y\ ! 
 
# 
 
A BRIEF 
 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 O F 
 
 PRAYER, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 RELIGIOUS DUTIES 
 
 Appertaining to the 
 
 CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 
 
 For the U S E of common Christians. 
 
 To wliich is added, 
 
 A Discourse on Speech, 
 
 And the Abuses of it: 
 
 Delivered on feveral Sundays at Graf s- Lin Chapel, 
 and publifiied at the Requeft of the Masters of 
 THE Bench. 
 
 5y H E N R Y S T E B B I N G, JD. i:>. 
 
 Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty-, and 
 Preacher to that Honourable Society. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Fletcher Gyles, over-againft 
 
 Grays- Imi, in Holhrn, mdccxxxix. 
 
To the Wo R s H I p F u L the 
 
 Masters of the BENcti 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 HONOURABLE SOCIETY 
 
 O F 
 
 G R JT'S-IN N, 
 
 THESE 
 
 ISCOURSES 
 
 Are Inscribed by 
 
 their mojl obedient 
 humble Servant^ 
 
 H E N RY S T E B B I N 0« 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ^g^ Publifli this Difcourfe, not 
 fe;pt M for the Information orEn- 
 ^^^^ tertainment of the Learn- 
 ed, but (as the Title fpeaks) for 
 the Inftnidion of common Chri- 
 ftians ; thofe more efpecially with 
 whom 1 am concerned as a Parifli 
 Minifter, for whofe Ufe th^ great- 
 eft Part of it was originally drawn 
 up. Its Defign is to fhew the true 
 Grounds of our Salvation by Chrtfi\ 
 and what is that pure, fpiritual Ser- 
 vice, which, as Chriftians, we are 
 bound to pay. The great Negled 
 of God's publick Worfhip, which 
 has been growing for fome Years 
 A 3 pad, 
 
vi P R E F A C E, 
 
 pa ft, no doubt is very much owing 
 toUnbeliet and Corruption of Man- 
 ners; and where this is the Cafe, 
 little Help (I fear) is to be expeded 
 from Reafon and Argument. But 
 there may be an Indifference to. the 
 Gofpd Infcitutions, arifmg from 
 low, difadvantageous Notions of 
 them^ in thofe in whom the Princi- 
 ples of Faith and Moral Virtue are 
 not IoPl j which I apprehend to be 
 a very common Cafe. They who 
 reft every thing upon Moral Vir- 
 tuCj and conftder outward Appoint- 
 ments as naked Sig-ns or Profeffions 
 only (and tliefe Notions have with 
 great Induftry been propagated of 
 late) will be very ant to fall into 
 the Opinion^ that, Virtue fuppofed, 
 the reft is of little Ufe or Confe- 
 quence. But if we confider Sal- 
 vation as the Furchafe of Chnji's 
 Blood ; and the Inftitutions of 
 Chrtfl^ as the Chanels through 
 
 which 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 which (by his Appointment) the 
 Grace of the Gofpel is conveyed 
 to us ,• this cuts off all Pretence : 
 For, upon this Foot, a Refufal to 
 join in the Ufe of thefe Inftituti- 
 ons, will, in Effecl, be a Renun- 
 ciation of our Interest in 
 Chr'tfl^ and a cutting ourfelves off 
 from all Un i o n and C o m m u- 
 N I o N with him. 
 
 It is in this View that I have 
 placed the Chriftian Worfhip ; and 
 therefore I lay my Foundation in 
 the Dodrine of our Redemption 
 by Chr'tfl ; which I have delivered 
 as it lyes in the Scripture, without 
 attending to the laboured Artifices, 
 by which ^\^Soctntan Writers have 
 endeavoured to obfcure and deface 
 it. To enter into thefe Niceties 
 was not agreeable to the Purpofe 
 of this Difcourfe : For how much 
 would common Readers have been 
 the better for it ? They who have 
 A 4 conll- 
 
 Vll 
 
VIU 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 confidered the Soc'iman Interpre- 
 tations, know their Worth; and 
 they who know nothing of them, 
 I may venture to fay, will never 
 feel the Want of them. Subtil 
 Fleads may perplex the cleareft 
 Points; but if any one comes to 
 the reading of the New Tefta- 
 ment, only with his plain natural 
 Senfe about him; whatever Diffi- 
 culties he may find in accounting 
 for the Reafons of God's Provi- 
 dence in faving us by the Blood of 
 his Son, offered as a Sacrifice and 
 ProphmUon for Sin (which is a 
 Point that we are not at all quali- 
 fied to judge of) I verily think it 
 will be iniDoffible for him to doubt 
 whether this be a Scripture Do- 
 &ine or not. 
 
 The principal Parts of the Chri- 
 ilian W^orfhip are Prayer^ and the 
 partaking of the Sacrament of 
 Chr'ijlh Body cind Blood; which 
 
 have 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 have of late been made the Subjed 
 of much learned Difpute. And as 
 Dilputes, howfoever ufeful on fome; 
 Accounts, are apt to unfettle thofe 
 who may not have Leifure or Ca^ 
 pacities to trace Things backward 
 and forward through a long Series 
 of Argumentation; I thought it 
 might give Help to well-meaning 
 Perfons to place the whole before 
 them, in an eafy and familiar Light. 
 And though, in Conformity with 
 this Defign, I have avoided the 
 Formality of ObjeBtons and ^n- 
 fwers ^ and purfued my own 
 Thoughts in a plain and natural 
 Way j yet I have paid fuch Regard 
 to the materia! Points under each 
 Queftion, that, in fo much as is 
 neceffary for common Informa- 
 tion, I hope no one will find Caufe 
 to complain for want of reafonable 
 Satisfadlion. In the Account I have 
 given of the Nature of the Sacra- 
 - ment, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ment, I havx followed Dr. Cud- 
 zvorthj who feems to me to have 
 hit upon the true Notion of it. 
 
 There are tv/o Extreams chiefly 
 to be guarded againft, in refpe6t 
 of the Gofpel Inftitutions. One 
 is a fuperilitious Shynefs; the 
 other, a prefumptuous Familiarity. 
 The flrft is incident only to the 
 beft Difpofitions, v/hofe Concern 
 to do every Thing in the moft ac- 
 ceptable Manner, leads them fome- 
 times into unreafonable Jealoufies, 
 v^'hich either keep them back from 
 God's Ordinances, or take away 
 much of that Comfort which they 
 might otherwife reap from the 
 Ufe of them. 1 have endeavoured 
 to cut off the Occaflons of fuch 
 Scruples, as the Sources from 
 whence they are wont to arife 
 have fallen in my Way j which I 
 thouc^ht fo much the more need- 
 far/, as Enihftfsafm now begins tq 
 
 lift 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 lift up her Head, and many are 
 running after new Inventions. But 
 I think that our greateft Danger, 
 at prefent, lyes on the ether Side. 
 To be over-fcrupulous is not the 
 general Temper of the Age; and 
 therefore I have been large in fhew- 
 ing the Neceflity of a good moral 
 Life to fandify our Devotions, and 
 make them an Offering acceptable 
 in the Sight of God. To give En- 
 couragement to Perfons to join in 
 our publick Worfhip, who bring 
 not with them the due Qualificati- 
 ons, is doinor the worii kind of Dif- 
 Service to Religion; and could I 
 believe that the Inftitutionsof Cbrs/i 
 may be complied with in a Manner 
 agrreeable to the End and Delio!;n of 
 them, by thofe who have not one 
 Grain of true Virtue in them ,♦ I 
 fhould certainly have left the De- 
 fence of them to other Hands. They 
 WQuld-i upon this Suppolition, be 
 
 the 
 
?Kii PREFACE. 
 
 the ufelefs infignificant Things that 
 Unbelievers would gladly have 
 them thought. But if by the En- 
 gagements they lay us under, and 
 the Helps they adminifter, they are 
 Inftruments ferving to a good Life; 
 as this will be a proper Encourage- 
 ment to all ferious Chriftians to be 
 diligent in the Obfervance of them, 
 fo itfhould cure Unbelievers of fome 
 of their Prejudices, when they fee 
 this friendly Alliance between the 
 Gofpel and Natural Religion; if 
 they are in Earneft in their Boaft- 
 ings about Natural Religion, and 
 do not mean all this Talk as a Co- 
 ver for Licentioufnefs. 
 
 The Difcourfe on Speech hath 
 this Affinity with the foregoing 
 Subject, that it contains an Ac- 
 count of one A61 of Relio-ious Wor- 
 fhip, not lefs material than any of 
 the reft, and with refpedl to which. 
 Caution is equally neceffary, il 
 
 Argu- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Arguments could do any thing to 
 hinder the many Profanations of 
 it. I am not vain enough to think 
 that I fhall be able to reform 
 Mankind : But any feafonable At- 
 tempt will not be thought, I hope, 
 unbecoming my Profeffion. And 
 if in but a few Inftances I may be 
 fuccefsful ,• or if what is here of- 
 fered, may help to keep Religion 
 and common Honefty in fome 
 Countenance, in a bad World, I 
 (hall think my Pains well be- 
 flowed. 
 
 xm 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Of Redemption by Christ. 
 
 HE Chrijiia7i Worjhip relative to the Chri- 
 Jiian Do Urine. Natural Religion not the 
 ivhole of Chrijlimiity- HemiJJion of Sin hy 
 the Redemption that is in Jefus Chrift, the 
 proper End cf the Go/pel. All Mankind lofl 
 in Adam. Ajid refiorcd in Chrid. This 
 nvas e^eSed by his Death and Sufferings^ nvherehy he he- 
 came a Sacrifice and Propitiation for the Sins of the World. 
 This DoBrine pro-ved at large from Scripture. Reconcili- 
 ation <wiih God by the Sacrifice of Chrilt, not an ahfolute 
 Ail of Grace, but a Declaration of Pardcn, under the 
 Salifications of Faith and Repentance. Sal-vation at- 
 taitw.ble by thofe nxjho lived before the coming of Chrift in 
 the Elfjh ; and hovj. P'lge I to 3 I <; 
 
 Of pR AY E R. 
 
 Prayer, a Recognition of God as the Creator and Governor 
 of the World; and therefore a ^nery ufeful Means to keep 
 up a general Senfe of Religion. Chrifiian Prayer a Re- 
 cognition of God, not only as our Creator, but as our Re- 
 deemer. Prayer, 'why 7nade a puhlick Duty. The Ejji- 
 cacy cf Prayer, nxhat. It is effcacious only upon Suppcfi- 
 tion that our Prayers are rightly^ qualified. What ought 
 to he the Matter of our Prayers. Cautions under thii 
 Head. With <vjhat Difpofition of Mind w^ ought to 
 fray. Ca tit ions inider this Head. All Things to be ajked 
 in the Name of Chrift. Page 31 to 9 1 . 
 
 Of 
 
CONTENT 1 
 
 Of the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 
 Su PPE R. 
 
 Tlje Sacrament a Memorial of our Redemption hy Chrift ; of 
 nvhich e-very one makes ptiblick ProfeJJtoti, by the ASi of 
 communicating. The Sacrament a Rene-ixal of the Ba.p- 
 tifmal Von.v. The Efficacy of folemn Voivs to engage us to 
 a good Life. A profane Neglect of the Sacrainent, mir- 
 iually, a Renunciation of the Covenant in Chrill:. The 
 TJfe of the Gofpel Ordinances the Ten me upon nuhich ive 
 hold and maintain the Gofpel Pri-uikges. The Sacranie;:i 
 a Means of obtaining the Grace of the Spirit ; and hcnv. 
 Faith in Chrift, as the Redeemer of Mankind, prefuppofed 
 in all nioho receinie the Com?nunion. A njifble Agreement 
 in the Faith, ncceffary to vifible Communion. Repe-titance 
 a neceffary ^ualif cation for the Lord'' s Supper. The Na- 
 ture of this Repentance explained at large. Conjiant 
 Communion urged ; and fuperfitious Notions about Prepa- 
 ration reBified. The nvhole Chriftian Worf^ip a Method 
 of Difcipline training us up to a Chrijli-an Life ; and fer- 
 ^ving to perpetuate the Faith of the Gofpel. Page 9 1 to 1 4 5 . 
 
 Of the Lord's Day. 
 
 A Tranftion from hence to the Duty of obfer'ving religious Sea- 
 fons. The Lord''s Day fet apart early for the publick Wor- 
 fhip of God, and the preaching of his Word. The Necef- 
 fity of publick preaching, under the free Ufe of the Scri- 
 ptures, fpeivn at large. The enjil Confequcnccs of the Neg- 
 le£l of atttnding upon publick Injiruiiion, feen in the gene- 
 ral Decay both of Faith and Morality. Hence the Right 
 of the Chriftian Magiftrate to fe cure the Religious Obfer- 
 'vance of the Lord's Day, by obliging all his Chriftian Snb- 
 jeBs to refort to fome Place for publick Worfnp, and by 
 refraining publick Bufnefs and publick Di<verfons, en- 
 forced. Pri'vate Di-verftons on the Lord''s Day, hoivfar 
 unlanuful. Gaming on the Lord''s Day cenfured. 
 
 Page 145 to 170. 
 
 Of Fasts. 
 
 Fajiing, 7!ot a Cuftofn peculiar to Chriftianity. It Is repre- 
 fented, both in the Old and Ne-w Teftament, as a Ser<vice 
 acceptable to God. Therefn nst to be dejpifd as a mere- 
 
 Super' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ^uperjlition. This Cufom probably oavifig^ not to any di- 
 njtfie Jppointment, but to its natural Correfpondemy 'with 
 a State of Sorronv atid Humiliatiott. Commanded to the 
 Jews on the great Day of Attonement- And thence, pro- 
 bably, by them transferred to all other Occafons, both 
 pub lick atid private, ixshenenjer they thought it fiafonable 
 to humble themfehes before God. The Obligation to faft 
 under the Chrijiian Difpenfation ; of^hat Kind it is. By 
 nvhat Virtue Faffing is an acceptable Service. Its Virtue 
 hes not 7nerely in the Work itfelf, but in the Relation it 
 bears to Repentance aiid a good Life. It hath the Rela- 
 tion both of an Evidence, and of an Infirument ferving to 
 promote Riety. Not of an Atto?iement for Sin. Rafting, 
 a Rra£lice fit to he encouraged in the Chriftian Church. 
 Proved fb from the RraBice of the Apoftles, and the Dif- 
 cipline of the ancient Church, from ivhich our Reformers 
 took it. The Negleii of it in tbefe Days ovjing to the De- 
 cay of Religion. Page i 70 to 185, 
 
 Of Festivals. 
 
 Fefiivals originally taken up from the like Ufages among ft the 
 Jews. Not to the Honour of the Saints confedered as Ob- 
 jeBs of Religious Adoration, but to the Ho?iour of God. 
 This fhenvn from our Lavus. No fpecial divine Precept 
 vecejfary to ju/lijy the appointing Holydays. Common Ob- 
 jeBions againft them anfwered. Feftivals not to be turned 
 into Seafons of Licentioifnefs . Page l 85 to 194. 
 
 Of the Daily Se rvice. 
 
 The daily Serince correfpondent to the Jewifh daily Sacrifice, 
 And of great Advantage to Chriftian Improvement. Not 
 to be expeded from every Chriftian. But a proper Tefti- 
 mony of Gratitude in thofe voho by their Conditions are fet 
 free from great Avocations. The general NegleB of the 
 daily Service the EffeSi of a general Corruption of Man- 
 ners, and an Inlet to Infidelity. The Communion of the 
 Church of England greatly preferable to all other (fepa- 
 rate) Comtnunions, on the Account of the Frequency of its 
 Worjhip. Family Worjhip recommended. Page 194 tozo4 
 
 A DIS- 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Christian Worship. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^ E F o R E I enter upon the Par- 
 ticulars of the Chriflian Wor- 
 (liip, it will be neceflary that 
 1 eive a fhort Account of the 
 Chriflian Dodrine. For the 
 Chriflian Worfhip being founded upon 
 the Chriflian Dodtrine ; without the one, 
 the other cannot be fufficiently under- 
 
 B ilood. 
 
.0/ R E D E M P T I O N h<y 
 
 ftood. By the Chriflian Dodrine I meaii 
 that Doxflrine, or thofe Points of Faith, 
 by which Chriftianity is diftinguiihed from 
 gll other Religions J for in Virtue of this 
 it is, that the Chriflian Worfliip ilands 
 diftingui filed from all other Ways of Wor- 
 iliip. With the Jewijh Religion, ftridly 
 fo called, the Religion of Chrijl hath no- 
 thing in common : For the Law of Mofes 
 (which is properly yudaifm) had its Com- 
 pletion by the coming of Cbriji : But the 
 natural Law, being the eternal Law of 
 God, hath never ceafed, nor can ever 
 ceafe, but muft make an eifential Part of 
 every Religion that is truly fo. We have 
 therefore only to fee in what refped: Chri* 
 flianity ftands diflinguiflied from mere 
 Natural Religion ; for that mere Natural 
 Religion is not the Whole of Chriiliani-. 
 ty, is mofl evident. When Jefus was 
 preaching in Judea, we read, that there 
 came one runnings and kneeled to him^ 
 and ajked. Good Majler, What jhall I do^ 
 that I may inherit eternal Life ? Here 
 iis, \x^ ^he firfl Place, a Profeffion of his 
 Belief in God, and his Expedations of a 
 {utijirq State, which are the two grand 
 
 Points 
 
Jesus Ch r i st. 
 
 Points of Natural Religion ; and if you 
 will attend to what follows, you will find 
 he wanted nothing of a common Virtue. 
 For when 'J ejus fa id — T^hou knowefi the 
 Commandments, do not commit Adultery, 
 do not kill^ do not Jieal, do ?iot bear falfe 
 Wit?iefs, defraud not, honour thy Father 
 and Mother-, he readily anfwered ; All 
 ihefe things have I obferved from my 
 Touth. Our Saviour difputes not this 
 Matter with him, but replies, One T^hing 
 thou LACK EST, go thy Way, fell whatjb- 
 ever thou haft, and give to the Poor, and 
 thou fto alt have Tre afire in Heaven, and 
 come take up the Crofs, and follow me. 
 Mark x. 17, ^c. The Intention of our 
 Saviour in this Anfwer, was to tell him, 
 that allowing him to be the righteous 
 Man he fuppofed himfelf to be, he could 
 not be faved without becoming his Dif- 
 ciple. This was the one Thing he lacked. 
 What was he to get by it ? If nothing, 
 it was a mofl unreafonable Demand upon 
 him, to purchafe nothijig at io great an 
 Expence : For he was to fell all he had 
 (even great 'Pofeffions) and give to the 
 Poor; he was to take up the Crofs, and 
 B 2 follow 
 
^ ^Redemption ^y 
 
 follow Chrijl. Some Advantage therefore^ 
 fome Intereft in God, to fecure to him the 
 Hopes of a better Life, muji be fuppofed 
 to be held forth to him, in his being cal- 
 led upon io follow Chrift. There is ano- 
 ther Paflage in Scripture which comes to 
 the fame Point. Cornelius, a Centurion^ 
 a devout Man, and one that feared God 
 with all his Houfe — faw in a Vifion — 
 an Angel of God comiiig to him, and fay- 
 ing — T!hy Prayers and thine Alms are 
 come up for a Memorial before God-, and 
 now fend Men to Joppa, and call for one 
 Simon, whofe Surname is Peter — He 
 jhall tell thee what thou oughtest to 
 DO, A6t. X. \,^c. Here again Natural 
 Religion is defcribed as fubfifting in all 
 human Perfection, and yet something 
 was ftill to be done. Go but to the next 
 Chapter, where St. Feter rehearfes this 
 Tranfadion to the Apoftles and Brethren, 
 and you will fee what th\sfomethiftg was, 
 for thus the Melfage by the Angel to Cor- 
 nelius is repeated 3 Call for one Simon, 
 whofe Surname is Peter, who JJjall tell 
 thee Words, whereby thou and all thy 
 Houfe Jhall be saved. Cornelius then, 
 
 it 
 
Jesus Christ. 
 
 it feems, was not already faved by his 
 Natural Religion, but was to be faved by 
 his attending to the Dodlrine in which 
 St. Peter had Commiflion to inftrud him. 
 And what this Do(ftrine was, we are told, 
 }^ 42, 43. of the tenth Chapter ; He cotn^ 
 7nanded us to preach unto the People, and 
 to tejiify, that it is he which was ordain d 
 of God to be the fudge of ^lick and 
 Dead — and that through his Natne who- 
 foever believeth in him, fiall receive Re- 
 mission OF Sins. Righteous as thefe Men 
 were, they were not perfe(5t. Salvation 
 there could not therefore be, without Re- 
 million of Sin ; and this they were to pb- 
 tain by Faith in Chriji; \yj following him, 
 and becoming his Difciple. What was 
 their Cafe, was, and is the Cafe of all the 
 World befides. For all have finned, 
 and come fjort of the Glory of God, being 
 juflified freely by his Grace, through the 
 Redemption that is in Jefus Chrift, as 
 St. P^zJ fpeaks, Rom. iii. 23, 24. 
 
 This is the general Advantage we gain 
 by coming to Chrijl, and which we can- 
 not have by mere Natural Religion, viz. 
 RemiiTion of Sin, and the Ailurance of 
 B 3 Eternal 
 
6y R E D E M P T I O N h^ 
 
 Eternal Life by the Redemption that is in 
 Jefus Chriji. It will be necefTary that I 
 enter particularly into the Explanation of 
 this great and leading Article of our 
 Faith. 
 
 To take this Matter from 
 r^io^"' the Beginning, wemuflgoup 
 as high as the Fall of Adam^ 
 who being created to a Life of immortal 
 Happinefs, by Tranfgreffion loft it to him- 
 felf, and to all his Pofterity after him. 
 Now Chriji came to reftore what Adam 
 loft, as will appear from the following 
 Paftages. 
 
 Matt, xviii. 1 1. ^he Son of Man is come 
 to fave that which was loji. 
 
 Rom. V. 19. As hy one Mans Difobedi- 
 ence many were made Sinners-, Jo by the 
 Obedience of one Jh all many be fnade righ- 
 teous — T'hat as Sin hath reigtted unto 
 Death, even Jo might Grace reign through 
 Right eoujhefs unto Eternal Lije by J ejus 
 ChriJl our Lord. 
 
 I Cor. XV. 2 1, 22. By Man came Death, 
 by Man came alfo the ReJiirreBion from 
 the Dead -, for as in Adam all die, even 
 fo in Chriji f:all all be made alive, 
 
 Rom. 
 
JesusChrist. y 
 
 Rom. vi. 23. T^he Wages of^'Si?i is 
 Death } hut the Gift of God is Eternal 
 Life, through fefus Chriji our Lord. 
 
 Here, i. Grace is faid to reign unto 
 Eternal Life, even as Sin reigned unto 
 Death. But Sin reigned unto Death, as, 
 in Confequence of Sin, Death paffed up- 
 on all Me?2. Therefore Grace reigneth 
 unto Eternal Life, as through the Mercies 
 of God Eternal Life is reftored unto all 
 Men. Grace (x'^V-'^) ^^ ^^^ Place figni- 
 fies the Favour of God accepting us to' 
 Eternal Life J which is ilyled the Gift of 
 God, as it ftands diftinguiflied from Debt,- 
 or what we may demand or challenge as 
 our Due ^. 2. The Obedience of Chriji 
 is exprefsly fet forth as the Caufe of this 
 ;Grace, or Acceptance to Eternal Life, 
 uft as the Difobedience of Ada?n was 
 the Reafon why the Sentence of Death 
 paffed upon us. By one Mans Difobedt^ 
 ence many were made Sinners. — By the 
 Obedience of one fhall many be made righ- 
 teous, &c. What now was this Obedi- 
 
 * To him that worketh (i. e doth what the Law requires) 
 is the Reward not reckoned of Grace, but of Debt. Rom. iv. 4. 
 
 B 4 ence ? 
 
S O/'Redemption^); 
 
 cncc ? It was his Obedience in fufFering, 
 and in dying upon the Crofs, by which 
 he made an Attonement and Propitiation 
 for the Sins of the whole World. 
 
 Heb. V. 8. Though he were a Son, yet 
 learfied he Obedience, by the T'hhigs which 
 he fuffered. 
 
 g. And being made perfeSf, he became 
 the Author of eternal Salvation to all 
 them that obey him, 
 
 TeX&tuQsig, being made perfeSl fignifies 
 being made perfect through Sufferings, 
 which was effected by Chrijl\ Death, and 
 not before j as appears from Chap. ii. 
 ^ 10. where the Apoftle having faid, 
 that Chriji was crowned with Glory for the 
 fufferijig of Death, fubjoins ; For it be- 
 came him, for whom are all Things, and 
 by whom are all Things, in bringing many 
 Sons unto Glory (TiXnaa-cu) to make perfeh 
 the Captain of their Salvation through 
 Sufferings. ChriJI therefore was (nXetu- 
 d«V) made perfeB by fuffering Death, in 
 Confequence of which it is here faid, that 
 he became the Author of eternal Salvati- 
 on. For being made perfeSl (i. e. by be- 
 ing made pirfedl) he became, 6cc. This 
 
 will 
 
Je S U S Cu R 1 S T. j 
 
 will be farther fupported by what fol- 
 lows. 
 
 Mat. XX. 28. I'he Son of Man came — 
 to give his Life (kCt^cv) a Ranfom for 
 many. 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 5. T'here is one Mediator be- 
 tiveen God and Alan, the Man Chrijl 
 Jefus, 
 
 6. Who gave himfelf a Ranfom for all, 
 
 AuT^ovj a Ranfom is properly the Price 
 or Purchafe of a Man's Redemption. The 
 Money, or other valuable Confideration, 
 upon Payment of which the Captive is 
 fet at Liberty. The Blood of Chrift^ 
 therefore, is the Price of our Redempti- 
 on from Sin and Death, and fo it is ex- 
 prefsly ftyled by St. Paul-, Te are bought 
 with a Price, i Cor. vi. 20. And by 
 St. Peter -, Forafmuch as ye know that ye 
 were not redeemed (crt ^x. eAu7^^'^ijrg) with 
 corruptible Things, as Silver and Gold — 
 but with the precious Blood of Chrijl, as 
 of a Lamb without Blemijh, and without 
 Spot (i Pet. i. 18.) /. e. by Chrif offering 
 himfelf up as a Sacrifice or Propitiation, * 
 
 * Some Writers affc(ft to call the Blood of Chrift the 
 Seal of the Covenant. This is new Language in Diyi- 
 
 Propi- 
 
to Of REDEM?TlONl?y 
 
 Propitiatory Sacrifices were in the Nature 
 of them (xvT^a,) Ranfoms ; the Life of 
 the Animal being accepted inftead of the 
 Punifliment due to the Offender; and 
 that Chriji was a propitiatory Sacrifice, 
 the following FafTages will fhew. 
 
 John vi. 51. I am the living Bread 
 which came down from Heaven ; if any 
 Man eat of this Breads he jhall live for 
 ever ; and the Bread that I will give is 
 mY Flesh, which I will give for the 
 Life of the World. 
 
 Chap. X. j^ 14. / lay down my 
 
 ILiFE for the Sheep, 
 
 A6t. XX. 28. — . — 7'he Church of God, 
 which he hath purchased with his own 
 Blood. 
 
 ni'y, of which the Scriptures know nothing. Often is 
 Chriji fet forth as a Sacrifiee, Attonement, or Fropitixtion for 
 Sin ; but no where is the Death or the Blood of Chriji 
 called the Scd of the Covenant, which, in the Nature of 
 it, it cannot be. The Sent of the Covenant is the Evidence 
 of the Covenant j and Chriji's Death was not the Evidence 
 of the Covenant, nor, properly fpeaking, ^wy Evidence of 
 in Had Chi'iji died, and only died, he wtjuld have given- 
 «o PK(?o/of the Truth of his Miflionj but that which is 
 tRe Evidence oi' Chriji's Miffion, tKat; and' that only, is 
 the Evidence of the Covenant. Such are all the mighty 
 Works which he wrought ; but efpecially, and above all, 
 fuch was his Refurreflion from the Dead, by which, (as 
 tKe Apoftle fpeaks) he was declared to ie the Son of 
 ^oi ieith Fonn'r, Ram . j. 4 . 
 
 Rom. 
 
JesusChrist. II 
 
 Rom. iii. 24, 25. . "J ejus Chriji-y 
 
 ivhom God hath Jet forth to be a Propi- 
 tiation, — for theRemiJJion of Sins that 
 are paft. 
 
 Eph. V. 2. Chrijl hath — given himfelf 
 for us an Offering and ^ Sacrifice to 
 God. 
 
 Rom. V. 1 1. By whom we have received 
 the Attonement. 
 
 ColofT. i. 14. In whom we have Re- 
 demption through his Bloody even the 
 Forgivenefs of our Si?is. 
 
 1 9. For it pleafed the Father — having 
 made Peace by th e Blood of his Crofs, by 
 KIM /o reconcile all 'Things to himfelf. 
 
 Thefe PafTages want no Comment. You 
 have feen before, that Chrijl was to re- 
 flore what Adam loH: ; that he was to do 
 it by his Sufferings and Death, which 
 was to be a Ranfom for all. And here 
 Chrijl himfelf fays, that he would give 
 his Flejio (i. e. his Body) for the Life of 
 the World y and his Apoftles fay of him, 
 that he is a Propitiation^ an Offerings a 
 Sacrifice^ an Attonement^ our Redempti- 
 on, and our Reconciliation with God. 
 They who underfland thefe E^preffions 
 
 as 
 
12 O/' R E D E M P T I O N ^y 
 
 as Mujions only, and not as denoting 
 any real and proper "Efficacy in the Blood 
 of Chrijl to put away our Sins, are very 
 unreafonable. For if they are Allufions^ 
 they muft be Allufions to fomething-, and 
 to what can they allude, but to the Sa- 
 crifices under the Law ? Suppofe this to 
 be the Cafe, you muft then grant that the 
 Sacrifices under the Law were real and 
 proper Sacrifices; for an AUufion is an 
 Allufion to fomething real. But if the 
 Sacrifices under the Law had a real Efi^e<ft 
 (as it is certain they had) the Blood of 
 Chrift had a real and more noble Effe<^ ; 
 and fo far is it from Truth, that Chriji 
 was a Sacrifice for Sin allufively only to 
 the Sacrifices under the Law, that the le- 
 gal Sacrifices themfelves were but Shadows 
 and Reprefentations of the Sacrifice of 
 Chriji', as faith the Author to the He- 
 brews, T^he haw was the Shadow of good 
 Things to come, Heb. x. i. Let us attend 
 to the Particulars of the Comparifon be- 
 tween the two Difpenfations (the Legal 
 and the Evangelical) as ftated at large in 
 this Epiflle, and we fliall fee very plainly 
 how the Cafe ftands. Was Aaron an 
 
 Hidi 
 
JesusChrist. ij 
 
 High Pried ? fo was Chrijl. Every High 
 Priejl taken from among Men is ordained 
 for Men in Things pertaining unto God — 
 And no Man taketh this Honour to him- 
 felfy but he that is called of Gody as was 
 Aaron. So alfo Chrift glorified not him- 
 felf to he made an High Priejl, but he 
 that faid unto him, Thou art my Son, to 
 Day have I begotten thee. Chap. v. ;^ i. 
 — 5. Did Aaron, as an High Prieft, of 
 fer both Gifts and Sacrifices for Sin ? fo 
 did Chrifi. But the Sacrifice differed. 
 The High Prieft under the Law offered 
 the Blood of Beafts: But Chrifi being 
 come an High Priefi — neither by the 
 Blood of Goats and Calves, but by his own 
 Blood, entered into the Holy Place. And 
 as the Sacrifice differed, fo were the Efl. 
 fedls different. The legal Sacrifices were 
 a Remedy againft legal Impurities j the 
 Sacrifice of Chrifi waflied away the De- 
 filements of Sin. For if the Blood of Bulls 
 and Goats, and the Afhes of an Heifer 
 fpr inkling the unclean, fan5lifieth to the 
 purifying of the FleJJ: ; how juuch more 
 fhall the Blood of Chrifi, who through the 
 eternal Spirit offered himfelf without Spot 
 
 to 
 
14 (9/ R E D E M P T I O N i^); 
 
 to God, purge your Confc'ienccs from dead 
 Works ^ to fervc the livirigGod"^ Chap.ix. 
 il II. — 15. The Blood of Chrifl cannot 
 make that not to have been done which 
 was once done j nor that not to be an Of- 
 fence, which in the Nature of it is an 
 Offence ; much lefs could the Blood of a 
 Calf or a Goat. But as, in the one Cafe, 
 the Offence notwithftanding, the Offend- 
 er, in virtue of the Sacrifice, was, in View 
 and Conflrucftion of Law, or as to all 
 Purpofes of legal Privilege, confidered 
 and treated as guiltlefs ; fo in the other, 
 we, though Sinners, are, through the 
 Blood of Chriji, accounted as righteous, 
 and as fuch accepted to the Privilege of 
 eternal Life. To the fame Purpofc a 
 little after. Almojl all Things are by the 
 J^aw purged with Bloody and without foe d- 
 di?ig of Blood is no 'Remijfion. It was 
 therefore necefjdry^ that the Patterns of 
 the Things in the Heavens JJjould be puri^ 
 fed with thefy but the Heavenly Things 
 themfelves with better Sacrifices than thefcy 
 3^ 22, 23. The "Patterns of the Things 
 in the Heavens, or of the Heavenly Tlmigs, 
 fignify the legal Oeconomy, o^s fiadowing 
 
 out 
 
Je sus Ch rist. ij 
 
 .put the Evangelical, which is the Difpen- 
 fation of Things pertaining to a better 
 Life, as the Law was a Difpenfation of 
 Things pertaining to this. And what the 
 Apoftle here fays is to this EfFed:, that 
 the Sacrifices appointed under the one 
 muft needs be inferior in Nature and Ef- 
 ficacy to thofe appointed under the other, 
 inafmuch as the Eubjiance is more worthy 
 than the Shadow. It is to this Purpofe he 
 fpeaks a little below, Chap. x. j^ i. ^^ 4. 
 For the Law having a Shadow of good 
 T'hings to come — can never with thofe 
 Sacrifices which they offered up Tear by 
 Year continually make the Comers there- 
 untoperfeB. — It is not pofible that the 
 Blood of Bulls and Goats Jhould take 
 away Sin, To this the Law itfelf gave 
 ample Confeflion, by the frequent Repe- 
 tition of its Sacrifices, which the Apoftle 
 alfo notes, 3^ 2, 3. 'Then (fays he) i.e. if 
 the Law had made the Comers thereunto 
 perfe(5l, would they have ceafed to be of- 
 feredy becaufe that the Worjhippers once 
 purged Jhould have had no more Confci£nce 
 <f Sins ; but in thofe Sacrifices there is a 
 Remembrance of Si-ns made again every 
 
 Tear. 
 
1 6 Of Re D E M ? r 1 o N l?y 
 
 Tear. But what the A poftle den ies of the 
 legal Sacrifices, that he affirms of the Sa- 
 crifice of Chriji, as it follows ^ 1 1. Jnd 
 every High Priejl Jiandeth daily minifiring 
 and offering oftimes the fame Sacrifice, 
 which can never take away Sins. But 
 this Man (Chrift) after he had offered one 
 Sacrifice for Sins, forever fat down at the 
 Right Hand of God, from thenceforth ex- 
 peBing till his Enemies be made his Foot- 
 fiooL For by one Offering he hath per- 
 feBed forever them that are fafjBified, 
 Again, Chap. ix. f 2^ — 28. Chrifi is 
 not entered into the holy Places made with 
 Hands, which are the Figures of the true, 
 but into Heaven itfelf, now to appear in 
 the Prefence of God for us. Nor yet that 
 he fi:>ould offer hi 77 f elf often, as the High 
 Priefi entreth every Tear into the Holy 
 Place with the Blood of others : But now 
 once in the End of the World hath he ap- 
 peared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of 
 himfelf And as it is appointed unto Men 
 once to die, but after this the Judgment j 
 fo Chrifi was once offered to bear the Sins 
 of mafiy, and unto them that look for him 
 fhall he appear the fecond Tifne, without 
 
 Sin 
 
Je s u s Ch R I s r. \f 
 
 StH unto Salvation, God hath left this 
 Teftimony of his Difpleafure againft Sin, 
 that all the Sons of Adam are fubjedt to 
 the Law of Mortality (for otherwife the 
 Threatning, in the Day that thou eatejl 
 thereof thou jhalt furely die^ would have 
 been abfolutely without EfFecl.) But this 
 is but for once, and for a Time ; for 
 Chrift is to appear a fecond Time, in or-^ 
 der to judge the World, when all Enemies 
 Jhall be put under his Feet j and as Sin is 
 done away by his Sacrifice, fo Death {hall 
 be deftroyed by the Refurredtion from the 
 Dead. 
 
