection, Servants and Day-Labourers may
that among the ſeveral counterfeited make Religion their chief Care, without
Goſpels and Epiftlës which were publiſh- neglecting their Buſineſs,
73394
ed in the early Times of Chriſtianity, Severity. See Imprudent.
fome of them may have poſſibly flipt in SHAME. We ought not to be aſham-
to the Canon, anlwerd, 9-74. Objected cd of owning the good Principles we act
that the Copies which we now have, are upon, 155-7. A young or modeft Sin-
depraved by the Tranſcribers, 0749 5. Tó ner not to be put to "open Shome, leſt he
ſuppoſe this, invalidates the Credit of all become thereby sameleſs and incorri-
Hiftory, 075. The Impoſſibility of hav- gible, 799-801. The proper Method
ing all the Copies corrupted, 975,6. The of treating ſuch,
{mall Differences in the Copies, no Hin The Sheer's Cloathing of falſe Pro-
drance to the underſtanding the Scrip- phets commonly conſiſts in extraordina-
ture, 976. The Providence of God ry Appearances of Sanctity and Devo-
concern'd' in preſerving the Books free tion, 873. In Expreſſions of a more fla-
from Corruption, ibid. "See Hiſtory. ming Zeal for their Religion and bad
What Obligation lies upon us to read the Cauſe, than the beſt of Men uſe for the
Scriptures,
IOSI, 2 Truth of the Goſpel, ibid. To which
SECURITY, or a Belief that our Prof- they add the Sheep's Voice, i. e. fair
perity cannot be changed, no Duty, 744. Words,
ibid
For, ift, Such Security is ungrounded, SIN. No Sins, that we know and
ibid. 2dly, It is a Fault we are warned allow our ſelves in, fo ſmall as to be ve-
againſt in Scripture, 754,5 3dly, I't' has nial, 19394. Yet thoſe Proteſtants ſeem
often provoked God to convince the Sen to believe the Popiſh Doctrine of Venia.
cure of their Folly By his Judgments, Sins, who live eaſy in ſome plain Breach-
745. 4thly, It is apt to render any es of Duty, 194,5. Not ſufficient for
Change for the worſe very grievous and him to plead they have but one Fault,
intolerable, ibid. The contrary very ad 195,0. and that but a ſmall one, 196,7.
viſeable,
The Guilt and Danger of being acceſ-
Self-Defence not forbidden by the fary to the Sins of others, 197,8. He
Precepr, Refift_not Evil, 367,8. Cau- conſents to the Sin, who conſents to
tions to be obſerved in the Uſe of this the Temptation, 271,2. The beſt way
Permiſſion, 368-70. Yet more Chriſtian to avoid any Sin, is to avoid the Tem-
to ſuffer Lols, than hurt anocher, 370 ptations and Occaſions leading to it,
Self-Love, How to rid our felves of
2724
The Prejudices occaſioned by it, and ren SINS, why called Debts in Scripture,
der it uſeful, in diſcerning our Duty to 553: Sins, Debts, Treſpaſſes, ſometimes
our Neighbour,
842, 3.. 847 ſignify the ſame Thing, ibid.
Sense. The Evidence' of iť much pales.
ſtronger when ſeveral agree' in the ſame Sinner modeft. See Shame.
Teſtimony, 082. See Hiſtory, The on SINCERITY exerciſed and proved by
ly Security that our Senſes do not deceive ſecret Alms, 450-61. 464,5.. And ſe-
us is the Goodneſs of God, 1020. The
cret Prayer,
407
Evidence of Senſe which they had wňo SINGULARITY. See Imprudent.
lived in the Apoſtles Days, was not SITTING, the uſual Poſture of thoſe
more apt to convince than the Proof who taught among the Jews,
which we have now,
1032, 3
SĽANDER. See Satisfaction.
SEPARATION. See Miniſters, Divi The SOLDIERS Employment, not un-
fions.
lawful,
37394
SERMON. Our Lord's ſhould be com A SOLITARY, or too retired Life, to
be
745,6
See Tref-
8
.
the principal Matters, &c.
i
be avoided, 153,4. For whom conve is an open, ſcandalous Sin, of very ill
nient,
154 Example, 327,8. As it produces the
SÓrrow. Godly Sorrow for Sin, 'worſt Effects, 328. Begetting in Men a
its Properties: If, It perfectly hates the Readineſs to commit all other Sins, ibid.
