■'^..•'r ./JT'?: 
 
 /^' 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGigSL SEMrNHRY 
 
 BY 
 
 fflrs. Rlej^ander Pfoudfit. 
 
 
SEVERAL 
 
 DISCOURSES 
 
 PREACHED AT THE 
 
 TEMPLE CHURCH. 
 
 THO. SHERLOCK, D.D. 
 
 Late Lord Bishop of London, and 
 Master of the Temple. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for J. Whiston and B. White at Boyle^s Head^ 
 
 and W. Owen at Horner's Head^ in Fleet-Street^ 
 
 and E. Bajcei^ at Tunbridge, 
 
 MPQCLXXII. 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 DISCOURSE I- 
 
 Proverbs xix. 27. 
 
 Ceaje, my Son, to hear the InJiruBion that 
 caufeth to err from the Words of Know-- 
 ledge. Page i> 
 
 DISCOURSE IL 
 
 Luke xvi. 31. 
 
 And he f aid unto him. If they hear not Mofes 
 and the Prophets y neither will they be per-- 
 Juaded» though one rofe from the Dead. 
 
 P. 21. 
 
 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 Psalm xix, 12, 
 
 Who can underfand his Errors ? Cleanfe thou 
 me from fecret Faults. P. 43, 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 In Two Parts, 
 
 Mat the w xii. 36. 
 But I fay unto yoiiy that every idle Word that 
 Men Jhall /peaky they Jhall give account 
 thereof in the Day of fudgment, P. 63. 
 
 D I S C O U R S E V. . 
 In Two Parts. 
 Ephe SI AN s iv. 28. 
 
 Let him that fioky Jleal no more ; but rather 
 let him labour y working with his Hands the 
 'Thing which is good, that he may have to 
 give to him that needeth. P. loi. 
 
 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 In Two Parts. 
 1 Peter iv. 8. 
 A?id above all Things have fervent Charity 
 among yourfelves ; for Charity Jhall cover 
 the Multitude of Sins. P. 135. 
 
 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 Gal ATI AN s vi. 9. 
 And let us not be weary in well-doing: For in 
 due Seafon we fi:all reapy if we faint not. 
 
 3 P- ^73- 
 
The CONTENT S. 
 
 DISCOURSE VIIL 
 In Two Parts. 
 
 Matthew xiii. 29. 
 But hefaidy Nay ; lejly while ye gather up the 
 Tares, ye root up alfo the Wheat with them. 
 
 P. 195, 
 
 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Matthew xxvI. 41. 
 
 Watch andpray, that ye enter not intoTempfa'' 
 tion : The Spirit indeed is willing^ but the 
 Flejh Is weak. P. 233. 
 
 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Isaiah liii. 3. 
 
 He is defpifed and rejected of Men, a Man of 
 Sorrows^ and acquainted with Grief 
 
 P. 253. 
 
 DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 Colossians lii. i. 
 
 If ye then he rifen with Chrijiyfeek thofe Things 
 which are above y where Chrijifitteth on the 
 right Hand of God. P. 2714^ 
 
The CONTENT S. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIL 
 
 James iii. 17. 
 
 TChe Wifdom that is from above isfirjlpure^ then 
 
 peaceabky gentle, and eafy to he intreatedy 
 
 full of Mercy andgoodFrutts, without Par-- 
 
 tialityy and without Hypocrify. P. 287, 
 
 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 Matthew v. 48. 
 
 Be ye therefore perfeB^ even as your Father 
 which is in Heaven ispeyfeSl. P. 305. 
 
 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 John ill. 19. 
 
 ms is the Condemnation, that Light is come 
 into the World, and Men loved Darknefs 
 rather than Light, becaufe their Deeds were 
 evil P. 325- 
 
 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 John v. 44. 
 
 Flow can ye believe, which receive Honour one 
 of another, andfeek not the Honour that 
 Cometh from God only? P. 343- 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 Mark viii. 38. 
 
 Whofoever therefore Jh all be afhamed of me and 
 of my Words y in this adulterous and finful 
 Generation^ of him alfofhall the Son of Man 
 be afhamedi when he comet h in the Glory of 
 his Father^ with the holy Angels, P. 361. 
 
 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 2 Corinthians v. 10, 11. 
 
 We miifi all appear before the fudgmentfeat of 
 Chrijiy that every one may receive the Thi?igs 
 done in his Body^ according to that he hath 
 done, whether it be good or bad. 
 
 Knowing therefore the Terrors of the Lordy we 
 perfuade Men. P. 383. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
^ FM'^ j^)^k F^-^ MUk. F^y{ % 
 2 M-*M K*^ )«(** ^*3e( ^*X< C 
 ^ k.¥j((. ■^)c(?«' k^Ji^ •^M)««^ k.¥^ ^ 
 
 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 Proverbs xix. 27. 
 
 Ceafe, my Soriy to hear the Injtrudiion that 
 caiijeth to err from the Words of Knowledge. 
 
 ¥>^^&fyK H AT by the Words of Know- 
 
 ^^"^^ ledge m the Text we are to 
 %^ ^ ^^ underftand the Principles and 
 Sr^te^j^^ Didates of Virtue and Reli- 
 k^§^J^ gion, is fo well known to all 
 who are in the leaft acquainted with the 
 Language of Scripture, efpecially of the Book 
 oiPfalms, the Proverh, and other Writings 
 of the like Kind, that there is no need to 
 infift upon the Proof of it. This being ad- 
 mitted, the Wife Man's Advice in the Text 
 amounts to this i That we (hould be careful 
 to guard againfl the Arts and Infinuations of 
 fuch as fet up for Teachers of Infidelity and 
 Irreligion, 
 
 Vol. Ill, B Thefe 
 
2 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 Thefe Teachers are not here confidered 
 under the Charader of vicious and profligate 
 Men, given up to the Excefles of Lewdnefs, 
 or to be diflinguiflied by any Marks of 
 delperate or notorious Wickednefs : They are 
 fpoken of only as Inftrudlors, as Difputers, 
 and as Reafoners againft the Words of Know-- 
 ledge. Such the Wife King forewarns us of, 
 advifing us to keep at a Diftance from Dan- 
 ger, and to ftop our Ears againft their per- 
 nicious Enchantments. He had often before 
 fpoken of the Danger of affociating w^ith 
 wicked Men, who Jleep noty except they do 
 Mifchiefy who eat the Bread of Wickednefs^ 
 and drink the Wine of Violence : But here he 
 points out to us another Sort; Men who 
 have arrived to a Pitch of being gravely and 
 ferioufiy irreligious ; who fpend their cooleft 
 Hours and their calmeft Thoughts in the 
 Service of Infidelity, and are malicioufly 
 diligent to pervert Men from the Acknow- 
 ledgment of the Truth, and by the very 
 Arms of Heaven, Reafon and Underftand- 
 ing, to enlarge the Bounds of the Kingdom 
 of Darknefs. 
 
 There are two Things, v/hich, in ipeak- 
 ihg to this Subject, I would beg leave to 
 recommend to your ferlous Confideration : 
 
 Firft, 
 
DISCOURSE I. 3 
 
 Firft, The feveral Temptations which 
 Men lie under to liften to fuch Inftrudors 
 as the Text refers to. 
 
 Secondly, The great Danger there is in 
 liftening to them. 
 
 It is one Step towards Security to fee the 
 
 Dangers we are expofed to : For, when we 
 
 know the weak Places, which are leaft able 
 
 to fupport themfelves againfl the Enemy's 
 
 Strength, we fhall double our Diligence to 
 
 guard againft any Surprize from thofe Parts. 
 
 It will be of great Service to us therefore 
 
 to know the WeakneiTes of our own Minds, 
 
 to underftand the Prejudices and Paffions 
 
 which confpire together to deliver us up as 
 
 a Prey to thofe who lie in wait for our Ruin. 
 
 This, if any thing, will enable us to refcue 
 
 ourfelves, by arming us with Refolution to 
 
 withftand the Temptations which we are 
 
 acquainted with beforehand. Infidelity has 
 
 no Rewards or Puniihments to beftow : It 
 
 affords at befl but a very hopelefs and 
 
 comfortlefs Profped: Which would make 
 
 a confidering Man wonder whence the 
 
 Temptations to it fhould arife, and what 
 
 fhould give that Keennefs which appears in 
 
 the Paffion with which fome Men maintain 
 
 and propagate it. Wicked and profligate 
 
 B 2 s Men 
 
 \ 
 
4 DISCOURSE L 
 
 Men indeed arc under fome Temptation 
 from Self-Intefeft to wiili well to the Caufe 
 of Infidelity, in oppofition to both Natural 
 and Revealed Religion -, becaufe it fets them 
 free from the Fears of Futurity, and delivers 
 them from the many uneafy Thoughts that 
 attend them in all their vicious Pleafures and 
 Enjoyments. To live at once under the 
 Dominion of our Paffions and the Rebuke 
 of our Minds, to be perpetually doing what 
 we are perpetually condemning, is of all 
 others the moft wretched Condition : And 
 it is no Wonder that any Man fhould ftrive 
 to be delivered from it, or that thofe, who 
 refolve to enjoy the Pleafure of Sin here, 
 fliould wifli to be delivered from the Fear 
 of Punifhment hereafter. This then is a 
 very great Temptation to Men to hope that 
 all their Fears are falfe and ill-grounded; 
 and that Religion, from whence they flow, 
 is nothing but the Cunning of v/ife Men, 
 and the Simplicity of weak ones. Since 
 therefore the Fears and Apprehenfions of 
 Guilt arc fuch flrong Motives to Infidelity, 
 :the Innocence of the Heart is abfolutely 
 neceffary to preierve the Freedoni of the 
 Mind : Which, if duly weighed, is a good 
 Reafon why a Man, as long as he finds 
 
 himfelf 
 
DISCOURSE L 5 
 
 fiimlelf fwayed by Appetite and thePleafures 
 of Vice, fliould llifped: his own Judgment 
 in a Matter v/here his Reafon is fo abfolutely 
 chained down by Pallion and Intereft, and 
 difabled from exerting itfelf to do its proper 
 Work and Office. 
 
 Confider too; In the mofl: unhappy Clr- 
 cumflances of Sin and Guilt, Reh'gion opens 
 to us a much fafer and more certain Retreat, 
 than Infidelity can poffibly afford, and will 
 more effedlually extinguifli the Fears and 
 Torments we labour under, and reftore the 
 long- forgotten Peace and Tranquillity of the 
 Mind : For, after all the Pains we can take 
 with ourfelves to clofe up our Minds, and 
 to fhut out the Belief of a fuperior over- 
 ruling Power, ^nd of a future State of 
 Rewards and Punifliments, we cannot be 
 fecure of enjoying long even the Comfort we 
 propofe to ourfelves from it in this Life. 
 We may not alw^ays have Strength enough 
 to fubdae natural Seufe and Reafon. Any 
 fudden Shock, either in our Health or in 
 our Fortune, will dilperfe our animal Spirits, 
 and all the gay Imaginations which attend 
 them, and give us up once again to the cruel 
 Torments of cool Thought and Reflection. 
 'J'hen will our Fears rally their Forces, and 
 
 B 3 retura 
 
6 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 return upon us with double Strength : Hell 
 and Damnation will conflantly play before 
 our Eyes, and not fufFer the leaft Glimpfc 
 of Comfort to enter, nor leave us Courage 
 %Q repent of our Sins, or to fly to our laft 
 and only Hope, the Mercy of God. To 
 the Truth of what I fay, witnefs the lateft 
 and the bittereft Hours of dying Sinners! 
 IJours of Woe and Defpair ! in which the 
 Soul, confciousof its own Defer ts, anticipates 
 the Pains of Hell, and fuffers the very Tor- 
 ments of the Darnned ! in which it feels the 
 Worm which never dies beginning to gnaw^ 
 and lies expiring amidft the Terrors of Guilt, 
 without Power either to think of God, or 
 to forget Him ! So that all that Sinners get 
 by forming to themfelves Refolutions of Un- 
 belief (for that I take to be the true Cafe of 
 fuch Unbelievers as we are nov/ fpeaking of) 
 is to render their Cafe more defperate; to 
 cut off all Retreat to the Mercy of God, 
 when the Day of their Diftrefs overtakes 
 them ; and to lay up in ftore for themfelves 
 a double Portion of Mifery, both in thia 
 Life and that which is to come. 
 
 Since then even the Hopes which Sinners 
 conceive from Unbelief in this World, that 
 they fl:iall undifturbedly enjoy the Pleafures 
 
 of 
 
DISCOURSE I. 7 
 
 of Vice without fufFerIng under the Rebukes 
 of their own Minds, are fo very uncertain, 
 fo liable to be diffipated by every crofs 
 Accident of Life; iince they cannot alter 
 their Condition, except for the worfe, in the 
 Life to come; it muft needs be allowed that 
 Sinners make a very ill Choice for them- 
 felves, when they facrifice the Powers of 
 the Mind to the Paffions of the Heart. As 
 long as Men retain a Senfe of God and 
 Religion upon their Minds, there is great 
 Hope that fome Time or other Reafon will 
 prevail, and extricate the Man from the 
 Mifery of Sin. Good Principles are the 
 Seeds of good Adlions : And, though the 
 Seed may be buried under much Rubbifli, 
 yet, as long as there is Life in it, there is a 
 reafonable Expeftation of feeing Fruit from 
 it fome time or other : But, when Reafon 
 and Underilanding are depraved, and as far 
 corrupted as the very Paffions of the Heart ; 
 when thus tie Blind leads the Blinds what 
 elfe can we exped:, but that both fall into 
 the Ditch ? 
 
 But Vice is not the only Root from which 
 
 Infidelity fprings; nor are all, Vv^ho prof::rfs 
 
 themfelves Unbelievers, to be charged with 
 
 uncoiprnon Degrees of Wickednefs. Happy 
 
 B 4 were 
 
8 DISCOURSE L 
 
 were it for Mankind, were there but one 
 Temptation to one Vice ! Common Diligence 
 might then fecure the fingle Pafs againft the 
 Enemy; whereas now, whilft we guard the 
 moft fufpedled Place, the ftrongeft often falls 
 into his Hands ; And thus it fometimes 
 happens in the Cafe before us, that, whilft 
 we aft with a Superiority to all the Vanities 
 of the World, to all the Allurements and 
 Temptations of bodily Pleafure, Reafon itfelf 
 is betrayed by the Vanity of our Hearts, and 
 finks under the Pride and Affectation of 
 Knowledge. To know all that can be 
 attained to by our utmoft Diligence and 
 Sagacity, to fearch into the hidden Caufes of 
 Things, to examine the Truth and Reality 
 of our Knowledge, is an Ambition worthy 
 of a rational Soul. But all Kinds of laudable 
 Ambition grow to be vicious and defpicable, 
 when, inftead of purfuing the real Good, 
 which is the true Objedt, they feek only to 
 make a Shew and an Appearance of it. 
 Thus it is that Ambition for Virtue produces 
 Hypocrify; Ambition for Courage, empty 
 Boafcings and unreafonable Refentments ^ 
 and, by the fame Rule^, Ambition for Learn- 
 ing and Knowledge produces Pedantry and 
 Paradoxes : For he vv'ho v/ould defire to 
 
 appear 
 
DISCOURSE I. 9 
 
 appear to know more than other Men, is 
 ready to contradift the Senfe and Reafon 
 of all Men; for the fame Caufe that he 
 who is defirous to be thought to have more 
 Courage than others is ready to quarrel 
 with every Man he meets. And this is a 
 Temptation to which many daily facrifice 
 the Innocence and Integrity of their Minds, 
 vvhiht they mean little elfe by the Singularity 
 of their Opinions, than to recommend them- 
 felves to the World as Perfons of more than 
 ordinary Difcernment. That this is no un- 
 fair Account of the Condud of fome Un- 
 believers, will appear by obferving the very 
 different, but equally natural. Workings of 
 the Mind in thefe two different States of it; 
 whilft it feeks real Knowledge and Truth, 
 and whilft it aims only at the Credit and 
 Reputation of Wifdom : And this will help 
 us likewife in examining ourfelves, and ia 
 judging whether we adt with thofe imoartial 
 Views and Regards to Truth, that all rational 
 Men ought to do. 
 
 He who fits down to examine Truth, and 
 fearch after real Knowledge, will equally iift 
 all his Opinions; will rejed none, that he 
 has been long poffeffed of, without good 
 Reafon; will admit no new ones without 
 
 fufficient 
 
10 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 fufficient Authority and Weight of Argument 
 to fupport them. Wherever he difcovers 
 Truth, he gains the Satisfadlion he aimed 
 at : His Mind acquiefces in it : Nor is he 
 difappointed in the Event of his Labour and 
 Study, when he finds himfelf at laft in the 
 fame Opinion with the reft of the World ; 
 with this only Difference, that his Per- 
 fuafion is the EfFed of Reafon, theirs per- 
 haps of Prejudice and Cuftom; which is a 
 Difference that affords much inward Satif- 
 faftion and Peace of Mind, but little or no 
 outward Glory, or Credit of Wifdom and 
 Underftanding. 
 
 In the other Cafe> when Men aim at 
 being thought wifer and more knowing 
 than others, and labour only to pofTefs the 
 World with an Opinion of their Sagacity, 
 they can have no Satisfadlion in difcover- 
 ing the Truth and Reafonablenefs of any 
 Opinion that is commonly received in the 
 World: For how will they appear wifer 
 than other Men by profeffing to believe 
 what other Men believe as well as they ? 
 They can no otherwife fatisfy their Am-^ 
 bition, than by differing from the common 
 Senfe and Reafon of Mankind ^ and th« 
 whole Bent of their Mind is to fupport 
 
DISCOURSE L II 
 
 fuch their Difference with pkufible Reafon 
 and Argument. This indeed carries with it 
 a great Appearance of Wifdom ; for to (hew 
 all the World to be in an Error is not the 
 Work of every Day, or of every Man. 
 And how can you expedt that fuch vain 
 Creatures ihould fo far lofe fight of the End 
 they propofe, as to give their Confent ta 
 any well-received Truth, when the very 
 Paffion which has PofTeiTion of their Soul 
 makes it neceffary for them to treat all fuch 
 Truths with Difdain and Contempt ? Why 
 would you have them fo abfurd, as to 
 examine the Reafonablenefs of any known 
 Opinion, when to find it reafonable would be 
 the Ruin and DeRrudion of all their Glory, 
 and fet them only upon a Level with the 
 refl: of Mankind ? ,Give them any thing that 
 looks like a new Difcovery, and they will 
 ftruggle hard with their Reafon, but they 
 will find fomething to fay in defence of it : 
 But threadbare Truth they hate to be ken 
 in; it is a Drefs their Vanity cannot fubmit 
 to, This fort of Vanity it is, which has 
 furnifhed the World with Sceptics in every 
 Science, and in Religion above all others. 
 Other Sciences are the Attainments of but 
 a fmall Part of Mankind i and to triumph 
 3 ^^^^ 
 
12 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 over their Errors is at beft but a limited 
 Glory : Whereas, Religion being the general 
 Perfuafion of the World, to conquer in this 
 Caufe looks like univerfal Monarchy, and 
 feems to be the very Empire of Wifdom 
 and Knowledge, rifmg out of the Ruins of 
 univerfal Ignorance and Superftition. And 
 thus it comes to pafs, that weak and vain 
 Men often make profeflion of greater In- 
 fidelity than in truth they are guilty of, and 
 are content to give the lye to their own 
 Reafon, as well as that of all Mankind, 
 rather than to lofe the Credit of differing 
 from the reft of the World. 
 
 Confider this Cafe well, and judge of it 
 from your own Experience and Obferva- 
 tion. If the Inftances which meet you every 
 Day do not bear witnefs to the Truth of 
 what I fay, believe me not : But, if they do, 
 let the Folly of others teach you fo much 
 Wifdom, as not to give up your Reafon and 
 Underftanding, your Hopes here and for 
 ever, to a fenfelefs, unprofitable Vanity. Try 
 your own Heart by this Rule; and, if ever 
 you have offended againft the Majefty of 
 Heaven by endeavouring to expofe his facred 
 Truths, afk yourfelf this ferious Queftion, 
 Whether you did not betray your Religion 
 
DISCOURSE L 13 
 
 in compliment to yourfelf, to gain the Credit 
 of being a very difcerning Man, or fet forth 
 your own Ability ? If you did, remember,, 
 before it is too late, that for all thefe Things 
 your offended God will call you into Judg- 
 ment. 
 
 There is one Sort of Temptation more 
 which I fhall mention, and that but briefly : 
 It is a kind of falfe Shame, which often, in 
 young People efpecially, prevails over the 
 Fear of God and the Senfe of Religion. 
 When they find what Honour is often 
 done to Unbelievers, and how well they 
 are received, whilft Religion fufFers under 
 the hard Names of Ignorance and Super- 
 flition, they grov/ afhamed of their Pro- 
 felTion; and, if not really, yet affeftedly they 
 put on the fafhionable Air of Difregard to 
 every thing that is ferious. By degrees they 
 harden, till, from being aflaamed to own 
 God, they grow bold enough to deny him, 
 encouraged by Example and by Precept to 
 brave his utmoft Vengeance. 
 
 Thefe are the mofl common Temptations 
 which betray Men into the Company and 
 Friendfhip of Unbelievers, thofe InJtruEiors 
 which caufe to err from the Words of Kfiow- 
 ledge. How much it concerns you to guard 
 
 againft 
 
14 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 againil: thefe Temptations will appear, in the 
 Second Place, when we confider the Danger 
 there is in Hftening to thefe Inftrudlors. 
 
 And here I can only fpeak to fuch as 
 have not yet made fhipwreck of Reafon 
 and Confcience : For, though the hardened 
 Unbelievers are in the greatefl Danger, yet 
 they are fartheft removed from the Power 
 of Conviftion : Nor will they perceive what 
 Miferies they lay up in ftore for themfelves, 
 till they come to take poffeffion of their 
 fad Inheritance; and then they will have but 
 too much Time, and too many Calls, to 
 refledl upon the wretched Choice they made. 
 But, as for you, who have not yet renounced 
 your God and your Redeemer; you efpe- 
 cially, whofe eafy Fortunes, or flourifhing 
 Years, expofe you to the Temptations of 
 crafty Sinners ; give me leave to expoftulate 
 this Cafe with all the Serioufnefs the Subjedl 
 requires : And furely this is a ferious Matter, 
 and deferves your cooleft Thoughts and 
 Refleftions. It is an unpardonable Folly 
 and inexcufable Perverfenefs for Men to 
 forfake Religion out of Vanity and Oflen- 
 tation; as if Irreligion were a Mark of 
 Honour, and a noble Diflindion from the 
 reft of Mankind. To fear, where there is 
 
 true 
 
DISCOURSE I. 15 
 
 true Caufe of Fear, where our Souls and 
 our eternal Happinefs are at ftake, is not 
 below the Dignity of a Man. To out-brave 
 God and his Jufticc is a fad Inftance of 
 Courage : And Men, who fin through fuch 
 ridiculous Vanity, may value themfelves for 
 their Bravery in defpifing the Fears, and 
 their Wifdom in deriding the Weaknefs of 
 Religion, and expofing the Faith and Cre- 
 dulity of Men ; but perhaps a little Time, 
 a very little Time, may fhew them what 
 learned Pains they take to difpute them- 
 lelves into Hell. We mufl: anfwer for the 
 Vanity of our Reafoning, as well as for the 
 Vanity of our Aftions : And, if we take 
 Pains to invent vcrin Reafoning to oppofe to 
 the plain Evidences that God has afforded us 
 of his Being and Power, and to undermine 
 the Proofs and Authorities upon which Re- 
 ligion ftands, we may be fure we fhall not 
 go unpunifhed for fo notable an Abufe of 
 fo rich a Talent entrufted with us by God : 
 Much more, if we debafe Reafon, which 
 was given us to be the governing Principle 
 of our Lives, and force it to fubmit and 
 follow our unruly Paffions and Affedions, 
 much more fhall we be liable to the Venge- 
 ance of Heaven, 
 
 How 
 
i6 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 How far Men of irreligious Lives and 
 Principles are chargeable with thefe Abufes, 
 they can bed inform themfelves : And furely 
 the Hopes of Immortality, and Fears of Hell> 
 fliould compofe them to fo much Serioufnefs, 
 as to afk themfelves that Queftion. But, 
 after all, if, upon a View of the whole 
 Matter, and of the Evidences that Reafon 
 and Revelation afford us of a future State, 
 they will not fubmit to the Dodlriiies and 
 Precepts of Religion, they muft be left to 
 the Event for a fuller Demonftration of 
 their Folly. If there be really a future 
 State of Rewards and Puniihments, both 
 the Punifliments and the Rewards muft be 
 very inconfiderable indeed not to make it 
 worth a Man's while to live up to the 
 Conditions of being happy. So that, when 
 the Difpute is concerning the Folly of Ir- 
 religion, we may remit a great deal of the 
 Truth in allowing the Puniihment to be lefs 
 than really it is, and the Argument w^ill ftill 
 have Force enough to convince Irreligion 
 of Folly. The Punifhment in all Cafes muft 
 exceed the Advantage the Offender will reap 
 by tranfgrefhng the Law ; or elfe, as much 
 as the Gain to be reaped by breaking the 
 Law exceeds the Punifliment annexed to 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE I. 17 
 
 the Breach, fo much Encouragement there 
 will be for Men to offend. Therefore we 
 may be fure that God, who is the wifeft 
 of Lawgivers, has taken fuch Care to guard 
 his Laws and Statutes, that there fliall be no 
 Encouragement for Offenders. Upon which 
 Account we may affure ourfelves, that, let 
 the Pleafures and Advantages of Sin and Ir- 
 religion be ever fo numerous or great, the 
 Punifhment fhall ftill be greater: So that 
 Men (hall fay, when they are to pay the 
 Price of their Sins, they have fmned exceeding 
 foolifhly. Wicked Men fpend their Time to 
 no purpofe in difputing againft the Punifli- 
 ments of Sin, which are revealed to us ; I 
 mean, againft the Nature of them : For, if 
 they once allow that Sin and Wickednefs 
 fhall be punifhed, their own Reafon will 
 inform them that the Punifhment mufl at 
 leaft be fo great, as to make it worth a 
 Man's while to abftain from Sin. So that all 
 Sinners muff be guilty of Folly in chufing 
 the Sin with the Punifhment, when the 
 Punifliment mufl of Neceflity exceed the 
 Advantage of finning, 
 
 Thefe are the eafieft Terms that Sinners 
 can flatter themfelves with; and yet, even 
 upon this View, the P|eaibres of Sin will 
 
 Vol. m. C prove 
 
iS DISCOURSE I. 
 
 prove a dear Bargain. But fhould the Pu- 
 nifhments of another Life be, what wc have 
 but too much Reafon to fear they will be, 
 what Words can then exprefs the Folly of 
 Sin? Short are your Days in this World, 
 and foon they fhali expire : And fhould 
 Religion at laft prove a mere Deceit, wc 
 know the worfl of it; it is an Error for 
 which we cannot fufFer after Death: Nor 
 will the Infidels there have the Pleafure to 
 reproach us with our Miftake; they and 
 we, in equal Reft, fhall fleep the Sleep of 
 Death. But fliould our Hopes, and their 
 Fears, prove true ; fhould they be fo un- 
 happy, as not to die for ever; which mi- 
 ferable Hope is the only Comfort that Infi- 
 delity affords; what Pains and Torments 
 mufl they then undergo? Could I repre- 
 fent to you the different States of good and 
 bad Men : Could I give you the Profped: 
 which the bleffed Martyr St. Stephen had, 
 and fliew you the blefTed Jefus at the right 
 Hand of God, furrounded with Angels, and 
 the Spirits ofjnji Men made perfedi : Could 
 I open your Ears to hear the never-ceafing 
 Hymns of Praife, which the BlefTed above. 
 fing to Hi?n that was, and is, and is to comes 
 to the Lamb that wasjlain^ but Uv(Hhfor ever ; 
 
 Could 
 
DISCOURSE r. 19 
 
 Could I lead you through the unbounded 
 Regions of eternal Day, and fhew the mu- 
 tual and ever-blooming Joys of Saints who 
 are at reft from their Labour, and live for 
 ever in the Prefence of God ! Or, could I 
 change the Scene, and unbar the iron Gates 
 of Hell, and carry you, through folid Dark- 
 ntCsy to tie Fire that never goes outy and to 
 the Worm that never dies: Could I fhew 
 you the apoftate Angels faft bound in eternal 
 Chains, or the Souls of wicked Men over- 
 whelmed with Torment and Dsfpair : Could 
 I open your Ears to hear the Deep itfelf 
 groan with the continual Cries of Mifery; 
 Cries which can never reach the Throne of 
 Mercy, but return in fad Echoes, and add 
 even to the very Horrors of Hell ! Could I 
 thus fet before you the different Ends of 
 Religion and Infidelity, you would want no 
 other Proof to convince you that nothing 
 can recompenfe the Hazard Men run of 
 being for ever miferable through Unbelief. 
 But, though neither the Tongues of Men 
 nor of Angels can exprefs the Joys of Heaven, 
 ordefcribe the Pains of Hell j yet, if there 
 be any Truth in Religion, thefe Things are 
 certain, and near at hand. 
 
 C 2 Confider 
 
20 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 Confider therefore with yourfelves, that 
 when you judge of Religion, fomething 
 more depends upon your Choice, than the 
 Credit of your Judgment, or the Opinion 
 of the World. For God's fake ! think Re- 
 ligion at leaft fo ferious a Thing, as to 
 deferve your cooleft Thoughts, and not fit 
 to be determined in your Hours of Gaiety 
 and Leifure, or in the accidental Conver- 
 fation of public Places. Truft yourfelf with 
 yourfelf ; retreat from the Influence of dif- 
 folute Companions ; and take the Advice of 
 the holy Pfalmift : Stand in awe, and Jin not : 
 Commune with your own Hearty and in your 
 Chamber y and he jlilL 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
DISCOURSE 11. 
 
 €•&€ 
 
 Luke xvi. 31. 
 
 jijidhefaid unto hi?n. If they hear not Mofes 
 and the Prophets^ neither will they be per- 
 fuaded though one rofe from the Dead, 
 
 fy^%^fyK T fometimes happens in Matters 
 ^^^^M^ of Reafon, as it often does in 
 1^ ^ /¥t Objecfts of Senfe : That which 
 ^^o ^ n^ » at firft Appearance makes a fair 
 bhew,upon Examination proves 
 to be worthlefs, and of no Efteem. Some 
 Fruits, which allure the Eye moft, can the 
 lead bear the Teft of the Palate : They may 
 be admired by the Traveller, who rides 
 haflily by, and only fees them at a diftance; 
 but, when they are ferved up at the Tabic, 
 the Tafle foon redifies the Miftake of the 
 Eyes. So likewife, in Matters of Reafon : 
 C 3 Some 
 
22 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 Some Arguments ftrike the Fancy imme- 
 diately, and take the Judgment captive, 
 before it has Time fairly to examine the 
 Merits of the Caufe; and yet, when the 
 Vigour of the firft Onfet is over, and Time 
 is given for Refleftion, the Demonftration 
 dwindles into nothing, and leaves a Man 
 admiring that he was fo eafily deceived by 
 fo palpable a Cheat. And this feems to be 
 the Cafe of the Argument in which the 
 Text is concerned: Who would not think 
 that the Coming of one from the Dead 
 would effeftually convince an Unbeliever? 
 Or, were we for ourfelves to deiire the laft 
 Evidence for a future State, what more 
 (hould we defire, than to fee one come from 
 the Dead ; one of our old Acquaintance ; 
 and to hear from him the Relation of what 
 happened to him after Death, and of what 
 he had {ccn and experienced in the other 
 World? And yet this Evidence, our Sa- 
 viour tells us, would have no Effcdl upon 
 an Unbeliever: He, who can hold out 
 againft the Evidence that God has already 
 given that he will one Day judge the World 
 in Righteoufnefs, %wuld not )?e perJuadccU 
 though om rofe from the Dead. 
 
 Our 
 
DISCOURSE IL 23 
 
 Our Saviour does not deny the Coming 
 of one from the Dead to be an Evidence of 
 a future State; nor yet, allov^ing it to be an 
 Evidence, does he determine of what Weight 
 and Authority it is, or ought to be. This 
 oiily he affirms; That, let the Authority of 
 it be what it will, they who will not fubmit 
 to the Authority of a divine Revelation, will 
 not fubmit to this: The Reafon of which 
 Judgment may appear from tbe following 
 Confiderations : 
 
 Firft, If the Evidence of Revelation be in 
 itfelf greater and more convincing than the 
 Evidence given by one from the Dead can 
 poffibly be, then there is no Reafon to expedt 
 that he who rejeds the greater fhould fubmit 
 to the lefs Authority. 
 
 Secondly, If the Objecflions which the 
 Unbeliever makes ufe of againft the Au- 
 thority of Revelation, lie llronger againft the 
 Authority of one coming from the Dead, 
 it is not to be fuppofed, that he will pafs 
 over that in one Cafe, which he fo mightily 
 ftumbles at in the other. Or, 
 
 Thirdly, If Unbelief be the EfFefl: of a 
 
 vitiated and corrupted Mind, which hates 
 
 to be reformed; which rejects the Evidence, 
 
 becaufe it will not admit the Doftrine, not the 
 
 C 4 Doftrinc, 
 
24 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 Dodtrine, becaufe it cannot admit the Evi- 
 dence ; in this Cafe all Proofs will be alike, 
 and it will be loft Labour to ply fuch a Man 
 with Reafon or new Evidence, fince it is 
 not want of Reafon or Evidence that makes 
 him an Unbeliever. And it is upon this 
 Cafe chiefly that our Saviour grounds his 
 Judgment in the Text. 
 
 Firft then. Let us confider, whether the 
 Evidence upon which Revelation ftands be 
 in itfelf greater or more convincing, than 
 the Evidence of one coming from the Dead 
 can be : If it is, we muft fubfcribe to our 
 Saviour's Judgment ; That he who will not 
 hear Mofes and the Prophets, or Chrift and 
 his Apoftles, would not be perfuaded, though 
 one rofe from the Dead, Whatever a dead 
 Man, who appears to you, may tell you 
 concerning another World, all the Reafon 
 you can have to believe him is, becaufe you 
 fuppofe him to come from the other World, 
 and to relate Things which he has feen and 
 known : So that his Authority is no more 
 than barely the Authority of a Traveller, 
 who relates Things of the Countries through 
 which he has paffed. And how will it ap- 
 pear to you, that one from the Dead cannot 
 poffibly deceive you ? As he is a Man, I 
 
DISCOURSE II. 25 
 
 am fure you have Reafon to miftruft him ; 
 and what Reafon you have to rely on him 
 as a dead Man, I knovi^ not. Poffibly you 
 may think that the very Seeing of one come 
 from the Dead will of itfelf prove the great 
 Point of all, the Reality of a future State. 
 But are you fure it is impofiible for any 
 Being of the other World to perfonate a 
 dead Man, and to appear to you in tlic 
 Shape and Figure of one you formerly 
 knew ? Surely, it is one Thing to prove 
 that there is another World, and Beings 
 belonging to it; and another to prove a 
 future State, that is, a World in which dead 
 Men fliall live. 
 
 Our Saviour's Refurredion was fomething 
 more than merely the Apparition of a dead 
 Man : He foretold the Time and Circum- 
 fiances of his Refurredtion, and put the 
 Proof of his Miffion and Dodrine upon the 
 Performance of this great Wonder : So that 
 by this means his Refurredion became a 
 diredl Proof of this. That the Dodrine 
 he taught was the Dodrine of Him who 
 has Power to raife the Dead : And fince 
 Part of his Dodrine is. That the Dead 
 (hall be raifed ; we are thus far certain, that 
 He, who has Power to raife the Dead, has 
 
 affured 
 
26 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 ftflured us that the Dead fhall be raifed: 
 For no one can foretell the Time and Cir- 
 cumftances of a dead Man's riling to Life, 
 who has not the Power, or is not com- 
 miffioned by Him who has the Power, of 
 Life and Death. So that the Authority of 
 our Saviour's Word after his Refurrecflion 
 was not barely the Authority of one coming 
 from the Dead, but it was the Authority 
 of Him who has Power to raife the Dead ; 
 which Authority we know belongs not to 
 Man, and therefore is greater than the Au- 
 thority of any Man either from the Dead 
 or the Living. So that our Saviour's Re- 
 furreftion proves a Commiflion from the 
 Higheft Power to teach the World ; which 
 cannot be proved merely from the Ap- 
 pearance of one from the Dead. And here 
 lies the true Difference between the Refur- 
 recflion of Chrift, and the Refurredion of 
 thofe whom our Saviour himfelf raifed from 
 the Dead. We have been aiked, why 
 Lazarus and the reft did not publiili their 
 Knowledge of the other World ? One plain 
 Anfwer is, they were not commiffioned fo 
 to do : Their Refurredion was a Proof of 
 his Power and Commiflion, who raifed them 
 to Life, but of their own Power and Com- 
 
 miffion 
 
DISCOURSE 11. 27 
 
 miffion it was no Proof: They were merely 
 paffive in their Refurredlion, and brought 
 no more Authority from the Grave, than 
 they carried to it; and therefore had n« 
 Right to Cct up for Teachers. 
 
 Then, as to the Reality of our Saviour's 
 Refurrecftion, there was Warning given to 
 expeft it ; which of itfelf is a great Evidence 
 of lincere Dealing. Men do not ufe to give 
 public Notice of the Cheats they intend to 
 play ; or, if ever they have, the Succefs has 
 been anfwerable to the Management, and 
 yielded nothing but Shame and Confufion to 
 the Contrivers. And, after his Refurreftion, 
 his Stay upon Earth was fo long, as to give 
 fuUSatisfadion, to all concerned, of the Truth 
 and Reality of what they faw. At his firft 
 Appearance, the Difciples were in the fame 
 Cafe with others who think they fee Spec- 
 tres and Apparitions ; that is, they were 
 confounded and amazed, and did not know 
 well what they faw : And, had not the Fre- 
 quency of our Saviour's Appearances made 
 them familiar to them, fo that they bore the 
 Sight of him with the fame Sedatenefs of 
 Mind as they did in his Life-time, and con- 
 fequently had all the neoeffary Qualifications 
 to judge rightly concerning what they heard 
 
 or 
 
28 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 or faw ; had it not been for this, I fay, their 
 Evidence in this Cafe would not have been 
 equal to the Weight of thofe Truths it is 
 to fupport. And farther, iince this Ap- 
 pearance was in confequence of the Pre- 
 diction he made of his own Refurredion, 
 there is no room to doubt that it was a true 
 and proper Refurredion of his Body : For 
 it is much eafier to imagine that he fhould 
 come to Life, and fulfil his Predidion, than 
 that he fhould, being really dead, contrive 
 and execute any thing that fliould feem to 
 fulfil it. 
 
 Pofiibly this may be allowed, and yet not 
 give Satisfadion in this Matter : For it is not, 
 you will fay, that the Refurredion of our 
 Saviour is fuch a Work as is not proper 
 to fatisfy all Doubts, that makes you defire 
 to fee one from the Dead ; but it is, that 
 you would willingly be fatisfied by your 
 own Eyes, and not depend upon the Credit 
 of another for a. Thing of this Nature : Had 
 you been in the Place of the Apoflles, and 
 fccn our Lord come from the Grave, that 
 then you would not have defired to have fcen 
 any body elfe; but now you think you 
 might find that Convidion in feeing one 
 come from the Dead yourfelf, which you 
 
 cannot 
 
DISCOURSE II. 29 
 
 caiinot find in the Reports of thofe who 
 pretend to have feen one. 
 
 Let us confider this Cafe then; Whether 
 he who beHeves upon the Credit of a private 
 Apparition to himfelf, beUeves upon a furer 
 Evidence, than he who receives the Gofpel 
 Account upon that Evidence on which it 
 at prefent ftands. I will not deny but that 
 a Man's Fancy may be more powerfully 
 wrought on, not only by feeing, but even 
 by fuppofing that he fees, one from the 
 Dead : But this is fo far from being an* 
 Advantage, that in truth it is quite other- 
 wife ; for, the more Work Things of this 
 Nature find for the Imagination, the lefs 
 Room do they leave for the Judgment to 
 exercife itfelf in. Our Senfes at all times 
 are liable to be impofed on, but never 
 more than when we are in a Fright or 
 Surprize. In fuch Cafes it Is common to 
 overlook our Friends, and not to know 
 who was with us, or who not: And the 
 very Surprize, that would neceflarily attend 
 upon feeing one come from the Dead, would 
 be a great Reafon fcr us to fufpedl after- 
 wards the Report our Senfes made of what 
 they had feen. And this was indeed the 
 Cafe of thofe who faw our Saviour upon 
 
 his 
 
20 DISCOURSE IL 
 
 his firft Appearance : Nor could any thing 
 have cured this, but his flaying with them 
 fo long as he did ; fo that at laft they were 
 able to fee him without being difturbed, 
 or fufFering any Alteration in their ufual 
 Temper: And this qualified them to judge 
 for themfelves, and report to others with 
 Authority what they faw. So that the Cir- 
 cumftanccs of our Saviour's Refurrcdlion 
 were fuch as admitted a due TelUmony; 
 whereas it is very much to be doubted, 
 whether he who fees one come from the- 
 Dead be capable to give himfelf Satisfaction 
 afterwards, either as to what he faw, or 
 what he heard. And judge you, whether 
 you would chufe to believe the concurring 
 Teftimony of many Perfons in their right 
 Senfes, fo well qualified to judge, or rely 
 upon yourfelf, at a Time when you are 
 hardly Mafter of your Senfes. 
 
 But farther ; Suppofe you could converfe 
 with a Man from the Dead with the fame 
 Temper and Calmnefs, that you do with 
 one of your Friends or Acquaintance ; what 
 would be the Confequence? You would 
 probably reft affured that you had feen a 
 Man from the Dead, and perhaps be more 
 fatisfied of this, than at prefent you are that 
 2 the 
 
DISCOURSE II. 31 
 
 the Difciples faw Chrift after his Death. 
 Allowing this, what follows ? The Queftion 
 is not, whether he that fees a Man come 
 from the Dead, may be fiire he fees a Man 
 come from the Dead ; but whether he has 
 a better Foundation for Faith and Reli- 
 gion, than the prefent Revelation affords ? 
 This is what our Saviour affirms : If they 
 hear not Mofes and the Prophet Sy neither will 
 they he perfuaded, though one rofe from the 
 Dead. The fame Reafons, that move you 
 to rejed: the Authority of Chrifl and his 
 Apoflles, would move you to rejedt the 
 Authority of your new Acquaintance from 
 the Dead: Which will appear by con- 
 iidering. 
 
 Secondly, That the Objedlions which Un- 
 believers urge againft the Authority of Re- 
 velation, will lie ftronger againft the Au- 
 thority of one coming from the Dead : For, 
 firft, as to the Nature of this Sort of Evi- 
 dence, if it be any Evidence at all, it is a 
 Revelation : And therefore whatever has 
 been faid againft the Authority of Reve- 
 lation will be applicable to this Kind of it ; 
 And, confequently, thofe who, upon the 
 foot of Natural Religion, ftand out againft 
 the Doftrine of the Gofpel, would much 
 
 more 
 
32 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 more ftand out againfl: the Authority of 
 one coming from the Dead. And whe- 
 ther it would weigh more with the Atheift, 
 let any one confider: For no Revelation 
 can weigh with him; for the Being of 
 God, which he dilbelieves, is fupported 
 with greater Arguments, and greater Works, 
 than any Revelation can be: And therefore, 
 ftanding out againft the Evidence of all 
 Nature, fpeaking in the wonderful Works of 
 the Creation, he can never reafonably fub- 
 mit to a lefs Evidence. Let then one 
 from the Dead appear to him; and he 
 will, and certainly may, as eafily account 
 for one dead Man's recovering Life and Mo- 
 tion, as he does for the Life and Motion of 
 fo many Men, whom he fees every Day. 
 Is it not as hard, do you think, to make a 
 Man at firft, and breathe into him the 
 Breath of Life, as it is to make him up 
 again, after he has once been dead? And 
 therefore he that can fatisfy himfelf as to the 
 firft, need not be troubled about the laft. 
 For I am fure the Appearance of a dead 
 Man could never teach the Atheift, upon his 
 own Principles, to reafon himfelf into the 
 Belief of a Deity, though poflibly it might 
 fcare him into it: Which is too low a 
 
 Defign 
 
DISCOURSE 11. 33 
 
 Defign for the Providence of God to be con- 
 cerned in, and therefore can never be a 
 Reafon for his giving this fort of Evidence 
 to Mankind. 
 
 But farther; Let us fuppofe a Man free 
 from all thefe Prejudices, and then fee 
 what we can make of this Evidence. If 
 a dead Man fliould come to you, you muft 
 fuppofe either that he fpeaks from himfelf, 
 and that his Errand to you is the Effedl 
 of his ov^n private AfFedlion for you, or 
 that he comes bv Commiffion and Au- 
 thority from God. As to the firft Cafe, 
 you have but the Word of a Man for all 
 you hear : And how will you prove that a 
 dead Man is incapable of pracTtiiing a Cheat 
 upon you ? Or, allowing the Appearance to 
 be real, and the Defign honeft, do you 
 think every dead Man knows the Counfels of 
 God, and his Will with refpedl to his Crea- 
 tures here on Earth ? If you do not think 
 this, and I cannot fee poffibly how you 
 fhould think it, what Ufe will you make of 
 this kind of Revelation ? Should he tell you 
 that the Chriftian Faith is the true Faith, 
 the Way to Heaven and Happinefs, and that 
 God will reward all true Believers ; you 
 would have much lefs Reafon to believe him. 
 
 Vol. III. D than 
 
34- DISCOURSE II. 
 
 than now you have to believe Chrift and his 
 Apoflles: And therefore, if you rejedt Chrift 
 and his ApolHes, neither can this new Evi- 
 dence prevail with you : For, fuppofe that a 
 Man from the Dead fliould prefume to teach 
 you a new Religion, to inftrudt you in new 
 Rites and Ceremonies, to inftitute new Sacri- 
 fices and Oblations ; would you think your- 
 felf warranted by a fufficient Authority to 
 do and pradlfe as he taught you ? Would 
 you not require better Evidence of his know- 
 ing the Will of God, than merely feeing 
 him come from the Dead ? And yet this is 
 the Cafe : Should an Unbeliever receive the 
 Gofpel upon fuch Evidence, he receives a 
 new Religion; for to an Unbeliever it is 
 new, and the whole Weight of his Faith 
 muft reft upon the Credit and Authority of 
 this Man from the Dead ; and it would be 
 as reafonable for an Unbeliever to receive a 
 perfectly new Dodrine upon this Authority, 
 as to receive an old one, which he before dif- 
 believed. But, on the other fide, fhouldyou 
 fuppofe this Man to come by the particular 
 Order and Appointment of God, and confe- 
 quently that what he fays is the Word and 
 Coaimand af God ; you muft then be pre- 
 pared 
 
DISCOURSE IL 35 
 
 pared to anfwer fuch Objedlions, as you are 
 now ready to make againft the Miflion and 
 Authority of Chrift and his Apoftles. Firft 
 then we afk, how this Commiffion appears ? 
 If you fay, becaufe he comes from the Dead, 
 we cannot rejfl here ; becaufe it is not felf- 
 evident, that all who come from the Dead 
 are infpired : And yet farther than this you 
 cannot go ; for it is not fuppofed that your 
 Man from the Dead works Miracles. The 
 Miffion of Chrift we prove by Prophecies, 
 and their Completion; by the Signs and 
 Wonders he wrought by the Hand of God ; 
 by his Refurredlion, which includes both 
 Kinds, being in itfelf a great Miracle, and 
 likewife the Completion of a Prophecy: 
 Which Circumftance, as was before ob- 
 ferved, adds great Weight to his Authority. 
 Befides, we are often urged to (hew, that the 
 Authors of our Religion were free from In- 
 tereft and Defign, and that our Faith is not 
 founded in the Politics of cunning and ar- 
 tificial Men ; and we muft defire you to d© 
 the fame good Office for the Prophet who 
 comes from the Dead. As for ourfelves, we 
 appeal to the known Hiftory of thofe who 
 were Founders of our Religion : There you 
 m^y find thQm perjecutejy afflidfed^ and tor ^ 
 D 2 merited: 
 
35 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 merited: Their Gain was Mifery ; their Re* 
 compence. Hatred from the World ; and 
 their End, in the Eyes of Men, was De- 
 ftrudion. Thefe are the Proofs of their 
 Worldly Cunning and Policy, and the Re- 
 fults of their deep-laid Defigns, But how 
 will you fupport the fufpefted Credit of 
 one from the Dead ? He comes, and tells 
 his Story, goes off, and there is an end of 
 him: And unlefs you can prove there are 
 no evil Spirits, or no evil Men dead, you 
 cannot clear him from the Sufpicion, nor fa- 
 thom the Depth of his Defign : He appears 
 to you like the Wind, the Sound of which 
 you hear ; but whence it comes, or whither 
 it goes, you know not. If you will liftea 
 to the Evidences of the Gofpel, we will fhew 
 you in whom we have believed; we will 
 fliew you Men like ourfelves, armed with 
 the Power of God, with Innocence of Life, 
 with Patience in all manner of Afflidlion, 
 and at laft fealing with their Blood the Truth 
 of their Miffion. But, if you cannot digeft 
 this Evidence, in vain do you call out for 
 Help from the other World; for neither 
 would you be perfuaded, though one rofefrom 
 the Dead. And this will farther appear. 
 
 Thirdly, 
 
DISCOURSE II. 37 
 
 Thirdly, By confidering the Temper of 
 Infidelity : For where Unbelief proceeds, as 
 generally it does, from a vitiated and cor- 
 rupted Mind, which hates to be reformed ; 
 which rejed-s the Evidence, bccaufe it will 
 not admit the Dodrine, not the Dodlrine, 
 becaufe it cannot admit the Evidence; in 
 this Cafe all Proofs will be alike, and it will 
 be loft Labour to ply fuch a Man with Rea- 
 Ion or new Evidence, fince it is not Want of 
 Reafon or Evidence that makes him an Un- 
 believer. And this Cafe chiefly our Saviour 
 feems to have in his View ; for the Requeft 
 to Abraham to fend one from the Dead was 
 made in behalf of Men who lived wantonly 
 and luxurioufly; who, as the Pfalmift ex- 
 preffes it, had not God in all their "Thoughts. 
 The rich Man in Torment could think of no 
 better Expedient to refcue his Brethren from 
 the Danger they were in of coming into the 
 fame Condition with himfelf, than fending 
 one from the Dead to admonifli them, and 
 to give them a faithful Account how Matters 
 flood there, and how it fared with him. To 
 which Abraha?n anfwers, that they had al- 
 ready fufficient Evidence of thefe Things; 
 that they wanted no Means of Knowledge, 
 if they would make ufe of thofe they had : 
 D 3 I'hey 
 
38 DISCOURSE II. 
 
 T^hey have Mofes and the Prophets y let them 
 hear them. But ftill he infifts, Nay^ Father 
 AbrahafUy but if one went unto them from the 
 Dead, they will repent. Then follows the 
 Text, which is the laft Refolution of this 
 Cafe, If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets^ 
 neither will they be perfuadedy though one rofe 
 from the Dead. And indeed where Infidelity 
 is the EfFe6l of fuch profligate Wickednefs, 
 it deferves not fo much Regard from God, as 
 that he fhould condefcend to make particular 
 Applications to it hy new Lights and Evi- 
 dences : And ihould he do it, there is Rea- 
 fon to fufpedl it would be inefFedlual. We 
 fee, in the ordinary Courfe of Providence, 
 many Judgments bellowed upon Sinners to 
 reclaim and amend them; but they harden 
 themlelves againft them ; fo that their laft 
 State is worfe than their firft. I will not 
 anfwer for the Courage of Sinners, how well 
 they would bear the Sight of one from the 
 Dead; nay, I am apt to imagine it would 
 ftrangely terrify and amaze them. But to be 
 frightened and to be perfuaded are two things : 
 Nature would recover the Fright, and Sin 
 would recover Strength, and the great Fright 
 might come to be matter of Ridicule. How 
 caiy would it be, when the Fright was over, 
 
 10 
 
DISCOURSE ir. 39 
 
 to compare this Event with the many ridi- 
 culous Stories we have of Apparitions, and 
 to come at length to miftruft our own 
 Senfes, and to conclude that we were mifled, 
 like a Man in a dark Night who follows an 
 Ignis fatuus? And, what is worfe, when 
 the Infidel had once conquered- his own 
 Fears, and got loofe again from the Thoughts 
 of Religion, he would then conclude, that 
 all Religion is made up of that Fear which 
 he felt himfelf, which others cannot get rid 
 of, though he fo manfully and happily fub- 
 dued it. You may think it perhaps impof- 
 fible, that a Man fhould not be convinced by 
 fuch an Appearance : The fame I believe you 
 would think of the Judgments which befel 
 Pharaoh, that it is hardly polTible any Man 
 fhould withftand them ; and yet you fee he 
 did : Nay, did not the Guards, v/ho were 
 Eye-witneffes of our Saviour's R.efurre6lion ; 
 who faw the Angel that rolled away the 
 Stone from the Mouth of the Sepulchre; 
 who fliook and trembled with Fear, and 
 became as dead Men ; did not they, after all 
 this, receive Money to deny all they faw, 
 and to give falfe Evidence againfl: the Perfon 
 they beheld coming from the Grave? So, 
 you fee, it is in the Nature of Man to with- 
 
 D 4 ftand 
 
40 DISCOURSE IL 
 
 ftand fuch Evidences, where the Power of 
 Sin is prevalent. 
 
 Befides, there are many Sinners, who are 
 not Infidels : They may believe Mofes and the 
 Prophets, though they will not hear them, 
 that is, obey them. Now iliould one come 
 from the Dead to thefe Men, the moft they 
 could do would be to believe him : But that 
 does not imply their obeying him; for they 
 believe Mofes and the Prophets, Chrift and his 
 Apoftles, and yet obey not them ; and why 
 fliould Obedience be the Confequence of Be- 
 lief in one Cafe more than another ? There 
 can be no greater Arguments for Obedience 
 than the Gofpel affords; and therefore he 
 who believes the Gofpel, and difobeys it, is 
 out of hope to be reformed by any other Evi- 
 dence. So that, confidering this Cafe with 
 refped: to all manner of Infidels or Sinners, 
 there is Reafon in our Saviour's Judgment; 
 If they will not hear Mofes and the Prophets, 
 neither will they be perfuaded^ though one rofe 
 from the Dead. 
 
 And hence perhaps we may learn the Rea- 
 fon, why this fort of Intercourfe between the 
 other World and this is io very rare and un-* 
 common, becaufe it could ferve no good 
 End and Purpofe ^ for God having already 
 
 given 
 
DISCOURSE 11. 41 
 
 given a fufficient Evidence of all Things 
 which we are concerned to know, there is 
 no room to exped or hope for fuch kinds of 
 Admonition. He fent the greateft Perfon of 
 the other World to us, his own Son, and 
 fent him too from the Dead : He has come 
 himfelf down to us in Signs and Wonders 
 and mighty Works : And why he fliould fend 
 a Man from the Dead to tell you, what is 
 legible in the Book of Nature, what He, 
 his Son, his Apoflles and Prophets have 
 already told you, you that can give the 
 Reafon, give it. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
]^ r*^r*^,■^■^ f^-^r^r^ ^r^^r^^ ^,-0^^*^ ^ 
 
 S: <*M^> <*)>(*> <-^)^*> <* • *> 5 
 
 M m^y0 <M-^:^¥> <^t-*)^> <)^*^> ^ 
 
 ^ <*>?<*> <*K(*> <*)^^^^ <*^.*> ^ 
 
 ^ ^^^Sfir^ ^^S^ ^<?'V'-y' ^Sir'^i^-*- ^ 
 
 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 Psalm xix. 12. 
 
 7F/6i? can underjland his Efros ? Cleanfe thou 
 me frotn fccret Faults^ 
 
 |r^c^§^fvf^ H E only Method of coming to 
 ^^*^^§ the dlflind Knowledge of our 
 
 t O^^v^^^^ them, is Self-examination ; and 
 thereioie it is, tnat you are la 
 frequently exhorted to enter into yourfelves, 
 to converfe with your o;vn Hearts, and to 
 fearch out the Evil which is in them. But 
 often it happens that this Method, after the 
 fincereft and moil: laborious Inquiry, leaves 
 Men under great Diffatisfadtion of Mind, and 
 fubjedl to the frequent Returns of Doubts 
 and Mifgivings of Heart ; left fomething 
 very bad may have efcaped their Search, and, 
 J for 
 
44 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 for want of being expiated by Sorrow and 
 Repentance, fliould remain a Debt upon 
 their Souls at the great Day of Account. As 
 in temporal Concerns, Men often know, that 
 by a long Courfe of Prodigality, and many 
 expenfive Vanities, they have contradled a 
 great Debt upon their Eftates, and have 
 brought themlelves to the very Brink of Po- 
 verty and Diftrefs, and yet, when they try 
 to think and confiderof their Condition, find 
 themfelves utterly unable to ftate their Ac- 
 counts, or to fet forth the Particulars of the 
 Debt they labour under ; but the more they 
 endeavour to recollect, the more they are 
 convinced that they are mere Strangers at 
 home, and ignorant of their own Aifairs : 
 So in fpiritual Concerns likewife. Men who 
 have been long acquainted with Vice, and 
 long Strangers to Thought and Reflection, 
 when they come to be fenfible of the Dan- 
 ger of their Condition, and to fet themfelves 
 ferioufly to repent, know in general that they 
 have a heavy Weight of Sin and Guilt upon 
 their Souls ; but yet the Particulars, though 
 many and heinous, which they are able to 
 recolledl and charge themfelves v/ith diflind:- 
 ]y, fall very (hovt of the Senfe they have of 
 their Condition, and do by no means fill up 
 1 that 
 
DISCOURSE III. 45 
 
 that which they know to be the Meafure of 
 their Iniquities. And hence it is, that after 
 the moft careful Examination of themfelves, 
 and the mofl folemn Repentance for all 
 their known Sins, they do not always enjoy 
 that Peace and Tranquillity of Soul which 
 they expedted, and had promifed themfelves, 
 as the blelTed Fruits of Contrition ; but fuffer 
 extremely under uncertain Hopes and Fears, 
 not being able to fatisfy themfelves that their 
 Repentance was perfeft, which they know 
 was formed upon a Knowledge of their Sins 
 that was very imperfed:. 
 
 The holy Pfalmift had this Senfe of his Con- 
 dition, and felt how unable he was fufficiently 
 to acknowledge his own Guilt before God, 
 when he broke forth into the Complaint with 
 which the Text begins. Who can underjlaiidhis 
 "Errors ? or, as it runs in the Tranflation which 
 is more familiar to us. Who can tell how oft he 
 offendeth ? In this Diftrefs his only Refuge 
 was to the Mercy of God, confeffing, with 
 the greateft Humility of Heart, that his 
 Tranfgreffions were not only more than he 
 could bear, but even more than he could un- 
 derftand : Cleanfethou7?2efro?nmyfecret Faults. 
 Whenever Men entertain Doubts of their 
 Qwn Sincerity and due Performance of reli- 
 gious 
 
46 DISCOURSE IIL 
 
 gioiis Ads, It is extremely difficult to reafoit 
 with their Fears and Scruples, and to difpoir 
 fefs them of the Miiapprehenfions they have 
 of their own State and Condition. Such Sug- 
 geftions as bring Eafe and Comfort to their 
 Minds come fufpefted, as proceeding from 
 their own or their Friends Partiality ; and 
 they are afraid to hope, left even to hope, in 
 their deplorable Condition, fhould prove to 
 be Prefumption, and affumlng to themfelves 
 more than in Reafon or Juftice belongs to 
 them. But when we can fhew them Men of 
 approved Virtue and Holinefs, whofe Praife 
 is in the Book of Life, who have ftruggled 
 with the fame Fears, and waded through 
 even the worft of their Apprehenfions to the 
 peaceful Fruits of Righteoufnefs ; it helps to 
 quicken both their Spirits and their Under- 
 ftanding, and at once to adminifter Know- 
 ledge andConfolation. And for this Reafon 
 we can never fufficiently admire the Wifdoni 
 of God, in fetting before us the Examples of 
 good Men in their loweft and mofl imper- 
 fed: State. Had they been fhewn to us only 
 in the brighteft Part of their Charader, De- 
 fpair of attaining to their Perfedion might 
 incline us to give over the Purfuit, by throw- 
 ing a Damp upon our beflRefolutions : But 
 
 when 
 
DISCOURSE III. 47 
 
 when we fee them rifing to Virtue and Ho- 
 linefs from the fame wretched Condition 
 which we are in, and labouring under the 
 fame Difficuhies, the fame Anxieties and 
 Torments of Mind^ when we fee theit 
 very Souls convulfed with the Pangs of Re- 
 pentance, and their Faith almoft finking 
 under the Doubtfulnefs of their Condition ; 
 when we hear them cry to God in the Words 
 of Anguifh, not knowing how to pray, or 
 in what Terms to lament their Sins ; when 
 we fee this Nakednefs of their Souls, and 
 find that they are like one of us, what fecret 
 Comfort muft it give to an afflidted Spirit, 
 what Support to a Mind opprefl^ed with the 
 Senfe of Guilt, to find in thefe great Ex- 
 amples, what heavenly Joy and Peace often 
 fpring from the loweft Depths of Sorrow 
 and Woe ! ' 
 
 And there is indeed, with refped to the 
 Comfort and Security of a Sinner, a great 
 Difference between Arguments drawn from 
 general Reafonings and Reflections, and 
 thofe which are fuggefted from the Experi- 
 ence and Practice of holy Men. In the Cafe 
 before us, if we confider the Words of the 
 Text without Regard had to the Perfon who 
 fpoke them, we may raife many Refledlions 
 
 from 
 
48 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 from the great Variety of human Adioiis, 
 and the complicated Nature of them, from 
 the Short-fightednefs of the Underftanding, 
 and the Weaknefs and Imperfedion of the 
 Faculties, to fhew how very hard it is, and 
 almoft impoffible, for any one perfectly to 
 underftand his Errors : Whence might be 
 deduced the Reafonablenefs of the Petition, 
 Cleanfe thou me frora fecret Faults ; becaufe 
 where we cannot in particular recoiled, we 
 can only in general lament, our Iniquities : 
 Beyond this Probability we cannot go to de- 
 termine the Method in which God will deal 
 with Sinners. But take the Words as fpoken 
 by David, of the Sincerity of whofe Repen- 
 tance, and the Acceptance of it with God, 
 we nothing doubt, and the Conclufions will 
 be much fuller, and fuch as cannot fail to 
 refrefh the Soul of every languifliing Peni- 
 tent; for in this View the Words fairly 
 afford us thefe two Propofitions : 
 
 Firft, That the Security and Efficacy of 
 Repentance do not depend upon a particular 
 Recolledion of all our Errors. 
 