 This is the plain Scripture Do(ftrine ; 
 and without it, it will be impoffible to 
 give a confident Account of many Paf- 
 fages in Scripture relating to Chrift and 
 his Miniftry. There are thofe who con- 
 fider J ejus Chrift fimply under the Notion 
 of a Prophetj fent to declare the Will of 
 God, and to leave us an Example of Hu- 
 mility and Patience. But confiftently 
 with the Scripture Accounts of him this 
 cannot be. For, i. The Apoftle plainly 
 diftinguiQies Chrift from the Prophets. 
 Gody who at fundry Times^ and in diver fe 
 C Manners 
 
t8 0/ R E D E M P T I O N h^ 
 
 Manners^ fpake in 'Time paft unto theFa^ 
 thers by the Frophets^ hath in thefe lafi 
 Days fpoken unto us by his So7t, Heb. i. i. 
 Chriji therefore was not a Prophet, but 
 more than a Prophet ; and yet if he came 
 only to declare the Will of God to Man- 
 kind, in what Refpcd: did he differ from 
 the Prophets that went before him ? 
 2. With refpeift to his Nature and Dig- 
 nity, he was tIjeSon of God ^ the Heir of all 
 ^hingSj the Brightnefs of his Father s 
 Glory y and the exprefs Image of his Per- 
 fin 5 II E by whom the Worlds were made 
 and who upholdcth all Things by the Word 
 of his Power. This great, this divine 
 Perfon, far above all A?2gels and eve?'y 
 Name that is named^ condefcended to 
 take upon himfelf Flefh and Blood — 
 For what ? Merely to be a Preacher of 
 Righteoufncfs ? An Office which the low- 
 eft of the Sons of Men, inftrudled with 
 Power and Authority from God, might 
 and did execute as fuccefsfully as he ! The 
 Apoftles were the Preachers of the Gofpel, 
 . and more eminently were they fo than 
 Chrifty who if he came for nothing elfe 
 but to preach, you will not ealily recon- 
 cile 
 
JesusChrist. Ip 
 
 die his Office to his high Original, nor 
 account for the ihort Period of his Mini- 
 itryj for within the Compafs of about 
 three Years preaching, not to all the World 
 (which by one Man, in fuch a Space of 
 Time, could not be) but to his Country- 
 men only, all was finiflied by his Death, 
 And here arifes a new Difficulty; for, 
 3. Why, it may reafonably be afked, was 
 Chriji crucified ? Why did God lay this 
 Burden upon him? Why did it behove 
 Chriji to fuffer ? Say what you pleafe, — 
 That it was to confirm his Dodtrine, — 
 That it was to give an Example of Pa- 
 tience to his Followers; or whatever elfc 
 you can think of, but one ; you will ne- 
 ver be able to diflinguifh him in this Re- 
 fped from the leaft of his Apoftles, who 
 were all delivered unto Death for the 
 Gofpel fake. Yet St. Paul afks, Was 
 V^oA crucified for you? * No; Paulv72i% 
 rtot crucified. But Paul fuffered as much, 
 and was at lafl a Martyr to his Religion 5 
 and his Blood had as much the Virtue of 
 a lefiiinony^ and an Example^ as the Blood 
 of Qhrijt, But PauV% Blgod had not the 
 
 » X Cor. i. ft,. 
 
 C 2 Virtue 
 
20 0/'REDEMPTlON^)f 
 
 Virtue of a Propitiation. This is the 
 true fpecific Difference which makes Senfe 
 of the Queftion, and folves dl Difficul- 
 ties. For it will not be hard to fuppofe, 
 that when the Sins of all the World were 
 to be laid upon one, the Eternal Son of 
 God, both God and Man, might, in the 
 Wifdom of God, appear to be the only 
 Perfon qualified to bear them; nor that, 
 when the chief, or rather fole, End of his 
 coming in the Flefli was to die for us, he 
 fliould, after a very fhort Stay on Earth, 
 through Death, return again to God, and 
 leave the Miniffry of the Word to other 
 Hands. — To proceed: 
 
 The Declaration of this gracious Pur- 
 pofe of God to reftore Life and Immor- 
 tality by or through the Sacrifice of Chriji^ 
 is ftrid:ly and properly tb 'EuctfysMov the 
 Gospel. The Gofpel is good News or 
 glad Tidings; as Luke ii. lo. Behold I 
 bring you good Tidings of great yo)\ 
 which Jhall be to all People. What thefe 
 good Tidings were, the following Words 
 fhew ; — For unto you is born this Day, 
 in the City of David, ^Saviour, which 
 is Chrift the Lord, So A£l. xiii. 32. And 
 - : • • - we 
 
JesusChrist. 21 
 
 we declare unto you glad Tidings, that 
 the Promife which was made unto the Fa^ 
 thers Ood hath fulfilled unto us their Chil- 
 dren, in that he hath rat fed up Jefus 
 again. — Be it known unto you, therefore^ 
 Men and Brethren, that through this 
 Man is preached unto you the Forgive- 
 ness OF Sins, and by him all that be- 
 lieve are justified. The Greek Word 
 in both thefe Places is 'EvaFye^i^ofMn, 
 which fignifies (literally) to preach the 
 Gofpel, or to bring glad T'idings, which 
 glad Tidings were the declaring Chrifl 
 to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the 
 World; the Perfon in whom and by 
 whom the Promife was fulfilled which 
 was made to the Fathers, /, e, the Pro- 
 mife of the Forgivenefs of Sins, and Ju- 
 ftification unto Eternal Life. But it is 
 carefully to be obferved, that the Offer of 
 Reconciliation by the Gofpel is not an 
 abfolute A(ft of Grace, but a Declaration 
 of Pardon and Acceptance to thofe only 
 who believe, under the Qualification of 
 Repentance and good Works. The Scrip- 
 tures fuppofe a general Defedion in Man- 
 kind from the Law of God, to which 
 C 3 they 
 
11 0/ R E D E M P T I O N ^-^f 
 
 they are called back by the preaching of 
 the Gofpel, and all who, qualified by 
 Repentance, fliall accept the Gofpel, and 
 rely upon the Mercies of God in Chrifl 
 ior Salvation, are, actually ^ in a State of 
 Reconciliation with God, /*. e. their paft 
 Sins are freely forgiven, and they fland 
 intitled to Eternal Life, on Condition of 
 future Obedience. But as without the 
 Gofpel all Men were Sinners, fo Faith 
 in Chrijl notwithftanding, all are ftill 
 Sinners ; for the Gofpel doth not qualify 
 KS for Perfcvlion. The Gofpel requires 
 Repentance; and Repentance is nothing 
 lefs than a returning back to the Obedi- 
 ence of the Law from which we have 
 fwerved. But perfedt Obedience is no 
 where to be found; no where to be ex- 
 pelled, either without the Gofpel, or 
 with the Gofpel : The Confequence of 
 which is, that as it is by the Grace of 
 God in Chrijl that our pafc Sins are for- 
 given when we come to the Gofpel, fo it 
 is by the fame Grace that our imperfect 
 Obedience is accepted whilfl: we hve under 
 the Gofpel; and to both muft be applied 
 what St. Faul fays, Rom, iii. 23, 24. We 
 
 are 
 
JesusChrist. 23 
 
 are jnfiijled freely by his Grace through 
 the Redemption that is in Chrift Jefus. 
 For all have finned and come J]:ort of the 
 Glory of God. And this is what he means 
 when he fays, (j^ 28.) A Manis jujiificd 
 by Faith [x^^^i e^^yi' vo^a) without the 
 Deeds of the Lazv : The Apollle's Mean- 
 ing, I fay, is not that Obedience contri- 
 butes nothino; to our Salvation, or that we 
 may be faved by Chrif, whether we are 
 obedient or not ; but that we cannot claim 
 upon our Obedience, becaufe our Works 
 are not perfed. before God. By Faith we 
 may claim the Promifes of God, to which 
 our Faith intitles us, fuppofing us duly 
 qualified by Repentance : But he that 
 claims upon God's Promifes, flees to his 
 Grace, and muft be understood as renoun- 
 cing all Claim from his own Righteouf- 
 nefs. This is being juftified {z^Cy<^ l^fuv) 
 without Works, i. e. fcparately from, or 
 cxclulive of Works, confidered as the 
 Ground or Cauje of our Jullification. For 
 Juftification is that A61 of God by which 
 we are accounted ar accepted as righteous; 
 and this is not at all founded in our 
 Works (which confidered, we are none 
 C 4 of 
 
i^ 0/* R E D E M P T I O N ^7 
 
 of US righteous) but in the free Grace of 
 God, for the Sake of 'Jejm Chriji, 
 
 But if this be fo, it will naturally be 
 afked, What was the Condition of thofe 
 who lived and died before Chriji came in 
 the Flelh ? Was there no Salvation for 
 them, or are there more Ways of Salva- 
 tion than one? To thefe Queftions the 
 Scripture will anfwer, That Salvation was 
 to be had before the coming of Chriji^ as 
 well as after; and that all who were then 
 faved, were faved, as we are faved, by 
 Faith in God's Promifes through Chriji 
 the Redeemer ; with this Difference only, 
 that their Faith looked forward to the 
 Redeemer as yet to come, whilft ours 
 looks backward upon the fame Redeemer 
 as come already. Of Noah it is faid, that 
 he was Heir oj^ the Right eoiifnefs which is 
 hy Faith y Heb. xi. 7. And of Abraham^ 
 that he believed in the LfOrd^ and he count- 
 ed it to him for Right eoujhefs. Gen. xv. 6, 
 Rom. iv. 3. And this muft needs have 
 been the Cafe, if fo be they were at all 
 juftihed. The Righteoufnefs which is of 
 Works they could not plead, for their 
 Works were not perfed before God. 
 
 Further^ 
 
JesusChrist. ij 
 
 Furthermore, it is evident that the 
 Faith of the Patriarchs, by which they 
 were juftified, hud for its Objed the Re- 
 deemer to come. Tour Father Abraham 
 (fays Chriji to the yews) rejoiced to fee 
 my Day^ and he faw it^ and was glad, 
 Joh. viii. 56. Chriji then was forefhewed 
 to Abrahaniy and fo fays St. FauU ^0 
 Abraham and his Seed were the Promijes 
 made — and this Seed is Chrift, Gal. iii. 
 16. God's Method of faving Sinners, 
 therefore, hath in all Ages been one and 
 the fame. Chriji fet forth as the Author 
 of Salvation, and Faith in God's Promifes 
 through him (which always implies a 
 fuitable Obedience) as the Condition of 
 our Acceptance to the Benefits purchafed 
 by him. The outward Appointments in 
 Religion were indeed different in different 
 Ages. The earlieft of thefe was Sacri- 
 fices, which were cooeval with the Fall, 
 and are rightly underflood to have been 
 appointed of God to fhadow out that 
 great Sacrifice which was once to be of- 
 fered up for the Sins of the World. When 
 Abraham^ Seed was to be feparated from 
 the reft of the World, Circumcifion was 
 
 appointed 
 
%6 Of Ke DEMP r io N iy 
 
 appointed as a Mark of Diftindion j and 
 in After-Times, the Ritual Law came in, 
 which was intended as a Hedge about 
 that People, to keep them from all Inter- 
 courfe and Communion with the Idola- 
 trous Nations, that they might cleave 
 ftedfaflly unto the Lord their God, who 
 had brought them out of the Land of 
 Egypf, and by whofe mighty Arm they 
 were now to be put in Poffeffion of the 
 promifed Land. But fuch Appointments, 
 though they altered the Rule of Obedi- 
 ence for the Time that they were given, 
 were properly no Parts of the Covenant 
 of Salvation, which fubfifted in full Per- 
 fedion before thefe Appointments were 
 made, and would do fo again, when, the 
 Reafons for fuch Appointments ceafmg, 
 the Appointments themfelves fhould be at 
 an End. This is the very Argument 
 made Ufe of by St. Pauly to prove that 
 the Gentiles who believed in Chriji were 
 intitled to the Benefits of the Covenant, 
 though they did not fubmit to be circum- 
 cifed, and keep the Law of Mofes. The 
 Foundation of his Reafoning (I fay) i* 
 this, That Circumcifion and the Law of 
 
 Mofes 
 
Je SU S Ch R I ST. 27 
 
 Mofes were n'o Parts of the original Co- 
 venant, but added afterwards, for fpecial 
 Reafons which concerned the Times in 
 which they were appointed, and thofe 
 only. Abraham believed in God, and it 
 was counted to him for Right eoiifnefs. — 
 How was it reckoned? When he was in 
 Circumcijion, or in Vncircumcijion ? Not 
 in Circumcifioriy but in Uncircumcijion. 
 And he received the Sign of Circumcifion, 
 a Seal of the Righteoujnefs of the Faith 
 which he had being yet uncircumcifed, 
 Rom. iv. 3. — II. This is a State of the 
 Fa(ft, as it is recorded in the Old Tefta- 
 ment. Now if Abraham'^ Faith was 
 counted to him for Righteoufnefs whilfl 
 he was uncircumcifed, /'. e. if he was 
 within the Covenant before Circumciiion, 
 and Circumcifion was added afterwards, 
 only as a Sign or Token of the Cove- 
 nant ; it is clear that Circumcifion could 
 be no Part of the Covenant : And the In- 
 ference which the Apoftle draws from 
 hence is, That Abraham was the Father 
 of all them that believe^ though they he 
 not circumcifedy that Righteoufnefs may be 
 imputed to them alfo. The Inference is 
 
 juft 
 
l8 (yREDEMPTION^)/ 
 
 juft and neceflary; for if Abraham him-- 
 felf was juflified by Faith without Cir- 
 cumcifion, why may not the Gentiles in- 
 herit the Bleffing of Abraham by Faith, 
 without Circumcilion ? The Hke muft be 
 faid of the Law of Mofes ; for, as the 
 Apoftle goes on to argue, The Promife 
 that he fioiild be the Heir of the Worlds 
 ivas not to Abraham, cr to his Seed through 
 the Law, but through the Right eoufnefs of 
 Faith — to the End the Promife might be 
 fure to all the Seed-, ?iot to that only which 
 is of the Law, but to that alfo which is 
 of the Faith of Abraham, who is the Fa- 
 ther of us all, {f 13. — 16.) The fame 
 Point is again purfued, Gah'm. 16 — 18. 
 To Abraham and his Seed were the Pro- 
 mife s made — And this I fay, that the 
 Covenant that was confirmed before of God 
 in Chrift, the Law, which was four Hun- 
 dred and thirty Tears after, cannot dif 
 annul that it fiould make the Promife of 
 none Effe5l. For if the Inheritance be of 
 the Law, it is no more of Promife -, but 
 God gave it to Abraham by Promife. That 
 is ; to fuppofe that the Inheritance depends 
 upon the Law, is to fhut out the Pro-r 
 
 mifc: 
 
JesusChrist. 29 
 
 mife : And if you allow (what the Scrip- 
 ture (hews) that God gave the Inheritance 
 to Abraham by Promife, it will follow, 
 that the Law hath eflentially no Relation 
 to the Inheritance. For why ? The Law 
 was given above four Hundred Years af^ 
 ter the Promife was madej and how then 
 could the Blefling of Abraham fo hang 
 upon the Law that there (hould be no 
 Salvation without it? If the Covenant 
 originally did fubfift without the Law, it 
 might again fubfift without the Law, and 
 naturally would do fo, when thofe Rea- 
 fons ceafed for which the Law was given. 
 And this the Apoftle tells us was then 
 the Cafe. T'he Law (fays he) was added 
 hecaufe of TranfgreJJionSy till the Seed 
 fiould come to whom the Fromife was 
 made.['j(f ig.) And again j The Law was 
 our School-majler to bring us unto Chrift. 
 (j^ 24.) The Confequence of which is, 
 that Chriji the promifed Seed, being come, 
 the Law of Courfe expired, and Circum- 
 cifion with it, which being intended as a 
 Mark of Separation, could be of no far- 
 ther Ufe, when by the calling in of all 
 Nations to one and the fame common 
 
 Faith, 
 
3© CyREDEMPTlON^iy 
 
 Faith, the Je'ws ceafed to be difldnguiilied 
 from other People. 
 
 The Conclufion is, that under the Law 
 Men were faved not by the Law, but by 
 a Covenant of Mercy, clearly diflindl 
 from and antecedent to it ; which Cove- 
 nant is that very Gofpel we now profefs 
 to be accompli filed in ChriJ}^ and by 
 which we hope to be faved. Well there- 
 fore might the Apollle fay, that the Go- 
 fpel was preached to Abraham ; and our 
 Saviour, that Abraham rejoiced to fee his 
 Da)\ and he faw it^ and was glad. The 
 Day he faw afar off, but the Blefling was 
 prefent to him, and fo it was to all who 
 walked in the Steps of his Faith and Pi- 
 ety „ the Efficacy of Chrifs Attonement 
 anticipating the Time of his coming. 
 This was true Religion from the Begin- 
 ning 'y and this will be true Religion to 
 ttie Endi not the Religion of Nature, hut 
 the Religion of Grace. Nature could 
 {hew a Law ; but Nature provided no 
 Help for Sinners, who were to be purged 
 nQ otherwife than by the Blood of Chrifl 
 once to be offered up to God as a Lami 
 without Bkmijhy ofid without Spot, i Pet. 
 i. 19. How 
 
Jesus Ch r i st. ji 
 
 How much the Patriarchs underftood 
 either of the Nature of that Salvation 
 which was to be brought about by the 
 promifed Seed, or of the particular Way 
 and Manner by which it was to be ef- 
 feded, it is neither eafy to fay, nor is it 
 neceflary to the prefent Argument. For 
 k is very confident to fuppofe that the 
 Faithful in all Ages were faved by the 
 promifed Seed; though it be admitted 
 that all Ages had not the fame De- 
 grees of Light and Knowledge commu- 
 nicated to them concerning thefe Matters, 
 that we now have. But a Covenant of 
 Reconciliation there muft have been fo far 
 known and underftood as to afford Ground 
 for a firm and certain Affurance, that on- 
 Condition of new Obedience, and Truft 
 in God's Promifes, Mankind fhould be 
 accepted to Mercy and Favour in a better 
 Life, Thofe who would fee this clearly* 
 made out, and the great Charter of our 
 Salvation traced down from Ada?n to the 
 Seed of David, may confult the learned 
 Bifhop Sherlock's Uje and Intent of Fro- 
 phecVy to which I refer them. 
 
 This 
 
31 0/ Prayer. 
 
 This Foundation laid, I nbW 
 Prayer 
 
 proceed to my principal Intent!- 
 
 tion, which is to explain the feveral Parts 
 of the Chriftian Worfhip, which refts 
 upon and refers itfelf to it. We find in 
 the J^s of the Apo files ^ Chap. ii. )^ 42. 
 that as foon as ever the Gofpel begun to be 
 published, and a fufRcient Number of Con- 
 verts came in, a publick Worfhip was fet 
 up. For, fpeaking of the firft Believers, 
 theHiftorian fays, that they continued fied- 
 fajily in the Apoftles DoBrine^ and Fellow- 
 Jhipj and in breaking of Breads and in 
 Prayers, Which Words, perhaps, would 
 better have been tranflated thus. And 
 they continued fiedfajily in the Apofiles 
 IDoSlrine^ and in the Communion^ and 
 breaking of Breads and in Prayers. The 
 Dod:rine, no doubt, means the Gofpel 
 Dodlrine, the Forgivenefs of Sins by the 
 Redemption through Jefus Chrijl j and 
 the Worfhip here mentioned is Prayer, 
 and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
 iignified by the Communion and breaking 
 of Bread. Thefe two Appointments make 
 up the whole of what may, in Striclnefs 
 of Speech, be termed the Chriftian Wor- 
 
 ihip; 
 
0/* pR AY E R. 33 
 
 fliipj and I hope to give fach an Account 
 of both, as will convince all, who judge 
 without Partiality, that God hath not 
 commanded thefe Things merely for com- 
 manding fake, but to carry on the great 
 Ends of his Providence, in fending his 
 Son, and calling us to Repentance, and 
 that they are a reafonable Service. The 
 general Method which I fhall obferve, 
 will be to fet forth the Nature, Ufe, and 
 Efficacy of thefe Appointments. By the 
 Firft I fhall fhew what the Inllitution 
 means; by the Second, the Reafons why 
 it was appointed; by the Third, the En- 
 couragement we have to a diligent Ob- 
 fervance of it. And becaufe a mere ex- 
 ternal Compliance with thefe Inflitutions 
 will neither anfwer the End of their Ap- 
 pointment, nor procure to us the Benefits 
 intended by them, it will therefore be 
 neceiTary, in the laft Place, that I fliew, 
 what are thofe Qualifications which are 
 previoufly requifite to fit and prepare us 
 to perform them in a worthy and accept- 
 able Manner. I fliall treat firft of Pray- 
 er, becaufe that is virtually contained un- 
 D der 
 
34 Of pR AY E R. 
 
 der the 6ther, and, in the Order of Nature, 
 antecedent to it. 
 
 The End of Prayer is to recognize 
 God as the Creator and Governor of the 
 World. It is not to make known to him 
 our Wants, which he underftandeth bet- 
 ter than we do ourfelvesj but it is to ac- 
 knowledge, and make folemn Profeffion, 
 that he is the Author of all Good to us, 
 and that as we are indebted to him for 
 what we have, fo what v/e want mufl 
 come from him. This fliews, that God's 
 Knowledge of our Wants is no Reafon 
 why we ought not to pray, fuppofing 
 that any good Account can be given why 
 God hath commanded us to recognize 
 him as the Author of all Good ; and 
 there is this natural Reafon to be given 
 for it, that this conftant Acknowledge- 
 ment of God's fovereign Dominion,which 
 Prayer implies, is a conftant Call to Duty. 
 For we can never refled: that God is our 
 Creator, without confidering, at the fame 
 Time, that we owe him Obedience. It 
 is this Senfe of God prevailing in our 
 Minds, that is the Foundation of all Re- 
 ligion, 
 
Of Fray ER. 3j 
 
 llglon. For what other Reafon have we 
 to yield Obedience to God than this, that 
 to him we owe ourfelves, and all that is 
 dear and valuable to us, the Blefiings of 
 this Life, and the Glories of the next? 
 If we were ourfelves the Authors of our 
 own Good, we fhould owe Obedience to 
 none. Or if there were any other Being 
 which could claim a Partnerfhip with 
 God in the Benefits which we receive, he 
 alfo would have a Right to be a Sharer 
 with him in the Homage that we pay. 
 But if we are God's, and not our own ; 
 if he is our Benefadior, and none elfe in- 
 dependent of him ; the Inference is eafy 
 and natural, that he has eminently, and 
 above all, a Right to our Obedience; and 
 that therefore we are not to difpleafe him 
 in pleafing ourfelves; no, not in pleafing 
 the whole World ; for his is the whole 
 World, and he is the Lord of all, becaufe 
 he is the Maker and Preferver of all. 
 
 This is a Conclufion which naturally 
 arifes in every Man's Mind, upon the Con- 
 lideration of the Being and governing Pro- 
 vidence of God. But if we grow un- 
 mindful of thefe Things, Religion will 
 D 2 be 
 
^6 Of Pr AYfe R. 
 
 be loft ; and this may eafily be ; for God 
 does not make himfelf known to us in 
 fuch a Way as to force himfelf upon us, 
 whether we will or no. If he were to 
 be feen with our bodily Eyes, and we 
 could behold him from the Throne of his 
 Glory, dealing out his Bleffings among 
 us with an indulgent and plenteous Hand ; 
 fending us Food, fending us Raiment, 
 fending us all Things ; in not knowi?ig 
 him, we fliould be more fenfelefs than 
 the Brutes ; for the Ox knoweth his Own- 
 er, and the Afs his Majlers Crib^ But 
 becaufe we are here to walk by Faith, 
 and not by Sight, we therefore want fome 
 external Warnings to put us upon making 
 ufe of our Reafon, and cofifidering what 
 we are, and to whom we are indebted for 
 all we have, and all we hope for : And 
 what more eifedlual Courfe could God 
 have taken to beget in us an habitual Senfe 
 and Conviction of this, than by making-v 
 it our Duty, that fo often as we feel our 
 own Wants, fo often we ftiould bear 
 Witnefs, with our own Mouths, of his 
 Sovereign Power and Goodnefs, and 
 of our Infufficiency to do any Thing 
 
 without 
 
Of Pr AV E R. 37 
 
 without him ? I do not fay, that Prayer 
 is a Means abjolutely neceiTary to put us 
 in Mind that we are Creatures depending 
 upon God. All the Works of Providence 
 which we fee about us are an Evidence of 
 this great Truth, which we are at all 
 Times at Liberty to take Notice of, if we 
 find ourfelves fo difpofcd. But to fecure 
 this Temper of Mind, and to make it fa- 
 miliar to us, we fhould find it no eafy 
 Matter if there were nothing to check 
 that natural Propenfity, which we all of 
 us feel, to let ourfelves loofe to thofe 
 more pleafing Reflexions w^hich Senfe 
 and Paffion are ever apt to throw in our 
 way. 
 
 This (if there was nothing more in it) 
 would account for an Obfervation no lefs 
 true than common, That in Proportion 
 as Men accuftom themfelves to negledt 
 their Prayers, they grow more loofe and 
 carelefs in their general Behaviour. For 
 through Lack of thefe Calls to Thought 
 and Confideration, the Mind infenfibly 
 fteals away from the Creator to the Crea- 
 ture. And for the felf-fame Reafon, bad 
 Men are never lefs at Eafe, than when they 
 D 3 are 
 
38 0/ Pr AYE R. 
 
 are obliged, on fome worldly Views, to 
 do Homage to their Maker, or rather to 
 make a Show and Appearance of doing 
 it J for they muft be quite ftupid, and pad 
 feeling, if the Solemnity of Religious 
 Worfhip, will not raife thofe Reflecftions 
 which gall the Confcience, and make 
 them uneafy with themfelves. You will 
 fee this very plainly, if you will apply 
 this Reafoning to thofe feveral Ads of 
 Worfhip, which by common Ufe are ge- 
 nerally comprized under the Notion of 
 Prayer, and the Particulars which are the 
 Subjed; Matter of it. Prayer, in the ftrid 
 Senfe, is the calling upon God for the 
 Supply of our Wants, and thefe are either 
 Temporal or Spiritual. Chrijl hath taught 
 us to pray for our daily Bread \ which 
 comprehends both the Necellliries and the 
 Conveniencies of Life. Put this Prayer 
 now into the Mouth of a Glutton, or a 
 Sot, and fee wliere will be the Decency 
 of it. Can you afR of God the Continu- 
 ance of thofe Blefiings, which you every 
 Day abufe to his DiAonour? So we are 
 taught to pray for the Forgivenefs of our 
 Sins, and the Aids of God's Grace; which 
 
 may 
 
Of Fr AVER, 39 
 
 may well become us, if we mean to re- 
 pent and amend. But can you afk that 
 Grace which you turn into Wantonnefs ? 
 Can you beg of God to forgive you thofe 
 Sins to Day, of which you are refolved, if 
 Opportunity ferves, to be guilty again to 
 Morrow? Finally; we are taught not 
 only to afk for what we want, but to re- 
 turn Thanks alio for Benefits received; 
 which will be a reafonable Service, if wq 
 bear with us a grateful Mind. But can 
 we profefsThankfulnefs with our Mouths, 
 and deny it by our wicked Works ? — 
 They who come to their Prayers without 
 any Ekgree of Attention or Serioufnefs, 
 may do thefe with as much Eafe as they 
 do many other abfurd Things : But if bad 
 Men will but mind what they are about, 
 there is that in Prayer which will be a Re- 
 proach to them, and fhame them into 
 fome good Refolutions. And therefore 
 it is a very idle Thing to afk, " To 
 " what End (liould we pray, fince God, 
 " infinite in Wifdom, knows our Wants, 
 " and infinite in Goodnefs, mufl be fup- 
 " pofed at all Times ready to beflow up- 
 ** on us what he fees to be needful ? " 
 D 4 This 
 
40 6?/ Prayer. 
 
 This is an old Objedlion againft Prayer, 
 and it is obfervable, that thofe who rea- 
 foned in this Manner rejected * all Infti- 
 tutions. With great Confiflency with 
 themfelves ! For if you meafure the Value 
 of thefe Things by their natural Efficsicy, 
 as to God, they are all alike. God has 
 no more need of Prayer than he has of 
 Sacrifices, and how little that is, he tells 
 us himfelf, Ifaiah i. 1 1. 'T'o what Pur pofe 
 is the Multitude of your Sacrifices to me, 
 faith the Lord? — /delight not in the 
 Blood of Bullocks J or of Lambs, or of He- 
 Goats. And Pfalm 1, 12. If I were 
 hungry, I would not tell thee, for the 
 World is mine, and the Fulnefs thereof^ 
 Will I eat the Flejh of Bulls, or drink the 
 Blood of Goats ? But as God command- 
 ed Sacrifices of which he had no need, 
 fo he hath commanded Prayer of which 
 he hath no need ; and both for the fame 
 Reafon, viz. becaufe Men needed them to 
 |)e as Memorials of his governing Provi- 
 dence, and to keep alive that Faith and 
 Truft in him, which is neceflary to their 
 well doing. 
 
 * V-i;J. OrJgei), de O at, § 1 n . 
 
 Thus 
 
Pr AY E R. 4: 
 
 Thus much for the Nature and life of 
 Prayer ; which appears, in its general No- 
 tion, to be no more than a Recognition 
 of God as the Creator and Governor of 
 the World. And thus far Prayer is a Part 
 of Worfliip, not peculiar to Chriftianity, 
 but common to all Religions in the World. 
 How it came to be fo, is a Queftion very 
 eafily anfwered. For thofe who think not 
 Prayer to be a natural Duty, may fee its 
 Appointment in the Appointment of Sa- 
 crifice; for Sacrifice is Prayer by outward 
 Symbols; and the Appointment of Sacri- 
 fices is as old as the Fall of Man. But 
 there is a Circumftance in Christian Prayer 
 peculiar to Chriftianity, which makes it 
 to be a Recognition of God, not only as 
 our Creator, but as our Redeemer; for 
 we are commanded to pray for all Things 
 in the Name of Cbriji, i. e. in Truft in 
 his meritorious all-fufiicient Sacrifice ; and 
 in this View it is an Inflrument ferving to 
 perpetuate the Memory of our Redem- 
 ption, and to excite in our Minds all thofe 
 grateful Sentiments which the Confidera- 
 tion of our Redemption yields. Now as 
 Prayer, whether publickly or privately 
 
 performed^ 
 
4^ Of Prayer, 
 
 performed, is, in the Nature of it, one 
 and the fame Thing, it may be demand- 
 ed what particular Ufes are ferved by its 
 being commanded to be done publickly j 
 and they are thefe. 
 
 I. The Duty is hereby more fecure from 
 being negledled. When Things are to 
 pafs only between God and Mens Confci- 
 ences, and they have nothing to influence 
 them but the Ingenuity of their Temper, 
 it is an eafy Matter for them to grow re- 
 mifs and carelefs. But when they cannot 
 commit a Fault but the World muft take 
 Notice of it, this lays hold of natural 
 Modefly, and the Concern which every 
 Man has for his own Credit will help to 
 keep him within fome Bounds of Decency. 
 In the firft Ages, thofe who cuftomarily 
 abfented themfelves from God's publick 
 Worfhip, fell under the Cenfures of the 
 Church, and were denied the Privileges of 
 Chriftian Fellowfhip. This was intended 
 to fhame them into better Manners, as 
 in all other Cafes where the likeDifcipline 
 was exercifed. For fo fays St. Patil, 2 ^hejf, 
 iii. 1 4. Note that Man, and have no Cotfi- 
 pany with hiniy that he may be afiamed. 
 
 And 
 
0/ Prayer. 43 
 
 And though at prefent this fort of Dlfci- 
 pline is well nigh loft among us, it is never- 
 thelefs a Difgrace to a Man to pafs among 
 his Neighbours for a Heathen, and will be 
 fo till evil Cuftoms have wrought out all 
 Senfe of what is fit and decent. You will 
 fay, perhaps, that to join in publick Wor- 
 fhip merely to avoid Cenfu re, is not Reli- 
 gion, but Art and Policy, and you will faj 
 very right. But if the Motive begins here, 
 it is not fuppofed to end here too. He 
 that comes to Church at firft only to fave 
 Appearances, may, by degrees, fee the 
 Reafonablenefs, and feel the Benefits of it; 
 and will do fo, if no great Vices ftand in 
 the Way. It is by this kind of Manage- 
 ment in other Cafes, that we are often led 
 as it were by the Hand to do reafonable 
 Things, and all Mankind fee the Neceffity 
 of it; which fhews, indeed, the Weaknefs 
 of our Natures, but is no Difparagement 
 to our Virtues, when fuch Means are fol- 
 lowed by real Improvements. 
 
 2. It is likely to have a more general 
 Effedt. Few befides ourfelves are the 
 better for what is done in our private Re- 
 tirements, but many may profit by a pub- 
 lick 
 
44 Of Pray E r. 
 
 lick Example j and there is that Force in 
 thofe Virtues which others learn from us, 
 which feldom fails to minifter back an 
 Increafe to our own. Examples work 
 reciprocally, as we fee in War, where 
 each Man, by brave and gallant Adions, 
 breathes Courage into his Companion, and 
 is again infpired by him. This is what 
 St. Paul feems to allude to, when he ex- 
 horts us to PROVOKE one another to Love, 
 and to good Works^ which indeed is the 
 natural Effed: of every good Example. 
 But never is the Force of Example fo ex- 
 perimentally felt as among thofe who are 
 devoutly met together in God's Houfe, to 
 join in their Prayers and Thankfgivings 
 to him ; where Zeal catches like Fire, and 
 from fmall Sparks rifes up into a mighty 
 Flame. The Solemnity of the Place, the 
 Awfulnefs of the AfTembly, the Voices 
 and Geftures of thofe about us, are all of 
 them Circumftances which help to raife 
 Devotion, and leave flrong and lafting 
 Impreffions upon our Minds; and no . 
 Man can, with any Heart, think of re- 
 turning back to his Sins, who remembers, 
 that in the Prefence of God, and in the 
 
 Face 
 
O/Praver. • 4^ 
 
 JFace of fo many WitnefTes, he hath made 
 fuch folemn Profeflions of Duty. 
 
 I fpeak now of what might reafonably 
 . be exped:ed, not of what is always 
 found in Fad: and Experience. It is but 
 too common for Men to come to Church 
 and join in the publick Worlhip, and to 
 go Home again not one Jot the better 
 Chriflians. The Caufe is ; they take it as 
 a Thing of Courfe, that they have been 
 always ufed and bred to, and do not come 
 with that Preparation of Mind, which is 
 necelTary to give it Force and Virtue, 
 But thefe, no doubt, are the Ends of 
 publick Worfhip, and reafonable Ends 
 they are, howfoever, through human De- 
 feats, they may, in many Inftances, prove 
 imfuccefsful. And this ihews one Thing 
 very plainly, which will be of great Ufe 
 to be obferved, wz. That the Ends of 
 Publick Worfhip can never be fully an- 
 fwered by private Devotion, how fre- 
 quently foever it may be performed. For 
 private Prayer yields no publick Ex- 
 ample, and publick Example was the 
 Thing intended by publick Worfhip. 
 Many are wont to excufe them- 
 
 felves 
 
4(J Of F KAY EK. 
 
 felves in an habitual Neglecfl of publick 
 Worfhip, by alledging that they fay their 
 Prayers at Home. I am always, I con- 
 fefs, fufpicious of fuch Pretences ; for if 
 a Man is devout in his Clofet, it is not 
 very natural to fuppofe that he will think 
 publick Prayer a Burden. But fuppofe 
 the Thing done, I fay it is by no Means 
 an Equivalent. You may be the better 
 for your private Prayers, but no Body 
 elfe can. They are the Exercife of your 
 Piety, but they are not the Profeffion of 
 your Faith, or the Evidence of your Vir- 
 tues. 
 