Sins it mourns for, 35,6. 2dly, It works Betraying them that uſe it into Perjury,
an Amendment of Life, 36. The Reaa 328,9. Even ſolemn and deliberate Per-
fonableneſs and Blefiedneſs of it. See jury, when they can get by it, 329.
Mourners for Sin.
Pernicious to Government and civil'So-
Soul. The Care of it how necef- ciety, 329, 30. Its Genteelneſs and Com-
ſary and reaſonable, 703-8. See Care. monnels but vain Pleas for this Sin, 331,
The Soul is the Man,
712,3 2. Not excuſed by the fooliſh Conceit
SPIRIT. See Diviſions. Does not in ſome have, that it commands Reſpect,
Scripture ſignify Will or Choice, 7. 333. Nor by doing it to avoid being
oſten ſignifies Height or Greatneſs of thought preciſe or religious, 333,4. Nor
Mind,
2 by doing it to gain Credit to our Words,
SPIRIT of God. See Prayer by the 334,5. Nor by Mens mincing or dila
Spirit.
guiſing their Oaths, 335,6. Nor by u-
STRONG Crying in Prayer, is not ſing ſuch Words as it is uncertain whe-
praying with a loud Voice, but with a ther they be Oaths or not, 336. Nor
fervent Devotion,
814 by avoiding to ſwear by the Name of
SUBJECTS, their Duty to Governors, God, and uſing other leſs Oaths, 336,7.
1122, 3. 1172. that is, to the ſupreme Nor by Habit or Cuſtom, 337–9. To
Legiſlative Power, in what Hands foc- keep from common Swearing : ift, Al-
ver it be placed, 1123. See King, Change. ways ſpeak Truth, even in the ſmallest
Success. See Prayer, Gifts of God. Matters, 339,40. 2dly, Seldom or ne-
SUFFERINGS of good Men, the A ver uſe vehement Afleverations, 340.
theiſt's Objection againſt Providence, To cure the Habit of Swearing, 11, Con-
drawn from them, anſwer'd, 140, 1. An ſider the Sin, Folly and Danger of it,
Argument for a future Judgment, 141. ibid. 2dly, Be very watchful over your
The Sufferings of good Men are not felves, ibid. 3dly, Avoid Pallion and In-
always inflicted for the Puniſhment of temperance, 340, 1. 4thly, Have a Friend
their Sin, proved from the Example of to admoniſh you, 341. Sthly, Reprove
Job, 1072, 3. and King Charles the Mar others for this Fault, ibid. Puniſh your
typ, 1074,5.
Two Ends of Providence ſelf as often as guilty of it, ibid. Laſtly,
which are always deſign’d in all the Suf- Add Prayer,
341,2
ferings of good Men: If, Their ſpiri SWINE who meant by that Word,
tual Improvement in Grace and Virtue, Matth. vii. 6. 795. Such Perſons not to
1075,6. 2dly, The Benefit of others, be adınoniſhed, but excommunicated or
1 077,8. See Judgments temporal. avoided, 795,6. All Sinners not to be
The Sun, All Chriſtians compared thus treated,
to it, !43,4. See Light of the World.
ETNEAPION, What,
221, 2
T.
SUPPER of the Lord ought to be
celcbrated,
212, 3
TALE-BEARING. See Backbiting.
SWEAR not at all, &c. All Oaths not A TALENT what, 559. marg. the
forbidden in thoſe Words, 303, &c. Proportion between 10000 Talents and
SWEARING, Why expreſſed by tak 100 Pence, 5oo. marg.
ing the Name of God in vain, 211. The TEACHING, What kind of Teaching
Sinfulneſs and Folly of Common Swear the Duty of all,
199
ing, ſhewn firſt from the Nature of the The TEMPER of the Perſons we
Sin it ſelf, whether an Oath be confi- deal with, to be prudently conſidered in
dered as an Act of Worſhip, 322, 3. Or all Caſes wherein Religion is concerned,
as a calling God to be a Witneſs of our
802
Truth, and a Judge of our Sincerity, TEMPERAnce. See Induſtry. how
Ž13--5 The Guilt and Folly of it, as neceſſary for Chriſtians,
163,4
to ſome Circumſtances always attending TEMPT. See Miracles.
it, 325. As that it immediately affronts TEMPTATION. See Sing Occaſions of
the Perſon and Majeſty of God, ibid. As Sin. Temptation properly ſignifies only
.
it is a Sin we may eaſily avoid, and have a Trial or Experiment, ſuch as God
no Temptation to, 325–7. And as it ſometimes makes of good Men, and ſuch
Vol. II.