 Secondly, That for fuch Errors as we 
 cannot recolledt, a general Confeilion and 
 }<.epentaucq are full and fufficient. 
 
 Thcfe 
 
DISCOURSE III. 49 
 
 Thefe two Propofitlons contain the plain 
 Dodtrine of the Text ; fo plain, that I need 
 not fpend your Time in enlarging upon it. 
 But that we may not miftake in the Appli- 
 cation of it to ourfelves, and hope for For- 
 givenefs whilfl: we are willingly ignorant of 
 our Sins, and, to fave the Trouble and Pain 
 of Recollection, endeavour to cover them all 
 under general Ejaculations and Petitions for 
 Mercy; I beg your Patience, whilfl I fet 
 before you of what kind and nature the Sins 
 are, which we may juflly call our fecret 
 Sins, and for the Expiation of which a 
 general Confeffion and Repentance will be 
 accepted. 
 
 And, firft, we may reckon among our fe- 
 cret Sins thofe which our Liturgy has taught 
 ws to afk Repentance and Forgivenefs for, 
 under the general Names of Negligences and 
 Ignorances. For Negledl of our Duty, and 
 Negligence In difcharging it, are two thirtgs ; 
 the one ariiing from a Diflike and Averiion 
 to the Work, and attended with a Confci- 
 oufnefs and Confent of Mind; the other pro- 
 ceeding commonly from want of Thought, 
 or want of Difpolition, two Infirmities which 
 we care not to accufe ourfelves of, and yet 
 from which we are feldom free : Infomuch 
 
 Vol. III. E that. 
 
50 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 that, when we think ourfelvcs moft fecure of 
 a good Difpofition and firm Refolution to go 
 through the Bufmefs of our Duty, they often 
 forfake us in the midft of our Work, and we 
 find ourfelves on a fudden becahned, our In- 
 clinations grown faint and languid, and toc^ 
 iick of the Employment to fupport us in the 
 Profecution of it. 
 
 Such Surprizes good Men have frequently 
 complained of in their Devotions : They fet 
 out with Zeal and Fervency of Spirit, with 
 Eyes and Hearts up-lifted to God, till fome 
 chance Object diverts the Eyes, fome fa- 
 vourite Care fleals into the Heart, and they 
 both wander and are loll: in the Multiplicity 
 of Objedls and Imaginations which fucceed 
 each other ; and when their Thoughts return 
 to. the proper Objedt, they are as one that 
 awaketh from a Dream. Offences of this 
 kind are fecret to us even whilft they are 
 committing, the Mind not being confcipus. 
 to the D^lufion ; and yet they are fo frequent 
 in every Part of our Duty, that when we call 
 ourfelves to the ilrifteft Account, it is im- 
 pofiible to find their Number, or to bring 
 every fingle Adl to our Remembrance. 
 
 Secondly, Sins of Ignorance are fecret Sins 
 like wife, as the very Name they are diftin- 
 
 guijQ^d 
 
DISCOURSE m. §t 
 
 guifhed by imports. Where there is no Law^ 
 fays the Apoftle, there is no Tranfgrejfion i 
 and therefore unavoidable Ignorance feems 
 to be rather a Misfortune than a Crime , and 
 though it be dumb, and cannot fpeak in its 
 own Defence, yet its very Silence will be st 
 ftronger Plea in the Prefence of the Al- 
 mighty, than all the laboured Excufes which 
 the Wit of knowing Sinners has invented. 
 In all Cafes where Men may be faid to offend 
 through Ignorance, they mufl be equally in- 
 fenfible of the Crimes they commit, and the 
 Ignorance they labour under ; and therefore 
 equally incapable of repenting particularly 
 of their Sins, and of their Ignorance. For 
 when Men venture boldly upon Aftions^ 
 being confcious to themfelves that they know 
 not whether they are going right or wrong, 
 their Sin is Prefumption, and not Ignorance ; 
 and ihould they chance to blunder into the 
 tight Way, it is much to be doubted, whe- 
 ther the Happinefs of their Miftake will ex- 
 cufe the Rafhnefs of their Attempts. Such 
 Repentance therefore as this muft be num- 
 bered, not with our fecret Faults, but with 
 fuch Sins, as being afted with Confcioufneft 
 and Confjnt, carry in them an avowed Con- 
 tempt of the Majefty and Authority cif God : 
 E 2 'For 
 
52 DISCOURSE m. 
 
 For if a Man^ thinks Virtue and Vice To 
 indifferent, that he may venture to chufe 
 bUndfold which to' follow, there wants no 
 better Evidence, that his Heart is not right 
 with God, who can with fo much Coolnefe 
 and Temper affront his Honour. 
 
 But though the Ignorance itfelf be pre- 
 fumptuous, and is fuch as, being confcious 
 to, we muft certainly be accountable for; 
 yet the Miftakes, the Follies, the Sins it leads 
 us to, may be unknown to us, both at the 
 Time of our offending, and of our repenting : 
 And whatever Aggravation they receive from 
 the obftin ate Ignorance they proceed from; 
 how much foever the Heinoufnefs of them 
 may deferve to be diftinguiihed in our Sor- 
 row and Contritiop; yet, iincc the Mind 
 cannot reach the Knowledge of them, they 
 can only be lamented under the general 
 Character of fecret Sins. Nor is this the 
 only Cafe in which our Sins partake of the 
 Malice of the Will, and yet efcape the 
 Notice of the Underftanding: For, 
 
 Thirdly, Nothing Aews more the Cor- 
 ruption of the V/iil, or Difincliaation of the 
 Heart to Virtue, than confirmed Cuitorns 
 and Habits of finning; and yet in this Per- 
 fedtion of Vice we loi'c the very Senfe and 
 
 Feeling 
 
DISCOURSE III. 53 
 
 Feeling of Sin. Habits grow from often 
 repeated A6tions ; and, though at firft they 
 require diflind A6ls of the Will to give 
 them Being, yet at lad we grow fo perfedV, 
 fo ready at the Work, as not to want the Au- 
 thority and Coufent of the Mind : As Ser- 
 vants, who, by being often told their Mailers 
 Work, at laft fall into the Road of their 
 Bufinefs without being called on, and yet ad: 
 as much under the Diredion of their Mafters 
 Will, as when they were under their daily or 
 hourly Inftrudion. And fo it is in Habits : 
 The Mind, which is the governing Principle, 
 lies by, and the Work goes on without 
 being attended to. Of many Inftances give 
 me leave only to mention one, which fliall be 
 that of common Swearers, and Blafphemers 
 of the Holy Name : A Vice in itfelf fo 
 prodigious, that no Aggravation can heighten 
 it, no Excufe can leffen it ! And yet thofe 
 who are moll guilty of this Sin are leafl 
 fenfible of it : It is fo familiar to them, that 
 they are not confclous when they offend : 
 Blafpheming is their Idiom, a Turn in their 
 way of fpeaking, and Oaths the mere Exple- 
 tives of their Language. And when every 
 fober Heart trembles to hear what they utter, 
 |hey only are unconcerned, as only being 
 E 3 ignorant 
 
54 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 ignorant of the accurfed Malice with which 
 they defy the living God. For all thefe 
 Things God will call Sinners into Judgment | 
 in his Book they are noted down ; But yet 
 when Sinners call themfelves to Judgment, 
 they only can tell that they have grievoufly 
 offended ; the Meafure of their Iniquity they 
 know not, nor the many Aggravations of it: 
 And therefore the utmoft that the fmcereft 
 Penitent can do, is to lament the Oifences 
 of his Heart and Tongue, which he is not 
 able to remember, and to pray to God that 
 he iikewife will be pl^afed to blot out the 
 Remembrance of his Iniquities. 
 
 Fourthly, The Apoftle has advifed us fiot 
 to be Partakers of other Meiis Sins \ which 
 ilicws, that when others fin, being led to it 
 by our Influence, Example, or Encourage- 
 ment, we fhare with them in the Guilt of 
 theirlniquity. How far our Influence fpreads* 
 tawhatlaflanceSa and what Degrees of Vice, 
 how many we feduced by our Example, or 
 hardened by our Encouragement, is more 
 than we can telU and yet not mor^ than we 
 tlull anfwer for. Thofe who are thus en- 
 tered in Qur Service, and l^n lender our Con- 
 dud, are but our Fadors : They trade for us^ 
 2^8 w^ll as for themfelves \ and whatever their 
 
 Earnings 
 
DISCOURSE III. 5$ 
 
 Earnings are, we fliall receive our dlie Prb-^ 
 portion out of the Wages of their Siil. This 
 is a Guilt which fteals upon us without being 
 perceived j it grows whilfl we lleep, and is 
 loading our Account even when our Bodies 
 are in the PolTeffion of the Grave. The 
 higher our Station, and the greater our Au- 
 thority, the more Reafon have we to fear 
 being involved in this kind of Guilt ; becaufe 
 in proportion to our Authority will the In- 
 fection of our Example fpread; and, as our 
 Power is great, our Encouragement will be 
 the more effedlual ; and fome perhaps there 
 may be, who fhall appear not only for their 
 own Sins, but for the Wickednefs of the Age 
 tfiey lived in. But then, on the other fide, 
 (pardon me a fmall Digreffion) Povver, aqd 
 Honour, and Riches, are great Means of 
 Salvation in the Hands of a wife Man, who 
 knows how to ufe them to the Glory of 
 God, and the Good of Mankind. To him 
 fhall be added the Virtue and Religion which 
 grow up under his Influence and Protection : 
 And how tranfporting will the Surprize be 
 to fuch happy Souls, when they fliall find 
 the Improvement of this and future Ages in 
 religious Holincfs placed to their Account at 
 the great Day, as being the genuine OfF- 
 E 4 fpi'i'^g 
 
56 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 fpring of their Care and Solicitude, and un- 
 fhaken Fidelity in the Caufe of God, and of 
 hisChrift! 
 
 Fifthly, The great Meafure of Folly and 
 Vanity and Self-love there is in the bcft of 
 our Adions is what feldom falls under our 
 Notice; and yet from fuch fecret Errors 
 who is free? We hardly know our own 
 Hearts well enough to anfwer at all Times 
 for the Integrity of our Intentions. How 
 much of our Virtue and Religion is mere 
 Refped: to common Decency, and arifes from 
 no higher Spring than a Regard to our own 
 Credit and Reputation, is more than we can 
 certainly tell. When we are moft eager in 
 purfuit of fome good End, could we ftop 
 fhort, and examine ourfelves fairly, we fhould 
 find perhaps that we were only gratifying 
 fomc private Paffion, and that none of the 
 beft, perhaps Malice and Revenge, or fomc 
 other inordinate Deiire. 
 
 To this Account we may add the many 
 vain Imaginations which are conceived in 
 the Heart, though never brought to Life by 
 Aftion, but die in the Womb, and are out 
 of Remembrance. Such are the ambitious 
 Man's imaginary Scenes of Honour and 
 Glory, formed and wrought up to a kind of 
 '-■--■- - '-Life 
 
DISCOURSE III. 57 
 
 J.ife in a mere Delufion of Thought ; which, 
 faiitaftical as they are in themfeh^es, do arife 
 from real Pride and Vanity. Such the vifio- 
 nary Enjoyment of fenfual Men, when the 
 Thoughts traverfe all the forbidden Paths of 
 Luxury and Wantonnefs ; where, though the 
 Phantom be airy and bodilefs, yet does this 
 Dream of Sejifuality derive itfelf from no 
 imaginary Corruption, but from a real Dif- 
 temper in the Mind, from inordinate Defires 
 and AfFedions. Such is the fecret Anger, 
 fuch the Malice of the Heart, which fits 
 brooding over envious or revengeful Defigns, 
 which it contrives within itfelf, and feems 
 to execute upon its Enemies ; and, for want 
 of Power or Opportunity for real Revenge, 
 feeds itfelf with viewing the Execution of its 
 Wrath, though only exprefled in the Images 
 of Fancy. Harmlefs and innocent, as. this 
 Revenge may feem, which fpends itfelf ifi 
 imaginary Mifchief only, yet it fprings from 
 the Root of Bitternefs, and is too plain an 
 Evidence that we hate one another, 
 
 Laftiy, When we come to repent of our 
 .Sins, many of them may be fecret to us 
 merely through th^ Weaknefs and Imper- 
 fection of the Memory, which cannot recol-^ 
 Jedl all the various Pafiages of a vicious Life, 
 
 Thefe 
 
58 DISCOURSE HI. 
 
 ITiefe Sins, however confcious we have been 
 of them heretofore, with refpedt to our Re- 
 pentance are as fecret as if we had never 
 known them, and can only be confelTed and 
 bewailed in general Terms, 
 
 Thus have I fet before you the feverat 
 Kinds of our fecret Sins. One general Cha- 
 radler there is which belonp-s to them all, 
 namely, that they are fuch as we cannot, not 
 fuch as we will not remember : For though 
 the Mercy of God will cover our Defecfts, 
 when they are unavoidable, and fuch as arife 
 from our natural Weaknefs and Infirmity ; 
 yet we have no Reafon to expedl any Al- 
 lowance, where we are wanting to ourfelves 
 through Lazinefs and Indifpofition ; where, 
 to avoid the Trouble or the Anguifh of Re- 
 pentance, we cover our own Sins deceitfully. 
 Such Hypocrify will be no Plea In His Pre- 
 fence, w/ja trieth thd Heart dnd Reins ^ and 
 fpieth out all our JFays. But, 
 
 Sfecdndly,. We are to confide r what Guilt 
 we contract by our fecret Sins, left it fliould 
 be thought that the Sins which efcape our 
 Knowledge ought not to burden our Con- 
 fcience. Where there is no Guilt, there 
 need5 no Remiffion ; and if we cannot in 
 Juillce be charged with our fecret Sins, there 
 
 is 
 
DISCOURSE III. 59 
 
 is no Senfe in the Pfalmift's Petition, C/ea^Tfi 
 thou mefromfecret Faults. In another place 
 he has told us. That God fets our Iniquities 
 before him, and our fecret Si^is in the Light of 
 his Countenance : And the Day approaches, 
 when for all tbefe things he will call us into 
 judgment. 
 
 In the Inftances already fet before you, you 
 may obferve, that our moil fecret Sins ai'c 
 fometimes the mofl heinous. Thus it is in 
 the Cafe of habitual Sins % we are too well 
 acquainted with them to take particular 
 Notice of them; they are the involuntary 
 Motions of a fecond Nature, and we are as 
 little concerned to count their Number, as 
 we are the Beatings of our Pulfe. But fball 
 this plead their Excufe ? Shall only fearful 
 Sinners and modeft Beginners be puniflied ? 
 and Ihall the Height of Iniquity, becaufe it 
 takes away all Shame and Senfe of Sin, take 
 away likewife all Danger of Judgment ? This 
 can agree with no Rule of Jaftice or Equity ; 
 for by this means the fame Man will ibnd 
 chargeable with the Guilt of his early Sins, 
 fuch as he committed before his Confcicnce 
 ivas quite hardened, and yet not accountable 
 jfor the more enormous Crimes of iinful 
 \ Wickednels: 
 
6o DISCOURSE III. 
 
 Wickednefs : As if the only Sin we could 
 commit, were to be fenfible of our Faults. 
 
 The fame might be made appear in the 
 other Inftances : For every idle V/ordy how 
 fopn foever it flips out of our Memory, for 
 every vain Imagination of the Heart, how 
 foon foever it vaniihes away, we fhall give an 
 ^ Account at the Day of Judgmefit. For the 
 Guilt of Sin does not arife from the Power 
 of our Memor}^ nor is it extinguifhed by the 
 Weaknefs of it : If it were, Forgetfulnefs 
 v/ould be the fureft Repentance ; and want 
 of Thought and Refledtion, which is fe 
 often reprefented in Scripture as the Aggra- 
 vation of Sin, would be the Sinner's befi: Se- 
 curity. But, alas ! though we forget, there 
 is One who cannot, before whom our Ini- 
 quities are ever prefent^ who will enter into 
 Judgment wdth us, as well for the Sins 
 which we cannot remember, as for thofe 
 we cannot forget. 
 
 The Confequence from the whole is this : 
 That fince many of our Sins are fecret to us, 
 they can only be repented of in general i 
 'and fince many of- our fecret Sins are very 
 heinous, they muft ferioufly and folemnly 
 be repented of. By general Repentance you 
 are not to underfland then a flight or fuper- 
 X ficiaj 
 
DISCOURSE III. 6i 
 
 ficial Repentance only. The Petition of the 
 Pfalmift, Cleanfc thou me from fecret Faults^ 
 proceeded from a Heart deeply affeded with 
 the Senfe of its Guilt, and does not exprefs 
 the Sentiments of one who was excufing or 
 leffening his Faults; for he remembered, 
 and fo muft we, that fecret as our Faults 
 are, yet God has placed them in the Light 
 of his Countenance. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
< M ?«'"*^ M '^'"^ ^il ^"^ ^^ ?^'*^ fe * > 
 
 
 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Matthew xiL 36. 
 
 i?«/ 1 Jay unto you y that every idle Word that 
 Men Jhall fpeaky they Jhall give Account 
 thereof in the Day of Judgment* 
 
 TO^%^!^€KT is very evident from, the Con- 
 ^^^T M^ text, that our Saviour's Inten- 
 ^^ f^ tion was to diftingulfli between, 
 kfe^^ the heinous Offences of Blaf- 
 phemy. Perjury, and the like, 
 and the idle Words mentioned in the Text, 
 as I fhall have Occafion to obferve. We 
 muft therefore look among the more com- 
 mon and lefs crying Sins of Speech, to know 
 what kind of Words they are, which our 
 
 Saviour 
 
64 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Saviour threatens with an Account at the 
 Day of Judgment. Of thefe there are many 
 forts : 
 
 Firft, Idle Words may denote Words 
 which proceed either from the Vanity or the 
 Deceitfulnefs of Men s Minds ; and this Senfe 
 will take in all the empty Boaftings and great 
 Pretences of Vanity and Pride, and all the 
 fly Infmuations of Craft and Hypocrify ; and 
 there is no Doubt to be made, but that Men 
 fliall be accountable for Words of this kind 
 at the Day of Judgment. 
 
 Secondly, Idle Words may comprehend 
 the Reports which proceed oftentimes from 
 mere Curiofity, and a Defire of hearing and 
 telling News, by which our Neighbour 
 fufFers in" his Credit or Reputation; and 
 queftionlefs thefe Words will be alfo re- 
 membered in the Day of the Lord. 
 
 Thirdly, Idle Words may imply fuch 
 Words as are the impure Conceptions of a 
 polluted Mind, which often pafs for Wit and 
 Entertainment among thofe who have learned 
 to 77iake a Mock of Sin. Under this Head will 
 be comprehended the Filthinefs and foolijh 
 talking and Jejiing, which the Apoftle to 
 the Ephejians would not have fo much as 
 mce named among Chriflians. 
 
 Laftly^ 
 
DISCOURSE iV. 6§ 
 
 Laflly, Idle Words may fignify ufelefs and 
 Snfignificant Words. This Senfe will com- 
 prehend a great Part of the Converfation of 
 the Worlds which aim^ at nothing but pre- 
 fent Amufements 5 as if it were the Bufinefs 
 of a rational Creature to divert his Mind from 
 Thought and Refledlion. How far Words 
 of this kind, when attended tvith no other 
 Evil, may expofe a Man to Guilt, is not 
 eafily difcerned; though I think it is evident 
 at lead, that a Man may fpend fo much of 
 his Time in idle or unprofitable fFords, as tQ 
 render himfelf obnoxious to an Account for 
 the Mifufe and Mifapplication of the Reafon 
 and Speech with which his Maker has en-^ 
 dowed him* 
 
 Thefe are the common Sins of Speech^ 
 which are comprehended under the general 
 Term of idk Words, which, if perfifted in, 
 may prove of dangerous Confequence to our 
 Souls I for of every idle Word we /peak we 
 tnuji give Account thereof in the Day ofjudg^ 
 ment^ 
 
 What thefe Sins afe, I fhall endeavour to 
 reprefent to you in the follov/ing Difcourfe^ 
 under the feveral Heads already mentioned. 
 
 And, Firft, By id/e Words wc mzy undcr^ 
 ftand fuch Words a$ proceed generally front 
 
 Vol. IIL F Vanity 
 
66 DISCOURSE IV- 
 
 Vanity or Deceit, which will comprehend 
 the Pretences and plaufible Speeches of the 
 Cunning, and the empty Boaflings of the 
 vain-glorious Man. In both thefe Cafes there 
 is a want of Truth, upon which we ought to 
 build whatever we fay one to another. Truth 
 and Falfliood have the Relation to each other 
 of Good and Evil; and this is an effential 
 Difference, as we may learn from hence, that 
 Truth is the Attribute of God, and confe- 
 quently an effential Good, and its Oppolite, 
 Falfliood, muft be likewife an effential Evib 
 fo that there always is Evil where there is not 
 Truth. Truth likewife is a Part of natural 
 Juftice which we owe to one another; for 
 whenever we lye to our Neighbour, we lead 
 hun into wrong Notions either of Perfons or 
 Things; and Miftakes in either kind may 
 prove prejudicial to him : So that to fpeak 
 Truth to our Neighbour is a Branch of that 
 Juftice by which w^e are obliged to do no 
 Man any Wrong. 
 
 I know many nice Cafes have been put 
 upon this Queftion, Whether wc are always 
 obliged to fpeak Truth ? And though fome 
 have maintained, that Truth may be difpenfed 
 with, when it is evidently for our Friend's 
 or Neighbour's Benefit, that he Hiould be 
 
 kept 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 6^ 
 
 kept in Ignorance ; yet it never was pretend- 
 ed, that Vanity or Cunning were fufficient 
 Excufes for the want of Truth. 
 
 Our Saviour tells us, that evil things pro- 
 ceed from an evil Heart. Now the Evil that 
 lies at the Heart of the vain-glorious Man 
 is Pride : He would fain appear to be fome- 
 thing confiderable, and make a Figure; and 
 therefore Truth fliall never flop him from 
 fetting himfelf out, and afcribing to himfelf 
 fuch Honours or Riches, fuch Wit or Cou- 
 rage, as he thinks may merit Woriliip and 
 Refpedl in the World. 
 
 There is no Attempt that Men are more 
 generally unfuccefsful in, than in this of 
 praifmg and extolling themfelves. It is an 
 headftrong Vanity, that will not be confined 
 to the prudent Methods of Hypocrify and 
 Difiimulation ; but fhews itfelf fo openly, as 
 hardly ever to efcape being difcovered, and 
 confequentlyfeldom fails of reaping the Fruit 
 it juftly deferves, which is Scorn and Con- 
 tempti And yet, in fpite of the Sin and 
 Folly and Difappointment that attend upon 
 it. Pride will have its Work ; and where-ever 
 this Evil has rooted in the Heart, it will 
 produce Sin and Folly in the Mouth, fuch 
 Sin and Folly as fhall be remembered at 
 
 Fa th« 
 
68 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 the Day of Judgment. For the Romances 
 that Pride and Vain-glory lead Men to arc 
 capable of no Excufe; and therefore Of- 
 fenders of this kind muft ftand liable to all 
 the Threatnings, which are denounced againft 
 thofe who take Pleafure in a Lye. 
 
 But Vanity may fometimes be the Vice of 
 Men otherwife good and virtuous ; and tho' 
 they will not lye to gratify their Humour, 
 yet they will be very ready to do themfelves 
 Juftice upon all Occafions, and fet forth the 
 Good they are confcious of in themfelves to 
 the beft Advantage. But even thefe are idle 
 Wordsy and Men muft anfwer for the Praifc 
 and Glory they alTume to themfelves. Be- 
 fides, it is almoft impoflible to fpeak of our- 
 felves and our own Works with Pleafure, and 
 to keep within the Bounds of Modefty and 
 Difcretion, and not to expofe the Good we 
 have done to be ridiculed and evil-fpoken of 
 by thofe who obferve our Vanity and Weak- 
 nefs. 
 
 It is dangerous at all times to fpeak of our- 
 felves : If we have done ill, either to excufc 
 or deny it inflames the Account > if we have 
 done well, our Saviour tells us that we muft 
 neverthelefs call ourfelves ujiprofitable Ser^ 
 ^nants : And whether this Rule be obferved 
 
 by 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 69 
 
 by thofe who boaft, and are always talking of 
 the Good they do, let any Man judge. Our 
 Saviour's Advice about Charity holds in all 
 other Cafes of the like Nature ; our left Hand 
 mujl not know the Charity our right Hand 
 does; and whatever elfe we do that may 
 ieem good in our own Eyes fliould at leaft 
 be kept from our Tongue's End, for fear we 
 fliould be found in the Number of thofe 
 who take to themfelves the Praife that is due 
 to God alone. 
 
 One aukward Way that fome Men have 
 of letting others know what Good they 
 have done, is by perpetually leffening and 
 difcommending in themfelves what, in their 
 private Thoughts, they think others ought 
 to admire. But there is little Difference 
 between Pride and affe<fted Humility ^ and 
 whenever Men delight to talk of themfelves, 
 it is to be fufpedled that Pride and Vanity 
 direft them to the Choice of the Subjedl, 
 though it may appear perhaps in the Dilguife 
 of Meeknefs and Humility. If you think 
 that you have done nothing wortI:y of Praife 
 or Admiration, whence arifes your Jealoufy 
 that the World fliould overvalue you ? And 
 why all this Care to leffen and debafe your- 
 felf, unlef? you are confcious to yourfelf of 
 F 3 fomething 
 
70 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 fomething that in Reafon you judge ought to 
 exalt you ? If you labour to fhun the Praife 
 of Men, it is plain you think you have de-^ 
 ferved it, and your pretended Humility is the 
 genuine Offspring of Pride and Vain-glory : 
 For Humility will no more make a Shew of 
 itfelf than of other Virtues; and, v/here Men 
 are truly humble, they will not tell all the 
 World of it; and therefore where they take 
 'Delight in induftrioufly undervaluing them^ 
 felves, it can proceed from nothing but their 
 Defire of being thought humble : But to 
 afi'svfl even the Praife of Humility is Pride 
 and Vanity. So then, in refped: to this Sub- 
 jed:, the Rule of Prudence and the Rule of 
 Viriu . are coincident, that the lefs we talk 
 of ourfelves the better : It is a nice Theme, 
 and few enter upon it, who come off clear 
 either of Folly or Sm. 
 
 In the next Degree we place Cunning 
 and Artifice, which make Men very forgetful 
 of the Refped: that is due to Truth, whilfl 
 they direct their Speech to ferve and fupport 
 fome End or Defign of their own. There- 
 are many Degrees of this Cunning : That 
 which is fo grofs as to aim at making a Pri2:e 
 of the Ignorance of others needs not to be 
 mentioned here. Men of this Principle pro- 
 ceed 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 71 
 
 ceed farther generally than idle JVoi'dsy and 
 are out of the prefent Subjedt through an 
 Excefs of Lying, and falfifying their Words 
 and Oaths, as may heft ferve their Purpofe. 
 
 But the Charge of idle Words lies againft 
 a Cunning, which is lefs defpcrate and ma- 
 licious, and is the diftinguifhing Mark of 
 fuch Men, who deceive you by a Shew of 
 Kindnefs which is not real. Now the Man 
 who courts and carefles all that come near 
 him muft allow himfelf a great Latitude, 
 fince he muft often beftow his Smiles on 
 the Perfon he does not love, and his Com- 
 pliments on the Perfon he defpifes : In both 
 which Cafes he ftands charged with Falfe- 
 hood and Hypocrify, 
 
 This Man of general Civility and Addrefs 
 deftroys the Credit of Language; for his 
 Words have no Meaning ; none at leaft that 
 you can underftand : He that fays the fame 
 Things to every body, muft be fuppofed to 
 mean them of no body. But the Advantage 
 thefe Men have is from the Folly and Self- 
 love of Mankind; for moft People are fo 
 well opinionated of themfclves, that they 
 cannot think a Man infmcere, who com- 
 mends and extols them : From whence it 
 comes to pafs, that a Man will fwallovv the 
 F 4 Compliments^ 
 
72 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Gompllments, when applied to himfelf^ 
 though they come from a Mouth which he 
 knows makes no Diftinftions. 
 
 But what Account fhall a Man give of 
 himfelf for Hving perpetually in a Difguife j 
 for deceiving all about him, and ufing the 
 Speech, which God gave him for better Pur- 
 pofes, to impofe on the Weaknefs and Folly 
 of Mankind ? An Account he mufl give, 
 unlefs he can fhew the Ufe and Benefit of his 
 fair Speeches. Say, which is yet more than 
 you can fay, that thefe Words are innocent 
 and harmlefs: They are at the befl: then 
 ufelefs and infignificant; and think how your 
 Excufe will found, when the utmoft you will 
 have to fay for yourfelf will be, that you em- 
 ployed the Talent God gave you to no good 
 End or Purpofe, only you hope you did no 
 f larm. But add to this, that you deceived 
 the World ; that by your fervile Compliance 
 you puffed up the Vanity of the Proud^^ 
 betrayed and expofed the Credulity of the 
 Weak, and poffibly too have made a Gain 
 of this Ungodlinefs ; and then I think you 
 peed not be told what Sentence a God of 
 Truth, of Righteoufnefs and Juftice, will 
 pafs againft fuch Deceivers and Liers in wait 
 for Men, 
 
 Bui 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 73 
 
 But, Secondly, Idle Wc?'ds may compre- 
 hend the Reports of Envy and Malice, by 
 which cur Neighbour fuffers in his Credit or 
 Reputation. 
 
 I would diftinguifh under this Kead be- 
 tween thofe who invent and contrive wicked 
 Stories and Reports to the Scandal and Defa- 
 mation of their Neighbour, and thofe who 
 creduloufly take up with the Invention, and 
 report and fpread them. To contrive mali- 
 cious and wicked Stories, and wilfully to de- 
 fame our Brother, is a Vice that the Text has 
 no Name forj it exceeds all that can be 
 meant by idle Words, and mull be regiftered 
 with the other black Crimes, which ftand in 
 oppofition to the lighter Offences of the 
 Tongue. But even to believe, without fuffi- 
 cient Ground, or to report, when we do be- 
 lieve the III we hear of others, cannot be ex- 
 cufed of Malice and Envy. It is an old Say- 
 ing, Facile credimus qua volumiis ^ and if fo, 
 to believe the evil Things fpoken of our Bro- 
 ther willingly, is a great Mark of an evil Dif- 
 pofition, and fhev/s at leaft that we fhould 
 be pleafed if they were true : And the Refl- 
 lefTnefs that fome Minds are under, when 
 they have picked up an ill Report, to difl^ur- 
 ^hen themfelves, and fpread the Story in the 
 
 Neighbourhood, 
 
74 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Neighbourhood, difcovers with what a ready 
 Mind they do this Work and Drudgery of 
 the Devil. But where Men fpread Stories of 
 ill Report with Pleafure, and rejoice in the 
 Scandal, they have fucked in with the Story 
 fo much of the Contriver's Malice and Envy, 
 that they ought to be ranked with him, and 
 not included under this Subjedl. 
 
 But there are others, who, out of an Itch 
 of talking, and knowing other People's Con- 
 cerns, have their Heads and Tongues perpe- 
 tually running upon the Affairs and Bulinefs 
 of their Neigbours. Thefe People are like 
 the Hawkers in the Street, they difperfe 
 whatever comes to their Hand, good or bad^ 
 if it be but News, it is all one to them : By 
 which Means they often do a great deal of 
 Mifchief without being chargeable with any 
 formed Malice or Defign to injure. But in 
 the Multitude of Words there wanteth not 
 Sin; and when Men's Curiofity leads them 
 beyond their proper Sphere and Bufinefs, 
 they muft anfwer for the Mifchief they do. 
 He who is always talking of what does not 
 concern him, muft needs be guilty of many 
 idle Words for which he muft anfwer; and 
 for which he will be lefs able to anfwer, if 
 his Words have been prejudicial to the Cha« 
 
 rafter 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 75 
 
 ra£ler or Credit of an innocent Man. You 
 may well be aiked, what you had to do to 
 be fo very inquifitive and talkative of what no 
 ways belonged to you ? The Apoflle's Rale 
 is, that you Jitidy to be quiets and ?nmd your 
 own Biifinefs, But you may farther be alked, 
 how came you to launch fo far out of your 
 Knovv^ledge, as to be in danger of hurting 
 the Interefl or good Name of your Brother ? 
 It is not enough that you meant no 111, it 
 ought to be your Care, and Concern, and 
 Study, to do no 111 5 and to do what proved 
 ill inadvertently, fliews that you were not 
 fo ftudious to avoid the Occafions of Evil ; 
 if you had, you would iiot have ventured 
 where there was fuch evident Danger of 
 doing Harm, as there always is where Men 
 will talk rnuch of the Affairs and Charaders 
 of others. Were it not for fuch bufy, talk- 
 ing Creatures, who liflen after all News, it 
 would not be worth a malicious Man's while 
 to invent a Story of his^Enemy. A Man 
 cannot carry a Story far himfelf, nor would 
 he poffibly find many openly to abet his 
 Malice in defaming an innocent Man ; but 
 there are always inquifitive Bufy-bodies, v/ho 
 catch at News, and fpread it immediately 
 like Vyild-fire ; And therefore by being talka- 
 tive 
 
76 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 tive and inquifitlve in thefe Matters, though 
 we acquit you of Malice or ill Defign, yet 
 you become the Inflrument of Malice j you 
 pull the Trigger, though the other levels 
 the Piece at the innocent Head; and fince 
 your Curiofity and Impertinence are un- 
 juflifiable, you can no ways excufe the 
 Confequences of them. God has provided 
 every Man with Bufinefs proper for him to 
 employ his Time in. What you can fpare 
 from the neceffary Cares of Life, and from 
 the Refrelliments and Diverfions which Na- 
 ture requires, is little enough to lay out upon 
 Eternity, upon the Thoughts of another and 
 better Life; nor are there ever wanting Op- 
 portunities of doing good, in which all adtive 
 Spirits might be ufefully employed. How 
 much more innocent and diverting is it to 
 advife and inftrudt the Ignorant, to rejoice 
 with your Friends in their Good, to comfort 
 and to mourn with them in their Evil ; or 
 at leaft to pafs the Time in fuch Difcourfes 
 as are adminiflered by innocent Mirth and 
 friendly Society : How much better, I fay, 
 is this, than to fit trying and condemning 
 your Acquaintance, and fetching in all you 
 know by Turns to receive at your Hands 
 their Sentence, not for the Good or Evil 
 
 which 
 I 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 77 
 
 i?vliich they have done, but for the Good of 
 Evil which you have heard of them ? How 
 entertaining foever you may think this Di- 
 verfion, yet you muft remember the Con* 
 clufion of the Wife Man's Advice to the Men 
 of Pleafure, Know, that for all thefe T^bing^ 
 God will bring you into yudgment. 
 
 Thirdly, Idle Words may imply fuch 
 Words as are the Produdl of a loofe and idb 
 Mind, fuch as reprefent the impure Con- 
 ceptions of a Mind polluted with Luft and 
 Lafcivioufnefs. This Notion includes the 
 Filthinefs and foolijh talking ajid Jejiingy 
 which the Apoftle forbids even to be named 
 among Chriftians. 
 
 There is nothing more direftly contrary 
 to Morality and good Manners, than the 
 Liberty which fome Men take of entertain- 
 ing Company upon Subjefts, which are unfit 
 for the Mouth or Ears of a Chriftian. A 
 greater Affront cannot be offered to civil 
 Company than to break in upon their inno- 
 cent Mirth and Converfation with filthy Jefls, 
 which put every modeft Perfon to Pain, and 
 under a Difficulty of behaving himfelf, whilil 
 fuch Things are difcourfed on : Though it is 
 the Pleafure the lewd Jefler delights in to 
 put Modefty out of Countenance, and to 
 
 fet 
 
78 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 fet Impudence and Buffoonry in Triumph 
 over it. But whether this be an Employ- 
 ment that even common Senfe and Reafon 
 ihould fubmit to> let every one, who is not 
 quite loft to Shame, determine^ It is a great 
 Argument of the Impurity of Men's Minds, 
 when Things of this nature lie uppermoft, 
 and are ever at their Tongue's End : And 
 therefore for their own Salces they fhould 
 confine fuch Thoughts, unlefs they take 
 Pleafure in hiding the Man to difcover the 
 Brute, and to let the World fee what Pains 
 they have taken to furnifh their Minds with 
 a Knowledge, which Nature and common 
 Decency have ever ftrove to conceal. 
 
 This impudent Wit is in all Perfons abo- 
 minable, but never more truly infamous than 
 when it is found in the Company of grey 
 Hairs ; when Men feem to be feeding upon 
 the Dregs of the Pollutions of their Youth, 
 ' and entertaining their Minds with Luft and 
 Senfuality in fpite of the Decays of Nature, 
 which call for other Thoughts. I am almoft 
 afraid of calling thefe idle JVords, becaufe the 
 Expreffion does not reach to the Heinoufnefs 
 of the Crime : For nothing is more contrary 
 to the Modefty and Purity of our holy Re- 
 ligion, nothing more offenfive to God and 
 
 all 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 79 
 
 all virtuous Minds, nothing more deftrudlive 
 of Morality, or that tends more to introduce 
 Loofenefs and Brutality, than this lewd Wit, 
 which fets at nought every thing that is 
 chafte and pure, whofe prefent Glory is 
 Shame, and whofe future Reward fliall be 
 Confufion. 
 
 If Men have a Knack of cloathing their 
 unchafte Thoughts in cleanly Language, yet 
 it cannot juftly be pleaded in Mitigation of 
 their Crime. This poffibly may be to fin 
 more like a Gentleman, but it carries an 
 Aggravation with it that cannot eafily be 
 forgiven. To improve upon Vice, and to 
 take off that Mark of Infamy which God 
 has fet upon it, is the higheft Abufe of your 
 Reafon and Senfe. To make Lewdnefs 
 agreeable, to recommend it by an artful 
 Addrefs and a pleafant Wit, what is it but 
 to convey the Poifon in a precious Mixture, 
 that may tempt and deceive the Palate to 
 admit the Deftruftion ? Modefty is the Out- 
 guard of Virtue, and gives Notice of the 
 firft Approach of Vice ; and when Lewd- 
 nefs is fo dreffed up as to pafs unfufpeded, 
 it proves but the more dangerous Enemy 
 within; and therefore we muft expedt to 
 give a fevere Account for the Time and 
 
 Words 
 
8o DISCOURSE IV* 
 
 Words we fpend in this Diverfion ; and you 
 may imagine how Filthinefs and Lewdnefs 
 fhall efcape, when God ihall fit as Judge, 
 who is all Righteoufnefs and Holinefs, and 
 ef purer Eyes than to beheld Iniguity^ 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
J f*^ j^'*U F'*"^ jfC^U F"^ 5 
 f >@< >^i >®< >®< >©<(♦ 
 # k.*,jiil "WU,F k>^JB5 "*U,F k.j»sjiil •»* 
 
 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 P A k T II. 
 
 gOURTHLY, By t'J/e TFords 
 wc may underftand ufelefs and 
 .— .^ infignificant Words ^ Words 
 #^#^^^ which are fpent to no great 
 End or Purpofe either good or bad. 
 
 This Senfe will comprehend a great Part 
 of the Converfation of the World, which 
 aims at nothing but prefent Amufement , and 
 it is worth our while to inquire, what Guilt 
 a Man contracts by thefe idle Words. All 
 Words that are in any refped injurious to 
 God or Man, or contrary to Truth or good 
 Manners, are out of this Queflion, which is 
 ftated upon Words merely impertinent j where 
 
 Vol. III. G the 
 
82 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 the SubjecftofDifcourfe is mean and trifling, 
 and not capable of yielding any Profit or Im- 
 provement to ourfelves or others. Now to 
 dilcover whether ufelefs, though innocent 
 Converfation comes within the Judgment of 
 the Text, we mufl confider thefe following 
 Particulars : 
 
 Firft, The Scope of our Saviour's Argu- 
 ment in this Place. 
 
 Secondly, The End and Defign of Speech, 
 which is the Gift of God to Mankind : For, 
 if we ufe our Speech to ferve any Purpofe 
 contrary to the End defigned by God in 
 giving us Speech, we manifeftly abufe his 
 Gift, and for fuch Abufe mull be an- 
 fwerable. 
 
 : Thirdly, The Nature of Man in general, 
 and the different Degrees of Senfe and Un- 
 derftanding that different Men are endowed 
 with : This Confideration muft have place 
 in this Queftion, becaufe the Tongue cannot 
 fpeak better than the Underftanding can con- 
 ceive 5 which infers a Proportion between 
 the Abilities of our Mind, and the Soundnefs 
 of our Speech ; the latter muft be judged by 
 the former; for a Man cannot be obliged to 
 utter more Wifdom than God has given 
 him. 
 
 Firft^ 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 83 
 
 Firft, As to the Scope of our Saviour's 
 Argument: It is evident that he defcends 
 from the greater to the lefs Evils of Speech ; 
 from Blafphemy he comes to the other Evils 
 which are generated in the Heart, and from 
 thence derived to the Tongue : A good Man 
 out of the good T'reafure of his Heart bringeth 
 forth good 'Things i and an evil Man out of the 
 evil 'Treafure of his Heart bringeth forth evil 
 Thijigs. What the evil Things are, v/hich 
 are bred in the Heart, our Saviour upon ano- 
 ther Occafion. tells us : Out of the Hea?^t pro-- 
 ceed evil Thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, For^ 
 nications. Thefts, falfe Witiiefs, Blafphemies. 
 Thefe then are the evil Things intended. 
 But, as a farther Obligation upon us to keep 
 the Door of our Lips with all Care, our 
 Saviour adds. But I fay unto you, that every 
 idle Word that Menjhallfpeak, they Jh all give 
 account thereof in the Day offudgment. Now 
 the Form with which thele Words are in- 
 troduced, looks as if they were intended as 
 an Addition and Improvement to the old 
 Do(5li"ines of the Law. The fews knew 
 that Perjuries and Blafphemies and falfe Wit- 
 nefs, and the like Crimes, fliould certainly be 
 punifhed; and therefore our Saviour only 
 mentions them, without adding exprefsly, 
 
 G 2 . that 
 
84 DISCOURSE IV, 
 
 that they fhould be punifhed ; for that was 
 well known and believed upon the Authority 
 of the Law : But then he adds, But I fay 
 unto you; which Words are very emphatical, 
 and denote the Dodtrine delivered to be new^ 
 and founded upon our Saviour's own Autho- 
 rity, I fay unto you. The fame Form is ufed 
 in the fifth of St. Matthew, where our Saviour, 
 in virtue of his Commiffion received frorri 
 God, evidently is explaining and enlarging 
 the old Law : " Ye have heard it hath been 
 " faid by them of old Time, Thou fhalt 
 *' not kill: But I fay unto you, Whofoever 
 *^ is angry with his Brother without a Caufe, 
 *^ (hall be in danger of the Judgment. Ye 
 <^ have heard it was faid by them of old 
 <* Time, Thou Ihalt not commit Adultery : 
 ** But I fay unto you y Whofoever looketh on 
 " a Woman to lufl after her, hath com- 
 ** mitted Adultery with her already in his 
 " Heart.'* The fame is repeated in other 
 Inflances; in all which you may obferve, 
 that our Saviour enlarges our Duty, and 
 debars us from the leall Approaches to Vice, 
 and obliges his Difciples to the greateft Pu- 
 rity, to the ftricSeft and feverell: Virtue. 
 
 To the fame Purpofe pollibly docs he fpeak 
 In the Text ; ** Evil Things, you know, pro- 
 
 *' ceed 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 85 
 
 ** ceed from an evil Heart ; and your Law 
 ** teaches you, they fliall be rewarded accord - 
 ** ingly : But I fay unto you ^ That not only 
 ** thefe evil Things, but every idle Word (hall 
 ** be brought into Judgment." The only 
 Difference in this Cafe is, that in the Sermon 
 on the Mount the enading Words are more 
 full, tyca S\ Xiycd vfMv, in the Text they are 
 only Xiycd Si u/^Ti/- which, though they mufl 
 be rendered alike in Eng/ijh, yet the former, 
 according to the Idiom of the Greek Tongue, 
 is an Expreffion of greater Weight and Au- 
 thority : But the Difference is not fo great, 
 but that we may fuppofe our Saviour to ufe 
 both upon the fame Account, to diftinguifh 
 the Dodlrine delivered upon his own Autho- 
 rity from the old received Doctrines of the 
 Law. Allowing this, it follows, that we have 
 in the Text a Rule implied for the Govern- 
 ment of Chriftian Converfation, which is of 
 the greatefl Purity, and reftrains us not only 
 from all Evil, but from all Appearance of Evil, 
 in our Converfation -, from every thing which 
 is inconfiftent with the Gravity and ferious 
 Demeanour required in a Chriftian ; from fuch 
 Faults as bear no greater Proportion to the evil 
 things before-mentioned, than Anger dpes to 
 Murder, or a wanton Look to Adultery. ' 
 
 G 3 The 
 
86 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 The Text then thus underftood leads us 
 to inquire. What are the Faults and Levities 
 of Speech, v^hich are not great enough to 
 be numbered with the evil Things before- 
 mentioned, and yet have fomething in them 
 mill)ecoming a Difciple of the Gofpel ; fome- 
 thing that is inconiiftent vi^ith that Temper 
 and Frame of Mind, v^hich are the Orna- 
 ment of a Chriftian Spirit, and the Refult 
 of a juft Senfe and Reverence of the high 
 Calling wherewith we are called : Forj, 
 though it is not our Duty always to be me- 
 ditating upon the furprij^ing Myftery of Re^ 
 demption v/rought by Chrifl, or converfing 
 with Heaven through Prayer, and exalted 
 Thoughts of the wonderful Things of God i 
 yet fmce this muft neceffarily, as we are 
 Chriftians, be great Part of our Employ^ 
 ment, wefhould, even at other Times, when 
 we are taken up in our worldly Affairs, or 
 in friendly Converfation, preferve a Deco^ 
 rum, and maintain a Confiftency in our 
 Charafter; that though we are not talking 
 diredly of the Gofpel, yet our Converfation 
 may be as becometh the Gofpel of Chrift. For 
 confider that you are a Difciple of the Crofs, 
 ^ Candidate for Heaven, an adopted Son of 
 G-od;, a Brother of Chriil:, and an Heir of 
 
 Glory i 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 87 
 
 Glory ; and then coniider what fort of Be- 
 haviour and Converfation beil become thofe, 
 who fuftain fo great a Charader. Should 
 fuch an one fpend his Time and Thoughts 
 to utter fooUfli Jefts, to entertain idle Minds 
 with idle Talk, till they are loft in a For- 
 getfulnefs both of God and themfelves, and 
 every thing elfe that concerns either their 
 prefent or future Intereft ? Should fuch aa 
 one be the Minifter of Idlenefs and Loofe- 
 nefs, and ferve to no better Purpofe in the 
 World, than to furnifli Entertainment to the 
 Indifpofition that loofe and profligate Mea 
 have to ferious Thought and Refledion ? 
 
 The Part of a common Wit or Jefter does 
 not well become a Man ; much lefs will it 
 become a Chriftian : It is belov/ the Dignity 
 of Reafon ; ftill more fo, when Reafoa is 
 improved by Grace. And to this Purpofe 
 is St. Paul's Prohibition in his Epiftle to the 
 Epiejia/is; where, among other Things, he 
 forbids them all fooltJJd Talking and J^'Jiingi 
 which are not convenient^ What our Tranf- 
 lation renders jejiingy the Original ftiles 
 £uT?ot.7raAu, which Arifiotle reckons among 
 his Virtues ; and defines it to be the Habit 
 pfjejiing handfomely. So that what palled ia 
 the Heathen World for a Virtue is. forbidderi 
 . G 4 to 
 
88 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 to a Chriftian ; and it is probable, that by 
 idle Words our Saviour meant the Jefts which 
 were fo much delighted in, and were under 
 fo good a Charad:er. And this gives a Rea- 
 fon why our Saviour fpoke as introducing a 
 new Law, But I fay untoyouy that every idle 
 Word fliall be brought into Judgment ; be- 
 caufe the Preachers of Morality had taught 
 the contrary before, and placed the Jefler, 
 the Man of idle Wordsy among their Heroes, 
 and honoured his Talent of raifing Laughter 
 with the Title of a Virtue. 
 
 There are, no doubt, Seafons of Relaxation 
 both from Bufincfs and Religion ; and inno- 
 cent Diverfion maintains the Vigour of the 
 Mind, as moderate Exerclfe does the Strength 
 of the Body : But, as Exercife muft anfwer 
 the Strength and Parts of an human Body, 
 fo muft your Diverfion be anfwerable to the 
 Temper, and Frame, and Charafter of a 
 Chriftian : Otherwife Exercife deftroys the 
 Man, and Diverfion corrupts the Chriftian. 
 
 We are made by Nature, that is, by Gcd, 
 to be fociable Creatures; and therefore in 
 feeking Society, in cultivating Friendfhips 
 with each other, we follow the Inftindt of 
 Nature; and what Time we fpend in Dif- 
 courfe and mutual Converfe, if it ferves no 
 
 ether 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 89 
 
 Other Purpofe than to maintain a good 
 Friendihip and Acquaintance, yet cannot be 
 faid to be mif-fpent ; becaufe in propagating 
 Love and Good-will among ourfelves, we 
 ferve one End of Nature, and are doing the 
 Work which our Father hath given us: 
 And when Company meet, he that can talk 
 entertainingly upon common Subjefts, and 
 divert their Minds with inoffenfiveWit, has 
 an excellent Talent; and if Men are en- 
 dowed with an happy Conception, with a 
 Livelinefs of Expreffion to reprefent their 
 own Ideas to others, their Converfation may 
 be agreeable without exceeding the Limits 
 of Virtue or Innocence. 
 
 But a common Jefter, one who is fent 
 for to Company to make Sport, afts a Part 
 much below the Character of a Man, or a 
 Chriftian : For Jefting, though it may be aa 
 innocent Diverfion, can never be an honeft 
 Employment ; it will not bear being made a 
 Profeffion ; and therefore when Men make 
 it their Bufmefs, it mufl needs be an un- 
 •lawful Calling ; and the Jefter will lie ex- 
 pofed to the Threatening of the Text, to be 
 called into Judgment for every iW/e fVord 
 he fpeaks. And if you again fet before you 
 the Dignity aad Charader of a Chriftian, 
 
 you 
 
go DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 you will eafily difcern, how fuitably and 
 with what a Grace a Chriftian adls, when 
 his whole Bufinefs is to make himfelf 
 laughed at. I f aid of Laughter y it is mad, 
 fays the Wife King of IfraeL This only 
 Difference there is, and let the Jefter have 
 the Benefit of it, the Madman's Folly and 
 Extravagance proceed from Misfortune, the 
 Jefter's from Choice : And this Choice will 
 render him accountable for his Extrava- 
 gancies; and whether he has not the befl 
 Title to apply the Text to himfelf, you 
 muft judge from what has been faid. His 
 Talent certainly lies in idle Wordsy and there- 
 fore he falls under the Letter of the Text ; 
 his Bufinefs is poor and fordid ; he ferves to 
 rro^other Purpofe in the World than, like the 
 Fool in a great Houfe, to make Sport ; and 
 whether in this he fuftains the Charader of 
 a Difciple of Chrift, let all who have learnt 
 Chriil judge. 
 
 Confider like wife whether he can juftify 
 himfelf againft the Apoftolical Rule of con^ 
 I'erfmg as becomes the Gofpel of Chrijl, If you 
 fay that he means no Harm, I will agree to 
 it; and go yet farther, and add, that he 
 means nothing: But whether this Excufe 
 will come well from the Mouth of one^ 
 o whom 
 
DISCOURSE IV. gr 
 
 whom Cod has endowed with Senfc and 
 Reafon and Underftanding, they who have 
 not loft their own {hall determine. But, 
 allowing the Excufe, it will not exempt 
 him from the Judgment of the Text ; be- 
 caufe by idle JVordsy as has been already 
 {hewn, fuch Words are meant as are capable 
 of this Excui^, as not being chargeable with 
 any great Evil. Laftly, Add to the Text 
 the Comment of St. Paiily and then by idle 
 Words we muft underftand foolijh Talking 
 and Jejling, which are not convenient. This 
 may teach us what Judgment we are to 
 make from the Scope and Defign of the 
 Text: But yet here we can find nothing 
 direcflly pointing againft common Converfa- 
 tion, where the Subjed: of the Difcourfe is 
 poor and mean, and incapable of yielding 
 any Profit or Improvement; and fince we 
 cannot di redly conclude from the Text, let 
 us confider, 
 
 Secondly, The End and Defign of Speech, 
 which is the Gift of God to Mankind : For if 
 we ufe our Speech to ferve any Purpofes con- 
 trary to the End defigned by God in giving 
 us Speech, we manifeftiy abufe his Gift, and 
 muft anfwer for fuch an Abufe, 
 
 Speech 
 
92 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Speech was given us for the Communica- 
 tion of our Thoughts to each other; the 
 Mind is furnifhed with Variety of Thoughts 
 and Reflections, fome of which are proper 
 for Difcourfe, and fome not : There are 
 fome Things which a Man cannot but have 
 Ideas of, fome Things which intrude upon 
 the Mind, but are not fit Subjects of Dif- 
 courfe. So that though Speech be given for 
 the communicating of our Thoughts, yet all 
 bur Thoughts are not to be difclofed, or 
 brought into Converfation. We muft judge 
 what are proper Subjeds, and muft be an- 
 fwerable for the Government of our Tongues. 
 A Man may be innocent in having fome 
 Thoughts in his Mind, which he cannot in- 
 tiocently difclofe ; the Reafon is, becaufe he 
 cannot always chufe his Thoughts, but he 
 can always chufe what he will talk of. As 
 to the proper Ends of Speech, we may rea- 
 fon thus : God has made us reafonable Crea- 
 tures, and fitted us for his Service, and there- 
 fore expeds a reafonable Service from us : 
 As he has given us all the Good we enjoy, 
 it is our Duty to praife and adore him ; to 
 raifc in ourfelves and others a Senfe of Gra- 
 titude and Duty towards him : This is one 
 End of Speech. As he has made us liable 
 
 to 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 93 
 
 to many Wants and Neceffities, it is our Duty 
 to pray to him, and in all our Wants to apply 
 to him both in public and private: This is 
 another End of Speech. Under thefe Heads 
 we include, with refped: to Reafon, the Con- 
 templation of the Works of Nature and Pro- 
 vidence, which ferves to give us ajuftSenfe 
 of the Power and Wifdom of God^ and, 
 with refpe<ft to Speech, all Difcourfes upon 
 thefe Subjedls, which tend to inipire others 
 with the fame awful Senfe of the Almighty : 
 Thefe are, no doubt, proper Subjed:s for 
 rcafonable Creatures and Chriftians. 
 
 But then farther. The Wants and Ne- 
 ceffities of Nature, which are prefent, call 
 for our Help. We muft by Labour and In- 
 duftry fupply ourfclves with NeceiTaries and 
 Conveniencies of Life ; and as this Subjedl 
 muft employ great Part of our Thoughts, fo 
 likewife great Part of our Speech; for we 
 cannot live without the mutual Aid and 
 Affiftance of each other ; and this neceifarily 
 makes the Bufinefs of Life the frequent Sub- 
 jedl of Difcourfe. And a very proper Sub- 
 jed it is, and Men are ufefully employed, 
 when they are learning themfelves, or in- 
 ftruding others in the Bufinefs of their Trade 
 or Profeffion. So then this is another End 
 
 of 
 
94 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 of Speech, that Men may confer concerning 
 the necelTary Affairs of Life, and be mutually 
 aiding and helping to each other. 
 
 But farther flill, God has made us to de- 
 light in each other's Company. We are by 
 Nature fociable Creatures, and there is a 
 Pleafure in Converfation, though we have 
 no End to ferve by it, no Bufinefs to dif- 
 courfe of, nor any thing to aflc or defire of 
 one another. And lince God has made us 
 fociable Creatures, and it is his Will and 
 cxprefs Command to us, that we love and 
 delight in one another ; it follows, that it is 
 very lawful and commendable for Men to 
 meet for this Purpofe, for the improving and 
 maintaining mutual Love and Friendfhip :. 
 And then another End of Speech is to be a 
 Bond of Society, to be a Means of bringing 
 and keeping Men together. 
 
 Now then, if it does appear that Men may 
 meet for mutual Society and Converfation, it 
 follows, that nothing can render Converfation 
 unlawful that is not finful : For God made 
 us for the Society of each other, and has 
 commanded us to love each other; and 
 therefore if our Difcourfes are friendly and 
 focial, they are fo far virtuous, as they ierve 
 the End of Nature. 
 
 Now 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 95 
 
 Now Men may talk of many Subjefts, 
 which have no prefent Profit or Inftrudlion 
 in them, and yet they may ferve this End 
 of Converfation, of making Men delight in 
 each other's Company : And fince Love and 
 Friendfhip are fuch great Gofpel- Virtues, a 
 Man may fafely dedicate fome Hours in the 
 Day to them without a Profped: of ferving 
 any other End, and yet be virtuoufly em- 
 ployed. How often is it feen, that Men by 
 meeting accidentally, and difcourfing only 
 upon common Subjedls, come to have a good 
 Liking to each other, which by degrees im- 
 proves into Love and Kindnefs ? How often 
 too are the greateft Enemies reconciled, by 
 being brought into Company together ? At 
 firfl they hardly bear the Sight of each other : 
 Were they to talk of their own Affairs, or 
 even of any thing that would admit of a Dif- 
 pute, their Refentments would flame out into 
 Anger and Paffion ; but upon common and 
 indifferent Subjedls they make fhift to bear 
 with one another in Converfation ; which by 
 degrees foftens them into a mutual Compli- 
 ance, and reflores the long-forgotten Friend- 
 ftiip and Kindnefs: And will you fay the 
 Time is ill fpent, that ends fo profitably, fo 
 much to the Glory of God, and the Good 
 of Men ? 
 
 At 
 
96 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 At proper Seafons, and in proper Com- 
 pany, we ought to chufe nobler Themes : 
 We have all the Works of Nature before us ; 
 we have the Hiftory of Providence through 
 many Ages faithfully preferved in the facred 
 Records ; and we cannot be excufed in over- 
 looking thefe great Subjefts. We owe like- 
 wife to one another, whatever each other 
 wants ; we Ihould comfort the Weak, in- 
 flrudt the Simple, rebuke the Sinner ; rejoice 
 ivith them that do rejoice^ and mourn with 
 them that mourn. To negledt the proper 
 Opportunities of performing thefe Duties, is 
 a Fault not to be extenuated. But then they 
 arc as improper at fome Times as they are 
 proper at others; and when well-minded, 
 but weak Men, unlkilfully break in upon 
 thefe Subjedts, all that they get by it is the 
 Pity of good Men, and the Scorn and Con- 
 tempt of the Wicked. 
 
 Since then Society is a Thing in itfelf 
 commendable ; fince one End of Speech is 
 to be a Bond of Society, which is preferved 
 by mutual Converfe; and lince Religion 
 is not always a proper Subjedt ; it follows, 
 that for the maintaining Society, and for 
 promoting Love and Friendfhip, Men may 
 innocently meet, and fpend their Time upon 
 2 fuch 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 97 
 
 fdch Subjedls as offer, though the Subjedt in 
 itfelf does not tend direftly either to the 
 Good of Men, or the Glory of God. If 
 this kind of Converfation be blameable, it 
 muft either be a Sin of Commiffion, or a 
 Sin of Omiffion. It cannot be a Sin of 
 Commiffion, becaufe it is fuppofed to be in- 
 nocent > and I know no Sin that a Man can 
 commit by being innocently employed or di- 
 verted. Neither can it be a Sin of Omiffion ; 
 for no pofitive Ad: can be a Sin of Omiffion. 
 A Man may incur the Guilt of omitting his 
 Duty, whilft he fpends his Time in this 
 kind of Difcourfe; and To he may if he 
 talks of Bulinefs or Religion. If your Friend 
 or Relation wants your immediate Help, and 
 you vi^ill ftand difputing or difcourfing of 
 Religion, you incur a Breach of Charity, and 
 are guilty of a Sin of Omifiion. So if you 
 wafte your Time in talking impertinently, 
 when you ought to be at your Bufinefs or 
 Calling, to the Negledl and Impoverifhing 
 of your Family ; or if you leave no room for 
 the Duties of Religion, no doubt hut you are 
 very guilty : But your Guilt does not arife 
 from the nature of your Converfation, but 
 from your Mifapplication of Time, from 
 the Negled of your proper Bufinefs and 
 Vol. IIL H ^ Duty 5 
 
98 DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Duty; and your Guilt will be the fame, if 
 you mif-fpend your Time, though you dif- 
 courfe upon Subjects ever fo great and mo- 
 mentous. 
 
 But, Laflly, Let us confider the Nature 
 of Man in general, and the different Degrees 
 of Senfe and Underftanding that different 
 Men are endowed with. This Conlidera- 
 tion muft have place in this Queftion, be- 
 caufe the Tongue cannot fpeak better than 
 the Underftanding can conceive ; which in- 
 fers a Proportion between the Abihties of 
 our Mind, and the Soundnefs of our Speech ; 
 the latter muft be judged by the former j for 
 a Man cannot be obliged to utter more Wif- 
 dom than God has given him. 
 
 Now to difcourfe profitably upon the moft 
 profitable Subjects requires a good Share of 
 Reafon, a clear Conception, and a diftin- 
 guifliing Judgment : Without thefe Qualifi- 
 cations Men do but expofe the nobleft Sub- 
 jeSs they take in hand; and, in proportion, 
 there are but few Men thus qualified. I aik 
 therefore, what muft the reft do? Would 
 you have them chufe great and noble Sub- 
 jeds, which they do not underftand ? Or 
 would you have them hold their Tongues ? 
 The firft, I think, they ought not to do; 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE IV. 99 
 
 the laft, I am fure, they will not do. It 
 remains then that they muft talk of fuch 
 Things as lie level to their Capacities, that is, 
 of mean and every-day Subjedls : For thefe 
 Men are fitted for Society, and have a Relifh 
 of Converfation, as well as brighter Spirits, 
 and they ought not to be excluded from it ; 
 and therefore they muft be allowed to follow 
 their Genius, which is not likely to lead to 
 any very ufeful or improving Topics of 
 Difcourfe. It is fit, you may fay, that thefe 
 People fhould learn, and that others fhould 
 inftruft them; fo fay I too; But to be 
 always under Inftru<5tion is not very divert- 
 ing, and not many will fubmit to it; and 
 when Men of the fame Stamp meet together, 
 who jfhall be the Inftrudlor ? 
 