 Let us now confider the Eficacy of 
 Prayer with refpedt to God. God hath 
 not the Paffions of a Man, and therefore 
 he is not to be moved by Prayers and 
 Intreaties, as Men are. But though he 
 hath not the Paffions of a Man, he hath 
 the Wifdom of a wife and good Gover- 
 nor; and as he hath commanded us to 
 pray, in refpeft of our Weaknefs, fo, for 
 our Encouragement to do it, he hath an- 
 nexed to the due Performance of this Duty, 
 Bleffings both Temporal and Spiritual. 
 That we are direcSled to pray for Blef- 
 fings 
 
0/ Prayer. 47 
 
 fings of both Kinds is moft: evident. For 
 when we pray for our daily Bread, we 
 pray for Temporal Bleflings, as for Rain 
 and fruitful Seafons, for Succefs in our 
 Occupations and Callings, and the like. 
 So it is when we pray for Deliverance 
 from our Enemies, from Afflidions and 
 Calamities, for all which there are Di- 
 red:ions in Scripture. We pray for Spi- 
 ritual Bleflings when we pray for God's 
 Holy Spirit to enlighten our Minds, or 
 to corred: our Wills, for thefe Things 
 have Reference to the Good of the Soul, 
 as the other are fubfervient to the Welfare 
 of the Body. Now it feems a natural 
 Inference from our being commanded to 
 afk thefe Things of God, that our Prayers 
 will do jbmething towards our obtaining 
 them, and the Style of Scripture imports 
 as much. AJk and it Jhall be given you, 
 Jeek and ye Jhall Jind, knock and it jhall 
 be opened unto you-, for every one that 
 ajketh receiveth, and he that feeketh fnd- 
 ethf and to him that knocketh it Jhall be 
 openedy Luke xi. 9. But it is moft ex- 
 prefsly afferted by St. 'James, Chap. iv. 
 if z,Te have noty'&^QX\5%iL ye ajknot. And 
 
 Chap. 
 
^8 Of Pr ay e r. 
 
 Chap. V. Sf 16. I'he effectual fervent 
 Prayer of a righteous Man ava i l e t h 
 much. Thefe Paffages, with others that 
 are eafy to be met with, fliew plainly, 
 that Prayer is ftridtly and properly efjca- 
 cious with God ; and it hath the Efficacy 
 of a Condition, by which God hath de- 
 termined, in the Wifdom of his Provi- 
 dence, to grant many Things to thofe 
 who afk him, which he will not grant 
 to thofe who afk him not. 
 
 It is not eafy to make Sceptical Men 
 enter into this Notion. For they obferve 
 that People live and profper, and get 
 Eftates, who never go into a Church, or 
 into their Clofets to pray : And the Scrip- 
 ture tells us that God is kind to the un- 
 thankful and the evil, and j'endcth Rain 
 upon the juji and upon the unjuji. That 
 there is one Eve?it to the Righteous and to 
 the Wicked^ to him that facrijicethy and 
 to hi?n that facrijiceth not. This Obfer- 
 vation, no doubt, will fhew that God 
 hath not left every Thing to depend up- 
 on the Prayers of Men, (which he could 
 not do, without refigning the Sovereign 
 Authority out of his own Hands into the 
 
 Hands 
 
Of pR AY ER. 4p 
 
 Hands of his Creatures) but that nothing 
 depends upon them, or that it will in a/I 
 Cafes be equally the fame Thing, whether 
 we pray, or whether we let it alone, no 
 Experience can poffibly fliew. For there 
 are a thoufand Ways in which the Hand 
 of God may be employed in fending Good 
 or Evil, which do not fall within our No- 
 tice J and amidft all that Inequality which 
 is obfervable in God's Dealings with re- 
 fpe6l to til is World, there may be ftill fo 
 much Regard paid to Virtue, as to verify 
 the Promifes of God, and make it worth 
 every Man's while to ferve him faithfully* 
 The main Strokes of Providence which 
 lie mod within the Compafs of our Ob- 
 fervation, may be determined by fettled 
 Laws refpeding the general Syftem of Na- 
 ture, which the Behaviour of Men cannot 
 alter. And yet there may be other Ads 
 of it, ferving only as Under-Parts to fill 
 up the Harmony of the w^hole, (but of 
 the greateft Importance to the Happinefs 
 of particular Perfons) which admit of 
 Variety, and leave God at Liberty to de- 
 termine this Way or that Way, as parti- 
 cular Reafons {hall dire^. We cannot 
 E point 
 
CO Of Fray E r. 
 
 point out thefe Inflances; but it is not 
 therefore the lefs probable that there are 
 fuch Inftances. If we had the fame fen- 
 fible Evidence when God hears our Pray- 
 ers, and when he rejecfts them, as we have 
 when we deal with Men, this would yield 
 the Convidion which feme Men feem to 
 want. But as we have to do with an in- 
 vifible Being, we cannot have fuch Evi- 
 dence without a perpetual Miracle, and 
 therefore it is unreafonable to exped. it. 
 But tho' we have not the Evidence of 
 Senfe that God hears the Prayers of good 
 Men, we have the Evidence of his Word; 
 and his Word is not the lefs to be relied 
 on, becaufe he fullfils it in fuch a Manner 
 as to leave Room for the Exercife of Faith 
 and Trufl in him, which is the proper 
 Work of a Chriftian in this State of Tryal. 
 
 As to Spiritual Bleffings, it will be 
 more eafy to conceive that they may 
 depend upon our Prayers, becaule they 
 are more fpecial in their Nature, and 
 have not (fo far as it appears) that Con- 
 nexion with any general Syftem which 
 Temporal Bleffings have. God cannot, 
 withoui a Miracle, make his Sun to rife 
 
 upon 
 
Of Pr AY ER» J I 
 
 i^pon the Good^ but the Evil alio will feel 
 its Influences ^ nor can he/end Rain upon 
 the jftifii but the Unjiiji alfo will have a 
 Share in the Advantages of it. But he 
 may give the Graces of his Spirit to them 
 that afk, and deny it to thofe who aflc it 
 not. The Gofpei teaches us to expecfl 
 that he will do fo, and there is no Evi- 
 dence from Experience to fliew the con- 
 trary. God will give fo much Help to 
 all, as to leave Sinners without Excufe, 
 and juftify himfelf in their Condemnation. 
 But he is in a more particular Manner 
 nigh unto all that diligently feek him j 
 which fliould make us cautious, and fear- 
 ful to negled: our Prayers, which is re- 
 moving ourfelves out of the Protetfllon of 
 God's Providence, and expofing ourfelves 
 naked and defencelefs to thofe Tempta- 
 tions, which furround us in this miferable 
 and naughty World. But the great Diffi- 
 culty here is to make Men underftand 
 that there are, or can be, any fuch Influ- 
 ences of the Spirit upon our Minds as the 
 Scripture fpeaks of. I have no Concern 
 with this Quefliion at prefent j for I am 
 arguing with Chriftians, who mufl be 
 E 2 flippofed 
 
jz Of Vrayek. 
 
 fiippofed to believe their Bibles. And yet 
 I will fay thus much to Unbelievers, that 
 in treating this Dodtrine with Ridicule 
 and Contempt, they fhew no great Sign 
 of their good Senfe. Do thty believe 
 that the Soul operates within the Body, 
 and direds its feveral Motions? Why 
 is it not as eafy to conceive, that there 
 may be another Principle ^orMfig within 
 the Mind, and diredling its Motiors like- 
 wife? They will anfwer; We feel it not. 
 Hold off your Hands, and try if you can 
 feel your Heart beat. We grow in the 
 Womb, and feel not the !Fingers of him 
 who fufbioneth us j and whilft we in- 
 creafe in Wifdom and Stature, the De- 
 grees by wiiich we increafe are impercep- 
 tible. W^hy may it not be thus with 
 every one that is born of the Spirit ? Such 
 Objections are the Effed of nothing but 
 Short- fightednefs and want of Thought? 
 
 But tho* Prayer hath Efficacy with God 
 for the obtaining Bleffings both Spiritual 
 and Temporal ; it is only upon Suppofi- 
 tion that it is rightly qualified, /. e. that 
 we afk for proper Things with proper 
 Pifpofuions. We fee this among our- 
 
 felves, 
 
Of Pr AYE R. J 3 
 
 felves, that all Prayers are not alike. A 
 Man will grant a Favour to a Friend, 
 which he will deny to an Enemy, or to a 
 Stranger; and be it to Friend or Foe, 
 there are fome Favours which he will 
 think reafonable, others not fo. Even 
 thus it is with God, who as he is good, 
 fo he is alfo wife; tho' he has a Com- 
 paffion for our Wants, yet he has likewife 
 a Regard to his own Honour. It is fup- 
 pofed all along in the Argument, that 
 God is the Being to whom our Prayers 
 are to be addrefled, and not any Creature; 
 and therefore concerning the Objecft of 
 Prayer, I fhall fay no more than this, 
 that God being made known to us under 
 the Chrillian Revelation as three Perfons, 
 each ading diftindly, and bearing his 
 proper Part in the Difpenfations of his 
 Providence towards us; the Father as 
 Creator, the Son as Redeemer, and the 
 Holy Ghoft asSandifier; Care fliould be 
 taken, that each Perfon has his proper 
 Honour given him. But for the Matter 
 of our Prayers, and the D^fpo/ition with 
 which we ought to pray, they are Subjeds 
 
 E 3 of 
 
54 Of Pr aye r. 
 
 of larger Enquiry. Let us confider thefe 
 Points a little diftindly. And, 
 
 I. As to the Matter of our Prayers ; a 
 Thing is fit for us to afk, which is fit for 
 God to give; and nothing is fit for him 
 to give, but what is agreeable to the Per- 
 fed:ion of his Nature. Therefore, in the 
 firfl Place, we fliould be fecure that what 
 we aflc is lawful ; for, to aflc of God 
 unlawful Things, is to afk him to be 
 unjuli, which is a Difparagement to his 
 Holinefs. This would be the Cafe, if a 
 Man lliould be engaged in unlawful At- 
 tempts againft his Neighbour, and pray to 
 God for Help ; not fo, if any one fhould 
 be engaged in the like Attempts againft 
 him, and he fhould pray for Deliverance, 
 even though it fliould end in the Deftru(5li- 
 on of his Enemy. If a Man makes his 
 own Deftrudion necefiJary to my Safety, 
 I may kill him in my own Defence; and 
 therefore praying for Help in fuch Cafes, 
 is only appealing to God for Juftice. I 
 will go farther, and fay, that when Ini- 
 quity greatly prevails, it is very confident 
 with the Charadler of a good Man to pray 
 that God would interpofe, to correcft, pu- 
 E 4 nifli, 
 
OyPRAYERV 55 
 
 nlfli, or even to extirpate wicked doers, 
 for the Honour of his Laws, and the 
 making his Power and Providence the 
 more vifible among Men. For this is 
 only afking God to do an Ad:, which he 
 himfelf hath declared he has a Right to 
 do, and will do, whenfoever he thinks fit* 
 There are many Prayers in the Book of 
 Pfalms that are penn'd with this Spirit ; 
 and which cams fo much more properly 
 from the Mouth of David, as he was a 
 publick Perfon, and flood at the Head of 
 a Commonwealth, that was eftablifhed 
 upon Temporal Promifes. But in thefe, 
 and in all other Matters which concern 
 this Life only, whether it be that we pray 
 for Deliverance from Evil, or for the ob- 
 taining of Good, one Caution fliould ne- 
 ver be forgotten, which is, that we do it 
 with perfect Relignation to the Will of 
 God. We have an excellent Pattern in 
 that Prayer which our Saviour made in 
 the Garden, a litde before his Paffion, 
 when (as the Hifiory reports) his Soul was 
 exceeding forrowful even unto Death. O 
 my Father, if it be pojjibk, let this Cup 
 pafsfrom me -, never thelefs, not as I will^ 
 
 hut 
 
^6 Of Fr AY ER, 
 
 hut as thou wilt^ Matt. xxvi. 38, 39. And 
 to iliew us how necefTary a Circumftance 
 this is in all Cafes, he hath drawn the 
 Subflance of it into that Prayer which 
 be hath left us for flanding Ufe: I'hy 
 Will he done. The Reafon is, that in 
 thefe Things more efpecially, we know 
 not what to pray for as we ought. God is 
 good, and cannot therefore fend hurtful 
 Things to good Men, as our Saviour in- 
 timates, upon this very Cafe. If a Son 
 fi:all afk Bread of any of you that is a 
 Father^ will he give him a Stone f Or if 
 he ff J all afk a Fif\ will he for a Fifj give 
 him a Serpent ? Or if hejhall afk an Egg, 
 will he offer him a Scorpion f Luke xi. 11, 
 12. And yet, fhould God grant us every 
 Thing we afl^, (fuch is our Ignorance in 
 our own true Good) he would adt in this 
 Manner, and do by us what a good Fa- 
 ther cannot do by his Children ; he would 
 fometimes give us, a Stone for Bread, a 
 Serpent for a Fifh, a Scorpion for an Egg. 
 That is good which is fo upon the whole, 
 or our principal (that is, our eternal) In- 
 tereft confidered. But in this refped it is 
 many Times necefTary that God fhould 
 
 crofs 
 
(9/ Prayer. 57 
 
 crofs our Inclinations; not to mention 
 that even in the Things of this World, 
 we are not always the befl Judges of our 
 ownlnterefl; for our moll hopeful, and, 
 in the iirfl Inftances, the moft fuccefsful 
 Projedts, fometimes fail us in the long 
 Run, and turn upon us to our own Pre- 
 judice : In all which Cafes the Goodnefs 
 of God is {hewn, not in giving us what 
 we afk, but in denying it. 
 
 Scrupulous Minds are apt to give them- 
 felves great Difturbances for want of ob- 
 ferving this necelTary Caution. When 
 Things prefs hard, it is natural for us to 
 look out for Help ; and if we are religi- 
 oufly difpofed, we fliall as naturally have 
 Recourfe to God, as to him in whom all 
 our Hopes mufl center. Thus far all is 
 well. But if, from our Unfuccefsfulnefs 
 in Prayer (as we may efteem it) we draw 
 Inferences in Difparagement of our Vir- 
 tues, and conclude, that becaufe God an- 
 fwereth not ourRequefls in the particular 
 Way we deiire, therefore we have done 
 fomething or other to forfeit his Favour 
 and Bleffing, we reafon extremely ill. 
 To ajjure his Heart before God, every 
 
 Man 
 
58 0/ Prayer,^ 
 
 Man hath a proper Rule, which is to 
 compare his Behaviour with the Law of 
 God ; and tho* he may be partial to him- 
 felf in many Cafes, yet, if he is confcious 
 of nothing but common Failings, and 
 flands clear of all willful habitual Sins, 
 fuch a Knowledge of his general State as 
 this will always be a much better Reafon 
 for him to hope well, than the Unfuccefs- 
 fulnefs of his Prayers can be to defpair ; 
 becaufe if a Man is ever fo good, it will 
 not thence follow, that he is not to be 
 exercifed with AfHidions. Who?n the Lord 
 loveth he chajieneth^ and Jcoiirgeth every 
 Son whom he receiveth, Heb. xii. 6. We 
 are accuftomed to call our Prayers unfuc- 
 cefsful, when we are difappointed of the 
 particular Things we aik by Prayer. But 
 though they are unfuccefsful in that Point, 
 they may not be fo upon the whole; for 
 though God granteth not that Thing, he 
 may grant us fomething that is better, and 
 he will not be the lefs, but the more good 
 for fo doing. This World only conlide- 
 red, it is a good Thing to be delivered 
 from great Trials; but if we carry our 
 Views to the next, it is a much better 
 
 Thing 
 
0/ Pr AYE R. J9 
 
 Thing to obtain that Help and Affiftance 
 from God, which will enable us to bear 
 them patiently. 
 
 When religious Scruples have laid fafl 
 hold upon the Mind, it is a hard Matter 
 to fhakethem ofFj efpecially if (which is 
 frequently the Cafe) they fall in with a 
 melancholly Conftitution of Body. And 
 therefore, to prevent Miftakes of this 
 kind, I think it would generally be a good 
 Rule, as much as is poffible, to avoid 
 Particularities in our Prayers. I have 
 great Authority for this Advice. Chriji 
 hath taught us to pray for our daily Bread, 
 which is only alking fuch a Supply of 
 temporal good Things, as God fhall fee 
 fit for us, fo long as it fhall pleafe him 
 to continue us in this World, which is 
 the leaffc we can afk, if we pray at all. 
 But fhould it come into any one's Mind 
 to pray for Wealth, or Honour, or Power, 
 he would do it without Warrant either 
 from Scripture or good Senfe, and there 
 would be no End of Mens Doubts and 
 Fears, if they fhould make an Eflimate of 
 their Intereft with God by their Succefs in 
 fuch Prayers as thefe. Not that thefe are 
 
 hot 
 
6o 0/ Pray E r. 
 
 not very good Things, when Men have 
 Virtue and Difcretion to ufe them well j 
 but it is an Offence to common Decency 
 to take upon ourlelves to be our own 
 Carvers, and to dired: God in what Way 
 he is to provide for us. The Reafon of 
 the Cafe is the fame as to the Evils of 
 Life; for we know no more what it is 
 proper for us X.0 fuffer^ than what it is fit 
 for us to have \ and therefore here too, 
 general Requefts, to the Purpofe of what 
 we find in the Lord's Prayer, lead lis not 
 into T'emptation^ but deliver us from Evily 
 will be for the moft Part beft j and I be- 
 lieve that a wife and a good Man would 
 be no more inclined to be earneft with 
 God for the Removal of this or that par- 
 ticular AfBidion which he fuffers, than 
 to be urgent for the obtaining any parti- 
 cular Blefling which he may defire, if it 
 were not that it is much harder to bear 
 Pain, than it is to fuffer Want in Things 
 which are not neceffary for us. It is our 
 Impatience that makes us run out into 
 Particularities; which is our Infirmity : 
 And I am not the more afraid to call it (o^ 
 becaufe we have our Saviour's Example 
 
 for 
 
Of Vk ay e r. ^i 
 
 for it, in afking that the Cup (by which 
 he meant the bufferings that he was to 
 bear for our Sakes) might pafs from him ; 
 for he was a Man, and had the common 
 Feehngs of Human Nature. But if wc 
 will take our Saviour's Example, let us 
 take it throughout, and we fliall ftill be 
 right; that is, let us never prefume to 
 afk of God Deliverance from Afflid:ions 
 (how hard foever they may be for FleiTi 
 and Blood to bear) but with this Referve, 
 fecret or exprefled, NevertheJefs, not my 
 Will, but thine be done. 
 
 In a few Words : The fingle Thing 
 which we may abfolutely afk of God, be- 
 caufe we may be abfolutely fecure it is 
 not unfit for him to give, is the Grace of 
 his Spirit to affifl: us in well doing. And 
 this is what our Saviour intimates to us 
 in the PafTage before cited, where having 
 firft {hewn us our Ignorance as to tempo- 
 ral Good, by the Comparifon of a Son's 
 alking a Stone for Bread, a Serpent for a 
 Fijh, &c. he diredls, in the Conclufion, 
 to that which we may afk of God with 
 full AiTurance not to faii. Jf y^ then be- 
 ing evil know how to give good Gifts unto 
 
 5 your 
 
6i Of Tray E R. 
 
 your Children^ how much more Jh all your 
 heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to 
 them that ajk it? He does not fay, that 
 becaufe a Father will give his Son Bread, 
 or a Fifh, or an Egg, therefore God will 
 do fo too ; but he fays, that God will 
 give his Holy Spirit, which is equivalent 
 to all the Gifts of his Providence put to- 
 gether; which will always be good and 
 profitable for us, though the Bleffings of 
 this Life (as they are commonly efleemed) 
 may not always be (o. We are to under- 
 hand this (as was hinted above) of that 
 kind of Afliftance which is neceffary to 
 enable us to do the Duties of our Stations, 
 and to qualify us for Favour and Accep- 
 tance with God. For as to thofe kinds of 
 Improvements by which different Men ex- 
 cell one another in the Perfection of their 
 fpiritual Eftate, thefe are (or may be at 
 lead) fubjea: to the Will of God, as di- 
 redted by the general Views of his Pro- 
 vidence, as all other Bleffings are. All 
 whom God calls to Salvation by the Go- 
 fpel {hall have the Means of qualifying 
 themfelvcs for it, by the Conditions of the 
 Gofpel, if they will honeflly and carefully 
 
 endca- 
 
0/ Prayer. 6} 
 
 endeavour after it. But it will not follow , 
 that all may attain to the fame Degree of 
 Perfedtion. God hath created Men to dif- 
 ferent Degrees of Happinefs in this WOrld, 
 and he may have created them to diffe- 
 rent Degrees of Glory in the next; which 
 I remark that we may not think the worfe 
 of our Prayers, if, when we are not want- 
 ing in any Thing which is necefTary to a 
 common Virtue, there fhould be fome 
 rare Examples, which by all our Endea- 
 vours we cannot come up to. It may be 
 the Will of God that we fhould advance 
 no farther, and if it is fo, there we muffc 
 be content to reft; nor fhould we be any 
 more difpleafed with ourfelves, becaufe 
 we cannot reach the Perfection of the 6e/^, 
 than the l^ejl are, or ought to be, that 
 they cannot equal the Perfedlion of ^;z- 
 gels, 
 
 2. From the Matter of our Prayers I 
 now pafs on to the Difpofition of Mind 
 with which we ought to pray; and this 
 in general muft correfpond with thofe 
 Profeflions which Prayer imports. For 
 Falfhood is an immoral Thing, and falfe 
 ProfefTions, under the Shew or Mafk of 
 
 Religion, 
 
^4 0/ Prayer. 
 
 Religion, are of all kinds of Fal{hoods 
 theVorft. Every Chriftian is fuppofed 
 to believe in Chrift ; and it is felf-evident, 
 that without the Faith of a Chriftian, the 
 Prayer of a Chriftian cannot ftand. But 
 if a Man has Faith, he may be wanting 
 in Obedience ; and it is a Point well worth 
 confidering how far an immoral Life 
 difqualifies us for the Duty of Prayer. 
 St. P^z// exhorts us to lift up holy Hands, 
 1 Tim. ii. 8. And the wife Man tells us, 
 that the Sacrifice of the Wicked is an Abo- 
 mination^ Prov. xxi. 27. This implies 
 that the Acceptablenefs of our Prayers 
 with God doth greatly depend upon our 
 moral State. Yet we muft not fay that it 
 Jo much depends upon our moral State, 
 that every Defed will unqualify us ; for 
 it is by God's Grace that we are enabled 
 to do well } and this Grace is to be ob* 
 tained by alking for it. My Way of 
 thinking in this Matter is this; i. That 
 the loweft Degree of Virtue *s fufficient 
 to qualify us to allc that Help from God 
 which is neceftary to our farther Growth 
 and Improvement. Some De£-ree of Vir- 
 tue is neceftary to qualify us to pray ; for 
 
 when 
 
Of Pr AY;E r. 
 
 when Men, quite carelefs and hardened 
 in their Sins, prefume to pray (as they 
 may do for Cuftom or Fafliion-fake) they 
 do but add Sin to Sin ; becaufe they make 
 a Profeffion of Reverence to God with 
 their Mouths, whilfl their Hearts are far 
 from him. But if a Man has fo much 
 Thought and Reflexion as to be convinced 
 of Ihs evil Ways, and to take up fome 
 good Refolutions of Amendment for the 
 Time to come, he may pray to God to 
 ftrengthen thefe good Refolutions, and to 
 place his imperfecft Repentance to his Ac- 
 count fo far as the Value of it will go. 
 For why? He aiks only what ,i,s iit for 
 God to give, and what he. hath given us 
 Encouragement in his Word to believe, 
 that he will beftow. Hut this I would 
 have underflopd of private Prayer only ^ 
 for. in public k Prayer there is. another Con- 
 fideration to be taken into the Account. \n 
 private Prayer the T-ranfadlion lyes only 
 betw^^n God and a Man's own Con- 
 fcience ; :and God .who fearcheth the 
 Heart, feeth the.Correfpondency of pur 
 inward Sentiments, with our Qutward or 
 verbal Profeffion?. . But when ,a Man 
 Y joins 
 
8l 6y pR AY E R. 
 
 joins with a Congregation of Chriftians 
 in publick Prayer^ the Tranfadlion lyes 
 alfo between him and the Church, to 
 which he offers himfelf as a pubHck Ex- 
 ample ; and where an Example is offered 
 there ought to be Confiftency, otherwife 
 the Nature of the Example changes. And 
 therefore thofe who are fcandaloufly im- 
 moral in their Lives, are not qualified to 
 join in Prayer in the publick Affemblies 
 or Congregations of Chriftians : For a 
 Man's Behaviour is a much better Evi- 
 dence to the World of his inward Dif- 
 pofition, than a mere Profeffion can be, 
 which when it agrees not with the ge- 
 neral tenor of his Life, will be look'd 
 upon as Hypocrify; and Hypocrify makes 
 a bad Example worfe inilead of mending 
 it. This exadlly agrees with the ancient 
 Difcipline, whereby, publick notorious 
 Offenders were excluded from the Prayers 
 of the Church, as well as from the Par- 
 ticipation of the Holy Sacrament. — But 
 of this more hereafter, when I come to 
 treat of the Sacrament. And therefore, 
 2. Tho! the lowefl Degree of Virtue is 
 fuiHcient to qualify us to aik that Help 
 
 from 
 3 
 
0/ Prayer. 8j» 
 
 from God which is neceflary to our fur- 
 ther Growth and Improvement; our ge- 
 neral Intereft with God, and confequent- 
 ly the general Efficacy of our Prayers, 
 will depend upon the Meafure of our 
 Improvement. . The Bleffings of Provi- 
 dence are the proper Inftances of God's 
 Love to us ; and this we feel within our- 
 felves, that the more we love our Friends, 
 the more ready we are to liften to their 
 Requefts. And reafonable it is that it 
 fliould be fo J for it is fhewing a proper 
 Diftindtion to real Merit, which is or 
 always ought to be the Foundation of 
 Love. With God it always is fo, who 
 being infinitely removed from the Weak- 
 nefles, and Paffions of Men, efteems every 
 Man in Proportion to his Virtues. This 
 fhews the Reafon of thofe PalTages in 
 Scripture (of which there is a great Va- 
 riety) where God is reprefented as taking 
 Pleafure in the Homage paid him by good 
 Men ; as having his Eyes over them, and 
 his Ears open to their Prayers : And if he 
 is kind to the Unthankful and to the Evi/, 
 it is not becaufe they pray to him, but be- 
 F 2 cauic 
 
84 Cy Pr AY E R. 
 
 catife, for Reafons of Providence, he fees 
 it to be convenient. 
 
 This is a great Encouragement to well 
 doing, that it makes God our Friend, who 
 will be ready to hear us in all Things 
 that we call upon him for. And this is 
 the proper Foundation for that Truji in 
 God which feafons our Devotions, and 
 makes them to become an Offering of a 
 fweet fmelling Savour. St. James exhorts 
 us to ajk in Faith, nothing wavering, 
 yam, i. 6. And our Saviour — - yill 
 Things that ye Jhall aJk in Prayer be- 
 lieving ye Jhall receive ^ Matt. xxi. 22. 
 A bad Man cannot afk in Faith ; and 
 therefore bad Men are not fit to pray, any 
 further than (as I faid juft now) for that 
 Grace which is neceflary to enable them 
 to repent and amend. But good Men, 
 whatever be the Subjedl of their Prayers, 
 may afk in Faith, and ought to do fo; 
 becaufe where there is a proper Founda- 
 tion for Truft, in our own Condud, to 
 fufpedl that God will rejed: our Prayers, 
 is to difpute his Goodnefs. It is fuppofed 
 that a good Man will afk nothing but 
 what it is fit for him to afk, and with 
 
 fuch 
 
0/ Prayer. 8 
 
 fach Submiflion to the Will of God in 
 doubtfill Points as Religion implies. And 
 therefore the Faith here recommended is 
 not an AfTurance that God will grant us 
 precifely the individual Thing we may 
 wiih for, but that or fomething equiva- 
 lent to it. In (hort it is an Afllirance that 
 all Things fiall work together for good 
 to them that love God; and when we are 
 fully pofTeiTed of this Belief, we have all 
 the Comfort within ourfelves that Reli- 
 gion can yield. 
 
 There is one Difpofition more men- 
 tioned in Scripture, and that is Fervency -, 
 which implies not only Attention, but 
 fbme Earneftnefs of Deiire alfo to obtain 
 what we pray for. Want of Attention 
 in Prayer (fo far as it is avoidable by a 
 common Degree of Prudence) is a fure 
 Token of a carelefs Mind, and fliews 
 great Irreverence to Almighty God. But 
 we are not to think the fame of every 
 wandring Thought, which may arife 
 from mere Inadvertency, Surprize, or a 
 ftrong Attachment of Mind, when, in 
 his general Temper and Difpofition, a 
 Perfon is ferious and devout. If a Man 
 F 3 wants 
 
%6 0/ Prayer. 
 
 wants the Spirit of Devotion, his Prayers 
 will be faulty how pund:ually foever he 
 may attend at the Time of Praying. But 
 if he comes pofTefTed with humble Reve- 
 rence to God, be the Interruptions which 
 he may cafnally feel more or lefs, they 
 will not fpoil the Virtue of his Prayers. 
 The general Honefty of his Intentions, 
 will fupply fuch particular Defeats as 
 thefe. And if Men attend to what they 
 are about when they are faying their 
 Prayers, and confider the Value of the 
 Bleffings they afk, they cannot want 
 Earneftnefs ; fuch a Degree of it, I mean, 
 as is fuitable to ^heir natural Tempers. 
 They may not feel perhaps Extafies and 
 Tranfports, nor is it neceflary that they 
 fliouldj for this plain Reafon, becaufe it 
 may not be always in their Power. E- 
 very Man may be Sober and Serious j but 
 every Man cannot work himfelf up into 
 a Pafiion. This depends upon Conflituti- 
 on, and Occafions, and Circumftances 
 accidentally adminiftred; and therefore it 
 would be judging very ill, if a Man, in 
 all other Refpeds well difpofed, fhould 
 find fault with himfelf, and think his 
 
 Prayers 
 
0/ Prayer; 87 
 
 Prayers will not be heard, becaufe they 
 are not offered up with a Degree of 
 Warmth and Vehemency, which he is 
 not accuftomed to find upon any other 
 Occafion. We may have the more Satif- 
 fadion in our Prayers perhaps, the warm- 
 er they are ; and there may this good Ef- 
 feO: follow, that as the Impreflions of 
 Religion are the more ftrong, fo they 
 may alfo be the more lafting : For which 
 Reafons no Helps fliould be negledted, 
 which are proper to raife and quicken , 
 our Devotions. The Piety of Chriftians 
 fince the Reformation, . hath furnifhed us 
 with a Variety of Books ferving as Helps 
 to Devotion ; and I doubt not but many 
 have found and will find very good Im- 
 provement from the Ufe of fuch Books: 
 But they are to be ufed with Caution. 
 For thefe Writers above all others are 
 moft apt to give a Scope to their Imagi- 
 nations, and affe(ft more to draw fine Pi- 
 (5tures than to exprefs what is juft and 
 natural in human Life ; and if Men will 
 not be pleafed with themfelves, unlefs 
 they can feel fuch Difpofitions as will an- 
 fwer to every high flown Exprefllon 
 F 4 which 
 
SS 0/ Prayer. 
 
 which they meet with in fuch Books, 
 they will be made very uiieafy, and very 
 iinreafonably fo. Perhaps thefe Writers 
 themfelves felt nofhiiig equal to their oWn 
 Defcriptions j but if they did, why muft 
 the Warmth of oiie Man's Temper be 
 . made the Standard of another Man's De- 
 votion ? I think that for general Ufe, Forms 
 of F^rayer cannot be too chafte in their 
 Conipofition ; and oiir Reformers were of 
 ihe fame Mind. For look into the Book 
 of Common Prayer, and what will you 
 find? Why every Thing that is folemn 
 and grave, but none of thofe rapturous 
 Expreffions which are to be met with in 
 many private Compofitions. The Reafon 
 was, not that our Reformers wanted a 
 Spirit of Piety, but they faw plainly, what 
 evey wife Man fees, that to feel Extafies 
 and Tranfports in Devotion is not the 
 Turn of every Man's Temper. But this 
 amounts to a Confeilion that God may as 
 acceptably be ferved in a more fedate 
 Way; and this I will venture to fay, that 
 if there be any Degree of Warmth which 
 a ferious tJfe of thefe Prayers cannot 
 raifc^ it is fuch a Degree as a Man may 
 
 be 
 
0/" Prayer. gp 
 
 be without, and be never the worfe Chri- 
 ftian. I would not be undeKflood as con- 
 demning all other Forms in a private 
 Way ; I would only give a Caution (as I 
 faid) againft thofe Miftakes, which very 
 good Perfons are fometimes apt to run in- 
 to by the undue Ufe of them. Men 
 ftiould confiilt their particular Tempers 
 and Conftitutions in the Choice of fuch 
 Books, as they do in the Choice of their 
 natural Food, and be content with a plain 
 and fimple Diet when the Stomach will 
 not bear high Sauces. 
 
 One Caution (hould never be forgotten, 
 which is, that we afk all Things in the 
 Name of Chrifi^ or in Truft upon his 
 all-fufficient Sacrifice. I have before ob- 
 ferved to you, thiit Chrijl hath commanded 
 us thus to pray J and therefore he that does 
 not pray after this Manner, does not pray 
 as a Chriflian ought to pray. It is not al- 
 ways necelTary that this Circumftance 
 fliould be exprejfed; but in Mitid and 
 Intention it always ought to be. It may 
 feem ftrange, perhaps, that in the Lord's 
 Prayer we are not taught to afk in the 
 Name of Chriji, The Reafon is, that 
 
 this 
 
pO 0/* Pr AY E R. 
 
 this new Manner of praying was not to 
 take Place till after the Death of Chriji. 
 Hitherto (fays our Saviour) ye have 
 ajked nothing in my Name — At that 
 Day ye fhall ajk in my Name. — Joh. xvi. 
 23. At iiohat Day ? Why after my Death 
 and Refurredtion ; for this he had been 
 fpeaking of juft before. A little while and 
 ye Jhali not fee me^ and again, a little 
 while and ye Jhallfee me. Verily, verily, 
 I fay unto you, that ye fhall weep and la- 
 ment, but the World f}^ all rejoice -, and ye 
 floall be forrowful, but your Sorrow floall 
 be turned into Joy, This (hews that the 
 Circumflance of praying in the Name of 
 Chriji, was founded upon the Conlidera- 
 tion of his Death, * by which having 
 difcharged the Office of our High Prieft 
 on Earth, he was to enter into the Hea- 
 vens to appear in the Prefence of God for 
 us. To this the Apoftle alludes, Heb. iv. 
 14. Seeing then we have a great High 
 Prieji that is paffed into the Heavens — 
 let us come boldly to the T'hrone of Grace, 
 
 * Igaoratus erat ille precandi mos 8c vim fuam prjeci- 
 pue accepit ex obedientiaChrifti in morte praeftita.Gr(J««/. 
 
 that 
 
Of the Lor r>*s Supper. 91 
 
 that we may obtain Mercy y and find Grace 
 to help in T^ime of Need. 
 
 From the Duty of Prayer, 
 I now proceed to the Partici- OfthehoK^\ 
 
 ^ buPPER. 
 
 pation of the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper, the End of which is thus 
 fet down by St. Paul^ i Cor. xi. 23, 24. 
 ^he Lord JefuSj in the fame Night that 
 he was betrayed, took Bread, and when 
 he had given Thanks, he brake it, and 
 faid, Take, eat, this is my Body which is 
 broken for you, this do in Remembrance of 
 me. After the fame Manner alfo he took 
 the Cup, when he hadfupped, faying. This 
 Cup is the New Tefiament in my Bloods 
 which (as our Saviour's Words are. Matt. 
 XX vi. 28.) is Jhed for many for the Remif 
 fion of Sins j This do, as oft as ye fmll 
 drink it, in Remembrance of me. 
 