7Q
799-801
as
An Alphabetical INDEX of
I
10W.
row.
281-5
as all Circumſtances of Life may prove to preſerve Life, without which we can-
to us, 609,10. Againſt ſuch Temptati- not ſeek the Kingdom of God, 675—7.
ons as theſe we ought not to pray, 610.' In taking honeſt Care to provide for
Sometimes it ſignifies a prevailing In his Family, a Man is working out his
ducement to Sin, laid before us by the Salvation, 677. What Thoughtfulneſs is
Devil, ibid. God never tempts us in forbidden, 680, &c. See Care, Mor-
this Senſe, 610,1. yet God may be faid
to lead us into Temptation, when he per THOUGHTS evil. See Pure in Heart,
mits the Devil to tempt and overcome THOUGHTFULNESS, what ſort is
us, 61. This he has promiſed not to forbidden, 680, &c. See Care, Mor-
permit, ibid. But he has made Prayer a
Condition of receiving the Benefit of THOUGHTFULNess for the Morrow.
of this Promiſe, ibid. Having forfeited See Anxiety.
God's Grace ſo often by our Sins, we THOUGHTLESSNESS. See Inconfidera-
ought to beg it as a Favour, 611, 2. jion.
To pray, lead us not into Temptation, i.e. Times holy, how to be kept, 518
either that God would remove all dan TO LÄND, his Impudence in deny-
gerous Temptations, or give us Strength ing King Charles his Title to ’Eixwv Baós-
lufficient to overcome them, 711, 3. in auxin, and the Apoſtles theirs to ſeveral of
proportion to the Weakneſs of our Na-
their Writings,
1066,7
ture increaſed by evil Cuſtoms, 612. As TOLERATION, the Meaning of the
we pray, that we may not be led into Word, 1061. See Schiſm.
Temptation, we fhould not run our felves TOLERATION is no Excuſe for Schiſm,
into it, but avoid it, 613,4. Fore-arm
1000-2
our ſelves, watch againſt, and reſiſt it, TONGUES. See Reproaches.
614. Firmly reſolve, and ſincerely en Topher, What that place was, 223
deavour to reform our Lives, that we Trades; ſome neceſſary Cautions a-
may obtain Pardon and Grace, 615. bout the Choice and Exerciſe of Trades
Strong Temptations diftinguiſh true Chri or Employments,
ftians from Hypocrites,
924-7
TRADITION made of equal Authority
TERTULLIAN his Teſtimony, with Scripture, in order to maintain ſome
that there were ſome Parts of Scripture gainful Doctrines and Practices, 935.
of the Apoſtles own Writing, remaining Both oral and written Tradition teſtifies
in his Time,
975 the Authority of the Books of Scripture,
TESTAMENT New. The Genuine-
neſs of the Books of it. See Scripture. TREASURES. Lay not up for your
TESTIMONY. A written Teſtimony felves Treaſures upon Earth, forbid, ci-
often as credible as a living one, 977. ther the ſetting too high a Value upon
The concurrent Teſtimony of ſeveral A- any Thing we can have in this World,
poſtles, written, is an Advantage to us, 639,40. Or making it our Deſign and
which they who lived in the Apoſtles Buſineſs to get or keep as large a Porti-
had not, ibid. 1029. Upon what Ac on of worldly Riches as we can, 640.
counts the Teſtimony of our Saviour con The Poſſeſſion of worldly Riches not
cerning himſelf was credible, 1010-12. wholly forbidden here, 640,1. Nor all
He that will reject the Teſtimony we have deſiring or endeavouring to get Riches
for the Truth of our Religion, would that are abſolutely neceſſary for our pre-
reject any,
103394 ſent Support, 641. But this Prohibition
Thought, taking Thougót,what impli- forbids five Things: If, The genting
ed by it, 672–7. Not Diligence and La- Riches unjuſtly, 641,2. 2dly, Making
bour, but Solicitude and Anxiety, 672. the getting of Riches the Defign and
The original word ſignifies ſuch a Thought- Buſineſs of our Lives, 642. 3dly, So
fulneſs as diſtracts the Mind, and takes it much Carefulneſs to heap up huge Trea-
off from proper Objects, ibid. This Expo- fures, as hinders our providing for ano-
ſition confirmed by a Parallel Text, 672, ther Life, ibid. 4thly, Beſtowing ſo
3. and by ſome other Texts of Scripture, much Carefulneſs and Concern upon
wherein the Nature of blameable worldly heaping up Superfluities, as is allowable
Care is more plainly expreſſed, 67394. only for the procuring of Neceſſaries,
diligent Thought or Care for a Mainte-
642,3. sthly, Too much Love and
nance is commanded in ſeveral Places in Concern to keep together what we have
Scripture, 67415; This Care neceſſary got, 643. The Reaſon of this prohibi-
tion
268
the principal Matters, &c.