 I think it would be a good Compofition, 
 if we could prevail fo far with the meaner 
 People, as to reftrain them from envious and 
 malicious Difcourfe, from lewd and filthy 
 Jefting, which are great Ingredients in their 
 Converfation : For, fince God has defigned 
 them for Society as well as you, and given 
 them no great Share of Underftanding, you 
 can neither reftrain them from Society, nor 
 exad more Wifdom from them than they 
 have received, 
 
 H « Thi$ 
 
lOO DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 This Confideration will llkewife reach the 
 Cafe of wifer Men : You muft not defpife 
 your weak Brother. Charity obliges you to 
 be civil and courteous to him ; and when a 
 Man of Underftanding is joined in Society 
 with a weak Man, the Difcourfe muft be 
 according to the meaneft Capacity ; and it 
 is fometimes a Piece of Charity to fubmit 
 to the Converfation of Men of much lefs 
 Ability than yourfelf. 
 
 From all thefe Confiderations together 
 then it appears, that the Converfation of the 
 World, upon common and trivial Subjeds, 
 is not blame-worthy. It is a Diverfion in 
 which we muft not fpend too much Time ; 
 if we offend in this Refpedl, we fliall be 
 anfwerable for the Neglect of weightier 
 Matters ; but otherwife, if we tranfgrefs not 
 the Bounds of Innocence and Virtue, we 
 truft in Chrift that our harmlefs, though 
 weak and unprofitable Words, fhall not rife 
 up in Judgment againft us* 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
DISCOURSE V. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Ephesians iv. 28. 
 
 i^/ im thafjloky Jleal no more ; but rather 
 let him labour , worki?2g with his Hands the 
 Thing which is good, that he may have to 
 give to him that needeth. 
 
 C^^I^^^^HE Words now read to you 
 
 |l T ^1 '"^'^^ "P ^ complete Senfe, 
 
 fy^ ^± without depending upon what 
 ^§^5 2^^^ before, or comes after. 
 They contain a Confirmation 
 and Exph'cation of the eighth Command- 
 ment : For what the Apoitle enjoins con- 
 cerning Labour, and working with our 
 Hands, is no more than the neceffary 
 H 3 Confequence 
 
102 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 Confequence of the Command, Thou Jhalt 
 not Jieal. For lincc all Men are equal 
 Sharers in the Wants and Neceffities of 
 Life, and the Things which fhould fupply 
 thefe Wants are unequally divided, fo that 
 fome have more than enough, and fome 
 much lefs ; it follows, that the Neceffities 
 of the one muft be fupplied from the 
 Abundance of the other. Steal you muft 
 not, and give perhaps he will not. The 
 only Way then by which you can come at 
 the Things you want, is by Purchafe or 
 Exchange ; and the only Thing a poor Mart 
 has to exchange, is the Work and Labour 
 of his Hands : And therefore it follows as 
 a Confequence of the Law, that fince you 
 muft not fteal, you muft work, and pur- 
 chafe by your Labour and Induftry the 
 Things which are neceflary for your Sup- 
 port and Subfiftence. In all that rich Men 
 do, they want the Help and Affiftance of 
 the Poor ; they cannot minifter to themfelves 
 either in the Wants, or Conveniencies, or 
 Pleafures of Life : So that the poor Man 
 has as many Ways to maintain himfelf, as 
 the rich Man has Wants or Defires; for 
 the Wants and Delires of the Rich muft 
 be ferved by the Labour of the Poor, But 
 
 then 
 
DISCOURSE V. 103 
 
 then the rich Man has often very wicked 
 Defires, and often delights in finful Pleafures ; 
 and though to ferve the Rich be the poor 
 Man's Maintenance, yet In thefe Cafes the 
 poor Man muft not ferve him ; and there- 
 fore the Apoftle adds, that he muft labour, 
 working with bis Hands the Thing which is 
 good. His Poverty obliges him to ferve Man, 
 and therefore he muft work with his Hands*, 
 and his Reafon and Religion oblige him to 
 ferve God, and' therefore he muft work only 
 the Thing which is good. 
 
 Labour is the Bufmefs and Employment 
 of the Poor, it is the Work which God has 
 given him to do ; and therefore a Man can- 
 not be fatisfied in working merely as far as 
 the Wants of Nature oblige him, and fpend- 
 ing the reft of his Time idly or wantonly : 
 For if God has enabled him to gain more 
 by his Labour, than his own Wants, and 
 the Conveniencies neceffary to his Station, 
 require, he then becomes a Debtor to fuch 
 Duties, as are incumbent on all to whom 
 God hath difpenfed his Gifts liberally. He 
 muft conlider that he owes a Tribute to his 
 Maker for the Health and Strength he 
 enjoys; that there are others who want 
 Limbs to labour, or Senfe and Underftanding 
 H 4 to 
 
104 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 to arrive at the Knowledge of any Art or 
 Myflery, whereby to maintain themfelves; 
 and to thefe he is a Debtor out of the Abun- 
 dance of his Strength, and Health, and 
 Knowledge, with which God has blefled 
 him : And therefore he is obliged to labour, 
 working with his Hands the Thing which is 
 good, that he may have to give to hi?)! that 
 needeth. 
 
 To the great Men God hath given Riches,, 
 to the Mean Strength and Underftanding ;, 
 both are equally indebted for what they have 
 received, and equally obhged to make Re- 
 turns fuitable to their Abilities : And there- 
 fore, as the rich Man muft honour God out 
 of his Subftance, fo muft the Man of low 
 Degree make his Acknowledgment out of 
 the ProdudV of his Labour and Underftand- 
 ing : And therefore Men are obliged to ufe 
 Labour and Induftry in their honeft Callings 
 and Employments, firft to provide for them-, 
 felves, and all who depend upon them for 
 Maintenance; and, in the next place, to 
 provide a Stock to difcharge the Debt they 
 owe to their Maker, by adminiftering, \\\ 
 proportion to their Ability, to the Wants and 
 Neccilities of their poorer Brethren* 
 
 And 
 
DISCOURSE V. 105 
 
 And this may ferve to give us a general 
 View of the Senfe and Reafoning of the Text ; 
 which I ihall now more particularly confider, 
 according to the diftin6l Parts of which it 
 confifts. And thofe I think are four : Firft, 
 A Prohibition, Let him that Jiole, Jieal no 
 more. Secondly, In Confequence of that, 
 an Injundion, But rather kt him labour. 
 Thirdly, A Limitation of this Duty of la-- 
 bouring to Things honeft and lawful, ex- 
 preffed in thefe Words, Working with his 
 Rands the Thing which is good. Fourthly, 
 The Rule and Meafure of this Duty, That 
 he may have to give to him that needeth. 
 
 Firft, As to the Prohibition, Let hi?n that 
 jiole, Jlealno more. By this we are forbidden 
 the Ufe of all fuch Means, for our own 
 Maintenance and Support, as are injurious to 
 our Neighbour. The Command, Thoujhalt 
 not fiealy was given to fecure every Man in 
 the Property and Pofieffion of his Goods ; 
 and therefore the Reafon of the Law reaches 
 to all kinds of Fraud and Deceit by which 
 Men are injured in their Goods and Eftate : 
 And there are many Things which, in Pro- 
 priety of Speech, we do not call Stealing, 
 which neverthelefs muft be underftood to be 
 comprehended in this Law, in virtue of the 
 X Rea on 
 
io6 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 Reafon upon which it is founded. The 
 unjuft Acquifition of any thing is Theft; 
 for what you unjuilly acquire, another lofes, 
 and fufFers in his Property, for the Secu- 
 rity of which the Law againft Theft was 
 enabled : And therefore, in the way even of 
 Trade, if you fell a Commodity to an un- 
 fkilful Buyer for a Shilling, which, according 
 to the Market Price, is worth but fix Pence, 
 you are a Thief to the Value of fix Pence ; 
 for of fo much you unjuftly defraud the 
 Man. He that is ftronger than another 
 may rob him by Violence, he that is more 
 fubtle may do it by Cunning; but if the 
 Injury in both Cafes be the fame, muft not 
 the Guilt be fo too ? 
 
 Some are apt to repine at the unequal 
 Divifion of the Goods of Fortune, and think 
 that they have as good a natural Right to a 
 Share of the World, as thofe who at prefent 
 poffefs it ; and confequently that they may 
 afTert their Right, whenever it is in their 
 Power fo to do. From thefe Principles 
 iprang the Sedl known by the Name of 
 Levellers, who were for having the World 
 equally divided among the Inhabitants of it ; 
 and thought it very unnatural that one ihould 
 be a Lord, and another a Beggar. This 
 
 Opinion 
 
DISCOURSE V. 107 
 
 Opinion deftroys all Law and Juftice, and 
 evacuates the Command given againft Theft 
 and Stealing, by laying all Things open and 
 common, and making all Men joint Pro- 
 prietors of all Things. It renders Labour 
 and Induftry ufelefs ; fince he that labours 
 can acquire nothing .which he had not be- 
 fore; and were it a prevailing Opinion, it 
 would foon make the World a Nefl of idle 
 Vagabonds, by leaving no Encouragement 
 for the Labour either of the Body or the 
 Mind. But few Words may fhew the 
 Vanity of this Opinion : For firft, though 
 we cannot produce a divine Law ordering 
 the Diftribution of the Things of the 
 World, yet neverthelefs Property is evi- 
 dently of divine Right: For when God 
 gave the Commandment, T^hou Jhalt not 
 Jiealy he confirmed to every one the Pof- 
 feffion and Property of his Goods ; fince 
 from that Time, at leaft, it became un- 
 lawful for any Man to wreft out of his 
 Neighbour's Hands the Goods he was in 
 Pofl^effion of. So that it is to no Purpolc 
 in this Queftion to inquire by what Means 
 Men at firll divided the World among them- 
 felves, or how one acquired in any thing a 
 private Right to himfelf i fince we find this 
 
 Right 
 
io8 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 Right and Property declared and confirmed 
 by a fubfequent Ad of God. God is the 
 fupreme Proprietor of all Things; and it 
 will not be denied but that he might at firft 
 have divided the World as he thought good; 
 and this he may do at any Time, fince he 
 cannot lofe or forfeit his Right : And there- 
 fore it matters not by v^hat Means the 
 World was divided, when God confirmed 
 the Divifion, and eftabliflied Men in their 
 Right and Property ; fince his Confirma- 
 tion gave a Right, if there were none be- 
 fore. And hence it appears, that Property 
 is eilablifhed, if not by the Law of Reafon 
 and Nature, yet by the pofitive Law of 
 God ; which is to us the higheft Reafon and 
 Authority. And from hence it follows, that 
 no Man can acquire the Pofl^eflion of any 
 thing which is at prefent another's, without 
 the Confent of the prefent Proprietor fairly 
 obtained. And to this Right of his own 
 eftablifliing even God himfelf fubmits : The 
 Poor are his peculiar Charge; his Provi- 
 dence ftands engaged for their Support : But 
 neither does God force us to part with our 
 Eftates to the Poor, or give the Poor any 
 Right to ferve themfelves out of the Abun- 
 dance and Superfluity of others; but he has 
 
 kft 
 
DISCOURSE V. 109 
 
 hft them to be maintained by Charity, that 
 is, by the free and voluntary Gift of fuch as 
 can fpare from their own Subfiftence fome 
 Part of what they enjoy. Now none can 
 have greater Want than thofe who are Ob- 
 jects of Charity; and fince God has not 
 thought fit to break into the facred Law 
 of Property for the ReHef of thefe, no Man's 
 Necefiity can be great enough to warrant 
 him to tranfgrefs the Law, fince the greatefi: 
 Necefiity is made fubjefl: to it: In Con- 
 fequence of this it follows, that thole 
 who have not enough of the good Things 
 of this Life for their Maintenance and Sup- 
 port, are oWiged to work for their Living : 
 Which is the 
 
 Second Thing to be confidered in the 
 Text, But rather let him labour. Your 
 Wants mufl: be fupplied from the Abun- 
 dance of others ; and therefore you mufi: 
 find fome honeft Way of transferring to 
 yourfelf what at prefent is not yours : This 
 muft be done by Confent of the prefent 
 Pofl^eflTor, which muft be obtained either by 
 Purchafe or Intreaty. A Man may, if he 
 pleafes, part with his Goods freely to others 
 by way of Gift ; and it fhould feem, that 
 what another freely gives, v/e may freely 
 
 and 
 
no DISCOURSE V. 
 
 and innocently take. And this ralfes a 
 Queftion, Whether Begging be a lawful 
 Way of maintaining ourfelves ? If a Man 
 may lawfully beg, and can by begging raife 
 a fufficient Maintenance, then it does not 
 neceflarily follow, that becaufe we muft not 
 ftcal, therefore we muft labour ; for it may 
 be anfwered, we may beg. In this Queftion 
 we muft diftinguifli concerning Perfons; 
 for fome have a Right to be maintained by 
 Charity j and thofe who have a Right to 
 this kind of Maintenance, have a Right to 
 afk for it, that is, to beg the Charity of all 
 well-difpofed Chriftians. Charity is the In- 
 heritance of the Poor ; it is, as I may fay, 
 their Property : And therefore for any one, 
 who is not an Objeft of Charity, to live by 
 Charity, is invading the Right and Property 
 of the Poor; which is by much the worft 
 Way of ftealing. 
 
 Who are not Objects of Charity, the 
 Apoftle plainly tells us in another Place, 
 If any Man will not worky neither let him 
 eat ; that is, if a Man can work, and will 
 not, he ought to ftarve. . Now, no Man 
 ought to ftarve, who ought to be maintained 
 by Charity; for fuch have a Right to eat 
 of Charity : From whence it follows, that 
 
 fuch 
 
DISCOURSE V. Ill 
 
 fuch as can labour, but will not, have no 
 Right to Charity, and confequently have 
 no Right to alk it : And therefore Begging, 
 for fuch as are able to labour, is an un- 
 lawful Calling. It is indeed but a more 
 fpecious Theft : For iirfl:, you do not fairly 
 obtain the Confent of the Proprietor to 
 part with what you by begging extort 
 from him ; which is a neceffary Condition 
 in all juft and lawful Acquifitions. You 
 reprefent yourfelf as an Objeft of Charity, 
 pretend Age, or Sicknefs, orLamenefs, or 
 fome other Indifpofition, which renders you 
 incapable of an honeft Calling. The cha- 
 ritable Man, as bound in Duty, relieves 
 thefe Neceffities, and, out of what he allots 
 for Charity, gives fomething to you. Here 
 you manifeftly deceive him^ for, did he 
 know you, he would give you nothing; 
 and therefore, by your falfe Pretences, you 
 fraudulently obtain his Confent to pait with 
 his Money to you : This is a dired: Cheat. 
 Secondly, you diminifli the Maintenance of 
 fuch as are truly Objeds of Charity. If 
 the Money that is given charitably in this 
 Kingdom were applied only to proper Ob- 
 jefts, our Streets need not be crowded with 
 Beggars : But fince Begging has been found 
 2 to 
 
112 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 to be a profitable Trade, it has diverted the 
 Maintenance of the Poor to a parcel of idle, 
 lazy Hypocrites, who are taught to whine 
 and beg with as much x^rt and Care, as others 
 are taught their lawful Trades and Myfteries* 
 Thefe common Beggars are public Robbers 
 of the Poor, and live out of their peculiar 
 Inheritance. The Money which well-dif- 
 pofed People allot of their Subftance for the 
 Maintenance of the Poor, thefe infinuating. 
 Hypocrites, by their pretended Wants and 
 Neceflities, appropriate to themfelves^ fo 
 that their Employment is like to that of a 
 Pirate, they lie in wait to intercept whatever 
 comes to the Relief and Support of the 
 Poor. Now if common Begging is but a 
 difguifed Kind of Robbery, and really inju- 
 rious both to Rich and Poor, it follows, that 
 this Crime, like all others, falls under the 
 Care and Corredion of the Civil Magiftrate, 
 and that Laws made to reftrain this Evil, 
 and to punifli idle Vagabonds, ^ are founded 
 in Reafon and Juftice; and accordingly all 
 wife States have made Provifion to prevent 
 and to punifli this Evil. 
 
 Since then it is neither lawful for you to 
 beg, nor to ileal, it follows, that you muft 
 laboar,. and by your own Indufkry and Dili- 
 gence 
 
DISCOURSE V. 113 
 
 oence maintain yourfelf, and fuch others as 
 have a Right to be maintained by you. The 
 Apoftle adds, that you mufl labour, woi^k-- 
 hig ivith your Hands : Which is your Duty 
 when you are not capable of any better 
 Work \ for fuch as cannot live without it, 
 mufl live by bodily Labour. But the In- 
 jundion is more general, and includes all 
 Kinds of Labour and Toil, or Study, by 
 which Men may be ferviceable to themfelves 
 and others : And it may properly be afked, 
 how far this Duty extends? And it will, I 
 conceive, be no unfeafonable Digreffion to 
 inquire, whether only fuch are obliged to 
 labour, who cannot live without it ; or whe- 
 ther thofe who have enough to fupport 
 themfelves without either ftealins: or bee- 
 ging, are not likewife obliged to turn to 
 fome honeil: Calling and Employment ? 
 
 Man, I think, was not made to be idle; 
 God has not given him Senfe and Under- 
 {landing to fit ftill and do nothing. If Man 
 was made only to eat and drink, then indeed 
 it would follow, that thofe who have enough 
 to eat and drink, need do nothing elfe : 
 But if he is made for, and is capable of 
 nobler Employment; then it is a very abfurd 
 Thing to alk, whether a Man may be idle^ 
 
 Vol. Ill, \ provided 
 
114 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 provided he wants nothing ? For if he is not 
 made merely to ferve his own Wants, then 
 his wanting nothing can never be a Reafon 
 for his doing nothing. The neccflary Af- 
 fairs of the World cannot be managed by the 
 Labour of the Hand only : The Head muft 
 be employed in all Matters of Policy and Go- 
 vernment, in preferving Peace and Order in 
 the World ; and in all Matters that concern 
 the future and prefent Well-being of Man- 
 kind. Thefe are Matters of higher Moment 
 than to fall under the Diredion of Artificers. 
 Thefe are Things of the lafl: Confequence, 
 and muft be regarded^ and therefore it is 
 the Duty of fome to qualify thcmfelves for 
 thefe Purpofes. And every Man owes it as 
 a Duty to God and his Country to render 
 himfelf ferviceable according to the Station 
 he is in, and to qualify himfelf to difcharge 
 fuch Offices of Truft and Power, as gene- 
 rally fall to the Share of Men of his Rank 
 and Degree; that when he is called upon 
 by Authority to take any Office upon him, 
 he may be able to difcharge it with Credit to 
 himfelf, and Benefit to others. Thofe of the 
 higheft Degree among us reckon it among 
 their Titles of Honour that they are born 
 Counfellors of the Kingdom: The Cpnfe- 
 o qiience, 
 
DISCOURSE V. 115 
 
 quence, I think, is extremely plain, that it 
 is their indifpenlible Duty, by Labour and 
 Study, and Knowledge of the Laws and 
 Conftitutions of their Country, to fit them- 
 felves to be what they fay they are. The 
 Men of Eftates among us are generally 
 entrufted with the Execution of the Laws 
 in their Country; and can it be a Doubt, 
 whether they ought to be fit for their Em- 
 ployment, or no ? From thefe, and fuch like 
 Confiderations, it appears, that all Men are 
 obliged to that kind of Labour and Work, 
 w^hich is fuitable to the Station in which 
 God has placed them. We generally fay, 
 that God has made nothing to no Purpofe; 
 and yet, pray tell me what the rich Man is 
 made for, if his Bufinefs be only to eat and 
 drink, and fpend his Eflate ? Can you juftify 
 the Wifdom of Providence in fending fuch 
 a Creature into the World ? There is Work 
 cut out for all Creatures, from the higheft 
 to the loweft; all Things in Nature have 
 their proper Bufinefs, and are made to ferve 
 fome wife End of God. The Angels are 
 his miniftering Spirits, they attend upon and 
 execute his Commands, The inanimate 
 Things of the World have their Ofiice ; the 
 gun duly performs his Courfe, and rules the 
 
 I Z Dayi 
 
ii6 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 Day; the Moon and Stars rule the Night: 
 And if there be a Man in the World who 
 has no Work, but was formed to be idle, he, 
 among all the Works of God, is the only 
 Thing that is fo. Are not Senfe and Reafon 
 great Gifts of God ? And if he has exempted 
 your Hands from Labour and Toil, by 
 fupplying you with NecefTaries and Conve- 
 niencies of Life, will he not exped: that 
 you fhould improve your nobler Parts ? V/iU 
 he not exa6t an Account from you, how you 
 turned your better Talent, and what Ufe 
 you made of his more excellent Gifts ? Is 
 it reafonable, that a poor Man fliould be 
 accountable for not getting Bread for himfelf 
 by the Labour of his Hands, and that the 
 rich Man {hould be liable to no Judgment 
 for not getting Underftanding, which is a 
 more valuable Poffeffion, by the Work and 
 Labour of his Mind ? Bread is the Nourifli^ 
 ment of the Animal, but Knowledge is the 
 Food of the Man : By one we grow to the 
 World, by the other we reach to Heaven. 
 And has God made it an indifpenfible Duty 
 to labour for the Meat which periflieth, and 
 not required an equal Concern and Labour 
 for the Food of Life and ImmortaHty ? 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
r^^^^^ 
 
 ""^t^^^^^^t^^^^: 
 
 :^-n 
 
 ^ FM'^ Jink, r^-^ jiMkL F^O^ % 
 ^ ^#)^ X*5^ ^^^ K^^ ^^M ^ 
 g k^jif "^^'F" k^j^ "^.Mr k^J^ pj 
 
 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 PART IL 
 
 g^^^J P R O C E E D now to the Third 
 ^^ f^^& Thing, which is the Limitation 
 ^fe^ ife^ by which we are confined to 
 
 are good, foregoing all unlaw- 
 ful Means of fupportlng ourfelves : Let him 
 labour, working with his Hands the Thing 
 ivhich is good. 
 
 Had not this Condition been exprefTed, it 
 might have been colIed:ed from the Nature 
 of the Command ; for if the Law of God be 
 fuperior to our Neceffities in any Point, it 
 muft be fo in all Points. The Reafon why 
 we muft not fteal, but labour, is this : That 
 we muft not do evil, or tranfgrefs the Laws 
 of God, to fupply our Wants or Neceffities, 
 I X And 
 
ii8 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 And if for this Reafon we muft not ileal, 
 neither muft we lye or perjure ourfelves, or 
 do any thing elfe inconfiftent with the Prin- 
 ciple or Maxim upon which this Law is 
 built. Our Saviour tells us, thzt Ma?! fiall 
 not live by Bread alone^ hut by every Word 
 that proceedeth out of the Mouth of God. If 
 fo, then muft we not for Bread tranfgrefs 
 any Part of the Word of God : For if the 
 Word of God be as ncceffary to the Life of 
 Man as Bread -, then to tranfgrefs the Word 
 to get Bread, is really to deftroy Life upon 
 Pretence of preferving it; it is facrificing 
 Life and Immortality to the Belly, which 
 muft periili together with its Meat. As we 
 are Men, v/e are the Servants of God ; and 
 therefore to ferve him is the Law of our Na- 
 ture, which is of the higheft Obligation : As 
 we are poor, we muft ferve Men, which is 
 the Law of our Condition, which can never 
 take place of the Law of Nature ; and there- 
 fore no Necefiity can difpenfe with the Ser- 
 vice of God, or juftify us in the Breach or 
 Contempt of his Laws. Our Saviour's Ar- 
 gument againft Covetoufnefs holds likewiie 
 in this Cafe ; Is not the Lfe rmre than Meat^ 
 and the Body than Rai?nent? You may by 
 the Service of Men get Food and Raiment, 
 
 but 
 
DISCOURSE V. 119 
 
 but by the Service of God you hold your 
 very Life and Being. When you have done 
 your utmoft to provide NeceiTaries and Con- 
 veniencies for the Support of Life, you 
 muft depend upon God for the Continuance 
 of it 'y for at his Difpleafure wc all perifh : 
 He can render all your Care abortive, by 
 fliortening the Life which you take fuch 
 Care to provide for ; and therefore the 
 Wants and Neceffities of Life can never be 
 a juftifiable Excufe for tranfgreffing the 
 Laws of God. For no Man would give his 
 Life for Bread; and yet he that difobeys 
 God for the fake of any prefent or temporal 
 Advantage, does indeed hazard Life itfelf for 
 the fake of the Conveniencies of Life. Since 
 then no Neceffity can be great enough to 
 excufe the Negle6l of our Duty to God, it 
 follows, that the Apoille's Limitation mufl 
 always take place, and we mufl labour, 
 working the Tubing "which is good. 
 
 From hence we may learn what Value there 
 isinthe Excufe, which Servants and poor Men 
 ufually make for themfelves, when they are 
 fenfible that they are employed otherwife than 
 they ought to be. They dare not, they fay, 
 defert the Service of their Mafter, upon whom 
 they depend for their Livelihood y the Work 
 I 4 they 
 
120 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 they do is his, and not theirs , and therefore 
 he ought to be conlidered as the Perfcn act- 
 ing, and not they ; and confequently the 
 Guilt iliould be all his, from whofe Choice 
 and Will the Evil flows, in which they are 
 only Inflruments, not aded by Choice, but 
 by the Neceffity of their Condition. The 
 iirft Part of this Excufe is evidently falfe, 
 upon Suppofition that God is fuperior to 
 Man; for if God be your fupreme Mafter^ 
 then is it no Excufe to fay you ferved another 
 Mailer, when you difobeyed him. The 
 Excufe is likewife ridiculous ; for though you 
 depend upon Man for your Livelihood, yet 
 you depend upon God for your Life; and 
 Life is more than Meat; and therefore to 
 difobey the Lord of Life to get a Mainte- 
 nance is impious and foohfh. But neither 
 will the other Part of the Excufe do any 
 better Service; for though we allow that 
 the Evil you do is not of your own chufmg 
 or contriving, but that you ad: as an Inllru- 
 ment of another's V/iU, yet will not this 
 clear you of the Guilt of the Evil you do. 
 This Excufe may fcrve for an Horfe, but it 
 will not ferve for a Man; for to Man God- 
 has given Reafon and Judgment to govern 
 and diredl all his Actions ; and that Reafoa 
 
 will 
 
DISCOURSE V. 121 
 
 will make you a Principal in all the Evil you 
 do. Poverty neither diverts you of Reafon, 
 nor exempts you from the Rule and Govern- 
 ment of it; and therefore the poor Man 
 muft live by Reafon, as well as the Rich, 
 and muft be judged by it too, and confe- 
 quently can never be excufed for adling 
 contrary to what his own Senfe and Reafoa 
 direft. From what has been faid, it is 
 manifeft, that as the Law of your Con- 
 dition obliges you to work and labour for 
 your Support and Maintenance i fo the Law 
 of Reafon and Nature, which is a fuperior 
 Law, obliges you to work only Things 
 which are lawful and honeft, that you may 
 preferve a Confcience void of Offence towards 
 God and towards Man, 
 
 But you may afk perhaps, what are lawful 
 and honeft Employments ? In anfwer to 
 this, it muft be confidered, that the Work 
 and Labour of the Poor depends upon the 
 Wants and Defires of the Rich : For if a 
 poor Man fpends his Time in doing what no 
 body defires him to do, he may go unpaid 
 for his Pains; and when he has done, be 
 as far to feek for Bread as he was before. 
 From hence it follows, that you muft be 
 confined to fome Work, which may anfwer 
 
 to 
 
122 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 to the Wants or Defires of Life. Now the 
 Things which Men want, are either the 
 Neceflaries, or Conveniencies, or Pleafures 
 of Life ; and all Trades or Callings are fub- 
 fervient to one or other of thefe. 
 
 God has made nothing neceffary to us, 
 which is not lawful and honeft; and there- 
 fore it is lawful to provide whatever is necef- 
 fary to Life; and therefore all Trades and 
 Employments which arife from the neceifary 
 Wants of Life are lawful Trades. Under this 
 Head come all the Works and Labours of 
 Hufbandry, which fupply the V/orld v/ith 
 Food, andNourifhment, andCloathing; and 
 all other Trades, which furnun us with fuch 
 Things as we cannot well be without. 
 
 When Men are furnifhed with Neceflaries, 
 they then look out for Conveniencies ; and if 
 rich Men may lawfully defire and enjoy the 
 Conveniencies of Life, then poor Men may 
 lawfully provide them by their Labour and 
 Induflry : And this is a large Field of Work. 
 Whatever is ufeful or ornamental in Life may 
 be reckoned under this Head : And Conve- 
 niencies muft be eftimated according to the 
 Degrees and Quality of Men ; and as long as 
 Men feek the Conveniencies which are agree- 
 able to their Station, and bear Proportion to 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE V* 123 
 
 the Plenty of their Circumftances, they are 
 blamelefs : If they exceed this Meafure, they 
 fall into Pride and Extravagance, and the 
 Sins confequent upon them, fuch as ruining 
 themfelves and their Families, and mif* 
 fpending the Subflance which God has given 
 them. But fince all Conveniencies are fuit- 
 able to fome Condition or other, they may 
 all be the proper Subjed: of the Labour of 
 the Poor, who work indifferently for all, 
 from the Prince to the Commoner, without 
 inquiring, or being obliged to inquire, into 
 the Circumftances or Condition of the Man 
 who employs them, who alone is anfwerable 
 for the Prudence of his Undertaking : And 
 therefore likewife all Trades and Employ- 
 ments, which provide Things ufeful or or- 
 namental in Life, are lawful Callings. 
 
 The next Thing which may furnifh Work 
 and Employment for Men are the Pleafures 
 of Life. Some Pleafures are very innocent, 
 and fome very wicked ; and the Rule in this 
 Cafe muft follow this Diftindtion : Such Plea- 
 fures as the rich Man may lawfully enjoy, 
 the poor Man may lawfully ferve him in ; 
 fuch Pleafures as are wicked may neither be 
 enioyed or provided without Guilt. I need 
 cot inftance in Particulars of either kind ; To 
 
 ferve 
 
124 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 ferve the Lufts and Paffions of Men ; to maks 
 Vice eafy and pradicable -, to remove the Ob- 
 ftacles which he in Men's Way to wicked 
 Pleafures, is diredly to become the Servant of 
 Sin : This is a plain Cafe. 
 
 But then there are fome Things which, 
 according as they are ufed, may adminifter 
 to innocent Pleafure, or to Vice and Immo- 
 rahty. Wine may make the Heart of Man 
 glad, or it may deftroy and drown his Reafon, 
 and fmk him down to the Degree of a Brute. 
 And hence a Queftion may arife. How far 
 we may lawfully provide Things of this kind ? 
 And in the Cafe already mentioned it may 
 be inquired, Whether it be lawful to keep 
 Public Houfes, which are fo often abufed, 
 and made ill Ufe of? Now, fince the Inno- 
 cence or Wickednefs of thefe Things lies 
 altogether in the Ufe of them, he that ufes 
 them amifs may be to blame, and he that 
 provides them may be innocent. If you buy 
 a Sword, and ftab a Man, you that do the 
 Murder are guilty, but not he that either 
 made or fold the Sword. The fame will 
 hold in the prefent Cafe : Public Houfes are 
 ncceffary often to tranfadl Bufinefs in, to 
 entertain Strangers, or to receive Men who 
 meet to be innocently chearful. Thefe are 
 
 all 
 
DISCOURSE V. 125 
 
 all lawful Things, and therefore here is a 
 Foundation for a lawful Calling, This may 
 indeed be abufed ; and what may not ? By 
 the fame Rule you muft fhut up not only 
 Public Houfes, but moil other Houfes too; 
 for there are very few Things fold, which 
 are not capable of being abufed. Befides, 
 fince the Thing in its own Nature is 
 indifferent, and may be either well or ill 
 ufed, one Man's uling it ill cannot deprive 
 another Man of his Right to ufe it well; 
 and if, notwithftanding the Excefs of fome, 
 others may ufe the innocent Pleafure, then 
 they may be ferved by others in their inno- 
 cent Pleafure ; becaufe what one Man may 
 innocently enjoy, another may innocently 
 provide -, and confequently to ferve them 
 cannot be a Crime. 
 
 When Things in their own Nature evi- 
 dently tend to corrupt and debauch Men s 
 Manners, they are capable of no Defence. 
 Whatever expofes or renders Religion con- 
 temptible ', whatever ferves to make Virtue 
 and Piety ridiculous, to make Vice glorious, 
 to give Luft the Dominion over Reafon, or 
 to heighten the Appetite after finful Pleafures, 
 is of this kind. Thefe Confiderations have 
 
 carried 
 
126 DISCOURSE V, 
 
 carried many wife and good Men unto an 
 utter Condemnation of the Employments of 
 the Stage, as unlawful Means of Maintenance. 
 And whatever may be faid of the Reprefen- 
 tations of the Theatre in general ; yet when 
 they tranfgrefs the Bounds of Decency, and 
 employ their Wit and Art to make Virtue, 
 and Sobriety, and Chaflity ridiculous ; when 
 they treat the facred Laws of Marriage with 
 Contempt, and paint out the Villain, who 
 betrays his Friend, breaks the Laws of 
 Hofpitality, and brings to Ruin unguarded 
 Innocence, as an accomplifhed Charadler, 
 and fit for Imitation, there can be no doubt 
 but the Employment is extremely wicked. 
 And whenever the Stage is fo employed, 
 every good Man, every good Chriftian, muft 
 condemn it. Poets were anciently Inftrudors 
 of Mankind, and Teachers of Morality ; 
 and Virtue never went off the Stage without 
 Applaufe, nor Vice without Contempt, Thus 
 Heathen Poets wrote ! 
 
 It may be worth inquiring, whether Ga- 
 ming can be a lawful Calling or Profeffion 
 for Men to maintain themfelves by ? That 
 there is room for this Inquiry, is evident fi'om 
 the great Numbers who live and thrive by it, 
 ^ Thof^ 
 
DISCOURSE V. 127 
 
 Thofe who live upon this Art may fay in, 
 their own Excufe, what the unjuft Steward 
 faid for himfelf. Dig I cajinot^ to beg I am 
 njloamed: And I am afraid they are not 
 unhke him in the Method they chufe to 
 fupport .themfelves. Gaming may either be 
 reduced from Chance to Art, or it may not. 
 If it cannot be reduced to an Art, then it 
 cannct be the Subjedl of an Employment to 
 hve byj for you will not fay, that a Man 
 may be maintained by that, which, accord- 
 ing to the very Nature of the Thing, may 
 as well prove his Ruin as his Maintenance : 
 And therefore if Gaming is built purely upon 
 Chance, no Man can or oueht to make it 
 his Calling ; becaufe it can never anfwer the 
 End, and bring in a conftant Supply for the 
 conflant Wants of Life. If Gaming may by 
 Skill and Pradtice be reduced to an Art, 
 then it is a very unjuft Art, and muft be a 
 diilioneft Way of getting Money : For Men 
 venture their Money upon a Suppofition that 
 they have an equal Chance with you ; but if 
 you are Mafter of a Skill which can overrule 
 this Chance, you deftroy the Game by taking 
 away the Cljance, which is the Foundation 
 of it ; and you make your Advantage purely- 
 
 of 
 
128 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 of the Ignorance and Folly of others, and 
 live by an Art which you dare not own -, for 
 were it known, you could not live by it. So 
 that, take it either Way, to play upon the 
 Square cannot, in the Nature of the Thing, be 
 a Maintenance, becaufe it may equally hap- 
 pen to be your Undoing ; to play otherwife 
 is a Cheat and Abufe upon Mankind, and 
 cannot be an honefl or fair Livelihood. 
 
 From what has been difcourfed in general, 
 and upon the particular Cafes mentioned, we 
 may colledl what is an honeft Labour or 
 Maintenance : We muft follow our honeft 
 Callings honeflly. The next Thing to. be 
 confidered is, what is the Meafure of this 
 Duty; whether we are obliged to labour 
 merely to fupply our own Wants and Necef- 
 fities ; or whether there be any other Duties 
 incumbent on us, which muft likewife be 
 anfwered by our Labour and Toil ? This the 
 Apoftle has fettled in the 
 
 Fourth and laft place, enjoining us to la- 
 bour, tiat we may have to give to him that 
 needeth. So that the End we ought to aim at 
 by our Labour and Induftry is to enable us, 
 not only to fupport ourfelves and our Fami- 
 lies, but to be Contributors likewife to the 
 
 Wants 
 
DISCOURSE V. 129 
 
 Wants and Neceffities of fuch as are not 
 able to work and labour for themfelves. 
 Charity has no Meafure, but the Wants of 
 others, and our own Ability. The Scripture 
 has told us, the Poor jhall never fail : There 
 never will want Objeds of Charity, and 
 therefore we can never get beyond this Rule 
 of the Apoftle ; for the more we can get, 
 the more we ought to give, and therefore 
 muft conftantly labour to enable ourfelves 
 to anfwer this End in the beft manner. But 
 there are many Things which a poor Man 
 ought to provide for, before he can come 
 to exercife Charity : The iirft poor Man he 
 is to take care of is himfelf ; his own Wants 
 and Neceffities muft be anfwered out of his 
 Labour : Nor is he obliged only to provide 
 for his prefent Wants, but by Induftry and 
 Frugality to lay up in Store, out of what 
 he can fpare from his prefent Maintenance, 
 to provide againft the Cafualties and Misfor- 
 tunes of Life, which he, with all Mankind, 
 is liable to. He may be difabled by Sick- 
 nefs, or Lamenefs, or Age, and rendered 
 incapable of following his Trade or Labour ; 
 and thefe being fuch common Incidents, he 
 is bound to provide for them. This is 
 evidently a Confequence of the Apoitle's 
 Vol.. IIL K Rule, 
 
I30 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 Rule, that we muft work to ferve the Ends 
 of Charity. The firft Piece of Charity you 
 Are bound to, is to keep yourfelf from being 
 a Charge and Burden upon Charity ; that 
 there may be the greater Maintenance for 
 fuch as are truly neceflitous ; and therefore 
 it is a Breach of this Rule, inftead of pro- 
 viding for Futurity, to fpend all at prefent, 
 and leave yourfelf to be a Burden upon the 
 common Charity, whenever Age or Sicknefs 
 difables you : So that it is a Duty owing, 
 as well to your poorer Brethren, as yourfelf, 
 to keep yourfelf by the honeft Arts of 
 Labour and Frugality, from preying upon 
 their Maintenance, when your Strength and 
 Labour forfake you. And hence it appears, 
 that by the Apoftle's Rule, you are bound 
 as well to Thrift and Frugality, as to 
 Labour; and therefore fuch as work hard, 
 and fpend freely all they get, are highly to 
 be blamed, and may be found at lafl to 
 have fpent out of the Poor's Stock ; iince 
 by fquandering their own, they come at 
 laft to a Neceffity of living upon Charity; 
 by which means others are ftraightened, 
 that they may be fupplied. 
 
 Next to yourfelf you are likewife bound 
 to provide for your Family, for your Chil- 
 
 dren. 
 
DISCOURSE V. 131 
 
 dren, and near Relations; This is a Duty 
 of Nature ; and the Apoffle has told usi 
 If any Ma?t provide not for his oivn^ efpecially 
 thofe of his own Houfhold^ he is worfe than 
 an Heatheny and hath already denied the 
 Faith. Nor muft their prefent Maintenance 
 be your only Care, but Hkewife their future 
 Well-being \ For the fame Reafons which 
 oblige you to lay up in Store for yourfelf 
 againft future Calamities, oblige you to do 
 the fame for your Family; But what is the 
 Meafure, you will fay, of this Provifion for 
 Futurity ? Who can guefs how much him- 
 felf or his Family may want hereafter ? 
 And when fhall we fatisfy this Duty, fo as 
 to be able to begin the other of being cha- 
 ritable to our poorer Brethren ? Our own 
 prefent Wants muft be fupplied j and there- 
 fore he who can get no more than is ne- 
 ceflary for the prefent Maintenance of him- 
 felf and Family, is under no Obligation to 
 give to Charity : But when we get beyond 
 this Neceffity, we are then obliged to provide 
 for our own future Wants, and the prefent 
 Wants of the Poor % fo that I reckon to lay 
 up in Store for ourfelves, and to give in 
 Charity to others, are concurrent Duties. 
 
 K 2 But: 
 
132 DISCOURSE V. 
 
 But it muft be .illowed, that Charity is 
 naturally the Dut}' rather ot the Rich than 
 the Poor. And if it be the Dut\- of the 
 Poor to give to Charity out of the Uttle their 
 Hands cm earn ; how much more will it be 
 expected from fuch, to whom God has given 
 more than enough r who are appointed 
 Stewards over his Houihold, and areentrull- 
 ed with the good Things of the World, that 
 they may uie them to the Honour and Glorj^ 
 of his Xame, and to the Comfort and Re- 
 lief of their poor Bretliren : He has given 
 yea plentifully, and made the Things you 
 enjoy to be your own; he has fecured to 
 you your PoiTeuions, and commanded that 
 no Man rob or fteal from you, on purpofe 
 that vou mav ihew vour Love bv the Free- 
 dom of vour Oiferin^. Look down and 
 behold the Toil and Labour of Mankind, 
 how io tlie Sweat of tlieir Brow thev eat 
 ihcir Bread; how their Hands are galled 
 with Work, and their Shoulders with Bur- 
 dens : And then look up to Him, who has 
 exempted you, and given you a Life full of 
 Eaic and Comfort ; and refleci what it is 
 you owe to this kind, to tliis bountiful God. 
 The Time will come when you muft quit 
 vcur Lands and vour Houfes; when you 
 
 ihall 
 
DISCOURSE V. 133 
 
 £hall be Suitors for Mercy and Favour : Make 
 to yourfehes therefore Friends of the Mammon 
 of Unrighteoufnefsy that when all fhall leave 
 ind forfake you, you may be received into 
 the Habitations of Righteoufnefs, where 
 there is Mercy, and Peace, and Joy {q: 
 evermore. 
 
 K3 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
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 ^ <*M*> <(«)!(«> i*M*> <*«*> ^ 
 3^ <^*^> <^*>^> <^*)5(> <^*)K> )^ 
 S- <*)K*> <«jK*> <*)^*> *(*)K*> =^ 
 
 it. '*'^V ^^''^'^ ^*"W>*' >w"V^ ^ 
 
 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 I Peter iv. 8. 
 
 ^nd above all Things have fervent Charity 
 among yourf elves 'y for Charity Jl:all cover 
 the Multitude of Si?2s, 
 
 Y^)^%^^€^UE Exhortation In the Text 
 
 ^S^^O^ beino; joined with other Exhor- 
 
 ^'^ ^^ tations to Sobriety, and Watch- 
 
 ^^1^^^ fulnefs in Prayer, to Hofpita- 
 
 lity, and to a faithful Ufe and 
 
 Exercife of the Gifts and Graces of God 
 
 beftowed on the feveral Members of the 
 
 Church ; and yet, being introduced in this 
 
 diftinguifhing Manner, Above allTbijtgs have 
 
 fervent Charity among yourfelvesy plainly 
 
 K 4 Ihews, 
 
136 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 fhews, how highly the Apoftle efteemed 
 this great Virtue of Charity; and that it is 
 the Perfedion of a Chriftian, the very Life 
 and Soul of all other Duties, which without 
 this are empty Performances, and of no 
 Value in the Sight of God. 
 
 This Excellency of Charity, which wc 
 collecS from the peculiar Manner in which 
 St. Peter recommends it to the Practice of 
 Chriftiaris, is fully and exprefsly fet forth by 
 St. Pan/ in the i Cor, xiii. w^here fpeaking in 
 his own Perfon, he fays, Hhoiigh I /peak with 
 the I'ongues of Me?! ajid of Angels, and have 
 not Charity y I am become as founding Brafs, or 
 a tinkling Cymbal, And though I have the 
 Gift of Prophecy, and underfand all MyJlerieSy 
 and all Knowledge *y and though I have all 
 Faith, fo that I could remove Mountains, and 
 have no Charity, I am nothing. And though 
 I befow all my Goods to feed the Poor, and 
 though I give my Body to be burned, and have 
 not Charity, it profteth me 7iothing, It is to 
 be obferved, that St. Paul does not merely 
 compare and prefer Charity before all fpiritual 
 Gifts and Attainments, before Liberality and 
 Almfgiving \ but he declares, that thefe with- 
 out Charity are nothing, of no Value in the 
 Sight of God, of no Profit to the Salvation 
 
 of 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 137 
 
 of Man. Is it not therefore of great Confe- 
 quence to us rightly to underftand this great 
 Virtue, that we may ufe proper Methods to 
 attain it; lince it is that only which can 
 fandtify our Offerings to God, and make 
 either our Prayers or Praifes, or our Alms 
 and Oblations, acceptable in his Sight ; fince 
 it is that only which can make the Gifts and 
 Abilities bellowed on us of any Ufe, or ren- 
 der them a proper Means to fave ourfelves 
 and others ? 
 
 It is necelfary to enter into the Conlidera- 
 tion of the Nature of this great Virtue, 
 that we may rightly apprehend the Meaning 
 of the Text. St. P^/^r affirms, ih.\l Charity 
 Jhall cover a Multitude of Si?2s. Whatever 
 we are to underftand by this Expreffion, it 
 is evident that this great Promife or Effed: 
 mufl be afcribed to that Virtue only, which 
 the Apoftle had in his Mind, and which he 
 meant to exprefs in the Words of the Text; 
 and if we apply it to any thing elfe, we abufe 
 his Authority, and deceive ourfelves. I ihall 
 therefore confine this Difcourfe to two In- 
 quiries : 
 
 Firfl:, V/hat \.\\2it fervent Charity is, which 
 the Apofcle in the Text fo earneftly recom- 
 n^endsi and. 
 
 Secondly, 
 
138 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Secondly, What is the true Meaning of 
 the Apoftle's AflimiaTion^-^^oncerning this 
 Charity, that it Jljall cover the Multitude of 
 Sins. 
 
 As to the Firft Inquiry, it will appear by 
 the Language made ufe of by St. Peter ^ that 
 he is not recommending any particular Duty, 
 much lefs any particular Ads of Duty. (The 
 Words in the Original, rendered by our 
 Tranflatorsy^rT;^'^/ Charity, are iya'TDiv exlevvf, 
 continual ov uninterrupted Love. J Love is a 
 Principle, or a good Habit of Mind, from 
 which many Duties flow, but does not de- 
 note any one kind of Duty more than ano- 
 ther; and therefore the Charity fpoken of 
 in the Text has no more immediate Relation 
 to Aim/giving y (as the Ufe of the Word in 
 our Language often leads People to think it 
 lias) than it has to Patience, Forgivenefs of 
 Injuries, or any other natural Eftedt of Love 
 or Charity. It is therefore the Principle of 
 Charity, or a general Beneficence of Mind 
 towards one another, which the ApofHe re- 
 commends. And this muft be conftant and 
 regular, not fiabjed: to the Efforts of Paffion 
 or Refentment ; it muft prefide with a Supe- 
 riority over all the Defires of our Heart, that 
 neither Wantonnefs and Luft, nor Anget 
 I and 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 139 
 
 and Revenge, nor Covetoufnefs and Ambi- 
 tion may carry us afide from the Ways of 
 Righteoufnefs and Equity in our Dealings 
 one with another. 
 
 This Delcription diflinguiflies the Virtue 
 of the Gofpel from what the World means 
 by Good-nature, which feems to be a Qtia- 
 lity refulting rather from the Conftitution, 
 than from the Reafon of a Man, and is fre- 
 quently fubjed: to great Efforts of Paffion 
 and Refentment ; to the Defires of Ambition 
 and Lafcivioufnefs, and other Vices, which 
 have no Society, which can have none, with 
 Chriftian Charity. Good-nature has often- 
 times fomething that wants to be correded 
 in the very Principles of it ; fometimes it is 
 an agreeable and eafy Weaknefs of Mind, or 
 an Indolence or Carelefsnefs with refpect to 
 Perfons and Things, But Cliarity is Reafon 
 made perfed by Grace : It is a Beneficence 
 which arifes from a Contemplation of the 
 World, from a Knowledge of the great 
 Creator, and the Relation we bear to Him 
 and to our Fellow-Creatures : It is that Rea- 
 fon into which all Duties owing from Man 
 to Man are ultimately refolved ; and when 
 we chufe to fay in a word what is the Cha- 
 raftei'i the Temper, or the Duty of a DiK 
 
 ciple 
 
140 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 ciple of the Goipel, Charity Is the only Word 
 that can exprefs our Meaning. 
 
 The fame Sort of Adions materially con- 
 fidered do oftentimes proceed from very dif- 
 ferent Principles. Liberality and Hofpitality 
 are natural EfFefts of Charity, which in- 
 fpires us with the tender Motions of Com- 
 paffion and Benevolence towards our Fellow- 
 Creatures : But it is no very uncommon Thing 
 for Men to be liberal out of Pride, and hof- 
 pitable out of Vanity ; to do their Ahns before 
 Men^ that they may be feen of them 5 and of 
 fuch our Saviour's Judgment is, that they 
 jhall have no Reward of their Father^ which k 
 in Heaven. 
 
 This leads to an Inquiry, By what Means 
 we may certainly diflinguilh the Principles 
 from which our Aftions are derived, with- 
 out which we can have no well-grounded 
 Confidence towards God, how fpecious fo- 
 ever the Appearance may be which we make 
 in the Eyes of the World ? The ready An- 
 fwer to which Inquiry is, that w^e muft con- 
 fult our own Hearts, and examine what pafles 
 in them, in order to form a right Judg- 
 ment upon the Motives of our own Actions. 
 But if we confider what is meant by fearch- 
 ing the Heart, we iliall find that to fearch 
 2 the 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 141 
 
 the Heart, and to examine into the Motives 
 and Principles of our Adlions, is one and the 
 fame Thing; and therefore this Diredlion 
 does not fet us one Step forward in the In- 
 quiry. Befides, it is no eafy Matter to come 
 to the Knowledge of our own Hearts, fince 
 from Experience it is plain, that Men do 
 impofe upon themfelves at leaft as often as 
 they do upon the World ; and find an Eafe 
 and Satisfacflion in doing the Things, which 
 fliall yield no Fruit in the great Day, when 
 the Secrets of all Hearts fhall be difclofed. 
 And though in Aftions which require Deli- 
 beration, and are not undertaken without a 
 previous Debate had with ourfelves upon 
 their Expediency or Inexpediency, an honell 
 Man may judge of his own Motives and 
 Sincerity ; yet a thoufand Things there are 
 which Men do habitually, and with fo much 
 Eafe and Readinefs, as not to attend to the 
 Influence of any particular Motive at the 
 Time of doing the Aftion. Charitable Per- 
 fons do not, in each fingle In {lance df Cha- 
 rity, fet before their Minds the Connection 
 of that Ad:ion with the Honour of God, and 
 the Good of the World -, nor can they per- 
 haps be able to fay w^hat particular Motive 
 led to each Ad: of Charity. A Man of a 
 
 regular 
 
142 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 regular Chaflity and Sobriety does not every 
 Day, nor perhaps every Month, reafon him* 
 felf into the Obfervation of thefe Duties, and 
 exert the Motives in his Heart, upon which 
 the Practice of thefe Duties is founded ; not 
 can he anfwer, fhould he be examined to the 
 Point, how far his Virtue is owing to this or 
 the other Motive, or how far to his natural 
 Temperament and Conftitution* And lince 
 no one Virtue confifts in a fingle Ad:, or in 
 any certain determinate Number of fingle 
 Ads, but in a regular and habitual Conform 
 mity to the Rules of Reafon and Morality j 
 v/hich Conformity the more habitual it is, 
 the lefs we feel of the Influence of any paf-^ 
 ticular Motives^ it is hardly poffible for 
 Men to eflimate the Good or Evil of their 
 Adions, by confidering the immediate and 
 fenfible Connedion between each Adion> 
 and the Motives producing it. For, as 
 many Motions of the Body, which depend 
 on the Ads of our Will> are exerted with 
 the greateft Reafon, and yet the Reafon of 
 exerting them is buc feldom by any, and by 
 fome hardly ever attended to; fo in moral 
 Adions a Man of confirmed habitual Good- 
 nefs does many things right, without recur- 
 ring back by Refledion to the fpecial Grounds 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE VL 143 
 
 and Reafons of Duty, in which the Morality 
 of fuch Adtions is founded. 
 
 For thefe Reafons, and for others which 
 might be affigned, it feems to me to be a 
 very diftradling Method, to put People upoa 
 Inquiry into the Motives of all their parti- 
 cular Adtions ; and ftill more unreafonable 
 it feems to be, to exclude Sincerity from all 
 Adtions that are not immediately influenced 
 by a fpecial Confideration of the proper 
 Motives of Religion ; becaufe, in this Cafe, 
 the more naturally and habitually Men do 
 good, the more Reafon they will have to 
 doubt of their Sincerity, 
 
 We muft therefore fearch after a more 
 equitable and more pradticable Way of 
 judging of our Sincerity. Our Saviour tells 
 us, we muft love our Neighbour as our/elves-, 
 making hereby that Love, which naturally 
 every Man bears to himfelf, to be the Stan- 
 dard of that Love and Charity which we 
 ought to have to one another. As therefore 
 it is fuflicient to love our Neighbour as our- 
 felves ; fo likewife it will be fufficient Evi- 
 dence of the Sincerity of our Charity, if we 
 can give as good Proof of our Love towards 
 our Neighbour, as we ordinarily can do of 
 our Love towards ourfelves. 
 
 No>v 
 
144- DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Now certain it is, that the Principle of 
 Self-prefervation does generally ad: fo uni- 
 formly in Men, that they do the Things moft 
 neceilary to their own Well-being, without 
 much Thought and Refledlion upon the Rea- 
 fons for fo doing; nor do we ever fufpedt 
 Men fo far in the Sincerity of their Love to 
 themfelves, as to queftion whether the Things 
 which they do rightly for their own Prefer- 
 vation, proceed from proper Motives, and out 
 of a due Regard to their own Well-being. 
 
 What the Principle of Self-preiervation is 
 with refped: to ourfelves, the fame is Charity 
 with refpc(fl to our Neighbour; And the 
 more real and vigorous this Principle is, the 
 more eafily, and with the lefs DeUberation, 
 does it exert the Ad:s of Love and Benefi- 
 cence towards our Fellow-Creatures. Hy- 
 pocrites and Diflemblers, and felf-interefted 
 Perfons, have always a Defign in what they 
 do ; and therefore they neceifarily deliberate, 
 whether it be worth their while to do good 
 to others or no ; and can therefore affign to 
 themfelves a particular Reafon for any good 
 Office they perform to their Neighbour : 
 And it is a great Prefumption, that a Man 
 adls upon a general Principle of Charity and 
 Humanity, when he lives well towards 
 
 others. 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 145 
 
 Others, without having a particular Reafon to 
 affign in every Inftance for fo doing. 
 
 It is either a Principle of Self-love, or a 
 Principle of Charity, that inclines us to do 
 good to others. Where Men ad: out of Self- 
 love, and feek to promote their own Intereft, 
 to gratify their own Vanity or Ambition by 
 ferving others, there is fo much Defign in 
 what they do, that they cannot but be con- 
 fcious of the Reafons which prevail with 
 them : And where there are no fuch Reafons 
 to be afligned, what Caufe is there for Men 
 to fufpeit their own Sincerity, or to imagine, 
 that the Love they ihew to others proceeds 
 from any Thing but a good Principle ? 
 
 It is therefore, if not a certain Rule, yet 
 at leaf): a very reafonable Prefumption, that 
 we aft upon a true Principle of Charity, 
 when we feek the Eafe, and Satisfaftion, and 
 Comfort of others, without being confcious 
 to ourfelves of any felfifh Views to our own 
 Intereft in what we do. 
 
 But to prevent Miftakes, I would not be 
 underftood, by laying down this Rule, to 
 condemn Men always in the good they do 
 to others, with a View to themfelves : For 
 furely, it is as reafonable to exchange good 
 .Oftices, as other lefs valuable Conveniencies of 
 
 Vol. III. L Life; 
 
146 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Life; and, indeed, thgHappinefs of civil Life 
 confifts in this mutual Exchange of good 
 Offices : And therefore, where Men ferve 
 others in an honeft Way, expeding only 
 honeft Returns, this Juftice muft at ieaft be 
 done them, to own that they are fair Traders> 
 and deal in a good Commodity. The Apoftle 
 to the Hebrews exhorts \x% to provoke one 
 cnother to Love a?2d to good Works , and the 
 bed Way to provoke others to Love, is to 
 fliew Love towards them. 
 
 But the fureft Way to know whether we 
 .are influenced as we ought to be by a Prin- 
 ciple of Charity, is to coniider not this or 
 that particular Adion, for very bad Men 
 may fometimes do very good Things ; nor 
 yet to coniider our Behaviour with refped: to 
 particular Perfons, for the worft of Men 
 are capable of ftrong Paffions of L6vc for 
 particular Relations and Acquaintance ; but 
 to refled upon our Carriage towards all in 
 general, and in all Inftances: For, if the 
 Principle of Charity be in us, it will difcover 
 itfelf in an Uniformity of all our Adions; as 
 the Principle of Self-prefervation makes Men 
 feek their own Good, not at one Time more 
 than another, or in one Inftance more than 
 another, but at all Times, and in all Inftances 
 equally. If 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 147 
 
 If therefore we find that our Sentiments of 
 Tendernefs and Humanity are -confined to 
 certain Perfons, to our Relations or particu- 
 lar Friends, to the Men of our own Seft or 
 Party ; we may be fure that fuch Sentiments 
 are the Produdt of fome partial and narrow 
 Views, and not the genuine Ofifspring of true 
 Charity, which is in its Nature extenfive and 
 univerfal, and reaches as far, nay much be- 
 yond the Power we have of doing good : Or, 
 if we find that in fome Inftances we are apt 
 enough to deal juftly and mercifully with 
 our Neighbours, but that in others we are 
 regardlefs of Mercy and Juftice, and value 
 not the Credit, or Reputation, or Content- 
 ment of our Brethren, but are ready to 
 facrifice them all to our own Paflions and 
 corrupt Inclinations ; our being vile in fome 
 Inftances is a certain Indication, that our 
 being good in others is not owing to a Prin- 
 ciple of Charity, but to fomething elfe, 
 which we may call by any other Name rather 
 than Virtue. If you love not the World, 
 and the good Things of it, fo much as to 
 injure your Neighbour for the fake of mak- 
 ing a Gain to yourfelf, it is well. If you 
 can part with your own for the Relief of the 
 Neceffities of fuch as are indigent, it is 
 L 2 better. 
 
148 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 better. If, befides this, you have a friendly 
 Temper and Difpofition, and love to fee all 
 about you eafy and happy, it is a great Step 
 towards being perfed. But ftill if Luft 
 prevails, and leads you to violate the Wife 
 or the Daughter of your Friend, hovir dwells 
 the Love of God or of your Neighbour in 
 you ? For Charity is the fulfilling of the Law: 
 For this. Thou jhalt not commit Adultery^ 
 Thou fl: alt not kill. Thou fi alt 72otJieal, Thou 
 Jhalt 7iot bear falfe Witnefsy Thou fialt not 
 covet ', and if there be any other Command-- 
 7nenty it is briefly comprehejided in this Sayings 
 namely. Thou fljalt love thy Neighbour as 
 thyfdf. 
 
 The Pvule which I am endeavouring to 
 cftabliili, in order to enable Men to judge of 
 the Principle upon which they afl: towards 
 others, is the very fame which the Apoftle 
 to the Corinthians has in effed: dcfcribed in 
 the thirteenth Chapter of the firft Epiftle; 
 where, fpeakingoffpiritual Gifts, and fhew- 
 ing that without Charity they are of no Ufe 
 to the Poflellbrs thereof, his Subje6l led him 
 to give the certain Marks and Charaders of 
 that Charity, which he fo highly exalted. 
 What then is it ? Is it Almlgiving ? No, fays 
 the Apoflle ; Though I bejiow all 7ny Goods to 
 
 feed 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 149 
 
 feed the Poor, a?jd though I give my Body to 
 be burnedy and have ?20t Charity , it projiteth 
 me nothing. Charity is not a particular Vir- 
 tue, nor is it confined to any Kind of good 
 Works, but it is a general Spirit of Life in- 
 fluencing all the Adtions of a Man ; it is the 
 very Soul of Virtue, and {liews itfelf in the 
 Fund:ionsof it: Charity fiiffereth long, and is 
 kindi — envieth not, — vaunt eth not itfelf, is not 
 fuffedupy doth not behaveitfelf wife emly, fee k- 
 eth not her ow7i, is 7iot eajily provoked, thinketh 
 no Evil, rejoiceth 7iot in Iniquity, but rejoiceth 
 in the Truth 3 bear eth all Things, believeth all 
 Things, hopeth all Things, endureth allT kings. 
 Thus, you fee, the Scripture Rule of 
 judging ourfelves in this great Point of 
 Charity, is to compare our Condud: with the 
 Precept, and to conlider whether our Ad:ion9 
 are uniformly fuited to the Principle we 
 pretend to ad: by. We are not diredled to 
 confider only particular Adions, or the im- 
 mediate Motives which induced us to do this 
 or that particular good Office ; from whence 
 we can argue but with little Certainty, and 
 little Comfort to ourfelves : For a general 
 Principle is difcoverable only by a general 
 and uniform. Influence over all our Adions. 
 Men may be good by Starts ; may be tender 
 L 3 iind 
 
15© DISCOUPvSE VI. 
 
 and compaffionate more at one Time than 
 another, according as their Minds are foft- 
 ened by accidental Misfortunes happening to 
 themfelves : But Charity moves in an higher 
 Sphere, and views all the Creatures of God 
 with a conftant Benevolence : It is, as the 
 Text calls it — ctydTtv] l-iLnm- — an uninter- 
 rupted Love, and which exerts itfelf uni- 
 formly in all our Aftions. 
 