 From hence it appears, that the End 
 of the Inftitution of the Lord's Supper, is 
 the Remembrance of Chrifi as the Saviour 
 and Redeemer of the World j or the Re- 
 membrance of Chrifi under the fpecial 
 Character of one, who by his Death hath 
 obtained for us RemifTjon and Reconci- 
 liation 
 
pi Of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Hation with God. And this (by the Way) 
 yields a good Evidence backward, that 
 the Blood of Chriji is a real Propitiation ; 
 for conlidering it only as a Teftlmony or 
 an Example, the Sacrament might have 
 been appointed in Remembrance of all 
 the Martyrs that ever fhould be, as well 
 as in Remembrance of Chriji, If you 
 fay that ChriJI was the Founder of our 
 Religion, and therefore had this Diftin- 
 BXon paid him; this Anfwer will not 
 ierve. For the Sacrament was appointed 
 not to {hew forth Chrift^ but to (hew 
 forth the Death of Chriji : And why his 
 Death, I afk, but becaufe there was a; 
 Virtue and Efficacy in his Blood, which 
 there is not in the Blood of common 
 Men ? We muft now, therefore, enquire 
 what this Remembrance means, or how 
 much the Adt of eating and drinking at 
 the Lord's Table implies : And this we 
 may learn from the Words of St. Pauly 
 1 Cor. X. 1 6. T^he Cup of Blejjing which 
 we blefs^ is it not the Communion of the 
 Blood of Chriji f ^he. Bread which we 
 break J is it not the Communion of the Bod f 
 of Chriji f The Apoftle's Intention here, 
 5 was 
 
0/ ^/;^ L O R d's S U P P E R. 93 
 
 was to difTuade the Corinthians from Ido- 
 latry. My dearly beloved, fee from Ido- 
 latry, J^ 14. What Sort of Idolatry this 
 was we under ftand from ^ 27, 28. If 
 any of them that believe not bid you to a 
 Feaf, and ye be difpofed to go, whatever 
 isfet before you eat, afking no ^eftion for 
 Confcience Sake. But if any Man fay un- 
 to you, this is offered in Sacrifice unto 
 Idols, eat not, for his Sake thatfjewed if, 
 and for Confcience Sake. This was Ido- 
 latry ; eating of Things that had been of- 
 fered to Idols, in Company with Idolaters 
 in their idolatrous Feafts. For the Manner 
 of thofe Sacrifices was, that when Part of 
 them had been confurrred upon the Altar, 
 as the Idol's Portion, thofe who offered 
 them fat down with their Friends, and 
 feafted upon the reft. This was fhewing 
 a religious Refpeft to the Idol, and fa in- 
 tended by the Offerers; juft as a Man 
 fhews a civil Refpe(5t to his Neighbour, 
 when he eats and drinks at his Table- 
 And the A€l had the fame Conftru(5tion 
 in all, who, underftanding the Meaning 
 and Intention of thefe Feafts, were Par- 
 takers of them, though they themfelves 
 
 I'tciiii 
 
94 0/ ^^^ Lo rd's Su P P E R, 
 
 facrificed not. They joined in an idola- 
 trous Adl, and in fo doing were guilty of 
 Idolatry. 
 
 To make them feel the Weight of this 
 Reafoning, the Apoftle flates a Compari- 
 fon between thefe Idol Feafts, the Jewi/h 
 Sacrifical Feafts, and the Chriftian Sacra- 
 ment. 'T'he Cup ofBleJJing which we blefs^ 
 is it not the Communion of the Blood of 
 Chrijl ? The Bread which we breaks is it 
 not the Communion of the Body ofChriJi? — 
 Behold Ifrael after the Flejh^ Are not they 
 which eat of the Sacrifices Partakers of 
 the Altar ? — I fay then^ that the Things 
 which the Gentiles facrifice, they facrifice 
 to Devils, and not to God-, and I would 
 not that ye Jhould have Fellowjhip with 
 Devils. The Amount of which is this ; 
 That as eating Bread and drinking Wine 
 at the Lord's Table, is the Communion 
 of the Body and Blood of Chrifi j and as 
 the eating of the Jewifi Sacrifices was 
 the Communion of the Jewijh Altar; 
 even fo, the joining with the Heathens in 
 their idolatrous Feafts was the Commu- 
 nion of Devils, or having Fellowftiip with 
 Devils, It is fuppofed that the A<5t of 
 
 eating 
 
Of the ho tld\ Sij??ER. pj 
 
 eating and drinking had the fame Mean- 
 ing in all thefe Cafes, and that the Chri- 
 flians of thofe Times well underftood 
 what this Meaning was, in Reference to 
 the Chriftian Sacrament and the Jewt/b 
 Sacrifices -, whence they were led to con- 
 clude what it meant as to the Heathen Sa- 
 crifices. But the Argument will go back- 
 ward as well as forward, and we may rea- 
 fon thus; " Whatever was meant by feafl- 
 " ing upon the Heathen or 'Jewijlo Sacri- 
 ** fices, the fame is meant by eating and 
 " drinking at the Lord's Table, Refpedt 
 " being had to the eflential Points, in 
 " which thefe feveral Ways of Worfhip 
 " diflfer from each other." Confider then 
 how the Comparifon will lye. The Chri- 
 ftian Sacrifice is Chriji once offering him- 
 felf upon the Crofs as an Attonement for 
 the Sins of the World. The Bread and 
 the Wine are, by his own Appointment, 
 his Body and Blood fymbolically repre- 
 fented; that is, they ftand in the Place of 
 his Body and Blood, and are to be conji- 
 dered as fuch. Confequently, the eating 
 Bread and drinking Wine at the Lord's 
 Table precifely anfwers to the feafting 
 
 upon 
 
^6 Of the Lo R D*s S u p p e r. 
 
 upon the Sacrifices both among the Hea- 
 thens, and under the Jewifi Difpenfation. 
 As therefore the Heathens in their Feafts 
 paid a reHgious Refpe(5t to Idols, and the 
 yews in their Feafts, a reHgious Refpedt 
 to the true God, confider'd under the fpe- 
 cial Chara<Ser of their Deliverer from the 
 Egyptian Bondage j fo Chriftians, -b^ eat- 
 ing and drinking at the Lord's Table, pay 
 a religious Refpedl to the fame God, con- 
 fidered as their Deliverer from Sin and 
 Condemnation by the Sacrifice of Chriji : 
 And v/hat can this amount to lefs, thart 
 an Acknov^'ledgment of their Truft and 
 Reliance upon the Sacrifice of Chriji for 
 Pardon and Reconciliation with God ? 
 
 It appears from hence, that the par- 
 taking of the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper, hath the Nature of a folemn Vow 
 and Covenant, in which we declare our 
 Acceptance of the Salvation offered by the 
 Gofpel, through the Redemption that is 
 in Chriji J ejus ^ and bind ourfelves to a 
 Behaviour fuitable to ourProfeffion. For 
 he that accepts the Benefits of the Gofpel 
 muft be underftood as accepting them up- 
 on the Terms the Gofpel offers them, 
 
 and 
 
Of the L o R d's S u p p e r . 97 
 
 and thefe, you have feen, are Repen- 
 tance and good Works. This is the 
 Purport of the Baptifmal Vow, of 
 which therefore every A6t of commu- 
 nicating is the Repetition and Confirma- 
 tion : And in their kind they are both of 
 them very ufeful Inflitutions ; the one, to 
 give Evidence of our Faith at firfl, the 
 other, to give Proof of our conilant Con- 
 tinuance in it afterwards. Such publick 
 Profeflions as thefe, are not only a good 
 Example to others, but likewife very 
 profitable to ourfelves; as folemn En- 
 gagements are generally apt to be a great- 
 er Curb upon Mens Tempers, than a 
 naked Senfe and Apprehenfion of Truth 
 and Right. He who ads againfl his 
 inward Perfuafion muft know it himfelf ; 
 but he may hope that no Body elfe may 
 know it, and may have Recourfe, when- 
 ever he pleafes, to the common Plea of 
 Ignorance and Miftake. But he who ads 
 againfl: his own Engagements, has no Ex- 
 cufe to offer. The Engagement fhews his 
 Convidion ; and his ading againfl: Con- 
 vidion thus publickly known and under-? 
 ftood, expofes him to publick Shame/ 
 Q Ana 
 
9' 
 
 le Lo R d's Supper. 
 And, with refpedl to Confcience, it is 
 evident, that it will be held more flrongly 
 by many Obligations than by onej as 
 ^ Man's Body will be fafter bound by 
 many Cords than by one, A voluntary 
 -Engagement will create an Obligatiori 
 where there is nothing in the Thing (fe- 
 parate from the Engagement) that is 
 binding : And therefore when any Thing 
 is in its own Nature obligatory, the En- 
 gagement ftrengthens the Obligation in a 
 Degree proportionable to its own binding 
 Force. It is upon this Principle that the 
 Uie of Oaths in Civil Cafes is founded. 
 A Man is bound, antecedently to his Oath, 
 t<i^ pay due Allegiance to his Sovereign 
 Prince; and to do Juilice between Neigh- 
 bour apd Neighbour, when Queftions of 
 Right come before him as a Witnefs, or 
 as a Judge. But Oaths add Weight to 
 thefe Obligations; for Perjury is a worfe 
 3in than fimple Injuflice. Now the Adt 
 of receiving the holy Communion hath 
 fomething in it equivalent to an Oath ; by 
 which we pledge our Allegiance to Chriji 
 and his Laws. This aggravates every Sin 
 we^ommit afterwards 5 which is fo fen- 
 
 fibly 
 
ty/^^" Lo R d's Su P P E R. pC) 
 
 fibly felt by many ferioiis Chrifti^ns, that 
 they are afraid to come to the Sacra- 
 ment, left by breaking this folemn En- 
 gagement, fo often repeated, they fliould 
 offend God more and more. This, as a 
 Scruple, fhall be confidered hereafter. 
 What I mention it for now is only to 
 fhew, that the due Participation of the 
 holy Sacrament, muft be a very great Se- 
 curity to the Virtues of a Chriftian, as it 
 helps to make Men uneafy in their 
 Vices; and what but this can be tne 
 Reafon why many others, Chriftians in- 
 deed by Profeffion, but immoral in their 
 Lives, refufe to come to the Sa-. rament, 
 though cuftornarily they join in other 
 Parts of Worfhip? Every Act of Wor- 
 fhip virtually contains a Profeflioa ox Re- 
 verence and Obedience to God ; which 
 yet may, and does in a great Meailire, 
 efcape carelefs Men, who come with little 
 Thought and Attention to what they are 
 doing. But this moft folemn A61 of the 
 Chriftian Worfliip, by which we more 
 diredlly and formally bind ourfelves to 
 Repentance and a new Life, commands 
 pur Attention 5 and comes with fuch A ws 
 G z ^nd 
 
jpo Of the L o R d's Supper. 
 
 and Terror, that bad Men cannot (land 
 it, till they have got quite the better of 
 their Confciences, and laid afide all ferious 
 Thoughts of Religion. 
 
 You have now feen what is the Nature 
 and life of the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper J and hence you may fee likewife 
 the Obligation that lyes upon all who pro- 
 fefs the Name of Chriji^ and hope to be 
 faved by him, to fhew a proper Regard 
 to it. The Inftitution refts upon the 
 Authority of Chrijl^ who hath command- 
 ed us to do this in Remembrance of him ; 
 and fmce the Sacrament is the Renewal 
 of the Covenant founded in his Blood, 
 the refufing to partake of it mud there- 
 fore, virtually, be a Renunciation of the 
 Covenant, as it is alfo the adlual Negledt, 
 pf the very befl Means which the Gofpel 
 has provided to lead us to a good Life. 
 I fpeak this not of thofe who keep from 
 the Lord's Table upon Scruples of Con- 
 fcience, and are in other Points obfervant 
 of the Law of Chriji ; for in fuch Cafes 
 the Conftrud:ion will not hold ; and it is 
 to be hoped that the Goodnefs of God 
 will, in fome other Way, fupply the Want 
 
 of 
 
Oy ^^^ L O R d's S U P P E R, 
 
 bf the Means, when he fees that a Mail 
 is withheld from the Ufe of it, not for 
 want of Confcience, but by the real 
 (though perhaps millaken) Dictates of 
 Confcience. But whoever profanely neg- 
 lects the Sacrament, gives the fame Evi- 
 dence of his Difaffediion to Chrijl^ as he 
 would do of Difaffedion to his Sovereign 
 Prince, fliould he refufe an Oath of Al- 
 legiance, when called to it by lawful Au- 
 thority : And whatever be the bad Confe- 
 quences of this Negledl, as to his Spiritual 
 Eftate, they will lye at his Door. 
 
 This Obfervation will be confirmed by 
 what I am next to offer concerning the 
 Efficacy of the Sacrament. You have al- 
 ready feen, that all who partake of thd 
 Lord's Table profefs their Acceptance of 
 the Salvation offered by the Gofpel. And 
 fince this is done by the Appointment of 
 God, they muft at the fame Time be un- 
 derftood as receiving an Affurance front 
 him that he will fullfil his Promifes ini 
 Chriji to all worthy Receivers. Wheri 
 Chrijl gave the Sacrament to his Apoflles,- 
 at the firfl Inftitution of it, his Adt in ad- 
 miniftring it, was virtually a Promife of 
 G 3 Salva- 
 
10 2 Of the Lo R d's S u p p E R . 
 
 Salvation through the Sacrifice of his Body 
 and Blood. And this Ordinance being ap- 
 pointed for perpetual and ftanding Ufe, 
 the fame Promife muft be underilood as 
 perpetually repeated and ratified whenever 
 tlie Sacrament is adminiftred. So that, in 
 Virtue of this Inflitution, there is a con- 
 flant and vifible Communion kept up be- 
 tween Chrifl and his faithful Members % 
 He, by the Inflitution, conflantly and vi- 
 fibly declaring Salvation by his Blood ; 
 and They, by complying with it, conflant- 
 ly and vifibly teftifying their Acceptance 
 of the Mercy offered, and thereby (prin- 
 cipally) maintaining and preferving their 
 Interefl: in Chriji^ that is, their Claim or 
 Title to Salvation by his Sufferings and 
 Death „ K^ij principally -y for every Prayer 
 which we offer up in the Name of Chriji-^ 
 every publick Profcflion we make of our 
 Faith and Trufl: in him, contributes, in 
 its Place and Order, to the keeping up our 
 Interefl in Chrijl. But the Participation 
 of the Sacrament, eminently and above 
 all other Religious Ads, ferves to this 
 Purpofe, as it was a Rite fpecially appoin- 
 ted to be the Memorial of the Death and 
 
 Sacri- 
 
0/ /^d* L O R t>'s S U P P E R. loj 
 
 Sacrifice of Chriji, When the Jews were 
 called to be the People of God, their Ob- 
 fervance of the legal Appointments was 
 the T'enure upon which they held their 
 Privileges; and the Contempt of them, 
 would have inferred a Revolt from God 
 the Creator. In like Manner, the Obfer° 
 Vance of the Appointments of the Gofpel, 
 is the 'tenure upon which we hold the 
 Gofpel Privileges 5 and the Contempt of 
 them v/ill infer a Revolt from Chriji the 
 Redeemer. Mere Natural Religion can- 
 not give u3 an Interefl in Chriji % Blood i 
 For when Men^ repenting of their Sins, 
 come to Baptifm ; it is not their Repen- 
 tance that gives Remiffion. This is the 
 free Grace of God in Chriji^ which their 
 Repentance qualifies them to receive by 
 the Ufe of the Sacrament. What mere 
 Natural Religion cannot gi^oe^ mere Na- 
 tural Religion will not continue ; upon 
 Suppofition that being once admitted by 
 Bap-ifm to the Golpel Privileges, there is 
 any other Appointment, fupported by the 
 fame Authority, by which, as Chriftians^ 
 We are bound to make confiant Profeffiort 
 of our Union and Communion with Chrijit 
 
 Q 4 Tkk 
 
104 ^f ^^^ Lor d's S u p p e r. 
 
 This is plainly the Cafe of the Lord's Sup- 
 per, which is as much a covenanting Rite 
 as Baptifm is ; and whenever a Covenant 
 once made, by the Will of the Founder, 
 requires Retiewal and Confirmation^ the 
 want of Confirmation deftroys the whole. 
 If the Sacrament is the Affurance of 
 God's Mercy and Goodnefs towards us by 
 the Blood of Chrifi ; it mufl be the Aflu- 
 rance of every Benefit which is the Fruit 
 of his Death; of which one is the Gift of 
 his Spirit. Our firft Title to this Gift we 
 acquire at our Baptifm, in which we are 
 faid to be born bf Water and of the Spirit, 
 (Joh. iii. 5.) which, as you have feen be- 
 fore, God hath promifed to give to them 
 that ajk him. This (liews that Prayer is 
 a means of obtaining God's Spirit; and it 
 fhews that receiving the Sacrament is a 
 means of obtaining it too: For the Ad of 
 Communicating hath in it the Nature and 
 Virtue of Prayer. The Sacrament is a 
 covenanting Rite ; and as God on his Part 
 muft be underftood as ajjuri?ig us of the 
 Benefits of the Covenant, fo we on our 
 Parts muft be underftood sls pleading them. 
 We may pray by Anions as well as by 
 
 Words: 
 
0/ //?^ Lord's Su p p E r. loy 
 
 Words. If a Man knocks at my Door, 
 he may not afk to be let in ; but I know 
 his Meaning as efFedually as if he did : 
 And our Saviour has made Ufe of this 
 Comparifon in the very Cafe before us; 
 Knock, and it JJmll be opened unto you. 
 And mufl not every one who devout- 
 ly comes to the Lord's Tabic, fignify- 
 ing by that Adt his Truft and Reliance 
 upon God for Salvation thro' Chriji, be 
 underftood, as fignifying his Truft like- 
 wife that God will vouchfafe him that 
 fpiritual Help and Afliftance, which he is 
 taught by his Word to believe, neceflary to 
 qualify him for the Salvation offered? 
 There is not, there cannot be, a plainer 
 and more neceffary Confl;ru6lion than this. 
 We are not bound to fay, that there are 
 any Communications or Influences of the 
 Spirit of God, attendant upon the Sacra- 
 ment at the very Inftant of receiving it : 
 nor can any one iliew that there are any 
 fuch Communications attendant upon the 
 Adl of Prayer. It is fufficient in either 
 Cafe that we have put ourfelves under the 
 Protecftion of God's Providence, and by 
 performing the Conditions upon which he 
 
 hath 
 
io6 OftheijO^b's Supper. 
 
 hath promifed the Aids of his Grace, qua- 
 lified ourfelves to receive them on all Oc- 
 cafions, when they fhall be necelTary or 
 profitable for us. 
 
 But you are to underftand (and I hope 
 you have all along borne it in Mind) tha^ 
 whatever Ufe there is in the Sacrament, 
 or whatever Benefits we hope to receive 
 from it, all depends upon our being duly 
 qualified to receive it. For St. Paul tells 
 us that, he that eateth and drinketh un^ 
 worthily, eateth and drinketh Damnation 
 to himfelf. This leads me to confider 
 what Qualifications are necellary to pre- 
 pare us for the Lord's Table j and this I 
 fhall do in as (hort and plain a Manner 
 as I can, paying, all along, an efpecial 
 Regard to what our Church hath deter-* 
 mined upon this Subject. 
 
 In the firft Place then it is evident, that 
 the Partaking of the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper pre-fuppofeth Faith in 
 Chrift as the Redeemer of the World ; 
 that is, as having by the Sacrifice of him- 
 felf purchafed Pardon and Reconciliation 
 for Sinners. For the Sacrament (as has 
 been fhewn) is the Memorial of Chrifl 
 4 undes 
 
Of the Lor d's S u p p e r. i 07 
 
 under this Charader; and contains the 
 Profeffion of this Faith, in all who par- 
 take of it according to the true Scripture 
 Meaning. Of this our Church puts us in 
 Mind in the Communion Office, where 
 the Sacrament is faid to be received 
 
 fit Eememfc^ance of tlie metito^iotiief 
 Crofis and pafRon of Clj^iff, toljerebp 
 alone ttie obtain Eeniiillon of oiii: %\n^, 
 ann ace mane ^ittafeer^ of tfte M\x^- 
 
 DOttl of J^Caljen *♦ And, elfewhere in the 
 fame Office, Chriji is fet forth to us as 
 having fu^etCtl T^Utl) tlpOtt tfje CtOfS? 
 
 foiour Keoemption, and as having mane 
 tftete bp W otnn ffi>b!ation of fefmfelf, 
 once offeicu, a full, pe^feff txuu fufficient 
 Saqifice, CMation, antJ €)ati0fasiort 
 fo? tfie %m of t()e tuljole OToiinf* 
 
 It is evident in the next Place, that 
 as the Sacrament was appointed to be re- 
 ceived not by one fingly, but by many 
 jointly, or in common ; it hereby becomes 
 a fecial Ad ; and that therefore, between 
 thofe who do not mutually agree in this 
 Faith, there can be no lawful Commu- 
 nion. When one Man receives the Sacra- 
 ment, doth he not thereby profefs his Faith 
 
 * Firft Exlwrtatiort, f Confecratlon Prayer. 
 
 in. 
 
Io8 0/ ///(? Lo R B'S Su P P E R. 
 
 in Chriji ? And when another Man is ad- 
 mitted to communicate with him, is he not 
 iinderftocdas making the lame Profeffion ? 
 And what is this but faying, that joint 
 Communion is and muft be founded in a 
 mutual Agreement in the fame Faith ? 
 It is to be obferved here, that Faith in 
 Chriji takes in the Behef of every Do- 
 (n:rine which that Faith necelTarily impliesy 
 and upon which it fundamentally reftsj 
 in which Points Churches, as well as pri- 
 vate Chriftians, muft judge for thcmfelves 
 by the Rule of God's Word. Confequent- 
 ly, when any Church or Number of 
 Chriftians have determined for themfelves 
 what is the Faith of Chriji^ they may 
 lawfully communicate among themfelves 
 whether fuch Determination be right of 
 wrong. I fay lawfully^ that is, io far as 
 the Acl of Receiving the Communion is 
 concerned. If they err in the Faith, they 
 may be anfwerable for that Error; but fo 
 long as they are fo perfuaded, they can- 
 not be chargeable with a Profanation of 
 the Lord's Table by communicating un- 
 worthily. For they perform this Duty 
 agreeably to the End of its Inftitution, 
 according to what they know and under- 
 
 ftand 
 
0/ /fe L O R o's S U P P E R. I Op 
 
 itand about It, and more than this the moft 
 orthodox Communion cannot do. But 
 then, fuch Church cannot admit any to 
 communicate with them who differ from 
 them in any of thofe Points which they 
 judge neceflary to the Faith of a Chriftian ; 
 nor can thofe who differ in thofe Points 
 (knowing themfelves fo to differ) lawfully 
 offer themfelves to communicate with fuch 
 Church ; for this is making Profeffion of 
 an Agreement in the Faith where there is 
 no Agreement, which is a Fraud upon the 
 Society, and a Falfiiication in the Sight 
 of God. 
 
 There is another Cafe when Commu- 
 nion with any Church or Society of 
 Chriftians, will accidentally become un- 
 lawful ; and that is, when by human Pre- 
 fcription, or thro' fome Error in Point of 
 DoiftrinCj certain Circum fiances come to 
 be conneded with the Adl of Communi- 
 cating, as cannot lawfully be complied 
 with. This is our Cafe with Refpe^lt to 
 the prefent Church of Rome, with v/hich 
 we refufe to hold Communion, becaufe 
 we cannot communicate with them, un- 
 lefs we will profefs our Belief (for In- 
 ftancc) in the Dodrine of Tranfubflan- 
 
 tiation. 
 
1 10 0/ /^<? L O R d's S U P P E R. 
 
 tiatlon, and without paying religious Ado» 
 ration to the confecrated Elements j which 
 we judge to be unlawful and idolatrous. 
 This likewife is the Cafe with Refpe<ft 
 to fuch Separatifts from the Church of 
 England, as think our Worfhip to be con- 
 trary to the Law of God. They would 
 in communicating with us, do a Thing 
 to them unlawful, and profane the Lord's 
 Table in fo doing. The KOl of Com- 
 municating in fuch Cafes, is not Worfhip, 
 but Irreligion. 
 
 It is not agreeable to my prefent 
 Intention to enter into thofe Points 
 which may arife upon the Queftlon of 
 lawful or unlawful, as it concerns the 
 Members of different Communions. And 
 therefore I proceed to a Difqualification 
 of another Kind, which concerns us as 
 Chriflians at large, and will equally af- 
 fe(5l us of whatever Sedl or Communion 
 we may be ; and that is an immoral Life. 
 This is prefumed in the foregoing Cafes. 
 For the Reafon why a Man cannot law- 
 fully communicate with a Church from 
 which he differs in Point of Faith, or on 
 the Account of Circumftances which in 
 Confcience he cannot approve, is becaufe 
 
 falfe 
 
0/ /Z?^ L O R D's S U P P E R . Ill 
 
 falfe Profeflions are an immoral Thing j 
 which fuppofes that an immoral Life is 
 a Difqualification. And to this Purpofe 
 the Words of our Liturgy deferve our At- 
 tention, in which all who are invited to 
 come to the Holy Communion are ex- 
 horted to fcatclj anti eramine U)tit oUJit 
 ConCcieucess— tftat tijep ttiap comeljolp 
 
 anH clean , i. e. (for fo the Exhortation 
 
 proceeds) to ejcattttne tUit MU0 nnti 
 Coni3etfatum0 bp tlje Eiile of (^oti'sf 
 
 CommarHiment0, nor dare if anp of them 
 
 ht n T3lafpSettier of (^on, an ^inmtt 
 c?8)lantieretof!ji0 CtXoiti, anantilterer, 
 m be in Malice, €n^^y o? anp otfjcc 
 
 gttelJOlllSl Ctlttte (till they have repented 
 of their Sins) to COttie tO tSat 6olp Ca- 
 hit "*"♦ All which is but agreeable to the 
 Scripture Diredions. For St. Paul fays, lef 
 a Man examine himfelfy and Jo let him 
 eat of that Breads and drink of that Cup^ 
 I. Cor. xi. 28. That is, let him exa- 
 mine his Life and Converfation, and fee 
 that his moral State be fuch as he can 
 juftify to his own Confcience. The Dif- 
 Qrders committed in receiving the Holy 
 Communion (or rather at thofe Feafts of 
 
 ♦ Firft InviiatiQA. 
 
 Charity 
 
1 1 2 Of the Lord's Sxj ?? E R, 
 
 Charity which were appendant to it) which 
 gave Occafion to this Advice were of the 
 moral Kind. There were Divijions a- 
 mong them, ^ ii. — In eating each Man 
 took before other his own Supper, and 
 one was hungry, and another was drunken, 
 Thefe were the Fruits of an evil Mind, 
 which was to be correifled before they 
 could come worthily to the Lord's Table. 
 Methinks the Reafon of the Thing fpeaks 
 itfelf. For what Confiflency can there 
 be in profeffing our Acceptance of 
 God's Mercies in Chrifi ; if we will take 
 no care to qualify ourfelves for thofe 
 Mercies, by the Terms upon which the 
 Gofpel offers them ? In truth there is 
 no Adt of Religion for which an evil 
 Heart will not unqualify us. Even the 
 Prayers of the Wicked are an Abomina- 
 tion * ; fo are his Sacrifices, efpecially if 
 he bringeth them with a wicked Mind-jf, 
 And we ihould not forget with what Scorn 
 God rejeds the JewiJJj Sacrifices, for the 
 Defedivenefs of thofe who offered them 
 up, in refped: of their moral Qualifica- 
 tions; in that famous Paffage of Ifaiah^ 
 Chap. i. 3^ 1 1. Tb what Purpofe is 
 
 * Prov. xxviii. g. f- Chap, i. 37. 
 
 4 ths^ 
 
Of /^d* L O R d's S U P P E R . 1 1 3 
 
 the Multitude of your Sacrifices unto me, 
 faith the Lord ? I am full of the burnt 
 Offerings of Rams^ and the Fat of fed 
 Beajls, and I delight not in the Blood of 
 Bullocks^ or of La?nbs, or of He Goats, 
 When ye come to appear before me, who 
 hath required this at your Hand to tread 
 my Courts? Bri?2g no more vain Oblati- 
 ons, Incerfe is an Abomination to jne, the 
 new Moons and Sabbaths, the calling of 
 Ajfemblies I cannot away with. It is Ini- 
 quity, even the folejnn Meeting. Tom- 
 new Moojis and your appointed Feafls mv 
 Soul hateth, they are a 'Trouble unto ?ne, I 
 am weary to bear them. And when ye 
 fpread forth your Hands I will hide mine 
 Eyes from you ; yea, when ye make mam 
 Prayers I will not hear. — Why? your 
 Hands are full of Blood. WaJJj ye, make 
 you clean, put away the Evil of your 
 Doings from before mine Eyes, ceafe to do 
 evil, learn to do well, feek "Judgment, 
 relieve the oppre/fed, judge the Fatherlefs, 
 plead for the Widow. There is in all So- 
 lemn Adts of religious Worfhip one ge- 
 neral Meaning. They are a Profeffion of 
 Duty and Reverence to God ; which Pro- 
 H feflion. 
 
114 0/ ^^^^ L o R d's S u p p e r. 
 
 feflion, when there is nothing to anfwef it 
 in our Behaviour, is Mockery and Pro- 
 fanenefs, as our Saviour intimates, Matt. 
 XV. 7. Te Hypocrites, ^duell did E{2i\2iSprO' 
 pheq of you, faying, This People draweth 
 J2igh unto me with their Mouth, and he- 
 noureth me with their Lips, but their 
 Heart is far from me, — ■ Therefore in vain 
 do they woj'fiip tnc. 
 
 This may ferve to fliew in general, that 
 Repentance and a good Life are neceflary 
 to quaUfy us for the Lord's Table ; or if 
 ^ any Thing be yet wanting, let us only 
 confider what was required of thofe who 
 believed in Chrift upon the preaching of 
 the Apoftles to qualify them for Baptifm ; 
 and this, we know, was Repentance. 
 Repent (fays St. P^/^rj and be baptized 
 every one of you in the Name of Jefus 
 Chrift, for the RemiJJion of Sins, Ads ii. 
 38. Now if Repentance is necelTary to 
 qualify us for one of the Sacraments, it muft 
 be necelTary to qualify us for the other 
 too; for they both contain the fame Pro- 
 feffion. And what Senfe is there in fup- 
 pofing that any one {hould be fit to pro- 
 fefs his Relation to Chriji, by the Me- 
 morial of the Covenant founded in his 
 
 Blood, 
 
0/ /^^ L o R d's S if p p E R. - 1 1 y 
 
 Blood, who Wants the Qi-ialifications that 
 are necefTary in order to his very firfl Ad- 
 miiTion into it? — But a Queftion will here 
 arife, In what Degree is Repentance and a 
 good Life necefTary ? If no bad Adions 
 would hinder, the worfl would be qualifi- 
 ed as well asthe befl. If no Allowance is to 
 be made for common Failings, thebefl will 
 be excluded as well as the worfl, for a^Jd- 
 lutely perfect there are none. Some middle 
 Way therefore there mufl be between thefe 
 two Extreams, which I fhall point out as 
 diflin(5tly as the Nature of the Thing will 
 bear j as well to encourage the weak and 
 over-fcrupulous, as to check the bold and 
 prefumptuous. And, 
 
 I. A Diftindion is to be made between 
 fecret and notorious Sins. As to fecret 
 Sins, this Rule is to be obferved, That no 
 Man fhould come to the Lord's Table, 
 'till he hath taken up fuch Refolutions of 
 Amendment as he may reafonably pre- 
 fume will be effectual to a new and a bet- 
 ter Life. I fay, reafonably prefume ; for 
 if it were faid that no Man fliould come 
 till he is abjblutely fecure of his future 
 Condudt, it would be equivalent to 
 faying, that no Man fhould come 
 H 2 at 
 
ti6 Of ihe Lord's SvvFE R, 
 
 at all J for this is a Security not to be had on 
 this Side the Grave. But a reafonablc 
 Prefumption there ought to bej for, in 
 Matters of a civil Nature, no Man thinks 
 it prudent to make a folemn Promife, 
 when he has caufe to fufpedl his Want 
 of Refolution to be as good as his Word ; 
 efpecially if a Failure in his Promife will 
 turn to his own Prejudice. We iliould 
 not be lefs cautious in making folemn En- 
 gagements to God; who the oftner we 
 vow, the more he will be offended, if we 
 vow and do not pay. There are fome Sins 
 which if we hold not in great Abhor- 
 rence, we maybe very certain that we have 
 not the Grace of Repentance, even in the 
 loweft Degree of it. Of this Sort are 
 Blafphemy and Profanenefs, Murder, A- 
 dultery, Malice, and the like, of which 
 no Man can be deliberately guilty, who 
 has any Senfe of Virtue, or is under any 
 Awe or Reverence of the fupream Being. 
 But I will not fay the fame of every Ad: 
 of Intemperance, or Senfuality, or of e- 
 very rafh and hafly Word or Action ; be- 
 caufe thefe are Faults incident to a Mind, 
 in the Main, very well difpofed, but 
 thrown off its Guard by particular Acci- 
 dents, 
 
0/ ^^d* Lo R d's Su P P E R. 117 
 
 dents, or overborne by fome great Temp- 
 tation. And yet even with Refped to 
 Faults of the lower Kind, if the Returns 
 of them are frequent, it is much to be 
 feared that the Heart is not right : For it 
 is feen and felt every Day in other Cafes, 
 that what a Man diflikes thoroughly and 
 refolves againft earneftly, he is not often 
 brought to comply with. A Difpofition 
 founded upon right Notions of Things, is 
 not foon lofl, nor ealily fliaken. And 
 therefore in fuch a Cafe I would not en- 
 courage Men to go haftily to the Sacra- 
 ment upon the firft new Refolution that 
 may be taken (which for ought they can 
 tell may be as vain as thofe that went be- 
 fore) but rather advife that by more Dili- 
 gence and feverer Watchfulnefs over them- 
 felves, they would try to bring themfelves 
 to fome fettled Temper; and when they 
 find that they are gaining Ground, to 
 come to the Lord's Table, which will be a 
 Means to perfed what is wanting, and to 
 confirm them in every good Work. Moft 
 Changes are gradual. The Change from 
 Evil to Good is almoft always fo j and I 
 think it to be a clear Point, that fuch a 
 H 3 Degree 
 
ii8 ^ /^d* Lor d's Su p PE R. 
 
 Degree of Reformation as is fuitable to a 
 good Beginning, will be fuflicientto qualify 
 us for the Lord's Table. This feems to be 
 agreableto the Senfe of our Church, which 
 
 exhorts us to htmil 0Ui: otuit ^infttlnc©; 
 nm to confefe ourfelves to 3lniin:fjti> 
 ^on toitlj ftii! purpofe of ^mentiment 
 
 of Iffe; and invites all to tl|atU Iteat 
 
 Mtl) jFaltft, anti tafee tlje 5)olp ^acra^ 
 nicnt to tljeic Comfort, who tttilp aun 
 carncftlp repent of their ^(n0, an!i iit* 
 tcnn to leati a ueto life. Confeffion of 
 
 Sin to God with Refolutions of Amend- 
 ment, are neceflary to Repentance in the 
 very firfl State of it. For not to refolve 
 againfl Sin, is to perfift wilfully in Sin, 
 which is inconfiftent with the Notion of 
 Repentance. But when Men refolve 
 heartily, fomething will come of it j fome 
 Change it will produce j and if it is not 
 every thing we could wifli, yet fo long 
 (I fay) as the Eifed is fuitable to our pre- 
 fent Strength and Abilities, it will be ac- 
 cepted fo far at leafl as to qualify us for 
 God's Ordinances ; which are intended as 
 Helps to farther Improvement, and there- 
 fore ^o not fuppofe us grown up to Per- 
 
 fedion. 
 
Of theLoRD'sSuvvER. 119 
 
 fedion, when we firft apply ourfelves to 
 the Ufe of them. When the Apoftles firfl 
 preached the Gofpel, they had to do with 
 Novices in Religion j with thofe who had 
 had no more Time than to be inftriidled, 
 and convinced, and to begin well. Yet 
 were fuch admitted to Baptifai; and if 
 fuch are fit for Baptifm, they are fit alfo 
 for the Lord's Supper, which is every 
 Chriilian's Birthright, 'till he hath for- 
 feited it by Apollafy from the Faith, or 
 a Behaviour unworthy of his Profeffion. 
 Lapfes may follow after receiving the Sa- 
 crament ; and if they do, it will be a Rea- 
 fon indeed for greater Care and Watch- 
 fulnefs ; but it will not therefore follow, 
 that what was before done was ill done, 
 nor that we are obliged to abftain from 
 the Sacrament for ever after. For, as I 
 faid before, if we are never to communi- 
 cate 'till we can be abfolutely fecure of 
 our future Conduct, we mufl never com- 
 municate at all. 
 
 It mufl be left to every Man's Con- 
 fcience to apply thefe Rules to his own 
 particular Cafe ; in which there will al- 
 ways be need of Prudence and Caution, 
 H 4 and 
 
120 Of the Lo R d's Sv 1? ? E K, 
 
 and fometimes perhaps, of the Advice of 
 fome fpiritual Guide. In view of this, 
 our Church in one of her Invitations, ha- 
 ving iirfl recommended Self-Examination, 
 diredts the Minifter to fay — Jf tljetre ht 
 
 m\v of ^m ttiljo tsp tW ^ean0 cannot 
 mitt W oton Confcience, hut tequicetfi 
 fattfjei: Comfort o? Counfef, let Urn 
 conic to me, oi: to fome otljet tiifcteet 
 antr Icarnen ^iniftec of <J5oTj'0 CBo^r?, 
 antJ open W <^?icf, tljat hv tlje ^imUt^ 
 of (5^oti'0 Ipolp Cllojti, fje map teceiue 
 tlje 'Benefitofabfoiuttonj toptfiet lm't& 
 gljomp Counfelant! atiwcc, to tfie qu(ct= 
 iiiQ of W Confcicncr, nnti t!je ai30i> 
 ing of all €)Ct«ple anls Doubtfulnefsf. 
 