1
tion, che uncertain Hold we have of from his Goodneſs to much meaner Crea-
worldly Treaſures, 643,4. Sce Care. tures, leſs dear to him than we are, ſuch
TREASURES in Heaven, the Com Fowls of the Air as no Man provides
mand to lay up, &c. enjoins either the for, and who live without the leaſt Ap-
ſetting a high Value upon heavenly Trea pearance of Carc; we may conclude that
fures, 644. or making it our chief De- our beavenly Father will much more
ſign and Buſineſs to attain them, 644,5. bleſs our honeft Endeavours for Food,
And this is done in general by the con 690-3. Truſt in God for Raiment, preſ-
ftant Tenor of a virtuous and holy Life, ſed in the ſame Manner from his Dealing
645. And more eſpecially by Works of with the Lilies of the Field, 694-0.
Mercy and Charity, ibid. "This Duty Diſtruſt of God ſcarce excufable in the
enforced by the Solidity and Certainty Gentiles, but by no means' ſo in the Jews
of heavenly Treaſures, 646. And by re or Chriſtians, 697. God's perfect Know-
preſenting a good Effect of taking up ledge of our Needs, joined with the
theſe Sentiments and Deſigns,
ibid. Confideration of his Goodneſs and Pow-
TRESPASSES or Sins, Puniſhment, er, renders all Diſtruſt of him inexcufa-
particularly the Torments of Hell due ble,
697,8
to them, 553. When God forgives Tref-
pales, he forbears to inflict Puniſhment
U.
on us, 553,4. In praying God to forgive
us our Treſpaſes, we beg to be freed Vain Glory, the Folly and Danger of
from Puniſhment, and confeſs we deſerve it,
217
it by our Sins, ibid. The Condition Valley of Hinnom. See Tophet.
which we beg Forgiveneſs is, our own Various READINGS, if compared
forgiving others all that they cannot pay with Judgment, more like to lead us to
us, and forbearing to revenge Injuries, the true Meaning of Writers, than to
554,5 We profeſs our Forgiveneſs of endanger our miſtaking their Senſe, 976.
others with Humility and Diltruſt, and Thoſe in Scripture of no great Moment,
a ſecret Prayer that it may be fincere
ibid.
and perfect, 454–6. Three things chief VENIAL. See Sins. .
ly to be learnt from the Petitioni, Forgive Virtue. See Religious Life.
Us Our Treſpalles, as we forgive, &c. Iſto UNCERTAINTY of getting or keep-
That there is ſome Condition neceſſary ing Riches. See Treaſures, Care. Un-
on our Part to qualify us to obtain Par- certainty of worldly Proſperity, 744
don of our Sins, 556,7. (God has pro.
The UNDERSTANDING, or Judgment,
miſed Pardon of Sin, upon Condition of is to the Soul what the Eye is to the Bo-
Repentance, Prayer and Forgiveneſs of dy, 652, 3. See Eye. The Importance of
others, 557,8. 015.) 2dly, That one
having it rightly informed, 054, 5. Dire-
Condition neceſſary to qualify us to ask &tions how to help the Eye of the Under-
Pardon of God, is Forgiveneſs of others, ſtanding ſo that it may rightly diſcern
558, 9. And this a moſt equal and rea the Nature of Good and Evil. To keep
ſonable Condition, 559,00. 3dly, From it from being darken’d by Luft, or Pala
this Petition, forgive us as we forgive, we fion, or Senſuality, 655.' To conſider
learn the Nature of that Forgiveneſs Things by the true Light of Reaſon
which is our Duty, viz. to forgive the and Revelation, 056,7. To conſider
greateſt Injuries, 560. though very often them ſeriouſly and attentively, 656,7.
repeated, 560, 1. and that fully and per- To pray carneſtly that we may be en-
fectly,
soi lightened, 657. The Shallowneſs of our
TRINITY. The Doctrine of a Trinity Underſtandings conſidered,
1024
in Unity, no Contradiction, 1023. O UNIVERSAL Prohibitions in Scripture
ther Truths, which we make no Doubt often to be underſtood in a limited
of, as incomprehenſible to us as this, Senſe,
305,6
ibid. UNSATISFYING Nature of Riches.