 When we find this conftant Benevolence 
 in our Minds, and that we adl conformably 
 to it within the Rules of Reafon, why 
 fhould we doubt of our own Sincerity, or 
 fcrupuloufiy examine into the fpecial Motives 
 which attended on every A6t of Charity ? 
 For, where we are confcious of no ill De- 
 ligns, no private Self-intereft, and yet find 
 that what we do is agreeable to Truth and 
 Equity, why iliould we doubt that we do 
 amifs ? It is therefore an unreafonable Bur- 
 den to put Men upon this Sort of Self- 
 examination; and more unreafonable to 
 fuggeft to them, that the Good they do is 
 of no Value, unlefs in every Inflance it be 
 extorted from them by an anxious Confide- 
 ration of the fpecial Motives of Religion. 
 You may as well tell a Man, that he means 
 not his own Nourishment in what he eats 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 151 
 
 and drinks, unlefs he has before his Mind 
 an Aphorifm of Hippocrates to juftify every 
 Bit he puts into his Mouth: For, as the 
 Principle of Self-prefervation directs us 
 without much Refledion, and often without 
 any, to feek our own Good ; fo a general 
 Principle of Charity will make it, as it 
 were, natural to us to feek the Good of 
 others, without the Trouble of Choice and 
 Deliberation. 
 
 To conclude : You fee the extenfive Na- 
 ture of Charity ; and you fee a plain and a 
 natural Way of judging, whether this excel- 
 lent Gift works in you or no. If you allow 
 yourfelf in any Inftance to injure or opprefs 
 your Neighbour, how can you be faid to 
 love him ? lince all Ways of Injuflice and 
 Oppreffion are equally inconfiftent with 
 Charity. Whatever therefore is the darling 
 Paffion, which makes you tranfgrefs againfl: 
 your Brother, that, that is the Thing which 
 deftroys in you this moft excellent Grace of 
 the Cofpel. What have you then to do, 
 but to root out this Evil from your Heart ; 
 to expel this Weed, which over-runs the 
 Ground, and choaks the good Seed ? Here 
 therefore let us point all our Examination to 
 4ifcover wherein we offend ; let us truft the 
 L 4 Good 
 
152 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Good we do to (hih for itfelf, without being 
 anxious to pry into the Caufes and Motives 
 leading to it : But let us double our Care to 
 feekoutour Failings, and to corred them; 
 that our Love rnay be without Stain, and 
 defcrve the Name of that Charity, w&ic& 
 Jha/I cover tie Multitude of Sins. 
 
 DISCOURSB 
 

 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 W)^fib%6¥y{T remains now that we conli- 
 ^5^^^5^ der in whatSenfe the Apoftle's 
 %% ^ ^^ AiTertion is to be underftood. 
 
 Multitude of Sms, 
 
 To ^C7;^r Sms fignifies to excufe theni, to 
 exempt them from Wrath and Pimi{hment: 
 In any other Senfe it is impoffible for Sins to 
 be covered in the Sight of God, who cannot 
 be deceived or impofed on, or fo over de- 
 lighted with the Good we do, as not to fee 
 and note our evil Adions. 
 
 With refpedt to the Judgment of Men, 
 this Expreffion will bear a ftronger Expofi- 
 tion : For, whether weconiider the charitable 
 
 Perfou 
 
154 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Perfon judging of other Men's Sins, it may 
 very vi^ell be, that his Charity may incline 
 him to think much better of Sinners than 
 they deferve , or, whether we confider others 
 judging of the charitable Perfon's Offences, 
 it is natural enough for Men to be charmed 
 with the Goodnefs and Excellency of Charity, 
 and not to fee, or not to attend to, the De- 
 fects which appear in fo good Company. 
 
 Which of thefe two Expofitions ought to 
 prevail, depends upon a farther Inquiry ; 
 namely, whether the Apoftle in his Affer- 
 tion, that Charity JJoall cover the Multitude 
 of Sins, had refpedl to the Judgment of God, 
 or the Judgment of Men. 
 
 Nor is this the only Inquiry neceffary in 
 order to fix the determinate Meaning of the 
 Text : For we muft confider alfo of whofe 
 Sins the Apoflle fpeaks -, and whether he 
 means to affirm, that Charity fhall cover the 
 charitable Perfon s Offences, or the Offences 
 of other People. 
 
 There are probable Reafons to be given 
 for the Support of each of thefe Interpreta- 
 tions : And it will be proper to examine 
 thefe Reafons, and to confider how far each 
 Interpretation may be admitted within the 
 Limits of !^eafon and Scripture. 
 
 Firfl, 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 155 
 
 Firft, There are good Reafons to be 
 afligned for limiting the Apoftle's Aflertion 
 concerning Charity to the Judgment of Men. 
 Hatred, fays the Wife King oilfraeUJlm-eth 
 tip Strifes y but Love cover eth allSms : Where 
 covering of Sins being oppofed X.oflirri?ig up 
 Strifes, the Meaning needs muft be, that as 
 Hatred perpetually begets Complaints, Ani- 
 mofities, and Refentments, fo Love allays 
 thefe intemperate Heats, and difpofes to 
 Peace and Friendfhip, and inclines Men to 
 overlook and to forgive the Offences of each 
 other. In this place therefore it is evident, 
 that Love is faid to cover all Sins with regard 
 to the Judgment that fvlen make of each 
 other's Offences. And the Expreffion in 
 St. Feter is fo much the fame with this in 
 Solomon, that it is very probable the Apoflle 
 borrowed it from hence, and applied the 
 Saying of the Wife King in Support of his 
 general Precept, Have fervent Charity among 
 yoiirfelves. 
 
 In this View then the Apoftle recommends 
 mutual Charity, as the only Thing that ean 
 render Life comfortable and fupportable to 
 lis, and deliver us from perpetual Vexations, 
 and put the Mind in a proper Pofture to con- 
 fider and prepare for the great Change at 
 
 hand : 
 
156 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 hand : For thus his Reafoning ftands, T!he. 
 'End of all Thifigs is at handy be ye therefore 
 fober, and watch unto Prayer j and above all 
 things have fervejit Charity among yoiirfelves. 
 A Man drunk with Paffion, and engaged in 
 perpetual Strifes, is no more capable of 
 making a due Preparation for the great 
 Change which is near, than one intoxicated 
 with Wine, 
 
 Temperance and Charity are the properefl: 
 State we can put ourfelves into, to wait for 
 the Coming of our Lord. And the Apoftle 
 had learned to fubjoin this Advice to the 
 Mention of the great Day from his bleffed 
 Mailer, who had denounced Judgment with- 
 out Mercy to aii luch as ihould be found, 
 at his fecond Coming, void of Charity and 
 Sobriety : But and f that Servant fay in his 
 Heart, My Lord delay eth his comings andjloall 
 begin to beat the Men-fervants and Maidens ^ 
 and to eat and drinky and be drunken ; the 
 Lord of that Servant will come in a Day when 
 be looketh not for him y and at an Hour when 
 he is not aware y and will cut him in finder , 
 and will appoint him his Portion with the 
 Unbelievers, In Conformity to this Declara- 
 tion of our bleifed Lord, the Apoftle having 
 given Warning of the End of all Things 
 
 being 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 157 
 
 being at hand in the Verfe before the Text, 
 immediately exhorts to Sobriety, Prayer, and 
 Charity, that we may not be found in the 
 Number of thofe, who are beating their Fel- 
 iow-fervants, or abufing the Gifts of God to 
 Luxury and Intemperance. 
 
 Charity therefore, as it naturally inclines 
 us to overlook and to forgive the Offences 
 of our Brethren, fo it puts us into that State 
 of Peace and Serenity of Mind, which is 
 necelTary to enable us to prepare for the 
 Reception of our great Judge. 
 
 In this Senfe of the Words, St. Pefers 
 Aflertion agrees exadlly with the Accounts 
 given us of Charity in other Places of Holy 
 Scripture. St. Paul is very particular in 
 defcribing the Properties of Charity ; and 
 tells us, that \\.fuffereth longy and is kind, 
 and is not eajily provoked ; but beareth all 
 T^ kings y endureth all Things, What is it 
 now that Charity fuffereth, beareth, and 
 endureth ? Not its own Offences furely, but 
 the Offences and Provocations of others. 
 Men who are void of Charity can be kind 
 enough to themfelves, and are apt to bear 
 but too long with their o\yn Offences : But 
 this is not the Praife of Charity, to over- 
 look its own Faults; but it is its Glory to 
 I bear 
 
158 DISCOURSE vr. 
 
 bear with the Faults of others, and to fufFer 
 fnuch, and yet not be much provoked. And 
 what is this but, in the Expreffion of Solomon 
 and St. Pet cry to cover a Multitude of Sins ; 
 to draw a Curtain over the Infirmities of our 
 Brethren, and to fpread our own richell Gar- 
 ment over the Nakednefs of our Friends ? 
 
 Befides, the Expreffion here made ufe of 
 by St. Peter) The Multitude of Sins, leads to 
 this Interpretation. When our Saviour ex- 
 horted his Difciples to forgive Men their 
 Trefpafles, St. Peter put the Queftion to him, 
 Lordy how of t jl: all my Brother fn againji me, 
 ond I forgive him ? 'Till feven Times ? Our 
 Lord anfwered, I fay not unto thee until feven 
 Times y but until feventy Times feven. From 
 which Anfwer St. Peter could not but learn, 
 that it was the Property of Charity to cover 
 the Multitude of our Brother's Sins , to for- 
 give him, not only when he offended againd 
 us feven Times, but even when he tranf- 
 greffed feventy Times feven : A large Num- 
 ber ; and the larger, becaufe it is not fet 
 down to mark the precife Number of Of- 
 fences which Charity may forgive, but rather 
 to denote, that there is no Number which 
 Charity ought not to forgive. 
 
 Moreover, 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 159 
 
 Moreover, it is much more reafonable to 
 think, that a truly charitable Man fhould 
 meet with a MuUitude of Sins in other Peo- 
 ple for the Exercife of his Charity, than 
 that he fhould have a Multitude of his own 
 to cover. We meet with no fuch Defcrip- 
 tion of Charity in Holy Writ, as may lead 
 us to imagine that it is confiftent with a Mul- 
 titude of Sins. Charity is xkvt fulfilling of the 
 Lawy as the Apoftle to the Romans informs 
 us; and it proceeds, as he farther acquaints 
 us in his Epiftle to Timothy ^ out of a pure 
 Hearty and of a good ConfciencCy and of Faith 
 unfeigned. Now, how can the Multitude of 
 Sins, fpoken of in the Text, be confiftent 
 with fulfilling the Law? How can it be 
 fuppofed to dwell in a pure Heart ? to be 
 joined with a good Confcience ? and to have 
 Fellowfhip with Faith unfeigned? We 
 may afk the fame Queftions here, which the 
 Apoftle to the Corinthians does in another 
 Cafe: What FellowJJnp hath Right eoufnefs 
 'with Unrighteoufnefs ? and what Communion 
 hath Light with Darknefs ? and what Con- 
 cord hath Chrijl with Belial? So that, con- 
 fidering how inconfiftent thefe Things are, 
 the Hopes which Men conceive of compound- 
 ing their Sins by the means of Charity, are in 
 3 great 
 
i6o DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 great Danger of being overthrown by thiS 
 Conclufion, That w^here there is Charity, 
 there will not be a Multitude of Sins; and 
 where there is a Multitude of Sins, there can 
 hardly be true Charity to hide them. 
 
 If you think that the Text, according to 
 this Interpretation, holds forth no great Com- 
 fort or Encouragement to Charity, fince the 
 Benefit accrues to others, whofe Offences 
 are covered by Charity, and not to the chari- 
 table Perfon, who grows rather indolent than 
 happy through an Excefs of Goodnefs; it 
 mull, on the other Side, be confidered, how 
 blefled a State it is to enjoy a Calm, whilft 
 the World around us is failing in a Storm -, to 
 jit free from the Torments of Anger and 
 Revenge, whilft others burn with Refent- 
 ment and Indignation ; to have the Mind at 
 Liberty to look into itfelf, and to look up 
 with Pleafure to its great Creator, whilft 
 others facrifice both their Reafon and their 
 Religion to the Tranfports of Paffion. It is 
 this happy Temper alone, that can bring us 
 to expedl our great Change with any Satis- 
 fadion. How happy a Condition will it be 
 to be found at Peace with ourfelves and the 
 World, when our great Mafter fummons us 
 to appear ! And who would not dread to be 
 
 called 
 
DISCOURSE vi. 161 
 
 called from Quarrels, Contentions, andStrifes^ 
 to ftand before the Judgment-feat of God ? 
 
 Secondly, There may be Reafons for ex- 
 pounding the Text of the Judgment of God> 
 and yet the Apoftle's Aflertion may ftill re- 
 late to the Sins of others, and not to the 
 Sins of the charitable Perfon. But what, 
 you will fay, may one Man's Sins be covered 
 in the Sight of God by another Man s Cha- 
 rity ? Yes, they may ; and in this Senfe the: 
 very Expreflion of the Text is made ufe of 
 by St. James : Brethren^ if any of you do err 
 from the Truth, and one co7ivert him ; let him 
 know, that he which converteth the Sinner from 
 the Error of his Way, fiallfave a Soul from 
 Death, and fh all hide a Multitude of Sins. 
 Where it is evident, that the Sins to be 
 covered are the Sins of the Soiil to be faved 
 from Death -, that is, the Sins of the Per- 
 fon converted from the Error of his Ways, 
 and not the Sins of the Converter : And the 
 doing fo great a Good to a Brother, as the 
 faving his Soul, and hiding the Multitude 
 of his Sins, is propofed as an Incitement to 
 every charitable Perfon to labour the Conver- 
 fion of a Sinner. Join other Cafes : It is very 
 plain, how much Sin and Folly proceed 
 from the mutual Paflions of Men labour- 
 
 VoL. IIL M in2 
 
j62 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 ing defpitefully to vex and provoke each 
 other; and how much might be prevented 
 on both Sides, had one of them only Reafon 
 and Difcretion enough to put an end to Strife. 
 This Part the charitable Man is ever ready 
 to aft ; and when he does, his paflionate Ad- 
 vcrfary owes it to his Goodnefs, that in his 
 Anger he did not fin againft God. This the 
 Prophet David fa.\v and acknowledged in his 
 own Cafe, and bleffed the happy Inftrument 
 which prevented his Hands from fhedding 
 Blood : He had fworn in his Wrath to de- 
 ftroy Nabal, and all his Family with him ; 
 but the Wife of Nabal with gentle In- 
 treaties put a Stop to his Revenge, and faved 
 him from committing the great Crime. 
 David no fooner recovered himfelf from his 
 Paflion, but he faw how much he was in- 
 debted to his Petitioner; and cried out, 
 Blejfed be the Lord God of Ifraeh whichfent 
 thee this Day to meet me y and blejfed be thy 
 Advice f and blejjed be thou^ which hajl kept me 
 this Day from coming to fied Bloody and from 
 avenging myfelf with mine own Hand, This 
 Speech every paflionate Man may have 
 Reafon to make to his charitable Neighbour, 
 who gives way to his Wrath, and by gentle 
 and kind Treatment faves him from the Ex- 
 travagances, 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 163 
 
 travagances, which a warm Oppofition would 
 hurry him into. And is it not a great En- 
 couragement to put on Meeknefs and Cha- 
 rity, fince by bearing with the light Offences 
 of our Brethren againft ourfelves, we may 
 poflibly fave them from much greater Of- 
 •fences againft God, and be inftrumental in 
 delivering them from that Judgment, which, 
 by their own Bitternefs of Spirit and Thirft 
 after Revenge, they would certainly draw 
 upon themfelves ? 
 
 Were we to go through the feveral Works 
 of Charity, and confider it inftrudling the 
 Ignorant, encouraging the Weak, rebuking 
 the Prefumptuous, in a word, giving an 
 helping Hand to every good Work ; it would 
 appear, in many Inftances, how inftrumental 
 Charity is in covering the Sins of others. But 
 I haften to the 
 
 Third and laft Inquiry, What Encourage- 
 ment we have from Reafon and Scripture to 
 exped, that by Charity we may cover our 
 own Sins. 
 
 In the Verfe before the Text the xA.poftle 
 
 gives us this Warning — The Rnd of all Things 
 
 is at hand. To this folemn Notice he fub- 
 
 joins a proper Exhortation : Be ye therefore 
 
 fobery and watch unto Frayer ; and above all 
 
 M 2 Things 
 
i64 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 l^hmgs have fervent Charity among yoiirf elves* 
 The Reafon of the latter Part of this Exhor- 
 tation he gives in the Words now under our 
 Confideration, For Charity Jloall cover the 
 Multitude of Sins, Thefe Things laid toge- 
 ther create a Prefumption, that the Apoftlc 
 might mean to inftrudl each Man how to 
 cover his own Sins, and to prevent the ill 
 Effects naturally to be feared from them, 
 w^hen the End of all Things fhould come. 
 When we think of Judgment, of whofe Sins 
 do we think, or for whofe Offences do wc 
 tremble, but our own ? When the Preachers 
 of the Gofpel warn us of the great Day of 
 the Lord, it is a ftrong Call to Repentance, 
 and for whofe Sins but our own ? Since there- 
 fore the Apoflle calls on us to ufe the befl 
 Means to cover the Multitude of Sins, in 
 Expectation of the great Change that is at 
 hand, whofe Sins can we more naturally 
 think on than our own ? And if this be 
 indeed the Cafe, then is Charity recommend- 
 ed to us, as a proper Means to cover or excufe 
 our own Sins in the Sight of God. 
 
 Bgfides, the Exhortation to mutual Cha- 
 rity being fubjoined immediately to the Men- 
 tion of Prayer, may be a farther Argument of 
 St. Peters Intention to inllrucl us how to 
 
 hide 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 165 
 
 hide our own Offences. He well knew 
 upon what Condition our Lord had taught 
 us to afk Forgivenefs of our Sins : Forgive 
 us our Trejpajfesy as we forgive them that 
 trefpafs againjl us. This being the Condition 
 upon which the Pardon of God is promifed, 
 what have we to cover our Sins in the Sight 
 of God without Charity ? that Charity which 
 bearethallThingSi endureth all Things y which 
 hideth the TrelpaiTes of our Brother from our 
 Eyes, and for that Reafon will cover our own 
 Offences, when the Lord iliall come to judge 
 the Earth, 
 
 But farther : The Nature and Extent of 
 Charity confidered, there arifes a farther Ar- 
 gument to confirm the charitable Man in the 
 Hopes of Pardon for his own Tranfgreflions : 
 For Charity is ih^ fulfilling of the Law ; it is 
 the Royal Law, as St. James calls it, which 
 whofoever fulfills fhall do well. And in this 
 View, St. Peters Advice, to have fervent 
 Charity, that it may cover the Multitude of __ 
 Sins, is equivalent to Daniel' s Advice to 
 Nebuchadnezzar : Ki?2g, let my Counfel he 
 acceptable unto thee, and break off thy Sijzs by 
 Right eoufnefs, and thine Iniquities by Jloewing 
 Mercy to the Poor, Charity is indeed the 
 breaking off of Sin ; it is Righteoufnefs and 
 M 3 Mercy ^^ 
 
i66 DISCOURSE VI. ' 
 
 Mercy ; it is the effcntial Part of that Re- 
 pentance to which the Promifes of Life are 
 made in the Gofpel. 
 
 For thefe Reafons it may be allowed, that 
 the Apoftle meant to exhort us to Charity, 
 as a proper Means to obtain:. Forgivenefs of 
 our Sins at the Hands of God. But, to 
 prevent Miftakes in fo momentous a Concern 
 to ourfelves, I beg leave to lay a few Obfer- 
 vations before you, which may help to fet 
 this Matter in a clear Light. 
 
 Firft, We muft not fo expound this Text, 
 as to make it contradid: the general Terms of 
 Pardon and Reconciliation propofed in the 
 Gofpel of our Saviour : And therefore, fince 
 the Gofpel allows no Licence for continuing 
 in Sin, nor gives any Encouragement to 
 hope for the Pardon of Sin, but upon Re- 
 pentance and Amendment of Life, we do 
 but deceive ourfelves when we give way to 
 other Hopes, and, by the Help of a ftrong 
 Imagination, wreft the Words of St. Petery 
 and other like Paffages of Scripture, to the 
 Service of our Inclinations. You have it^^ 
 that the Words of the Text are capable of 
 divers Interpretations, and therefore they 
 cannot be fo ftrong in any one Senfe, as to 
 controul the Meaning of more plain and ex- 
 
 prefs 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 167 
 
 prefs Declarations of Holy Writ : Nor can 
 we reafonably imagine, that the Holy Writers 
 forgot or negledted to acquaint us with our 
 beft Advantage, and left it to a iingle Ex- 
 preffion in an Epiftle of St. Peter, to inform 
 us of fomething more comfortable and be- 
 neficial to us, than the general Terms, as 
 propofed in the Gofpel, do contain. 
 
 Secondly, We muft not fo expound this, 
 or any other Paffage of Scripture, as to raife 
 up a Doftrine contumelious and reproachful 
 to God, or inconfiftent with his Attributes 
 of Holinefs and Juftice. Now there i« 
 nothing more reproachful to God, than to 
 deal with him, as if you could purchafe a 
 Pardon or an Indulgence at his Hands, as 
 if you could compound Sins with him, and 
 bargain for fo many Afts of Charity in lieu 
 of fo many Ads of Extortion and Oppreffion, 
 which you have been, or do intend to be^ 
 engaged in. Confider, with the Almighty 
 dwelleth Truth and Juftice, and in the Court 
 of Heaven there is no Commutation for Ini- 
 quity; no Excufe for it, but forfaking it j no 
 Pardon for it, but by renouncing it. Go, 
 and Jin no more, fays our Saviour to the 
 Woman taken in Adultery. You fee here 
 the Condition of Pardon for Sin ; fo effential a 
 M 4 Condition, 
 
i68 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Condition, that no Indulgence, no Charter 
 pan be good, that wants this Claufe. 
 
 Under thefe L/imitations then, let us con^ 
 fijJer how far we may apply this fovereign 
 Remedy of Charity to our own Sins. 
 
 We may confider our Sins as part, preient, 
 and to come. With refped to our pall Sins, 
 it is out of our Power to recall them : With 
 refpeft to our prefent, it is in our Power 
 to foriake them : With refped: to thofe to 
 come, it is in our Power to prevent or avoid 
 them. To begin with the laft : No Sort or 
 Degree of Charity can fo far vacate the 
 Duties of Virtue and Religion, as to make it 
 unneceflary for us to avoid the Occafions of 
 Sin for the Time to come. To reform Man- 
 kind is the End of the Gofpel ; and it is the 
 conftant Call of God to us, fpeaking by the 
 Voice of Nature and Revelatipnj, T'/jaf deny^ 
 ing allXJngo^lincfs^ it'C Jhaxild live right eotcfiy 
 andfoberly in this prcjent World. It is abfurd 
 therefore to fuppofe, that either Nature or 
 Revelation can diffolve our Obedience to 
 God| or fliev/ us a Way how we may fafely 
 give fcope to Sin, and promife ourfelves t\\(^ 
 Pleafures of Iniquity with Security. Nay, 
 Charity itfelf, could it poflibly entertain fo 
 malicious a Thought againil God, as to lay 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 169 
 
 up for Itfelf an Opportunity of finning againft 
 God with Impunity, would ceafe to be 
 Charity ; and our very Remedy, fo applied, 
 would turn to Poifon in our Hands, 
 
 Secondly, As to our prefent Sins : As it is 
 in our Power, fo it will ever be our Duty, to 
 forfake them ; and nothing can difpenfe with 
 this Obligation, We muft not therefore 
 pretend to balance our Good and Evil to- 
 gether, and fondly imagine, that our Virtues 
 do fo far exceed our Iniquities, that we 
 may fafely enjoy them. Our Saviour tells us, 
 tiat ivhen we have done our iitmojl^ we tnvjl 
 fay that we are unprofitable Servants, Where 
 then is our Claim to io much Merit and 
 Righteoufnefs, as may render it proper for 
 us to do lefs than our utmoft, and may 
 (entitle us to the Reward of the Servants of 
 God, whilft we wilfully continue the Ser- 
 vants of Sin ? Such a Pretence once allowed 
 would render Repentance vinneceffary, would 
 vacate the Terms of the Gofpel, and, hy 
 fetting up one new Remedy for Sin, Vv^ould 
 render ineffedlua} all that ever Nature or 
 Revelation prefcribed. 
 
 Thirdly, As to our paft Sins : It is not 
 in pur Power to recall them* Here there- 
 fore the Goodnefs of God has provided a 
 / Remedy, 
 
fjo DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 Remedy, that we may not perlfli everlaft- 
 ingly. This then is the only Cafe in which 
 we have any Encouragement to feek for a 
 Cover for our Sins. If we are indeed iincere 
 in deiiring to ferve God and fave ourfelves, 
 we may forfake our prefent Iniquities, and 
 avoid them for the future ; and therefore to 
 propofe After-remedies would be to encou- 
 rage Sin: But, for our part Offences, we 
 cannot recall them 5 here therefore a Re- 
 medy is neceffary, and here the Goodnefs 
 of God has provided one. Repentance and 
 Amendment of Life is the Remedy pro- 
 vided; and fince Charity is the Perfedion 
 of the Law, to forfake Sin, and to live by 
 the Rules of Charity, is the furefl, the mofl: 
 effedual Way to obtain Pardon. Under thefe 
 Reftraints let not the Sinner be difcouraged 
 in his Hopes, that Charity Jldall cover the 
 Multitude of Sins ; for his Hope fhall be 
 confirmed to him by Him, who is true and 
 faithful, and cannot deceive. 
 
 But even in this Cafe there is need to 
 guard againft Miftakes : For, though return- 
 ing to our Duty, and the Works of Charity, - 
 is the beft Amends we can make for the 
 Guilt of part Offences 5 yet Charity will not 
 be accepted of God in lieu of Juftice. If we 
 
 havGf 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 171 
 
 have injured and defrauded our Neighbour, 
 our Debt to him will not be paid by Charity 
 to another. An hundred Pounds given to 
 the Poor will not atone for a thoufand, nor 
 even for an hundred, gained by Extortion or 
 Oppreflion. We muft do Juftice before we 
 pretend to be charitable, even in this Senfe, 
 and refund our wicked and ungodly Qains, 
 before any Part of our Wealth can be made 
 an acceptable Sacrifice to God. It is too 
 common for Men to compound fuch Debts 
 as thefe, and to imagine they fandlify their 
 Extortion by laying out' Part of it for the 
 Glory of God, as they love to fpeak ; but it 
 is the higheft Infolence and Affront to God 
 to think to bribe his Juflice, and to obtaia 
 his Pardon, by fuch a Piece of Corruption 
 as any human Court v/ould condemn. Go 
 to any Court of Juftice, tell them that you 
 have by Fraud and Extortion got a thoufand 
 Pounds from one Man, but you are willing 
 to give an hundred to another who is in 
 great Want : What would they fay to you ? 
 Would they not tell you, that your Charity 
 was Hypocrify, a Pretence to cover Iniquity ? 
 And fhall not God judge righteoufly, who 
 knows your Fraud, whether you will own 
 it, or not ? 
 
 In 
 
172 DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 In a word: Charity will not atone for 
 Want of Juftice. Owe no Man any "Things 
 fays the Apoftle, but to love one another. 
 Firft pay the Debts of Juftice, and then 
 think of Charity; at leaft, till the Debts of 
 Juftice are difcharged, do not imagine that 
 your Charity will cover the Multitude of 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
t f^"^ ^^k ?^^^ ^^k ?^^*^ ? 
 t k^ji? "^^F k<*^ji ^^F k^jrf 'S' 
 
 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 G A L A T I A N S vi. 9. 
 
 And let us not be weary in well-doing : Form 
 due Sea/on we /hall reap, if we faint not. 
 
 J^^J^JHE Text, and other like Paf- 
 '^)K y^ fages of Scripture, are founded 
 1^ ^ ^S in this known Truth, That God 
 k^^^^5 does not ordinarily difpenfe the 
 Rewards and Punifliments due 
 to Virtue and Vice in this Life -, but that he 
 has appointed another Time and Place, how 
 far dillant we know not, in v/hich all Ac- 
 counts fhall be fet right, and every Man 
 receive according to his Works. What Force 
 the Objedls of Senfe have upon the Minds of 
 Men, how far they outweigh the diflant 
 Hopes of Religion, is Matter of daily Expe- 
 rience. The World pays prefcntly 5 but the 
 I Language 
 
174 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 Language of Religion is — We Jhall reapy if 
 we faint not. It may be thought perhaps, 
 that it would have been better for the Caufe 
 of Religion, if the Rewards of it had been 
 immediate, and more nearly related to our 
 Senfes ; and, the Cafe being otherwife, proves 
 in fad: a great Prejudice to Virtue. But, if 
 we can take leave of our Imaginations a 
 little, and attend to Reafon, we (hall fee, 
 that this Difpenfation of Providence was 
 ordained in Wifdom. Were the Cafe other- 
 wife; were Men to receive a due Recom- 
 pence of Reward in this World for the Good 
 they do, there would be no Reafon why they 
 Jthould grow weary in well-doing^ no Caufe 
 for their fainting under the Work, which 
 would fo abundantly and immediately repay 
 all their Labour and Pains. 
 
 It is natural for Men, when they have 
 before their Eyes flagrant Inftances of Wick- 
 ednefs and Impiety, to make a fecret Demand 
 upon God in their own Hearts, for Juftice 
 ag^inft fuch notorious Offenders. If their 
 Demands are not anfwered, (and they rarely 
 are) but the Wicked continue to flourifh, 
 and the Good to fuffer under their Oppref- 
 fion ; they, rightly judging that they were 
 miftaken in their Expedations, and not 
 
 rightly 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 175 
 
 rightly judging where to charge the Miftake, 
 are apt to conclude, that they have cleanfed 
 their Hearts in vain, and in vain have they 
 wajhed their Hands in Innocency. 
 
 Whenever the Hopes and Expedlations 
 are raifed beyond all Probability of being an- 
 fwered in the Event, they can yield nothing 
 but Uneafmefs, Anger and Indignation againft 
 the Courfe of Things in the World : And 
 yet, who is to blame ? Not he that appointed 
 this natural Order, but he who underftood it 
 fo little, as to expedt from it, what it was 
 never intended to produce. Would you pity 
 the Huibandman, fhould you fee him la- 
 menting his Misfortune, becaufe he could not 
 reap in Spring, when all the World knows 
 the Time of Harveft is not till Summer? 
 The Cafe is the fame in all other Inftances : 
 If Men anticipate the Reward of their La- 
 bour by the Eagernefs and Impatience of 
 their Hopes, they will be difappointed in- 
 deed ; but not becaufe their Labour is in vain, 
 which in due Time will bring its Reward, 
 but becaufe their Expectations are vain and 
 unreafonable, and outrun the Order of Na- 
 ture, which cannot be tranfgreffed. 
 
 You fee then of what Confequence it is to 
 
 \is rightly to balance our ExpecSations, and 
 
 z to 
 
176 DISCOURSE VIL 
 
 to adjuft them to that natural Courfe and 
 Order of Things, which Providence has efta- 
 bliftied in the World. We may eafily lofe 
 the Fruit of our well-grounded Hopes, by 
 giving ourfelves up to the Delufion of falfe 
 ones. If we grow lick of our Work, be-^ 
 caufe our untimely Wiflies are difappointed, 
 we (hall forfeit the Reward, which patient 
 Continuance in well-doing would, in the 
 natural Courfe of Things, bring with it. And 
 this I take to be the Foundation and Ground 
 of the Apoftle's Exhortation in the Text^ 
 Let us not be weary in well" doing : For in due 
 Seafon we jhall reapy if we faint not. 
 
 It is no uncommon Thing, I know, to 
 f refs Men to a virtuous Behaviour, in Pro- 
 fpedl of the Rewards which fuch a Beha^ 
 viour is entitled to in this World ; and there 
 is, as well Experience, as Scripture, tojuftify 
 the fo doing : For, if Peace and Tranquillity 
 of Mind here, and Hopes full of Comfort 
 with refpe(fl to hereafter, are Ingredients in 
 human Happinefs^ and furely they are the 
 greatefl ! thefe are to be had, and only to be 
 had, from a Confcience void of Offence to- 
 wards God and towards Man. But this Ar- 
 gument is fo little concerned with the exter- 
 nal Good and Evil of the World, that it is 
 
 applicable 
 
biSCOtjRSE VII. 177 
 
 applicable to Men of all Fortunes and Con- 
 ditions. Thus we preach to the Prince, and 
 thus we preach to the nieaneft of his Sub- 
 jefts : One cannot enjoy his Greatnefs, nor 
 the other bear his Diftrefs, without thofe 
 Supports^ which Innocence and Virtue can 
 only adminifler. The Pleafures of Life are 
 a joylefs Fruition to a Mind fick of Guilt; 
 and the Evils of it are too fharp to be en- 
 dured by a wounded Spirit. 
 
 Thus far we tread fafely in promifing a 
 prefent Reward to Virtue ; we exceed not 
 the Order appointed by God, who, if he 
 has given us fome Defires, which, in our 
 prefent State of Degeneracy^ often prove 
 Temptations to Iniquity> has given us alfo fo 
 much Reafon and Underftanding, that we 
 cannot be wicked and happy in ourfelves 
 at the fame Time : How much farther than 
 this we may go, fhall prefently be confidered. 
 But if Men, when they hear of an Happi- 
 nefs due as the Reward of Virtue in this Life, 
 will conceive Hopes of obtaining Honour, 
 Power, and Riches from God in Recom- 
 pence of their Obedience, they raife an 
 Expedlation which was never yet generally 
 anfwered, and, I fuppofe, for very good 
 Reafons, never will ; and whilft they purfue 
 
 Vol. m. N this 
 
178 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 this Shadow, they are In great Danger of 
 lofing the Subflance, the real Reward of 
 Obedience, which fhall one Day be beltowed 
 on all, who can be contented to wait for 
 Glory and Immortality. 
 
 To clear this Point will be well worth 
 your Attention. In order to it we muil: 
 inquire what Reafon or Authority we have 
 to affert the Interpofition of Providence in 
 the private Affairs of Men, with a view of 
 proportioning to their Virtue or Vice proper 
 Rewards and Punifliments. 
 
 If we view the whole Frame of the World, 
 and confider the great Laws of Nature by 
 which it is, and has for Age^ pad been, 
 jweferved in Order and Beauty ; we can no 
 more queftion its being fuftained by a coii- 
 flant and immediate Influence of God*s Pro- 
 vidence, than we can of its being at firil 
 brought into Order by him. If we confider 
 ourfelves, and how we live, move, and have 
 our Being, it is evident, that we are upheld 
 every Moment by the Hand of God. I 
 fpeak, and would be underftood to mean, 
 literally. If there be any thing in the Com- 
 pafsof our Knowledge certain, it is this, that 
 we owe our Life to that Power, by the In* 
 iluencc of which the Fundtions of Life are 
 
 performed ^ 
 
DISCOURSE Vli. ijgi 
 
 performed : Search diligently for this Power, 
 and you will not fail of finding God. If any 
 Man be otherwife minded, let hirnl account 
 for the firft Principle of Motion in animal 
 Bodies, and he fliall have leave to doubt of 
 all the reft. But this is not our Point : The 
 Queftion now is, fince God has made Man a 
 feafonable Creature, and endowed him with 
 a Liberty of ading, how far he has thought 
 iit to leave him to his Liberty, and to give 
 hhn up here to the IlTues and Confequences 
 of his own Doings ? Of his Power we doubt 
 not y we know he can overrule every Adliort 
 of Man, and every Thought of his Heart ; 
 Our Search is not what he can do, but what 
 he has been pleafed to do, and what Method 
 he has prefcribed to himfelf, with refpedl to 
 the Actions of Men, and the Confequences 
 which flow from them in this Life. To 
 come at any Knowledge in this Cafe, there 
 are but thefe three Ways; to confider, what 
 Reafon requires, what Experience teaches, 
 what Scripture confirms. 
 
 Let us confider what Reafon requires. It 
 has pleafed God to make us reafon able Crea- 
 tures, that is, to endow us with a Power of 
 judging, and a Liberty of ading. Why- 
 were thefe Powers given ? Was it that we 
 N z might 
 
i8o DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 might ufe and exercife them, and give Proof 
 of our Virtue or Vice in fo doing ? Or was it 
 that God might overrule them, and render 
 them in every particular Inftance ufelefs and 
 infignificant ? If this is the Cafe, had he not 
 much better have made us Machines at firft, 
 than have created us free Agents, and then 
 make us Machines by an arbitrary Interpo- 
 sition of Power ? Who can account for the 
 Wifdom of God in making fo great a Thing 
 to no Ufe or Purpofe; in filUng this lower 
 World with free Agents, and then excluding 
 all Freedom by immediate Ads of his Power ? 
 Now this would in great meafure be the Cafe, 
 were Rewards and Punifliments to be punc- 
 tually adminijftered in this World; and that 
 for this plain Reafon : The temporal Pro- 
 iperity of Men depends upon their own 
 Actions, and the natural Confequences of 
 them, and upon the Adtions and natural Con- 
 fequences of the Adions of others, with 
 whom thjey live in Society. Now, to fecurc 
 the Happinefs of a Man, not only his own 
 Adions, but the Actions of all others, with 
 whom he is any way concerned, muft be de- 
 termined, fo as to confpire in making him 
 profperous; that is, he and all about him 
 muft lofe the Freedom of ading, in order 
 
 19 
 
DISCOURSE VII. i8i 
 
 to fecure his Welfare here. If a righteous 
 Man muft never fuffer in this World, all the 
 Wicked about him muft be reft rained from 
 doing him Violence. If a wicked Man muft 
 be puniflied according to his Merit, all who 
 would do him more Harm than he deferves 
 to fuffer, muft be with-held; and if none 
 defigned him Harm enough, fomebody muft 
 be employed to do the Work. Carry this 
 Refle(ftion abroad into the World, where the 
 Fortunes and Interefts of Men are mixed and 
 complicated fo varioufly together, that one 
 Man's temporal Profperity depends upon the 
 Adlions of many befides himfelf, and it will 
 be very clear, that there muft be an End of 
 all Freedom, upon Suppofition that Rewards 
 and Puniftiments are to be equally difpenfed 
 in this World, 
 
 This Confideration leads to another of ftill 
 greater Weight : For, if the Freedom of hu- 
 man Adlions cannot be maintained upon this 
 Suppofition, neither can the Diftindtion of 
 Virtue and Vice. There is no Morality or 
 Immorality, where there is no Choice or 
 Freedom : Confequently were the A(flions of 
 Men under an abiblute Controul, they would 
 no more be anfwerable for their Doings, 
 than a Clock is for its Motions : And there- 
 N 3 fore 
 
i82 DISCOURSE VIL 
 
 fore to call upon God to make ajl things work 
 by immediate Interpofition of his Power, for 
 the pi-efent Reward of Virtue, and Punifh- 
 ment of Vice, is a Requeft not confident 
 with itfelf j it is deliring God to do that for 
 the fake of Virtue, which would deftroy 
 Virtue, and leave no room for the Exercife 
 of it, no Ground upon which to diftinguifh 
 it from Vice and Iniquity. 
 
 But, to leave thefe Coniiderations, let us 
 obferve f;irther. That was Virtue to be 
 conftantly attended with Succefs in worldly 
 Affairs, and Vice certainly purfued with 
 Miiery, there vi^ould be no room for that 
 Trial of our Faith and Obedience, which 
 is requifite to prepare us for, the greater 
 Bleflings of another Life. Upon this Suppo- 
 fition. Virtue would not be what it now is; 
 it would be a kind of fenfual Thing, arifing 
 often from Ambition, Avarice, and an inor- 
 dinate Love of worldly Enjoyments : Reafon 
 and Judgment, the Love of God, and a juft 
 Senfe of our Duty to him, would have little 
 Efficacy in the Bufmefs. Now, fince God 
 has placed us here in order to our fitting 
 ourfelves for a better World, and has ordained 
 thus World for a State of Trial only, it is 
 abfurd to exped from his Wifdom and Juftice 
 
 fuch 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 183 
 
 fuch a Procedure, as would contradld: this 
 great and main End of our Creation. The 
 Pleafures and Afflidion^ of Life are ordained 
 for Trials of our Virtue; and, according to 
 the viiible Courfe of Providence, they really 
 are fo : But if you introduce a new Order, 
 and, by another Difpenfation of Good and 
 Evil in this Life, convert thefe Trials into 
 Rewards and Punifhmen ts, you invert the 
 Order of Providence ; this Life v/ill no longer 
 be a State of Trial, nor the next a State of 
 Rewards and Punifhments; for all future 
 Expedations would be in great rneafure 
 fuperfeded by the imrnediate Recompence 
 beftowed in this Life. 
 
 Upon this Confideration we may go farther, 
 and fay. That the Condition of good Men 
 would be really worfe than it is, were this 
 World a Place of Rewards and Punifliment^ 
 for Virtue and Vice. Were this to be the 
 only Place of Rev/ards and Punifliments, 
 the Aflertion would be too evidi:i:t to be de- 
 nied by any, but fuch mean wretched Spirits, 
 as would be content to give up their Hopes 
 of Immortality for the prcfent Enjoyment of 
 the V/orld. But take the Cafe as it now 
 (lands with us, fuppofing only tliis Altera- 
 tion, that Virtue and Vice received their duQ 
 N 4 i'Q;Uona 
 
i84 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 Portions of Good and Evil here, would not 
 good Men be Sufferers by lofing one great 
 Support of their Hopes and Expedlations in 
 another World ? The Notions we have of 
 Good and Evil, the Conceptions we form of 
 God by the Exercife of Reafon, joined to the 
 Experience we have of the unequal Diftri- 
 bution of Good and Evil in this Life, con- 
 fpire to prove to us, that there is another and 
 better State, in which the Sufferings of the 
 Righteous fhall be fully compenfated. Now. 
 break this Chain of Reafoning, by introdu- 
 cing Rewards and Punifhments into this Life, 
 and you deface the great Hopes of the Righ- 
 teous, andprefent him with an empty Scenq 
 of worldly Pleafure, inflead of that Weight 
 of Glory which he, upon fure Grounds, ex- 
 peded. And what is it that you give him in 
 lieu of his Hopes ? Plonours, Riches, Power; 
 But do you not knpw how little Value true. 
 Virtue has for fuch Poffeffions ? Together 
 with thefe you give him new Fears of Death ; 
 your Honours and Riches will not purchafe 
 Life, or Length of Days ; and if he receives 
 his good Things here, what Security can you 
 give him, that he ihall have any Thing due 
 to him hereafter? Upon the whole, good 
 Men are in a much better State, taking, as 
 
 they 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 185 
 
 th^y do, their Chance in the World, and re- 
 lying upon the Juftice and Goodnefs of God 
 for a juft Recompence of their Labour ; they 
 have more true Comfort and Satisfaction in 
 this Condition, than if they had the World 
 at Command, and no Hopes, or but faint 
 Hopes, of future Happinefs. 
 
 Thefe Reafons feem to me fufficient to in- 
 duce us to think, that it is confonant to the 
 Wifdom and Goodnefs of God to leave Mea 
 freely to ufe the Freedom he has given 
 them : That having beftowed on them an 
 Underftanding to know him, and to diftin- 
 guifh between Good and Evil, and fent them 
 into this World, as a Place proper for the 
 Trial of their Virtue, he has left them in the 
 main to the Condud: of their own Reafon to 
 improve the uncertain Events and Cafualties 
 of Life, and to glorify him either through 
 Honour or Difhonour, through Riches or 
 Poverty, or whatever other Condition of 
 Life may fall to their Share. 
 
 Though thefe Reafons teach us not to 
 cxped: from the Hand of God the good 
 Things of this World in Reward of Virtue 
 and Obedience j yet they ought not to be 
 carried, nay they cannot be carried fo far, as 
 to exclude the Providence of God from the 
 
 Care 
 
i86 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 Care and Government of the moral Part of 
 the World. It is one Thing to turn a State 
 of Trial and Probation into a State of Re- 
 wards and Punifliments, by difpeniing Good 
 and Evil to every Man according to his Work 5 
 and another Thing to exercife A£ls of Go- 
 vernment fui table to the State, and fubfervient 
 to the Ends of Creation. If God thinks fit 
 to profper any Nation, or to afHift any Peo-i 
 pie, he has a thoufand Ways of doing it, 
 without interfering with the Freedom and 
 Liberty of one Man. Years of Plenty are 
 a great BlelTing, but the Fruitfulnefs of the 
 Seafon is no Reftraint on you or me; it is a 
 general Bleffing, but it makes no Diftindlion 
 between Good or Evil. Plague and Pefti- 
 lence are general Calamities, they may and 
 ought to awaken all the World to a fober 
 Senfe of God and themfelves : But their 
 Rage is not fo diredkd, as to touch the 
 Sinners only ; the Good perifh with the Bad, 
 and he that called both out of the World will 
 foon make a Difference , though in the Sight 
 of the World the End of both was taken to 
 be Mifery. The fame holds true with re- 
 fped: to private Perfons : God can corred; 
 them without breaking in upon the ordinary 
 Couric of his Providence. If a Man wants 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 187 
 
 to be bowed down by Afflidlions, Fevers 
 and Agues, and all the Tribe of Diftempers, 
 ftand ready to obey the Order of Providence : 
 But there is no Mark to know a Fever fo 
 fent from another ; there is no Appearance 
 of the Execution of Judgment upon a Perfoii 
 fo vifited ; the Phyfic may be fent, becaufe 
 it is wanted, but the Hand that adminifters 
 it does not appear. 
 
 Thus much is faid to prevent Miflakes : 
 But the forementioned Reafons remain ftill 
 in force againfl: the Expeilations, which Men 
 are too apt to raife, of fome immediate Re- 
 compence to be beftowed on them by the 
 Interpoiition of Providence upon account of 
 their Virtue and Goodnefs. 
 
 Let us now proceed to confider what Expe- 
 rience teaches in this Cafe. That Good and 
 Evil are not difpenfed in this Life in Propor- 
 tion to the Merits of Men, appears fo plainly 
 to all Men of Senfe and Reafon, that the 
 Fa<fl, I think, has never been difputec|. The 
 World has never been without Complaints 
 upon this Head. The Righteous in all Times 
 have lamented their Cafe ; their Hearts have 
 been even ready to fail under the Oppref- 
 iion of the Ungodly. On the other Side, 
 
 the 
 
i88 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 the Wicked, feeing their own Profperity, have 
 been hardened, and grown fecure in their 
 Iniquity, upon the foolifh Prefumption, that 
 God regarded not them, nor their Doings. 
 To abate thefe Prefumptions on one hand, to 
 filence the Fears and Clamours on the other, 
 has found Work for good and wife Men in 
 all Ages ; yet none of them called in queflioa 
 the Truth of the Cafe, though all con^ 
 demned the perverfe Ufe made on all Sides 
 of this Adminiftration of Providence. Be- 
 caufe Sentence^ fays the Preacher, againjl aft 
 evil Work is not executed fpeedilyy therefore the 
 Heart of the Sons of Men isfidlyfet in them to 
 do evil. That the Cafe was fo, he acknow- 
 ledges : For all this I conjidered in my Heart 
 even Jo declare all this, that the Righteous and 
 the Wife, and their Works, are in the Ha?id of 
 God: No Man hioweth either Love or Hatred 
 hy all that is before them. All 'things come 
 alike to all', there is one Event to the Righteous, 
 ard to the Wicked-, to the Good, and to the 
 Clean, and to the Unclean ; to him that facri^ 
 ficcth, and to him that facrificeth 7iot : As is 
 the Good, fo is the Sinner , and he that fwear^ 
 eth, as he that feareth an Oath, But this is 
 indeed a verv plain Thing, and needs not to 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 189 
 
 be infifted on ; we may leave it to every Man 
 to judge for himfelf by what he can obferve 
 in the World, and he will foon find, that ia 
 fad: God has not made this a Place for diftri- 
 buting Rewards or Punifhments, but that one 
 Event happeneth alike to all, 
 
 Laflly, Let us inquire how far this Expe- 
 rience is confirmed by what the Scripture 
 teaches us to exped:. 
 
 There are fome Paflages of Holy Writ, 
 which, at firft hearing, and before they are 
 duly weighed, may feem to promife more to 
 the Righteous in this Life, than we have 
 been able to find either Reafon or Experience 
 to juftify. Let us hear the Pfalmift : I have 
 been yoiingy and now am old, yet have 1 7iof 
 feen the Righteous forfaken, nor his Seed beg^ 
 ging Bread. How ! his Son Solomon faw a 
 diflferent Scene in his Days ^ then there were 
 jiijl Men unto whom it happened according 
 to the Work of the Wicked. Again, there 
 were wicked Men to whom it happened accord- 
 ing to the Work of the Righteous, In the Days 
 of our Saviour and his Apoflles, there were 
 fome Righteous in IfraeU who begged their 
 Bread by the Way-fide, and at the Doors of 
 the Temple, Among thefe we find fome, 
 
 who 
 
igo DISCOURSE VIL 
 
 who had Faith enough in the Son of God tO' 
 be made whole of their Infirmities : An Evi- 
 dence, I think, that they were not in a worfe 
 Condition than others, becaufe they were 
 worfe Men. The Truth is, that this Paffage 
 in the Pfalms relates not to our prefent Pur- 
 pofe ', it defcribes a general Cafe of Provi- 
 dence over good Men in providing them the 
 NecelTaries of Life, whilfl they endeavour to 
 ferve God, but of a juft Reward for them in 
 this World it fays nothing : Tie Seed of the 
 'Righteous^ fays the VtdXmiG:, Jhall not beg their 
 Bread, Take it literally, and make the moft 
 of it, it will bear no Refemblance to a juft 
 Reward for their Goodnefs : For, if the 
 Rlshteous and the Wicked were to be diftin- 
 guilhed in this Life by temporal Profperity 
 and Adverfity, we might exped; to hear of 
 much better Promifes to the Good than thisy 
 That their Seed Jhould not beg their Bread \ we 
 might exped: to hear of Crowns and Scep- 
 ters to be given them : But of this we hear 
 nothing. As to the providential Care of 
 God over the Righteous in fupplying their 
 natural Wants, our Saviour has given US' 
 great Reafon,- to e^ped: it : Seek ye firfii fays 
 he, the KmgdQ??i of God ^ and his Right eoifnefs^ 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 191 
 
 and all thefe 'Things Jhall be added unto you. 
 Upon whofe Authority like wife St. P^^^/ tells 
 us, that Godlinefs has the Fromife of the 
 Life that now Is, and of that which is to 
 come. Nay, farther, there is great Reafon to 
 think, that God often bleffes the honefl En- 
 deavours of the Virtuous in this World : But 
 then there is no Appearance that the Rules 
 of Juftice are at all concerned in fuch Difpen- 
 fations ; for the Righteous often fufier, nay, 
 under the Gofpel they are called to fufFer ; 
 for w^hich Reafon the Invitation to us is, To 
 take up our Crofs, and follow ChriJI. But, to 
 come to the Point of Rev^^ards and Punifh- 
 ments, the Parable of the Tares in the 
 thirteenth of St. Matthew is decifive. The 
 Meaning of which Parable our Saviour has 
 expounded : It reprefents to us the State of 
 the World, in which the Good and Bad 
 flourifh together; and though Men ceafe 
 not to call upon God for a Diftindtion to be 
 made between them, yet He, who feeth not 
 as Man fees, has otherwife determined. In 
 this World he permits them to flourifh and 
 live together ; but the Time is com.ing, that 
 great Harveft of the World is approaching, 
 when a full Diftindion Ciall be made; when 
 
 the 
 
192 DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 the Wicked fhall be caft into a Furnace of 
 Fire, and the Righteous ihine forth as the 
 Sun In the Kingdom of their Father, 
 
 Thus, you fee, Reafon, Experience, and 
 Scripture, all confenting to teach us not to 
 look for the Reward of our Labour in this 
 World, but to wait with Patience God's ap- 
 pointed Time, when the Great Judge of the 
 World will do righteouily, and recompenfe 
 to every Man the Things which he has 
 done. 
 
 Let us look back then to the Text, and 
 take from thence the proper Exhortation ari- 
 fing from this Conclufion : Since we plainly 
 fee, that this World is no Place of Rewards 
 and Punijfhments, let us not be fo foolifh as 
 to look for our Reward here, and be dif- 
 couraged if we receive it not. If we raife in. 
 ourfelves fuch idle Expeftations, and ima- 
 gine that to be good is a certain Way to be 
 rich, great, or proiperous, we lay a Founda- 
 tion for great Difappointments, and fliall be 
 in danger of growing fick of our Work, 
 when our Hopes forfake us. But if we 
 look to the appointed Time of Reward, and 
 give ourfelves up contentedly to the Provi- 
 dence of God in this World, and to that Lot, 
 
 be 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 193 
 
 be it what it will, which he has provided for 
 us, our Hopes will never fail ; we Ihall be 
 ftedfaft and unmoveable, knowing that our 
 Labour, however difficult here, (hall not be 
 in vain in the Lord : For in due Seafon we 
 fiall reapy if we faint ?iot. 
 
 Vol. III. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 

 # 
 
 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 &^5^<^A^{}; 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Matthew xiil. 29. 
 
 ButhefaidyNay; leji^ while ye gatheriip the 
 Tares y ye root up aJfo the Wheat with them^ 
 
 ?^>J^^^"*1 linderffand the Text we muft 
 ^M ^^ Idok back ad far as the twenty- 
 1^ ^ % ^^^^^^^ V^^^^ of ^his Chapter, 
 ?^^^ v5 where our Saviour puts forth a 
 rarable, comparing the King- 
 dom of Heaven to a Man v^hofowed good 
 Seed in his Field ; but while Men Jlept, his 
 Enemy came and/owed Tares among the Wheat. 
 When they both fprung up and appeared in 
 the Field, the Servants, under a Surprize at 
 the Difappointmcnt, report it to their Mailer; 
 O 2 Sir, 
 
196 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 *S/r, dUJl not thou fow good Seed in thy Field T 
 from whence then hath it Tares ? He faid unto 
 them. An Enemy hath done this. The Ser- 
 vants reply, V/ilt thou then that we go and 
 gather them up F In Anfwer to which follow 
 the Words of the Text, But he /aid, Nay, 
 lejl, whi/e ye gather up the Tares, ye root up alfo 
 the Wheat with them, 
 
 . Take away the Drefs of Parable, and 
 what our Saviour here delivers amounts to 
 this : There will always be a Mixture in the 
 World of good and bad Men, which no 
 Care or Diligence can prevent; and though 
 Men may and will judge, that the Wicked 
 ought immediately to be cut off by the Hand 
 of God, yet God judges otherwife, and de- 
 lays his Vengeance for wife and juft Reafons ; 
 fparing the Wicked at prefent for the fake 
 of the Righteous ; referving all to that great 
 Day in which the divine Juftice fiiall be fully 
 difplayed, and every Man iliall receive ac- 
 cording to his own Works. 
 
 The View of this Parable has, in fome 
 Parts of it, I think, been mifapprehended. 
 It is intended to reprefent the neceflary Con- 
 dition of Mankind, fome being good, fome 
 bad^ a Mixture which, from the very Na- 
 ture of Mankind., \% always to be expeded ; 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 197 
 
 and to juftify God in delaying the Punifli- 
 ment of thofe Sins, which all the World 
 think are ripe for Vengeance. This being 
 the View of the Parable,' it is going out of 
 the Way to confider the particular Caufes to 
 which the Sins of Men may be afcribed ; 
 for the Queftion is not, from whence the 
 Sins of Men arife, but why, from whatever 
 Caufe they fpring, they are not punifhed ? 
 In the Parable therefore our Lord afligns only 
 a general Reafon of the Wickednefs of the 
 World, An Enemy hath do?ie this. But there 
 are, who think they fee another Reafon 
 affigned in the Parable, namely, the Carelefs- 
 nefs of the public Governors and Pvulers, 
 intimated in thoie V/ords, But lohiie Men 
 JJept) his Ejiemy ca'me arid fouued Tares among 
 the Wheat : And this Text always finds a 
 Place in fuch Complaints. And there is in- 
 deed no Doubt, but that the Negligence of 
 Governors and Magiftrates, Civil and Eccle- 
 liaftical, may be often one Caufe of the Ig- 
 norance and Wickednefs of the People : But 
 that it is affigned as a Caufe in the Parable 
 cannot be proved ; for thefe Words, whl/e 
 Men Jlcpty inftead of charging the Servants 
 with Negligence, plainly fliew, that no Care 
 or Diligence of dieirs could prevent the 
 O 3 Enemy. 
 
igS DISCOURSE VIIL 
 
 Enemy. Whiift they were awake, their Care 
 was awake alfo, and the Enemy had no Act 
 cefs : But fleep they muft. Nature requires 
 it ; and then it was the Enemy did the Mif- 
 chief. Had it been faid, while Men played, 
 or were carelefs, or riotous, that would have 
 been a Charge upon them ^ but to fay, while 
 Menjlepty is fo far from proving that their 
 Negligence caufed it, that it plainly proves 
 their Diligence could not prevent it. For, 
 v/hat will you fay ? Should Hufoandmen 
 never fleep ? It is a Condition upon which 
 they cannot live, and therefore their fleeping 
 cannot be charged as their Crime. This 
 Circumftance therefore in the Parable is to 
 fliew, not the Fault of the Hufbandmen, but 
 the Zeal and Induftry of the Enemy to do 
 Pvlifchief. Watch him as narrowly as you 
 will, yet ftill he will break through all your 
 Care and Diligence. If you do but ftep 
 ande, compelled by the Call of Nature, to 
 eat, to drink, or to fleep, he is ready to take 
 the Opportunity to fow his Tares ; and the 
 Ground, which will not anfv/er the Huf- 
 bandman's Hope without his Toil, and La-^ 
 hour, and Coft, will produce the ill Seed of 
 its own accord, and yield but too plentiful 
 a Crop. Farther, the Character of the Huf- 
 
 bandmea 
 
DISCOURSE Vlir. 199 
 
 bandmen throughout the Parable agrees to 
 this Expoiition : When they faw the Tares 
 ipring up, they betrayed no Confcioufnefs of 
 Guilt or Negligence ; they did not come with 
 Excufes to their Mafler, but with a Queftion, 
 which plainly fpeaks how little they millruft- 
 ed themfelves : Sir, didji ?2ot thou fow good 
 Seed in thy Field? From whence then hath it 
 Tares ? Would any Servant, who had fufFer- 
 ed the Field to grow wild by his own Lazi- 
 nefs, have expoftulated the Cafe in fuch a 
 manner ? The Mafler, far from charging any 
 of his Family with the Fault, lays it at ano- 
 ther Door, An Enemy hath done this. Upon 
 which the Servants, not fparing of their own 
 Pains, were delirous to go to work imme- 
 diately, and to root out all the Tares at once. 
 What is there in all this, that fuits with the 
 Character of a lazy, idle, negligent Servant ? 
 What is there that does not fpeak a Care and 
 Concern for their Mailer's Affairs ? As foon 
 as they difcover the Tares, they go diredlly 
 to their jVIafler, and inform him, and offer 
 their Service to root them out. In this Par- 
 ticular he corrects their Judgment, though 
 he does not condemn their Diligence. And, 
 in truth, one main View of the Parable is to 
 corredl the Zeal of thofe, who cannot fee the 
 
 O 4 Inicjuity 
 
200 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 Iniquity of the World without great Indigna- 
 tion ', and, not being able to flop or to corredl 
 it themfelves, are apt to call upon God to 
 vindicate his own Caufe, by taking the Mat- 
 ter to himfelf, and punifhing the evil Doers. 
 The Men who have this Zeal and Warmth 
 againft Iniquity, are not commonly the idle, 
 negligent Rulers; nor can we fuppofe that 
 our Saviour would paint the lame Men in- 
 fuch different Colours in the Compafs of a 
 ihort Parable, reprefenting them idle and 
 carclefs at the twenty-fifth Verfe, adive and 
 zealous at the twenty-eighth. Befides, as 
 was obferved before, to charge the Wicked- 
 nefs of the World upon the Neghgence of 
 this or that Part of Men anfwers no Purpofe 
 of the Parable, which is to juflify the Wif- 
 dom of Providence in permitting the Sins of 
 Men to go unpunifhed for the prefent : But 
 the Juflification does not arife from confider- 
 ing the Caufes of Iniquity, but from con- 
 fidering the Effed: which immediate Punifli-» 
 ment would have. In the other Way, now 
 explained to you, this Circumftance, tiat 
 while Menjlept the Tares iverefoivriy promotes 
 the main End of the Parable, and completes 
 
 the Juflification of the Providence of God : 
 
 »/ 
 
 For this fhews, that Offences miift needs corner 
 
 they 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 201 
 
 they are not to be prevented without dif- 
 turbing the very Courfe of Nature, without 
 God's interpofing miraculoufly to fufpend the 
 Workings of fecond Caufes; fince all Care 
 exercifed in an human Way is too little, for 
 even when Men fleep, and fleep they muft, 
 the Enemy will fow his Tares. Since there- 
 fore the Parable fhews, that Iniquity can 
 neither be prevented, nor immediately pu« 
 niflied, coniiftently with the Wifdom and 
 Goodnefs of God, it ihuts out every Com- 
 plaint, and forces us to acknowledge, that 
 God is juft in all his Ways, and righteous in 
 all his Dealings with Mankind. 
 
 The Scope of the Parable being thus ac* 
 counted for, let us now proceed to confider 
 the Text more particularly ; which contains 
 the Reafon, Why God delays to puniih the 
 Sins of Men in this World, referving them 
 to the Judgment which fiiall be hereafter. 
 There are two Ways in which we may con- 
 lider the Words of the Text : 
 
 Firft, As they regard the particular Cafe 
 in View, and account for the Juftice of God 
 in fufpending his Judgments. 
 
 Secondly, As they furniih us with a Prin-» 
 ciple of. Reafon and Equity applicable to 
 many other C4fes. 
 
 Firft, 
 
202 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 Firft, As they regard the particular Cafe 
 in View, and account for the Juflice of God 
 in fufpending his Judgments. To fee the 
 full Force of the Reafon in this refpedt, it is 
 neceflary to underftand what fort of Sinners 
 are fpoken of; For this Reafon is not appli- 
 cable to all Cafes, many Sinners are fpared 
 upon other Accounts than this which is given 
 us in the Text. The Sinners intended in the 
 Text are fpared merely on Account of the 
 Righteous, that they may not be involved in 
 the Punifliment due to the Sins of others ; 
 But fome Sinners are fpared out of a Mercy 
 which regards themfelves, in hopes of their 
 Amendment. Thus St. P/^^Vhas taught us> 
 that the Riches of God's Goodnefsy and For hear- 
 ancey and Long-fufferingy lead to Repentance. 
 The Sinners, who are reprefented by the 
 Tares in the Text, are fuch of whofe Re- 
 pentance and Amendment there is no Hope; 
 for Tares, let them grow ever fo long, will 
 ftill be Tares, they can never turn to Wheat. 
 And our Saviour has told us in the Clofe of 
 the Parable, that thefe Sinners fliall certainly 
 be punifhed at the laft; which cannot cer- 
 tainly be faid of any but incorrigible Sinners, 
 for he that repent ethy andforfaketh the Evil of 
 his Wajy JJoallfave his Soul (i/ive. 
 