 How little foever it may be pradtifed at 
 prefent, it is furely a very prudent Me- 
 thod, when Men find their Confciences 
 perplexed with Doubts and Scruples, to 
 confalt thofe in whom they have Con- 
 fidence and whom they may reafonably 
 prefume are qualified by their Learning 
 and Skill to give them proper Advice, 
 We do this in all other Cafes ; and if it 
 were more frequently done in this, much 
 Good vjould come of it. The Church 
 
 of 
 
Of ^,6^ L O R D's S U P P E R. 
 of Rome hath carried this Point to great 
 Abufe; and as we are ever apt to run. 
 from one Extream to another, from be- 
 lieving Gonfeflion to be neeeflary in all 
 Cafes, we are come almoft to think it 
 ufeful in none ; to the great Hurt of Mens 
 Confciences, and the Decay of true Re- 
 ligion. But as to that Part of this Order 
 which concerns Absolution, becaufc 
 the true Intent of it may not, perhaps, be 
 commonly underftood, I fhall take this 
 Opportunity to give a (hort Account of 
 it, that every Chriftian may fee how much 
 he is concerned in it. 
 
 In the primitive Church it was the 
 Cuftom to feparate thofe who by Apoftafy 
 from the Faith, or by their ill Lives, had 
 given publick Scandal, from the Ufe of 
 the Sacrament, and other Parts of the 
 Chrillian Worfhip j and after fome Time 
 of Separation, and the proper Evidences 
 of Repentance, to reconcile them again 
 to the Church, upon an open Confeffion 
 of their Faults. In Procefs of Time, 
 when Corruptions grew in the Church, 
 open ConfeiTions for publick Offences, 
 were changed into private ConfeiTions for 
 
 fecret 
 
 121 
 
Ill Of the L o R d's S u p p k r. 
 
 fecret Sins; which was a very different 
 Thing, and had very different Effeds. In 
 the firft Way, Abfolution was nothing 
 more than a Releafement from Church 
 CenfureSj and a Reftoration of the Of^ 
 fender to the Privileges of vifible Com- 
 munion. In the fecond, it had the Face 
 of a Releafement from Guilt in the Sight 
 of God ; for having no Relation to any 
 publick Scandal given, or to any Sentence 
 of Separation paffed by the Church, it 
 was natural to underftand it as operating 
 internally, in refped: of Confcience, 
 This occafioned great Licentioufnefs of 
 Manners j for private Abfolutions not be- 
 ing hard to come at. Men grew lefs care- 
 ful to amend their Lives ; and the higher 
 the Opinion of the Sacerdotal Power grew, 
 (as it did, by Degrees, grow to an exor-- 
 bitant Heighth) the Evil became fo much 
 the worfe. 
 
 Our Reformers faw an Abufe in this 
 Change of the ancient Difcipline, which 
 they were not able to correct. But two 
 Things they did. In the firft Place, tjiey 
 put into the Communion Office a general 
 Confeffion of Sins, and Prayer of Abfo- 
 
 lutionjj 
 
0/* r^<? Lord's SupPE R. 123 
 
 lution, to ferve inftead of the private fpe- 
 cial Confeflion and Abfolution, to thole 
 who could fo latisfy themfelves ; leaving 
 thofe who could not fatisfy their Confci- 
 ences in this Way, ftill at Liberty to go 
 to the Priefl for private Confeffion and 
 Abfolution. This appears upon the Face 
 of the foregoing Exhortation j which is 
 direded to thofe only who cannot other- 
 wife qtuet tl)m otPit Confcience^ ; and 
 
 will be more plainly fcen by a Claufe in 
 the firfl Book of King Edward, (fince 
 expunged) in which it is faid, that " fuch 
 " as fhould be fatisfied with a general Con- 
 « feffion, fhould not be offended with 
 ^^ them that do ufe, to their farther fatis- 
 «^ fying the auricular fecret Confeffion to 
 «' the Priefl. Nor that thofe who thought 
 « it needful for the Quietnefs of their 
 ^« own Confciences, particularly to open 
 «« their Sins to the Priefl, fhould be of- 
 <« fended with thofe that are fatisfied with 
 " their humble Confeffions to God, and 
 " the general Confeffion of the Church; 
 " but in all Things follow and keep the 
 «» Rule of Charity." The fame Temper 
 i^ obferved in the OfHce for the Vilitation 
 
1 24 Of the L o R d's Supper. 
 
 of the Sick, where, after a Declaration of 
 Faith, the Minifter is dire<5ted to move 
 the fick Perfon to make a special Con- 
 fejjion of his Sim, if he feel his 
 Conscience troubled with 
 ANY WEIGHTY Matter; after 
 which Confejjion, the Prieji is to abfolve 
 
 him, IF HE HUMBLY AND heartily 
 DESIRE IT. 
 
 You fee in both Cafes, that private 
 Confeflion and Abfolution are left as mere 
 difcretionary Things, which both the fick 
 Perfon and the Communicant are diredled 
 to ufe or to omit, according to the State 
 of their Confciences ; in which our Re- 
 formers did fufFiciently declare their own 
 Opinions, that there was no Necejjity of 
 fuch fpecial Confeflion and Abfolution, 
 to qualify Men for the Remiffion of Sin. 
 But the Liberty granted to thofe who 
 might be otherwife minded, was very 
 prudent and neceflary, as Matters then 
 flood. The Nation was but then reco- 
 vering from Popery and the Popiih No- 
 tion of the Neceffity of Abfolution had 
 laid fuch Hold upon the Minds of many ; 
 that had not this Temper been found foe 
 
 the 
 
0/ //^^ Lo rd's Su pp E R. 125 
 
 the quieting their Confciences, the Pro- 
 grefs of the Reformation muft greatly 
 have been obftruded. But by this Indul- 
 gence many were invited in v^^ho would 
 other wife probably have flood out, and 
 Time was given for thefe Prejudices to 
 wear off, as in Fa(ft they have done fince ; 
 infomuch, that (fo far as I know) this 
 Order now Hands as an tifelefs Part of our 
 Liturgy J and, fo long as it does fland, will 
 be an Evidence to Pofterity of the great 
 Wifdom and Piety of our Reformers, 
 who, in the Alterations which they made 
 in the publick Offices, confidered the Exi- 
 gencies of the Times in which they lived 
 and ordered all Things as beft ferved to 
 Chriftian Edification. 
 
 Some, perhaps, may think that our Re- 
 formers went too far in their Compliances. 
 In Things indifferent (it may be faid) 
 Mens Prejudices are to be indulged; but 
 not in Things which touch the Eiience of 
 Religion, as all Opinions certainly do, 
 which lead Men to place the Hopes of 
 Forgivenefs any where but in true Repen- 
 tance. But this is not the Cafe here. For, 
 in the next Place, our Reformers took Care 
 
 to 
 
ii6 Of the LoRT>\ Svv ? ER. 
 
 to inculcate, in the ftrongeft Terms, (with- 
 out any of thofe Softenings and Relaxa- 
 tions which prevailed, and do ftill prevail, 
 in the Church of Rome) that without 
 true, unfeigned Repentance, there can be 
 no Remiffion of Sin. In the Form of 
 Abfolution in the Communion OtKce, it 
 is fald, " Almighty God — who — hath 
 ** promifed Forgivenefs of Sins to all them 
 *' that with HEARTY Repentance, 
 " and TRUE Fa i t h, turn unto him — 
 " have Mercy upon you, &c." The fame 
 Caution is obferved in the mod precife 
 Form of Abfolution retained in our 
 Church, I mean that in the Office for the 
 Vifitation of the Sick, which runs in thefe 
 Words, " Our Lord ycfiis Chn/i, who 
 ** hath left Power to his Church to ab- 
 " folve all Sinners who truly re- 
 «* pent — forgive thee thine Offences, 
 *' ^<:." Thefe Cautions inferted (byway 
 of Addition to the Popifh Form) in the 
 very Words in which Abfolution is to be 
 pronounced, with thofe frequent Decla- 
 rations to the fame Effedt, that occur 
 throughout the whole Communion Ser- 
 vice ; are a fufficient Notice to all Men to 
 
 place 
 
Of the ho r'd\ Svv?ER. 1 27 
 
 place no Reliance upon the Abfolution of 
 a Prieft, without Repentance and a new 
 Life ; and will fully juftify our Church in 
 the Indulgence granted to the Prejudices 
 of thofe Times. For whatever Men may 
 believe of the Neceffity of Prieftly Abfo- 
 lution, or of its internal Effeds as to the 
 Confcience of the Sinner ; it is plain, that 
 fo long as they hold and firmly maintain 
 this one Principle, that without Repen- 
 tance there can be no Remiffion ; there is 
 nothing at all in fuch kind of Specula- 
 tions, * that can encourage a licentious 
 
 * What the Church of Rome teaches of the Sacrament 
 of Penance (whereof Abfolution is the Form) is that by 
 h the Benefit of Chrld's Death is applied to the Sinner, 
 who thereby aftually obtains Reconciliation with God. sup- 
 posing him duly qualified. Vid. Canon. Cone. TriJ. Sejf. 14. 
 How much good Scnfc there is in this, or v/hether it be 
 true or falfc, are Queftions foreign to our prefeiit Purpofe. 
 The Point is, Where would be the Harm fuppofing a JVlan 
 fhould have a Notion of forae fuch internal Effjft of Ab- 
 folution, as the Church of Rome contends for, provided he 
 believes, at the fame Time, that true Repentance, in the 
 Senfe in which we now underliand it, is neccnary to qua- 
 lify him to receive the Benefit ? The Sting of Abfolution, 
 which gives the fatal Stab to Religion, is the loofe Manner 
 in which the Church o^ Rome bath explained the neceflary 
 Qualifications. The Council of Trent itfelf is very faulty 
 in this Refpeft ; and fome modern Popifli Cafuifts have 
 made fuch large Conceffions, as entirely make void Re- 
 pentance and good Works. Thofe who would be fatisficd 
 in this, may confult Mr. Pafchd's Provincial Letters. 
 
 Way 
 
1x8 Of z/:?^ Lo R d's Su p p £ r* 
 
 Way of living J which fliould a little bet-* 
 ter have been confidered by fome Preach- 
 ers -(- of late, who have taken a Handle 
 from hence, to reproach the Church of 
 Englandy as countenancing a Dodlrine in- 
 jurious to the Prerogative of God. A 
 Power in the Clergy to abfolve Sinners in- 
 dependently of Faith, or their moral Qua- 
 lifications, is a Power injurious to the 
 Prerogative of God. But a Power to de- 
 clare Forgivenefs upon the very Terms 
 upon which the Gofpel declares it, does 
 not deftroy the Prerogative of God, but 
 aflerts it. Such a Power the Church of 
 T^ngland challenges, and fuch a Power 
 there is wrapt up in the Miniflerial Office. 
 
 It is not likely that the common People at that Time 
 did, or could, enter into thole Niceties which their Di- 
 vines had grafted upon this Subjecft. The exprefs Dodlrine 
 of the Church was, that the Abfoluiion of a Prieft was 
 neceffary to RemifHon. Tliis they underftood j and it is 
 probable that mod of them had been taught, that Abfolu- 
 lution once obtained, very little elfe was neceflary. Our 
 Reformeis took Care to fet them right in this lall Opinion, 
 in which there tons much Hurt; and left thofe, who could 
 not otherwife be perfuaded, in Poffeffion of the firft, in 
 which, fo far as Religion is concerned, there was certainly 
 none. This, in my humble Opinion, was taking a prudent 
 Courfe, and following the very Spirit which they profefled, 
 which was to keep the Rule of Charity. 
 
 f See Dr. Hunt's and Mr. Burroitghii Sermons, preached 
 at Sdlten-Udll, in the Year 1734. 
 
 As 
 
0/ /^^ L o R d's S U P P E R. I ly 
 
 As to the i?iternal EfFedls of Abfolutlon, 
 fince our Church defines nothing about 
 them, I think every Man has Reafon to 
 be fatisfied that he is left quietly to enjoy 
 his own Opinion. 
 
 2. To return to my main Subjed. We 
 have feen how the Rule of Confcience lyes 
 as to fecret Sins. I am next to (liew what 
 Sort of Repentance is necelTary to qualify 
 us to receive the Sacrament, in Cafe of 
 publick Scandal; and this common Rea- 
 fon will tell us muft be fuch a Repentance 
 as ends in the Removal of the Scandal, 
 that they who were juftly offended by our 
 ill Behaviour, may be fatisfied by the Re- 
 formation of our Manners. This agrees 
 with what is faid in the Rubrick before 
 the Communion Service ; If any he an 
 open notorious evil liver ^ or have done any 
 Wrong to his Neighbours, by Word or 
 "Deed, Jo that the Congregation be thereby 
 offended; the Curate having Knowledge 
 thereof, Jljall call him, and advertife hiniy 
 that in any wife he prefume not to co?ne to 
 the Lord's Table, until he hath openly de- 
 clared himfelf to have truly repented and 
 amended his former naughty Life^ that 
 
 I the 
 
150 Of the L o R d's S u p p e r. 
 
 the Congregation may thereby be fatisfed, 
 which before were offended. In private 
 Matters we have nothing to do but to fa- 
 tisfy God and our own Confciences ; but 
 when our Sins come to be publick and 
 offenfive, there is a Satisfadlon due to the 
 Church, which is a Party in this Cafe. 
 The Ads of the' Minifter officiating pub- 
 lickly, are, interpretatively, the Adts of 
 the Church ; that is, of the Body Chri- 
 flian ; held together, firft, by the Subor- 
 dination of the whole to Chrifi the Head ; 
 and then, by the Subordination of the fe- 
 veral Members one to another, in the 
 Manner which Chriji hath appointed: 
 And when the Church by her publick Of- 
 ficer adminifters the Sacrament ; {he, by 
 that A61, gives publick Teftimony that 
 fhe accepts and acknowledges the Perfon 
 as a Member of Chrift, according to the 
 Terms of the Gofpel : Which the Church 
 cannot confiftently do when there is any 
 *vijible Difqualification on the Part of the 
 Receiver. If a private Perfon knows his 
 Neighbour to be a grievous Sinner, and 
 tljc Church, neverthelefs, receives him as 
 a Communicant i the Innocent may law- 
 fully 
 
0/* ^^^d* Lor D's Su p p E R. 131 
 
 fully communicate with the Guilty : Be- 
 caufe the Authority to rejed: not refting 
 in private Hands, the A6t of a private 
 Man, in fuch a Cafe, is not, by Interpre- 
 tation or Conllrudtion, his Teflimony. 
 But the Church having fuch Authority, 
 her A6t hath the Virtue of a Teftimony; 
 and fliould (he adminifler the Sacrament 
 to notorious Sinners, ftie would be found 
 a falfe Witnefs in the Sight of God. 
 
 It is upon this Principle that theDifci- 
 pllne of the ancient Church was founded, 
 of which I made mention jufl now ; which 
 is agreeable alfo to Scripture Rule. For 
 St. Paid fays, / have written unto you not 
 to keep Company if any Man who is called 
 a Brother (or who profeffes himfelf a 
 Chriftian) be a Fornicator^ or co-veteous^ 
 or an Idolater^ or d Railer^ or a Drunk- 
 ard^ or an Extortioner, with fuch a one 
 no not to eat, i Cor. v. 1 1. Such vX'as the 
 Religion of thofe Times, that he who 
 . was a Scandal to his Profeifion, was alfo 
 a Shan^e to his Company; and it will not 
 confill witk common Senfe to fuppofe 
 that a Man (liould be qualified to partake 
 with us in the Body and Blood of Chrifl, 
 
 I 2 who 
 
132 0//^d* Lo R D's SUPP E R.' 
 
 who is not fit to fit down with us at a 
 common Meal. The Church ought not, 
 by fo folemn and facred an A6t, to give 
 • her Teftimony that a Perfon is qualified 
 by the Terms of the Gofpel, without a 
 reafonable Prefumption that he is fo ; and 
 fuch a Prefumption there cannot be, where 
 a Man's Charader is juflly fufpicious. And 
 therefore here, if ever, we fhould take 
 Care to abjiain from all Appearance of 
 Evily and to cut of fuch OccafonSy if un- 
 warily they fhould be adminiflered. We 
 owe thus much to the Honour of God, 
 to the Chriflian Society, and to ourfelves. 
 If private Perfons will not pay a Regard 
 to Confcience in fuch Cafes, it may be 
 difhcult for the Church, in many Inflances, 
 to adt properly. But every Man fhould 
 confider for himfelf j that if he will pre- 
 fumptuoufly offer himfelf to receive the 
 Communion, when he knows his Beha- 
 viour to be juflly offenfive, he is guilty of 
 Profanation, and of the Scandal too. 
 
 You have now feen what thofe Qualifi- 
 cations are which are neceffary to make 
 us worthy Partakers of the Lord's Table; 
 
 and 
 
Oy/^^* Lo R d's Su P P E R. 123 
 
 and you learn, at the fame Time, what 
 it is to be prepared ; for to be prepared is 
 nothing elfe than to be duly qualified. 
 Whoever holds the Faith in a pure Con- 
 fcience is prepared for the Sacrament j and 
 may come upon the fliortefl: Warning that 
 can be given. Not that I would difcourage 
 thofe previous, religious Exercifes, which 
 commonly pafs under the Name of Prepa- 
 ration J but rather encourage them, when 
 Men have Time and Opportunity for 
 them. We cannot come to the Sacrament 
 with too much Devotion, but it is a very 
 eafy Thing to come with too little ; and 
 therefore, if by retiring from our worldly 
 Bufinefs for fome Time before we intend 
 to receive the Communion, and giving 
 ourfelves to Meditation and Prayer, we 
 can quicken our Senfe of Spiritual Things, 
 fuch Opportunities fhould by no Means be 
 negle<fled. But fuch previous Exercifes as 
 thefe are to be conlidered but as Helps, 
 contributing to the greater Perfection of 
 the State of Preparation, not as eflential 
 to it ; nor indeed any farther ufeful, than 
 as our Virtues, in their whole Extent and 
 Compafsj receive Growth and Improve- 
 I 3 ment 
 
134 (9/^ //^d" Lor d's Su p p E R. 
 
 mcnt from them. It may be pofllble for 
 Men, by fuch artificial Helps, to fcrew 
 themfelves up into a Fit of Devotion, 
 whilft at the fime Time their Lufts 
 rem.ain unmortified. This is not to be 
 prepared for the Lord's Table. The great 
 Matter to be attended to is the general 
 Tenor of our Lives; in which if there be 
 an Evennefs and Regularity in well doing, 
 arifmg from an habitual Senfe of our Duty 
 to God, and his Mercies to us in 'yefus 
 Chrijl^ a Man may be (as Bifliop Fleet- 
 ivood fays) about his Bufinejs on Saturday, 
 and a good Communicant on Sunday Morjj- 
 inrr. But let us take Heed not to come 
 reeking from a Debauch to the Lord's 
 Table; which is fo fliocking an Offence 
 to common Decency, that whoever is ca- 
 pable of it has a much ftronger Evidence 
 within himfelf, that he is not qualified, 
 than any Formalities of Preparation can 
 be of the contrary. 
 
 When Men are prepared as they ought 
 for the Lord's Table, there can be no 
 Reafon why they fliould not communicate 
 confiantly^ i. e, fo often as the Opportu- 
 nities of doing it are miniflred to them. 
 
 Thefq 
 
Of the L o R !>''$ S V ? ? E R, 1 3 J 
 
 Thefe Opportunities are more or lefs fre- 
 quent in different Places; but I hope there 
 are not many Parifhes where the Sacra- 
 ment is not adminiflered three or four 
 Times a Year; and fo often at lea ft no 
 Chriftian, I think, ftiould difpenfe with 
 himfelf not to communicate, without 
 great and weighty Reafons. If we com- 
 municate oftener, it will be fo much the 
 better; for good Impreificns are apt to 
 wear off, if the Occafions of them are not 
 frequently repeated. Perhaps nothing con- 
 tributes more to Negleds of this kind 
 than fuperftitious Notions about Prepara- 
 tion. For thofe who think themfelves 
 obliged every Time, they come to the 
 Lord's Table to pafs through (it may be 
 for a whole Week together) the feveral 
 Stages of Self-Examination, Confcilion, 
 &c. which are prefcribed to them in 
 fome modern Books of Devotion, niay 
 find it to be fo troublefome, that thev 
 jnay not have Inclination to repeat it of- 
 ten. And this v/ill more efpecially be the 
 Cafe, when through a melancholic Turn 
 of Mind, Men cannot think tlicmfelves 
 fufficiently prepared uniefs they feel Rap- 
 I 4 tures 
 
1^6 Of the ho kd''s Su ? ?E R, 
 
 tures and Tranfports ; to which, the more 
 even and regular they are in their Tempers 
 and Behaviour, the lefs they may find 
 themfelves difpofed. There is nothing more 
 hurtful to true Religion than this kind 
 of Enthufiafm ; which leading Men out of 
 the plain Path of fober Reafon conducted 
 by the Word of God, teaches them to judge 
 of themfelves by I know not what inward 
 Feelings and Experiences-, whereby many 
 are kept away from God's Ordinances who 
 have the beft Right to them, and others 
 again are bloated with Conceit and Spiri- 
 tual Pride, whilft they miflake the Boil- 
 ings of an over-heated Imagination, for 
 the Workings of the Spirit of God. 
 
 But there are others who never com- 
 municate at all, for fear that they fhould 
 afterwards lapfe into Sin ; the Confequence 
 of which Principle if it were right, would 
 be, that no Man ought to receive the Sa- 
 crament but at the Point of Death; and 
 fo far fome Men feem to carry it. There 
 is this plain Evidence to fhew that the 
 Scruple is wrong, that it agrees not in Fadt 
 with the Circumftances of the Sacrament 
 at its firfl Inflitution, nor with the Prad;ice 
 
 of 
 
0/ ^fe Lo R D's Su P P E R. 137 
 
 of the Church which followed upon it. 
 For the Apoftles were not dying Men, 
 when Chriji faid "[take^ eat, this is my 
 Body, nor were thofe dying Men of whom 
 we read ABs ii. 42. that they continued 
 fiedfaftly in the Apoftles DoBrine and Fel- 
 lowftnp, and in breakifig of Bread, and in 
 Prayers. There were fome in the firfl 
 Ages of Chriftianity, who had the fame 
 Scruple about Baptifm ; which, for fear 
 of breaking their Vow, they would not 
 receive till they were upon their Death- 
 Beds : But the Practice was looked upon 
 as fcandalous. To the Reajon of the 
 Scruple I therefore thus anfwer: That in 
 Cafes of vowing where Men are at liberty 
 to keep themfelves free, they ought to be 
 very fecure of their future Conduct before 
 they take the Vow upon themfelves; for in 
 fuch Cafes the Rule holds it is better that 
 thou JJjoiddft not vow, than that thou 
 Jhouldft vow and not pay, Ecclef. v. 5. This 
 is the Cafe of many Vov/s in the Church 
 of Borne ; as Vows of Continency, Vows 
 of Poverty, and the like j which are very 
 often grievous Snares upon the Confcienccs 
 of Men. But this is not the Cafe of the 
 
 Vow 
 
138 Of the Lqim)"s Sv p ? EK. 
 
 Vow of Baptifm, or the Vow of the Sa- 
 crament; where the Vow itfelf, and the 
 Matter of it, are both of them commanded. 
 To receive the Sacrament is the Law of 
 Cbri/I to all who believe, and profefs his 
 Name; as believing and profeffing is the 
 Law of God to all, to whom the Gofpel 
 is offer'd, and are or may be convinced by 
 the Evidence it yields that it is of God ; 
 for he that willfully refufes God's Call, is 
 condemned in fo doing. And what do we 
 vow when we come to the Sacrament ? 
 Why, nothing but, what we are obliged to 
 whether we vow it or not, to love God, 
 and to keep bis Commandments. And there- 
 fore the Confiderations of human Weaknefs 
 and Frailty, are fo far from being an Ob- 
 je<5tion againft our vowing Obedience by 
 the Sacrament, that they are the very 
 Reafon why we ought to do it ; as the 
 Senfe of the Engagement we thereby lay 
 ourfelves under, will be a Means to make 
 us more watchful againft the Temptations 
 of the World; This, as I have fhewn you 
 above, is the proper End and Ufe of this 
 Sort of Inftitutionsj to add Weight to the 
 natural Obligation v/e are under to ferve 
 
 and 
 
Of the Lord's Suv?ER, 13P 
 
 and obey God, and to make us more dili- 
 gent and induflrious in our heavenly Cal- 
 ling. And this is all that is at any Time 
 wanting (and for lack of which alone we 
 mifcarry) to be diligent and induftrious to 
 do our bell; for God doth not expetft liii- 
 pofiibilities. To avoid wilful deliberate 
 Tranfgreffions of the Law of God, or not 
 to ad: againft Reafon and Confcience in 
 known Cafes, muft be fuppofed to be in 
 every Man's Power; and thefe alone are 
 the Sins which will infer a Breach of Vow ; 
 for we do not vow Perfedion. We do 
 not vow never again to be overtaken by 
 a Fault; this we cannot anfwer for : But 
 we vow to be prudent and circumfped, 
 and this we may anfwer for ; and if we 
 are as good as our Word, we (hall not 
 offend in any confiderable Matters. And 
 therefore when Men hang back and will 
 not communicate for fear of breaking their 
 Vows, it feems to betray fome Con- 
 fcioufnefs in themfelves that they mean 
 to break them ; which is a Reafon againll 
 Communicating, that they do not think 
 of. It is a prefent Difquallfi.ation ; for it 
 fliews that they are not fo ferioudy refolved 
 againfl Sin as they ought to be. In 
 
140 Of the ho rd'^s Sv ? p ER. 
 
 In one Word : It is idle to incur a certain 
 Guilt by negleifting the Sacrament, thro' 
 Fear of an uncertain one in breaking the 
 Sacramental Vow. The Law of Chriji is 
 peremptory upon all Chriftians, 'This do in 
 Remembrauce of me 3 and the Breach of 
 this Law is a certain Offence both in 
 thofe who are qualified, and in thofe who 
 are not. The proper Advice therefore, 
 to the one, is, that they would lay afide 
 their Fears ; and, to the other, that they 
 would lay afide their Sinsj for whilfl they 
 are not qualified for the Lord's Table, 
 they are not, they cannot be, qualified 
 for the Kingdom of Heaven. That State 
 which difqualifies for one, difqualifies for 
 both, and would have condemned us if 
 Chrifi had never appointed the Sacra- 
 ment to be received. I blame not Men for 
 keeping away from theLord's Table whilft 
 they are not qualified for it by true Re- 
 pentance: But they mufl not imagine that 
 becaufe they avoid the particular Sin of 
 receiving unworthily, therefore all Things 
 are right with God j which yet feems to 
 be the Miftake of many, if one might judge 
 of their Opinions by the Eafe with which 
 
 they 
 
Of the h o kd's Su ?? E R. 141 
 
 they indulge themfelves in an habitual 
 Negle6t of the Sacrament; making great 
 Confcience not to come unqualified, but 
 making no Confcience at all whether ever 
 they qualify themfelves or not : As if there 
 was but one Way of offending in this 
 Cafe, and it were a great Sin to commu- 
 nicate unworthily, no Sin not to commu- 
 nicate at all. This is a very partial Way 
 of judging, and what they will not endure 
 in any other Cafes. If a Mafler fliould 
 call his Servant to wait at his Table, and 
 the Servant, being drunk, fliould refufe to 
 come J what would a reafonableMan fay? 
 Why I fuppofe he would fay, that the 
 Servant did right not to come when he 
 was not fit to appear. But it muft be faid 
 withal, that the Servant ought to have 
 kept himfelf fober, that he might have 
 been in a Condition to attend upon his 
 Mafter's Call. And thus it is in all Cafes 
 where Duty obliges us to do any Thing, 
 and to do it well. We offend by not do- 
 ing it at all, and we offend by doing it in 
 an improper Manner. Rightly therefore 
 doth our Church advife : Jf mwj ^Hlt 
 
tJ^^ Of the Lord's SiJ p? ER, 
 
 fnp, 31 am n grieijoii^ %i\mtt^ tim 
 tfjctefo^e am nfraitito comc; ^Wdoit 
 tfjcn t5a pe not repent nntJ mmmf WUn 
 <^m calfet?) pott, are pe not a^jauietJ to 
 
 fap pC Mil not come f The Cafe is well 
 reprefented in the Parable of the Supper, 
 recorded M<iif. xxii. which our Church, 
 on this Occafion recommends to our Con- 
 iideration. A certain Man made a great 
 Supper^ and bad many 'j and fent forth hi s 
 Serva7its to tell them that were bidden, 
 behold I have prepared my Oxen, and my 
 Fatlings are killed, and all Things are 
 ready, come unto the Marriage. But they 
 made light of it^ and we?jt their JVays^ 
 one to his Farm, another to his Merchan- 
 dize. Upon this, he was obliged to fend 
 and invite others ^ and when the King came 
 in to fee the Giiejls, he faw a Man which 
 had not on a Wedding Garjnent. And 
 what does he fay to him ? Wiiy, that 
 which God will fliy to every one that 
 comes to his Table without the Qualifica- 
 tions of Faith and Repentance. Friend, 
 how camefl thou in hither"^ V/hat haft thou 
 to do here who art in no Condition to ap- 
 pear before me ? The Sentence which 
 
 follows- 
 
Of the Lord's Su ?? ER» 143 
 
 follows upon this Prefumption is fevere 
 and dreadful; Bind him Hand and Foot, 
 and take him away, and caft him into 
 outer DarknefSj there fiall be weeping and 
 gnajlding of Teeth. This Part of the Pa- 
 rable then, you'll fay, is Caution ftrong 
 enough to keep us away from the Lord's 
 Table, whilft we are unworthy of it. 
 True; fo it ought to be. But is not the 
 other Part of it as good a Caution againft 
 not coming at all ? For did the King ex- 
 cufe thofe who refufed to come ? No ; he 
 rejected them in great Difpleafure. For, 
 as St. Liuke reports it, the Mafter of the 
 Hoiife was angry, and /aid to his Servant, 
 Go out quickly into the Streets ajid Lanes 
 of the City, and bring in hither the Poor 
 and the Maimed, the Halt and the Blind — 
 For I fay unto you, that none of thofe Men 
 which were bidden fhall tafe of my Sup-^ 
 per, Luke xiv. 2 i. 
 
 I have now gone through the feveral 
 Parts of the Chriftian Worfliip ; which 
 you fee is an open and publick Profeffion 
 of our Faith in Chrifl, and a Method of 
 Difcipline preparing us for the Obedience 
 of his Will. Now from hence give me 
 
 Leave 
 
144 Of i/je Lo RD^s Supper. 
 
 Leave to enforce a confcientious Obfer- 
 vance of all Seafons fet apart for religious 
 Worfliip; an abfolute Negledl of which 
 is a giving up the publick Profeffion of 
 Chriflianity, and with it Chriftianity it- 
 felf, which will not long outlive the pub- 
 lick Profeffion of it. If Chriji and his 
 Apoflles, having once delivered the Chri- 
 ftian Docftrine to the World, had left it 
 to the common Fate of Things; in all 
 Probability, it would have been loft long 
 before this Time : But the erecting a pub- 
 lick Worfliip upon this Dodlrine, was the 
 Way to make it perpetual. Such a pub- 
 lick Memorial as this, was an Inftrudlion 
 to the then prefent Generation of Men, 
 and to the Generations that were yet to 
 come; as Mofes intimates in a like Cafe. 
 And it fiall be^ when thy Son ajketh thee 
 in Time to come^ f^y^^S^ What is this ? 
 That thou Jh alt fay unto him^ By Stre?tgth 
 of Hand the Lord brought us up out of 
 Egypt, from the Houfe of Bondage — and 
 it fhall be for a Sig?i imto thee upon thine 
 Handy and for a Memorial between thine 
 Eyes, that the Lord's Law may be in thy 
 Mouth, 6cc. Exod, xiii. 14. 
 
 The 
 
Of the Lo R d's Da y. 14J 
 
 The rnofl: iblemn Sea Ton 
 for Relii>;ious Worfhip is Sun- OftLeLoKx>\ 
 day, or the Lord's Day j in 
 the Negled: of which there is a doublG 
 Mifchief. For Men lofe the Opportunity 
 not only of worfliipping God, but alfo of 
 hearing and being inflrudted by the Admi- 
 niftration of his Word; which feems, from 
 the Days of the Apoflles, to have been 
 an Appendage to the Chriflian Worfhip, 
 as we may not obfcurely gather from A5ls 
 XX. 7. where we read, that upon the fir ft 
 Day of the JVeekj when theDifciples came 
 together to break Bread, Paul preached 
 to them. So early was this Day (which is 
 our Lord's Day) fet apart to theUfes of Re- 
 ligion: So early was the Pradice of joining 
 with the Worlhip of God, the preaching 
 of his Word as Means co-ordinate to the 
 fame general End, the Edification of thofe 
 who were already Chriilians. It was for 
 this Purpofe, among others, that a {land- 
 ing Miniftry was appointed, as St. Paul 
 teftifies, Eph. iv. 1 1, 12. He ganje fome 
 Apojlles, and fome Prophets, and form- 
 Pa s T R s and Teachers, for the 
 K per- 
 
14^ Of the Lo R d's D A y. 
 
 ferfeBiug of the Saints, for the Work of the 
 Minijiry for the edifying of the Body 
 OF Christ. Some, I know, have a low 
 Opinion of the Work of theMiniftry in this 
 refpedt. The Scriptures (they will tell us) 
 are in every one's Hands, containing an 
 authentick Account of the Chriflian Do- 
 drine, and the beft Precepts for a good 
 Life. But this is a very unreafonable Ob- 
 ieftion. It was not long that the Chriftian 
 Churcli was without the Scriptures j and 
 when they were publiflied, did the La- 
 bours of the Clergy thereupon ceafe ? No 
 fuch Matter. The Scriptures were received 
 as a ftanding Evidence of the Faith to all 
 Ages; but Oral Inllrudlion ftill went on, 
 and was, as it always muft be, the prin- 
 cipal Inftrument of propagating Chriftian 
 Knowledge. The great Inftrument by 
 which Religion is propagated, is Educa- 
 tion : And what is Education but Oral 
 Inflrudtion ? When a Child is put to learn 
 his Catechifm ; does he take his Religion 
 from the Scriptures, or from his Parents 
 and Governors? As Children take their 
 Relidon from their Parents, fo the Pa- 
 rents themfelves, ordinarily, take theirs 
 
 from 
 
Of the Lord's Day, 14^ 
 
 from the Chriftian Miniftry, to whom they 
 are incomparably more indebted for their 
 Knowledge in Spiritual Things, than to 
 their private Ufe of the Scriptures. 
 