Trust and Hope in God, neceſſary See worldly Goods, Treaſures, Care.
both for Rich and Poor, 16. See Fa UNTIL, the Uſe of that Word in
ther. The preſent and future Bleſſedneſs Scripture,
260
of it, ibid. Truft in God for Food and Usury, Doubts about the Lawful .
Raiment, preſſed from our own former neſs of it, * 403,4. It cannot be morally
Experience of his Power and Goodneſs unjuſt, when profitable both to Borrow-
to us in greater Inſtances, 689,90. And er and Lender, 405,6. Nor is it in this
Caſe
An Alphabetical INDEX of
WIFE.
82,3
1
Caſe injurious to the Publick, 406. nor us to live wickedly, ſince they bring us to
to the Poor, 406,7. It cannot be un- Hell, 867. much leſs is the Multitude of
juſt, if the Borrower be not hurt or op- wicked Perſons a juſt Inducement to a
preſſed by it, 407,8. The Argument wicked Life,
867,8
againſt Ufury from the natural Barren-
See Divorce. That Com-
neſs of Money, not valid, 408,9. All U- mand, that a Biſhop (or Presbyter) muff
fury is not condemn’d in Scripture, 409 be the Husband of one Wife, how to be
Uſury, why by many condemned underſtood,
294,5
as abominable, 411,2.413. How it may Will of the Affections diſtinguiſhed
be lawfully practiſed, 413,4. To what from the Will of the Judgment, 840
Perſons we ſhould lend without Uſury, WILL, its Conſent to finful Acts is
414,5. Lending thus an excellent Cha-
what contracts the Guilt,
rity,
415 WILL of God twofold: ift, The
Will of his Counſel or Providence, 532,
W
3. In praying, that the Will of God's
Counſel may be done, we pray that we
WAR not forbidden by the Precept, and all Men may perfectly acquieſce in
Reſiſt not Evil, 371,2. Nor by any o all God's Appointments for us, 533. Or
ther Text of Scripture, 372, 3.
Its elſe we actually ſubmit, and religo our
Lawfulneſs in ſome caſes to be prov'd ſelves to that Will of God, 533,4. 2dly,
from Scripture,
373,4 The Will of his Precepts or Cominands,
Wicked, the Multitude of them, and 534. Ia praying, that the Will of God's
the finall Number of the Godly in Com- Precepts or Commands may be done, we
pariſon of them, makes it reaſonable for
pray, 114, That God would make
us to judge for our ſelves, and not to be known his Will to us and to all Men, zu
led by Example, 865. The Multitude bid. And, 2dly, That he would give us
of ſuch no juſt Inducement to follow all Grace obediently to perform it, ibid.
them,
867,8. 105.5 even like the holy Angels in Heaven,
A Wicked Life, not always ſo plea- 534,5, which means, ift
, That all Men
fant as it appears, 854. The Entrance may be obedient, as are all the Angels in
into a wicked Life, far eaſier than into Heaven, 535. 2dly, That they may o
a good one, both by Reaſon of our na. bey with a good Will, ibid. 3dly, Řea-
tural Corruptions, and the Temptations dily undertake, ibid. 4thly, Speedily ex-
we meet with, 862. In the Way of ecúte, 535,0. all his Commands'uni-
Wickedneſs we are allured by Temptati- verfally, 536. By praying that the Will
ons ſuited to all Tempers, Ages, and Con- of God's Counſels may be done, we are
ditions of Life, ibid. This way
. is eaſy engaged to a perfect Submiſſion to God's
and agreeable, as it ſeems to be a way of Providence, ibid. To do ſo moſt reaſo-
Liberty, 862, 3. And becauſe it has an nable, both becauſe of God's Wiſdom,
Appearance of much Mirth and Jollity, 536,7. and of his Goodneſs, 537. By
863; It appears the pleaſanter, becauſe being taught to pray for God's Grace,
the longer Men go on in it, the leſs fen to do his Will of Precept, we are ada
ſible they are of its Evil and Danger, za moniſh'd that we cannot perform it ac-
bid. Laſtly, by long Progreſs in Wick- ceptably without that Grace, 337,8.