 The 
 
 i 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 203 
 
 The Sinners therefore being confidered as 
 Jncorrigible, there was no room to juftify the 
 Delay ot Punifhment from any Circumftances 
 arifing out of their own Cafe. Even the 
 Mercy of God was excluded in this Circum^ 
 fiance; for if the incorrigible Sinner be the 
 Objed: of Mercy, no Sinner need fear Punifh^ 
 ment. Our Saviour therefore gives them up 
 entirely, and juftifies the Wifdom and Good-^ 
 pefs of God in fparing then^ from other Mo- 
 tives. The Interefts of good apd bad Men 
 are fo united in this World, there is fuch a 
 Connexion between them in many Refpefts, 
 that no fignal Calamity can befal the Wick- 
 ed, but the Righteous muft have his Share irj 
 it. It is out of Mercy therefore to the Righ- 
 teous that God fpares the Wicked, left, whilft 
 he gathers up the Tares, he fhould root out 
 the Wheat alfo. This was Abrahams Plea 
 when he interceded with the Lord for th^ 
 Men of Sodomy Wilt thou alfo defiroy the Righ--' 
 ieous with the Wicked'? The Reafon of which 
 Plea was fo ftrong, that had there been ten 
 righteous Perfbns in the City, the whole had 
 h^t^ preferved from Ruin. In public Cala- 
 mities It is evident that all muft be Sufferer^ 
 without Diftindion : Fire and Sword, Fa- 
 ITiine and Peftilence, rage indifferently in the 
 I Borders 
 
204 DISCOURSE VIIL 
 
 BDrders of the Righteous and the Sinner, and 
 fweep away one as well as the other. Thus 
 far then the Reafon of the Text moft cer- 
 tainly extends, and fhews us the great Mercy 
 of God in forbearing to appear againft Sin- 
 ners in fuch vifible and exemplary Punifh- 
 ments, v/hich would deftroy whole Coun- 
 tries, and bring even upon the beft of Men 
 the Punifliments due only to the worft. 
 
 But are there not, you will fay, many 
 Ways of punifhing Men without including 
 others in the Calamity ? Do not Fevers, and 
 many other Diftempers, carry off fingle Per- 
 fons without fprcading farther ? And would 
 not thefe be proper Meffengers of Providence 
 to fingle out defperate Sinners, in which 
 Cafe there would be no Danger of involving 
 the Righteous in the Punifhment of the 
 Wicked ? And if the Wicked are fpared 
 onlv for the fike of the Righteous, why are 
 they exempted from thefe Piiniihments, in 
 which the Righteous have no Concern or 
 Conne(5lioii v;itli them ? 
 
 In i'mfwer to which fcveral Things may 
 be iiiid : And, Fhil, to him that afks the 
 Queftion, an Anfv/er may be returned by a 
 like Queftion ; How do you know but that 
 the V/icked are often and commonly thus 
 
 puniflied ? 
 
DISCOURSE VIIL 205 
 
 punlflaed ? and that the Thing is done every 
 Day, which you complain of as never done ? 
 Wicked Men die every Day, and die in the 
 Way you fpeak of, fome by Fevers, fome by 
 other Diftempers or Accidents. Can you 
 diftinguifh which of them fall in the com- 
 mon Way of Nature, and which are taken 
 away by the fecret Judgments of God ? Can 
 you tell by the Pulfe v^^hen a Fever is to be 
 reckoned among the common Accidents of 
 Life, and when to be afcribed to the Ven- 
 geance of God ? If not, how can you tell 
 but that every Hour may produce fuch In- 
 ftances, as you complain are very rare and 
 fcarce to be found, and the Want of which 
 you think fo great an Objection againft an 
 overruling Providence ? As to outw^ard Ap- 
 pearance, the fame Cafualties attend both the 
 Good and the Bad -, but he has thought very 
 little, who cannot fee that the outward 
 Appearance is no Rule to judge by in this 
 Cafe. Lazarus died, and the rich Man died 
 alfo : Thus far there was no Diftindion in 
 their Fate; the Lookers on could not fay 
 which was taken away in Mercy, and which 
 in Judgment : But the very next Scene clear- 
 ed up all the Doubt, and (hewed how ter- 
 rible a Judgment Death was to the rich Man, 
 
 how 
 
2o6 DISCOURSE Vlir. 
 
 how great a Mercy to the poor one : For thd 
 rich Man died, and was tormented in Hell | 
 the poor Man died, and was carried to Abra^ 
 hams Bofom. It may therefore be true, that 
 God does exercife many Judgments on the 
 Wicked in this filent manner, though it is 
 not in our Power to point out the particular 
 In (lances, or pronounce upon fingle Perfons^ 
 who are under Judgments, and who not. 
 Now the Objeffion from the want of fucb 
 Punifliments can have no more Force, than, 
 the Objedor has Certainty that there are- 
 no fuch Puniiliments; and fmce there is no 
 Certainty in one, there can be no Force in 
 the other. 
 
 But, Secondly, allow the Matter of the 
 Objedion to be true, that there are great 
 Numbers of wicked Men ripe for Deftruc- 
 tion, v/ho yet efcape all thefe PunijQiments, 
 who live and flourifli in the World, and at 
 laft die the common Death of Men, and, as 
 far as we can judge, go down in Peace to 
 their Graves : Yet ftill, though this be allow- 
 ed, the Reafoning of the Objedion will- not 
 be good, bccaufe our Saviour's Refolution of 
 tlie general Cafe extends to thefe Inllances 
 alfo ; and the Wicked are often exempted 
 even from pi ivate Judgment, that the Righ-- 
 
 teous 
 
DISCOURSE Vlir. 207 
 
 teous may not be overwhelmed in their Ruin. 
 For confider ; You fee a great wicked Man in 
 a profperous and flourifhing Condition, and 
 you think his happy TranqullUty a perpetual 
 Reproach to the Providence of God : What 
 would you have done ? You would not have 
 God rain Fire and Brimftone upon the City 
 for the fake of this great Offender, fince 
 many innocent Perfons would neceffarily 
 fuffer in the Ruin ? No ; but you would have 
 God take him away fuddenly by fome fecret 
 and filent Method; or you would have him 
 punifhed in his Fortune, and reduced to 
 that Poverty which his Sins deferve. This, 
 vou think, would be verv iuft and rea- 
 fonable, and highly becoming the Wifdom 
 of God, But pray, has your wicked Man 
 no Friends nor Relations, whofe Happinefs 
 depends upon his Profperity ? Has he no 
 Children, who mufl beg with him when 
 he falls into Poverty and Diflrefs ? There 
 is no great Man, who is not related to 
 others in fome, if not in all thefe Circum- 
 ftances. If then you allow in general the 
 Equity of fparing the Wicked for the fake of 
 the Righteous, you muft confider their Cafe 
 over again, and anfwer thcfe few Queflions : 
 Are all the Relations and Dependents of this 
 
 great 
 
2o8 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 great Sinner as wicked as himfelf ? Is there 
 not one good Man the better for him ? Are 
 his Children all Reprobates ? Or, would 
 you turn out a Family of innocent Chil- 
 dren to feek their Bread in the Streets, 
 rather than let the Iniquity of the Father go 
 unpunifhed for a few Years ? Till you can 
 anfwer thefe Queftlons, you muft not pretend 
 to arraign the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God 
 in fparing this Offender ; for you know not 
 how many innocent, how many virtuous 
 Perfons may be crullied in his Fall; and 
 when you can anfwer them, you fhall have 
 Leave to judge. Now thefe Confiderations 
 plainly fliew the Equity and Goodnefs of 
 God in delaying the Punilhment of the Wick- 
 ed for the prefent, both with refpecl to the 
 public Calamities which the general Cor- 
 ruption calls for, and with refped to the 
 private Punilhments, which the Sins of par- 
 ticular Men, if confidercd alone, and by 
 themfelves, do richly deferve. In l)0th Cafes 
 Mercy triumphs over Juftice, and the Guilty 
 is preferved for the fake of the Innocent; 
 which is fuch an A6t of Goodnefs as no 
 Man furelyhas Reafon to complain of. As 
 to the Juftice of God. ^icither will that iufFer 
 
 in 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 209 
 
 in this Account. The Day Is coming which 
 will dlflblve all the prefent Relations between 
 Men, when every one will ftand fingly by 
 himfelf to account for the Good or Evil he 
 has done. In that Day the Wicked fliall not 
 efcape, nor fhall his Punifhment afFed the 
 Righteous, but his Iniquity ihall be on his 
 own Head only. When the Harvejl comesy 
 the Mafter will order his Servants iofeparate 
 the Tares from the Wheat ; the one he will 
 gather into his Barns, the other he will give 
 up to be iurnt with unquenchable Fire, 
 
 Upon the whole then : This Method of 
 God's dealing with the Children of Men is, 
 in all its Parts, without Reproach. Even 
 this Complaint, which Is fo commonly made 
 againft the Adminiftration of Providence, 
 that the Wicked are permitted to live un- 
 punifhed, is itfelf a great Argument how 
 little Reafon we have to complain, fince it 
 fhews the Lenity of the Government we are 
 under ; and furely it is our Happinefs, that 
 we are more to feek in accounting for the 
 Juflice of God than for his Mercy. Were 
 God to be as rigid in the Execution of Juftice, 
 as fuch Complainers feem to require he fhould 
 be, what fhould you or I get by It ? What 
 we get by his Mercy we know, or ought to 
 
 Vot. IIL P know. 
 
210 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 know, I am lure, if we underft-and ourlcivcs 
 and our own Condition : And for Sinners 
 to upbraid God with want of Juftice againft 
 Sinners, that is, againft themfclves, is a 
 Crime which carries with it fo much Folly, 
 as I hope may in fome meafure excufe the 
 Infolence, fince nothing elfe can. Were the 
 Cafe to be altered, and God to appear as ter- 
 rible in Juftice, as he is wonderful in Mercy, 
 how much more fhould we be puzzled to 
 account for his Proceeding ? As we fee many 
 now fpared whom w^e account great Sinners, 
 we fliould then fee many puniflied whom we 
 efteem good Men : For all are not good who 
 feem to be fo. And how then fhould we be 
 called on to juftify the Severity of God; a 
 Severity which, to our thinking, fell alike 
 upon the Righteous, and the Unrighteous ? 
 For whatever Way God takes, the Thing 
 muft appear myfterious to us ; for the Faces 
 and the Hearts of Men are often at Variance, 
 and v/e, who can only judge by the outward 
 Shew, f culd often be at a lofs to difcern the 
 Equity of his Proceeding, who judges by the 
 Heart. Should God therefore proceed tq 
 punifh all who de-'erve it, we Pnculd ftill 
 have ihe fame Objcdion, that Punifliments 
 and Rcvv'ards were not equally adminiftered ^ 
 
 and^ 
 
DISCOURSE VHL 2H 
 
 and, fince we mufl be in the Dark, how much 
 happier is it for us to be in fuch a Cafe, where 
 we think wc fee too Httle of the Juflice of 
 God, than in a Condition, where we fhould 
 foon think we faw too httle of his Mercv ? 
 The Advantage which our prefent Situation 
 affords is fuch a Balance on the Account, 
 that we fafely defy every bold Objedor, and 
 «nter into his Reckoning without Fear or 
 Danger ; for in every Step the Goodnefs of 
 God fhines forth as bright as the Sun at 
 Noon-day, and let thofe call for his Juftice, 
 who are willing to abide the Trial by it. 
 
 I obferved to you, that the Argument ia 
 the Text extends to one Cafe only, to the 
 juffifying the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God 
 in delaying the Punifliment of incorrigible 
 Sinners. It is true indeed, that if this Cafe 
 can be defended, all others may; and there- 
 fore this Argument is by Confequence a full 
 Defence of the Providence of God, as it 
 relates to the Punifhment of Sinners : But, 
 as other Cafes have their particular Reafons, 
 give me leave to clofe this Difcourfe with 
 pjrefenting to you a fummary View of the 
 Cafe in its feveral Circumflances. 
 
 That Men are Sinners is fuppofed in the 
 
 Objedion againft the Juftice of God for not 
 
 P z puniihing 
 
212 DISCOURSE vm. 
 
 punifhing Sin ; and therefore, in Stridnefs of 
 Reafoning, it belongs not to this Queftion to 
 account for the Wifdom of God in permit- 
 ting Sin : And yet this Inquiry is fo nearly 
 allied to the prefent Cafe, that our Lord in 
 the Parable has incidently cleared this Point^i 
 While Menf-'Cpty the Enemy /owed his Tares, 
 Such is the Condition of human Nature, fucl^ 
 the State of the World, that no Care or Di- 
 ligence can prevent the Growth of Vice : 
 And as every body fees this to be the Cafe, fo 
 it is confelTed by thofe, v^^ho demand a Rea« 
 fon why God does not interpofe to prevent 
 Iniquity ; for, as the Queftion refers the pre« 
 venting Vice to the overruling Power of God, 
 fo it fupppfes no other Remedy to be fuffi-r 
 cient to the Evil. But v/hat is it that they 
 demand, who require that God ihould by 
 his irrefiftible Power prevent all Evil ? 
 Nothing lefs, than that he ihould deftroy all 
 Law and Religion, and diveft Men of that, 
 which is at prefent their diflinguifliing 
 Charadler, Reafon and Underftanding : For, 
 if every Thing is to be done by a fuperior 
 Force, there is'an End of all Law, and of all 
 the Ufe and Exercife of Reafon. It is faid 
 to be a Crime, in fome Eallc/n Country, for 
 the Subjects to look upon the Prince ; and 
 
 therefore^ 
 
DiscotrRSE viii. 213 
 
 therefore, when he appears, they fall down 
 and hids their Faces. Now this Law or 
 Cuftom necefiarily fuppofes that the Subjefts 
 have Eyes ; for fliould the Emperor blind all 
 his Subjed:s> it would be ridiculous to charge 
 them not to look ori him. The fame would 
 be the Cafe with refpecfl to all Laws in 
 general, fliould God necefiarily overrule the 
 Wills of Men ; for to bid Men not do that> 
 which it is impoffible they ever fhould do, 
 is abfurd and ridiculous. 
 
 Since then Offences muft needs eome, the 
 Queftion is properly alked. Why are not Men 
 as certainly diftinguifhed by Rewards and 
 Punifhments, as they are by Virtue or Vice ? 
 This would be a mighty Encouragement to 
 Virtue^ and what is to be expedted from the 
 Juftice of God. The firft Return to this 
 Queftion is to let Men know, that they in- 
 quire not wifely concerning this Matter, for 
 the Thing is too high for them : For, fince the 
 Deferts of Men muft neceifarily be eftimated 
 by a Rule which they are not Mafters of, 
 that is, by the Sincerity of their Hearts, they 
 can never judge when Rewards and Punifh- 
 ments are duly adtniniftered : And therefore 
 their Reafon fails ; for a due Adminiftration 
 of Rewards and Punifhments in this World 
 P 3 would 
 
214 DISCOURSE Vni. 
 
 would riot tend, as they fuppofe, to the En- 
 couragement of Virtue, becaufe Men cannot 
 judge when there is fuch an Adminiftration, 
 or when not, and poffibly too they may be 
 miflaken in thofe very Cafes, which they 
 think deferveto be made fignal Examples of 
 vindictive Juftice. The next Return to the 
 Queflion is, that what they require is incon- 
 fiftent with the prefent Condition of Men, 
 and the Goodnefs of God. As to the Con- 
 dition of Men, they are in a State of Trial 
 and Probation, and therefore it is fit they 
 fliould have Time to fliew themfelves ; which 
 they would not have, were every Offence to 
 meet with its due Recompence of Reward 
 immediately. As to the Goodnefs of God, 
 it would ill become him to deftroy Men, as 
 long as there are Hopes of their Amendment, 
 and therefore to bear with the Sins of Men, 
 in Profped of their Repentance, is both juft 
 and merciful. Thus to bear with the Sins of 
 Men is inconfiflent with puniiliing the Sins 
 of Men, as foon as the World thinks they 
 deferve it ; for who can fay when Men are 
 paftall Hope ? But farther, even as to incor-^ 
 rigible Sinners, though nothing can be faid' 
 for them, yet much may be faid to iliew, 
 that this World is no proper Place for their 
 
 PuniilimedU : 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 215 
 
 Punifhmcnt : For the Good and Bad are here 
 £0 united together, that it is not poffible to 
 feparate them in temporal Punifhments; and 
 therefore God bears with them out of mere 
 Mercy to the Righteous. 
 
 Thus then the Gafe ftands : And now con- 
 fider who has Reafon to complain. Examine 
 your own Confcience ; if you are a Sinner^ 
 it ill becomes you to call for Vengeance ; if 
 you are righteous, or think yourfeiffo, v/hy 
 fhould you murmur, fince it is for your fake 
 that the Wicked are preferved from immedi- 
 ate Ruin, that you may not be overwhelmed 
 in their Deflrudlion ? Confider alfo, which 
 is the Concluiion of the whole Matter, Tia^ 
 Godhdth appointed a Day in the which he will 
 judge the World in Right eoufnefs ; in which all 
 the feeming Inequalities of Providence fhall 
 be fet right, and every Tongue fl^all confefs, 
 that the Lord is juft, and righteous, and holy 
 jn all his Ways, 
 
 J* 4 DISCOURSE 
 
? K^"^ jrf^k F"^"^ ^^k F"^"^ ? 
 1^ h^r^M '^r^F k..*^JH^ X^F* h^^M 'J* 
 
 DISCOURSE VIIL 
 
 PART IL 
 
 ^w^^^"^ T now remains that we con- 
 ^^^^^^ fider the Text, as furnifhing 
 %'^ } ^C ^^ ^^^'^ ^ Principle of Reafon 
 k^^^S ^"^ ^^^"^y applicable to many 
 Cafes. 
 It is the more neceifary to make this In- 
 quiry, becaufe the Rule in the Text is liable 
 to be mifapplied, unlefs we carefully attend 
 to the Reafons upon which it is founded, 
 from which only we can learn in what Cafes 
 the Rule is applicable, in what not* The 
 Mercy of God is the beft Pattern that v/e 
 can copy after, and our Lord has recommend- 
 ed to us, To be mercifuly even as our heavenly 
 Father is rnercifuL Since therefore God fpares 
 
 the 
 
2i8 DISCOURSE Vllf. 
 
 the Wicked who deferve Punifhment, nay> 
 who are ripe for final Deflrudion, fot the 
 fake of the Righteous, that they may n®fc 
 partake in their Sufferings, what ihall we 
 fay ? Is it reafonable that Men fliould ad: 
 in like manner ? that Magiftrates, who are 
 Difpenfers of temporal Punifhments, fhould 
 releafe the Guilty> becaufe of the Innocent 
 who are nearly concerned in the Fortunes of 
 the Guilty, and v/ho mufi: iliare either in the 
 Shame or the Lofs of the Puniflnment ? At 
 firft Sight perhaps you may imagine there is 
 a Parity of Reafon in thefe Cafes ; and yet 
 upon farther Confideration you will find> that 
 the fame Reafon which juftifies God in de- 
 laying the Punifhment of the Wicked, would 
 condemn the Magiftrate fhould he permit 
 the Guilty to live unpunifhed. 
 
 To come at this View clearly, we muft- 
 attend to the Difference between the Reafori 
 of Juflice, and the Rules of Juftice. By the 
 Rules of Juftice, I underftand the gerfieral 
 Principles and Maxims of Juftice by which 
 the Laws of all Countries are governed and 
 direfted. By the Reafon of Juflice, I under- 
 ftand the Fountain from which all Maxims 
 and ail Laws are derived, which is no other 
 than right Reafon itfelf : For Laws are not 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 219 
 
 juft, as partaking of the Authority of the 
 Law-giver, but as partaking of his Reafon. 
 And hence comes the Diflindion between 
 good and bad Laws, though both derived 
 from the fame Authority ; which fhews, 
 that Authority, though it may make a valid 
 Law, yet it cannot make a good one, unlefs 
 adting upon the Reafon of Juftice. Now 
 between the Reafon of Juftice and the Rules 
 of Juftice there is this great Difference ; the 
 Reafon of Juftice takes in all Circumftances 
 of every Cafe, and therefore cannot err in 
 its Judgment ; but the Maxims of Juflice 
 have no Relation to the particular Circum- 
 fiances of any Cafe, but are formed upon 
 general abftradled Ideas, and confequently 
 they often may and do fail, when they are 
 applied to fmgle Inftances : From whence 
 it often happens, that the Reafon of Juflice, 
 and the Maxims of Juflice, ftand in diredt 
 Oppofition to one another. And this gave- 
 Occafion to that proverbial Speech, Sum7niun 
 jus,fum?nai?2Juria; for the Words in them- 
 felves, unlefs you have refpedl to the dif- 
 ferent Rules to which they refer, are a plain 
 Contradidion. For it is not to be affirm- 
 ed, that what is Jum??2ii??2 jus according to 
 this Law, is, according to the fame Law, 
 
 fu7rwiti 
 
220 DISCOURSE viir. 
 
 fiimma mjuria : But the Truth of the Proverb 
 is to be undcrftood by referring the Parts oif 
 it to their proper Rules. Sum?num jui 
 regards the written Law, fumma injuria 
 regards the original Reafon of all Law^ 
 And then in many Cafes it happens, that 
 the Letter of the Law contradids the Reafon 
 of the Law : And the Caufe of this I before 
 obfervedj beeaufe Laws and Maxims of Law 
 have no Regard to the Circumftances of 
 particular Cafes, which Circumftances never- 
 thelefs do fometimes entirely alter the Nature 
 of the Cafe. 
 
 Hence it plainly appears, how liable we 
 are to miftake, as long as we form our Judg- 
 ments by applying general Rules of Law of 
 Equity to particular Cafes. Thus, for In- 
 ftance, it is a right Maxim of Juftice> that 
 all Sinners jfhould be puniflied ; and the 
 Maxim is derived from the certain Difference' 
 of Virtue and Vice, f?om the Ends of Re- 
 ward and Puniflimentj, which are adapted ta 
 promote Virtue, and difconrage Vice. Place 
 then before you a particular Sinner : By the 
 Rule of Jufticc he muft die ; but ^hat if it 
 fliould appear, from the Circumftances of hi^' 
 Cafe, that you cannot punifti him confiftently 
 with the Ends of Juftice^ that ,is, you can- 
 not 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 221 
 
 |iot promote Virtue, or difcourage Vice, you 
 cannot diftinguifli Good from Evil in his 
 pafe, but muft afflia both alike ? What will 
 you fay? Shall the general Maxim prevail 
 contrary to the very Reafons upon which the 
 Maxim itfelf is founded ? Or fhall the Rea- 
 fons of Juftice and Equity prevail to fuperfede 
 a general Law, which is not applicable to the 
 prefent Cafe ? 
 
 Now there is the fame Difference between 
 the Judgments of God, and the Judgments of 
 Men, as there is between the Rules of Law, 
 and the Reafon of Law : For Men are tied 
 down to judge by the Rules which the Law 
 prefcribes ; but the Judgment of God does 
 not arife from any Rule or Maxim of Law, 
 but in every Inflance follows the Reafon of 
 the Thing to he judged of; otherwife his 
 Judgments v/ould not in every Cafe be rea- 
 ibnable. It is mere Wcakncfs that makes 
 Men go by Rules ; and becaufe they are not 
 able to judge accurately upon all emergent 
 Cafes, therefore they have general P.ules for 
 their Diret^ion, But how abfurd would it 
 be to imagine God as ading by any fuch 
 Rules, as having recourfe to ftated Laws or 
 Maxims for the Diredion of his Judgment ii:^ 
 particular Inilances ? As Reafon is in all 
 
 Cafes 
 
222 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 Cafes the Fountain of Juftice, and of all 
 Laws and Principles of Law, fo the Divine 
 Reafon, which is perfect, is in every Cafe 
 the true Meafure of Juftice. From {\ence it 
 evidently appears, that fmce the Judgments 
 of God are not formed upon the general 
 Notions and Principles of Juftice which we 
 are converfant in, thofe Notions can be no 
 fafe Rules for us in the Examination of the 
 Ways of Providence, becaufe our Rules do 
 not always extend to the Reafon of particular 
 Cafes ; but the Judgments of God do always 
 regard the Reafons and Circumftances of 
 every Cafe. 
 
 Farther : Thefe Confiderations will help 
 us to form diftinct Notions of Juftice and 
 Mercy, and difcover to us, if not what they 
 always are, yet at leaft v^/hat they always 
 fhould be. Juftice is thought to be a Thing 
 fixed and certain, and to have its proper 
 Bounds and Limits, which it cannot tranf- 
 grefs without lofing its Name : But Mercy 
 is taken to be of a more variable, uncertaia 
 Nature, to have no Rule to go by, but to 
 arife from the Will of the Governor : And 
 confequently we ufually fpeak of Juftice and 
 Mercy as Oppofites to each other, and fup-' 
 pofe that Mercy can have no Place, unlefs 
 
 Juftice 
 
DJSGOUPvSE VIII. 223 
 
 Jaftice recedes to make room for it. What 
 does or may happen in the World we are 
 not concerned to inquire; our Bufinefs is to 
 fearch after the true Notions of Juftice and 
 Mercy, not the corrupt Practices in either. 
 Now Mercy and Juftice would pot be diftin- 
 guiflied, were it not for the Intervention of 
 general and particular Laws, which often 
 fall very heavy upon particular Perfons ; 
 whence it is that we complain of the Rigor 
 and Hardnefs of the Law : But were Men 
 perfedt both in their Reafon and in their 
 Wills, fo that they could neither judge amifs 
 nor acl amifs, they would then do that which 
 is exadly right and reafonable in every Cafe, 
 and there would be no room to correft the 
 Rigor of Juftice by the Interpofition of 
 Mercy; for there is no Rigor in that which 
 is perfedly right and reafonable. For con- 
 fider what are the Pleas for Mercy : Do 
 they not arife from the Circumftances of the 
 Perfon, or the Adion, which fliew that the 
 Law is too hard in his Cafe, and that he 
 ought in Reafon to be eafed againft the Ex- 
 tremity of the Law ? But had all thefe Cir- 
 cumftances been weighed in the firft Judg- 
 ment, and Juftice adapted to the very Me- 
 liu of the Cafe, all the Pleas for Mercy had 
 
 beeii 
 
224 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 been prevented, and confequently there had 
 been no room for Mercy; for Mercy with- 
 out Reafon is a mere EfFed: of arbitrary 
 Power, and not of Goodnefs. But now that 
 all Cafes are judged by Laws made long be- 
 fore the Cafes happened, and which cannot 
 confider the Alleviations or Aggravations of 
 particular Fadls, it comes to pafs fometimes, 
 that the Law is a very inadequate Rule of 
 Juftice in Cafes that fall under it. Shall the 
 Perfon then fuiFer according to the Rule of 
 Juftice againft all Reafon of Juftice ? No ; 
 lie ought to have the Benefit of Mercy, and 
 to be relieved againft the Rigor of the Law, 
 What then, becaufe the Puniihment of the 
 Law is too heavy for his Crime, ought he 
 therefore to go unpuniflied ? becaufe this 
 Punifhment is unreafonablca fhall he there-* 
 fore efcape that which is reafonable ? No ; 
 for though Mercy ought to take off the Ri- 
 gor of Juftice, yet it ought not to dcftroy 
 Juftice itfelf. It is evident then, that it is 
 the proper Work of Mercy to correct the 
 Rules of Juftice by the Reafon of Juftice; 
 and, confequently, were all Judgments form^ 
 ed upon the true Reafons of Juftice, Juftice 
 and Mercy would be one and the fame 
 Thing. 
 
 I Heqce^ 
 
DISCOURSE vm. 22J 
 
 Hence, perhaps, we may be able to ac- 
 count for a Difficulty, which is apt mightily 
 to difturb Men whert they ponder the Judg- 
 ments of God : They confider him as effen- 
 tially juft, and eflentially merciful, from 
 whence they rightly conclude, that he cari 
 never be otherwife than merciful, never 
 btherwife than jufl ; arid yet hovv to recon- 
 cile thefe AttHbutes in every Cafe they fee 
 not. In human Judgments, it is plain, where 
 Mercy prevails, Juftice lleeps; where Juftice 
 ads, Mercy is filent : But this cannot be the 
 Cafe in divine JudgmentSji becaufe God cari 
 neither ceafe to be juft or merciful. But; 
 if we confider that the Afts of Mercy and 
 Jufliice, as they are dift:inguifhed frOm one 
 another, are relative to flated Rules and Laws; 
 and that they are both the fame with fefpecft 
 to the Reafon of Jufi:ice ; we ihall eafily dif- 
 cern how God, who always adls by the 
 pureft Reafon, that is, by his own, may be faid 
 in every Judgment to do juftly and merci- 
 fully. For when God does that which is per- 
 fedlly reaionable, all Circumfliances weighed, 
 in every Cafe, there is no Cafe in which any 
 one can complain for want either of Mercy 
 OT Juftice ; for, if there be any Reafon to 
 complain, it muft be becaufe the Thing, ia 
 
 Vol. Ill, Q_ fome 
 
226 DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 fome Refped:, is not reafonable ; and there- 
 fore, when the Reaion of Juftice is exadly 
 purfued, you have the true Point, where 
 Mercy and Juftice meet together : And this 
 is the Point in which all the Judgments of 
 God do centre. I fpcak here of the Judgments 
 of God properly fo called -, for thofe Adls of 
 Goodnefs which he exercifes in Right of his 
 fupreme Sovereignty and Dominion are not 
 within our prefent View. And that this 
 Account is true, you may partly coUedl frorti 
 the Inftance in which the Text is concerned : 
 Our Saviour does not juftify God for delaying 
 the Punifhment of the Wicked, by diftin- 
 guiihing between the Mercy and Juftice of 
 God, and ftiewing how Mercy triumphed 
 over Juftice in this Delay ; but he appeals to 
 the Reafon of the Cafe, and fliews that God 
 did what was fit and becoming a wife Judge 
 and Governor I and that the Thing complain- 
 ed of as a Defedl of Juftice, was, all its Cir- 
 cumftances confidered, the Height of Juftice 
 and Equity : And this will plainly appear in 
 the Application we are to make of what ha? 
 been faid to this particular Cafe. 
 
 The Parable, of which the Text is Part, Is 
 evidently intended as an Anfwer to the com- 
 tnon Objeftion againft Providence, drawn 
 
t>fsd(5uRSE Yin. 227 
 
 from the Profperity of Sinners, or rather, in 
 the prefent Cafe, from the Impunity of Of- 
 fenders. If you examine upon what Prin- 
 ciples theObjedlion proceeds, and upon what 
 Principles the Anfwer, you will find that the 
 Objediion is founded upon one of the com- 
 mon and general Maxims of Juftice, which^ 
 as I have already fhewn^ do often mifguide 
 bur Judgments in particular Gafes ; and that 
 our Saviour's Anfwer is drawn from the 
 Reafon of dl Law and Equity, which can 
 never fail. Afk the Man, who makes this 
 Objedlion againft God's Government^ why 
 he thinks it unbecoming the Wifdom of God 
 io delay the Punifliment of Sinners ? he will 
 readily anfwer, becaufe it is contrary to his 
 juftice; and, to fupport his Reafon, he will 
 farther add, that it is an undoubted Maxim 
 of Juftice, that all Sinners deferve Punrfh- 
 ment. xAnd here, I think, he muft ftop ; for 
 he cannot enter into particular Cafes, unlefs 
 ke knew more of Men than he does, or can 
 know. In Anfwe'* to this, our Saviour owns 
 the Truth of the general Maxim, as far as it 
 relates to the Defert of Sinners ; arid there- 
 fore teaches us, that God has appointed a 
 Day in which he will judge the World: 
 But then he fhews, from fuperior Reafons of 
 0^2 Juftice, 
 
228 DISCOURSE Vm. 
 
 Juftice, that the AppHcation of the Principl:$ 
 in the prefent Cafe is wrong ; for though it 
 be juft to punifli all Sinners, yet to punifh 
 them immediately would deftroy the very 
 Reafon, which makes it juft to punifh thefn. 
 It is juft to punifli them, that there may be 
 a Difference made between the Good and 
 the Bad according to their Deferts, that their 
 Punifliment may be a Difcouragement to 
 Vice, an Encouragement to Virtue. Now 
 our Lord ihews in this Parable, that the im- 
 mediate Punifliment of the Wicked would 
 quite deftroy thefe Ends of Juftice ; for the 
 Righteous and the Wicked, like the Wheat 
 and Tares growing together in one Field, 
 are fo mixed and united in Intereft in this 
 World, that, as Things ftand, the Wicked 
 cannot be rooted out, but the Righteous muft 
 fuffer with them : Confequently, the imme- 
 diate DeftrucSionof the Wicked, linceitmuft 
 inevitably fall upon the Righteous alfo, would 
 make no proper Diftinftion between the 
 Good and the Bad ; could be no Encou- 
 ragement to Virtue, for the Virtuous would 
 fuifer ; could be no Difcouragement to Vice, 
 for Vice would fare as well as Virtue : And 
 therefore it is not only reafonable to delay the 
 Put^iihmcnt of the Wicked, but even necef- 
 
 fary 
 
DISCOURSE VIIL 229 
 
 fary to the obtainiog the Ends of Juflice, 
 fince they cannot be obtained in their im- 
 mediate Defirudion, 
 
 This then is a full Juftification of God in 
 his Dealings with Men ; and fliews his Juf- 
 tice, as well as his Mercy, in not executing 
 Wrath and Vengeance as foon as Sinners are 
 ripe for them. But if this be the Height of 
 Juftice in God, how is it not the Height of 
 Injuftice in Men to deal with one another 
 quite otherwife ? Temporal PunilLments, 
 even thofe which are capital, are executed 
 immediately 5 though often it happens that 
 many Innocents fuiter in the Punifhment of 
 pne injurious Perfon. The Law does not 
 confider who fhall maintain the Children, 
 when it feizes the Father's Eilate as forfeited ; 
 nor does Juftice relent for fear flie fhould 
 make a niiferable Widow, and many wretch- 
 ed Orphans, by the fevere Blow which cuts 
 off the guilty Hulband and Father. Nay, 
 farther ; This very Method of Juftice is or- 
 dained by God, and Magiftrates are not at 
 Liberty totally to fufpend the Execution of 
 Juftice ; and how cornes God to purfue one 
 Method of Juftice himfelf, and .to prefcribe 
 another to his Vicegerents ? The plain An^ 
 Iwer is, bec^ufe the Reafon of thefe two 
 
 a.3 Cafti 
 
230 DISCOURSE VIU. 
 
 Cafes is very diiferent. The Punifhments of 
 this World are not the final Punifhments of 
 Iniquity ; but are Means ordained to fecurc 
 Virtue and Morality, and to protect the In-r 
 nocent from immediate Violence. Offence§ 
 which diflurb the Peace of Society, and the 
 Security of private Perfons, will not bear a 
 Delay of JuAice ; for the End of Juftice, in 
 this Cafe, is to fecure Peace : But this End 
 can never be ferved by permitting Thieves^ 
 and Murderers, and Rebels, to go unpu- 
 nifliedj and though, whenever they fufFer, 
 many Innocents may fuffer with them, yet 
 many more would fufFer in their Impunity ^ 
 and this World would be fcarcely habitable^ 
 were fuch Crimes as thefe to wait for their 
 Punifhment till another World fucceeded 
 this. Qur Saviour's Reafoning, when ap- 
 plied to this Cafe, leads to another Con- 
 clufion ; that the Righteous may not fufFer, 
 God delays the final Punilhment of the 
 Wicked 5 for the fame Reafon, that the 
 Righteous may not fufFer, he has command- 
 ed the Magiftrate to cut oiF all the Sons of 
 Violence, all Difturbers of the public Peace 
 and Quiet. And, in fo doing, he has folr 
 loweci the fame Reafon in both Cafe^^ 
 namely, that the Righteous niay bepreferved 
 
 ancj 
 
DISCOURSE Vm. 231 
 
 and protedled : In one Cafe, preferved from 
 the Violence of the Wicked ; in the other, 
 from the Contagion of their Punifliment. 
 In a Word, Offences againft Men muft he 
 corrected and difcouraged by prefent Punifli- 
 ment, or elfe this World will be a Scene of 
 great Woe and Mifery to the beft Men : 
 Violence will prevail, and the Meek, far 
 from inheriting the Earth, will be rootec} 
 out of it. Offences againft God, though 
 of a deeper Dye, yet have not in them the 
 fame Call for immediate Vengeance : For 
 God fuffers not from the Wickednefs of 
 Men ; the Ends of Juftice are beft ferved by 
 the Delay, and his Goodnefs is at prefent 
 difplayed in his Forbearance; and his Ho- 
 nour will foon be vindicated in a more pub- 
 lic Theatre than that of this prefent World, 
 in the Sight of all the Dead, as well as of all 
 jthe lyiving. 
 
 Qj DISCOURSl 
 
.,.- /*v*s<^- ,r*^^r*^, ^r^'*>^^ V9V*Sr<JS ^ 
 
 & <*^*> <^^^> <*)^*> <*^-^> ^ 
 
 ^ <(^*xx> <M*^> <^.^y^> <¥*»(> ^ 
 
 !•' <*^*> <*-^*> <*M*> <-*^*> ^ 
 
 »r <^<t^^ Si^^W Sfi^^^ v*-^-*^ 4tf 
 
 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Matthew xxvi. 41. 
 
 JVatcb and pray y that ye enter not into Temp-- 
 tation : T/je Spirit indeed iji ivillingy but 
 the FleJJ: is weak, 
 
 f\^%^^^OV>. the t^etter underftanding of 
 IJ^^^^f thefe Words, I mull: defire you 
 "^^ ^ i^ to refieaalittle upon what Oc- 
 
 K^ 
 
 ^S%W^ cafion they were ipoken, and 
 in what Circumftances our Sa- 
 ylour was, when he made this ExhortatioB 
 \o his Difciples. The Time of his Crucifixion 
 \vas now near at hand, and he had foretold 
 his Difciples that they fhould all be offended 
 becaufe of him ; upon which St. Peter made 
 a very forward ProfeiTion of Conftancy, as 
 did likewife all the Difciples. But it does 
 aot appear that they clearly underftood our 
 
 Savioufj^ 
 
23+ DISCOURSE tX. 
 
 Saviour, or were apprehenfive that they fhould 
 fo foon lofe their Mafter; if they had, they 
 could not have been fo fupinely negligent and 
 unconcerned for his Welfare, as immediately 
 to fall alleep, as we read they did. But our 
 Saviour, as he had a different Senfe of what 
 he was to undergo, fo was he differently af- 
 fected : He began to be forrowful, and very 
 heavy; and expreifed himfelf to his Difciples, 
 that his Soul was exceeding forrowful, even 
 unto Death. He began to feel the Weaknefs 
 and Infirmities of human Nature upon the 
 Approach of Death, and the Terror and 
 Apprehenfion of it increafed fo faft, as to 
 draw that Petition from him, my Father^ 
 if it be poffibky let this Cup pafs from me. In 
 which Prayer he was f6 earneft, and his 
 Agony fo great, that the Sweat fell from him 
 like Drops of Blood, 
 
 No one was ever more willing to fulfil the 
 Will of God than he was : He came into the 
 World to do the Will of his Father, and was 
 ready to finiih the Work fet before him. But 
 yet, ia this laft and iliarp Trial, he found 
 how great the Weaknefs of the FIe(h was, 
 ^nd how powei;ful Impreffions it had upon 
 him : From whence probably arofe the Re- 
 flcftion mentioned in the Text, The Spirit 
 
 indeed 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 235 
 
 indeed is willing ^ but the FleJJ? is weak ; which 
 he makes the Ground of his Exhortation to 
 his Difciples, Watch and pray, that ye enter 
 iwt into Temptation, When he returned from 
 Prayer to them, he found them afleep, and, 
 after expoftulating with them for the M'^i- 
 concernednefs it betrayed towards him in hi| 
 Diflrefs and Afflidlion, he exhorts them ra- 
 ther to employ their Time in watching an4 
 praying ; for, though they had made a very 
 forward and bold Refolution rather to die 
 with him than deny him, yet he Icnew that 
 a Refolution and Willingnefs to obey were 
 not a fufficlent Support againft the Weaknefs 
 of human Nature, but that they flood in 
 need of all the Advantages that might be 
 reaped from Watchfulnefs and Prayer. I^ 
 he himfelf found Difficulties from the V/eak- 
 nefs of the Flefh, he might well conclude 
 how unable his Difciples w^ould be, when 
 their Time of Trial fliould come. So that 
 the Words of the Text, i:he Spirit indeed is 
 willing, but the Flejh is weak, it^va rather 
 founded on what our Saviour experienced in 
 his late Agony, than from any thing that 
 was criminal in his Difciples. They were 
 afjeep indeed, which was an unkind Part, 
 ^hen they faw in how great Diflrefs their 
 
 ' ' Mafter 
 
235 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Mafter was, but oth^rwifc It was not faulty 
 in itfelf. They did not apprehend the immi- 
 nent Danger their Lord was in; if they had, 
 their Fear and Anxiety would have inters- 
 pofed to diilurb their Reft. Nor did our 
 Saviour blame their Sleep otherwife than as 
 unfeafonable at that Time, when the Danger 
 that attended them required them to be other- 
 wife employed. There was a great Storm 
 ready to break, in which he forefaw they 
 muft bear a Part, as well as himfelf ; and 
 therefore there was a Neceffity they fhould 
 arm, and prepare themfelves againft it, 
 W^tcb and pray y that ye enter not iuta T^emp* 
 iation: Which is a Warning for them to 
 ftrengthen themfelves againft future Evil ; 
 and he does not much blame their Carriage 
 as yet, but rather tacitly acknowledges the 
 great Forwardnefs they expreffed to fuffer 
 with him, and for him; T^ be Spirit indeed isi 
 'willing. But then he knew the Greatnefs of 
 the Temptation they were to undergo, and 
 had lately himfelf experienced the Weak- 
 nefs and Inabihty of human Natu^e^ and 
 therefore recommends Watchfujuefs and 
 Prayer to them, becaufe the FleJIi is weaL 
 
 The Words thus explained contain a very 
 proper and fuitable Exhortation to the Seafoii 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 237 
 
 in which they were fpoken, and to all Men 
 in general : And the Reafon of them is a 
 powerful Excitement to us to pray continu- 
 ally for the Grace and Affiftance of God's 
 good Spirit, knowing, how ready and wil- 
 ling foever we may be to obey, that we afQ 
 befet with too many and too ftrong Enemies 
 to permit us long tc continue in our good 
 Refolutions; which fhould make us look 
 about for Help, and, if I may fofpeak, enter 
 into new AlHances with Heaven, for greater 
 Supplies of fpiritual Strength to oppofe th« 
 common Enemy of Mankind. 
 
 But this Explication of the Text, how 
 worthy foever of its Author, and agreeabls- 
 to the Circumftances in which it was deli- 
 vered, will not eafily be digefled ; becaufe it 
 undermines the Foundation of the favourite 
 Dodtrine of Sins of Infirmity, which, upon 
 the flender Encouragement of this Text of 
 Scripture, has thriven wonderfully, almoft 
 to the Exclufion of all other Sins out of the 
 World. For Men are very willing to lift all 
 their Sins under the Colours of Infirmity, 
 and fo leave them to ihift for themfelves : 
 Which, whatever elfe it fignifies, has this 
 prefent EfFe6t, it rids them of the Trouble 
 aad Pains of Repentance and Amendment, 
 
 and 
 
!23S DISCOURSE it^ 
 
 and eafes them of the Terror and Appfc^ 
 henfion of Guilt, which would otherwife be 
 Very unwelcome Companions to the Plea- 
 lb res of Sin. 
 
 The Text, when lifed to this Piirpofe, is 
 thus explained : The Difciples are fuppofed 
 to have committed fome great Fault, for 
 which our Saviour rebukes them | Whaty 
 could ye Jiot watch with trie one Hour ? Watch 
 and pray i that ye enter not into 'Temptation: 
 But then, checking himfelf, he makes this 
 Excufe for them. The Spirit indeed is willing ^ 
 .kit the Flefi is weak : Abfolving them for 
 the Willingnefs that was in them, and throw- 
 ing all the Blame and Guilt of Sin upon the 
 Weaknefs of the Flefli. Now to make the 
 fnofi: of this : The Fault which the Difciples 
 were guilty of, could be no other than 
 falling afleep, and that after long and tedious 
 Watching ; fo that if the Weaknefs of the 
 Fle{l:i was applied as an Excufe to the Apoftles 
 CafCj nothing elfe can be underftood by it#- 
 but the natural Wants and Cravings of Na- 
 ture, which are neceffary to the Support of 
 Life ; fuch as Sleepinefs, Hunger and Thirft/ 
 which no one doubts but may be fo flrong^ 
 without any Fault of ours, as to interrupt us 
 when v/e might be better employed ; andy 
 
 when^vef 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 239 
 
 whenever they are fo, are without queftion 
 very pardonable Infirmities. But, if this were 
 the only Ufe made of this Notion, no one 
 would think it worthy of a Difpute. 
 
 But, as fome Men of melancholic Tern-* 
 
 pcrs and Difpofitions have fancied every Sin 
 
 they have been guilty of to be the Sin againfl: 
 
 the Holy Ghoft, and themfelves irrecoverably 
 
 rejedled, and incapable of the Mercy and 
 
 Favour of God; fo others of a different 
 
 Temper have reckoned all their Sins to be 
 
 Sins of Infirmity, and themfelves fecure 
 
 enough from the Anger of God, and Danger 
 
 of Punifhment. The one pays dear for his 
 
 Miflake in this World, by the Feai-s and 
 
 Apprehenfions under which he continually 
 
 fuffers : And the other v/ill have no Reafon 
 
 to be proud of his Contrivance, when his 
 
 Error comes to be rectified by the impartial 
 
 Judgment of God in another. It is sl falfe 
 
 Security Men gain to themfelves by thefc 
 
 Jittle Shifting Tricks in Religion ; and there ii 
 
 juft as much Policy in this Conceit, as in his, 
 
 who fhut his own Eyes faft, and thought no 
 
 body elfe could fee him. For, however Men 
 
 darken and blind their own Judgment, there 
 
 is, who fees through all their Pretences, and 
 
 will judge a righteous Judgment. 
 
 4 But,. 
 
240 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 But, the better to enable us to judge cff 
 this Matter, it may be proper to inquire, what 
 are Sins of Infirmity, and what Value there 
 is in the Excufe. And though there is no 
 Ground in the Words of the Text for this 
 Diftinflion, yet, fince they have been fo often 
 applied to this Purpofe, t hope it will not be 
 thought an unfeafonable Deviation to endea-^ 
 vour to redify the Miftakes in this €afe; 
 which are but too general, and of too fatal 
 Confequence to the Souls of Men. 
 
 In this Inquiry I fliall confine myfelf id 
 the following Method : 
 
 Firft, To confider what is the Scripture 
 Senfe of Infirmities. 
 
 Secondly, What Sort of Sins they are, 
 t^'hich will admit of an Excufe, becaufe of 
 the Infirmity from which they proceed. 
 
 The State of human Nature is fuch, as 
 to be liable to many Pains, Difeafes, and at 
 iaft to Death : And though all are not equally 
 afFeded, fome having a leiKShare of thefe 
 'Evils than others, yet all, by the Weaknefs 
 of Nature, are equally liable and expofed to 
 thefe Miferies : This is the firft and propeif 
 Notion of Infirmity. In this Senfe Chrift is 
 faid to iear our Infirmities ; being, by the ne-^ 
 ceflary Law of his human Nature, fubjeft to 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 241 
 
 tlie like Mlferies and Afflidions with us. 
 St. Paul fays, he was crucified through IVeak^ 
 fiefs y that is> he was by the Condition of his 
 Humaaity liable to Death, which expofed 
 him to the Death of the Crofs^ through the 
 Malice and Power of his Enemies. Under 
 this Senfe are contained, as Particulars in a 
 General^ all the natural Wants and Vv^eak- 
 neffes of Nature ; fuch as Hunger, Thirfti 
 Sleepinefs, the Fear and Dread of Pain, and 
 the Averfion and Horror of Death : Which 
 Infirmity our blefled Saviour himfelf was 
 not free from^ as appears by what has been 
 already faidi 
 
 But Men are not more weak and imper^ 
 fefl: in their Bodies than in their Minds, nor 
 more expofed to bodily Pains than to the 
 Impreffions of Sin, which is our fpiritual 
 Difeafe : And though all are not Sinners 
 alike, yet all are alike weafc> and fubjecfl to 
 the Temptations of Sin : And this is the ge-^ 
 neral Senfe of Infirmity^ when applied to 
 our fpiritual Condition. St. Paul tells us> 
 the Law was weak through the FleJJj : And 
 the Author to the Hebrews to the fame Senfe, 
 There was a dtfannulllng of the Commandment 
 going beforey for the Weaknefs and Unprofit- 
 ahlenefs thereof : For the Law made nothing 
 Vol. III. R ferfec?. 
 
242 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 perfect. Which is not to be underfto6d> as if 
 the Law was weak, carnal, and unprofitable, 
 confidered in itfelf^ for, ^t. Paul fays, the 
 Law is holy, and the Commandment holjy jiijl, 
 and good: But Men were fo weak and car- 
 nally minded, the Difpofition to Evil was fo 
 great, for which the Law had not provided 
 a fafficient Cure, that the holy, juft, and 
 good Commandment was made ineffedtual. 
 Agreeable to this, St. Pauly in the Perfon 
 6f an unregenerate Man, fays, T^he Law is 
 fpiritualy but I am camaly fold under Sin yfor 
 in mey that is, in my Flejljy dwelleth no good 
 "Thing : For to will is prefent with me, hut 
 how to perform that which is good I find 
 not. This, and more to the fame Purpofe, 
 you will find in Rom. vii. This Incapacity 
 St. Paul calls the Law of Sin which is in the 
 Members, which roles and governs in the 
 Unregenerate, and from which we are freed 
 by Chrift, as he immediately declares : The 
 Law of the Spirit of Life in Chrijl Jefns hath 
 made me free from the Law of Sin and Death, 
 For what the^Law could 7iot doy in that it was 
 weak through the FleJJj , God fending his own 
 Son in the Likenefs offmfidFleJloy and for Sin, 
 condemned Sin in the Flefo : That the Right e- 
 mfnefs of the Law might be fulfilled in us, wh^ 
 
 "walk, 
 
DISCOURSE iX. 24j 
 
 wdtk not after the Flejhy but after the Spirit, 
 So that now the Weaknefs of the Flefll h 
 done away, and we, having received the 
 Spirit of Life and of Chrift^ muft fulfil the 
 Righteoufnefs of the Law ; and may^ if we 
 walk according to the Spirit we have re- 
 ceived; Nothing is plainer, than that St; 
 Paul oppofes the Law of Sin, and the Law* 
 bf the Spirit of Life ; and the Condition of 
 him who was under the Law of Sin^ in 
 whom is the Weaknefs of the Flefli, and 
 bf him who is under the Law of Life^ in 
 ivhom is the Spirit of Righteoufnefs. Yet 
 fome will have St. Paul fpeak irl his own 
 Perfon without a Figure^ that is^ in the 
 Perfon of a regenerate Chriflian, when he 
 defcribes the State of the Law of Sin ; and 
 have learned to make Grace and Sin con- 
 fiftenti and taught that Grace once received 
 can never be effaced by a(5lual Sins> of what 
 Number or Quality foever, or the Sinner 
 made lefs the Child of God. A Doftrine, 
 bf which it is hard to fay, whether it has 
 lefs of Chriftianity or common Senfe. 
 
 In this Argument St. Paul more than once 
 Ipeaks thus : If I do that I would not ^ it is no 
 morel that do it, but Sin that dwelleth in me., 
 Which is thought by fome to come very near 
 
 R 3 to 
 
244 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 to the Cafe of Sins of Infirmity : For the E^t- 
 cufe from Infirmity is made up of Willing- 
 nefs, and Want of Power; Willingnefs to 
 obey, and Want of Power to withftand the 
 Temptations and powerful Impreflions of Sin. 
 In all moral Adions there is a Proportion 
 between the Ability to perform, and the Guilt 
 of not performing; and the one muft be 
 eftimated by the other : But, if we confider 
 ourfelves as Chriftians, who do not depend 
 purely on ou\* own Strength, but likewife 
 on the Affiftance of God, the Meafure of 
 which depends on the Application we ufe to 
 obtain it, the Terms of the Proportion will 
 be altered, and the Guilt of our Difobedience 
 will be meafured by the Ability we might 
 have had to perform our Duty. For, if wc 
 fail in Ability through our own Default in 
 ufing thp Means prefcribed by God to enable 
 us, the Guilt of our Sins will be according to 
 the Ability we might have had ; and therefore 
 the Excufe may be true, and yet infignificant. 
 It may be true, that you had not Power to 
 withftand the Temptations you fell under ; 
 and yet this may be no Juftification, becaufe 
 it was your own Fault that you had not 
 Power. The not obferving which, is the 
 true Foundation of Men's relying fo much 
 
 for 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 245 
 
 for Excufe upon their Infirmities. They ar^ 
 confcious to themfelves how violent the 
 Temptation to Sin was, and how much it 
 overpowered their Strength 5 upon which 
 they ground their Excufe : But then they 
 leave out of the Confideration, how much 
 more Strength they might have had, if they 
 had not negledted the Means of obtaining it, 
 St. Paul iclls us, fFe are not hi theFleJJ:, but 
 in the Spirit, if fo be that the Spirit of God 
 dwells in us-, and therefore we fliall be judg- 
 ed, not according to the Strength of the 
 Flefh, but of the Spirit, which we have, or 
 may have, if it be not our own Fauh. A 
 Man may as juftly be punifhed for not being 
 able to perform his Duty, when he had it 
 in his own Hands to make himfelf able, as 
 for not doing his Duty when he was able. 
 And there is not much Difference between 
 thefe two ; for it is one Part of our Duty to 
 enable ourfelves to perform our Duty, and 
 all the Confequences of our Weaknefs and 
 Infirmity are juftly chargeable upon the Neg- 
 led: of it. This is but little more than what 
 all Moralifts have agreed in the Cafe of vici- 
 ous Habits : It is hardly to be imagined, how 
 great a Neceffity an ill Habit brings us un- 
 der 5 yet no Man ever urged this as an Ar- 
 R 3 giimcnt 
 
246 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 gument to excufe Sin; but thought the iirfl 
 Negledt in fuffering the Habit to grow up, 
 entitled Men very jufcly to the Guilt of all the 
 Sin coniequent upon it. If we know how 
 to remedy our Infirmities, why do w^ ftiU 
 boaft of them, or place pur Security in them ? 
 St. Paul complains pf a T^horn given him in 
 the FkJJ:^ for the Removal of which he thrice 
 Drayed ; to which he had no other Anfwer 
 fron; the Lord, than my Grace is fujicient for 
 thee, for 7ny Strength is made perfeB in Weak--, 
 nefs. Upon which St. Paid triumphed and 
 gloried in his Infirmity. But how ? Not as 
 we glory in our Infirmities, ufine them as an 
 Excufe for Sin -, but, becaufe through his In- 
 firmity the Power of Chrifi refied on him. The 
 Law of the Spirit of Life having then fo 
 plentifully provided againft this Weaknefs and 
 Depravity of the Flefh, there can no longer 
 any Colour of Excufe be had from it. 
 
 Next to this general Senfe of Infirmity 
 come the particular Infirmities included in ito 
 As every Difeafe of the Body is called an 
 Infirmity, as our Saviour, when he healed 
 the Sick of their particular Diftempers, is 
 fald to cure their Infirmities; fo, by the 
 . fime Analogy, every particular Sin may be 
 culled an Infirmity. Thus David:, fpeaking 
 
 of 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 247 
 
 of his Diftruft of God's Goodnefs, calls it his 
 Infirmity. So the Author of the Hebrew^ 
 /peaking of the Jewijh High-Priefls, fays, 
 the Law maketh Men High^Priefis which 
 have Infirmities, But in the Scripture it is 
 no where ufed in this Senfe as an Alleviatioa 
 of Guilt. 
 
 But the Senfe of Scripture is the leaft thing 
 regarded in fetting up this Plea of Infirmity, 
 \yhich has been invented and ufed to jfhelter 
 fome particular darling Sins, and fcldom or 
 never for the univerfal Imperfedion of all* 
 even the heft of our Aftions, in w^hich Senfe 
 only it can be reafonably ufed ; but that 
 Men think not v^orth excufing. The Bofom 
 Sin is the Thing to be defended : In which 
 Cafe two Things are generally urged, a na» 
 tural Paffion, and the Violence of the Paf- 
 fion. A natural Pafljon has the fame Author 
 with Nature, and belongs to us as we are 
 Men, and therefore not to be avoided. For 
 the Violence of the PafTion, the particular 
 Conftitution and Temperament of Body are 
 alledged, which expofe fome more to this or 
 that Paffion than others perhaps are liable to. 
 But it is the Misfortune of fome Arguments 
 to prove too much, and, like an Arrow too 
 ftrongly drawn, mifs the Mark by going be- 
 
 R 4 yond 
 
248 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 yond it. What Sin is there that may not 
 thus be excufed ? St. Paul reckons among 
 the Works of the Flefh, Adultery, Fornica- 
 ttony Uncleannefs, Lafcivioufnefsy Hatredy Va-. 
 riance. Emulations, Wrath, Strife, Envyings, 
 Murders, Drunken?2ffs, Revellings, and the 
 like-, then adds, they which do fuch Things 
 JJjall not inherit the Kingdom of God, Now 
 try thefe round, they all immediately, or 
 by Confequence, arife from Paflions which 
 are called natural, and, as they meet with a 
 fuitable Temper, fome may prevail in one, 
 fome in another^ and then either the Excufe 
 is vain, or the Apoftle's Judgment is vain, 
 that they which do fuch Things Jh all not inherit 
 the Kingdom of God. 
 
 The Scripture ufes Weaknefs in another 
 Senfe, as oppofed to Knowledge; as weak 
 Chrijiians are thofe newly converted, and not 
 yet confirmed in the Knowledge and Myfte- 
 ries of Chriftianity : But this Senfe is nothing 
 to our Purpofe. 
 
 So likevvife Weaknefs is applied to them 
 who have weak and tender Confciences, 
 eafily offended, who fcrupled eating Meat of- 
 fered to Idols, tlie Ufc of which the Apoftle 
 aliovv's to fuch as bad Senfe enough not to be 
 offended at It. Their Infirmity was a nic£ 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 249 
 
 and fcrupulous Fear of Sin, where there was 
 no Reafon to fear : A Weaknefs we are pretty 
 well got over. 
 
 Thefe are the moft ufual, if not all tho 
 Scripture Senfes of Infirmity; and I think it 
 appears, that none of them have Infirmity 
 enough in them to be an Excufe for Sin. All 
 8in is Weaknefs ; the more perfect any Crea- 
 ture is, and the nearer it approaches to Him 
 w^ho is all Perfedlion, the more remote is it 
 from a Poffibility of finning. It was our 
 Weaknefs made it fecefi^ary for the Son of 
 God to come to our Affiftance, to refcue us 
 from the Law pf Sin and Death ; which he 
 did by condemning Sin in the Flefh, and by 
 the powerful Effufion of his Holy Spirit. But 
 to what Purpofe is the Holy Spirit promifed 
 or given, but to overcome our Infirmities, 
 that the Strength of God may be maae per^ 
 fe6l in Weaknefs ?' 
 
 But yet, after all thefe Helps, we are not, 
 nor cannot be, perfed Creatures. St. James 
 fays, In many T/migs we offend all. How fliall 
 thefe Errors be excufed, which the befl; of 
 Men are liable to ? Is there a Foundation for 
 an Excufe, or mufl: all alike perifh in the 
 Error of their Ways ? This will receive an 
 ' Anfwer, if we confider, 
 
 I . Secon;;l!y, 
 
250 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Secondly, What fort of Sins they ar© 
 which will admit of an Excufe, becaufe of 
 the Infirn^iity from which they proceed. 
 
 And here you are not to exped: a Catalogue 
 of Sins, for I know no kind of Sin that can 
 be otherwife excufed than by Repentance and 
 Amendment 5 and at heft there is an Impro- 
 priety of Speech in Sins of Infirmity. The 
 neceffary EfFe<ils of our Infirmities ^re not 
 finful : Where they are not neceflTary, they 
 may be finful 5 but why they are called Sin3 
 of Infirmity in Diftindion to other Sins is 
 bard to fay. There is an Imperfection in 
 the Obedience of the heft of Men. The five 
 Wife Virgins fiumbered^ and their Lamps 
 grew dim, and wanted trimming, when the 
 Bridegroom came : But yet they foon made 
 ready, and were received to the Marriage 
 Feaft : And, without queftion, God will 
 favourably loek upon the Failings of goo4 
 Men, and accept their fincere, though not 
 perfed Obedience. This, I hope, we have 
 Reafqn to allow ; But yet the conimon No- 
 tion of Sins of Infirmity gains nothing by 
 it ; for let any one fay what is the Sin of lur 
 firmity that all good Men are guilty of. There 
 is an Imperfection which flows from the 
 Wcaknefs of ourprefgntConditlon, ^nd fl:iew3i, 
 
 itfelf^ 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 251 
 
 itfelf, not regularly, but in various Inflances. 
 Many good Chriftians have complained of a 
 Coldnefs fometimes in their Devotion, and 
 of v^^andering and roving Thoughts ; w^hich 
 is, without doubt, one of thofe WeaknelTes 
 that fhall be forgiven to pious and fincere 
 Chriftians. Will you thgn make this one of 
 your Sins of Iniirniity, an Evil that carries 
 its Excufe always with it ? Surely no : For, 
 though it ihall be forgiven fome, it will be 
 an Aggravation of thp Guilt of others, who 
 have not the fame fincere Obedience and 
 good Difpofition to plead in their Excufe, 
 Some are troubled with impious and blaf- 
 phemous Thoughts, unworthy Conceptions 
 of God and Chrift, and fuffer a prodigious 
 Torment and Anxiety of Mind becaufe of 
 them, who are Objedls of Pity and Com- 
 paffion both to God and Man : And when 
 this is the Cafe of well-difpofed Perfons, who 
 are no ways confenting to them, there feems 
 to be as httle Guilt iq them, as in a Fever or 
 an Ague. 
 