 To make you fenfible of this, let us 
 remove ourfelves back as far as the Refor- 
 mation, and fee how Matters were then 
 carried on. The Nation had long been 
 in Bondage to the Church of -Ri?;;?^' J which 
 had fealed up the Scriptures from vulgar 
 Ufe, and obtruded upon the People her 
 own Inventions, as the Dodlrines ofCbrifi, 
 Our Reformers, who meant to (hake off 
 this Yoke, began with opening the Scrip- 
 tures ; that all Men having the Evidence 
 of the Faith before them, might fee and 
 judge for themfelves. Suppofe now, that 
 ihftead of ordering a Bible to be fet up 
 in every Parifli Church, they had order'd 
 one to be fent to every Family in the 
 Kingdom, and there had ftopp'd -, What 
 would they have gained ? Wliy juft as 
 much as if they fhould have fent them 
 the Statute Book to inftruiSl them in the 
 Laws of theLand : Little, very little, as to 
 the common Liformation j for I fuppofe I 
 fhall fpeak within Compafs, when I fay, 
 that not one in a Hundred, at that Time 
 K 2 of 
 
Of thehoKT>\T> A Y. 
 of Day, were able to read the Scriptures. 
 But the main and immediate Advantage 
 from opening the Scriptures was this, 
 that it turn'd the Stream of the publick 
 Inftrudion into its proper Channel. They 
 who had opened the Scriptures to publick 
 Ufe, on purpofe to reform the Corrupti- 
 ons of the Church of Rome, took Care> 
 of Courfe, to frame the publick Faith ac- 
 cording to the Scripture Model -, and the 
 Scriptures flood as a Check upon all who 
 were difpofed to adhere to the old Super- 
 ftition, who could not, without expofing 
 themfelves to Scorn, any longer attempt 
 to fupport a Syftem in fo many Points 
 contradidory to the Evidences of the 
 Faith, which every private Chriftian might 
 fo eafily come at. What advanced the 
 Reformation at firft, was its principal Sup- 
 port afterwards, when the Scriptures came 
 to be more generally read, the right Ap- 
 plication, I mean, of the publick Inflru- 
 d:ion ; without which the private Ufe of 
 the Scriptures would probably have given 
 Rife to more and greater Mifchiefs than 
 it cured. It is an Obfervation as old as 
 the Scriptures themfelves, that they who 
 
 are 
 
Of the Load's Day. 14^ 
 
 are unlearned and tmjiable wrejl them to 
 their own DeJiruBion^ 2 Pet. iii. 16. There 
 were Corrupters of the Oral Inftrudtions 
 of the Apoftles ; and there are Corrupters 
 too of the written Word. This is no 
 Objedlion againft the Scriptures; fince, 
 conlidering the great Variety that there is 
 in the Tempers and Capacities of Men, 
 it was fcarce poffible to give fuch a Syftem 
 of written Laws, as fliould be liable to no 
 Mifconftrud:ion. But it fully {hews the 
 Ufe and Necefiity of publick Teaching, 
 under all the Advantages which the Scrip- 
 tures yield. For where will be the End 
 of Error and DilTenfion, if when Multi- 
 tudes are left under the Hazard of fetting 
 out wrong, it fliall be made no one's 
 Bufinefs to dired them right ? The Scrip- 
 tures are, like moft other Writings, fo 
 capable of different Interpretations, as to 
 leave Room for Judgment and Choice in 
 the Ufe of them ; and amidfl that Diver- 
 fity of Opinions for which (according to 
 the different Apprehenfions of Men) the 
 Authority of the Scriptures may be alike 
 pretended, it will ever be a Mark of no 
 common Skill to know how to chule 
 wifely. K 3 In 
 
I JO Of the'LoK'DsT) AY, 
 
 In View of this it was that our Re- 
 formers, when they open'd the Scriptures, 
 did not leave every Man to his own pri- 
 vate Interpretations, without a Guide J but, 
 together with the Scriptures, diverfe Forms 
 of Inftru(Sion were fet forth by publick 
 Authority, ferving as Helps to the under- 
 ftanding of the Scriptures in the mofl ne- 
 ceilary Points of Chriftian Dod^rine. This 
 was a wife and a neceffary Provilion ; for 
 though publick Authority is not a Law to 
 private Judgment, it will always be of 
 great Ufe to private Judgment, to have 
 the main Traces of Religion, as they lye 
 in the Bible, pointed out by learned and 
 fkillful Hands; which will prevent many 
 Miftakes that would unavoidably arife, if 
 every one, who is juft able to read the 
 Scriptures in his Mother Tongue, fhould 
 be left to the Workings of his own Ima- 
 gination, to frame a Religion to himfelf, 
 as he ihiould find himfelf able. 
 
 In this refpe(5t then the Clergy were ufe- 
 ful Inftruments in reftoring and fetting 
 forwards the Knowledge of true Religion ; 
 nor were they lefs fo by their Preaching, 
 in which they were more conftantly and 
 
 diligently 
 
Of thehoK'D\T> XY. 1 5 1 
 
 diligently exercifed than had been cuftom- 
 ary in Popifli Times; and by which a 
 Foundation was laid for the mutual Im- 
 provement both of Paftors and People, 
 For as the People by Degrees grew ac- 
 quainted with the Scriptures, the Clergy 
 were brought under a Neceflity of ftudy- 
 ing them more diligently themfelves; and 
 as the Age became more knowing, the 
 Neceility was ftill more urgent; and what 
 the Confequence of this has been, we fee 
 very plainly in that great Increafe of 
 Chriftian Knowledge, even among the 
 lower Sort of People, beyond what it was 
 in the Times of Popery, or what is ob- 
 fervable any where in Popifh Countries to 
 this Day. But it would not have been 
 reafonable to have expedled the fame good 
 Eifeds, if the Ufe of the Scriptures only 
 had been reftored, and no Care taken for 
 the Adminiftration of publicklnftruLtion. 
 The People would have been left open to 
 their own Miftakes ; and the Clergy hav- 
 ing no Call to give publick Evidence of 
 their Skill in the Scriptures, would few 
 of them have taken that Pains which was 
 neceflary to qualify them to inftrud; them 
 better. ^^ 4 Of 
 
I J z Of the h o ?. Ty's T) A Y . 
 
 Of all Arguments, Fads are the moft 
 convincing ; and I chofe to call in this 
 great Example, as giving us a very fenfible 
 Proof, that the private \jk of the Scrip- 
 tures, and publick Inflrudlion, are mutu- 
 ally helpful to each other, and beft ferve 
 the Interefls of Religion by a joint Appli- 
 cation. There have been and will be at 
 all Times, many who cannot read the 
 Scriptures ; and more who, if they can 
 read, knov/ not how to ufe them with 
 Judgment. But fuppofing that all could 
 both read and underftand. Who fliall fe- 
 cure the Scriptures from being negledled ? 
 All are in Duty bound, no doubt, to 
 the Study of the Scriptures, in a Meafure 
 fuitable to their Abilities, and the Condi- 
 tion in v^hich God has placed them j and 
 much might all improve by this Exercife, 
 if all would do their Duties faithfully. 
 But in Points which concern the Govern- 
 ment of Men, we mufl always take our 
 Meafures from obferving, what in Fadl 
 they generally are, not from what in Rea- 
 fon they ought to be; and in this View of 
 the Cafe, pray tell me. What are thofe 
 great and vifible Effeds from the private 
 
 Ufe 
 
Of the ho KD^s Day, ijj 
 
 Ufe of the Scriptures, that fuperfede the 
 Neceffity of publick Inftruction ? Go to 
 the Men of Pleafure, or the Men of Bu- 
 finefs; fearch from the Palaces of the 
 Great to the Cottages of thti Poor, and 
 what will you find ? Why a Bible, it may 
 be, fet up in their Houfes as a Piece of 
 common Furniture, but little Ufe made 
 of it, more than now and then on a Sim^ 
 if ay Evening, if even this by many is not 
 thought a great deal too much. Time 
 was when the Scriptures were held in 
 greater Efteem, and the reading of them 
 was much pradifed in private Families ; 
 but this was whilft the Novelty of the 
 Thing lafted. As Letters grew to be more 
 common, and the Ufe of the Scriptures 
 more general and familiar, it happened 
 (as is ufual in other Cafes) that lefs Ac- 
 count was made of them. By this Time, 
 I think, they are well nigh thruft out of 
 Doors by a Variety of other Books, which 
 (for the greater Part perhaps) ferve more 
 for Entertainment than Inllmdtion. This 
 has introduced fuch an Itch after Wit and 
 Humour, and other Ornaments in Writ- 
 ing, that there is fcarce a 'Prentice Boy 
 
 who 
 
154 0/ ^fe Lo R d's Da Y. 
 
 who can relifh fuch plain artlefs Leflbns 
 as he finds in his Bible. Under fuch a 
 State of the World as this, it may then 
 reafonably be afked, How much are Man- 
 kind in general the better for the private 
 Liberty of the Scriptures ? The Bible will 
 make us wifer, if we will read it care- 
 fully, and with Reverence, as becomes 
 the Word of God ; but if we throw it 
 afide as Lumber, or call it in only to the 
 Relief of a few heavy Hours, what can 
 it profit us ? Some ufeful Rules of In- 
 ilrudlion we may receive ; fome awaken- 
 ing Reflections the Scriptures may admi- 
 nifter to us, tending to encourage us in 
 well-doing. This may be : But the Point 
 is. What can fuch a carelefs, and as it 
 were cafual, Ufe of the Scriptures do to- 
 wards enabling Men, without farther 
 Help, to fettle a Scheme of Religion to 
 themfelves? He that would learn Chri- 
 flianity from the Scriptures, mufL (as 
 St. Paul fpeaks) give himfelf wholly to 
 them. He muft read them diligently, 
 meditate upon them frequently : He mufl 
 compare Place with Place, and call in the 
 more plain and eafy Paffages to help out 
 
 the 
 
0/ /^^ Lor d's D A Y. ijj 
 
 the Senfe of the obfcure. It is not to be 
 cxpeded that a great many fhould take 
 thus much Pains, hut J omc 77iiiji\ and by 
 the Labours of fuch it muft be that others 
 profit, who want either AbiHties, or In- 
 clination, or Opportunity, for fuch an Em- 
 ployment. 
 
 The Truth is, that Study and Medi- 
 tation is a Way of Improvement for 
 which the Bulk of Mankind are by no 
 Means fitted. Men of Parts and Leifure 
 may do much for themfelves; but the far 
 greater Number muft have Knowledge at 
 a more eafy Rate, or they muft go with- 
 out it. This is not oftener a Crime than 
 it is a Misfortune. As we have Souls to 
 be faved, fo we have Bodies to be pro- 
 vided for; and what can you expe(5l from 
 thofe who by their Condition are born to 
 Labour ? Is it a Time when their Chil- 
 dren are crying for Bread, to fit them- 
 felves down to read their Bibles ? God r&- 
 quires no fuch hard Meafures, but hath 
 provided for them the Minifi:ry of his 
 Word, by which that Spiritual Suftenance, 
 which they are not able to gather for 
 themfelves, comes ready prepared to their 
 
 Hands, 
 
j^6 Of the Lord's- Day. 
 
 Hands, and Millions are every Day fur- 
 nifhed with the mofl ufeful and necefTary 
 Knowledge, who would otherwile have 
 gone out of the World as ignorant almoft 
 as they came into it. 
 
 All tliis {hews the great Goodnefs of 
 our Saviour in appointing a ftanding Mi- 
 niftry ; and the Obligation that lyes up- 
 on all Chriftians to attend upon their 
 Inflrudlionsj for all may improve by it, 
 from the greateil to the lealt, if they 
 come prepared with a ferious and an ho- 
 neft Mind. No Man fhould think him- 
 ielf fo wife or fo good as to be above In- 
 teidion. If Knowledge is perfed:, fome- 
 thing may be yet wanting to touch the 
 Heart ; or if v/e have already made a conli- 
 derable Proficiency in a good Life, we may 
 llill be growing, and going on to Per- 
 fection; to which the Attendance upon 
 Inllrudtion will always be an ufeful In- 
 Urument, If we learn nothing, we may 
 receive fuch Hints as will enable us to 
 improve upon our own Stock. No Man 
 is fo much a Fool, if he talks but com- 
 mon Senfe, but that a wife Man may be 
 the better for him, 
 
 I will 
 
Of the Lor d's Day. i j7 
 
 I will beg Leave to add to all this, that 
 fomething is due to thofe about us, as 
 well as to ourfelves. You^ perhaps, may 
 think your Time would be better em- 
 ployed by flaying at Home to read the 
 Scriptures, or fome other ufeful Book, thaa 
 by going to Church to hear a Sermon : 
 But will not this Excufe ferve your next 
 Neighbour as well as you ? Every Man 
 ftands as an Example to his Neighbour ; 
 and wife Men, above all others, are bound 
 to make themfelves Patterns of good 
 Works, becaule their Examples come 
 with a more commanding Force. So it is 
 as to every Thing which in common Efti- 
 mation pafTes as an Equivalent toWifdomi 
 as Riches, Honour, Power. Perfons of 
 Rank and Diftindtion may do much to* 
 wards bringing Religion into Credit and 
 Efteem ; and fo may Heads of Families, 
 (who are all wife and great within their 
 refpedtive Spheres) if they will obferve a 
 proper Behaviour themfelves. But if when 
 the Wife and Family are fent to Church, 
 the Mafter fhall ftay at Home, or go 
 Abroad after his Bufinefs or Pleafures, 
 what will be the Conftru(5lion ? It is an 
 
 old 
 
I J 8 Of the LoKr>\ Day, 
 
 old Reproach upon Religion, that it is a 
 Trick of Knaves to impofe upon Fools, 
 This Sort of Condud; places it exadly in 
 that Light; which is not the Way to 
 procure it Reverence, but to make it 
 odious; and when a Contempt of Religion 
 gets into Families, it will be very fenfibly 
 felt. I can therefore give no Account why 
 any ferious well meaning Chriftian fliould 
 make light of attending upon the preach- 
 ing of God's Word (how mean foever the 
 Inftrument may be by whom it is admi- 
 niftred) othcrwife than by faying that 
 what fome Men do through a vicious or 
 unbelieving Mind, others are infenfibly 
 drawn into by Cuftom and Fafhion; 
 which fliews a Careleffhefs at leaft about 
 Religion that ought to be amended j for 
 what are Cuftoms and Fafliions to a rea- 
 fonable Man, when they come to inter- 
 fere with the Law of God and the Duty 
 of a Chriftian ? Such as thefe fhould 
 conlider that they are accountable to God, 
 not only for the Lofs of the Opportunities 
 of Improvement to themfelves, but in a 
 Degree for all the bad EfFedts of that Cu- 
 ftom under which they are willing to 
 
 ilielter 
 
Of the ho kd\ Day. ijp 
 
 fhelter themfelves : For who make Cu- 
 ftom, but they who fet the Examples? 
 Nor are thefe Effeds light or trivial j they 
 are the Corruption, the Licentioufnefs, 
 the Infidelity of thefe Times, which, as 
 in the Beginning of them they lead Men 
 to negled: Inftrudtion, fo they owe their 
 Progrefs and chief Support to that very 
 NegIe<St. Mens Vices naturally make them 
 hate Rebuke ; and when by the want of 
 this they are put out of the Way of 
 Thought and Reflexion, they grow apace 
 from bad to worfe. 
 
 If there are any who want Inftrudion 
 more than others, they are thofe of the 
 younger Sort ; for they are mofl: under the 
 Power of Temptations. Thofe who have 
 had the Advantages of a fober Education 
 may be fuppofed to be already furniflied 
 with fuch a Stock of Knowledge and Vir- 
 tue as is neceffary to a good Beginning. 
 But there is a Time when every Man mufl 
 be left to his own Condud, and when it 
 will be hazardous whether he takes fafe 
 and prudent Courfes, or runs out into 
 f^olifh and extravagant V^ays. Suppofe 
 now a vdung Man fent up to Town, to 
 
 learn 
 
1 60 Of the h OK d's Day. 
 
 learn a Trade or a Profeffion. Perhaps 
 he may find little Regard paid to God's 
 Worihip in the Family where he lives; 
 and he will quickly obferve, as he gets 
 more Knowledge of the World, that go- 
 ing to Church is grown to be an unfa- 
 fhionable Thing. The Confequence of 
 this will be, that inftead of fpending his 
 Sundays as he ought to do, and improv- 
 ing thofe good Beginnings which he 
 brought with him from his Parents and 
 Governors, he will make Ufe of thofe Va- 
 cations from Bufinefs to acquaint himfelf 
 with bad Company, who will plunge him 
 at once into all the Vices and Follies of 
 the Age. And can you wonder, if after 
 this the Man turns Unbeliever ? Chriftia- 
 nity has Evidence enough to fatisfy all 
 reafonable Men who will give themfelves 
 Leifure to confider it : But if a Man will 
 have his Ears open to every Buffoon that 
 feoffs at Religion, or every grave Atheift 
 that difputes againft it, and will never 
 enter into a Church to hear it ferioufly 
 and foberly defended; it will be impoffible 
 that Faith fhould fland its Ground. There 
 is no Evidence for the Gofpel that will 
 
 conquer 
 
Of the ho rd's D AY. i6i 
 
 conquer thus much Partiality, nor was it 
 fit that there fliould be any fuch. 
 
 What is true of the publick Faith, is 
 as true of the publick Virtue : Or if you 
 want Convidlion, look among the nume- 
 rous Swarms of thofe about this City, 
 who inflead of repairing to their Parifli 
 Churches, fpend the Lord's Day in flrol- 
 ling about the Fields, or in frequenting 
 diforderly Houfes, and fee what Sort of 
 Morals you will find among them. If 
 this were a general Cafe, the Mifchief 
 would be general J and it is plain, that 
 every fingle Man who negleds his Duty 
 in not paying that Regard to the Religion 
 of the Lord's Day, which, as a Chriflian, 
 he is bound to pay, contributes his Share 
 towards making it general : For if one 
 Man may be excufed. Hundreds and 
 Thoufands may be excufed as well as he. 
 Nor is the Evil likely to end in one, or 
 in a few Inftancesj for evil Cuftoms 
 fpread apace, and flide down with great 
 Facility from the highefl to the loweft 
 Orders of Men. Cuftom, which all Men 
 feel, weighs more than Reafon, which 
 few attend toj and when any Pradice 
 L falls 
 
10 1 Of the L o R d's Day. 
 
 flills In with the vicious Inclinations of 
 Men, it is Encouragement enough that 
 iheir Betters do It before them. 
 
 This neceffiry Connexion that there Is 
 between the religious Obfervance of the 
 Lord's Day and the publick Virtue, na- 
 turally brings it under the Authority of 
 the Chriflian Magillrate ; . who has a 
 Iljght to take Care of the publick Vir- 
 tue, for the publick Safety's Sake. The 
 Religion of a Country is a Country's 
 befl Security; and the Magillrate, as 
 Chrifcian, may, and ought to fupport 
 common Morality upon Chriflian Prin- 
 ciples, and by Chriflian Methods; 
 which are in themfelves the very befl 
 Methods he can purfue. He may there- 
 fore oblige all his Chriflian Subjeds, un- 
 der penal Laws, to join themfelves with 
 fome Communion for publick Worfhip on 
 the Lord's Day; and lay aReflraint upon 
 all fuch Occupations, as interfere with, 
 and draw Men off from, their Attendance 
 upon publick Worfhip. This is no En- 
 croachment upon Confcience ; for every 
 Chriflian may be prefumed to think him- 
 felf bound in Confcience pi^bjickly to 
 
 worfhip 
 
Of the Lor d's Da y, 
 
 worfhip God in one Communion or ano- 
 ther : And if it is no Encroachment up- 
 on Confcience, it can be no Invafion of 
 Civil Liberty; for Civil Liberty always is, 
 or ought to be reftrained by Confcience. 
 Upon this Principle our Laws will be ju- 
 ftified, which forbid Men the Exercife of 
 their ordinary Callings on the Lord's Day; 
 for if Tradefmen might be allowed to 
 open their Shops, and Traffick and Com- 
 merce were to go on freely on Sundays^ 
 as on other common Days ; it is to be ap- 
 prehended that mofl Men would find very 
 little Leifure to go to Church. So it is as 
 to Paflimes and Recreations ; which, there- 
 fore, Civil Laws have a Right to reflrain 
 within due Bounds ; and fubordinate 
 Magiflrates cannot in any Way more pro- 
 perly exprefs their Concern for Religion, 
 than in fhewing a proper Regard to the 
 Spirit and Intention of fuch Laws them- 
 felves, and taking Care that the Breach 
 of them, in no remarkable Liflance, be 
 fuffered to pafs without Corre6tion. It is 
 not a proper Token of fuch Regard (give 
 me Leave to fay) when the Lord's Day is 
 Jingled out for Travelling, or other fecular 
 L z Employ- 
 
1(^4 Oy ^i?^ Lo R d's D A Y. 
 
 Employments. This is grown to be a very 
 cuftomary Thing; and the Confequence 
 we may naturally exped; from it is, that 
 in a little Time we fliall fee common Car- 
 riers and Waggoners paffing and repaffing 
 on the Lord's Day, with their Wares and 
 Merchandizes. If this (hould happen; 
 v/ith what Decency can Magiflrates in- 
 terpofe to corred fuch Diforders? It is not 
 furely lefs excufable to tranfgrefs for Gain, 
 than to offend out of mere Wantonnefs. 
 
 But the great Hindrances of Religi- 
 ous Duties, lye frequently within pri- 
 vate Walls, v/here human Laws can- 
 not reach. In thefe Cafes, Confcience 
 Ihould ferve inflead of Law. When pri- 
 vate Bujhiefsy or private Divci-Jwis^ or 
 private Ceremony^ are fuffered (cufloma- 
 rily) to encroach upon the Duties of the 
 Day, all reafonabls Men mufl condemn 
 them as unlawful ; but when the Duty of 
 the Day is over, there are many who 
 think that they have a Right to difpofe of 
 their Time as they pleafe. I will not go 
 io far as to fay, that any Action, in itfelf 
 innocent, is fniiply and abfolutely unlaw- 
 fai on the Lord's Dayj but I think that 
 
 letting 
 
Of the ho K d's Day. k^j 
 
 letting ourfelves loofe to Recreations of 
 any kind that call the Mind off from all 
 ferious Thought, or border nearly upon 
 a vicious Excefs, is quite inexcufable. In 
 the firft Place, it is not fafe; for Liberties 
 grow by Indulgence, and infenlibly fteal 
 up from lefs to greater. I may venture to 
 fay, that expofing Goods to publick Sale, 
 is at leail: as innocent as fome Diverfions 
 which are allowed in many Families on 
 the Lord's Day j yet our Laws forbid it : 
 And with Reafon. Why ? why becaufe, 
 when a Breach is once made, and an In- 
 let is given to Worldly Bufinefs, no one 
 can tell where it will flop. To affign 
 Part of the Lord's Day to Bufinefs, and 
 Part to Religion, would be like fetting up 
 two Rival Powers; where, each induftrious 
 to inlarge its Boundaries, the (Ironger 
 would, by Degrees, fwallow up the weak- 
 er. We all know which draws flroneeft 
 with moft Men, this World or the next; 
 and therefore the fafe and prudent Way in 
 this Cafe, was to fuffcr no Competition. 
 It was ealier and better for the Law to 
 take away the Snare, than to watch to 
 keep People from running into it. The 
 L 3 publick 
 
1 66 Of the L o R d's Day. 
 
 publick Wifdom in this Cafe, is a proper 
 Dirediion for private Wifdom in like Cafes. 
 When Recreations are apt to encroach too 
 much; Hop them in the firft Inftance, and 
 you may be fecure they will do no Harm, 
 You would think it prudent to adt thus 
 in other Cafes. If a Man was afraid of 
 the Plague ; he would never fuffer the in- 
 feded Thing to enter into his Doors : 
 And where, I pray, is the Hardfliip ? Is 
 it reafonable that Men fliould be debarred 
 the Means of their necelTary Suflenance 
 for one Day in feven ; and not reafonable 
 that they fliould fuffer the like Reflraint 
 in Matters of Recreation ? It were much 
 to be wiflied, that fome Kinds of Diver- 
 fion were lefs in Vogue than they are, even 
 on common Days : But it fliews a Degree 
 of Fondnefs not to be juftified, if we can- 
 not forbear on fuch Seafons, when even 
 commendable Employments are publick 
 Offences, and Authority calls upon us to 
 attend to better Things. The private 
 Tranfadions of Families, as I faid jufl 
 now, are not within the Reach of publick 
 Laws; but our Laws, if we will mind 
 them, recommend to us the Exercife of 
 
 the 
 
Of thel^o"^ d's D a y. xC-f 
 
 the Duties of Piety, privately * as well as 
 publickly. Thefe Things may be run up 
 to too much Precifenefs, no doubt ; but 
 Prudence, under the Dired^ion of an ho- 
 rieft and ferious Mind, will eadly fliew us 
 how to make the proper Diilindions. 
 
 I do not wonder at a free Indulgence 
 even of publick Diverfions of ail Kinds 
 on the Lord's Day in Popifh Countries, 
 where People are bred up under an Opi- 
 nion, that the whole Virtue of Relip^ious 
 Worfliip lyes in the naked Adt of faying 
 over fo many Prayers. If this was right, 
 the Work done, it would be of no Signi- 
 ficancy what went before, or what fol- 
 lows after, fuppofing that Men kept them- 
 felves barely within the Bounds of Inno- 
 cency. But the founder Notions which 
 obtain in Proteftant Communions, dired: 
 to a different Kind of Behaviour, We 
 fay, (and we fay rightly) that outward 
 Ad:s of Religion are of no Value, any far- 
 ther than as they fuppofe an honeft and a 
 good Heart, or help to make one. If a 
 Man fays his Prayers as a Thing of Cu- 
 
 "^Stut. 29. Cay. II, Cha^. 7. and 5 6" 6. 'Edye. Vl.Ch. 3. 
 
 L 4 ■ ^^ovn 
 
1 68 Of the h o K d's Day. 
 
 Horn only, it is not Religion: If he re- 
 ceives the Sacrament often, and does not 
 mend his Life, it will avail him nothing. 
 Now I would afk any reafonable Man, 
 what Conflrudlion will arife when a Per- 
 fon comes to Church, and brings his Fa- 
 mily with him (perhaps) on a Sunday 
 -: Morning; and {hews by his Behaviour all 
 the reft of the Day, that he has not one 
 ferious Thought about Religion, or any 
 Thing thiit has the moft diftant Alliance 
 to Religion ? A Form of Religion is ea- 
 lily put on ; what affects the Heart is not 
 prefently laid afide. If a Man worftiips 
 God with Serioufnefs and Devotion, and 
 comes away from Church with good Im- 
 preflions on his Mind, he will find him- 
 felf more difpofed to go into his Clofet, 
 and, when Religion hath had its Turn, to 
 relieve himfelf by fober Converfation with 
 his Family, or with his Friend, than to 
 fit down to a Ca7'd Table. And therefore 
 to thole who afk. Where is the Offence ? 
 I anfwer, not in the mere Ad, but in 
 the Habit, and in the Conftrud:ion that 
 hangs upon it. The Thing, you fay, is 
 lawful. Be it (o. What is lawful may 
 
 n o 
 
Of theho K d's Day. 1^9 
 
 not be expedient; which is always the 
 Cafe, when by allowing ourfelves in 
 Things lawful, but on no Account necef- 
 fary or ufeful, we bring our own Virtues 
 into Queftion, and deftroy the Force of 
 a good Example. 
 
 In the Ufe of Things in themfelves in- 
 different, Regard {hould always be had to 
 the Opinions of others, fo far as not to 
 give Offence, when it may as well be a- 
 voided. At prefent, the Abufes I am 
 fpeaking of are generally offenfive to the 
 more ferious Part of this Nation, and will 
 be fo, till the Spirit of Religion is worn 
 out among us; for the Offence is not 
 founded in fuperftitious Notions, but in 
 the Reafon of Things. A ferious Con- 
 cern for Religion, naturally makes Men 
 induftrious to improve all Means to the 
 beft Advantage; and will not fuffer them 
 laviflily to throw away thofe Opportuni- 
 ties, which, if properly employed, would 
 help them forward in a virtuous Life : 
 And therefore, whenever it is obferved 
 that a Spirit of Careleflnefs prevails, and 
 that Men are induftrious, not to do as 
 much, but as little as they can, to fhew 
 
 their 
 
170 Of the Lord's Da^, 
 
 their Refped to Religion, the Prefumption 
 will lye, that the Senfe of Virtue is but 
 cold ; and that whatever Forms are kept 
 up for outward Decency's fake, there is 
 very little of Serioufnefs at Heart. 
 
 When Men obferve a Con- 
 0/ Fa s T s. fcience in refped: of the Duty 
 of the Lord's Day, it is to be 
 hoped that they will not think it burden- 
 fome to pay a due Regard to other Sea- 
 fons appointed for the Worfhip of God ; 
 the next of which are our yearly Fa/Is 
 and Fejiivals. Thefe have both of them 
 this in common, that they are Calls to 
 God's publick Worfliip : But as our pub- 
 lick Fafts have this in them fpecial, that 
 they are alfo Calls to Religious Ahfii- 
 nefice-y fomething I would fay very briefly, 
 to {hew how far Religion is concerned in 
 this Pradice j that Chrillians may adt up- 
 on fome reafonable Principle, when they 
 eat, and when they abftain ; when they 
 regard a Day, and when they regard it 
 not. 
 
 It fliould be obferved in the firft Place, 
 that Fafting is not a Cuftom peculiar to 
 
 Chrifti-^ 
 
0/ Fasts. 171 
 
 Chriftianlty; for we read of it in the old 
 Teftament as well as in the new : And if 
 we will confider the Occafions on which 
 it was ufed, we fhall eafily difcern what 
 was propofed by it. Now this you may 
 conftantly obferve: That whenever Men 
 were in Diflrefs; whenever they were 
 awakened by any Accident into a Senie 
 of their being under God's Difpleafure; 
 whenever Good feemed diftant, or Evil 
 threatened near at Hand: In a Word, 
 whenever they flood in more than ordi- 
 nary Need of the Protedlion of God's Pro- 
 vidence, or the Comforts of his Grace; 
 thefe were the Seafons for Fafting : Which 
 evidently imports ih^tfome Virtue, fome 
 Efficacy, was conceived to belong to it as 
 a Means to avert God's Anger, and to 
 engage his Goodnefs on their Behalf. 
 Wherefore have we fajled (fay the yews) 
 and thou feejl not ? * Why were they a- 
 aftonifhed that God had not regarded their 
 Fafting, but from a Belief that Fafting was 
 an acceptable Service ? And Reafon enough 
 was there for this Belief, fuppoftng Faft- 
 ing to have been as it ought. For the Old 
 
 * Ifaiah Iviii. 3. 
 
 Tefta- 
 
172 /9/Fa S T s. 
 
 I'cftament contains many Evidences of 
 God's approving this Service j as in par- 
 ticular that well known PalTage in 'Joel, 
 Chap. i. 3^ 14. SanBify ye a Faji, call a 
 folemn Affembly, gather the Elders, a?id 
 all the Inhabitants of the Land, &c. And 
 that we may not think the Propriety of it 
 to be lefs under the New Teftament than 
 it was under the Old, our Saviour has 
 given Rules * about Parting , and his 
 Apoftles pradifed it ; of which we have 
 a clear Inflance, ylBs-Km. 3. where it is 
 faid, that when certain T'eachers that were 
 at Antioch, had received a Command from 
 the Holy Ghojl to fcparate Barnabas and 
 Said for the Work of the Miniftry, they 
 fafted and laid their Hands on them\ 
 which was the conftant Manner of com- 
 mending Men to the Grace of God, on all 
 folemn Occafions, as we may fee, ylBs xiv. 
 23. St. Paul tells us, that he was in Fa fl- 
 ings often, 2 Cor. xi. 27. and Chap, vi, f 5. 
 that he approved himfelf to God, among 
 other Things, by Fajlings. So that, up- 
 on the whole, there can be no Doubt but 
 that to defpife Parting as a mere Superfti- 
 
 * Matt. vi. 1 6. 
 
 tion. 
 
Of Fa s t s. X73 
 
 ion, is one Extream in this Cafe that 
 ought to be avoided. 
 
 When and whence this Practice had its 
 Beginning, it is very hard, if not impoffible, 
 to fay with Certainty. It is very probable 
 it might originally have taken its Rife, not 
 from any divine Precept, but from the na- 
 tural Correfpondency it has with a State of 
 Sorrow and Humiliation. But what is cer- 
 tain in this Matter is. That on the great 
 Day of Attonement, when thePrieft, once 
 a Year, was to make a Sin-OfFering for all 
 the People ; the Jews were exprefsly com* 
 manded to hold a Fafl. The Law to this 
 Purpofe is to be found, Levit. xvi. 29, 
 and runs in thefe Words. Jlnd this Jhall 
 be a Statute for ever unto you, that on 
 the feventh Month, on the T'enth Day of 
 the Month y yefiall affiiB your Souls, and 
 do no Work at all — For on that Day the 
 Priejl fhall make an Attonejnent for you 
 to cleanfe you, that ye may be clean from 
 all your Sins before the Lord : It Jljall be 
 a Sabbath of Rejl unto you, and ye JJjall 
 afli^ your Souls by a Statute for ever. In 
 this PafTage the diftinguifhing Marks of a 
 moft folemn Fail are fet down. They 
 
 were 
 
174 0/ Fasts. 
 
 were to reft from all Manner of Labour, 
 as on the Sabbath ; and they were to ab- 
 ftain from Meat and Drink, and all other 
 Pleafures v/hatfoever. This is fignified by 
 the Phrafe, ye Jhall ajjiiSi your Souls ; for 
 affixing the Soul^ in the Scripture Lan- 
 guage, fignifies Fafting and Self-Denial^ as 
 appears from Ifaiah Iviii. 3 . Wherefore have 
 wefajled and thou feejl not'? Wherefore 
 have we afflicted our Soul, and thou 
 takejl no Knowledge? Again, ^5. Is it 
 fiich a Faji as I have chofen ? a Day for a 
 Man to AFFLICT HIS Soul ? The Word 
 Souly in both thefe Places (as in many 
 other Parts of Scripture) denotes the izn- 
 fitive Part of Man, which is afflidled by 
 Fafting J not the Mind, or rational Parr, 
 which is afflidled by Sorrow and Com- 
 pun6:ion; for this kind of afiiBing the 
 Soul (which is indeed the Sacrifice of a 
 broken and a contrite Heart) God would 
 not have defpifed. Now the fews having 
 fo plain a Law for fafting on this great 
 and folemn Occalion ; it is natural to fup- 
 pofe that they transferred this Practice to 
 all other Occaftons, both publick and pri- 
 vate, whenever they thought it feafonable 
 
 tQ 
 
0/ Fasts. 17 j 
 
 to humble themfelves before God. And 
 that this was proper and ufeful, and that 
 God approved it, we have already fhewn. 
 But it is carefully to be obferved j that un- 
 der the Jewifi Law, Failing had not the 
 Force and Virtue of an Injlitution^ any 
 otherwife than as it flood connected with 
 the great Day of Attonement j becaufe this 
 was the only Day on which they were 
 commanded to fail by a Statute for ever, 
 Fafl they might, and did, upon diverfe 
 Occafions, befides this; but as the Humi- 
 liation of fuch Seafons was a free and vo- 
 luntary Service, fo was the Falling that 
 attended them; infomuch, that if they 
 had omitted Falling on fuch Occafions, 
 though their Services might have been lefs 
 perfect, and therefore lefs effcdual to the 
 Furpofes intended, yet they could not 
 have been charged with a formal Viola- 
 tion of the Law of Mofes. 
 
 This Obfervation will help us to deter- 
 mine the Obligation to fad, as it now 
 flands under the Gofpel Difpenfation. 
 With Failing, confidered as an Injiitution 
 of Mojes^ it is plain we have nothing to 
 dp ; Cqnfequently, the Obligation to Fail 
 
 cannot 
 
iy6 Of Fast s. 
 
 cannot be ftronger upon a Chriftian, than 
 it was upon a Jew^ with refpe<^ to thofe 
 other Fadings which the Jews cuftomarily 
 obferved, but which the Law ofMofes pre- 
 fcribed not j unlefs our Saviour, by his 
 Authority, hath made it a pofitive Infti- 
 tution ; which does not feem to have been 
 the Cafe. The only Place in which our 
 Saviour hath fpoken to the Point, is Matf, 
 ix. 15. where the Difciples of yobn ob- 
 je<5l to Chriji^ We and the Pharifees fajl 
 OFTEN, but thy Difciples fajl not. Of 
 what Sort of Fafling do they fpeak ? Of 
 their i;o/«;2/^2ry Fafting, no doubt; for the 
 Law of Mofes did not oblige them tofaji 
 often. Our Saviour anfwers, that though 
 they did not now faft, yet the Time was 
 coming, when they fhould faft. Can the 
 Children of the Bride-Chamber mourn, as 
 long as the Bridegroom is with thetn ? But 
 the Days will come, when the Bridegroom 
 jloall be taken from them, and then JJmll 
 they fafi. In which Words Chrifl inti- 
 mates ; that as to Matters of this Kind, the 
 Difpenfation which he was come to in- 
 troduce (liould make no Difference. As 
 'yews they failed often, and fo they might 
 
 as 
 
0/ Fasts. 177 
 
 as his Difciplcs, when it fhould become 
 fcafonable fo to do : Which was leaving the 
 Pradice of Fading juft as he found it, a 
 free and a voluntary Service ; to be done, 
 or to be left undone, as the Circumftances 
 of Times fhould dired: ; not binding it 
 upon them as a Gofpel Inftitution. There- 
 fore, though it will be a culpable Omiffion 
 in a Chriftian to negled: Fafting at proper 
 Seafons, in Confequence of that general 
 Obligation which all Men are under to 
 make the beft Ufe of the Means and Op- 
 portunities of Improvement which lye be- 
 fore them ; and to pay due Regard to 
 Rules appointed by the Church for Order 
 and Edification ; yet it will not be an Of- 
 fence of the fame Nature, as if he fhould 
 neglect to receive Baptifm, or to partake 
 of the Communion of Chrifl's Body and 
 Blood, when he is called upon to do it, 
 and has no reafonable Impediment to keep 
 him back. Thefe are Duties flridtly com- 
 manded J and with the wilful Omiffion of 
 them the Obedience of a Chriitian cannot 
 ftand. The other is a Pradtice approved 
 and recommended as ufeful to the Purpofes 
 of Religion j not infifled upon as a confli- 
 
 M tuent 
 
178 Of Fa s t s. 
 
 tiient Part of that Obedience which the 
 Gofpel requires as neceflary to Salvation. 
 