edneſs Repentance grows more difficult, and that God requires no more of us,
which adds in Proportion to the Pleaſure than by his Grace we ſhall be enabled
of Sin, ibid. The Eaſe and Pleaſure of to perform, 538. As we pray that God's
the Beginning and Progreſs of a wicked Will may be done, ſo ſhould we endea-
Life, itrongly obliges Parents to be care vour to know and do it, ibid. As by this
ful to breed their Children pioufiy, 863, Petition, Thy Will be done in Earth, as it
4. The ſeeming Pleaſure of Wickedneſs in is in Heaven, we are taught the necef-
creaſing, as we go farther on in it, ſhews fary Qualifications of an acceptable Obc-
us the Danger of being hardened, if we dience, ſo we ought to endeavour for
once allow our ſelves in any Sin, 864. them, 538–40. Will of God; doing
The Difficulty of Repentance increaſing it does not exclude the ſaying, Lord,
every Day the farther we go on in Wick Lord, but fuppoſes it, and adds to it, 907.
edneſs, ſhews the Neceſſity of a ſpeedy He can't be ſaid to do the Will of God,
Repentance for any Acts or Habits of whoſe good Actions are not the Fruits of
Sin, ibid. The ſeeming Pleaſures of, a a lively Faith, ibid. Nor he, who having
wicked Life, no jutt Encouragement for Faith; does not openly profeſs it, ibid.
Nor
--
&
the principal Matters, &c.
ΙΟ
Nor he, who does not truſt in the Mer Doctrines of all Teachers by it, 878, 9.
cy of God in Chrift for Salvation, soz. What Reverence due to the Word of
Nor he who neglects the Duties of reli- God, -18. See Scripture. Holy Word of
gious Worſhip, Hearing, Prayer, &c. God, or Doctrine of the Goſpel, not to
ibid. But he does the Will of God, who be imprudently forc'd upon any, but
diligently learns and practiſes all the Du- only on ſuch as are diſpoſed to receive
ties owing to God, his Neighbour, and it, 802. Eſpecially the myſterious Do-
himſelf, 908. This does not imply ſin- ctrines, ibid. See Hearing.
leſs Obedience, but a fincere and hearty Works good. See Deſign. The
Endeavour to keep all God's Command- Difference between St. Paul's Uſe of the
ments; and whenfoever we fall, riſing Word Works and St. James's, 1089, 10.
again by Repentance, ibid. Since thoſe
Since thoſe That St. Paul did not intend to exclude
only, who thus do the Will of God, ſhall ſuch good Works as St. James makes
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, it fol- neceſſary for our Juſtification, proved
lows firſt, that we are not to place too from the Deſign and Occaſion of St.
much Confidence in the Privileges of Paul's Writings, 1090-3. And from
Church-Memberſhip, &c. 908,9. Nor the ſeveral Cautions intermixed, to pre-
truſt to a Death-Bed Repentance, 109,
vent our miſtaking his Meaning, 1093,
4. What Works St. Paul meant to ex-
WOMAN. Looking on a Woman to
on a Woman to clude,
1089. 1094
luſt after her, what, 267,8. Why call WORLD. Contempt of the World,
ed Adultery, 271,2. 275. This always reaſonable both in Rich and Poor, 18,9
ſinful, but exceedingly ſo in the publick The preſent Bleſſedneſs, and future Re-
Worſhip of God, 268. Conſequently ward, attending a Contempt of the
thoſe Women faulty, who dreſs immo World, 19,20. learnt from Afflictions,
destly to be look'd at, 268,9. In for-
29, 30
bidding to look upon a Woman, &c. WORLDLY Goods unſatisfying, 67.
Chriſt forbad every thing that may oc 704.715,6. Againſt immoderate Deſires
caſion, tempt or incite to Uncleanneſs, of, and anxious Thoughts about them,
269. Particularly looking upon and keep- with reſpect to the Time to come, 54394.
ing for that End, obſcene Pictures and 545-- See Care, Treaſures, Uncer-
Books, ibid. Acting, or ſeeing acted, tainty.
unchaft Plays, 269, 70.
All impure
WORSHIP of God. See Examination,
Diſcourſe, 270. All pampering the Bon Repentance Juſtice, Satisfaétion, Reverence.
dy with too much, or too nouriſhing, Worship públick, to be exactly attended,
Meat and Drink, ibid. The Reaſonable 159.249,50,472,3.517. An Encourage-
neſs of this prohibition, 271–4. Chaſti ment to publick Worſhip, Sil. which is
ty made eaſier by it, 273,4. Woman. See to be perform'd in a due Manner, 5 17,8
Divorce.
WOUNDING any Perſon. See Satiſ-
Word of God. We ſhould try the faétion.
1
.
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