 Upon the whole then ; Since there is fo 
 little Reafon to depend upon this Excufe, an4 
 fmce all Men in fome Degree ftand in need 
 of it, I will fliew you the Way, and I know 
 but one Way of entitling ourfclves to this 
 
 Pka, 
 
252 DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Plea, which is by endeavouring fincerely and 
 univerfally to obey the Will of God; then 
 iliall we be in the Number of thofe, whofe 
 Infirmities for the fake of Chriil ihall be 
 forgivexi. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
^ rw^ M-^h, F^-^ M^k. F^-n ^ 
 S )^*^ M*)^ M#^ )^*}eC ^*)« C 
 ^ fe.Mj^ ■^^i'^ k^jul "^^F* ^^M g 
 
 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Isaiah liii. 3, 
 
 if^ is defpifed and rejected of Men^ a Man of 
 Sorrowsy and acquainted with Grief 
 
 Ti^'^^&f:^ HEN our Lord was led away 
 *^^Aw^ to be crucified, and the Wo- 
 ^^ 1^^ men bewailed and lamented his 
 
 them, and faid. Daughters of 
 ferufakm^ weep not for me, but weep for your- 
 felves. Words, which we may very pro- 
 perly apply to ourfelves for the Diredion of 
 our Devotion on this Day of his Crucifixion : 
 A Day it is of Sorrow and Mourning, but not 
 for his fake, who, crowned with Glory and 
 Honour, is fet down on the right Hand of 
 the Majefty on high ; but for our own, whofe 
 Sins brought down this Load of Woe and of 
 
 Mifery 
 
^^4 Discoxjkst X. 
 
 Mifery upon our blefled Redeemer^ If" tveJ 
 cotifider with how unbounded a Love he 
 embraced us in our lowefl State of Weak- 
 nefs, and with how fcool an AfFecflion we daily 
 approach to him ; how much he gladly en- 
 dured upon our Account, and how unwil- 
 lingly we fuffer any thing upon his ; if wei 
 refled: how earneftly he laboured to fave our 
 SoulSi and how carelefsly and wantonly we 
 throw them stway ; what Pains and Sorrows 
 he underwent to perfec5t our Redemptionr 
 and to what empty Pleafures we facrifice all 
 his Sufferings^ and our own eternal Happi- 
 tie^Sy it will ihew us where the true Caufe of 
 our Grief lies^ and how vainly we complimcnf 
 our Lord, by venting our Indignation againfl 
 his antient Crucifiers, which ought to be fpent 
 upon ourfelves> who are daily renewing his 
 Shame, and crucifying him afrejij, 
 
 Whilft therefore I reprefent unto you thij 
 Scene of Woe, and endeavour to place before 
 you this Man of Sorrowj acfiuainted with 
 Grief let every Chriftian Heart fuppJy this 
 neceflary Admonition, All this he fiiffered 
 for my fake ^ then call one Look upon your- 
 felves, and fee how you have deferved all this 
 Love : This will teach you how to divide 
 your Aifeilions, to admire and adore the un- 
 bounded 
 
DISCOURSE X, 255 
 
 bounded Goodnefs of your Redeemer, and to 
 Jament and weep only for yourfelves. 
 
 Many Prophecies there are relating to our 
 Lord, which regard only fome particular 
 Adions and Circumftances of his Life; but 
 this in the Text points at no fingle Calamity 
 that befel him, but is a general Defcription 
 of his Condition during his Abode on Earth : 
 It begins at his Cradle, and ends with his 
 Crofs, purfuing him in every Step, and dif-* 
 covers to us the Son of God through th« 
 darkeft Veil of Sorrow and Afflidlion. 
 
 Known unto God are all his Woi'-ksfrom the 
 Beginning of the World: In Wifdom he or- 
 dained 'them all, and in Mercy he has re* 
 vealed fome of them to the Children of Men* 
 How gracious was it in him to forewarn 
 the World by the Spirit of Prophecy of the 
 mean Appearance of their Redeemer, that 
 their Faith might be armed againft the Re- 
 proach and Contempt which attended his 
 Poverty, and the great Scandal of his Crofs !. 
 In human Reckoning a mean Condition be- 
 fpeaks a mean Man; but here the Cafe is 
 otherwife : For, when God had foretold the? 
 mean Appearance of his Son, his Poverty 
 became a Proof of his Authority, and the 
 Lownefs of his Condition fhewed the Ex- 
 )t^ cellency 
 
^56 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 cellency of his Perlbn. He was a Man of 
 Sorrow y and acquainted with Grief 'y and had 
 he not been fo, we could never have believed 
 him to be that glorious Redeemer, who, aS 
 the Spirit of Prophecy foretold, Hiould be 
 def fifed and rejeBed of Men . The Con fi dera- 
 tion therefore of our Saviour's Sufferings is 
 not only an Argument to inflame our Love^ 
 but to ftrengthen our Faith likewife y ihew- 
 it\g as well that he is our Redeemer, as how 
 much he underwent for the fake of our 
 Redemption. 
 
 There are three Things then which may 
 deferve your Attention in this Subje6t : 
 
 Firft, The Wifdom and Goodnef^of God 
 in determining to fend his Son into the World 
 in a State of Poverty and AfflidioUo 
 
 Secondly, The Evidence of Prophecy, that 
 he iliould fo appear in the Fulnefs of Time. 
 
 Thirdly, The hiftorical Evidence, that he 
 did fo appear, and that in him the Prophe-^ 
 ' cies had their Completion. 
 
 Firft, The Wifdom and Goodnefs of God 
 in determining to fend his Son into the World 
 in a State of Poverty and Afflidion. 
 
 The Sufferings of Chriil: we find often in^ 
 iifted on by the facred Writers, as an Evidence 
 of th^ Mercy oi God towards Mankin-d.- 
 
biSCOURSE X. 257 
 
 Thlis St. Pauly He that -f pared not his own^ 
 BoUi but delivered hlni up for us cU, how JJ: all 
 he not with hird alfo freely give us all things ? 
 And again, God commendeth his Love tomards 
 iiSy in that while we were yet Sinners Chrift 
 died for us. So like wife St. fohny Hereby 
 perceive we the Love of God, becaife he laid 
 down his Life for us. This indeed was a 
 great Demonftration of his Love ; for, as our 
 bleffed Lord himfelf hath told us, Greater 
 Love hath no Man than this, that a Man 
 lay down his Life for his Friends, Were it 
 then ever fd hard to render an Account of 
 Chrift's Sufferings to the Inquifitive, to the 
 Reafoners of this World , yet, iince it is 
 plain his Sufferings were upon our Account, 
 if we confider them as an Argument of 
 God's Goodnefs, and our Redeemer's Love 
 to us, it Hands clear of all Difficulties what- 
 ever, and plainly fpeaks how much our Sal- 
 vation was the Care of Heaven. Perhaps we 
 cannot fee the Reafons that made it neceffary 
 for Chrift to die, that the World might live : 
 But this we certainly know, that if Chrifl 
 died, that the World might live^ he had an 
 exceeding great Tendernefs for the World, 
 and we are bound to him m the ftrii^l:eft 
 Bonds of Gratitude and Love, And, fince 
 Vol* ILL S this 
 
258 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 this Scene lies fo open to our View, it fheWS 
 great Perverfenefs of Mind, and a bafe unge- 
 nerous Difpofition, to fl:iut our Eyes upon 
 it, and to harden our Hearts againft the 
 Impreffions of fo much Kindnefs, and to 
 amufe ourfelves with curious Inquiries into 
 the hidden Reafon of this myfterious Love. 
 What is it that your Lord requires of you, 
 but to love and to obey him ? What greater 
 Inducement can you have to both than this, 
 that he firft loved you, and laid down his 
 Life for you ? Could you give ten thoufand 
 Reafons for the Expediency of his fo doing, 
 yet ftill your Love and your Obedience would 
 ftand upon the fame Bottom, that Chrift 
 died, that you might live. What Purpofe 
 then of Religion would it ferve, to know 
 thefe hidden Things of God ? Knowledge 
 will fave no Man. And who would not 
 chufe rather to be found in the Number of 
 the mod ignorant Lovers of Chrift, and of 
 his Word, than among the profoundeft In* 
 quh'ers into the fecret Mylleries of Provi- 
 dence ? Would you fee the Goodnefs of God ? 
 Nothing plainer, Chrift died for you. Would 
 you encourage yourfelf in the Praftice of 
 Virtue by the Expedationof God*s Affiftance 
 and Favour ? Or would you comfort yourfelf 
 
DISCOURSE X. 25^ 
 
 in your Repentance, and be glad to know 
 that God will receive you, if you return from 
 the Evil of your Way^ ? Go, learn to reafon 
 bi St, Paul: If God fpared not hb own SoUi 
 tut delivered him up for us dlh how will he not 
 with him alfo freely give us all Tubings ? 
 
 Thus far then, that is, as far as we ar6 
 concerned to go, our Knowledge is clear arid 
 difliridE, and the Sufferings of Chrift afford 
 us fuch an Argument for Love and Obedi- 
 ence, as the wcakeli Mart muft underfl:and> 
 and the wifeft muft adore. 
 
 Biit farther: Though we cannot entei* 
 into the hidden Wifdom of God, and fee 
 the Reafons vvhich rilade it riecelfary for 
 Chrift to fuffer ; yet if we confider his Suf- 
 ferings with refpedt to ourfelves, we may 
 difcern niany wife Ends of Providence iii this 
 Difpenfation. 
 
 Firft, With regard to his being a Teacher, 
 his Sufferings fet him above the Reach of 
 Sufpicions. What Ends could he haVe to 
 ferve by his DocSrine, who rnet with no^ 
 thing but Mifery and Afflidion, as the Re- 
 ward of his Labour ? Religions, we know, 
 have been inftituted to ferve the Ends of 
 Policy,' and new Kingdoms have fprung out 
 ^i new Doftrines: Thus the Empire and 
 S 2, Alcoran 
 
26o DISCOUR.se X. 
 
 Alcoran of Mahomet have the fame Date* 
 But what room is there for thefe Jealoufies 
 with refped: to the Chriftian Religion ? What 
 Advantage did Chrifty or his Followers, make 
 of the Gofpel ? The Mafler lived in Poverty, 
 and the Difciples in Diflrefs : He ended his 
 Life upon the Crofs, they theirs by fundry 
 Kinds of Death. Nor was he difappointed 
 in meeting with this Ufage : He knew before 
 that it was ordained for him ; and it v/as one 
 great Part of his Bufinefs to prepare his Dif- 
 ciples to follow his Example, by acquainting 
 them long before of the AfHidions which 
 both he and they were to endure. Some 
 perhaps will fufped there was no Wifdom in 
 this ; and all I think muft own, that there 
 was no worldly Wifdom in it. Had our Lord 
 eome in the Form of a temporal Prince, fur- 
 rounded with Power and Majefty, often had 
 we heard before now of his Cunning and his 
 Policy, and been told, that our Religion was 
 more nearly allied to this World than the 
 other. But now the Gofpel ftands clear of 
 all thefe Objedions, from which perhaps 
 nothing could have purged it but the Blood 
 ©f its Divine Author. 
 
 Secondly, With regard to our Lord's be- 
 ing ail Example of Plolinefs and Obedience, 
 
 fet 
 
DISCOURSE X. 26r 
 
 fct before us for our Inftru6lion and Imita- 
 tion. His Sufferings render the Pattern per- 
 fect, and fhew his Virtues in their truefl: 
 Luftre, and at the fame Time filence the Pleas 
 which Lazinefs or Self-Love would otherwife 
 have fuggefted. Had he lived in worldly 
 Profperity, and found all Things eafy about 
 him, let his Virtues have been ever fo confpi- 
 cuous, his Example would have been extend- 
 ed but a little way. Perhaps poor Pvkn, and 
 unfortunate, would have upbraided the rich 
 and profperous for not following the Copy 
 fet before them; but they would have 
 thought their own hard Circumltances a fjf- 
 ficient Excufe for not attempting it. But 
 what Pretence is there now left for any 
 Mortal ? Are you more wretched than your 
 Mafter ? Are you poor, and therefore difcon- 
 tented ? Look to him, who had not where 
 to lay his Head, and yet was eafy, and paid 
 a chearful Obedience to his Gcd. Are you 
 provoked by ill Ufage to forget the peaceful 
 Duties of Charity ? Are you hurried to Re- 
 venge by uncommon Injuries ? And can you 
 at the fame Time think yourfelf aDifcipleof 
 the bleffed Jefus, who even upon the Crofs, 
 and under the bitter Agonies of Death, pny* 
 ed for his Perfecutors ; Father^ forgive them^ 
 for they know not what they do f 
 
 ■ S3 Thu-dly, 
 
262 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Thirdly, With regard to his Divine Mif- 
 fion. His Sufferings were an evident Token, 
 that the Hand of God was with him. He 
 only can produce Strength out of Weaknefs, 
 and knows how to confound the mighty 
 Things of the World by Things which are 
 of no Account, Power, we know, efpecially 
 if attended with happy Incidents^ can pro- 
 duce great Things ; but a weak poor Mart 
 is fo eafily oppreffed, that this before us is 
 perhaps the only Inftance in which a whole 
 Nation ever rofe to fupprefs one. And what 
 was it that enabled him to withftand the 
 Rage of the People, and the Malice of the 
 Priefts, fupported by the Power of the Go^ 
 vernment ? When his Life was fought, he 
 was hid in the midft of the Crowd, and was 
 covered with Darknefs at Noon-day ; but, 
 when his Time was come, he fell an eafy 
 Viftim : But his Death, like Sampfon^y wa? 
 more vidorious than his Life y in this only it 
 differed, Sampfon by his Death deflroyed his 
 Enemies, but the Enemies of Chrift were by 
 his Death redeemed. 
 
 Add to this the Evidence of Prophecy, 
 which is fo much the ftronger, by how 
 much the weaker Chrifl was : So admirably 
 has the Wifdom of God difplayed itfelf in 
 
 |his 
 
DISCOURSE X. 263 
 
 this Myftery of Faith. Had the Prophets 
 foretold that a great Man ihould do great 
 Things ; whenever that great Man had come, 
 it might have been doubted whether he was 
 the Perfon foretold, and whether his mighty 
 Deeds were not the common EfFedts of fuch 
 Might and Power as he was armed with : 
 But when the Prophets declared, that all 
 they foretold fhould be accompliihed by a 
 mean and wretched Man, opprefled with 
 Sorrow, and worn out with Grief; this was 
 a Cafe that could not be miftaken, hardly 
 two fuch Men could come j and whenever 
 he came, he would be eafily diftinguiflied 
 by the Greatnefs of his Works, and the 
 Meannefs of his Condition. And this leads 
 me to confider. 
 
 Secondly, The Evidence of Prophecy con- 
 cerning the mean Appearance our Lord was 
 to make, 
 
 I fhall not need to carry you far In Search 
 of this Evidence; the Chapter of the Text 
 alone is fo full a Defcription of this Part of 
 our Saviour's Charader, that it looks more 
 like an Hiftory than a Prophecy, and may 
 with more Reafon be fufpedied to be a Copy 
 drawn from his Life, than not to be a De- 
 fcription of it. Yet this Scripture was inBe- 
 
 S 4 ing 
 
264 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 ing long before our Lord was born, v/as in 
 the keeping of his Enemies, of thofe whq 
 hated and defpifed him, and at laft put him 
 to a cruel Death, and were at once the Pre- 
 fervers and the Fuliillers of this Prophecy, 
 Here you find him reprefented as void of 
 jp^r/y^ an(^ of Comelinefs ; as having no^ Beauty, 
 that wejhoulddefire him ; one defpifed and re- 
 jeBed of Men ; a Man of Sorrows , and ac^ 
 quaint ed with Grief -y from whom we hid as 
 it were our Faces y he was defpifed^ and we 
 efteemed him riot. Yet this is He, of whom, 
 before the Prophet had prophefied : Unto us 
 a Child is horny unto us a Son is given^ and 
 the Government fall be upon his Shoulder; and 
 his Name f jail be called JVonderfalyCounfellor, 
 the Mighty God, the Everlafing Father^ the. 
 Prince of Peace-, of the Pncreafe of his Govern-, 
 ment and Peace there Jhall be no End upon 
 the Throne of Davids and upon his Kingdom ^ to 
 order it, and to efablifi it with Judgme?2t and 
 with y if ice from henceforth even for evej\- 
 What ^.nigma'$ are thefe ? Shall he be a 
 mighty Prince, and yet defpifed and rejecfled 
 of Men ? Shall he be encompaffed with the. 
 Glories of David's Throne, and yet be void of 
 Form and of Comelinefs ? Shall he reign for. 
 ever, and eftabliili Juflice and Judgment for 
 
 .evermore^ 
 
DISCOURSE X. 265 
 
 evermore, and fliall he yet be taken from 
 Prifon, and cut off from the Land of the 
 Living ? Where can thefe Contradictions 
 meet, and in what Manner of Perfon can 
 they be reconciled ? But to go on : After this 
 general Defcription of his low Eftate, the 
 ^Prophet proceeds to point out fome of the 
 mofl remarkable Calamities of his Life. He 
 was not only defpifed and rejeded, but he 
 was opprejjed and affii^ied^ yet he Qpened not 
 his Mouth. He vjas taken from Prifon and 
 from Judgment^ and cut off from the Land of 
 the Living ; for the T^ranfgrejjion of the People 
 be wasfricken. And yet he had done no Vio^ 
 lencey neither it^as a72y Deceit in his Mouth. 
 Tet it p leafed the Lord to hriiife hi^n^ and ta 
 put him to Grief His Soul was an Offering 
 for Sin, And yet after this, when the Pro- 
 phet had killed and buried him, he adds. 
 He fiall prolong his Days, and the Pleafiire of 
 the Lordfoall profper in his Hand. He f jail 
 fee the Travail of his Soul, andfoallbefatisfied. 
 By his Kno'wledge fiall my righteous Servant ■ 
 jifify maiiyyfor he fall bear their h2iquitics. 
 Where are we now ? Mull he die a wretched 
 Death, and be numbered with the Tranfgref- 
 fors ; and yet fhall he prolong his Days, and 
 fee the Work of the Lord profper in his 
 I. Hands? 
 
266 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Hands ? How fhall we clear thefe Things ? 
 Look Into the Gofpel, and there you will 
 find the Scene opening apace : There you 
 will find your Lord defpifed and rejedted of 
 Men, perfecuted and afilicled, and put to a 
 cruel Death and open Shame, and yet rifing 
 to Glory and Honour. There you may fee 
 this Prifoner of the Grave afcending to the 
 Glory of his Father, giving Gifts unto Men, 
 and leading Captivity captive. 
 
 Let us then, in the laft place, confider the 
 hiftorical Evidence we have for the Com- 
 pletion of thefe Prophecies, which defcribe 
 the calamitous Condition of our bleffed Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 The Way was prepared before he was 
 born. His Conception led to it ; fince the 
 Meannefs of his Parentage could promife no- 
 thing for the Child but Labour and Sorrow : 
 And fo it proved. This mighty Prince of 
 Peace made his firft Appearance in a Man- 
 ger; and we may well fuppofe the other 
 .Conveniencles he met, upon his firft coming 
 into the World, were anfwerable to this. No 
 fooner was he born, but his Life was fought 
 after : The diftreiled Parents fly their Coun- 
 try, and the Child is carried into Baniflimentji 
 before he knew to diftinguifh between Good 
 
 mi 
 
DISCOURSE X. 267 
 
 ^nd Evil. His Youth was fpent in the Diffi- 
 culties of Poverty, and his Hands employed 
 in the Works of it ; and when the Time 
 came that he was to be made known unto 
 I/rael, and flood forth in the Power of the 
 Lord, confirming his Dodrine with mighty 
 Signs and Wonders, the Oppofition to him 
 increafed, and every Ad: of Charity he did 
 to others brought new Sorrow and Mifery to 
 himfelf. During this Time, in which he 
 went about doing Good, h had not, as he 
 himfelf has told us, where to lay his Head. 
 When he caft out Devils, he was immedi- 
 ately charged to be in League with the Prince 
 of them. When he healed the Sick of their 
 Infirmities, and forgave their Sins, then he 
 was a Blafphemer, ^n Incroacher upon the 
 Prerogative of God. When he reftored the 
 withered Hand, and cured the Lame or the 
 Blind on the Sabbath-day^ then he was no 
 longer fit to live : Thefe were fuch Offences, 
 as nothing but his Death could expiate. Con- 
 fider what he fuffered, and he was the lowefl 
 of the Sons of Men : Confider what he did, 
 and he appears, as he truly was, to be the 
 Son of God. 
 
 But Hill there remains behind thegloomiell: 
 
 Scene of Sorrow. When the Powers of 
 
 i Darknels 
 
258 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Darknefs prevailed, and the Time of his be^ 
 ing offered up drew near, all Things confpi- 
 red to make his Death bitter and terrifying. 
 In his Life he had chofen Twelve to be his 
 conftant Companions, and they at leaft ad-? 
 hered to him, and willingly partook in his 
 Afflidtions : But now one of thefe Bofom- 
 Friends confpires his Ruin, and fells him for 
 thirty Pieces of Silver. The reft, though 
 they were guilty of no fuch Bafenefs, yet 
 proved no Comfort in his Diftrefs. 
 
 As the Danger drew near, our blefled 
 Lord, who was in all Things tempted like 
 unto us. Sin only excepted, felt ^he Pangs 
 of Nature at the Approach of Death, and 
 retired to Prayer, the only Support of an 
 afflidled Spirit. In this his Grief he chofe 
 Petery and the Sons of Zebcdee, to be his 
 Companions, that they might watch with 
 him in his Sorrow : But even here they for- 
 fook him, and, infenfible of their Mafter'$ 
 Agony, fell afleep. They were foon awake- 
 ned ; but they av/oke only to fly, and Chrift 
 was left alone. Peter followed, but it was 
 afar off; and he only followed him to deny 
 -him. Thus betrayed, and thus forfaken, he 
 is carried to Judgment. When t^e is filent, 
 
 tie 
 
DI&COURSE X. 269 
 
 he Is reproached with SuUennefs : When he 
 fpeaks, he is charged with Blafphemy. Some- 
 times he is buffeted and fpit on ; by and by, 
 in cruel Sport, they pay him the mock 
 Honours of a Prince, he is crowned with 
 Thorns, has a Reed put into his Hand, and 
 in Derifion he is faluted. Hail, King of the 
 Jews. And that nothing might be wanting 
 to fhew how vile and contemptible he was 
 to the People, the Queftion was put between 
 him and a Murderer, which ihould be re- 
 leafed ; and with one Voice the People an- 
 fwered, Releafe unto us Barabbas, Thus was 
 he defpifed and rejected of Men. 
 
 Follow him but one Step farther, and you 
 will find him hanging upon the Crofs be- 
 tween two common Robbers, groaning under 
 the bittereft Agonies of Death. Nor yet 
 can all this Mifery create in the Lookers on 
 any Pity or Compaffion. See how they ihake 
 their Heads, and fay. Come down from the 
 Crofs i Son of Gody co7ne downy and we will 
 believe thee. But neither the Pains of the 
 Crofs, nor thofe Pangs which drew from hira 
 that Complaint, My Gody my Gody why hajl 
 thou forfaken me, nor all the Malice and 
 JScorn of the Crucifiers could make him one 
 
 Moment 
 
270 DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Moment forget his Love and Tendernefs to* 
 wards them. You hear no Complaint from 
 him, no Appeals made againft them to a 
 future Judgment : Inftead of this, with lateft 
 Breath he pleads their Caufe, excufes their 
 Weaknefs, and begs for their Pardon ; Fa^ 
 ther, forgive them, for they know not what 
 they do. 
 
 And here let us clofe this Scene, and re- 
 turn to ourfelves with this Qneftion, What 
 Reward Jhall I give unto the Lord for all the 
 Benefits that he hath done unto me ? Let us 
 alfo anfwer for ourfelves in the Words of the 
 Pfalmift, / will receive the Cup of Salvation, 
 and call upon the Name of the Lord. We' 
 have nothing to return but our Love and 
 Obedience, and nothing elfe is required of 
 us. He hath home our Griefs, and carried our 
 Sorrows -, let us not call for them again by 
 our Iniquities : Let them be buried for ever, 
 but let us arife to a new Life of Righteouf-^ 
 nefs in Chrift Jefus, that when Chrijl, 'who is 
 our Lifey jhall appear, we ?nay alfo appear 
 with him in Glory, 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
DISCOURSE XL 
 
 %vi/ vj^ \o/ ^fl/ xa' \ft' ^a' ^e*f Vvf \Af v^ v? v^ v^ Vs/ v*f ^ft' ^fi/ ^n/ yAf \'^ Vs^ 
 
 anp inb au& <cp ojp 4* yue ic yal sCt 4$ a* ShS a^e 9^5 aCe ojp sup a* sCp 4£ <I5 
 
 CoLOssiANs iii, I. 
 
 If ye then be rifen with Chrijiy feek thofe 
 things which are above ^ where Chrijifitteth 
 on the right Hand of God. 
 
 E^^?iS^30W much the metaphorical 
 
 ^ R ^ Language of Scripture has been 
 
 %^ 5^^ miftaken, and what Errors and 
 
 k^^^S ^'^^"^^^^^^s Men have fallen 
 into, under Pretence of ad- 
 hering to the literal Senfe, is well known. 
 The Words of the Text are hardly ca- 
 pable of being fo abufed ; for it is not 
 poffible to imagine that St. Paul fhould 
 intend to tell the ColoJJiansj or that the Co^ 
 lojjians fhould believe him if he did, that 
 they lived no longer in this World, but were, 
 in the literal Senfe, Men raifed from the 
 
 Dead, 
 
272 JDISCOURSE XL 
 
 Dead. But, as our State and Condition iri 
 this World is often fet forth in the Scriptures 
 in metaphorical Language, it has hot fared 
 fo well in all Parts of it, but Men have fome- 
 times loft Sight of the Metaphor, and raifed 
 very abfurd Notions from a literal Interpre- 
 tation, as I fhall have Occafion to obferve 
 to you in treating upon this Subjecfl, 
 
 The V/ords now read to you are an Infe- 
 rence from what had been before faid, as i^ 
 evident from the Manner in which they are 
 introduced : If ye then be rifen with Chriji. 
 It is plain like wife that they muft refer to' 
 fomething which had been faid of our Refur- 
 redtion with, or in Chrift : For this Conclu- 
 iion fuppofes that Doftrine already laid down 
 and eftabiilTied. To find this Connedion^,' 
 we muft look back as far as the Middle of 
 the foregoing Chapter, where the Dofftrine 
 referred to in the Text is plainly declared. At 
 tlie tenth and following Verfes thus you will 
 read : And ye are complete in hi?ny (that is, in 
 Chrift Jefus) which is the Head of allPrinci" 
 pality and Power, In whom afo ye are cir-- 
 cinncifed with the Circumcifion 7nade without 
 Hands ^ in putting off the Body of the Sins of 
 the Flefi by the Circiimcifon ofChrifl. Buried 
 with him in Baptifuiy wherein alfo you are ri^ 
 
 fen 
 
blSCOURSE XL 273 
 
 fen with hi??i through the Faith of the Operatmi 
 of God f who hath rafed him from the Dead: 
 And you being dead in your SinSy a?id the Un- 
 circumcifon of your Flejh, hath he quickened 
 together with him^ having forgiven you all 
 "TrefpaJJes. From this the Inference in the 
 Text naturally follows: If ye then be rifen 
 with Chrijiyfeek thofe Things which are above y 
 where Chrijifitteth on the right Hand of God. 
 
 For the Explication of thefe Words, it will 
 be neceffary to fet before you the Reprefen- 
 tation which the Scripture makes of the Na- 
 tural State and Condition of Man, and of his 
 Gofpel State upon his becoming aChriftian. 
 
 In the State of Nature the Scripture repre- 
 fents Men, Fph, iv. 17, 18. as walking in the 
 Vanity of their Minds, Having the Uizder- 
 flanding darkened^ being aliejiated from the 
 Life of God y through Ignorance and Blindnefs 
 of Heart. As walking according to the Courfe 
 of this JVorldy according to the Prince of the 
 Power of the Airy the Spirit that worketh in 
 the Children of Difobedienccy Chap, ii, 2. As 
 Children of Wrath y having their Converfation 
 in the Liif of the Flejhy fulfilling the Defires 
 of the Flejld and the Mindy ver . 3 . As Strangers 
 to the Covenants of Promifcy as having no 
 HopCy afid without God in the World, ver, 12. 
 
 Vol. Ill, T As 
 
274 DISCOURSE XL 
 
 As Servants of Sin, yielding their Members 
 Servants to Uncle annefs and to Iniquity, unto 
 Iniquity, Pvom. vi. 19, 20. And becaufe the 
 End of thefe Things is Death, therefore this 
 State of Sin is called likewife a State of Death : 
 Tou hath he quickened, fays our Apoftle, who 
 were dead in ^I'refpajfes and Sins, Eph. ii. i. 
 The fame he repeats at the fifth Verfe. 
 Whilft Men were thus dead to God, and 
 unto themfelves, they lived only to Sin and 
 Unrighteoufnefs. Sin therefore is faid to 
 reign in them, to have Dominion over them* 
 The natural Paffions and Affeftions in this 
 State of Corruption were but the Inftruments 
 of Sin, in all things fabfervient -, and there- 
 fore are faid to conftitute the Body of Sin, 
 that Body over which Sin, as the Soul or 
 aftive Principle, had entire Rule and Do- 
 minion. Thus we read, Rom, vi. 6. The 
 old Mail is crucified with him, that the Body 
 of Sin might be defiroyed, that henceforth we 
 Jhould not ferve Sin. And in the fecond of 
 the Colojjians, and eleventh Verfe, we are 
 faid to put off the Body of the Sins of the 
 Flejh, The Members, of which this Body 
 is made up, are in the next Chapter de- 
 fcribed : Mortify therefore your Members 
 which are upon Earth, Fornication^ Unclean^ 
 
 nefs^ 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 275 
 
 nefs, inordinate Affe&ion, evil Concupifcencey 
 andCovetoufnefsy which is Idolatry y Eph. iii. 5, 
 This Body is by St. Paul, in his Epiftle to 
 the Romans y called the Body of Death, for the 
 fame Reafon that the State of Sin is called 
 the State of Death : O wretched Man that I 
 amy ivho JJd all deliver me from the Body of this 
 Death; or, as the Margin renders it, from 
 this Body of Death, Ch. vii. 24. The Body, 
 together with the Soul, which is the acflive 
 Principle of Life, and the Influencer and 
 Diredor of the Body and all its Motions, 
 conftitutes the Man. From hence therefore, 
 by an eafy and natural Metaphor, thcfe de- 
 praved Appetites and AiTeftions, which are 
 the Inftruments or Members of Shi, and 
 which compofe the Body of Sin, together 
 with the evil Principle ruling in us, and di- 
 reding thefe AfFedions in the Purfuit of all 
 Uncleannefs and Iniquity, and which is called 
 5/>/, are faid in Scripture to be the Old Man; 
 the Man which only lived before the Regene- 
 ration by Chrift Jefus. Thus, Rom. vi. 6. 
 Hhe old Man is crucified with him, that the 
 Body of Sin might be defroyed. And the 
 Ephefiansy Ch. iv. 22. are exhorted topict offy 
 concerning their former Converfationy the old 
 Many which is corrupt according to the deceit- 
 ful Lufs. This is the State of Nature, 
 T -21 according 
 
276 DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 according to the Reprefentation and Lan- 
 guage of Holy Scripture : And it is eafy to 
 fee what muft become of this old Man, this 
 Man of Sin, upon the Appearance of Chrifl: 
 Jefus, who came to deftroy the Works of 
 the Devil, to give Light and Life to thofe 
 who fat in the Shadow of Darknefs and 
 Death ; he and his Works muft be deftroyed 
 to make way for the Spirit of Righteouf- 
 nefs, and his holy Works. But thus to de- 
 ftroy the old Man, to root out all the corrupt 
 Aftedions of Nature, and to implant a new 
 Principle of Life and Holinefs, to reftore the 
 decayed Image of God, to give new Defires 
 to the Soul, new Affedlions to the Heart; 
 what is it but to new-make the Man, and 
 by a fecond Creation to reftore him to the 
 Rights and Privileges of the firft, which 
 were long fince forfeited by Sin and Difobe- 
 dience ? For this Reafon the Chriftian is faid 
 to be a new Creature : If any Man be in 
 Chrifl, he is a new Creature, .2 Cor. v. 17. 
 In Chrijl Jefus neither Circumcifion availeth 
 any thing, nor JJncircumcifion, but a 7iew 
 Creature, Gal. vi. 1 5. In the fecond Chap- 
 ter of the Ephefans, we are faid to be the 
 IVorkmanflAp of God, created in Chrifl Jfus 
 imto good Works. And in the fourth Chap- 
 ter, ver. 23 and 24, we are faid to be remised 
 
 in 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 277 
 
 in the Spirit of our Mind: T^o put on the new 
 Man, which after God is created in Right e- 
 oufiefs and true Holinefs, Nay, we are faid 
 even to put on Chrift, from the Similitude 
 of Will and Affedions between Chrift and 
 his true Members : As many of you as have 
 been baptized, fays the Apoftle to the Ga- 
 latians, have put on Chrift, Chap. iii. 27. 
 
 From this Account it is eafy to underftand 
 the Propriety of the Words or Phrafes made 
 ufe of to exprefs thefe two Conditions. Some- 
 times we read, that we were dead before the 
 Knowledge of Chrift : Sometinies, that we 
 died and were buried with Chrif : Again, 
 that we rofe with Chriji, and are alive in him. 
 Now, to be dead before the Coming of Chrift, 
 and yet to die with Chrift after his Coming, 
 and yet ftill to be alive in Chrift, may feem 
 to be Aflertions inconfiftent with refpedl to 
 the fame Perfon : And fo indeed they are, 
 But, if we take the fame View of Man that 
 the Scripture does, the Inconfiftency will 
 foon vanifh. Man was at iirft created after 
 the Image and Likenefs of God, with a Rec- 
 titude of Mind and Will, with Inclinations 
 adapted to his true Happinefs, and fubjed" to 
 the Influence and Diredion of Reafon : This 
 was Man after the Image of God. But, upon 
 T 3 Difob^dieuce^ 
 
278 DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 Difobedience, Man became a quite different 
 Perfon ; his Underftanding was darkened, 
 his Will corrupted, his Inclinations diftorted 
 to the Purfuit of Evil continually. This 
 Change was a real Death of the Man created 
 after the Image of God ; he could no longer 
 cxercife any of the FundHons proper to his 
 Life, but lay buried under the Ruins of Sin 
 and Iniquity : And this was the Death of the 
 World before the Knowledge of Chrift, 
 What then was the Life of the World at 
 the Coming of Chrift ? It was the Life of 
 Sin ; of the earthly Man, made not in the 
 Image of God, but after the Likenefs of the 
 Son of Difobedience, To deftroy this Man 
 of Sin, Chrift came into the World ; a?7d 
 they that a-re Chrijfs have crucified the Flejhy 
 with the Ajj'el^.lons and Liijis, Gal. v. 24. 
 And thus, with refpedl to the Life we had at 
 the Coming of Chrift, which was the Life of 
 Sin, we are faid to die with Chrijiy and to be 
 buried with him ; becaufe we renounce that 
 Life, and the Afteffions proper to it. Thus 
 dying to Sin, we begin again to live unto 
 God, and unto true Holinefs : And this is a 
 RefurredioQ of the Man made after the Image 
 of God, which before was dead in Tref- 
 paffes y and therefore wx are f ud to be made 
 
 aUv$ 
 
DISCOURSE XL 279 
 
 alive in Chriji, and to rife together with 
 him. 
 
 Farther : This Change was what we had 
 not Power fo much as to wifti for, or defire 
 for ourfeh^es : It was undertaken and eiFecfled 
 by Chrift alone ; he took our Nature and 
 our Iniquities upon himfelf, and underwent 
 Death in the behalf of all : He dying there- 
 fore upon the Crofs for all, all are faid to be 
 crucified with him. He, as the Apoftle to 
 the Hebrews tells us, tajied Death for every 
 Man, Heb. ii. 9. And it is St. Paul's Infe- 
 rence, that if one died for all, then were all 
 dead, 2 Cor. v. 14, And the Way to attain 
 to the Benefits of the Death of Chriil:, is, 
 as we learn from the fame Apoflle in his 
 Epiflle to the Philippians, to be conformable 
 unto his Death. This Conformity coniifls, as 
 we have already feen, in dying to Sin, and the 
 AfFedlions of it ; in putting off the old Man, 
 in putting on the new Man, who is created 
 after Righteoufnefs. This St, Paul, in the 
 iixth of the R&fnans, ftyles, bei72g planted i?i 
 the Likenefs cf his Death, and being planted in 
 the Likenefs of his RefurreBion, To this like- 
 wife he plainly refers in the 29th Verfe of 
 the eighth Chapter : For whom he did fore- 
 knQ'^^i he alfo did predejiinate to be conformed 
 T 4 to 
 
28o DISCOURSE XL 
 
 to the Image of his Son, that he might be the 
 Firjl-born among inany Brethren, There arc 
 many Precepts likewife in Scripture, founded 
 upon this Notion of our Conformity with 
 Chrift. The Text is one Inftance : Another 
 you have in the thirteenth of the Romans ; 
 But put ye on the Lordjefus Chrijl, and make 
 710 1 Provifwn for the FleJIo to fulfil the Luji 
 thereof And again, How Jhallwe, who are 
 dead to Sin, live any longer therein ? And 
 many other Places there are, which muft be 
 opened with this Key. 
 
 Nay, the very Ellen ce of Chriftianity con- 
 fifts in this Conformity with Chrift ; and 
 therefore Baptifm, which is our Admiffion 
 to the Gofpel, is nothing elfe but a folemn 
 taking upon ourfclves this Conformity. This 
 we learn from St. Paul in the fixth of the 
 Romans: Know ye not, fays he, that fo fnany 
 of us as were baptized in fefus Chrift , were 
 baptized into his "Death .^ "Therefore we are 
 buried with him by Baptifm into Death ; that 
 like as Chriji was rafd up from the Dead 
 by the Glory of the Father, even fo we alfa 
 fidouldwalk in Newnefs cf Life, Chap. iii. 4. 
 To walk in Newnefs of Life is our Con- 
 formity to the Refurred:ion of Chrift, which 
 was to new Life and Glory. For thus the 
 
 Apoflle 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 281 
 
 Apoftle prefles the Argument : Cbrijl being 
 raijed from the Dead, dieth no more : Death 
 hath no more Dominion over him, Likewife 
 reckon y our f elves to be dead indeed unto Sin, 
 but alive unto God through Jefus Chrijl our 
 Lord. Let not Sin therefore reign in your 
 mortal Bodyj ver. 9, 11, 12. As the Refur- 
 redtion of Chrift was to perpetual Life, never 
 more to be expofed to Death ; fo mufl our 
 firft Refurredtion, according to this Pattern, 
 be to perpetual Holinefs, and a conftant 
 Freedom from Sin. 
 
 If we bear in our Minds this Account of 
 the Scripture Language, and of the Reafons 
 upon which it is founded, it will be a Key 
 to open unto us the Meaning of many, other- 
 wife intricate, Paffages of Scripture. For 
 Inftance : We fliall not be to feek, when we 
 find mention made of two Deaths which we 
 muft undergo, of two Refarredions which 
 we mufl: partake in : We fliall eafily diftin- 
 guifh between the natural Death of the 
 Body, and the Death unto Sin ; between the 
 Refurred:ion to Life eternal hereafter, and 
 the Refurredlion to Holinefs and Righteouf- 
 nefs in this prefent World. / am crucifed to 
 the World, fays St. Paul, and the World to me. 
 JVhofoever is l/orn of God, fays St. Johny i. e. 
 I whoever 
 
282 DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 whoever is begotten to this new Life in 
 Chrift by the Power of God, overcometh the 
 TVorld. St. Paul tells us, that the Spirit of 
 God will quicken our mortal Bodies, as well as 
 our dead Bodies. Which is not to be under- 
 ftood without having Recourie to the firft 
 Refurredion, which is to a new Life of Ho- 
 linefs here, and which muil be the Fore- 
 runner and Introducer of the fecond Refur- 
 redion to Glory. The Apofile to the Phi^ 
 lippians tells us, that he v/illingly fuffered the^ 
 Lofs of all Things, that he might know Chriji 
 and the Power of his Refurredfion, And this 
 he defired to know, that he might attain to 
 theR'ifurreaionoftheDead, Phil. iii. lo, ii. 
 Where, if you remember what has been faid 
 of our being made conformable to the Death 
 and Refurredion of Chrift, by rifing toHo- 
 linefs and Righteoufnefs, you will not be at 
 a lofs to underftand what it is to know, or 
 feel, the Power of Chrijfs RefurreSlion ', or to 
 underftand, how the knowing the Power of 
 ChriiVs Refurredion fhoald be a Means of 
 attaining to the Refurredion of the Dead. 
 Such is the Power of Chrift's Refurredion, 
 that thofe who feel it have, as the Apoftle 
 in the 20th Verfe informs us, their Convert 
 fation in Heaven ; whence a/fo we look for the 
 
 Saviour^ 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 283 
 
 Saviour y the Lordjefus Chi'iji, This, v/hich 
 St. Paul calls knowing the Power of Chrift's 
 Refurredion, and having our Converfation 
 in Heaven, the Author to the Hebrews calls, 
 Tajlhig the Powers of the World to comey Heb. 
 vi. 5. The Refurredion is indeed one of the 
 Powers of the World to come, which all 
 partake in, and tafte of, whofe mortal Bodies 
 are quickened by the Spirit of God. In the 
 Verfe after this it is faid, that thofe who fall 
 from their Faith, crucify to themf elves the Son 
 of God afrefiy and put him to open Shame. 
 How does he who falls away crucify Chrift, 
 or put him to open Shame ? This cannot be 
 underftood, but by having Recourfe to the 
 Scripture Reprefentation already explained. 
 But, if we remember that all who are bap- 
 tized crucify the old Man w^ith his Deeds 5 
 that they put on the new Man created after 
 Holinefs ; that the Apoftle to the Galatians 
 exprefsly fays, that as many as are baptized 
 put on Chriji y it will readily appear, why it 
 is that thofe who fall away crucify Chrift 
 afrefh: For, by receiving the Faith, they 
 put on Chrift, and crucified the old Man 
 and his Deeds; but if they defert the Faith, 
 and return to their former Deeds, and again 
 put on the old Man, they do then crucify 
 I ChriftJ 
 
28+ DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 Chrill aL:aln wiih his Deeds, and put him 
 cnce more to open Shame. 
 
 This Notion of the dit^crent States and 
 Conditions ot xMan, of the Death of the old 
 Man, of a new Creature in Chrilt, runs 
 through the Precepts, Exhortations and Doc- 
 trines of the Gofpcl, Nviiich cannot be un- 
 derilood but by Ar.alogv to tins Notion .; and 
 therefore I hope I may be excufed in fpend- 
 ing io much of your Time in the Ilhiilration 
 of it. You have heard already of our Death, 
 and Burial, and Refurreolion with Chrilt : 
 But tlie ApolUe in tl^.e Text carries die Me- 
 taphor ftill one Degree higher ; Ifyc be rifcn 
 'iDith Cbn/fijiri: tlofe Things wbtcb are above, 
 where Clri;fjiift:l) at tie right Hjtid of G:J. 
 As if he had faid. It is not enough that ye 
 are rifen from the Dead with Chrilt, you 
 muil alfo aicend after him into Heaven ; for 
 there is vour Life hid in Chrilt, there are 
 your true Riches, and thither muu you go 
 to take care of them. You are dead to the 
 World, and can no longer live to it; your 
 Life is fpiritual and heavenly : As is your 
 Life, fuch muit be the Adions which tlow 
 from it, the Inclinations that attend it. Since 
 therefore you are dead to the World, alive to 
 Qhriil through the Spirit of Holinefs, you 
 
 niuft 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 2?5 
 
 muft act like Members of Chrift, and Tet 
 your AfFedtions on Things above, where 
 Chrift your Life is afcended. Hence it is 
 that St. Paul often exclaims againft the Ab- 
 furdity of a Chriftian's living in Sin. You 
 may juft as well fay, that all the Adtions of 
 Life may be performed in the Grave, when 
 a Man is dead and buried, as fay that a 
 Chriftian may continue in Sin : For the 
 Chriftian has crucified and buried the Body of 
 Sin. How then, as the Apoftle cries out, Jkall 
 ive Ik' ho are dead to Sin continue ariy longer 
 therein ? Sin is the only Poifon by which the 
 Life of Chrift, which is in us, may be de- 
 flroyed. It is a Life which no Man can take 
 from you but yourfelf. Thofe who kill the 
 Body cannot reach it : Not all the Powers of 
 Darknefs, Sin only excepted, can feparate 
 Believers and our Lord. But every unmor- 
 tified Luft, every unfubdued Wz^^ is a Can- 
 cer that eats into our very Vitah, and, if we 
 do not cut them oft, will in the End deftroy 
 us quite. Hohnefs is as necciTary to our fpi- 
 ritual Life, as Eating and Drinking are to 
 our natural 3 and therefore the ApoftIe*s Con- 
 clufion in the Text is juft. If i::e be rifen ivitb 
 Chrift y if v/e live with him, ii-e micjlfeek the 
 things lihich are ahcrce, 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 

 DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 James iii. 17. 
 
 T/je Wifdom that is from alcove is Jirjl pure, 
 then peaceable^ gentle ^ and eajy to be in- 
 treated^ full of Mercy and good Fruit Sy 
 without Partiality^ and without Hypocrijy. 
 
 'f)^^m'^ H E Gifts of the Holy Spirit are 
 ^S^'^1^ diftinguifhable into two Kinds, 
 %^ ^ ^% ^^'^^?> ^^^^^^ extraordinary, and 
 k ^^^^5 peculiar to fome Times and 
 ^^ Perfons; and given, not for the 
 Sandlification of the Men on whom they are 
 beftowed, but for the Edification of the 
 Church, which is the Body of Chrifl: : Or 
 they are common to all Times of the Gofpel, 
 and neceffary to perfedl the Man of God in 
 every good Work i and therefore tendered to 
 
 all 
 
288 DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 all, who undertake the Conditions of Chri- 
 ftianity, according to the Promife of God 
 mads through Chrift Jefus. Of the firft 
 Sort were thofe wonderful Gifts bcflowed on 
 the Apoftles, and firft Planters of Chrifti- 
 anity, by which they were enabled to convey 
 the Knowledge of the Salvation of God to 
 Men of all Languages, and to convince the 
 World by Signs, and Wonders, and mighty 
 Works, of the Truth of their Miffion ; and 
 that the Word by them fpoken was the Word 
 of Life, proceeding from Him, whofe Power 
 was made ufe of in Confirmation of it. 
 
 That the Gifts of this fort conveyed no 
 fanftifying Grace to the Receiver, is evident 
 from what St. P^2// has taught us, i Cor, xiii. 
 Though I /peak with the Tongue of Men and of 
 Angels, and have not Charity y I am become as 
 founding Brafs, or a tmkUng CymbaL Though 
 I have the Gift of Prophecy y and underjland 
 all Myjleriesy and all Knowledge, and though 
 I have all Faith yfo that 1 could remove Moun-- 
 tains, and have no Charity y I am nothing. 
 The Suppofition here made, that the Exer- 
 cife of thefe Gifts may confift with a want of 
 Charity, /. e. with the want of the moral 
 Qualifications of a Chriftian, warrants the 
 Conclufion, That thefe Gifts do not convey 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 289 
 
 the fandifying Grace of the Gofpel ; and that 
 they are given, not for the fake of the Re- 
 ceivers, but for the fake of others, u^ho 
 through their Miniftry are to be converted to 
 the Knowledge of the Truth. For this Rea- 
 fon they were given, and for fonie Time con- 
 tinued in the Primitive Church, to make way 
 for the Acknowledgment of Chrift, and for 
 the Convidion of Unbehevcrs ; and may be 
 again renewed, whenever God fhall think fit 
 vifibly to interpofe in the farther Propaga- 
 tion of his Gofpel in the heathen World. 
 
 It is manifeft then, that the Scripture 
 afcribes to the Spirit of God a twofold Ope- 
 ration in the Work of the Gofpel. The firil: 
 is that already mentioned, and is the fupply- 
 ing and furnifhing Motives of Credibility, 
 and proper Means to eftabliih the Docftrine 
 and Faith. The fecond is that now to be 
 coniidered in explaining the Words of the 
 Text, to wit, the affording Affiftance and 
 Strength to all, who undertake the Conditions 
 of the Gofpel, to perform them, and to ren- 
 der a Service worthy of the Gofpel, and 
 acceptable to our God and Saviour. 
 
 The JVifdo7?t mentioned in the Text is de- 
 
 fcribed to be the Wifdom that is from al/Dve, 
 
 that is, which is given or communicated 
 
 Vol. IIL U from 
 
290 DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 from- above. And in the firft Chapter the 
 Apoftle inftrudls us how to obtain it : If any 
 of you lack Wfdom, let him afk of Gody that 
 giveth to all Men liber ally y andupbraideth notj 
 4jnd it Jhall he given him: But let him afk in 
 Faith* And foon after he fhews us upon 
 what Grounds his Advice ftands : Every good 
 and every "p erf eB Gift is from above ^ andcom.eth 
 down from the Father of Light s, with whom is 
 no Variablenefsy neither Shadow of turni?2g. 
 
 The Inftrudion given, that we ihould a/k 
 this Wifdom /;/ Faith , the Reafon afligned 
 to fupport this Faith, that with God is no 
 VaYtablenefsy neither Shadow of turning j do 
 fufRciently fhew, that the Wifdom which we 
 are encouraged to afk for, is no other than 
 the Grace promifed under the Gofpel: For 
 the Declaration of God's Purpofe to give 
 this Wifdom, which is no where declared 
 but in the Gofpel, muft be fuppofed, before 
 the Immutability of his Purpofe can be al- 
 ledged, as a Ground of Hope and Affurance 
 to obtain the good Gift by the Prayer of 
 
 Faith. 
 
 By the Word Wifdom then in the Text 
 we muft itnderftand the Grace of God pro- 
 mifed in the Gofpel, and confidered in Scrip- 
 ture-as the ruling and governing Principle in 
 
 the 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 29X 
 
 the Difclples of Chrift : That Principle of 
 Holinefs by which they are enabled to mor-* 
 tify the Deeds of the Flefi ; by which they do 
 no Shty and are alive to Right eoufnefs : Elfe- 
 where fpoken of as the Spirit ofChriJl dwelling 
 ill them, and by which their inortal Bodies are 
 quickened y and defcribed as fo neceffary to a 
 Chriftian, that the Apoftle to the Romans has 
 affirmed. If any Man have 7iot the Spirit of 
 Chrijly he is none of his. 
 
 This Grace is called Wifdom upon the fame 
 Account that the Fear of the Lord is faid to 
 be the Beginning of JVifdoiny becaufe the 
 Wifdom of Man confifteth in the Obedience 
 of God, in whofe Hand af e the liTues of Life 
 and Death, and not upon the Account of 
 any Degrees of Knowledge, either facred or 
 civil, which it is fuppofed to convey. The 
 Fruits afcribed to this Wifdom in the Text 
 are all moral Qualifications : It is pure, 
 and peaceable, and gentle, full of Mercy, 
 and the like ; of the Learning and Know- 
 ledge which proceed from it, we read no- 
 thing. The Knowledge of Myfteries, and 
 Things facred, may be reckoned among the 
 extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit, and are 
 mentioned as fuch by St. Paul in the Paflage 
 of his Epiftle to the CoriJithians already al- 
 
 U 2 ledged: 
 
292 DISCOURSE Xn. 
 
 ledged : But he fpeaks of them as not nccef- 
 farily inferring Charity, and confequently as 
 diflinft Gifts from that Grace, or Wifdom, 
 - which is pure, and peaceable y and full of 
 Mei^cy. 
 
 The Gifts of the Spirit, confidered with 
 refpeft to the Author of them, and the Mo- 
 tives inducing him to beflow them, are pro- 
 perly flyled the Grace of God'; for of his own 
 Will begat he us with the Word of Truth y and 
 of his own Will it is that he enableth us to 
 run the Courfe that is fet before us ; So that 
 our Confidence is, to ufe the Language of 
 St. Paul, that he which hath begun a good Work 
 in us, will perform it until the Day offefus 
 Chrif, But, confidered with refpedl to their 
 Influence on the Receiver, they are, by St. 
 James in the Text, fry led Wifdom, as cor- 
 redting the Depravity of Nature, and ena- 
 bling Men to become wife unto Salvation. 
 
 The Gifts of God are free, and he be- 
 ftowxth them as feemeth beft to his Wifdom. 
 If he gives to one more liberally than to 
 another, yet he who receives leaft has Rea- 
 fbn to be thankful, and no Reafon to de- 
 mand an Account of God of the unequal 
 Diftribution of his Favour. Were the Gifts 
 tlierefore of the Spirit to be confidered as 
 
 ipecial 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 293 
 
 Special Favours only granted to fome, we 
 fliould not be obliged, by the Terms of our 
 Religion, to render an Account of God's pro- 
 ceeding herein. But the Promife of the 
 •Spirit being general to all Chriftians, and 
 reprefented in Scripture as the Purchafe of 
 Chrift's Obedience to the Will of his Father, 
 and as a Principle of new Life, by which they 
 who were dead in Sin are made alive to 
 Righteoufnefs ; it is evident that we cannot 
 account for our being Chriftians, without 
 (hewing a Reafon for the Neceflity of Grace 
 to render our Hopes and Aflurances of Sal- 
 vation effecSlual. 
 
 This is a Point in which there is an effen- 
 tial DiiFerence between the Gofpel, and mere 
 Natural Religion; and it is confequent to 
 another Point of Difference relating to the 
 State and Condition of Mankind before the 
 Gofpel. If Men were in that State of ori-^ 
 ginal Purity in which God muft, in Juftice 
 to his divine Attributes, be fappofed to have 
 made them, it will be hard tofay what Grace 
 was w^anting to enable them to attain the End 
 of their Creation. If they have fallen from 
 that State, and contradted a Corruption not 
 to be cured by natural Means, it will be 
 hard for any Man to difpute again ft the 
 
 U 3 Grace 
 
294- DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 Grace of God, without having a Reafori to 
 produce, that fhall render it impoflible, or 
 improper, for God to redeem the World. 
 For, the Fall of Man fuppofed, it is more 
 reafonable to think, becaufe it is far more ho- 
 nourable to God, that he fhould deftroy the 
 Pov/er of Sin by communicating a new Prin- 
 ciple of Holinefs, in order to the Salvation of 
 the World, than that he fliould honour Sin 
 fo far, as to rendei^ Sinners both glorious and 
 immortal. Since then there can be no Re- 
 demption, but either by deftroying Sin, or by 
 granting Happinefs to Sinners, unreformed 
 Sinners, it is eafy to judge which Method is. 
 moft fuitable to the Wifdomof God, who is 
 of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity. 
 
 It V7ill be one Means of fhewing the Ne- 
 cpffity of Grace, to (Lew the EfFeds afcribed 
 to it in Scripture. For the Spirit of God is 
 certainly given for the fake of thofe Effeds, 
 which v^ere to be produced by it in true 
 Believers : And he that can prove that the 
 fame Eiieds generally are, or may be, at- 
 tained by the mere Strength of Nature, will 
 give the beft Arguaient againft the Necefiity 
 of Grace in order to Salvation. For, if Men 
 are naturally inclined to Virtue and Holineis^ 
 they vv^ill not want Grace to make them fo. 
 
 But 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 295 
 
 But this has never yet been the Cafe ; and if 
 we may judge of thofe who fhall be after us, 
 by ourfelves, and thofe who have hved before 
 us, this never will be the Cafe. 
 
 Now the Works of the Spirit are defcribed 
 to us in many Places of Scripture. They are 
 in the Text fet forth to be pure^ then peace- 
 able, gentle, and eafy to be intreatedy fid I of 
 Mercy and good Fruits, ^without Partiality ^ 
 and without Hypocrify. The Apoftle to the 
 Galatiansy Chap. v. 22. reckoning up the 
 Fruits of the Spirit, places them in this 
 Order; Love, Joy, Peace, Long-fufferingy 
 Gentlenefs, Goodnefs, Faith, Meeknefs, Tem- 
 perance ; and continuing his Account, though 
 varying his Style, he adds. And they that are 
 Chriji's have crucified the Flejh, with the Affec-* 
 tions and Liifts, 
 
 Were the Manners of any People to be 
 defcribed in this Language, there is no one 
 fo little acquainted with human Nature, but 
 that he would fufpedl the Truth of the Re- 
 lation. Where muft we go, to the Eaft or to 
 the Weft, to find a People pure and peace- 
 able, full of Mercy and good Works, with- 
 out Partiality, without Hypocrify, crucifying 
 the Flefh, and the Affedions and Lufts there- 
 of? No Fliftory yet has prefented us with 
 
 U A, fuchk 
 
296 DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 fuch an Idea of Mankind. But, if we look 
 into the Account which the fame Apoftle 
 gives of the Works of the Flefh, we fhall 
 find too great a Correfpondence between, 
 them, and ilie hiflorical Accounts of all Na- 
 tions : They are. Adultery ^ Fornication, Un^ 
 cleannefs, Lafcivioufnefs^ Idolatry, Witchcraft, 
 Hatred^ Variance, Etnulations, Wrath, Strife, 
 Seditions, Herefics, Envyings, Murders, Drun- 
 kennefs, RevelUngs, a7id fuch like. Thefe 
 Works we know where to find, and are 
 fure of not miftaking in what Country fo- 
 ever we Uqk them. You fee the Differ- 
 ence between the Works of Nature and 
 Grace : And tel! me. Was it a Work unwor- 
 thy of God to fend his Spirit to make the 
 Difference ? If you think it not yet fo fuf- 
 ficiently made as to anfwer the Pretenfions 
 of the Gofpel, yet you muff own that here 
 is a Work worthy of God to undertake; and 
 that if wx have not the Spirit already to pro- 
 duce thefe EiTects, it were much to be wiih- 
 ed tl :. it v/e had : So that natural Reafon fliall 
 be forced, to give this i eilimony to the Gof- 
 pcl, that the Help it propofes is the Thing 
 in the World the rnoft: to be deilred, the moft 
 honourable ior Gud to give, the moft advan- 
 tageous for Man to receive. If you aik us. 
 
 v/hat 
 
DISCOURSE Xir. 297 
 
 what Evidence we have to fhew, that we 
 have received this Proniife of the Gofpel ; it 
 were well indeed if we had more Evidence 
 than we have, and that every Man naming 
 the Name of Chrift were a living Teftimony 
 of the Spirit of God working in him ; and 
 yet, I truft, we have enough to fhew that 
 the Promifes of God are not in vain. The 
 Spirit is given to be a Principle of Religion, 
 and not of Force and Mechanilm; and con- 
 fequently it muft be maintained to be con- 
 fiflent with the Freedom of Man's Will, 
 without the Suppofition of which it is impof- 
 fible to have any Notion of Religion : And 
 if many, who by their Profeffion of Chrifli- 
 anity are entitled to the Promife of the Spirit, 
 do ilie w no Signs of the Power of God work- 
 ing in them, they will be fo many Proofs 
 indeed, that the Grace of God is not irrefift- 
 ible : But no better Argument can be drawn 
 from their Cafe to iLew, that the Pretences 
 to Grace are mere Fidion, than may be 
 drawn from the unreafonable Adions of the 
 Generality of Men to fhew, that Pvcafon it- 
 felf is a Fiction, and that there is no fuch 
 governing Principle in Mankind. 
 
 We have indeed the fullcft Proof, that 
 there is fuch a Thing as Reafon and natural 
 
 Underftanding 
 
29S DISCOURSE XII. 
 
 Underftanding in Men; and therefore the 
 Abufc of Reaibn creates no Sufpicion againft 
 the Being: of it: But the Deift fees no Proof 
 of the Reahty of Grace in any ; the Effefts 
 we afcribe to it, and which are the only 
 vifible Evidences for its Reality, are no other 
 than what Reafon prefcribes ; and where- 
 ever they are found, he claims them as the 
 Work of Reafon, and demands of us to fhew 
 upon what Ground w^e afcribe them to any 
 other Principle. If Men are meek, and cha- 
 ritable, and good, void of Partiality and Hy- 
 pocrify, they are but what their Reafon tells 
 them they fhould be ; and iince thefe Virtues 
 flow from the Didates of Reafon, by what 
 Right do we impute them to another Prin- 
 ciple ? The Apoftle to the Romans has taught 
 lis theRefolution of this Difficulty : I delight y 
 fays he, in the Law of God after the inward 
 Man : But I fee another Law in my Members 
 'warring againji the Law of my Mind, and 
 bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin ^ 
 ivhich is in my Members, O wretched Man 
 that I am, who fi all deliver me from the Body 
 of this Death! I thank God, through Jefus 
 Chriji our Lord. That the Dictates of Reafon 
 are juft and right, St. P^w/ acknowledges ; 
 but right as they are, we gain little by them 
 
 but 
 
DISCOURSE XII 299 
 
 but the ConvidionofSin and Guilt; for there 
 is another Principle in the Members warring 
 againft this Principle of Reafon, or Law of 
 the Mind, which brings us under the Slavery 
 of Sin. This State afforded him fo little 
 Comfort, notwithftanding the Gooduefs of 
 his Reafon todiflinguifh rightly betv/een Vir- 
 tue and Vice, that he exclaims in the Bitter- 
 nefs of his Soul, O lioretchedMan that I amy 
 who fiall deliver me from the Body of this 
 Death! Under thefe Agonies he faw no 
 Help in Nature, no Affiftance to be had from 
 Reafon ; and therefore he flies to the Arms 
 of Chrift for Shelter, and owns him for his 
 only Redeemer from this Captivity to Sin ; 
 / thank Gody through Jefiis Chrif our Lord. 
 And having found this fafe Retreat, he goes 
 on in another Strain : ^here is therefore now 
 no Condemnation to them "who are in Chrift 
 fefusy who walk not after the Flefi but after 
 the Spirit : For the Law of the Spif^it of Life 
 in Chrift J ejus hath 7nade me free from the 
 Law of Sin and Death, 
 
 You fee how the Apoltle founds the Ne- 
 cefiity of Grace : Not in this, that we want 
 Reafon to fhew us the Difference between 
 Good and Evil, and to dire(5l us in our 
 Duty 5' but in this, that the Light of Reafoa 
 \ is 
 
300 DISCOURSE XIL 
 
 Is too weak a Reilraint upon the Inclinations 
 to Evil, which are become natural to Man. 
 Thefe Inclinations overpowering Reafon, 
 bring in the Slavery of Sin and Death. We 
 become Slaves by departing from the Law of 
 Reafon ; we are freed from Slavery by Grace : 
 Grace therefore is given to reftore us to 
 the Obedience of Reafon. So far is it from 
 being an Objedion to the Reality of Grace, 
 that the Works of Grace are Works of Rea- 
 fon, that the very befl; Evidence we can have 
 that the Grace of God is in us, is this, that 
 we live up to the pure and iincere Dictates of 
 Reafon. We afcribe it not to Grace, that 
 we know our Duty; but this we afcribe to 
 it, that we are able to perform it. And 
 upon this State of the Cafe it appears, that 
 the Evidence which Chriflians can make to 
 themfelves and others, that the Spirit of God 
 dwelleth in them, mufl: arife from their 
 Works of Love and Obedience. 
 