 Let us now therefore enquire, how 
 Falling comes to be ufeful to the Purpofes 
 of Religion ; or by v/hat Virtue it is a 
 Service acceptable to God. And here it 
 is plain, that the Virtue lyes not in the 
 V/ork itfelf: For, as moral Agents, we 
 muft be approved or difapproved of God, 
 in Confequence of fome moral Quality ; 
 but in Fajling (the W^ork only confidered) 
 there is nothing morally good, or morally 
 evil: For, as St. Paid fays. Neither if 
 ive eat are isce the better \ neither if ive 
 eat not are we the woife. Meat, there- 
 fore, commendeth us not to God: "* No 
 more does Abftinence, confidered merely 
 as Abftinence. And this is the Nature of 
 all external Ads of Worihlp whatfoever; 
 that, confidered in themfelves, or feparate 
 from all Relation to fomething further, 
 they are of no Value. God had com- 
 manded Sacrifices under the Law j yet to 
 the Jews he faith, To what Purpofe is the 
 Multitude ef your Sacrifices unto met I 
 am full of the Burnt Offerings of Rams^ 
 
 * I Cor. viii. 8. 
 
 and 
 
Of Fasts. I7p 
 
 fe;?J ihe Fat of fed Beajis^ and I delight 
 not in the Blood of Bullocks ^ or of Lambs , 
 or of He Goats * ? The Meaning is ; not 
 that Sacrifices, abfohuely, were unaccep- 
 table to God, but, that God delighted not 
 in Sacrifices merely for the Sacrifices Sake. 
 And how indeed fliould he ? Think we 
 that God eateth the Flejh of Bulls, or drhik- 
 eth the Blood of Goats -f ? In like Man- 
 ner, with refped: to Fajling ; God afks by 
 the Mouth of the fame Prophet, Is it 
 fuch a Fafl that I have chofen ? a Day for 
 a Man to afiiB his Soul"^ Is it to bow 
 down his Head like a Bull-rufi^ and to 
 fpread Sackcloth and Afies under hijn? 
 Wilt thou call this a Faji, an acceptable 
 Day unto the LordX? God doth not 
 condemn thefe outward Services; he doth 
 not reprove them for afSidting their Souls 
 by Abltinence and Self-Denial, nor for 
 appearing in the Guife and Fa{hion of 
 thofe who forrowed, by fpreading Sack- 
 cloth and Afhes under them. But he tells 
 the Jews, that if they did this and no- 
 thing more ; if they failed and mourned, 
 and nothing came of it; it (hould nothing 
 
 * Ifaiah i. 1 1. f Ffalm 1. 13. ^ Ifaiah \vi\i. 5. 
 
 M 2 avail 
 
i 8o " Of F AST s, 
 
 avail them. What then were they to do ? 
 You have it, Ifaiah i. 16. Wapj ye^ make 
 you clean, put away the Evil of your Do- 
 ings from before mine Eyes, ceafe to do 
 Evil, learn to do well. Again ; Chap. Iviii, 
 f 6. Is not this the Fafl that I have cho- 
 fen^ to loofe the Bands of Wickednefs, to 
 undo the heavy Burdens, and to let the 
 oppreffed go free. — Is it not to deal thy 
 Bread to the hungry .? — When thou feejl 
 the Naked, that thou cover him^ &c. 
 Thefe are plain Defcriptions of that Re- 
 pentance and Righteoiifnefs towards God^ 
 which the Scriptures, both of the Old and 
 New Teftament, fet forth to us as the 
 proper Ground of our Acceptance to his 
 Favour. So that whatever Virtue there is 
 in Fafting, it muft needs arife from fome 
 Relation it bears to Repentance and Righ- 
 teoufnefs. And it hath, whenever there 
 is any fincere Meaning in it, Firji, the Re- 
 lation of an Evidence, to (hew the in- 
 ward Sorrow of the Heart; which is pre- 
 clfely the Thing that avails with God. 
 When the Ninevites proclaimed a Faft^ 
 upon the preaching of Jonah, it is faid, 
 that God repented of the Evil that he had 
 
 faid 
 
0/ Fa s T s. iS i 
 
 fitd that he 'would do unto them^ and he 
 did it not. Why ? not merely becaufe 
 they fafled; but becaufe God f aw their 
 WorkSy that they turned from their evil 
 Way^ Jonah iii. lo. God wants not any 
 outward Evidence to (hew him how the 
 Heart is inwardly difpofed; but Men do* 
 And therefore when National Offences call 
 for National Humiliation, publick Fads 
 are highly expedient ; for they are a pub- 
 lick Admonition, and a publick Example. 
 Secondly j Fafling hath the Relation of an 
 Injlriiment^ ferving to promote and help 
 forward Repentance; and to flrengthen 
 and improve every virtuous Difpofition of 
 Mind which Repentance produceth. Vir- 
 tue is properly the Work of Reafon, di- 
 refled by the Law of God, and fupported 
 by the Expe(5lations of a Life to come. 
 By how much the lefs therefore Reafon is 
 difturbed by Paffion, by fo much the 
 more regular and certain will it be in its 
 Operations; and Virtue not only ftand 
 more fecure, but extend itfelf more in 
 every Refpe(5t in which it is capable of 
 Growth and Improvement. Now this is 
 the proper Ufe of Abftinence, to keep the 
 M 3 Bod^ 
 
lii 0/ Fasts. 
 
 BoJy under ^ and bring it into SuhjeBion *, 
 as St. Paid fpeaks : To withdraw that Few- 
 el which is apt to provoke and inflame 
 fenfual Appetite j to cut off the Opportu- 
 nities of Sin and Vanity; and to bring 
 ourfelves to a fobcr, confiderate, and de- 
 vout Frame of Mind; and in this View 
 there is a great deal to be faid to recom- 
 mend the Pra(5tice. But if we imagine 
 that there is in Fading, or Aufterities of 
 any other kind, a Virtue to attone for paft 
 TranfgrelTions ; this is not only a foolifh, 
 but a dangerous Superftition. God hath 
 given us (as free Agents) the Power of fin- 
 ning ; but when we have finned, he hath 
 not put it in the Power of any Creature ir^ 
 Heaven, or on Earth, to fay what fliall fa- 
 tisfy his offended Juftice. It is his, and not 
 ours, both to puniffi and to forgive Of- 
 fences com.mitted againft himfelf ; and he 
 hath told us, that there is no Attonement 
 but the Blood of Chrijl ; no Means of Ac- 
 ceptance to the Grace offered by this At- 
 tonement, but fincere Repentance ; which 
 is like to go but flowly on, if Men fhall 
 qnce come to believe that by fubmitting 
 
 * I Cor. ix 27. 
 
 tQ 
 
Of 
 
 Fasts. 1S3 
 
 to a certain ftated Courfe of Difcipline 
 impofed by a Prieft, or voluntarily under- 
 taken by themfelves, \hty fiall ha've Peace^ 
 though they walk in the Imaginations of 
 their own Hearts *. 
 
 From the whole then of what hath been 
 faid, it appears, that Religious Abftinence 
 is a Practice very fit to be encouraged in 
 the Chriflian Church. For what if our 
 Saviour hath not bound it upon us as an 
 indifpenfible Law? Is it not enough that 
 he hath recommended it to us as expe- 
 dient in its Seafon ; and that in the Na- 
 ture and Reafon of the Thing it appears 
 to be an Inflrument ferving to an holy 
 Life ? It was upon thefe Accounts that 
 the Apoflles took it up immediately after 
 his Departure ; and that it became a Part 
 of the Difcipline of the Church in the 
 pureft Ages (from whence it has been 
 continued ever fince) to fet apart certain 
 Days and Seafons in the Year, as Times of 
 Failing ; that Chriflians might not want 
 frequent Calls and Admonitions to retire 
 from the Bufinefs and Pleafures of the 
 World, and to give themfelves up to Re- 
 
 * Dtitt. xxix. 19. 
 
 M 4 ligious 
 
Of Fa ST s. 
 
 ligious Exercifes. It is certain that Popery- 
 has grafted many Superftitions upon this 
 Pradtice; but this is not aReafon why the 
 Pradlice fliould be laid afide. It was the 
 Wifdom of our Reformers to diftinguifh 
 the Good from the Bad ; to pare off thofe 
 Excrefcencies which had grown out by 
 Time, and were the Effeds of a fickly 
 and diftemper'd State of Religion ; but 
 cautioully to withhold their Hands from 
 touching any Thing, the Want of which 
 would diminifh from its Perfed:ion and 
 Comelinefs. In this View it was, that 
 the Order of Parting was preferved in our 
 Church. That it is little attended to, is 
 owing, not to the Virtues of the Times, 
 but, to a general Decay of Religion ; a 
 warmer Senfe whereof till it fhall pleafe 
 God to raife up among us, there can be 
 little Hopes that Fafting will recover its 
 ancient Efteem. Nor would I propofe 
 the Pradice of the ancient Church, in all 
 the Circumftances of it, as a Pattern for 
 all Ages. The Abftinencies of the firfl 
 Chriflians were frequent and fevere; and 
 it mufl be faid, that there was great Need 
 of them, when the Church being liable 
 
 to 
 
Of Fast s. igj 
 
 to conftant Perfecutions, an uncommon 
 Degree of Fortitude and Mortification to 
 jthe World was neceffary for their Support. 
 But if the Severities of Abftinence are not 
 always neceffary, the Thing itfelf will be 
 always ufeful and proper, in a Degree fui- 
 table to our Conditions and Circumftances. 
 And if fo much Regard (at leaft) were 
 paid to our Seafons of Abftinence (that of 
 Lefif in particular) that you fhould fee 
 Chriftians referved in their Diverfions, and 
 frequent in their Attendance upon the 
 publick Duties of Religion (which ufed 
 to be the Way in more reafonable Times) 
 as this would be {hewing a decent Refpedt 
 to publick Authority, fo there can be no 
 Doubt but Mankind would be confidera- 
 bly the better for it, 
 
 I am next to confidcr our 
 yearly Fejiivals ; which were Q^ ^esti- 
 taken up (as our Fajls origi- 
 nally were) from the like Ufages among 
 the yews. To what Purpofe, our Laws 
 will beft fhew ; which tells us, it was to 
 call Men to //>^ Remembrance — of 
 Almighty God's great Benefits--b- And 
 
 in 
 
%6 0/ Festivals. 
 
 in remembrance hereof^ to render unto 
 H I M moji high and hearty Thanks, with 
 Prayers and Supplications for the Relief of 
 all our daily Necejjities. It is added. That 
 the Times appointed fpecially for thefe 
 Works, are called Holy Day s — for the 
 Nature and Condition of thofe Holy 
 Wo R K s wherewith God is to be honoured^ 
 end the Congregation to be edified, where- 
 unto fuch Times and Days are fan5iified 
 ( and hallowed, that is to fay, feparated 
 from all prof ane (or common) Vfes, and 
 dedicated and appointed not unto any 
 Saint or Creature, but only unto 
 God, and his true Worfiip ^. From thefe 
 Words we may obferve, that (in the In- 
 tention of our firft Reformers) Holydays 
 are not fet apart in Honour of t h e 
 Saints, confidered as Objeds of Reli- 
 gious Adoration ; but, to the Honour of 
 God, whom we praife and blefs for his 
 Mercies vouchfafed to us by his Saints; 
 whofe Lives are fet before us as Enfamples 
 of Virtue and Godlinefs. And in this Spi- 
 rit it is, that all our publick Prayers on 
 fqch Qccafions, are drawn up, as every 
 
 » 5.6. ^<^.v.VI. Chap. . 
 
 one 
 
0/ Fe ST I VA L S, 187 
 
 (Dne muft have obferved, who has read 
 over the Common-Prayer Book with an 
 ordinary Care. Some Chriflians obie<ft 
 agalnft this, becaufe it is not commanded. 
 To which I anlwer, That a divine Pre^ 
 cept was in no wife neceflary. For in ap- 
 pointing Feflivals, the Church only pro- 
 vides us with Opportmiities for the Exer-^ 
 cife of Publick Worfliip ; with this Cir^- 
 cumftance of Diftindion peculiar to thofe 
 Days, that our Prayers are then dired:ed 
 to be offered up under the fpecial Remem- 
 brance of fuch Mercies, or in View of 
 fuch Examples as, if confider'd, will quick- 
 en our Piety, and help to make us the 
 Ipettcr Chriflians. And what is there in 
 this that Men lliould condemn, or which 
 God will not approve ? You will fay, 
 perhaps, that St. Paid blames the Galatir- 
 ans for obfervifig Days^ and Months^ and 
 ^imeSy and I'ears *. So he does : But 
 pray mind how this Charge is introduced. 
 Now after ye have known God, or rather 
 are known of God^ how turn ye again to 
 the weak and beggarly Elements y ^where- 
 unto ye defire again to he in Bondage^ 
 
 The 
 
i88 0/Festivals. 
 
 The obferving thefe Days, and Months, 
 and I'imeSj and Tears, you fee, was con- 
 fidered by the Apoftle as turning again to 
 that State of Bondage from which the Go- 
 fpel had fet them free ; /. e. as a turning 
 again to Judaifm j as appears by compa- 
 ring f 3, and 5, of this Chapter J where, 
 to be under the Elements of the World, 
 (which he here calls weak and beggarly) 
 and to be under the Law, are ufed as Ex- 
 preffions importing one and the fame 
 Thing. Therefore the Feftivals, by the 
 Obfervance of which they mufl be under- 
 flood as returning to the Law ; could not 
 be Chrijlian Feftivals, but were Jewijh Fe- 
 ftivals. To obferve a Jewijh Feftival out 
 of Confcience to that Feftival, was to de- 
 clare the Law oiMofes ftill in Force; and 
 inixing Judaifm with the Religion of the 
 Gofpel. This was what fome Teachers 
 prefled upon theChriftians of thofe Times, 
 but which the Apoftle condemns as an 
 Encroachment upon their Liberty in 
 Chriji, But furely the obferving Days fet 
 apart in Memory of Chrift, or in Memo- 
 ry of an Apoftle (if there were any fuch 
 Feftivals of fo early a Date) could not 
 
 import 
 
0/ FesT I VA L S. iS? 
 
 import a returning to the Laws nor can 
 any good Account be given why the 
 Apoftle fhould have treated them as weak 
 and beggarly things. The yewijh Rites 
 were, by the Apoftle, termed weak and 
 beggarly, confldered as appertaining to 
 that Covenant which Vf2iS weak and 
 beggarly in Comparifon to that Covenant 
 of which Christ was the Mediator. 
 But a Cuftom borrowed from the Yewijh 
 Worihip, and adapted by Chriji into his 
 own Worihip, is no longer to be confi- 
 der'd as appertaining to the Oeconomy of 
 Mofes, but as appertaining to the Oecono- 
 my of Chriji. Therefore the Obfervance 
 of fuch a Cuftom cannot be underftood 
 as a returning back to the Law of Mofes-, 
 for it is obferved not as the Law of Mo^ 
 fes, but as the Law of Chriji, I fay, as 
 the Law of Chriji, For though Chriji 
 diredly commanded them not, yet fo 
 long as there is in them a natural Ten- 
 dency to fet forward the Faith and Piety 
 of the Gofpel, and fo long as they are ob- 
 ferved not as Jewijhy but as ufeful and 
 projitable Cuftomsj they are virtually 
 Chriji\ Law, by that general Maxim of 
 
 the 
 
ipo 0/ Festivals. 
 
 the Gofpel (which is alfo a Maxim of 
 common Senfe) that all Tubings fhould be 
 dofie to Edification. 
 
 No Obje(ftion then can lye againfl the 
 Obfervation of Chriftian Feftivals upon 
 the foot of Scripture-Authority } nor yet 
 upon the foot of Reafon> conlider'd as di- 
 recting us \o Things in themfelves ufeful 
 and profitable. But if, inftead of attend- 
 ing to thofe good Effects which fuch Ap- 
 pointments ought in Reafon to produce ; 
 we will confider only thofe bad ones of 
 which they are many Times made the 
 Occafion, great Prejudices may be raifed 
 againfl them. That our holy Seafons are, 
 by many, turn'd into Seafons of Licenti- 
 oufnefs and Excefs, is a notorious and a 
 ihameful Truth ; which gives a Handle, 
 which thofe who diflike this Part of our 
 Eftablifhment, never fail to make the 
 molt of. But let the Objeftion reft, where 
 it ought to reft; not upon the Appoint- 
 ments themfelves, but, upon thofe who 
 are guilty of fuch Abufes. The Cafe was 
 not better among the yews, who, as the 
 Prophet complainsj rofe up eai'ly in the 
 Morni?igj that they might follow firong 
 
 Dri?il\ 
 
0/ Festivals. ipr 
 
 T)rin'k, and continued until Night, till 
 Wine enjiamed them ; and the Harp and 
 the Viol, the Tabret and Pipe, and Wine 
 were in their Feajls, but they regarded not 
 the Work of the Lord, nor confiderd the 
 Operations of his Hands *. No doubt the 
 Wifdom of God forefaw thefe Abufes; 
 and yet, thefe Abufes notwithftanding, he 
 appointed them Feftivals> which fliould 
 have been a little better confider'd by thofe 
 who have infifted upon the like Abufes 
 among ourfelves as a Reafon againft the 
 Expediency or Lawfulnefs of our Fefti- 
 vals. They were not, you fee, of that 
 Weight with God; and why fhould they 
 have more Weight with Men ? Or what 
 will there be left for us to do, if nothing 
 is to be ordered which may be perverted 
 to a wrong End ? If we conlider what 
 Ufe Multitudes make of the Reft of the 
 Sabbath, it muft be acknowledged that 
 they would be much better employed, if 
 they were fent to work in the Field. Will 
 you therefore plead that the Lord's Day 
 ought to be aboliflied, and prefcribe that 
 all Men fliould be kept conltantly to La- 
 
 hour. 
 
IJt (5/Fe S T I VA LS. 
 
 hour, in order to keep them fober ? Ab- 
 furd ! Vacations from Labour you muft 
 have, whether you had Feftivals, or whe- 
 ther you had none. If Religion had not 
 miniilred fuch Opportunities, Civil Policy 
 muft J for Men are not to be ufed worfe 
 than Beafts. Let any reafonable Man 
 judge then which are moft properj Vaca- 
 tions from Labour appointed for Idlenefs^ 
 and Pleafure ; or Vacations from Labour, 
 appointed for the Worftiip of God. What- 
 ever be the Abufes which our more folemn 
 Feftivals are fubjed: to, no one will fay 
 that thoie Abufes arife from their being 
 religious Feftivals j or that the People are 
 not put into a much better Way, by being 
 call'd upon on fuch Seafons to the Exer- 
 cifes of Piety, than if, without any fuch 
 Opportunities vouchfafed, they had been 
 left to difpofe of their Time (to fay the 
 leaft) in an unprofitable manner. In a 
 few Words ; as there are many who em- 
 ploy thefe Seafons ill, fo there are many 
 who fpend them well; and why muft 
 good Men be deprived of any Means 
 which tend to their Improvement in Piety 
 and a good Life, becaufe bad ones will 
 * make 
 
Of theV> kii.H Service. 193 
 
 malce that bad Ufe of them which they 
 generally make of every Thing elfe? 
 
 There is but one good Ufe (fo far as I 
 know) that can be made of this Objedj- 
 on; and that is, to {hew Chriftians how 
 much it concerns them to avoid thofe Ir- 
 regularities which give fo great and fo juft 
 an Offence, and to improve to the utmoil, 
 the Advantages which are fet tefore them. 
 The Appointment of Feftivals in the 
 Chriftian Church is a very wife Provifion, 
 if v^e will make a wife Ufe of it; and if 
 we will not, the Blame lyes at our Doors. 
 A Fault there will be, when Feftivals are 
 multiplied beyond Reafon and Difcretionj 
 in Vv'hich refpe^t the Church of Rome is 
 much to be blamed, which by taking in 
 fuch Numbers of modern Saints (many 
 of whom were chiefly remarkable by their 
 Zeal for the Corruptions of that Commu- 
 nion) have made their Feflivals burden- 
 fome. Our Reformation hath lopt off 
 thefe Superfluities, and left us nothing to 
 commemorate, but what is well worth 
 our Remembrance J fome great and re- 
 markable Occurrences, I mean, relating 
 to the Oeconomy of Chrift in the Flefh, 
 N and 
 
ip4 0/ Fasts. 
 
 and the Examples of Apoftles or Apofto-* 
 lical Men, famous for the Purity of their 
 Faith, as well as for the Conftancy of 
 their Virtue. Whether this was not to 
 obferve the golden Mean, or thofe are ra- 
 ther to be commended, who, together 
 with the Siiperjiition of Popery, have 
 thrown out the Piety of the ancient 
 Church, I fhall leave all ferious Chriftians 
 to confider. 
 
 As the Appointment of 
 o/.^. Daily Peftivals in the Chriftian 
 
 OERVICE. 
 
 Church was a Cuftom bor- 
 rowed from the 'Jewijh Feftivals; fo the 
 Appointment of our daily Service was 
 taken from their daily Sacrifice. And a 
 great Advantage, no doubt, it is, to have 
 the Opportunity of worshipping God 
 daily adminifhred to us. For daily Wor- 
 fhip is a daily Improvement, if we per- 
 form it with due Serioufnefs. I do not 
 apprehend that in fettling the daily Ser- 
 vice, it was expedled that e'uery Chriftian 
 fhould attend daily. For we have Bodies 
 to be taken Care of, as well as Souls, to 
 which fuch a Degree of Care and Appli- 
 cation 
 
Of the 'Dai hY Serv ice. ipy 
 
 Ration is frequently necefTary, as is incon- 
 fiflent with a daily Attendance. In this 
 Cafe we fhould remember what the Scrip-^ 
 ture faith, / will have Mercy ^ and not Sa- 
 crifice^ Mat. ix. 13. — And — If any pro- 
 'uide not for his own^ and fpeci ally thofe of 
 his own Houfe^ he hath denied the Faith, 
 and is worf'e than an Infidel, i Tim. v. 
 8. But if many are born to earn their 
 Bread by their daily Labour, there are 
 others to whom Providence has been fo 
 indulgent as to have left them little more 
 to do than to enjoy what the Labour of 
 others has provided for them : And can 
 fuch as thefe give fo proper a Teftimony 
 of their Thankfulnefs to God, as by de- 
 voting a Share of their Time daily to his 
 Service ? I do by no Means coniider Rich 
 Men, as Men of noBufinefs. For Wealth 
 was never intended as a Support for Idle- 
 nefs, tho' that Ufe is too often made of 
 it by many. The Rich Man may ferve 
 his Country as a Magiftratej his Neigh- 
 bour as a Patron and Friend ; and, fetting 
 thefe alide, there are a Variety of Avoca- 
 tions which attend upon large Fortunes, 
 which may afford juft and reafonable Ex- 
 N 2 cu fes, 
 
1^6 Of the Daily Service. 
 
 cufes. But I confefs I have no Notion, 
 but that all, vvhofe Conditions fet them 
 free from great Hard fhips, might frequent- 
 ly find Leifure to attend upon the daily 
 Service, if they were not over-borne by 
 evil Cuftoms, and had not gotten a Habit 
 of exculing themfelves, by every little 
 Pretence which offers itfelf as a Handle to 
 lay hold of: As if God was never to be 
 worfhipped but when we can find nothing 
 elfe to do ! In the Concerns of this World, 
 we a6t by another Spirit. In buying and 
 in felling; in eating and in drinking; in 
 working and in playing; in every Thing 
 in which our Profit or ourPleafure is con- 
 cerned; we are wont to ufe much fore- 
 cafl, and to take Care, fo far as is pofiible^ 
 that each may have its proper Seafon, and 
 that great Concerns may hot interfere with 
 little ones. Let us but once fhew the 
 tame Diicretlon in the Bufinefs of our 
 Souls, and I am greatly deceived, if in 
 moll; Parillies the daily Service might not 
 be perform'd with fo much Decency at 
 leaft, that when the Minilter comes to 
 do his Office, he (liall not want thofe who 
 will y^y Amen'/^ his P?'avers^ o?' giving 
 
Of theD AiLY Service. i^j 
 
 of T'hanh j nor feem as if he were fpeak- 
 ing to the Walls. 
 
 I do not fo much wonder at this Neg- 
 ledt in many Country Parifhes, which con- 
 iift chiefly of labouring People, from whom 
 a daily Attendance upon the publick Wor- 
 fhip, (as I hinted before) is not to be 
 expected. But in large and populous 
 Places, where Opportunities daily offer 
 themfelves, and where there are Multitudes 
 who are forced to be at a good deal of 
 Expence and Contrivance to find out 
 Ways of fpending their Time, it feems to 
 be entirely without Excufe : And one can- 
 not without Grief obferve, that when all 
 Places of Refort for Diverfion and Plea- 
 fure are thronged, the Houfes of God are 
 left defolate. As this is the Effed of a 
 great and general Corruption of Manners, 
 fo it portends the utter Ruin and Down- 
 fall of Chrifllanity, if the good Provi- 
 dence of God does not fignally interpofe 
 to awaken us into a more fober Senfe of 
 ourfelves. It is the Bufinefs of hifideUty 
 to nurfe the Vices and the Follies cf Men, 
 as it is the End of the Golpel to root up 
 and defttoy them j fo that in Proportion 
 N 3 as 
 
Of the Dai LY Se rvic e. 
 as our Tafle for Virtue and Goodnefs de- 
 clines, we fhall always be prepared to re- 
 ceive bad Impreffions from thofe who arq 
 not wanting every where to infinuate irre- 
 ligious Principles; which will have fo 
 much the more certain and fpeedy Effe(5t, 
 as we mud be fuppofed, under fuch a 
 State of Mind as this, to be lefs fortified 
 by that Grace from above which is necef- 
 fary to our Continuance in well-doing. 
 The lefs Reverence we have for God ; the 
 lefs we are awed by the Dread of his Ma- 
 jefty, (which Principles will naturally rifQ 
 or fall, as we are more diligent or more 
 remifs in our Attendance upon Religious 
 Duties) the lefs qualified fliall we be to 
 withftand Temptations of all kinds; thole 
 efpec'ally which flatter Fleih and Blood, 
 by offering fuch Syflems as loofen the Bands 
 of Religion, and leave us more Scope and 
 Liberty to zd as v\^e pleafe. It is here 
 that we are to look for the true Caufe of 
 the Growth of Infidelity among us; not 
 that its Abettors have more Senfe, but that 
 we have lefs Virtue; not that the heaven- 
 ly Seed hath lefs of vital Force, but that 
 we are in no Condition to give it proper 
 
 Nou- 
 
Of the T> AlhY S E R V I C E. 1 99 
 
 Nourifhment. If the Hufbandman will 
 not till his Ground, what can he exped: 
 but Briars and Thorns? And what is 
 Negle(fl of God's Worfhip but the Negledt 
 of that which is the proper Culture of the 
 Soul ; that which gives it Serioufnefs, Re- 
 folution, Earneflnefs, and whatever elfe 
 it be, in which the Strength of a rational 
 Being confifts ? This is the great Ufe of 
 Frequency in theExercife of religious Du- 
 ties, that it makes God always prefent to 
 our Minds ; by which every inbred Cor- 
 ruption is check'd in its moft early Mo- 
 tions; every Suggeftion from without, 
 which reflects Difhonour upon the Go- 
 fpel, is received with Abhorrence ; fo that 
 Men can neither fin without Shame, nor 
 be perverted without Deliberation. Whilft 
 the Outworks are thus carefully guarded, 
 we are fecure we fhall not be taken by 
 Surprize; and we need be under no Fears 
 about our Faith, if the Gaufe is to be de- 
 cided in fair and open Trial. But if we 
 throw down thefe Fences to our Virtue; 
 if we diflblve in Eafe and Sloth, and ne- 
 ver think of God, and a future State, but 
 when we cannot help it ; our Adverfaries 
 
 N 4 will 
 
100 Of tbe Daily Service.; 
 
 will find too eafy a Conqueft. For eafy 
 mufl be the Vidory, when thofe who are 
 aflaulted are more than half willirig to be 
 overcome. 
 
 To conclude all ; T'be Fear of the Lord 
 is the beginning of Wifdom % the firft Prin- 
 ciple of Virtue, and therefore the Foun-? 
 dation and Corner-Stone of that Happi- 
 nefs, prefent as well as future, publick as 
 well as private, which muft be raifed up- 
 on, and fupported by. Virtue. And fince 
 publick Worfliip is the great Inilrument 
 of fecuring that general Senfe of Provi- 
 dence ; that Knowledge of God's Will ; 
 that Remembrance of his Mercy and 
 Goodnefs vouchfafed us in yejus Chriji y 
 thofe Hopes of eternal Life, and thofe 
 Fears of eternal Vengeance, which the 
 Religion of a Chriflian imports: It be- 
 comes every one's Concern, as he tenders 
 the Honour of God, and his Son "J ejus y 
 as he values his own Happinefs 3 the Hap- 
 pinefs of his Family, or the Happinefs of 
 Society ; by Example, by Authority, by 
 Inflrudion, by every Means which the 
 Station and Capacity he is in, puts into 
 l^is Power i to endeavour to procure it 
 
 Efteem 
 
OftheDkiL^ Service. 201 
 
 Efteem and Reverence. The wider its 
 Influences reach, fo much the better will 
 Religion thrive: For all Men may, and 
 will improve by it 5 the Wife and Learn* 
 cd, as well as the moil Ignorant ; the 
 Rich, as well as the Poor. But to the latr 
 ter it is more particularly neceflary, who by 
 their Condition being debarr'd almoft all 
 private Means of Improvement, muft owe 
 their Virtues chiefly to thefe publick Admi- 
 niflrations. This (hews of how much Con- 
 fequence it is, that the People be brought 
 up in a Liking to our publick Worfhip; and 
 it fhews the Advantage which the Mem- 
 bers oi the Church of E?igland have above 
 the Members of any feparate Communion 
 among us, I fpeak not this by way of Re- 
 proach J but in Fad: it is true, that the 
 Church oi England minifl:ers more frequent 
 Opportunities of worfhippingGod in pub- 
 lick, than any feparate Congregations do ; 
 and it is a Point well worth confidering, 
 whether in judging of the Reafonablenefs 
 or Unreafonablenefs of feparating from the 
 efl:ablilhed Church, this Circumftance ought 
 not to be taken into the Account ? For 
 what have the Piilenters to lay as a Balance 
 
 to 
 
%Qt Of theD AILY Se RV I CE. 
 
 to this Advantage ? Our Difputes with 
 moft of them are chiefly about Forms of 
 Difcipline, and Forms of Worfhip ; which 
 Things indeed do afFedt the Decency, Re- 
 gularity, and Perfedion of the outward 
 O economy oi the Church : But furely cannot 
 ftand in competition with that Faith and 
 Right eoufnefs towards God, to which all 
 Or^^r is fubfervient, and which the frequent 
 Attendance upon God's Worftiip naturally 
 helps daily to ftrengthen and improve. Men 
 may work themfelves up almoft to any 
 thing; and by giving way to Prejudices, 
 contract fuch an Averfion to our publick 
 Worfhip, as fliall unfan<ftify their Devo- 
 tjons, and make them as unacceptable to 
 God, as they are difagreeable to themfelves. 
 But this is their own Fault. Cool Reafon, 
 found Judgment, and a diligent Trial, 
 would foon convince them, that our Wor- 
 fhip (contemptible as it may feem) would, 
 if minded as it ought, minifter more real 
 and folid Benefit, than all the fancied Ad- 
 vantages of feparate Worfhip, (under fuch 
 a Scarcity of Opportunities) can poffibly 
 yield. The Argument would come with 
 more Strength, as well as Decency, if we 
 
 had 
 
' 0/ //^^ Daily Se RViCEr 205 
 
 had it to%, that the Order of out Church 
 is in all, or in moft Places regularly ob- 
 lerved. But allowing, (what cannot be 
 denied) that in moft Country Parifhes the 
 daily Service is feldom read 5 How ftands the 
 Cafe withDiffenters in thofc Places ? Why, 
 proportionably as bad. I hope there are 
 few Pariflies in whichDivine Service is not 
 perform'd, at leaft every Lord's Day; but 
 it is very certain, that there are Numbers of 
 Families, who (if they had not been taught 
 to diilike the eftabliflied Religion) would 
 probably have gone to their Parifh Church 
 every Sunday, but, thro' want of Conve- 
 niency to go to a Meeting-houfe, feldom 
 refort to any Place of publick Worfhip at 
 all. Thus Nonconformity degenerates into 
 a kind of Heathenifmy which, if by De- 
 grees it does not wear off a good deal of 
 thofe common Notions of Religion in which 
 Men have been bred, leaves them open to 
 the Delufions of their ov/n Mind, and to 
 great Unfruitfulnefs in their Lives andCon- 
 verfations, 
 
 I wifh there was Encouragement enough 
 to recommend the Revival of Family 
 'VV"orRSHiP3 fo far loft at prefent, that in 
 
 many 
 
^04 Of the Daily Service. 
 
 xnany Families it is thought a Difgrac^ to 
 acknowledge God's Goodnefs even at thofe 
 Times when they have the moft fenfible 
 Experience of it, their common Meals. I 
 /hould hope that no good Chriftian will 
 eaijly fall in with this Heathenifh Cuftom -, 
 but even in the foberefi Families there is too 
 general a Negled oi joint Prayer, which I 
 look upon to be a very great Omiflion, and 
 what has helped, among other Things, to 
 bring Religion into Difefleem. Care only 
 Ihould be taken, when Mafters of Families 
 make it a Cuftom to call their Children and 
 Servants to their daily Prayers, that there 
 be a Confiftency and Correfpondency in all 
 other Poirits of Behaviour ; otherwife Wor- 
 ship degenerates into an empty Shevr, and 
 does but expofe Religioi;i to Scorn. 
 
 A 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 O N 
 
 SPEECH, 
 
 AND 
 
 The A B U S E S of it. 
 
207 
 
 Matt. xii. 37. 
 
 By thy Words thoujhalt bejufiifiedy 
 and by thy Words thou Jhalt be 
 condemned, 
 
 IH IS Paffage fliews in general, 
 that Men are accountable to 
 God for their JVords^ as well as 
 
 _ for their Works ; or that there 
 
 are certain Rules of /peaking^ as well as 
 ading, in which the Morality of a Chriftian 
 is concerned. It is my Deflgn, with as 
 much Brevity as I can, to point out the 
 diftin(ft Boundaries of right and wrong in 
 this Cafe, and the Grounds from whence 
 the Dillindion arifes. 
 
 The 
 
 3 
 
ioS A Dtfcourfe <??; S p e e c h. 
 
 The End of Speech cannot be miftaken^ 
 It is the Inftrument whereby wecommuni-^ 
 cate our Thoughts and Conceptions one to 
 another; without which there can be no 
 Intercourfe between Man and Man, nor 
 therefore any Society. If the Interefts of 
 Men were independent, the Communica- 
 tion of their Thoughts to one another would 
 be an ufelefs Thing ; for, what is it to me 
 what the Emperor of China^ or the Great 
 Mogul think of ? But if I am concerned 
 with any Man in Trade and Commerce ; if 
 1 would give Advice, or take it j if I would 
 command where I have Authority, or obey 
 where I am in Subjection ; if in any Cafe I 
 would pleafe or profit others, or be pleafed 
 or profited by others, (and in thefe Things 
 confifts the whole Bulinefs of civil Life) in 
 thefe Cafes it is neceiTary, that Men fliould 
 underfland one another's Minds, or nothing 
 can be done. 
 