 This Trial, though it may prove in the 
 End a fevere one, fmce the Love of many 
 is grown cold, we can by no means refufe. 
 For how fcall we refufe to ftand Trial by 
 the Rule laid down by our Saviour, By their 
 Fruit Sy fays ht^youfiallknow them, and by 
 his Apoftle St. Jobuy This is the Love of God^ 
 
 that 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 301 
 
 that we keep his Coinmandments ? To the fame 
 Purpofe our Lord fpeaks in the fifteenth of 
 St. John, comparing himfelf to a Vine, and 
 his Father to an Hufbandman : lam the Viney 
 ye are the Branches: He that abide th in me^ 
 and I in him, the fa7ne bringeth forth much 
 Fruit ; for without 7ne ye can do nothing. 
 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear 
 much Fruity fo Jl:)all ye be my Difciples, 
 
 Unbelievers may have many Objedlions to 
 make againft the Operations of the Holy 
 Spirit, which need not affed: or difturb the 
 Faith and Hope of a Chriftian. But when 
 they objed to us the Want of Evidence in 
 the Works of Chriffians, they raife a Diffi- 
 culty, which every Believer is bound to 
 anfwer for himfelf, or to quit his Pretenfions 
 to the Hopes and Promifes of the Gofpel. 
 The Confidence of fome, that they have the 
 Spirit of God, though they have nothing but 
 their own Confidence to alledge in Proof of 
 it, is a Conceit, unknown to the Churches 
 of God : The Gofpel is a Stranger to it, and 
 it was taught in fome other School than that 
 ofChrift. 
 
 If you would know whether the Spirit of 
 
 Chrill: be in you of a truth, you have a 
 
 plain Rule in the Text to examine yourfelf 
 
 1 by. 
 
302 DISCOURSE Xll. 
 
 by. The Apoftlc St. James fpeaks of two 
 forts of Wifdom, the on^ earthly, fejifual, de- 
 vilijlj ', the Fruits of which are, Envyings^ 
 Strife y Cofijlfjion, and every evil Work : The 
 other heavenly, which is pure and peaceable, 
 gentle and eafy to be intreated, full of Mercy 
 and good Fruits, without Partiality, without 
 Hypocrify, It is no hard Matter for a Man 
 to know to which Clafs he belongs ; the 
 Charaders are bold, and eafily diflinguiihed 3 
 the Difference is fo great between Confuiion 
 and Peace, Strife and Gentlenefs, Envy and 
 Mercy, every evil Work and every good 
 Work, that we cannot eafily mifcake in ap- 
 plying thefe Marks* Search therefore your 
 own Hearts, for thence muft come the Refo- 
 lution, whether the Spirit of Chrift dwell in 
 you or no. How the Spirit cometh, or how 
 it goeth, we know not. Our Saviour, in his 
 Difcourfe with Nicodemus, compares the In- 
 fluence of the Spirit to the blowing of the 
 Wind, 'Thcu hearefl the Sound thereof but 
 caiift not tell whence it comet h, and whither it 
 goeth', fo is every one that is born of the Spirit. 
 How the new Birth and Regeneration is per- 
 formed. He only can tell who performs it ; 
 but the Effeds of it every Man may fee^ 
 they are as difcernible as the Noife of the 
 
 Winds, 
 
DISCOURSE XII. 30 
 
 Winds, though in their Caufe and Spring as 
 fecret, and altogether as far removed from 
 human Sight. 
 
 As the Fruits of the Spirit are the only 
 Evidence we can have of the Spirit, fo the 
 End of giving the Spirit is the producing 
 thefe good Fruits. Sandlification, Regene- 
 ration, and all other Terms by which the 
 Operation and Work of the Spirit in Believers 
 are denoted, fignify to us that the Spirit is 
 given to redeem us from Sin, and to render 
 us a People acceptable to God, zealous of 
 good Works. And furely it is no frnall Com- 
 mendation of the Gofpel, that the Things ia 
 it, which feem moft myfterious, have the 
 plained Ufe, and are introduced to promote 
 fuch Ends, as muft appear to the moft pre- 
 judiced Mind to be honourable to God, and 
 advantageous to Mankind. We offer you, 
 upon the Terms of the Gofpel, the Gifts 
 of the Holy Ghoft : In virtue of this OiFer 
 we call you to Holinefs and Obedience* 
 What Defign or Contrivance have you to 
 fufped: ? If any thing is to be gained by 
 your being virtuous, the Advantage will be 
 all your own. Nay, fuppofe that you are de- 
 ceived into Goodnefs, yet for you at leaft it 
 will be an happy Deceit ; and, I think, no 
 
 unhappy 
 
304 DISCOURSE XIL 
 
 unhappy one for the reft of the World. Who 
 will fuffer by Men's becoming gentle and 
 peaceable ? If there were more of this Spirit 
 in the World, it would be a much happier 
 Place than it is ; For the Strife and Confu- 
 fion, and all ^he Miferies which we fee and 
 hear, have their Rife from that Wifdom 
 which is earthly and fenfual. 
 
 From what has been faid arifes this plain 
 Conclufion : That the true Way of judging, 
 whether the Spirit of God be in us, is to 
 eonfider our own Deeds. Righteoufnefs and 
 Holinefs are the only certain Marks of Re- 
 generation. Other Diftindions which Men 
 have invented are rather Marks of their fpi- 
 ritual Pride, and of their Separation from 
 the Body of Chriftians, than of their Union 
 with Chrift the Head, Take heed therefore 
 that you adorn the Faith with a Meeknefs 
 and Quietnefs of Spirit, that you may have 
 the Comfort and Confolation of knowing 
 that you have not believed in vain. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 

 
 DISCOURSE XIIL 
 
 Matthew v. 48. 
 
 Be ye therefore perfeBy even as your Father 
 which is in Heaven is perfeSt^ 
 
 ')^^M^ R A C T I G E is the End of all 
 
 J^^^O^ Precepts and Exhortations : 
 
 ^ )^^ Laws are therefore enacfted, 
 
 i^/^?^^^^j« hoi-tations are therefore added, 
 that they may be encouraged to do their Duty. 
 It muft then be a very great Abfurdity to 
 make any thing, in its own Nature impradi- 
 cable, the Subjedt-matter either of Command 
 or Advice. And does not the Text feem 
 liable to this Objedion ? Is there any thing 
 which Men have more Reafon to think im- 
 poffible to them, than to arrive at the Per- 
 fedions of the Deity ? Why then are we 
 Vol* III. X commanded 
 
3o6 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 commanded or exhorted to be perfedl, even 
 as our Father in Heaven is perfeft, lince 
 nothing but Difappointment can be the Iflue 
 of our ftrongeft Endeavours after this Perfec- 
 tion, from which we ftand excluded by the 
 unalterable Laws of Nature ? This Difficulty 
 is too obvious to efcape any one^s Notice. 
 Some therefore tell you, that the Text con- 
 tains only Matter of Counfel or Advice, but 
 not of Precept or Command, and with this 
 Softening they think the Difficulty may be 
 digefted ; as if it were more reafonable, or 
 more becoming an infpired Teacher, to advife 
 than to command Impoffibilities : Whereas 
 the only Difference ill the Cafe is, that in 
 Matters of Command we mufl either obey 
 or fuffer, in -Matters of Counfel only we have 
 a greater Latitude allowed us ; fo that with 
 refpecl to ourfelves it is more tolerable to be 
 advifed than to be commanded to Things 
 imprafticable : But, with refpedl to the 
 Lawgiver, it is one and the fame Thing, 
 and his Reafon and Equity can be no more 
 juftified in adviiing, than in commanding 
 Impoffibilities. Others tell you, that it is 
 not Equality, but Quality of Perfeftions that 
 is enjoined in the Text; tiiat is, we are 
 commanded to aim at the fame Perfedions 
 with God, though not in the fame Degree ; 
 
 tliat. 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 307 
 
 that, as God is juft, and righteous, and 
 merciful, fo muft we endeavour to be juft, 
 and righteous, and merciful, though not to 
 the fame Degree or Extent that God is. This 
 Expofition avoids the Difficulty complained 
 of; for there is nothing extraordinary in 
 commandino^ Men to imitate the Perfedrions 
 of God in a Degree fuitable to their own 
 Nature and Ability. Bat then this is an Ex- 
 pofition, not ariiing from the Circumftances 
 of the Text^ which lead us to a more exten- 
 iive View. 
 
 In the 43d Verfe our Saviour fays, I'^e iave 
 heard that it hath beenfaid^ 'Thoiifialt love thy 
 Neighboury ajid hate thine Eftejny. In the 
 44th Verfe he correds the Partiality of this 
 Law ; But I J ay unto you. Love you?- 'Enemies y 
 blefs them that cur.fe you, do good to them that 
 hate you, and pray for them which def pit ef idly 
 ufe you, and per fe cute you. In the 45 th and 
 46th Verfes, he confirms his own Precept 
 from the Example and Authority of God : 
 T!hat ye may be the Children of your Father 
 ivhich is in Heaven ; for he tnaketh his Sun to 
 rife on the Evil and on the Good, andfendeth 
 Rain on the Juf and on the Ihijufi, For^ if 
 ye love them which love you, what Reward have 
 ^e ? Do not even the Publicans thefune f And 
 X 2 in 
 
3o8 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 in the 48th Verfe he concludes this Argu- 
 ment in the Words of the Text; Be ye there-^ 
 fore perfe^, eveii as your Father which is in 
 Heaven is perfect. From whence it is evi- 
 dent, that the Quality or Temper of Mercy 
 and Compaflion was not the Thing recom- 
 mended to us by our bleffed Lord from the 
 Example of God, for that he told them even 
 the Publicans had in fome Degree, for they 
 loved thofe who loved them ; but it is the 
 Extent of this Mercy and Compaflion which 
 was difcernible in the Works of Providence, 
 which he preffes from this Example : Your 
 Father in Heaven is bountiful to the Evil as 
 well as the Good; to the Unjufi:, as well as 
 the Juft : Go ye therefore and do likewife, 
 and learn from hence to love your Enemies, 
 as well as your Friends ; to do good to thofe 
 who hate you, as well as to thofe who love 
 you. This certainly was recommending not 
 only the Temper of Mercy, which is natural 
 to the Deity, but alfo that extenfive Exercife 
 of it, that Perfection of Goodnefs, which 
 fhone forth in all his Works. 
 
 Since then we can have no Relief from 
 Expolitions of this kind, we mull confider 
 the Text in another View, and fee what 
 Affiflance we can have from the Circum- 
 
 ftainces 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 309 
 
 fiances of the Context, or the general Reafoa 
 in which the Precept is founded. And thefe 
 two Inquiries will take in what is neceffary 
 to be known upon this Subjedt. For, if we 
 confider this Precept as Part of the Gofpel 
 Dodtrine, it will be fufficient to know, how 
 far it may be extended upon the Authority 
 of the Gofpel : Or, if we confider it as a 
 general Maxim and Rule of Religion, which 
 had a Foundation in Reafon antecedent to 
 the Promulgation of the Gofpel, it will be 
 fufficient to underftand, how far the Pveafon 
 of the Command goes, and how it may be 
 applied to the feveral Duties of Religion and 
 Morality, 
 
 Firft then. Let us examine the Text as it 
 ftands limited by the Circumftances of the 
 Context. 
 
 It is evident from what has been already 
 obferved, that the Precept of the Text ftands 
 applied to the particular Cafe of Charity and 
 Mercy. Had it been otherwife, had our 
 Saviour intended, in every Inftance of our 
 Duty, to refer us to the Perfedion of God, 
 as the proper Rule and Meafure of our Obe- 
 dience, this Precept fhould have ftood at tho 
 Clofe of his Sermon, which might have given 
 it a Reference to all that had gone before, 
 X 3 and 
 
3IO DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 and not been confined in the Middle of his 
 Difcourfe to a particular Duty. It is farther 
 to be obferved, that the Inftance of Duty to 
 which this Precept is annexed, is illuftrated 
 by a particular Mention of God's dealing 
 with Men in like Cafes. We are bid to love 
 our Enemies, and are told how merciful and 
 compaffionate God is to the Evil andUnjuft; 
 the natural Application of the-Example lies 
 in the Exhortation of the Text, that we 
 fliould aim at that Perfedlion of Mercy and 
 Goodnefs, which we may every Day fee 
 exercifed by God towards us all. But, in 
 other Inftances of Duty mentioned in this 
 Sermon, the Example of God is notpropofed ; 
 and, coniidering the Connexion between the 
 Example and the Application, there can be 
 no Reafon to carry the Application to other 
 Cafes, in which the fame Example is not 
 propofed. Nay farther, there are fome Points 
 of Duty explained and enforced in this Ser- 
 mon on the Mount, to which neither the 
 Example nor the Exhortation can be applied. 
 Such are the Duties arifing from the Re- 
 lations which are peculiar to Man, and no- 
 where elfe to be found : As in the Cafe of 
 Afliidions and Perfecutions, which we ought 
 to bear patiently, not in Confideration of the 
 
 Example 
 
DISCOURSE Xm. 311 
 
 Example of the Deity, whom no Afflidions 
 can approach, but in Confideration of his 
 Goodnefs and Power, who thinks fit to in- 
 fHQ. them on us. In the Inflance of Mercy 
 and Forgivenefs, to which the Exhortation 
 in the Text ftands appHed, there can be no 
 greater or properer Motive to Obedience 
 than the Example of our heavenly Father ; 
 it cuts off all the Pretences which Men have 
 for Anger or Revenge. Has your Enemy 
 abufed or affronted you ? What then ? Are 
 you greater than God, who bears with fo 
 much Lenity the perpetual Abufes and Af- 
 fronts of wicked Men ? Or are you pro- 
 voked to revenge the Iniquities you behold, 
 and to extirpate the Prophane and Ungodly ? 
 Believe at leaft that God is not unconcerned 
 for his own Honour; and therefore, even in 
 this Cafe, you cannot be more fafe or fecure 
 than by following the Example v/hich he 
 fets you in the daily Admiijiftrations of his 
 Providence, 
 
 Suppofing then that this Example is con- 
 fined to the Exercife of Love and Mercy ; 
 yet ftill, can we pretend to be as good and 
 as merciful as God is, or does our Saviour 
 require it of us ? If not, where is the Limi- 
 tation to be placed ? It muil be placed un- 
 X 4 doubtedly 
 
312 DISCOURSE Xm. 
 
 doubtedly where our Saviour himfelf has 
 placed it. He tells you how imperfedt the 
 old Doctrine was, becaufe it required of us 
 only to love our Friends, and permitted us 
 to hate our Enemies : But God, fays he, 
 loves and does good to his Enemies, as well 
 as his Friends. This is perfed: Love, not 
 reftrained hy Partialities. When therefore it 
 follows. Be ye perfe^i as your Father 'y the 
 precife Meaning is, let your Love be univer- 
 fal, unconfined by Partialities, and, v/ith 
 refpedt to its Objects, as large as God's is : 
 Not that oui Love either to Eneniies or 
 Friends can be fuppofed in other Refpeds^ 
 and as to the Effects of it, to bear aiiy Pro- 
 portion to the Divine Love. 
 
 But, as in this Cafe of extending Qur Love 
 the Example is proper, and therefore alio the 
 Exhortation to follow it ; fo in others it would 
 be very injurious to the Deity to fuppofe, that 
 any Example could b'. drawn from his Per- 
 fections. In our prei^nt State of Corruptions^ 
 it is a great Part of Religion to govern pur 
 Thoughts well, and the inward Inclination^ 
 of our Hearts i but it would be as reafonable 
 to id u:? govtrn ^htt World as God governs 
 it, H^ lOgovCiU our Thoughts as he governs 
 hiij ; 11^ is liable to none of tiic Iinperfec-; 
 
 lions. 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 313 
 
 tions, which make the Government of our 
 Thoughts to be a neceflary Daty in us : He 
 has told us. My Thoughts are not as your 
 Thoughts : And where is no Simihtude in the 
 Cafes, no Example can be drawn from the 
 one to the other. So that in this, and in 
 many other Inftances which might be given, 
 we have a Duty incumbent on us, towards 
 the due Performance of which v/e can draw 
 no Example from the Divine Perfedions. 
 Since then the Exhortation to imitate the 
 Divine Perfections c annot reach to all Parts of 
 our Duty, I fee no Reafon why it fliould be 
 extended to any upon the Authority of our 
 Saviour, to which he himfelf has not extend- 
 ed it ; and as the tjfe of it is peculiarly re- 
 ferved in Holy Writ to the Cafe of Mercy 
 and Forgivenefs, it ought by no means to be 
 drawn into a general Precept, to the per- 
 plexing as well tlie Underftandings, as the 
 Confciences of the Weak. St. Paul, in his 
 Epiftle to the Erhejians^ exhorts them to be 
 Followers oj God as dear Children : But then 
 j^t is with regard to this very Cafe ; for be. 
 had faid immediately before. Chap. iv. 32. 
 Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, for- 
 giving one another, even as God for ChrijVs 
 fake hath forgiven yaw, and, with reference to 
 
 this 
 
314 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 this Duty, he adds, ver. ift of the next 
 Chapter, Be ye therefore Followers of God, as 
 dear Children-, to which he fubjoins, A^id 
 walk in Lov'e^ as Chriji- alfo hath loved iiSf 
 giving him/elf for tis, ver. 2. So that his 
 Exhortation to follow God ftands inclofed on 
 both Sides with the Precepts of Love and 
 Charity, as if he intended to fecure it from 
 being applied to any thing elfe. And if our 
 Saviour meant any thing more in the Text^^ 
 if he had a View to any other Duties or 
 Commands than that of Love and Mercy 
 only, when he placed before us the Example 
 of our heavenly Father, St. Luke, lam fure^ 
 has done him great Injury in reporting his 
 Dodrind. Fie, in the fixth Chapter of his 
 Gofpcl, gives us the Sermon on the Mount j 
 when he comes to the Topic of Love and 
 Forgivenefs, he introduces the Example of 
 God, who is kind to the Unthankful, and to the 
 Evil. lie concludes alfo with an Exhorta- 
 tion referring to the Example, as St. Mat- 
 thew does : Bat inftead of the general Phrafe 
 ufed by St. Matthew, Be ye perfel^, as your 
 Father is perfeSf ; St. Luke has it only, JSeye 
 therefore merciful, as your Father alfo is mer- 
 clfuL The two Evangelifts are giving an 
 Account of the fame Sermon, and of the 
 
 fame 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 315 
 
 fame Paffage; and if they are confiftent, 
 Si. Matthews, Be ye ferfeSf, as God is per^ 
 feBy can relate only to that particular Per- 
 'fedion of Mercy and Forgivenefs, which our 
 Saviour had been recommending, and is of 
 no greater Extent than St. Lukes, Be ye there- 
 fore merciful, as your Father alfo is 772ercifuL 
 The Holy Writers often require of us that we 
 fhould be perfeCl and blamelefs ; that is, as 
 St. Paul expreffes it in the fourth of the 
 Colofians, and twelfth Vcrfe, that SNQjlould 
 fiand perfeci and complete in all the Will of 
 God: But it is one thing to be perfedl in all 
 the Will of God, and another to be perfed 
 even as he is perfedt. The Will of God, 
 hov/ever manifefted to us, is the proper 
 Rule of the Perfedion we ought to aim at ; 
 but the tranfcendent Perfedions of the Deity 
 are to be reverenced and adored, but never 
 attained to by any Creature. 
 
 It is true, that as the moral Perfedions of 
 the Deity afford us the trueil Image of Holi- 
 nefs and Purity, fo are they the beft Patterns 
 to place before our Eyes for the Condud 
 of our own Lives. It is praife-worthy to 
 imitate a Perfedion as far as we are able, 
 though we can never hope to come up to 
 the great Original : And though there is no 
 
 room 
 
3i6 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 room to exhort Men to be perfed as God is 
 perfedt, yet it is reafonable to prefs them to 
 imitate their heavenly Father, For neither 
 he who advifes the Imitation, nor he who 
 attempts it, go upon the Suppofition, that it 
 is either neceffary or poffible to be as perfed; 
 as He : But this they both agree in, that the 
 nearer any one can come to the Pattern, the 
 more perfedt he will be -, and therefore tho 
 Imitation of God has not for its End the 
 attaining to the Perfedlions of God, but the 
 attaining to the greateft Perfection we are 
 caoable of. In this Senfe St. Pefer exhorts 
 us to be holy, b^caufe God is holy : For as 
 he^ faysS the ApoRle, "which hotb called you is 
 holy, Jo be ye holy in all manner of Converjationy 
 1 Pet. i. 1 5. And St. "john in his iirft Epiftle, 
 Chap. iii. 3. to the lame Purpofe : Every 
 Man that h^th this Hope in him^ piirifieth him^ 
 J elf even as he is pure. The Notion we have 
 of the Purity and Plolinefs of God is a very 
 powerful Motive to us to be holy and pure, 
 fmce notiung but Hohnefs and Purity can 
 recommend us to the Favour and Protedion 
 ef a Being, vvho is holy and pure. A Con- 
 formity therefore to the Divine Nature in the 
 moral Perfedions of it, is the utmoil: Ex- 
 cellence and Happlnefs of human Souls, and 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 317 
 
 that which we ought to labour to attain with 
 the greateft Ardor and Contention of Mind. 
 It is a noble Subjed: for the Entertainment of 
 our Thoughts; but it has had the Misfortune 
 to owe more to the Power of Imagination 
 than to the Light of Reafon ; and has had (m 
 great a Place allowed it in fome enthufiafti- 
 cal Writers, as to be lefs cultivated than it 
 deferves by foberer Inquirers. And yet this 
 Conformity to the Divine Nature was a Lqf- 
 fon taught by fome few wife Heathens, who 
 found, by the Light of Reafon and Nature, 
 wherein the true Dignity and Happinefs of 
 Man confifted : For the Imitation of God is 
 not a new Principle introduced into Religion 
 by the Revelation of the Gofpel, but has its 
 Foundation in the Reafon -and Nature of 
 Things. 
 
 And this was the Second Thing I pro- 
 pofed to confider. 
 
 That we fliould endeavour to be perfed, 
 even as God is perfedt, in the ftridt Mean- 
 ing of the Words, is no more the Diredion 
 of Reafon than it is of Revelation : He knows 
 but little of himfelf, and lefs of God, who is 
 capable of fuch a Thought. But that we 
 (hould aim at the Refcmblance of the Divine 
 Perfedions, as far as our prefent State will 
 I permit. 
 
3i8 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 permit, 'is but the natural Confequencearlfing 
 from the Knowledge we have of God, and 
 the Obligation we are under to cultivate 
 and improve our own Minds. God is a 
 rational Being, and fo are we, though at a 
 great Diftance from him. As we are thus 
 fiw made in the Image and Likenefs of God, 
 fo are we capable, by the Enlargement of 
 our Faculties, of a nearer Approach to him : 
 For the moral Perfections of all rational 
 Minds are in Kind the fame, however vaftly 
 they differ in Degree. Were it otherwife, 
 the Perfeftions of the Deity could not be fo 
 much a Pattern for us to follow. Were Ho- 
 linefs, Righteoufnefs, Juftice and Mercy, of 
 a different Nature confidered in God, from 
 what they are 'when confidered in Man, it is 
 plain, that the Holinefs or Goodnefs of God 
 could be neither the Exampl-e nor the Mo- 
 tive of Holinefs in Men : And it would be 
 fibfurd to fay, as the Scripture does. Be ye 
 holyy for I am holy ; unlefs Holinefs in both 
 Cafes, as applied to God, and as applied to 
 Man, denoted a moral Perfedlion of the fame 
 Kind, proper to both as rational Beings, 
 though attainable by us only in that Propor- 
 tion which our weak Nature will allow. 
 Since then the Perfedions which are effen- 
 
 tiai 
 
DISCOURSE XIII. 319 
 
 tial to God, confidered as a rational Being, 
 are the very fame which we, as rational 
 Beings, ought to afpire to, lince they are in 
 him in the utmoft Perfeftion alfo ; to fay, 
 that we ought to conform ourfelves to the 
 Divine Nature, and to imitate the Excellen- 
 cies of it, is no more than to fay, that we 
 ought to endeavour after thofe Perfections, 
 which are natural and proper to rational 
 Minds ; and which belong to us in Confe- 
 quence of that Image and Likenefs of our 
 Maker, which was flamped upon us at our 
 firft Creation. 
 
 But though the Example of God be in 
 itfelf a very ftrong Motive and iVrgument for 
 Holinefs ; yet, in the Nature of the Thing, 
 Example is but a fecondary Argument, and 
 fuppofes an antecedent Obligation to the 
 Duty, theduePerformanceof which we learn 
 from the Example fet before us. It is no 
 Reafon for me to endeavour to do this or 
 that, becaufe I fee another do it ; for it may 
 be fit for him to do, and yet very unfit for 
 me to attempt -, and therefore Example can 
 have no Place, till the Rule of Duty is firft 
 fettled. It would be very abfurd to think, 
 that every thing that God does, yields a pro- 
 per Example for us to follow 5 and therefore^ 
 
 we 
 
320 DISCOURSE XIII. 
 
 we are to fearch for a Reafon, why fome of 
 his Perfedlions are proper Examples, and 
 others not fo ; that is, we are to fearch for 
 their primary Rule of Duty, which obliges 
 us to endeavour after fome of the Perfediorts 
 difcoverable in the Deity, and not the others. 
 In all Inquiries of this kind, the laft Re- 
 fort muft be to the Light of our own Minds; 
 from hence arifes the Obligation we are un- 
 der to moral Virtue. We are a Law to our- 
 felves, and fuch a Law as no Power what- 
 ever can abfolve us from the Obedience due 
 to it, as long as we continue to enjoy the 
 fame Powers and Faculties of Reafon which 
 at prefent wq are endowed with. From this 
 Lio-ht of Nature we learn both the Law and 
 the Example which we are now inquiring 
 after, that is, we learn our own Obligation 
 to Holineis, and we learn . to know God, 
 who is perfefl: Holinefs. Did Reafon difco- 
 ver to us the moral Perfections of the Deity, 
 without fhewing us, at the fame time, any 
 Obligation incumbent on us to follow after 
 the like Perfedions, the Holinefs of God fo 
 difcovered would be no more an Example for 
 our Imitation than his Power is. It is there- 
 fore from the Light of our own Minds, that 
 we dii'cover the Difference of moral Good 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE XIIL 321 
 
 and Evil, and the Obligations confequent 
 upon that Difference; it is from the fame 
 Light that we find the moral Perfections to 
 be pofTeffed by the Deity in their utmoft 
 Beauty : So that the fame Reafon and Na- 
 ture, which holds forth to us the Rule of 
 our Duty, holds forth alfo the perfedt Ex- 
 ample of it. Now, fince no Example is a 
 good one, which does not teach the fame 
 Dodrine with the Rule of Duty, and the 
 Rule of Duty in this Cafe being the Light 
 of our own Minds ; it muft neceffarily follow, 
 that to obey the Diftates of Reafon, and to 
 imitate the Example of God, is in the End 
 one and the fame Thing. 
 
 That it muft be fo, will appear by con- 
 fidering, that w^e can no other Way trace 
 the Perfedlions of the Deity, but from thofe 
 natural Notions of Perfection which we find 
 in our own Minds : We fhould not afcribe 
 to God Holinefs, Juftice and Mercy, did not 
 the Light of Reafon difcover to us the Excel- 
 lencies of thele Attributes. Now the Holi- 
 nefs, Juftice and Mercy, which the Light of 
 Reafon difcovers, are the moral Virtues which 
 we are obliged to follow after; they are alfo 
 the Perfections which we afcribe to the 
 Deity: So that whether we follow the 
 
 Vol, III. Y Didates 
 
322 DISCOURSE Xm. 
 
 Dilates of Reafon In endeavouring after thefe 
 Virtues, or whether we look up to the Deity, 
 and copy from the Perfedions of his Nature ; 
 it is evident, that in both Cafes we follow 
 the fame Virtues, though placed before us in 
 a different View. For, fince our Notion of 
 the Perfedions of 'the Deity muft be formed 
 from fuch natural Notions of moral Per- 
 fection, as Reafon and the Light of Nature 
 can fupply ; whether we confider thefe Per- 
 fections as inherent in the Deity, and en- 
 deavour to copy after the Firfi: and Great 
 Original, or whether we take our natural 
 Kotions of moral Virtue, as Principles and 
 Rules of Religion, which ought to influence 
 and direct our Lives, the Iflbe will be the 
 fame with refped: to our Pradice. It is 
 eafier for Men, when once they have a 
 Notion of a perfedt righteous Being, to 
 confider, in particular Cafes, what fuch a 
 Being would do or approve, than to run up 
 in an abftraded way of Reafoning to firfl 
 Principles and Maxims for Diredion. But 
 whichever Way you take, the Inquiry is 
 the fame, namely, what is fit and reafonable 
 to be done in this or that Cafe t And let the 
 Method of Inquiry be what it will, the 
 Judgment mufl be fuch as our prefent Share 
 
 of 
 
DiSCOtJRSE XIII. 323 
 
 of Reafon will enable us to make. And 
 therefore the Imitation of God is a Prin- 
 ciple of Religion arifing from, and depending 
 on, the right Ufe and Exercife of Reafon> as 
 much as any other whatever. And this may 
 ferve to fhew upon what Foundation the 
 Imitation of God ftands in Natural Religion^ 
 and how we may apply this Principle for 
 our Diredlion in particular Cafes. It tnay 
 fhew alfo what is to be underftood by being 
 perfed:, as God is perfed: : It is abfurd to 
 aim at the Meafure of his Perfedion ; but 
 we are then, to all the Piirpofes of Life and 
 Religion, perfed as He is perfed, when we 
 do nothing but what He will approve : For 
 to ftand approved in the Eye of an All- 
 perfed and Holy Being, is the true Per- 
 fedion of every Creature. This is the 
 Chriftian Excellency, as defcribed by St. 
 Paul in the Words once already quoted^ 
 and with which I (hall conclude this Dif- 
 courfe, That we may Jland perfect and com-- 
 plete In all the Will of God. 
 
 Y % DISCOURSE 
 
% rm^, Mnk. F^-^ M^k. F)^3 ^ 
 n ^*^ ^*5^ ^^*^ ^*^ ¥*)K ff 
 ^ kMM -^^F h.^M ^^r hMM g 
 
 DISCOURSE XIV 
 
 John iii. 19. 
 
 T/jIs is the Condemnation, that Light is come 
 into the World, and Men loved Darknefs 
 rather than Light, hecaufe their Deeds 
 were eviL 
 
 Wy^%^M^ A N beinp: a reafonable Creature, 
 ^& a^jS^ and endued with Faculties to 
 >^ l'^^ j^^^g^ ^"d chufe for himfelf in 
 ■^^^-^^ all Cafes, it is contrary to Na- 
 ture to fuppofe, that there fhould 
 be any Thing abfolutely or neceffarily good to 
 him; fince the Advantage to be drawn from 
 any Thing whatever, depends on the right 
 Ufe and AppUcation of that Thing to its 
 proper Ends and Purpofes. Wholefome 
 Food is good for the Sound, but if taken in 
 ¥3 P^^^ 
 
326 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 Vindue Meafure it grows into a Difeafe. 
 Phyfic is proper for the Sick ; but if the 
 Patient will not fubmit to proper Regula- 
 tions, that which might have been his Cure 
 will certainly be his Deftruftion. 
 
 As it is with refpsd: to the Body, fo is it 
 likewife with refpeft to the Mind ; there is 
 no iuch thing as .an abfolute or neceflary 
 Cure for the Frailties and Infirmities of it, 
 but the propereft Method for attaining that 
 End muft ftill depend on the proper Ufe and 
 Application of it. The beft Inftrudions 
 are of no Ufc whilil: not attended to ; and 
 the greatefl Helps and Affiftances yield no 
 Profit,- as long as they are rejeded and 
 defpiled. 
 
 V/ere the Cafe otherwife, that is, were 
 there any Syftem of Religion pretending, in 
 virtue of fpPie uncontrolaUe Power, to make 
 Men righteous, fuch a Syftem might be va- 
 lued as a good Piece of Spiritual Mechanifm ; 
 but it could never be confidered as a Rule of 
 Virtue and Morality, fmce the Operation of 
 the Will being excluded, the Morality of all 
 human Aciiion^ would be excluded with it. 
 
 And hence it follows, that the utmpfl: that 
 can be done for us in Religion, is fo to inftrudt 
 us, that we may not err for want of Know- 
 ledge 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 327 
 
 ledge of our Duty, and fo to aid and affift 
 us, that it may be in our Pow6r, whenever 
 it is in our Will, to obey. Any thing be- 
 yond this is inconfiftent with Reafon and 
 Freedom, and therefore can have no Part in 
 a Religion defigned for the Government of 
 rational free Agents. And this being the 
 Cafe, that muft in the Comparifon be judged 
 to be the beft Religion, which does mod 
 fully enlighten our Underftanding, and which 
 does in the moft perfeit Manner reftore us 
 to our Liberty and Freedom, by removing 
 the Impediments which arife from the Weak- 
 nefs and Corruption of our Nature. All 
 who live under the Influence of fuch a Reli- 
 gion as this, as they have a certain Way to 
 Happinefs marked out for them, if they 
 chufe to walk in it, fo are they certainly 
 doomed to Condemnation upon their Difo- 
 bedience. For there are but two Sorts of 
 Men who can hope to efcape Pudifhment, 
 the Righteous, who have no Reafon to fear 
 Judgment, and the Sinners, who offending 
 through Ignorance or Weaknefs, have fome 
 Plea to make for Mercy and Forgivenefs. 
 But the Sinners, who knew their Duty, and 
 were fo affifted as to have been able, had 
 they been but willing, to perform it, have 
 
 y 4 nothino^ 
 
328 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 nothing to expefl: but Condemnation . What 
 the Apoflle therefore in the Text has decla- 
 red to us, is no more than a natural Confe- 
 quence drawn from the Excellency of the 
 Gofpel, and the Perverfenefs of Men, confix 
 dered together : "This is the Condemjiatioriy that 
 Light is come into the Worldy and Men loved 
 Darknefs rather than Lights becaufe their 
 Deeds were evil. Were the Goipel lefs per- 
 fect than it is, or lefs known to the World, 
 Sinners would have more to plead in their 
 own Behalf: But fince they want no Light 
 to dired: them, no Affiftance to fupport 
 them in doing their Duty, they are left with- 
 out Excufe for their Difobedience. The 
 Gofpel, which was given to them for Life 
 and Salvation, will be their Judgment and 
 Condemnation ; and the Fault is all their 
 own : They have as little Reafon to complain 
 of the Gofpel Religion upon this Account, as 
 the dying Patient has of thePhyfician, whofe 
 wholefome Medicines he wantonly abufed to 
 his own Deftrudlion. Were the Gofpel 
 merely a Matter of Advice, which Men 
 might follow, or let alone, as they found 
 moft convenient for their own Purpofes, they 
 would then have lefs to anfwer for, if they 
 jiegledted it. But the Gofpel is a Law pro- 
 ceeding 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 329 
 
 feeding from the beft and higheft Autho- 
 rity, given by God to his Creatures ; and wc 
 are bound at our Peril to take notice of it : 
 If we will not walk in the Light of God's 
 Law, when it fhines fo brightly before our 
 Eyes, we fhall be condemned for chufing 
 Darknefs rather than Light. This is the 
 Meaning of the Text, which I fhall there- 
 fore, in the firft place, endeavour to confirm 
 from other Paflages of Holy Writ ; and fhall 
 then fhew you, that there can be no Rea- 
 fon affigned, why Men make this perverfe 
 Choice of continuing in Darknefs rather than 
 Light, but this only, becaufe their Deeds are 
 evil. 
 
 When our blefled Lord commiflioned his 
 Apoflles to preach the Gofpel throughout 
 the World, he declared at the fame time, 
 that he that believethy and is baptized y Jhall 
 be favedy but he that believeth not, JJoall be 
 damned. Which Declaration having mani- 
 feftly a Reference to the Precept foregoing, 
 of preaching the Gofpel in all the World, it 
 is evident that the Believers and Unbelievers, 
 here fpoken of, are fuch only as have had the 
 Gofpel preached to them. And therefore 
 this Text adminifters no Occafion to inquire 
 into the Circumflances of fuch as have never 
 
 had 
 
330 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 had the Gofpel publifhed to them; much 
 lefs does It determine peremptorily any thing 
 concerning them : But as to thofe to whom 
 the Grace of God has been tendered by the 
 preaching of the Minifters of Chrift, their 
 Cafe is fully ftated and determined by our 
 bleffed Lord ; He that believeth, and is bap- 
 tized, jhall be faved'y but he that believe th 
 not, Jhall be damned. 
 
 To the fame Purpofe fpeaketh St. Paul in 
 his Sermon to the Men at Athens, in which 
 he thus declares his Senfe with regard to the 
 Times befor^ the Gofpel, and the Times 
 fince 5 A72d the Times of this Ignorance God 
 winked at, but now commandeth all Men every- 
 where to repent. Where the Command to 
 repent being oppofed to God*s winking at 
 the Times of Ignorance, plainly fhews, that 
 from the going forth of the Command to 
 repent, God will no longer wink at the 
 Ignorance of the World \ and therefore it is 
 at every Man's Peril, if he refufes to hearken 
 \o the heavenly Call. 
 
 In like manner does the fame Apoftle de- 
 liver himfelf in his Epiftle to the Romansy 
 Chap. i. T'he Gofpel, he tells us, is the Power 
 of God unto Sqhation to every one that be^ 
 Hewh. He tells as alfo. That the Wrath of 
 
 Cod 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 331 
 
 God is revealed from Heaven againjl all JJn^ 
 godlinefs and Unrighteouftiefs of Man. So 
 that the Revelation, as it affords all Help 
 and Affiflance to fuch as are willing to do 
 the Works of Righteoulnefs, and embrace 
 the Offers of Peace, fo does it render all 
 Ungodlinefs inexcufable, leaving Men no 
 Pretence, either from Ignorance or Weak- 
 nefs, to cover their Iniquity. 
 
 Out of the many Texts of Scripture which 
 fpeak to the fame Purpofe, I fhall feledl but 
 one Teftimony more, and fhall go back for 
 that to the early Dawnings of the GofpeK 
 When our Lord fent forth his twelve Apoftles 
 to preach to the "Jews only, he thus inflrudls 
 them : When ye come into an Houfe, faint e it. 
 And if the Hoife be worthy y let your Peace 
 come upon it : But if it be not worthy y let your 
 Peace return to you. Ajid whofoever Jhall not 
 receive you, nor hear your Words, when ye de-- 
 part out of the Houfe or City, fiake off the Dujl 
 of your Feet. Verily I fay unto you, it fhall be 
 more tolerable for the Land of Sodom and Go- 
 morrah in the Day of Judgment, than for that 
 City. In which Words our blefled Lord fo 
 plainly fpeaks his Mind, with refpedt to thofe 
 who neglecfl and defpife the Gofpel, that they 
 \yill hardly adrnit of any farther Explication. 
 
 L^pon 
 
332 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 Upon the whole It appears, that it is not 
 left to every Man*s Choice, whether he will 
 be fubjed to the Gofpel or no; for fubjed; 
 he fhall be, (o as to be entitled to the Re- 
 wards of it for his Obedience, or to the Pu- 
 pifhments of it for his Difobedience. And 
 this is not a Circumftance particular to the 
 Gofpel only, but common to all Laws found- 
 ed on fufficient Authority, No Man is at 
 Liberty to chufe whether he will be govern- 
 ed by the Laws of the Realm ; and it would 
 be to little Purpofe to plead to an Indidtr 
 ment, that you never intended to be govern- 
 ed by the Law, but chufe to adl by other- 
 Rules; and therefore delire that the Law 
 may have no Place in the Judgment, but that 
 you may be tried by thofe Rules by which 
 you chufe to live. The Authority of the 
 Lawgiver cuts off fuch Pleas ; and fince you 
 owed Submiffion to fuch Authority, your re- 
 fufing to pay it will be juftly taken as the 
 Aggravation, not as the Excufe of your 
 Crime. If this be the Cafe in human Laws, 
 it is much more fo in thofe of divine Origi- 
 nal : For the greater the Authority of the 
 Lawgiver is, the more abfolute muft our 
 Obedience and Submiffion be. And if thi§ 
 be juft Reafoning, it may appear perhaps, 
 
 that 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 333 
 
 that the Pretence for Deifm, which at prefent 
 feems to be the moft plaufiblc, Vv^ill in the 
 End be its greateft Aggravation. For though, 
 when Men difcard the Gofpel out of a Zeal 
 to preferve the moral Law of Reafon and 
 Nature, they may feem to ad with great Re- 
 gard to Virtue and HoHnefs, yet do they 
 manifeftly rejedt the Authority of God, and 
 deliberately refufe that Obedience, which 
 Reafon teaches to be due to the great Law- 
 giver of the World. But thefe Pretences, 
 confidered in themfelves, will be found to 
 have little Weight -, fince, the Gofpel being 
 the trueft Light to diredl us. Men can have 
 no Reafon to forfake it, but this only which 
 is affigned in the Text, becaiife their Deeds 
 are evil. 
 
 The avowed Defign of our blefied Savi- 
 our's coming into the World was to deftroy 
 the Works of the Devil, and to reflore Reli- 
 gion, both as it refpedls God and Man, to 
 its native Purity and SimpHcity. The firft 
 great LefTon he taught the World was Re- 
 pentance from dead Works, in order to qua- 
 lify them to become Members of the King- 
 dom of Heaven. The Laws of his Gofpel 
 are declaratory of the original Law of Rea- 
 fon and Nature, and contain the faireft Copy 
 
 of 
 
334 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 of it, purged from all the Corruptions that 
 darkened and obfcured its Beauty. All the 
 Myfteries and fecret Purpofes of Gpd, which 
 are revealed to us, are intended only to give 
 us the Comfort and Affurance of God's Mer- 
 cy and Pardon of our part Tranfgreflions, and 
 to raife us to a lively Hope of Life and 
 Immortality through Faith and Obedience. 
 All the Inftitutions of the Gofpel, fuch as 
 Baptifm, the Lord's Supper, and the like, are 
 fet before us, as the proper Means to enable 
 us to make our Calling and Eleftion fure, by 
 continuing ftedfaft in the Works of Holinefs, 
 And what is it that can tempt a Man to rejed: 
 a Religion fo excellently v/ell adapted to ferve 
 all the good Ends of living in this World, 
 and to fupport the Hopes of living happily in 
 that which is to come ? Is it your Concern to 
 reform Mankind, and to reflrain thofe evil 
 Inclinations, which make this World a Scene 
 of Mifery ? Is it for this Purpofe that you 
 fearch the inward Sentiments of Nature, and 
 from thence fet forth the Hopes and Fears of 
 a future Judgment to be a Bridle upon the- 
 unruly Paffions of Men ? Search the Gofpel, 
 and you will find all the Hopes and Fear5 
 of Nature difplayed in their fulleft Light, 
 and fupported by the exprefs Revelation of 
 I God, 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 335 
 
 God, who raifed his own Son from the Dead, 
 to give us the Affurance of a Refurredion 
 cither to Life or Death eternal, according to 
 the Things done in the Body. You cannot 
 therefore pretend to forfake the Gofpel, in 
 order to fecure an Obedience to the moral 
 Law by better Hopes, or ftronger Fears ; 
 lince the Gofpel has taken in all the Hopes 
 and Fears of Nature, and confirmed them by 
 the irreverfible Decree of God, who hath 
 appointed a Day in which he will judge the 
 World by the Man Chriji Jefus. 
 
 Is it for Inftrucflion that you recur to the 
 Light of Nature ? Would you thence learn 
 the true Notions of Virtue and Juftice, and 
 fee the Image of Holinefs in its native Puri- 
 ty, ftripped of the falfe Ornaments and Dif- 
 guifes of Superftition and Ignorance ? Would 
 you know what is the pure and acceptable 
 Service to be paid to the Great Creator, or 
 what are the juft Bounds and Limits of the 
 relative Duties between Man and Man ? Look 
 into the Gofpel, and there you will find all 
 the moral Duties fairly tranfcribed, and de- 
 duced from the two great Principles of Na- 
 ture, the Love of God, and the Love of your 
 Neighbour. There you may be intruded 
 how to worfliip God in Spirit and Truth, and 
 
 how 
 
336 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 how to love your Brother without Diffimula- 
 tion. There is no Precept of Virtue laid 
 down in the Gofpel which Nature can rejedt ; 
 there is none which Nature teaches, that the 
 Gofpel has not explained and enforced. You 
 cannot therefore forfake the Gofpel, in hopes 
 of finding a purer Religion elfewhere. 
 
 Many have complained that the Terrors 
 of the Lord, fet forth in the Gofpel of Chrift, 
 are too rigid and fevere, and hardly recon- 
 cileable with the Benignity of the Divine Na- 
 ture; and have therefore fought to fkreen 
 themfelves under a milder Sentence, denoun- 
 ced, as they think, by the Voice of Reafon 
 and Nature : But did you ever hear that any 
 one rejected the Gofpel, that he might fecure 
 the Practice of Virtue upon a Foundation of 
 better Hopes and Fears, that fhould with a 
 more powerful Influence fubdue the Minds of 
 Men to the Obedience of Holinefs ? Many 
 have lamented the Stridlnefs of the Gofpel 
 Morality, the Laws of which require fo 
 great Perfedion, that Man muft hardly hope 
 to attain to it ; and have therefore recurred 
 to the Law of Nature, not as a more perfedl, 
 but as a more equitable Rule of Juflice ; 
 hoping to find, under the Protedlion of 
 Nature, that Liberty and Allowance to their 
 
 Infirmities, 
 
DISCOURSE XiV. 33^ 
 
 Infirmities^ which theGofpel has precluded. 
 But do you know the Man that ever defpifed 
 the Gofpel for the ImmoraHty of its Precepts, 
 or left it that he might be more chafte, more 
 temperate, more charitable, than the Laws of 
 Chrifl required he fhould be ? If not, let any 
 one judge what Purpofes a Man ferves, when 
 he endeavours, on one Side, to bring down 
 the Precepts of Morality from the Stridlnefs 
 of the Gofpel, and to give greater Liberty 
 and Freedom to the Inclinations of the 
 World ; and, on the other Side, to weaken 
 the Reftraints laid on the Paffions by the 
 Terrors of the Chriftian Law> by difcarding 
 the Fears of perpetual Punifhment. Is the 
 Caufe of Religion to be thus fupported ? Will 
 the World be better, when lefs Holinefs is 
 required of them, and when even what is 
 required becomes lefs neceifary to be per- 
 formed, by removing the Danger of tranf- 
 greffing ? Is it for the fake of Virtue that 
 Men plead the Caufe of Libertinifm, and 
 endeavour to make void thofe Laws of Ghrifl:^ 
 which are moft uneafy to Flefh and Blood ? 
 Is it to make Men better than they are, that 
 you tell them the Danger of Sinning is lefs 
 than they apprehend, much lefs than the Ri- 
 gor of the Gofpel declares it to be ? And yet 
 VoL.IIL 2 theft 
 
338 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 thefe are the Views upon which thofe aflr, 
 who retreat from the Gofpel with the great- 
 eft Shew of Reafon and Moderation : Thefe 
 are the Pretences of fuch as would not be 
 thought to throw off all Regard to Religion, 
 but only to feek a better, I doubt they mean 
 an eafier Form. And what is it that creates 
 the Avcrfion to the Light which is held forth 
 to them, and makes them chufe to retire, if 
 not to the total Darknefs of heathen iili Igno- 
 rance, yet to the Shadesof Natural Religion, 
 if not this which the Text has affigned, be^ 
 cauje their Deeds are evil? You may think 
 perhaps that I have forgot one great Objeffion 
 w^hich fuch Men have againft the Gofpel, 
 and which may be entertained without fup- 
 pofing their Deeds to be evil ; namely, that 
 they cannot be reconciled to the Myfteries of 
 the Gofpel, or to thofe Inftitutions of it, 
 which are upon no I'oot of Reafon any Part 
 of true Religion. In aniwer to which I can 
 only fay at prefent, that thofe who make the 
 Objedtion are either not in earneft^ or elfe 
 they are unacquainted with the Power of the 
 Gofpel. It is true, the Gofpel has taught us 
 'Thinps, w^iich by Nature we could net 
 know; but they are all defigned to conlirm 
 and ftren^then our Hope in God, and to give 
 
 us 
 
DISCOURSE XIV* 339 
 
 us the fulled Affurance of his Mercy. It is 
 true alfo, that there are in the Gofpel fome 
 Inftitutions, which in their own Nature are 
 no conftituent Parts of Religion -, but then 
 they are fuch only as are neceflary to enable 
 us to do our Dut)^by conveying new Supplies 
 of fpirituai Strength to us, for want of which 
 we were unable, in the State of Nature> to 
 extricate ourfelves from the Bonds of Ini* 
 quity. Thefe are the Additions which the 
 Gofpel has made to Religion. Our blefled 
 Saviour faw that the Hopes of Nature were 
 obfcured, and therefore he did, by wonder- 
 ful Revelations, bring Life and Immortality 
 to Light again : He faw that her Powers 
 were decayed, fo that (he could not refift 
 Evil, and therefore he fupplied the Defed: 
 by the Affiftance of his Holy Spirit. If you 
 are not willing to reap the Benefit, at leaft 
 forgive his Kindnefs ; and do not think the 
 worfe of him, or his Religion, becaufe of 
 the great Provifion he has made in it for your 
 Security. But I haften to a Conclufion, and 
 (hall but briefly apply what has been faid 
 on this Subjedh 
 
 What I would chiefly fuggeft to your Con-* 
 fideration !s this : That the Gofpel of Jefus 
 Chrifl: bcine recommended to vou, as founded 
 
 Z 2 in 
 
340 DISCOURSE XIV. 
 
 in the exprefs Revelation of God, carries with 
 it fuch an Authority, as cannot with Safety 
 to yourfeh'es be defpifed or negledled. It is 
 not an indifferent Matter whether you re- 
 ceive it or no 5 for if the Gofpel be truly 
 what it is faid to be, whether you will re- 
 ceive it, or whether you rejeft it, you 
 fhall moft certainly be judged by the Tenor 
 of it. I do not propofe this Confideration as 
 neceffirily determining your Choice to the 
 Gofpel, iince the Pretences of the Gofpel to 
 Divine Authority ftill lie under your Exami- 
 nation : But thus far the Confideration goes, 
 to fhew you how neceflary it is to deal in this 
 Matter with all Sincerity and Truth, and to 
 try the Caufe impartially; Iince, if the Gofpel 
 be the Word of God, it is Death to forfake 
 it. It is Want of Refledion that makes 
 Men think Religion is a Thing fo perfedly 
 in their own Power, that they may chufe 
 where and how they pleafe, without being 
 accountable for the Choice they make, pro- 
 vided only they live up to the Terms of it. 
 For, in truth, Religion, properly and ftridly 
 fo called, admits of no Choice : It does not 
 lie before you to confider whether you (hall 
 love God or no, or whether you fliall love 
 your Neighbour or no : You have no Choice 
 
 whether 
 
DISCOURSE XIV. 341 
 
 whether you will be fober, temperate and 
 chafle, or otherwife; for in thefe ellential 
 Parts of Religion you muft either obey, or 
 perifli. But the Weaknefs and Corruption 
 of Man making it neceflary for God to inter- 
 pofe by a new Declaration of his Will, the 
 only Difpute is of the Truth and Authority 
 of this new Declaration. If it indeed comes 
 from God, it cannot be fafe to rejedt it : And 
 whether it does or no, it is abfurd to rejedl 
 it without weighing its Merit. This there- 
 fore is, of all others, the moft weighty and 
 ferious Matter, and requires the Exercife of 
 your moft compofed Thoughts. For, if you 
 wantonly or perverfly refufe the Gift of God, 
 this will be your Condemnation:, That Light 
 is come into the World y and you loved Dark- 
 nefs rather than Light. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
,JOi^.»^,^,Xk,^,^,JX„>^^,^JKr^r^r^^^ JOk<^ ^,*^^ 
 
 # # 
 
 # # 
 
 * # 
 
 *(h *€ 5He 
 
 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 ^€>€*#€^€*®#S*®#M* 
 
 John v. 44. 
 
 How can ye believe^ which receive Honour 
 one of another^ and feek not the Honour 
 that Cometh from God only ? 
 
 ?^J^#$?^"^HE chief Exercife of Reafon 
 ^^j^?-^^ confifts in difpofing and regu- 
 
 f'^s^ f^ lating our Actions, fo as to 
 ^oc^^§ render them fubfervient to the 
 bnd or hiappinels v/hich we 
 propofe to obtain. And though perhaps, 
 with refpeft to the great Numbers of Men 
 in the World, but few in comparifon chufe 
 well for themfelves, and fewer ftill purfue 
 wifely and ileadily the Good they chufe; 
 yet all Men have fomething which is the 
 Objedl of their Defires, and are endea- 
 vouring to attain their Wiili by fome Means 
 Z 4 or 
 
344 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 or other. When we chufe ill for ourfclvcs^ 
 the more Wit and Dexterity we have to 
 compafs our Defigns, the nearer we are tq 
 Ruin, the more inevitable is our De(lrud:ion. 
 Our beft Adions, when direfted to ill Purr 
 pofes, become criminal, and leave nothing 
 behind them, but the foul Stain of Hypo- 
 crify upon our Confciences. 
 
 This general Truth might ealily be illuf- 
 trated by many particular Inftances from 
 common Life. There is nothing more com- 
 mendable than a Spirit of Beneficence, and 
 an Inclination to do good to our Fellqwr 
 Creatures : But when the Air of Beneficence 
 is aflumed merely to carry on private Views^ 
 when an Inclination to do good is profefled 
 only to promote our own Defigns, and to 
 make our Way the eafier to Wealth or Ho- 
 pour, what is it but Fraud and Deceit ? 
 
 If civil Virtue thus lofe5 its Name and 
 Nature by being miftpplied. Religion does fo 
 much more. The R4an who aims at Repur 
 tation and Intereft under the Difguife of 
 Religion, affronts God, and abufes the World, 
 and lays up for himfelf certain Ruin, the juft 
 Reward of thofe who have the Form of Godr 
 lincfsi denying the Power thereof. 
 
 But 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 345 
 
 But there ar.e Degrees in this Vice, as in 
 pioft othei> and Men oftentimes adt under the 
 Influence of ir, without being confcious to 
 jhemfelvcs of fo much Bafenefl;^, as delerves to 
 be branded with the Name of Hypocrify. 
 Pride, Vanity, and Self-love, naturally give 
 a Tincflure of Hypocrify to Men's Behaviour; 
 they lead thern to congeal whatever the World 
 diflikes, and to make a Shew of whatever 
 the World honours and admires. In the 
 common Affairs of Life, where Virtue and 
 Morality are not direftly concerned, it may 
 be very right perhaps to comply with the 
 World : But when our Vanity, and Love of 
 Praife and Reputation, come to influence us 
 in Matters of Religion, they will ever give a 
 wrong Turn to our Minds, and difable us 
 from doing Juflice to our own Reafon in 
 judging between Truth and Falihood. 
 
 This was the Cafe of thofe to whom our 
 Saviour in the Text applies himfelf : He had 
 done among themfuch Works as never Man didy 
 to thefe he appeals as an Evidence that he 
 came from the Father : T^he Works which the 
 'pat her hath given me tojinijl.^i the fame Works 
 ^hatldof hear Witnefs of me^ that the Father 
 hathfmt me. He appeals like wife to the an- 
 tient Scriptures, thofe Oracles of God, com- 
 
 mitt^ 
 
346 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 mittedto the Jews: Search the Scriptures, for 
 In them ye think ye have eternal Life , and they 
 are they which tejiify of me. If ye fufpecS 
 that I have any Views or Defigns of my own, 
 and that I fpeak in the Name of God with- 
 out his Commiilion, look to the Works which 
 I do; the Blind receive their Sight, the 
 Dumb their Speech, the Sick and Lame are 
 made found, the Dead are reftored to Life. 
 His Servant I am, whofe Works thefe are; 
 and do ye yourfelves judge from what Hand 
 thefe mighty Things do proceed. If you 
 think that I come to pervert the Law and the 
 Prophets, let the Law and the Prophets judge 
 between us ; I claim no more Authority than 
 they give me : Search therefore the Scrip- 
 tures and fee. A fairer liTue could not be 
 propofed ; fo fair it was, that it had its full 
 EfFed: upon many of the firfl Rank among 
 the Jews, St. John tells us, that among the 
 chief Rulers majiy believed on Fun -y but they 
 made a Secret of their Convidlion, and kept 
 it to themfelves, for fear of being put out of 
 the Synagogue ; For they loved the Praife of 
 Men ntore than the Praife of God. Which 
 lalT: Words are parallel to thofe of the Text, 
 and exprefs the fame Senfe. A Concern to 
 be well v/ith the People made Ibme incapable 
 
 of 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 347 
 
 of Convidion, and made others, notwith- 
 ftanding the Convidlion they were under, 
 diffemble their real Sentiments, and rejed the 
 Authority to which in their own Minds they 
 could not but aflent. 
 
 If we confider the Nature of Religion, it 
 will appear to us why this is, and muft be 
 the Cafe. Religion arifes from the Relati- 
 on we bear to God, and him only it does 
 refped:; and therefore when it is made tQ 
 regard other Obje(5ls, it neceffarily becomes 
 either Idolatry or Hypocrify. He who ferves 
 any other than the God who made him, is 
 an Idolater : He who ferves God with a De- 
 fign to pleafe Men rather than God, is an 
 Hypocrite. And, fince the End wc propofc 
 to ourfelves will alv/ays influence us in the 
 Choice of the Means, whoever propofes to 
 pleafe the World by his Religion, will cer- 
 tainly chufe fuch a Religion as the World 
 approves. Sach an Inquirer can have no 
 Regard for Truth, for he takes his Dired:ion 
 from the Opinion of the World : He con- 
 cerns not himfelf to know, whether Jefus 
 Chrifl be a Prophet approved of God ; he 
 confiders only whether he is approved by 
 the People. It is an old and a very com- 
 mon Obfervation, that the Zeal and Piety of 
 
 Chnilians 
 
348 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 Ghriftians fell into Decay, when the Empire 
 became Chriftian. I am willing to think 
 that the Obfervation is not quite jujfl, and to 
 hope that thofe who were before pious Be- 
 lievers, continued fo after this great Change, 
 and that the Church has, in all Ages fince, 
 had many faithful Members. But true it is, 
 that, when the Powers of the Empire were 
 converted to Chrlft, true Believers had a 
 calmer Paflage through the World, and left 
 not behind them fuch fliining Examples of 
 their Zeal, as the Times of Perfecution al- 
 ways afforded. But the great and vifible 
 Alteration was, that when the Powers of the 
 World came into the Church, they were fol- 
 lowed by all fuch as loved the Praife of Men 
 fnore tba?t the Praife of God. Whoever pro- 
 feffed himfelf a Chriftian in the Times of 
 Trial and Perfecution, gave to others great 
 Evidence of his being a fincere Believer, and 
 had great Ground of Confidence in himfelf, 
 that his Heart was right with God: But, 
 fmce the Days of Profperity, Profefiion is be- 
 come a lefs certain Sign of true Faith ; and 
 Men, not being called to the Proof by others, 
 nor very readily calling themfelves to a flridt 
 Account, have lefs Reafou for Confidence 
 ^^id Afiuranqe in themfelves. The Timp 
 
 therefore 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 349 
 
 therefore may be profitably employed in 
 finding feme Rules by which Men may 
 examine themfelves, and judge, whether they 
 receive Honour one of another, or do feek 
 the Honour which cometh from God only. 
 In order to this, I fhall inquire, 
 
 Firft, In what Senfe the receiving Honour 
 from Men is condemned in the Text. 
 
 Secondly, What is meant by feeking the 
 Honour which cometh fro?n God only. 
 
 Thirdly, What are the Marks by which 
 Men may try themfelves upon thefe Articles. 
 
 Firfl:, I fhall inquire in what Senfe the 
 receiving Honour from Men is condemned in 
 the Text. 
 
 The Apoftle St. Paul has given it for a 
 Rule, that we ought to render Horiour to 
 whom Honour is due : And, as fome Degree 
 of Honour and Refpedl is due to all Men, 
 St. Peter has given the Precept in general 
 Terms, Honour all Men, Since then all Men 
 are obliged to pay this Due, mod certain it 
 is, that all to whom Honour is due may very 
 innocently receive it ; nay farther, they may 
 very juftly expedl and require it. A Father 
 from his Son, a Mailer from his Servant or 
 Scholar, a King from his Subjects, all who 
 are in Authority from thofe under them, have 
 
 a Right 
 
350 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 a Right to demand the Refped: and Honour 
 that is due to their refpedive Stations and 
 Charaders. Befides, Men who ftand in 
 none of thefe Relations to us, have often a 
 juft Title to Refped: and Honour from us 
 upon Account of their prefent Qualifications ; 
 as Learning, Virtue and Wifdom, ought to be 
 refpefted where-ever they are found. Since 
 then ail Honour that is due muft be paid, 
 and may be received, it is evident that the 
 Honour, mentioned in the Text, is fuch as is 
 due to no Man, and which for that Reafon 
 ought never to be paid, nor received. 
 
 It is very evident, that in the Text, and in 
 the parallel Place of St. 'John already quoted, 
 there is an Oppofition between the Praife 
 of Men, and the Praife of God ; and that 
 the yews zvQ. condemned, as preferring the 
 Praife and Good-will of Men to the Praife 
 and Good-will of God. Now certain it is, 
 that no Honour can be due to Man, that is 
 inconfiftent with the Honour which we 
 owe to God ; and we cannot be innocent, 
 whilil we fjcrifice the Good-will of God to 
 the Vanity of being well fpoken of in the 
 World. When Men a6l contrary to the 
 Truth, and their known Duty, in Compli- 
 ance with the World, it is plain they are more 
 
 concerned 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 351 
 
 concerned for their Intereft with the World, 
 than for their Intereft with God ; and this is, 
 in the Language of our Saviour, to receive 
 Honour one from another^ and to negleB the 
 Ho7iour which cometh from God only. We 
 have an Inftance of this Conduct in the 
 twenty- fourth of the A5ls ; As Paulreafoned 
 of Right eoufnefs^ Temperance ^ a?2d Judgment 
 to come, Felix trembled^ and anf were dy Go thy 
 way for this Time ; when I have a convenient 
 Seafony I will call for thee. You fee the na- 
 tural Working of Confcience, and the Power 
 of Convidion : A fbber, ferious Difcourfe 
 upon the great fundamental Points of Reli- 
 gion threw the Governor into a Fit of trem- 
 bling, and made him unable to bear the 
 Prefence of his Prifoner. Had this Light 
 been cheriflied and encouraged, what noble 
 Fruits might it have prbduced ? But the Love 
 of the World prevailed : The Governor often 
 communed with St. Paid, but it was in hopes 
 of getting Money of him for his Releaie. 
 When this Hope failed, he permitted the 
 Preacher of Righteoufnefs, Temperance, and 
 Judgment to come, to continue in Piiibn 
 two Years; and, when he left the Govern- 
 ment, he left Paul bounds being willi/igy as 
 the TextexprclTes it, to few the Jews a Pica- 
 
 fure. 
 
352 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 fure^ You fee what Place the Honour o£ 
 God had in this Man's AfFedions : He would 
 have fold both God and the People for Mo- 
 ney 'y but, when no Money was to be had^ 
 he chofe rather to pleafe the People than 
 God; and therefore facrificed his innocent 
 Prifoner, whom in Juflice he ought to have 
 fet free, to the Prejudices and Refentments 
 of the Jewip Nation. Many denied Chrift^ 
 for the fame Reafon that Felix left St. Paul 
 bound, t/oat they might JJdcw the People a Plea-' 
 fiirey and thereby become acceptable to them* 
 Truth and Juflice muft always fuffer, as long 
 as Men determine their Choice by Coniide- 
 rations of their temporal Intereft. Thefe 
 Confiderations arc (b apt to overbear thd 
 Judgment, that our Saviour fpeaks of them 
 in the Text^ as if they put Men under a 
 moral Impoflibility of acknowledging the 
 Truth s How can ye believe^ who receive 
 Honour one of another y and feek not the Ho-^ 
 naur that comet h from God only ? 
 
 Secondly, We are to inquire vv'hat is n^eant 
 \^yjeekin^ the Honour which comethfro?n God 
 mly* 
 
 Them that honour me, I will honour y faith 
 tlie Lord y and they that defpife 7ne, JJjall be 
 lightly efuemed* The only Way therefore to 
 
 feek 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 353 
 
 feek Honour from God, is by paying to God 
 the Honour that is due to him. A fincere 
 Regard to Truth and Juftice is the trueft Ho- 
 nour, indeed the only Honour we can pay to 
 God. All external Signs of Regard to Godi 
 though exprefied in the very Method prefcri- 
 bed by himfelf, become empty Shews, unlefs 
 they proceed from an honeft Heart. Under 
 the Law, Circumcifion was the Seal of the 
 Covenant, and under the Gofpel, Baptifm 
 fucceeds in its place. They were both or- 
 dained by God 5 yet of the firfl St. Pau/hzs 
 faid. He is not a yew, which is one outwardly i 
 rieither is that Circumcijion, which is outward, 
 in the Flefn : But he is a Jew, which is one 
 inwardly ; and Circirmcijion is that of the 
 Hearty in the Spirit, and not in the Letter^ 
 whofe Praife is not of Men, but of God, And 
 of the fecond St. Peter has faid, Baptifm doth 
 ?20wfave us -, not the putting away the Filth of 
 the Fief J, hut the Anfwer of a good Confcience 
 towards God, But this Matter is direcflly 
 conlidered and fettled by our blelled Lord in 
 his Sermon on the Mount. In treating on 
 the great Duties of Religion, Almfgiving, 
 Prayer, and Failing, he expounds to us v/hat 
 it is to feek the Praife of Men, and what to 
 feek the Praife of God, and fets before us 
 Vol, IIL A a the 
 
354 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 the Confequences on both Sides. T^ake heed 9 
 fays he, that you do not your Alms before Men^ 
 to befeen of them -, otherwifeye have no Reward 
 of your Father which is in Heaven, Therefore 
 ivhen thou doeft thine AlmSy do 720t found a 
 Trumpet before thee, as the Hypocrites do, i?z 
 the Synagogues, and in the Streets, that they 
 .may have Glory of Men : Verily I fay unto you ^ 
 They have their Reward, But when thoudoejl 
 Alms, let not thy left Hand know what thy 
 right Hand doth, that tlmie Alms may be in 
 fecret', and thy Father which feet h infecret, 
 himfelf fnall reward thee openly. The Hke In- 
 jundtions he gives us with refped: to Prayer 
 Slid Falling ; and fliews us in every Inflance, 
 that to have Regard to Men, and the good 
 Opinion of the World, in the performing of 
 religious Duties, will entitle us to no higher 
 a Reward than the Praife of Men. God 
 will not hold himfelf obliged, nor can he in 
 Juftice be thought obliged, to reward thofe 
 Works^, which are offered up as an Incenfe 
 to the World, without Regard or Refped: to 
 himfelf. If we feek the Praife of God, we 
 muft confider only what will pleafe him, and 
 put the World quite out of the queflion. 
 
 As it is in practical Duties, fo is it in Faith 
 likewife : He who profeifes to believe in 
 
 Ch rift 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 355 
 
 Ghrift, merely becaufe tlie World about hint 
 is in the fame Profeffion, may obtain per- 
 haps the Eafe, the Honours, or the Riches 
 which he aims at; and let him make the 
 moft of them, he has his Reward ; for his 
 temporal Faith will procure him no Praife or 
 Honour from God. If you chufe a Religion 
 with an Intention to fave your Soul, you 
 muft chufe that which will render you moft 
 acceptable to God^ however it may expofe 
 you to the Frowns of the World. Thus it 
 is you mudfeek the Honour which comethfrom 
 God only. 
 
 How differently Men will adl in Matters 
 of Religion, when they feek the Praife of 
 Men, and when they feek the Praife of God, 
 may eafily be coUedted from the Knowledge 
 we have of God and the World, and the 
 Meafures that are neceffary to pleafe them ; 
 but I chufe to place it before you in fome 
 Inftances recorded in Scripture. We read iii 
 the feventh of St. ^ohuy that many of the 
 People believed on J ejus ^ and/aid. When Chrifi 
 Cometh, fiall he do more Miracles than thefe, 
 which this Man hath done ? The Pharifees 
 were alarmed at this Defection of the People ; 
 and to prevent the Growth of the Evil, they 
 with the Chief Priefts fend Officers to ferzc 
 A a 2 our 
 
356 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 our Lord : But the Officers, inflead of bring- 
 ing their Prifoner, return full of Admiration 
 of him and his Dodrine, and tell their Maf- 
 ters, T^hat never Man fpake like this Ma?t. 
 The Pharifees found their Officers were be- 
 come Believers, and they reproved them, 
 faying, Arc ye aJfo deceived? But the only 
 Argument they gave them was this. Have 
 any of the Rulers, or of the Pharifees, believed 
 on him ? But this People, who knoweth not the 
 Law, are ciufed. What Convidion this Ar- 
 gument produced we know not : Silence it 
 produced at leall:, for we hear of no Reply 
 that the Officers made. In the twelfth of 
 St. foh?! we read, that among the Chief 
 Rulers many believed on Clirift, but they 
 did not confefs him 5 and here the Reafon is 
 given, they v/ere afraid left they JJjoiild be put 
 out of the Synagogue. 
 
 On the other Side, when the Apoflles 
 Peter and John were in Cuftody, and under 
 Examination of the Chief Rulers, and were 
 commanded to teach no more in the Name 
 of Jefus, they anhvered boldly, Whether it 
 be right in the Sight of God, to hearken unto 
 you more than unto God, fudge ye. This Dif- 
 ference of Behaviour is plainly accounted for 
 in the Text. Peter and John confidered 
 
 what 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 357 
 
 what was right in the Sight of God; the 
 believing Rulers thought on their Intereft in 
 the Synagogue, and confidered what was 
 right in. the Sight of Men : One fought the 
 Praife of God, the other the Praife of Men. 
 How different were their Principles and their 
 Adlionsj how different alfo their Rewards ! 
 The Diffimulation of the 'jews prefcrved to 
 them a Place in'the Synagogue ; the generous 
 Confeffion of the Apoftles will give them a 
 Place that fhall abide for ever in Glory and 
 Immortality. I proceed now to confider. 
 
 Thirdly, Hov/ we may examine ourfelves 
 upon this Subjecl, and know whether we 
 receive Honour from Men, or feek the Ho- 
 nour that comes from God only. 
 
 All Times do not afford the fame Trials of 
 Faith and Sincerity, yet there is no Time but 
 has fome. If Perfecution ceafes, Profperity 
 has its Temptations ; and it is perhaps as hard 
 to deny ourfelves the Honours and Glories 
 of the World, as it is to fubmit to the Af- 
 flidlions of it. St. Paul tells us, that there 
 muji be Herejies among us, that they which are 
 approved may be made manifeji. When the 
 Heathens could no longer exercife their 
 Cruelty againft Chriffians, the external Peace 
 of the Church was followed by internal D'\^ 
 A a 3 vilions 
 
358 DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 vifions and Contentions. The great Arian 
 Controveriy arofe much about the Time that 
 the Empire became Chnfliian, and it yielded 
 as fevere Trials to Ciiriflians, as they had 
 ever before experienced. The Povi^ers of 
 tte Empire were fometimes on one Side, 
 and fometimes on the other Side of theCon- 
 troverfy. What Influence it had on the 
 Faith of the World, a Man of very moderate 
 Experience in the World may eafily colleft. 
 I will not carry this Ohfervatio.n into parti- 
 cular Inflaiices, or bring it aay nearer to our 
 own Times, than by reminding you, that 
 every Age has afforded this Trial to Chri- 
 flians ; and there always is, and will be, Rea- 
 fon for Men, who would guard the Since- 
 rity of their Hearts, to inquire how far they 
 }can to the World, and court its Favours, by 
 the Opinions which they embrace and pro- 
 fe.fs under the Appearance of Religion. Whe- 
 ther vour Opinion be true or falfe, yet if you 
 maintain it in Compliment to the World, you 
 l^now your Reward, the World mult pay 
 you: Your Fatiier, who fcetn in fecret, has 
 no Pveward for fuch Believers, What the 
 portion of thofe muit be, who are refjived, 
 at all adventures, to be well with the World, 
 and to give no Offence eitner to the Great or 
 
 to 
 
DISCOURSE XV. 359 
 
 to the Wicked by their Virtue or Religion, 
 our Saviour has plainly told us, TFo unto you, 
 when all Men pall /peak ivell of you. 
 
 But farther : Times of Eafe and Profpe- 
 rity, though attended with no other Evil, yet 
 naturally abound in Vice, and a Negledt of 
 the Things pertaining to Salvation : And it 
 is counted a very wife Thing to fit ftill, and 
 give way to the Torrent, and not to create 
 ourfelves and others Trouble by oppofing a 
 general Corruption : And perhaps it may be 
 wife. But, I befeech you, is it Wifdom to- 
 wards God, or Wifdom towards the World ? 
 Is it feeking that Honour which comes from 
 above, or the Honour which comes from 
 Men ? Can you imagine that the Man, who 
 has not Courage enough to venture a little of 
 his Eafe and worldly Tranquillity by expref- 
 fing his Refentment at the Corruptions that 
 furround him, would have Refolution enough 
 to expofe his Life in a Day of Trial for the 
 fake of the Religion which he profeifes ? 
 
 Let us examine ourfelves on this Head : If 
 we think it an happy Choice to facrifice the 
 Honour of God, and of ReligioUj to a cor- 
 rupt Generation, and to ikreen ourfelves from 
 the Indignation of the World by a profeffed 
 Indifference, is it not diredly preferring the 
 A a 4 Good- 
 
36o DISCOURSE XV. 
 
 Good-will of Men to the Good- will of God ? 
 And can we complain, if we are left to feek 
 our Recompence from the World, whofe 
 Servants we are ? 
 
 In a word : Whenever Men adl in Oppo- 
 fition to the Truth, or diffemble the Truth 
 in Compliance with the World ; when they 
 wink at Iniquity, and make a Way for it to 
 efcape with Impunity ; when they give Cre- 
 dit to Vice and Irreligion by a profefied In- 
 difference, and help to eilablifh Iniquity by 
 affeding to feem eafy and contented under 
 the Grov/th of it : In all thefe Cafes, the 
 Words of the Text belong to them^ ^^^^J 
 receive Honour one of another, a?id feek 7iot 
 the Honour whlcb comethfromfiod onjy. 
 
 DISCOURS 
 

 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 Mark viii. 38. 
 
 JVhofoever thereforejhallhe aflja7?2edofme, and 
 of my Wordsy in this adulterous andfmful 
 Generation y of hi?n afofhallthe Son of Alan 
 be ajhamedy when he comet h in the Glory cf 
 his Father y with the holy Angels. 
 
 ^^^€N^ T the thirty-fourth Verfe of this 
 €}^^5f Chapter our Lord, having cali- 
 fs ^ 5| ed the People and his Difciplcs 
 W V^^"^^^ to him, declares openly to theni 
 upon what Terms the Profefiioii 
 of the Gofpel was to be undertaken. He 
 allures them not by the Hopes of temporal 
 Profperi ty, nor promiles any Countenance or 
 Affiltance from the Great and Powerful -, but 
 foretels them of the Evils and Calamities that 
 
 lliould 
 
352 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 fliould attend his Followers, and of the Suf- 
 ferings prepared for them in this Life ; 
 againfl which the Providence of God ftands 
 not engaged for their Protecflion, fmce his 
 Will is, that all the Faithful fliould, after the 
 Example of the Author and Captain of their 
 Salvation, be made perfed- through Suffer- 
 ing. Whofoever, fays our Lord, will come 
 dfter 7726, let hir7i deny hi772felfy a7id take up his 
 Crofsy and follow me. How ftrong the Ex- 
 prefTion of de7iying hi?72felf is, and how much 
 it includes, we learn from the next Verfe, 
 where our Saviour himfelf extends it even to 
 the parting with our Lives for bis and the 
 GofpeFs fake : Whofoever willfave his Life, 
 flyjill lofe it ', but whofoever fd all lofe his Life 
 for 7ny fake and the Gofpel'sy the fame fhall 
 fave it. 
 
 You fee, by comparing thefe Paflages to- 
 gether, that the Text immediately relates to 
 the Times of Perfecution, and expreffes the 
 Duty of a Chriftian to refift even unto Blood 
 in Maintenance of his holy Religion, when- 
 ever the Providence of God calls him to fuch 
 Trial. This indeed is not our Cafe at pre- 
 fent, and therefore I fliall not fpend the Time 
 in fortifying your Minds againfl Terrors, re- 
 moved, I hope, at a great Diflance from us : 
 
 6u? 
 
DISCOURSE XVL 363 
 
 But it muft be owned, that an adulterous 
 and finful Generation has more Ways than 
 one of making Men afliamed of Chrifl:, and 
 of his Words. Though our Eyes have not 
 beheld any frightful Scenes of Perfecution, 
 yet we have (ccn, and daily fee, many who 
 are afhamed of Chrift. If the Temptation 
 to this Crime be now lefs than in Times of 
 Diilrefs, the Guilt is certainly greater, and 
 in Equity the Punifhment muit be fo too. 
 Which Reafon will bring the Threatening 
 of the Text home to every Man, who, in 
 Compliance with a corrupt Age, does either 
 wickedly rejed, or hafely diiTemble the Faith 
 of the Gofpel. 
 
 But that we may not raihly accufe either 
 the Age in general, or any Men in particular, 
 pf this great Crime, but rather open a Way 
 by which Men may eaiily examine their own 
 Confciences upon this Head, and avoid the 
 like Evil for the future ; let us, 
 
 Firil, Inquire into the Nature of the Crime 
 of bei?2g ajl:amed of Cbrif ajid of his Words ; 
 and. 
 
 Secondly, Into the feveral Temptations 
 that lead to it. 
 
 The Duty oppofed to this Crime is ex- 
 preffed in the Language of Scripture by 
 
 confefjing 
 
364 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 corifejjing Ch^ijl before Me7i ; and therefore to 
 be afbamed oj\Cbrijl and of his Wordy is to 
 deny or dlfcwn Chrift and his Doctrine be- 
 fore Men. In this Language both Parts are 
 expreiTed in the tenth of St. Matthew : Who- 
 foever, fays our Lord, JJjall confefs ?2ie before 
 Men, him will I confefs alfo before my Father 
 which is in Heaven, But whofoever fioall deny 
 me before Men^ him will I alfo de?iy before my 
 Father which is in Heaven. 
 
 If we were under no Obligation to confefs 
 Chrift before the World, there would be no 
 Iniquity in diffcmbling our Knowledge of 
 him, we might keep our Faith and our Re- 
 ligion to ouifclves, and by fo doing avoid 
 many Inconveniencies to which the open and 
 fincere Profeffors of the Gofpel are often- 
 times expofed. There have not wanted fome, 
 in all Times, to juftify the Prudence of 
 concealing our religious Sentiments, -and to 
 encourage Men to live well with the World, 
 in an outward Compliance with the Cuftoms 
 and Opinions of thofe about them, provided 
 their Hearts he right with God, and fincere 
 in the inward Belief of his Truth. To fup- 
 poit this Dodlrine, we are called upon to 
 remember that Religion is, in the Nature of 
 the Thing, internal, and has its Seat and 
 I Refidencq 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 365 
 
 Refidence in the Heart, and not in the Lips 
 or Tongues of Men : That our Virtue and 
 Obedience will be eftimated by our Integrity, 
 and not by the outward Shews and Profef- 
 fions which we make : That God, who 
 knows the Heart, will judge us by it at the 
 laft : That, confequently, the only Concern 
 of Religion is to purify the Heart; and, iince 
 the World has nothing to do with our Hearts, 
 we owe it no Account of our Religion ; and 
 may lawfully keep from them all Knowledge 
 in a Matter where they have, where they 
 can have, no Cognizance. 
 
 To this Plea, another is likewife added. 
 That to fuppofe it neceffary for Men to own 
 the religious Sentiments of their Hearts at 
 the Peril of their Lives, is making God a 
 very hard Mafter, requiring of us a Service 
 of no Value, at the Expence of all that is 
 dear and valuable to us in this World. What 
 does our Confeffion avail Him, who has a 
 furer Way of judging us than by the Words 
 of our Mouth ? Or what does it avail the 
 World, thofe efpecially to whom it is to be 
 made, who are hardened and paft Convidion, 
 and ftand with the Sword uplifted to deftroy 
 us the Moment we confefs the Truth ? 
 
 It is no Wonder that Flefh and Blood 
 ihould furniili fome plaufible Excufes for 
 
 declining 
 
366 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 declining a Duty lb very hard to pradife, 
 when it comes to the Cafes of the laft Ex- 
 tremity : Bat yet thefe are but Excufes, and 
 founded in Ignorance of the Nature of Re-^ 
 ligion, and of the great Ends to be ferved 
 by it. 
 
 Were we to eftimate our Religion by the 
 Service or Benefit done to God, we might 
 part with it all at once : He gets no more by 
 the Sincerity of our Hearts, than by our 
 outward Profeffions ; and therefore upon this 
 \^iew we may bid adieu to both. If you 
 think, however, that there is fomething in 
 inward Sincerity that is agreeable in his Sight, 
 that renders Men acceptable to him, I won- 
 der, at the fame time, you fliould not think 
 Hypocrify and Diffimulation with the World 
 odious in his Sight, and fuch Vices as will 
 render us deteflable to him. To fuppofe 
 inward Sincerity confiftent with an external 
 Hypocrify toward the World, is itfelf a very 
 great Abfurdity. For what is Hypocrify ? Is 
 it not profefiing one thing, and meaning an- 
 other ? And is not this the very Cafe, when 
 a Man, fuppofed to be right in his Faith 
 towards God, denies his Faith before the 
 World ? Yes, you will fay ; but this is only 
 diilembling towards the World, and not 
 towards God. I befeech you, whence this 
 
 Diftindion .? 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 367 
 
 Diftindion? What is diffembling towards 
 God ? Was ever any Man fo foolilli, as to 
 imagine that he could indeed deceive God by 
 any kind of Diffimulation ? No Hypocrite 
 can have this Notion. If he is an Atheift, 
 he has no Thought of deceiving God, whofe 
 very Being he denies. If he is not an Atheifl, 
 he muft needs know fo much of God, as 
 to know it to be impofiible for him to im- 
 pofe on God. Hypocrify therefore has no 
 higher Aim than to deceive the Wcrld; and 
 whoever denies the Religion he believes in 
 his Heart, or profeffes one which he does not 
 believe, is a formal Hypocrite, and fubjed: to 
 all the Charges and Penalties brought againfl 
 Hypocrify in Holy Writ. So that fuppofing 
 a Man obliged to fay any thing about his 
 Religion, he muft neceffarily fay the Truth, 
 or be liable to the Pains of Hypocrify and 
 Diffimulation. 
 
 But it may be farther afked perhaps. How 
 comes it to be neceffary for a Man to fay any 
 thing about his Religion ? How comes Con- 
 feffion with the Mouth to be made a Term of 
 Salvation in the Gofpel ? Is net Religion a 
 Tranfadlion between God and every Man's 
 own Soul ; how come the reft of the World 
 then to be concerned about my Religion ? 
 I What 
 
368 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 What Right have they to inquire about it? 
 Or where is the Reafon, why 1 ihould be 
 bound to inform them concerning it by an 
 open Profeffion of my Behef ? 
 
 To come to a clear Refolution of this 
 Quellion, we mufl coniider the Nature of 
 Religion, and the Ends propofed to be ferved 
 by it. For, if Religion be nothing elfe but 
 a fecret Tranfadion between God and the 
 Soul of Man, no Reafon can be affigned why 
 v/e il:iould publiih to the World an Affair in 
 which they have no Concern. But the Cafe 
 is otherwife; for though nothing is properly 
 Religion but as it refpeds God, yet, gene- 
 rally fpeaking, the Duties of Religion regard 
 this World, and have a very great Influence 
 upon the Well-being of it. We muft have 
 u very ftrange Notion of God, if we can 
 imagine that he requires any Duty of us 
 merely for his own fake. What can he get 
 by our Service ? What additional Glory and 
 Honour can accrue to the eternal Godhead 
 from our Prayers or Praifes ? 
 
 When God made us reafonable Ci'eatures, 
 he made us capable of knowing and obeying 
 him. The great Character in which he ap- 
 pears to us of Governor of the World, is 
 that which demands our Obedience: And 
 
 confequently 
 
Discourse xvi. 369 
 
 t'onfequently Religion is a Principle of Obe- 
 dience to God, as Governor of the World; 
 It cannot therefore poffibly be a mere fecret 
 Concern between God and every Man's Con- 
 fcience, fince it refpedls him in fo public at 
 Character, and muft extend to every Thing 
 in which God, as Governor of the World, is 
 fuppofed to be concerned. To deny a Prince's 
 Authority in his own Dominions is a Degree 
 of Treafon; and if Religion does in truth 
 refpedt God as Governor of the World, to 
 own his Authority in the World muft needs 
 be the principal Article of it. For furely it 
 is impoffible to pay the proper Refpedl and 
 Obedience which is due to the Governor «f 
 the World, whilft w^e deny him, in the Face 
 of the World, to be the Governor of it^ 
 Thus from the Nature of Religion it appears, 
 that to profefs our Belief and Faith in God 
 as Governor of the World is an effential Ar- 
 ticle, vvuthout the Obfervance of which we 
 can by no means pretend to be religious. 
 
 But farther : If any religious Obedience be 
 due to God as Governor of the World, it 
 muft principally conlift in promoting the 
 great End of his Government. We can ne- 
 ver be obedient Subjects to any Government, 
 Tvhilft we endeavour to difturb all the Ends 
 
 VoL.IIL Bb and 
 
370 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 and Defigns which fuch Government was 
 ordained to promote. Now fuppofe the End 
 of God's Government of the World, with 
 refped: to the rational Part of it, to be what- 
 ever your Reafon fliall fuggeft to you, certain 
 it is, that whoever teaches and encourages 
 Men to deny God to be Governor of the 
 World, and this every Man does who refufes 
 to own him as fuch, does, in the moft effec- 
 tual Manner, difturb the End of his Govern- 
 ment : And this is abfolutely inconfiftent 
 with Religion, if Religion be a Principle of 
 Obedience to God as Governor of the World. 
 Again : If it be really, as it is, impoffiblc 
 for us to do God any private Service by which 
 he may be the better, it is very abfurd to 
 imagine that Religion can confift, or be pre- 
 ferved by any fecret Belief or Opinion, how 
 cordially foever embraced. What Thanks 
 can be due to you for filently believing God 
 to be the Governor of the World, whilft you 
 openly deny it, and in your Adtions difclaim 
 it ? Even this Principle, which is the Foun- 
 dation of all Religion, has nothing of Reli- 
 crion in it, io long as it is inadive, and con- 
 iifts in Speculation, without bringing forth 
 Fruits agreeable to fuch aPerfuafion: Much 
 Ie:s can it be Religion, whilfl you openly 
 
 deny 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 3?t 
 
 deny it, and in Words and Adlions difclaiirk 
 it. We can no otherwife fliew our Love or 
 Obedience to God, than by loving our 
 Brethren; for which Reafoil all Duties of 
 Religion, though performed with the greateft 
 Regard to God> have the Good of the World 
 for their immediate Objedl* Which is true, 
 even of thofe Duties, which feem mod 
 diredlly to refpedl the Honour and Glory d 
 God : For, when the Honour of God is 
 promoted in the World, happy is it for the 
 World, for the Benefit and Advantage will 
 all be their own ; and God feeks to be 
 honoured, that his Creatures may be happy ; 
 His own Happinefs wants no Advancement* 
 Now if this be the true Spirit of Religion ; if 
 we have no Way of doing Honour to God, but 
 by teaching his People to know and to obey 
 him, that they may become acceptable in his 
 Sight, and happy in his Favour arid ProteC'- 
 tion; how is it that you conceive that there 
 can be any Religion in a fecret Opinion, in a 
 diffembled Faith, contradided by an opea 
 Denial of God ; which truly is a Difhonour 
 to him, as it tends to make his People forget 
 him, and render themfelves miferable ? 
 
 Laftly, If it be any Part of Religion to 
 
 promote Religion and the Knowledge of God's 
 
 B b 2 Truth 
 
372 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 Truth in the World, it cannot be confident 
 with our Duty to diffetnble, or to deny our 
 Faith. We fee how infectious Example is ; 
 and if we wanted Evidence, this Age (hould 
 witnefs how catching the Spirit of Libertinifm 
 is. The Man who hides his own Religion 
 clofe In his Heart, tempts others, who fufpedt 
 not his Hypocrify, to throw theirs quite out ; 
 and whilfl: he rejoices in this Sheet-Anchor 
 of a pure inward Faith, he fees others who 
 fteer after him make ihipwreck of their 
 Faith and their Salvation. And if he can in 
 the mean time think himfelf innocent, and 
 void of Offence towards God and towards 
 Man, his Underftanding is as unaccountable 
 as his Faith. 
 
 Thefe Reafons, I think, will entitle me 
 to conclude, that it is Part of every Man's 
 Religion to own the Faith and Hope that is 
 in him : That it is abfurd to have any Reli- 
 ance upon a fecret Faith, which is of no Ufe 
 to him who has it, as long as it is kept fecret ; 
 and whenever fuch Faith is openly contra- 
 dided or denied, it may aggravate, but never 
 can atone for the Hypocrify. 
 
 I have hitherto fpoken in general of deny- ^ 
 ing God, and his Truth ; and have reafoned 
 upon the Nature of Religion in general, in 
 
 order 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 373 
 
 order to come at my Concluiion. The Text 
 indeed fpeaks particularly of being afliamed 
 of Chrift, and of his Word ; but then it 
 fpeaks to fuch as believe in Chrift, for others 
 are not liable to the Charge of being afhamed 
 of him : The very Nature of the Crime here 
 mentioned fuppofes a Faith in the Gofpel. 
 Now, to every Believer in Chrift, and in his 
 Words, the Arguments already ufed are di- 
 re<5tly applicable. If we believe him to have 
 received all Power from the Father, and that 
 he is our Governor, and fliall be our Judge, 
 there is the fame Reafon to profefs this Faith, 
 the fame Danger in diilembling it, as our 
 Faith in God, confidered as Governor of the 
 World. If we receive the Words of Chrift, 
 they are to us the Truths of God, and muft 
 be profefled with the fame Conftancy, or de- 
 nied with the fame Hazard of our Salvation. 
 
 Under this Head I have one Thing more 
 to obferve to you, That there are in this Vice, 
 as indeed in moft others, very different De- 
 grees. While fome were contented to hide 
 themfelves, and difiemble their Acquaintance 
 with Chrift, St. Peter openly denied him, 
 and confirmed it with an Oath, that he knew 
 not the Man. Thus fome for Fear in former 
 Ages, thofe Day3 of Perfegution, denied 
 B b 3 their 
 
374 DISCOURSE XVI, 
 
 their Lord ; and fome in thefe Days, fuch is 
 our unhappy Cafe, are fo vain and conceitedi 
 as to be afhamed of the Lord who bought 
 them, Among thefe, fomc openly blafphemc 
 him ;, others are content to make a Sport of 
 his Religion; whillt a third Sort profefs a 
 Pleafure in fuch Converfation, though their 
 Hearts ache for their Iniquity, but they want 
 the Courage to rebuke even by their Silence 
 the Sin of the Scorner. All thefe are in the 
 Number of thofe who are adiamed of Chrift : 
 To all thefe it f!:iall be one Day faid, I know 
 ye not, For, if this great Woe be threatened 
 to all fuch who, tofave their Lives, deny their 
 Lord, and have the Extremity of their Cafe, 
 the Cruelty of their Enemies, and the natural 
 Infirmities of Men, to plead in their Behalf; 
 Avhat mull: be their Lot, who, for the fame 
 Iniquity, have little more to alledge, than 
 that they did it to pleafe an idle Companion ? 
 But this Confideration will meet us again 
 under the other Head, which is, 
 
 Secondly, To inquire into the feveral 
 Temptations, vv^hich lead Men to this Crime 
 pf being ajharaed of Chj^ijl, and of his Words. 
 The Fountain from which thefe Ten}pta^ 
 tipns fpring is plainly enough defcribed in the 
 Text, 'This adulterous and fmful Generation, 
 
 And 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 375 
 
 And we know full well, that there is not a 
 natural Fear lurking in the Heart of Man, 
 but the World knows how to reach it; not 
 a Paffion, but it has an Enchantment ready 
 for it; noWeaknefs, no Vanity, but it knows 
 how to lay hold of it : So that all our natural 
 Hopes and Fears, our Paffions, our In- 
 firmities, are liable to be drawn into the Con- 
 ipiracy againft Chrift, and his Word. Now 
 you fee the Source of thefe Temptations, it is 
 eafy to conceive how many, and in their 
 Kinds how various they are. But there is 
 one Diftindlion to be made, with refpedl to 
 tnefe Temptations, well worth our obfcrving : 
 Some there are which purfue us, and fome 
 there are which we purfue : To the one Sort 
 we unwillingly refign our Faith and our Re- 
 ligion, driven thereunto by Fears and Terrors, 
 or by Pains and Torments, which we are 
 not able to endure. This is the Cafe of fuch 
 as fall inTimesof Perfecutidn j and we, who 
 are Men of like Paffions, cannot but commi- 
 ferate their Condition, and plead in their 
 Behalf the common Excufe, which belono-s 
 to the whole Race, of Weaknefs and In- 
 firmity. But the other Kind of Temptations 
 come upon our Invitation : We make our 
 Faith a Sacrifice to the great Idol, the World, 
 B b 4 when 
 
376 DISCOURSE XVL 
 
 when we part with it for Honour, Wealthy 
 or Pleafure. In this Circumftance Men take 
 Pains to fhew how httle they value their 
 Reh'gion, and feek Occafions to difplay their 
 Lihertinilh and Infidehty, in order to make 
 their Way to the Favour of a corrupt an4 
 degenerate Age. This Behaviour admits of 
 no Excufe. Thefe are they, who, properly 
 fpeaking, love the World more than God 
 and his Ghrifl; and let us not envy them the 
 Love of the World, for they will firld it a 
 dear Purchafe at the lall:. 
 
 But whenever Infidelity grows into Credit 
 and Repute, and the World has fo vitiated a 
 Tafte, as to efteem the Symptoms of Irreli- 
 gion as Signs of a good Underftanding an^ 
 found Judgment ; when there is fo little 
 Senfe of ferious Things left, that a Man 
 cannot appear to be in earned concerned for 
 his Religion without being thought a Fool, 
 or fufpefted to be a Knave ; then there arife$ 
 another Temptation to make Men afhamed of 
 Chrift, and pf his Word. No Man likes to 
 be deipifed by thofe about him ; and he who 
 wants perhaps neither Riches nor Honour, 
 wants however to live in Credit, and in good 
 Efteem with his Acquaintance, and to pre-: 
 ferve at lead the Charader of a Man of Senfe 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 377 
 
 ^nd Underftanding. How this general and 
 almoft natural Inclination muft work, when^ 
 ever the Age is fo far debauched, as to efleem 
 Irreligion a fure Sign of a good UnderftaHid- 
 ing, is eafily conceived. Thofe who have a 
 large Share of Vanity will be drawn in to 
 approve and encourage, to admire and imi- 
 tate the much celebrated Freedom of think- 
 ing; for fo it is called, though, properly 
 fpeaking, it might more truly he ftyled a 
 Freedom of talking. Others will be tempted 
 to fit ffill, and give way to the Humour 
 of the World; and will carefully hide their 
 Faith in their Hearts, for fear any Signs of 
 it (hould appear to the utter Difcredit of their 
 Underftanding. This is, this always will be, 
 the Cafe in fuch Circumftances. But what 
 muft be done ? may fome fay ; Muft we fe- 
 f lude ourfelves from Converiluion, or muft 
 we fet up to reprove and rebnke every idle 
 Word we hear? If we do, our Company will 
 foon leave us, though we leave not them. 
 Wonderful Difficulties thefe ! So hard, it 
 feems, it is to refrain from the Company of 
 thofe, who make a Mock of Sin ! An Hard- 
 fliip which a good Man would chufe, and 
 which every bad one muft chufe, if ever he 
 intends to forfake the Error of his Ways. 
 I There 
 
378 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 There is a Contagion in ill Company, and 
 he who dwells with the Scorner fhall not be 
 guiltlefs. But, fince thefe Difficulties appear 
 fo great, compare them with the real Hard- 
 fhips that furrounded the Chriftians of the 
 firft Ages : They lived in Perils, on all Sides 
 were Terrors, within were Fears, without 
 was Death. In thefe Circumftances they 
 were called to confefs Chrift in the Face of 
 an enraged and cruel World ; and the Rule 
 given them to go by was. Not to fear thofe, 
 who could kill the Body only, but to fear 
 Him, who could deftroy both Body and Soul 
 everlaftingly. If this was their Rule under 
 fuch real Difficulties, what muft be yours 
 under fuch pretended ones ? If they were 
 not permitted to fear the Rage of Kings and 
 Princes, fhall you be excufed for fearing the 
 Scorn or the Refentment of a light Com- 
 panion ? If they were called to brave the 
 Sword, and to look every Image of Death 
 boldly in the Face ; fhall you find Pity,. 
 becauie you were afraid perhaps of being 
 laughed at, and defpifed by thofe who are 
 void of Underftanding ? 
 
 But not to infifl upon this, which may 
 perhaps be too high a Degree of Virtue for 
 the Times we live in, let us come lower : If 
 
 vou 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 379 
 
 you care not to be a Reprover or Rebuker of 
 this Iniquity, yet furely there is noNccefiity 
 for you to be an Admirer or Encourager of 
 it : It is no great Sacrifice you make to Chrift, 
 when you refign your Share of the Applaufe, 
 which belongs to thofe who perfecute and 
 blafpheme him. In a word : Confider with 
 yourfelves that ReHgion is, of all others, the 
 moft ferious Concern. If its Pretenfions are 
 founded in Truth, it is Life to embrace them, 
 it is Death to defpife them. We cannot in 
 this Cafe ftand neuter : We cannot ferve two 
 Maftersi w^e muft hold to the one, and de- 
 fpife the other. If we confefs Chrift before 
 Men, be will alfo confefs us before God, and 
 his holy Angels : If we deny him before 
 Men, he will deny us at the laft Day, when 
 he fliall come in the Glory of his Father to 
 judge the World. 
 
 Had our Lord been merely a Teacher of 
 good Things, without any fpecial Commif- 
 fion or Authority from the great Creator and 
 Governor of the World, it would have been 
 highly abfurd to affume to himfelf this great 
 Prerogative of being owned and acknow- 
 ledged before Men. Several have from the 
 Light of Reafon taught many good LeiTons 
 to the V/orld : But are we bound to take 
 
 every 
 
38o DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 every reafonable Man, who recommends tht 
 Practice of Virtue, for our Mafter ? to own 
 his Authority at the Peril of our Lives ? No 
 Man ever thought fo. Socrates taught many, 
 great Things to the Greeks before Chrift came 
 into the World. If he followed Reafon, he 
 did well ; and we fhall do well to follow it 
 too, and farther we have no Concern with 
 him. But, if there be any Truth at all in the 
 Gofpel, the Cafe is far otherwife with refpedl 
 to our bleffed Redeemer ; we muft own his 
 Authority, we muft confefs him before the 
 World, be the Danger of fo-doing ever fo 
 great or extreme. Whence arifes this Obli- 
 'gation? It cannot reft merely upon this, 
 that he was a Teacher of Reafon and good 
 Morality ; for in that Cafe it would be fuffi- 
 pient to fubmit to the Reafon and the Rules 
 of Morality which he taught, without con-^ 
 cerning ourfelves with his Authority, which 
 was no more than what Reafon and Virtue 
 give every Man. But the Cafe with us is 
 otherwife : Our Lord requires of us, that we 
 (liould confefs him before Men; and has de- 
 clared, that if we deny him before the World, 
 he will deny us in the Prefence of God and 
 his holy Angels, when he comes tojudge the 
 Quick and the Dead. Confider what manner 
 ^ of 
 
DISCOURSE XVI. 381 
 
 of Perfon is this, who requires fo much at 
 our Hands. If he is indeed the Son of 
 God ; if all Power in Heaven and Earth is 
 given him by the Father; if he is conftituted 
 by God Judge of all Men, there is a clear 
 Reafon to juftify his Demand, and our Obe- 
 dience : But if he was only a mere Teacher 
 of Morality and Religion, how is he to be 
 juftified in pretending to be the only Son of 
 God, in pretending to have all Power given 
 him in Heaven and Earth, and to be appoint- 
 ed Judge of all Men ? You muft either own 
 him under thefe Charafters, or you muft 
 condemn him as an Impoftor for claiming 
 them. How far thofe who are willing to 
 admit Chrift to be a good Teacher, but 
 refufe to acknowledge him in any other 
 Charader, are chargeable with feeing this 
 Confequence, I know not -, nor can I fee, if 
 they confider it, how they can avoid it. 
 
 When therefore we read that our Lord 
 requires of us to confefs him before Men, 
 the true Way to know what we are to con- 
 fefs, is to refledt what he confefTed himfelf ; 
 for it cannot be fuppofed that he thought it 
 reafonable for himfelf to make one Con- 
 feffion, and for his Difciples and Servants to 
 make another. Lgok then into the Gofpel, 
 
 and 
 
382 DISCOURSE XVI. 
 
 and fee his own Confeffion : He confeffed 
 himfelf to be the only Son of God; to come 
 from the Bofom of the Father to die for the 
 Sins of the World; to have all Power given 
 to him in Heaven and Earth; to be the 
 Judge of the World. When you have 
 weighed thefe Things, read his Words, and 
 judge what your Duty is : Whofoever Jhall be 
 aJJoamedofme, andof my Words ^ in this adul- 
 terous and fmful Generation^ of him alfo Jhall 
 the Son of Man be ajljamedy when he comet h 
 in the Glory of his Father^ with the holy 
 Angels. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 t1^<J*?*^*^4*^<J^^^^^«<^^<J*^4€&€§«§ 
 
 2 Corinthians v. io, ir. 
 
 We muji all appear before the "Judgment -feat 
 of Chrijly that every one 7nay receive the 
 'Things done in his Body, according to that 
 he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 
 
 Knowing therefore the Terrors of the Lor dp 
 we perfuade Men. 
 
 fy^^&€^i: is the Privilege and diftin- 
 l^^^i guiOiing Character of a rational 
 f^ ^ ^f Being to be able to look forward 
 
 k^^^SS '"^'' F^.t^^ity^ and to confider 
 his Ad:ions, not only with re- 
 fped: to the prefent Advantage or Difad- 
 vantage arifmg from them, but to view them 
 in their Confequences through all the Parts 
 of Time in vi^hich himfclf may pofllbly exift. 
 If therefore we \'aUie the Privilege of being 
 2 reafonable 
 
384. DISCOURSE XVli. 
 
 reafonable Creatures, the only Way to pre- 
 ferve it, is to make ufe of it 3 and by ex- 
 tending our Views into all the Scenes of 
 Futurity, in which we ourfelves muft bear 
 a Part, to lay the Foundation of folid and 
 durable Happinefs. 
 
 By the Exercife of this Power of Reafon, 
 the Wifeft among the Fleathens difcoveredy 
 that there was Ground for Men to have 
 Expedlations beyond this Life. They faw 
 plainly that themfelves, and all Things that 
 fell under their Obfervation, were dependent 
 Beings on the Will and Power of him who 
 formed them; and when they fought to 
 find him, they were led by a neceffary Chain 
 of Reafoning to the Acknowledgment of a 
 fapreme, independent,intelligent Being. They 
 faw in every Part of the Creation evident 
 Marks of his Power, Wifdom, and Good-* 
 nefs : They difcerned that all the inanimate 
 Farts of the World a£ted perpetually in Sub- 
 miffion to the Law of their Creation ; the 
 Sun and all the Hoft of Heaven were conftant 
 to their Courfes ; and, in every other Part, 
 the Powers of Nature were duly and regu- 
 larly exerted for the Prefervation of the pre- 
 fent Syftem : Among Men only they found 
 Diiorder aad Confufion. That they had 
 
 Reafon, 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 385 
 
 Reafon, was plain ; that they were intended 
 to live according to Reafon, could not be 
 doubted ; and yet they faw Virtue often dif- 
 trelTed and abandoned to all the Evils of 
 Life, Vice triumphant, and the World every- 
 where fubjed to the Violence of Pride and 
 Ambition. How to account for this they 
 knew not : This only they could obferve, 
 that Man was endowed with a Freedom 
 in ading, which the other Beings of the 
 lower World wanted ; and to this they 
 rightly afcribed the Diforders to be found in 
 this Part of the Creation. But though this 
 accounted for the Growth of Evil, yet it 
 rendered no Account of the Juftice or Good- 
 nefs of God in permitting Vice oftentimes to 
 reign here in Glory, whilft Virtue fuffered in 
 Diftrefs. Upon thefe Confiderations they 
 concluded, that there muft be another State 
 after this, in which all the prefent Inequa- 
 lities in the Adminiflration of Providence 
 fhould be fet right, and every Man receive 
 according to his Works. 
 
 This was, this is the Ground of our natu- 
 ral Expectation of a Life after this. But upon 
 this Ground of Truth many Fables and Sto- 
 ries were raifed, by Fear and Superftition, 
 and by the Power of Imagination : So that 
 
 Vol. IIL Cg the 
 
386 DISCOURSE XVII, 
 
 the general Belief, though right in its Foun - 
 dation, yet in almoft all the Particulars of it 
 was rendered ridiculous and abfurd. Hence 
 it is, that among the Writers of Antiquity, 
 we fometimes find wife Men ridiculins the 
 Follies and Superflitions of the People, and 
 bad Men always arguing from thefe Follies 
 againil the very Notion itfelf, and calling in 
 queltion the Reality of any future State. 
 
 Under thefe Circumftances of the World, 
 our bleffed Lord appeared to bring to Light 
 Life and Immortality through the GofpeL 
 Let us then confider how this fundamental 
 Article of Religion now Hands upon the Foot 
 of the Gofpel Revelation. 
 
 As to the principal Point, there is no Dif- 
 ference between the Hopes conveyed to us in 
 the Gofpel, and the Expectation built upon 
 natural Reafon : For, as the wifefl Men 
 thought there mufl be, {o the Gofpel allures 
 us there v/ill be, a Day in which God u-ill 
 judge the World in Righteoi/fnefs, and render to 
 every Man according to his Works. Thus far 
 then the Dodrine of the Gofpel and tlie 
 Diftates of natural Reafon muft Hand or fall 
 together. If this Dodtrine has had a larger 
 and more extenfive Influence through the 
 Authority of the Gofpel^ than it could have 
 
 bad 
 
DISCOURSE XVIL 387 
 
 had by the mere Force of fpeculative Reafon- 
 ing, the World has received an Advartage. 
 by the Encouragement given to Virtue, and 
 the Reflraint laid upon Vice by thefe Means, 
 which ought ever to be acknowledged with 
 Thankfulnefs. 
 
 But the Gofpel has added to this Dodrine, 
 and communicated to us the Knowledo-e of 
 fbme Circumftances, which were not difco- 
 verable but by the Means of Revelation j and 
 they are principally thefe : That there fliall 
 be'a Refurreftion of the Body; That Chrift 
 fhall be Judge of the World i That the Re- 
 wards and Punifliments in another Life fliall 
 be in Proportion to cur Behaviour in this. 
 
 I (hall fpeak briefly to thefe Particulars, 
 and fliew for what Purpofe they were re- 
 vealed. 
 
 Firft, The Refurreftion of the Body was 
 revealed to give all Men a plain and a fen- 
 fible Notion of their being fubjed: to a future 
 Judgment. Death is the Deflrudion of the 
 Man ; and fure we are that the lifelefs Body 
 is no Man; and whatever Notions fomcTiiay 
 have of the Soul in its State of feparate Ex- 
 iftence, yet a mere Spirit is not a Man ; for 
 Man is made of Soul and Body : And there- 
 fore to bring the Man into Judgment to 
 C c 2 anfvver 
 
388 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 anfwer for his Deeds, the Soul and the Body 
 muft be brought together again. This Doc- 
 trine, eftabhihed upon the Authority of the 
 Gofpel, does not remove all Prejudices of the 
 Cafe, when examined by the fliort and fcanty 
 Notions we have of the Powers of Nature ^ 
 bat it effedually removes all Difficulties that 
 afied this Belief, confidered with refpecl to 
 Religion and Morality. For the fingle Point 
 in which Religion is concerned, is to know 
 whether Men fhall be accountable hereafter 
 for their Adions here. Reafcn tells us they 
 ought to be fo : J^ut a great Difficulty arifes 
 from the Diflolution of the Man by Death j 
 a Difficulty followed by endlefs Speculations 
 upon the Nature of the Soul, of its feparate 
 Exiilence, of its Guilt in this feparate State 
 with refpecl to Crimes committed in another, 
 ^nd in Conjundion with the Body, and by 
 other Difficulties of the like kind. But take 
 in the Declaration of the Gofpel, that Soul 
 and Body ffiall be as certainly united at the 
 Refurredion as they were divided by Death, 
 and every Man be himfelf again ; and there 
 is no more Difficulty in conceiving that 
 Men may be judged for their Iniquities 
 hereafter, than there is in conceiving tiiat 
 they may be judged here, when they offend 
 * againft the Laws of the Country. 
 
 2 ' But 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 389 
 
 But ftill there are Prejudices remaining: 
 To lome it is incredible that the Dead fliould 
 be raifed. To thefe we anfwer, upon the 
 Foot of the Goipel Evidence, That the Dead 
 have been railed; upon the Foot of Reafon, 
 That it is altogether as credible, that God 
 fliould be able to raife the Dead to Life a 
 fecond Time, as that he was able to give 
 them Life at firft. There is no Difference 
 in the Cafes -, they are Afts of one and the 
 very fame Power. 
 
 But we are farther alked, What Body fhall 
 be raifed, fince no Man has exactly the fame 
 Body two Days together? New Parts are 
 perpetually added by Nutrition, old ones car- 
 ried off by Perfpiration : So that in the Com- 
 pafs of a few Years an human Body may be 
 almoft totally altered, and be no more the 
 fame than a Ship which has been fo often 
 repaired, that no Part of the original Mate- 
 rials is left. But this Objedtion, as plaufible 
 as it may feem, has nothing to do in the pre- 
 fent Cafe ; for Religion is concerned only to 
 preferve the Identity or Samenefs of the Per- 
 fon, as the Objed of future Judgment; and 
 has nothing to do with that kind of Identity 
 againft which the Objedion can be (uppofed 
 
 C c 3 to 
 
390 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 to have any Force. Were the Cafe other- 
 wife, the Difficulty would be really as great 
 in human Judgments in this Life, as in the 
 divine Judgment hereafter. Suppofe a Man 
 fhould commit Murder when he was twenty, 
 and not be difcovered till he was fixty, and 
 then brought to Trial ; would common Senfe 
 admit him to plead that he was not the fame 
 Perfon who committed the Fad:; and to 
 alledge, in Proof of it, the Alterations in his 
 Body for the laft forty Years ? Suppofe then 
 that, inilead of being difcovered at fixty, he 
 fhould die at fixty; and fliould rife either 
 with the Body he had at fixty, or twenty, or 
 in any intermediate Time, would not the 
 Cafe be jufl the fame with refpedl to the 
 future Judgment ? Evidently it would be the 
 fame : Which fhews that the i\rticle of the 
 Refurredion, as far as it is a Support of 
 Religion, and of a future Judgment, itands 
 quite clear of this Difficulty. 
 
 But the Prejudices which affed Men moft, 
 when they coniider this Article of the Refur- 
 redion, arife fi'om the weakeft of all Imagi- 
 nations, that they can judge from the fettled 
 Laws and Courfe of Nature, what is or is not 
 poffible to the Power of God. It is very true, 
 
 that 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 391 
 
 that all oar Powers are bounded by the 
 Laws of Nature ; but does it follow that his 
 Power muft be fo bounded, who appointed 
 thefe Laws of Nature, and could have ap- 
 pointed others> if he had thought proper ? 
 We cannot raife a dead Body ; our Hands 
 are tied up by the Laws of Nature, which 
 we cannot furpafs. Neither can we make or 
 create a new Man ; but we certainly know, 
 from Reafon and Experience, that there is 
 One who can : And what can induce us to 
 fuppofe that He cannot give Life to a Body 
 a fecond Time, who we certainly know gave 
 Life to it at firfl ? Thefe Prejudices there- 
 fore we may fafely refer to the Power of the 
 Almighty, to which all Nature is obedient, 
 and upon which we may fecurely depend for 
 the Performance of divine Promifes, how 
 unpromifing foever the Circumftances may 
 feem to be which attend them. When the 
 Sadducees denied the Refurredlion, our Sa- 
 viour told them, Te do err^ not hiocwing the 
 Scriptures^ nor the Power of God: Intimating 
 plainly, that for the Security and Certainty 
 of our Refurred:ion we mud truft to Scrip- 
 ture, and the Declaration of God's Purpofe 
 contained therein ; and for the Method and 
 C c 4 Means 
 
392 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 Means of bringing this great Work to pafs 
 we mujft rely on the Power of God. 
 
 But whatever Difficulties of this kind may 
 remain, yet this Article has removed all 
 which lie in the Way of our confidering 
 ourfelves as accountable Creatures, and fub- 
 jefl: to the future Judgment of God. What- 
 ever you may imagine to be the State of 
 feparate Souls; whatever Difficulties may 
 arife in confidering a mere Spirit as account- 
 able for the Adions of this compound Being 
 Man, they are all out of the queftion. It is 
 not a mere Spirit, but the Man himfelf, who 
 is to be brought to Judgment 5 and plain Senfe 
 muft fee and acknowledge the Reafonablenefs 
 of judging a Man hereafter for the Crimes 
 committed in this Life; as evidently as it fees 
 the Reafonablenefs of judging him here, 
 when his Crimes happen to be detected. So 
 that the Revelation in this Particular has 
 brought Faith and common Senfe to a per- 
 fect Agreement. 
 
 Secondly, The Gofpel Revelation has made 
 known to us, that Chriil: fhall be Judge of 
 the World. 
 
 Our Saviour tells us, that the Father judg* 
 eth no Mariy but hath committed all Judgment 
 
 to 
 
DISCOURSE XVIL 393 
 
 to the Sony John v. 22. And again: The 
 Father hath given him Authority to execute 
 Judgfnent, becaiife he is the Son ofMan^ ver. 27. 
 And St. Peter declares, that the Apoftles 
 had it exprefsly in their Commiffion to pub- 
 lilTi this Dodrine to all the World : He com^ 
 manded us to preach unto the People, and to 
 tejiify that it is He which was ordained of God 
 to be the "Judge of S^uick and Dead, Adls x. 
 42. Accordingly St. PauU in his fhort Dif- 
 courfe to the Men oi Athens y fully inftrufted 
 them in this material Point : God hath ap^ 
 pointed a Day in the which he will judge the 
 World in Right eoiifiefsy by the Man whom he 
 hath ordained y whereof he hath given AJJurance 
 unto all Meny in that he hath raifed him fr 0771 
 the Deady Adls xvii. 31. 
 
 I will not multiply Texts to this Purpofe, 
 though many more there are which fpeak 
 the fame Senfe, becaufe this Dodrine is very 
 well known to Chriftians, and is Part of the 
 Creed which we daily rehearfe. 
 
 But it is material to obferve, that this Au- 
 thority is given to Chrift, becaufe he is the Son 
 of Many as he himfelf has aflured us; and 
 that the Perfon ordained to be Judge is a 
 Man, even the Man whom God raifed from 
 
 t/je 
 
394 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 the Deady as St. Paid aflerts. How happy 
 is it for us to have a Judge, I had almoft faid 
 fo partial, but I may well fay fo favourable 
 to us, that he was content to be hhnfelf the 
 Sacrifice to redeem us from the Puniiliment 
 due to our Sins ? When we confider ourfelves 
 how wretched and weak we are, how perpe- 
 tually doing wrong either wilfully or igno- 
 rantly, and contemplate the infinite Majefiy, 
 Holinefs and Juflice of God, what Account 
 can we hope to give of ourfelves to him, 
 whofe Eyes are purer than to behold Ini- 
 quity ? But fee, God hath withdrawn his 
 Terrors, and has given a Man to be the Judge 
 of Men. So that we may fay of our Judge, 
 what the Apoftle to the Hebrews fays of our 
 High-Prieft ; We have not a Judge y which 
 cannot be touched with the Feeling of cur In- 
 firmities ; but was in all Things te??2pted like as 
 we are, yet without Sin. 
 
 You may think perhaps that this is draw- 
 ino- Confequences upon the Foot of vulgar 
 Apprehenfions, and that in Reality there is 
 no Difference, whether God be Judge him- 
 felf, or commits the Judgment to the Son of 
 Man : For, fince Chrift (hall come not only 
 in the Power, but in the Wifdom and the 
 
 Juftice 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 395 
 
 Jufticeof God alfo to judge the World, what 
 Difference can there be in the Judgment, fincc 
 in both Cafes it muft be guided and formed 
 by the Wifdom and Juflice of God ? True it 
 is, that a mere Man is not quahfied to be 
 Judge of the Worlds the Knowledge of 
 Hearts is neceffary to the right Difcharge of 
 that Office; a Knowledge which no mere 
 Man was ever endowed with. But ftill, if 
 the Man is to be Judge, the Sentiments, 
 Notions, and Feeling of the Man, however 
 guided and influenced by fuperior Wifdom, 
 muft prefide over aud govern the whole Ac- 
 tion ; otherwife the Man will not be Judge. 
 And hence we may anfwer fome Difficulties, 
 which fpeculative Men have brought into the 
 Subjed of a future Judgment. Some have 
 imagined that Juftice, Mercy and Goodnefs 
 in God are not of the fame kind with Juftice, 
 Mercy and Goodnefs in Men ; and therefore 
 that we can never, from our Notions of theie 
 Qualities in Man, argue confequentially to 
 the Attributes of God, or to the Ads flow- 
 ing from thefe Attributes. The Refult of 
 which is, that when we talkof God's Juftice 
 or Mercy in judging the World, we talk of 
 fomething which we do not underftand. But 
 
 if 
 
396 DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 if Men would confult Scripture, thefe DijSi- 
 culties would not meet them in their Way : 
 For furely we know what Juftice, Mercy and 
 Goodnefs mean among Men ; and fince the 
 Scripture aflures us, that the Man whom God 
 raifed from the Dead is ordained Judge of 
 the World, we may be very certain that the 
 Juftice, Mercy and Goodnefs, to be difplayed 
 in the future Judgment, will be fuch as all 
 Men have a common Senfe and Apprehenfion 
 of; unlefs you can imagine that a new Rule 
 is to be introduced, to which the Judge, and 
 thofe to be judged, are equally Strangers. 
 Upon this Foot of Scripture then we may 
 certainly know, what the Juftice, Mercy and 
 Goodnefs are by which we muft finally ftand 
 or fall; and this Point being fecured, the 
 Speculation may be left to fliift for itfelf. 
 
 And thus you fee how this great and fun- 
 damental Article of Religion, involved in 
 Darknefs in former Ages, is made plain and 
 fenfible to Mankind by the Light of the 
 Gofpel. That Men were accountable, they 
 always knew; that there would be a future 
 Judgment, was generally believed ; but how 
 Men were to appear in Judgment, or how 
 mere unbodied Spirits were to be judged, how 
 
 rewarded. 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 397 
 
 rewarded, or how punlfhed, they knew not. 
 That the Right of judging Men was in God, 
 was well known ; but how he would exercife 
 it, whether by himfelf or another, vifibly or 
 invifibly, they knew not. Infinite were the 
 Difputes upon this Subjed: : Inftead of which 
 the Gofpel has given a plain fenfible Rcpre- 
 fentation, affuring us that at the Judgment 
 we fhall be what we now are, Men, real 
 Men ; and that the Man Chrirt: Jefus, who 
 appeared in the World to redeem us, will 
 appear again to judge us by that very Gofpel, 
 and thofe very Rules, which he has left us 
 to govern and condudl ourfelves by. 
 
 Thirdly, Let us then go one Step farther, 
 and view the Confequences of this Judg- 
 ment; this folemn Judgment, which every 
 Mortal muft undergo. If we confuh either 
 Scripture or Reafon, w^e fhall find no Evi- 
 dence of any farther Change to be made 
 in our future State, after once Judgment has 
 paffed on us. That we are accountable, 
 and fha]l therefore be judged, Reafon fays; 
 but can fee nothing relating to us after Judo-- 
 ment, except the Reward or the Punifh- 
 ment confequent upon it : And there- 
 fore the only Concluiion to be drawn from 
 
 this 
 
398 DISCOURSE XVIL 
 
 this Information is, that the Condition of 
 Man will be finally determined as to Hap- 
 pinefs or Mifery, and confequently that Man 
 muft continue under the good or the bad 
 Effefls of the laft Judgment. 
 
 As Reafon can ihew us nothing beyond 
 Judgment, but that State and Condition 
 which are the Effed: of it ; fo the Holy 
 Scripture has given us Reafon to think that 
 nothing elfe there fhall be, by defcribing 
 the Rewards and Punifhments of another 
 Life, as having perpetual Duration. Life 
 eternal is prepared for the Righteous, and 
 everlafting Punifhment for the Wicked. The 
 Fire prepared to receive them is never to 
 go out, the Worm prepared to torment them 
 will never die. Thefe Images carry great 
 Terror with them^ and have led fome to a 
 milder Interpretation of the Threats of Scrip- 
 ture than the Language of it feems to import. 
 But even the mildefl Interpretation, that 
 allows any Meaning at all to thofe Threats, 
 ilippofes the Punifliment to laft as long as the 
 Sinner lafts. So that in this, the loweft View, 
 our all depends upon the Judgment which 
 fhall be finally paffed on us at the fecond 
 Coming of our Lord. There is then a Jiift- 
 
 nefs 
 
DISCOURSE XVII. 399 
 
 nefs of Thought, as well as great Charity to 
 the Souls of Men, in what the Apoftle adds. 
 Knowing the T^ err or of the Lor dy we perfuade 
 Men. If the Chriflian Revelation has cleared 
 our Doubts, by bringing Life and Immor- 
 tality to Light through the Gofpely if it has 
 given us Ground for Hope and Confidence by 
 affuring us that we fliall be judged by him, 
 who fo loved usy that he gave himfelf for usy 
 and fubmitted to die, that we might live; it 
 has alfo given us Ground to be watchful and 
 careful over ourfelves, and to work out our 
 Salvation with Fear and Trembling. For it 
 is a fearful Thing to be to anfwer for ourfelves 
 before the Searcher of all Hearts \ to anfwer 
 to him who loved us, for defpifing the l^ove 
 he fhewed us; to anfwer to him who died 
 for us, for having crucified him afrefh, and 
 put him to open Shame ; and for having 
 accounted the Blood of the Covenant aa 
 unholy Thing. This will be the fad Cafe of 
 every wilful Sinner. The View of this 
 Mifery and Diflrefs, which Sinners are calling 
 upon themfelves by their Iniquity, moved 
 the Apoftie, and muft ever move thofe who 
 fucceed to his Oihce, to warn Men to fee 
 from the IVrath that is to come. We know 
 
 the 
 
4CO DISCOURSE XVII. 
 
 the Terror cj tbi Lord, and therefore per^ 
 fuade Men. Happy would it be, if Men, 
 knowing and comidering thefe Terrors, 
 would fuitcr thcmfelves to be perliiaded. 
 Which God grant, through Jefus Chrill our 
 Lord : J': ::::/';, ''J:itb tbe Father and the Holy 
 Ghzfty he ajcribed all Honour and Glory y bence-- 
 fort by and for evtrmore. . Anien. 
 
 END cr TKz THIRD VOLUME, 
 
1 
 
 1^