 This fhews the Obligation that every ■' 
 Man is under, that his Words be Z';-//^; that 
 is, that they truly exprefs the Sentiments of 
 his Mind ; otherwife we do not follow the ' 
 natural End andUfe of Speech : For an un^ - 
 trueReprefentation of a Man's Thoughts is- ; 
 ■ - - - not 
 
and the Abv ses of it. 200 
 
 not a Reprefentation of his Thoughts, but 
 of fomething elle. To tell a Lye is like put- 
 ting ofFfalfe or counterfeit Coin. ABrafs 
 Shilling bears the King's Image and Super- 
 fcription, as a Lye bears the Image of a 
 Man's Mindi but neither of them are the 
 Thing they are underftood to be. In both 
 Cafes there is a Fraud committed, and 
 every Fraud is an Invafion of natural Right. 
 To explain this more diflindlly, it is ne- 
 celiary to be obferved, that Words have no 
 Virtue to fignify our Thoughts or Concep- 
 tions, otherwife thanby fome Senfe affixed 
 to them by mutual Agreement ; and when* 
 ever this Agreement is common it makes a 
 common Language. This {hews that the 
 whole moral Turpitude of a Lie refts pre- 
 cifely in this, that it is a Breach of Contrad';, 
 for mutual Confent is a mutual Compact j 
 and mutual Confent apart, it is plain, that 
 there will be in Words neither Truth nor 
 Falfhood. Now if Contra(ft makes Truth 
 in Words, a Lie can be no otherwife a Lie 
 than as it is a Breach of Contrad: ; nor let it 
 therefore be efteemed a fmall Offence, for 
 the obferving Contracts is the firft Law of 
 Society, 
 
 O Ther:; 
 
215 A Dtfcofirfe on Speech, 
 
 There is in every Affirmation or Nega- 
 tion a twofold Contra^ : One is, that he 
 whoufes known, or common Words, will 
 (unlefs it is aforehand otherwile fettled by 
 private Agreement) ufe them in their 
 known, or common Acceptation; and if 
 common Ufe hath affixed more Meanings 
 to any Word than one, the Law of Trath 
 requires, that the Speaker ufes it in that 
 Senfe, in which he is confcious the Hearer 
 will mofl naturally underftand him ; for 
 when a Man fpeaks, he pretends to fpeak 
 for his Information with whom he con- 
 verfes, and is by him always fo underftood. 
 But if a Queftion, for Inftance, is afked 
 in one SenfCj and the Anfwer be given in 
 another, the Perfon is not informed^ but 
 deceived. This is what we call Equivoca-^ 
 tiorij and it hath in it the whole EfTence 
 and Formality of a Lie. 
 
 The other Contrail in every Affirmation 
 or Negation, is, that he who fpeaks will 
 declare his real Sentiments ; for he pretends 
 to do fo. No Man fpeaks but with an In- 
 tention to be believ'd ; therefore he muft be 
 underftood as profeffing that he will de- 
 clare his Mind j for if he were to profefs 
 
 . . other- 
 
Viid the Abu SES of if. ni 
 
 etherwife, nobody would, or could believe^ 
 him. The Declaration of a Man's Mind 
 is the Declaration either of his 'Judgmenty 
 or of his Knowledge^ which in all Cafes 
 fhould be carefully diftinguiih'd. If a Man 
 fays I believe^ or I think a Thing is fo or 
 fo, he may fpeak Truth, tho' the Thing be 
 otherwife ; but if (in a Matter in which it 
 may be prefumed that he is a competent 
 Judge) he fays abfolutely // is fo, whilft 
 he doubts, or even tho' he ihould believe 
 it to be fo, but does not know it, it is a 
 Lie ; for he pretends to fpeak not his Opi- 
 nion or Belief, but his Knowledge. 
 
 It is farther to be obfervcd, that to make 
 our Words true they muft fully come up to 
 the Expediation of the Hearer, /. e. to 
 what we know heexpeds, and what by our 
 Difcourfe we are underftood as taking upon 
 ourfelves to dilcover. As in Matters of 
 Judgment J when a Witnefs is examined^ 
 what is exped:ed from him, is, that he de- 
 clares what he knows, that will help to- 
 wards clearing up the Point in Queilion ; 
 and it is upon the Prefumption of his In- 
 tention to do this, that the Judge receives his 
 Evidence: Therefore, tho' all that he fays be 
 O 2 true, 
 
212 A D'lfcourfe ^;^ S p E E c H, 
 
 true, yet if he knowingly conceals any mate- 
 rial Thing or Circumftance he is a falfeWit- 
 nefs. That which is concealed makes that 
 which is truly declared to become a Lie. 
 
 We fee now what a Lie is, and that 
 every Lie, as fuch, is morally bad ; for it 
 is a Breach of Contradt. A Contrail fup- 
 pofes the Eflentials of a Contra d:, and this 
 is always the Cafe, when Men tranfa<S to- 
 gether upon equal Terms. An unlawful 
 Force may be applied to make Men fpeak 
 againft their Wills, as it may be applied to 
 make them promife a Sum of Money a- 
 gainft their Wills ; but thefe Cafes have fo 
 little to do in common Life, that they are 
 not worth coniidering. 
 
 Li Cafes where telling a Lie is prejudi- 
 cial to our Neighbour, no one doubts of 
 Us being an Offence; But when a Lie 
 hurts nobody, (much more when it ferves 
 to fome ufeful Purpofe) there are thofe 
 who think it to be no Crime. But if a Lie 
 is bad in itfelf, (as has been fliewn) Confe- 
 quences can never make it either good, or 
 abfolutely indifferent. Place the Immora- 
 lity of a Lie in any Thing but the Viola- 
 tion of Truth, and you will never know 
 
 where 
 
and the Ab xj SE s of h. 21^ 
 
 where to fix. If a Man accuftoms himfelf 
 to tell Lies to make Sport, it is hard to 
 believe him ; for who knows when he 
 means to be ferious ? And if there are 
 Cafes where telling a Lie is fo near a-kin 
 to nothing, that it may be fuffered to pafs 
 for nothing, this will not prove it to be 
 r^g/jtj but excuj'able only. If a Stick be 
 a little bent, it may as well ferve the Pur- 
 pofes of a Stick, as if it was ftrait to a 
 Mathematical Exad:nefs: But wro?ig is 
 wrong, and will be eternally fo. 
 
 Things in themfelves bad, are generally 
 capable of Aggravation by Circumftances 
 and this is no where more evident than in 
 the Sin of Lying. There are three Points 
 of principal Concern, in which Truth ought 
 moil religiouilyto be obferved. As, 
 
 I. In Matters which concern the C;t- 
 dit, or Reputation of another, which is 
 fometimes his All. A Man that is not 
 born to an Eftate, for Inftance, but muft 
 live by his Trade or Profeffion ; what has 
 , he to truft to but the good Opinion of the 
 World ? To vilify him therefore in thefe 
 Points tends to the depriving him of his 
 O 3 Bregdj 
 
Z 1 4 A D'tfcourfe on Speech, 
 
 Bread; and is, many times, amiichworfe 
 Injury than flopping him upon the High- 
 way, and taking his Purfe. But how Ht- 
 tle foever Men may have need of others, 
 they always defire to be well thought of by 
 others, and with Reafon; for a good Name 
 makes us Friends, and Friendfhip is the 
 great Svveetner of human Life. A Man 
 without Character, if he has Juilice done 
 him, is worfe than a Brute, and is feldom 
 better treated -, but there is this material 
 Difference in their Cafes, the one has Senfe,. 
 to feel the Contempt, the other not. 
 
 Whatfhould make us more cautious not 
 to offend in this way, is, that when a 
 Man's Charader is once hurt, the Mifchief 
 feldom admits of a thorough Remedy. All 
 that one can do to put a Stop to an ill Re^ 
 port, is to unfay what hath been faid ; but 
 what will this avail, when the Report is 
 Ipread far and wide? Ba4 Words fly a- 
 pace, whilft good ones move flowly, and 
 lag behind : Such is the ill Nature of the 
 World! Thoufands may have heard the 
 Scandal, who will know nothing of the 
 Retradtation, or if they fhould knovy: it 
 *V^puld not believe it. PrepolTeflion is a 
 
 greaf 
 
^nd //^^ A B u s E s of It, 1 1 J 
 
 great Matter with moft, and with many 
 the firfl Impreffions are the lail too. 
 
 As to thofe Mifchiefs which may follow 
 frojn an evil Report, with refped: to a 
 Man's outward Circumflances, fomething 
 may be done by way of Reparation ; but 
 the Infelicity is flill the fame, that if we 
 defign never fo honeflly to make full A- 
 mends, we can never have the Satisfa(5tion 
 of being fure that we have done it. If any 
 one fleals from me, or cheats me of fo 
 much Money, he knows what he takes 
 from me, and how much he is become my 
 Debtor j but he that robs me of my good 
 Name, can never make a certain Eftimate 
 how much he owes me ; for who can tell 
 with whom I may have fuffered, in whofe 
 Power it is, it was, or it might have been, 
 to do me good ; or what Advantages I may 
 have loft, which I might have had if I had 
 been better thought of ? When one Man 
 fues another for Defamation, and recovers 
 Damages, the Law is fatisfied, but the 
 Debt may not be fatisfied. Juries can judge 
 only by probable Circumftances, and award 
 fo much as (the Nature of the Scandal, and 
 the Situation of the injured Perfon confi- 
 O 4 dered) . 
 
ii6 A Difcaurfe ^;^ S p e e c h, 
 
 dered) appears to them to be a reafonable 
 Satisfa(ftion : But the utmoft Recompenfe 
 that a reafonable Man will think fit to 
 give, may fall greatly fhort of the real Da- 
 mage fiiftained, which may depend upon 
 fuch a Chain of unknown Gaufes, as will 
 make it impoflible for any Wifdom, lefs 
 than infinite, to fettle the Proportion with 
 any tolerable Exadnefs. The relative In- 
 terefts of Men are fo involved a Thing, 
 that a Change in fome fmall Circum- 
 flance, not attended to, rnay quite ruin 
 a Man's Fortunes ; juft as the flopping up 
 one little Channel may turn the whole 
 Courfe of the Water which feeds a Spring, 
 and leave it dry. 
 
 2. In Promifes and ContraBs, Truth 
 iliould likewife flridly be obferved, other- 
 wife the whole Bufinefs of the World mufl 
 flop. Every Promife or Con trad is un~ 
 derftood to convey Property ^ for it is a 
 Declaration of the Owner's Confent, which 
 \% all that is neceffary to the transferring 
 of Right. To enter into particular Cafes 
 here, would be outrunning all Bounds : I 
 lliall therefore make only this general Ob- 
 icrvaticn^ (vei-y neceffary to be attended to 
 
 m 
 
and the Kb u SES of it. 217 
 
 in common Life) viz. That a Contract 
 whifpered in the Ear, is as much binding 
 upon Confcience as the fame Engagement 
 repeated in the Prefence of a hundred Wit- 
 nefles, and executed under all the Forma- 
 lities of Law. If a Man gives a Promife 
 under his Hand, what elfe does he do but 
 give Proof of his Confent ? If he calls in 
 Witneffes this is not to ftrengthen the Ob- 
 ligation, (which it cannot do) but to 
 ilrengthen the Evidence of the Contrad;. If 
 farther, he lays himfelf under a Penalty, 
 (as in cafe of Bonds) neither does this add 
 any thing to the Obligation j it only offers 
 a Pledge to enforce the Execution of a 
 Contradl already fubfifling, already per- 
 fed:. Forms of Law are neceflary for the 
 Methods of legal Adminiftration ; for the 
 Law can judge of nothing without the 
 proper Evidence of Fad, and where the 
 Law cannot judge, the Law will yield no 
 Remedy : But this does not deftroy the 
 Contrad, for the Law does not make the 
 Contrad, but finds it; and what the Law 
 does nqt make, a mere Defed in Law can- 
 not difannul. If a Contrad did therefore 
 bind, becaufe the Law gives Help, the 
 
 Aid 
 
2 1 8 A Difcourfe ^;/ S p e e c h, 
 
 Aid of the Law would be eflential to the 
 Contrad ; and if the Law refufed its Aid 
 the Obligation would be void. But on theji 
 contrary, the Law gives Help becaufe the 
 Contra<ft binds, for there would be no 
 Juftice in enforcing the Execution of a mere 
 Nullity. One Man fues another for a Suni\v* 
 of Money, and the Law compels him to 
 pay it: Why does the Law compel him ? 
 "Why becaufe the Law finds it to be a juft 
 Debt. The Juftice of the Debt therefore is 
 prior to all Effects of the Law, and bor-*/-. 
 rows nothing from it but a compulfiveM 
 Force toconftraina Man to do that, which 
 in Confcience he wou'd be bound to do, 
 whether the Law interpos'd or not. 
 
 One might apply this Reafoning to a Va- 
 riety of Cafes, which daily occur, and it 
 were much to be wifh'd, that all Men ,;; 
 • would have a ftrid: Regard to it in theirij 
 Dealings one with another. If a Man exe- 
 cutes a Bond or a Deed, which by reafon 
 of fome Defedl the Law makes void, he is 
 bound bona fide to fulfil the Conditions^ 
 So if the Law fays, that a Man fhall not^ti 
 recover a jufl Debt, unlefs Suit be com-ziir 
 menced in fuch a time, and the Creditor 
 
 fuffers 
 
and the A b u s e s «:)/ it. 
 
 feffers a Lapfe ; an honefl Man will pay 
 the Money : For the Defign of fuch Laws 
 is not to cancel juft Debts, but to make the 
 Recovery of them more fafe and eafy. 
 There may be many Confiderations rerpe<^- 
 ing the general Ends of Society, which 
 will make it reafonable to preclude Men 
 from the common Benefit of the Law, but 
 under certain Limitations by Law pre- 
 fcribed : But tho' fuch Laws may be good, 
 they are certainly bad Men, who take 
 Advantage from them to defraud their 
 Neighbours. To this Purpofe we may ap- 
 ply what St. Fiiul fays, i T^im. i. 8. The 
 Jjaw is good if a Man ufe it lawfully. 
 
 But, 
 
 3, The Circumflance which mofl: ag- 
 gravates the Malignity of a Lie, is when it 
 is confirmed by an Oath, which is the Sin 
 of Ferjuxy. A falfe Oath prefuppofes a 
 Lie as its Foundation ; for an Oath does 
 not make any thing to be true or falfe, it 
 only adds to the Bond or Obligation we are 
 under to fpeak the Truth j and therefore 
 no one can be at a Lofs to know when, or 
 ip what Cafes he forfwears himfelf, if he 
 (jpnfiders, when, or in what Cafes he tells 
 
 a 
 
 21^ 
 
2 2 A D'tfcourfe <?;/ S p e e c h, 
 
 a Lie. If a Man equivocates in an Oath, 
 if he fwears to what he knows nothing of, 
 if he fwears the Truth, but not the whole 
 Truth, he is in all thefe Cafes forfworn ; 
 for thefe are but different Ways of telling 
 Lies, as you have feen already. 
 
 And it (hould be obferved, that a Man 
 may be guilty of the Sin of Perjury, as 
 well by another's A6t as by his own. If by 
 a Reward direcfily or indiredtly offered, if by 
 the Influence of Friendfhip or Authority, 
 or by any other Means, one Man procures, 
 or is inftrumental in procuring, another to 
 take a falfe Oath, both are guilty j for to 
 •be inffrumental implies Confent, and to 
 confent is to do the Thing. It may fo hap- 
 pen, that he who is employ'd by another 
 to take an Oath may believe the Thing he 
 fwearji to be true, tho' he that employ'd 
 him knows it to be falfe : In this Cafe 
 Perjury falls upon the Suborner, for the 
 other is his Organ or Inflrument. If a 
 Man could influence a Statue to utter a 
 falfe Oath, that fhould ferve the Ends arid 
 Purpofes of an Oath, it would be Perjury. 
 
 Now let us a little confider the heinous 
 Nature of this Sin of Perjury. An Oath is 
 
 ail 
 
and /^<f A B u s E s ofit\ 221 
 
 an Appeal to the Majefty of G o d, as Judge 
 of the fecret Thoughts and Purpofes of 
 Men's Hearts j and is in EfFed", and by 
 Conftrudtion, a Call upon him for Juftice, 
 in cafe we falfify in what we affirm. This 
 is fitly expreiTed in that common Form of 
 an Oath now in Ufe among ourfelves, So 
 help me God, i. e, may God fo blefs and 
 profper me, as I deal fincerely, and with 
 Integrity in this Thing. What is this but 
 laying ourfelves under a Curfe, if we deal 
 not fincerely? And what does fuch an 
 Adt imply lefs than an abfolute Contempt 
 of the Majefty of God? Can fuch a Man 
 be fuppofed to have any Confcience ? Or 
 is he fit for Society ? If a Man pays no 
 Regard to his Oaths, it is not to be pre- 
 fumed that he will pay a greater Regard to 
 his bare Word, and therefore he is upon 
 all Accounts an incompetent Witnefs. Do 
 butfuppofe this to be a general Cafe, and the 
 Confequence muft be, that there can be 
 no Adminiftration ofpublick Juftice. No 
 Man is allow'd to be a Witnefs in his own 
 Caufe, and if there is nobody that is fit to 
 be a Witnefs for him, howfhall Juftice be 
 done ? But if there is no Adminiftration 
 2 of 
 
221 A Dtfcourfe ^>^ S p e e e h, 
 
 of publick Juftice there is no Society j for 
 Society, in the very Notion of it, is a 
 League operating to the Security and Pf o- 
 tedion of every Man's Rights. Perjury 
 therefore, fo far as it goes, is the Diffolu- 
 tion of Society ; for tho* an Oath is not an 
 infallible Evidence of a Man's Veracity, it 
 is the flrongefl Pledge that human Faith 
 can give J and if Men are not to be de- 
 pended upon in what they fwear to, they 
 can be depended upon in nothing. He that 
 will forfwearhimfelf for Hire is worfe than 
 a Highwayman, for he may do more Mif- 
 chief. A Robber puts every Man upon 
 his own Defence, and if he takes his Mo- 
 ney leaves him in PofTeffion at leaft of the 
 legal Remedy : But againft a falfe Witnefs 
 no body is forewarned j and the Law, which 
 fhould be every Man's Defence, is itfelf 
 made the Inftrument of Oppreffion. 
 
 I have but juil: now obferved in the Cafe 
 of Lying, that if a Lie does no Hurt, ma* 
 ny are wont to make little or no Account 
 of it. If they fliould judge in the fame 
 manner with regard to Oaths, the Mifchief 
 would be flill worfe. Suppofe, for In- 
 ilance, a Man fhould make no Confcience 
 
 of 
 
and the Ab u s E s of h, 223 
 
 of Guftom-houfe Oaths, prefuming it to 
 be no Crime to cheat the Publick j or, in 
 capital Matters, that a Witnefs (hould give 
 a falfe Evidence, or a Jury bring in a Ver- 
 did: againft Evidence, becaufe the Cafe is 
 very unfortunate, and deferves Compaffion : 
 There would be, in this Way of judging, 
 a double Miftake. For, in the firfl place, 
 it is wrong to fuppofe that there is no 
 Crime in cheating the Publick. Publick 
 Cheats are as bad as private Cheats, for in 
 the Event andConclufion they are one and 
 the fame *. Nor is it more excufable in 
 
 Point 
 
 * This is eafily proved; for the publick Stock is the 
 Sum toral of each Man's Allotment to the publick Charges. 
 When every Man's Share is anfwerable to the IntercU he 
 has in the Society, he pays in juft Proportion, and this 
 ought always to be prefumed to be the Cafe, v/hen every 
 Man pays his kp.\\ Dues; but if whilft one Man pays v/hat 
 the Law chaiges, another has (fuppofe) his Commodities 
 Cuftoni-free ; he enjoys the Benefits of Society equally with 
 other Subjefts, but contributes to the Charges of it une- 
 qually, and is this common Jufticc? Put the C;ifc if you 
 pleafe, as it concerns Companies in Trade j (for there is no 
 Ditference) All Companies arc Societies, and as Societies 
 they fubliri: by the Execution of common Laws, the mod 
 eflential of which is, that every Man's Gains and LolTesbe 
 proportional to the Share he has in the common Stock. If 
 any one was to break in upon this Rule, and not bring to 
 Account the whole Gains, but fraudulently fccrete Part of 
 them to his own private Ufe, it would be a Crime of the 
 firif Magnitude, and all Mankind would think it Co ; yet 
 this is the very Cafe in the Matter now under Confidera- 
 tiofij for every Shilling which one Man pays to the 
 
 publick 
 I 
 
2 24 ^ Difiourfe on S p e e c h, ^d 
 
 Point of Juftice, for a Witnefs, or a Jury- 
 man to be influenced by the compaffionate 
 Circumftances in any Cafe, to give a falfe 
 Evidence, or a Verdid: againft Evidence; 
 for the Compajjion of the Cafe is not before 
 them. Their Bufinefs is to do yiijlice as the 
 Cafe appears, Mercy lyes in other Hands, 
 upon whofe Right their Ad in interpoling 
 to fliew Mercy is an Ufurpation. But in 
 the next place, fuppofe there were no In- 
 juftice in either Cafe, is there therefore no 
 Perjury ? Or is Perjury therefore no Siflj 
 becaufe it is not an Appendage to Injuftice ? 
 Is an Adulterer no Sinner, becaufe he is not 
 a Thief ? Or a Thief no Sinner, becaufe he 
 is not an Adulterer ? If a Man w^ere to 
 
 publick Duties is as fo much Gain to the reft, becaufe 
 all Deficiencies which arife fiom private Subftradtions 
 muft be made good at the common Expence, in 
 which every Particular has his Share. It is true, that 
 what one finglc Man gets by fuch Frauds as thefe, may be 
 a very Trifle when divided among the whole Community, 
 which may be the Reafon perhaps that makes them fo ea- 
 llly pafs i but cannot Men fee, that if one may cheat the 
 Publick, Hundreds or Thoufam^s may do it, and what im- 
 n^enfe Sums fuch Trifles when call up together may amount 
 to ? They can fee this faft enough in all other Cafes, and if 
 all that fee this would confider it as they fliould do, it 
 would be impofl'ible that dealing with common Smugglers 
 for their uncuftoraed Goods, (which is making one's felf 
 acceffory to Frauds of this kind, and all the Perjury thac 
 commonly attends them) Ihould be thought io light a Mat- 
 ter as by many it is efteemed to be. 
 
 give 
 
and the \^\i ^Y.^ of'tt, z 1 j 
 
 give a falfe Oath in the moil: indifFerent 
 Thing in the World, it would be Perjury 
 in all Refpedts full and compleat ; for an 
 Oath is a Teflimony not to the Juftice or 
 Injuftice of any Thing, but to the Truth 
 of it: And if Perjury is in its own Na- 
 ture a criminal Adt (as undoubtedly it is) 
 no Views which Men can propofe by for- 
 fwearing themfelves, be they ever fo juft 
 or laudable, will make it otherwife. In 
 all Cafes then, let the Truth of an Oath 
 be religioufly obferved; for which there 
 is this further Reafon to be given, which 
 every Man fliould well confider, 'viz. 
 That if once he can reconcile himfelf to 
 a falfe Oath, he has gone a great Way to- 
 wards orectino; the better of his Confcience ; 
 for in no Inftance does Confcience more 
 ftrongly bind. 
 
 There are other Abufes of Speech, 
 which have no Relation to the Truth or 
 Fahhood of our Words; as, 
 
 I. In the Matter we are now upon, 
 that of Oaths. An Oath (hould be ufed 
 not only with Truth, but with Reverence y 
 for it is a folemn kdi of Religion, as 
 Prayer is. Prayer is an Adt of Religion, 
 
 P a^ 
 
zi6 A D'tfcourfe ^;^ S p e e c h, , 
 
 as it is an Acknowledgment of God's So- 
 vereignty, and a Token of our Convidti- 
 on, that all we have, and all we want, 
 comes from him. An Oath carries with it 
 the fame ConfeiTion, with this Difference 
 only, that he who prays applies to the 
 Goodnefs of God to give him good Things, 
 whilft he that fwears appeals to his Juftice 
 to withhold, or take them away. 
 
 Men never fhew themfelves fo unmind- 
 ful of this, as when they get into a Habit 
 of Swearing in their common Talkj in 
 which there is fo little of Reverence, that 
 there is fcarce any Thought or Meaning. 
 But we are guilty of Irreverence, not only 
 in this Cafe, but in all Cafes where Oaths, 
 how folemnly foever adminiftred and 
 taken, are made Ufe of to ferve fuch 
 Purpofes as may as well be anfwered with- 
 out them. The Ufe of offertory Oaths 
 fecms, from the very Nature of them, to 
 be confined to fuch Cafes only, where 
 the Truth fo much depends upon the Ve- 
 racity and Credit of the Relator, that it 
 is not otherwife poffible or eafy to come 
 at it. For when a Thing is notorious, or 
 may by other Ways fufficiently be made 
 
 appear. 
 
^nd the Pl'q X3 ^ z s of It. iiy 
 
 appear, to what Purpofe is it to fwear? 
 Agreeable to this is that Law of Mofes^ 
 Exod, xxii. 10, If d Man deliver unto his 
 Neighbour an Afi^ or an Ox, or a Sheep,, 
 or any Beaji to keep^ and it diey or be 
 burty or driven away^ noMan seeing 
 I T, then Jh alt an Oath of the Lord be be- 
 tis^een them both, that he hath not put his 
 Hand unto his Neighbour s Goods. The 
 Rjeafon of the Law, you fee, is founded 
 in the want of Evidence, which if it 
 could have been had, the Oath would 
 have been needlcfs. In promijfory Oaths, 
 by which Men engage themfelves to fomc- 
 thing hereafter to be done, the Reafons 
 for them will always be proportionable to 
 the Opinion we have, or ought to have, 
 of the Honefty and Integrity of the Per- 
 fon we have to deal with. If upon long 
 Experience, I have always found a Man 
 pundlual to his Word, it would be imper- 
 tinent to require hirfi to confirm his Pro- 
 mife by an Oath. But this Rule takes 
 Place in private Tranfadions only. Ma- 
 gistrates muft proceed in another Manner ; 
 and in all Cafes where Oaths are judged 
 neeeflary, treat all Men alike, as if they 
 P 2 were 
 
2 z 8 A Dtfcotirfe (?^/ S p e e c h, 
 
 were flifpicious, becaufe ordinarily they 
 are not to be fuppofed qualified to enter 
 into the private CharadVers of Men ; and 
 Laws n)ight eahly be defeated, and many 
 OtTences would be given, if it were left 
 in the Breads of thofe who are empowered 
 to adminifter Oaths for publick Ufes, to 
 make Diftindions of Perfons as they 
 fliould think fit. All that Law-givers 
 have to confider is, whether an Oath, for 
 the Matter of it, be requifite for the pub- 
 lick Security; and though in judging of 
 this they may err as well as private Men, 
 and fometimes require Oaths where they 
 w^ould be better fpared j yet it is an Ob- 
 fervation very proper for private Perfons 
 to take Notice of, that when a needlefs 
 Oath is required by Authority, the Irre- 
 verence in fuch a Cafe is not chargeable 
 upon him who, in Compliance with Au-c 
 thority, takes the Oath, but upon the 
 Authority that impofes it. I defire not 
 to be miftaken : I am here fpeaking of 
 unnecejary Oaths, not of Oaths which 
 Men cannot take without fwearing againfl 
 their Knowledge or Perfwafion. To 
 fwear falfely no one ought, in Compli- 
 ance 
 
and the h.^\j SE^ of it, 229 
 
 ancc with any Authority, for no Autho- 
 rity can reach fo far. But when an Oath, 
 for the Matter of it, contains nothing but 
 what a Man may truly and honellly fwear 
 to, and the o?}ly Qaeftion is, Whether 
 there are Reafons of Weight fufficient to 
 juflify the requiring fuch an Oath : I fay, 
 that private Perfons have no Right to op- 
 pofe their own Judgments to the Judg* 
 ment of the Law. For private Judgment 
 (in Things lawful, and which are of pub- 
 lick Concern) muft give Way to the pub- 
 lick Judgment, or nothing can be done. 
 This (hews us then one general Rule, 
 which if we would always follow, we 
 {hould always be fafe; and that is, never 
 to ufe an Oath, but when we are called 
 upon to do it by publick Authority. I do 
 not fay that an Oath is never lawful to be 
 ufed in private Tranfacflions ; but there is 
 fo little Ufe of them in common Life, 
 that prudent Perfons may generally avoid 
 them. 
 
 2. In Cafes which concern the Repn- 
 tation of another, Words may be cul- 
 pable though they are not Lies ; as in wi^ 
 charitable Words. A Lie is when a Maii 
 P 3 Ipeaks 
 
130 ^ Difcourfe on Speech, 
 
 fpcaks againft his Knowledge or Belief i 
 but if I believe an ill Thing of my Neigh- 
 bour, I am not therefore juftified in re- 
 porting it ; for I may be to© hafly in be- 
 lieving it ; and in that Cafe I am not clear 
 of the Mifchiefs which may follow to my 
 Neighbour from my Report. To give 
 cu^ an ill Report baftily taken up, is not 
 fo bad as inventing or giving out a Lye ; 
 but bad it is no doubt. It is a Breach of 
 that Charity and Tendernefs which I owe 
 to my Neighbour's Reputation. So it may 
 alfo be, even if I know the Report to bp 
 true^ for there may be, fometimes, more 
 Good done, and therefore more Charity 
 ihewn, by concealing a Man's Faults, 
 than by making tliem publick. To do 
 Mifchief, merely for Mifchiefs fake, is 
 fpiteful and cruel ; and therefore, the Que-f 
 ition in all thefe Cafes fhould be. Cut bo- 
 no ? To what End will it ferve to publifh 
 my Neighbour's Faults? When a good 
 Man is overtaken by a Fault, every one 
 fees that it is Charity, both to him and 
 to the fublick, not to expofe him ; be- 
 caufe every Blemifh in a worthy Example, 
 ;akes away fomething from its Credit and 
 
 Influ- 
 
and tbe A B jj s E s of it. 
 Influence. And if a Man is even bad, it 
 may be a Point fometimes worth confide- 
 ring, whether his Vices, or his Example, 
 will do moft Hurt. If I know a Man to 
 be a Knave, I have a Right to warn any, 
 whom I think fit, to beware of him ; and 
 the Ties of Friendfhip or Relation may, 
 in many Cafes, oblige me to it : But if his 
 Vices concern no Body but himfelf, I fee 
 no Reafon that can enforce or warrant the 
 Publication of them, unlefs it be the 
 Hopes of reforming him ; of which pri- 
 vate Admonition will, ordinarily, be a 
 more likely Means j fince, when Men, by 
 being publickly expofed, have conquered 
 their Shame, they commonly grov/ the 
 more hardened. 
 
 3. Words may be wicked, though they 
 are neither Lies, nor have in them the 
 Nature of an Oath j as in profane talking^ 
 or curjing. By profane talking I do not 
 mean the Difcourfes of ferious and think- 
 ing Men, who have Difficulties about Re» 
 ligion, and offer their Objections in a pro- 
 per Way ; but rafli, unfeafonable, and 
 contemptuous Speeches uttered againfl 
 God, or againfl Chrijly his WoffLip, oi* 
 
 P 4. his 
 
232, '^ A Difcourfe on Speech, 
 
 his Myfleries, by Men who do not feek 
 Information, but take a Pleafure in {hew- 
 ing their DifafFecftion to Religion. It will 
 be granted, I fuppofe, by all reafonable 
 Judges, that before any Man ventures to 
 talk againfl: Religion, he ought himfelf to 
 have well conlider'd it; for otherwife he 
 will have no Right to the common Al- 
 lowance that is due to a miftaken Judg- 
 ment. And what is criminal in the firfl 
 Conception, will not be lefs but more (Oy 
 when it comes to be uttered by Words. 
 So long as a Man keeps his Opinion to 
 himfelf (be his Opinion culpable) he hurts 
 no Body but himfelf; but when it is given 
 forth in common, it becomes a common 
 Mifchief. It is, I know, a favourite Point 
 with fome, that Men are not accountable 
 for their Opinions; but there is nothing 
 more falfe : For, why are we accountable 
 for our Anions ? Is it not becaufe they 
 ar^ in our Power ? If then our Opinions 
 are in our Power, we muft be accountable 
 for our Opinions; and Opinions are cer- 
 tainly fo much in our Power, as it is in 
 our Power to ufe or negled the Means 
 which are neceffary to qualify us to judge 
 
 ' * well 
 
and the Ab^ SEs of it, 1 3 j 
 
 well. The Gonfequence of which is, that 
 thofe who give out Speeches againft Reli- 
 gion, founded upon Notions haflily taken 
 up, are Offenders, both againft God, and 
 againft Society j and become refponfible, 
 more or lefs, for every bad Effe6l which 
 they may have upon weak and unftablc 
 Minds. But if Men have been ever fo 
 careful in their Enquiries, or are ever fo 
 much in earneft in their Diflike of Reli- 
 gion, one Rule fhould not be forgot, 
 which is, never to allow themfelves the 
 Liberty of calling it in Queftion, but when 
 it is feafonable to offer Reafons to fupporf 
 their Opinions ; and then is it feafonable, 
 when it is well underftood, or there is 
 Caufe to prefume, that others are difpofe4 
 to give Attention to what they have to 
 fay. To condemn bluntly, and without 
 Geremony, what another Man holds as 
 facred, is rude and infolent ; for to what 
 Purpofe can it ferve, but to give Uneafi- 
 nefs ? And though no Man ought to be 
 fo wedded to an Opinion, as to feal up 
 his Ears againft all Objedions that may 
 be offered in a reafonable Way ; yet, fure- 
 ly, every Man has a Right to chufe when, 
 
 and 
 
^34 ^ D'lfcourfe <?« S p E E c H, 
 
 and where, and with whom he will con- 
 verfe. A Man may be no Bigot, and yet 
 not like to be call'd upon in every CofFee- 
 Houfe, to give an Account of his Faith ; 
 nor to have a religious Difputc obtruded 
 upon him every Time he goes into Com- 
 pany, for his Bufinefs or his Recreation. 
 This is an unreafonable Hardfhip; and 
 thole forward afluming Tempers, that 
 will fpare neither Time, nor Place, nor 
 Perfons, but impofe upon others the dif- 
 agreeable Neceflity, either to defend Re- 
 ligion unfeafonably, or elfe to fit ftill and 
 hear it abufed, fhould be treated as Di- 
 fturbers of the Peace, and banifhed the 
 Society and Converfation of Men. Much 
 lefs are thofe to be endured who attack 
 Religion by Ridicule, inftead of Argu- 
 ment. Many a Man is able to talk Senfe, 
 who is not qualified to return a Joke j and 
 why, if you will fuppofe him to be in the 
 wrong, muft he be treated as if he were a 
 Fool ? The only reafonable End of Re- 
 ligious Difputes, is Conviction ; but Men 
 are not to be convinced by Reproaches; 
 and to laugh at Religion, is a Reproach 
 upon all that believe it. If I cannot think 
 
and the Abv $E s of it, 
 ^s you think, am I to be perfecuted for it ? 
 And yet the Petulancy of fome Mens 
 Tongues is, tp an ingenuous Mind, one 
 of the worft Kinds of Perfecution. 
 
 As to profane Curfing, the Queftion 
 may be afked. Where lyes the Immorality 
 of k? If you can fuppofe that a Man 
 really me^ns what he fays, when he curfes 
 his Neighbour, thQ Poli.it fs decided: For 
 he muft have a very wicked Spirit, who 
 can wifh from his Heart, that the eternal 
 Wrath of God may fall upon the Head of 
 his fellow Creature. But I do not confi- 
 der the Thing in this Light : For, in the 
 iirj[l Place ; when a Man wijhes Damna- 
 |:ion to his Neighbour, it muft be fuppofed 
 that he has great Malice againft him ; but 
 Curfes are often thrown out, not only 
 yvhere there i§ no Malice, but even where 
 there is no Provocation. In the next 
 Place; he that really wifhes Damnation 
 to his Neighbour, muft be fuppofed to 
 believe what he fays, when he talks of 
 Damnation; /. e, he muft be fuppofed to 
 believe that there is a God, and a Judg- 
 ment to come: But, on the contrary, 
 Curfes generally come moft plentifully 
 
 from 
 
1^6 A D'tfcourfe i?;^ S p e e c h, 
 
 from the Mouths of thofe who have no 
 Senfe of Religion, nor ever ferioully think 
 with themfelves that God will eternally 
 punifh Sinners J of which this is a moft 
 evident Proof, that it is not more familiar 
 with fuch to call for Damnation upon 
 others, than it is to call for it upon their 
 own Souls. Can any Man do this, who 
 believes that he has a Soul to be made 
 happy or miferable in a future State ! The 
 Offence, therefore, which this Practice 
 gives, and very juftly gives, is, that it dif- 
 covers a profligate and abandon'd Mind, 
 which makes itfelf Sport with the vin- 
 dictive Juftice of God j which amounts, 
 by plain and neceffary Conftrudlion, to a 
 Denial of his Being, or a Contempt of his 
 Authority, and governing Providence. I 
 do not fay that every Curfe, haftily and 
 paflionately thrown out, will juftify this 
 Conftru6tion, but a Habit of Curling im- 
 ports little lefs : And it is obfervable, in 
 Fad:, that this Pradlice fcarce ever grows 
 to be habitual, but in tho|b who fhew too 
 plainly, by other Parts of their Conduct, 
 that they have not the Fear of God be- 
 fore their Eyes. No one pities the Mai> 
 
and /^^ A B u s E s of it, 
 
 on whom fuch Curfes fall, but all muft 
 deteft the Wretch that utters them ^ who, 
 by defpifing God's Judgments, fets an 
 Example to others to defpife them, and 
 reads to every one, with whom he con- 
 verfes, a Leflbn of Atheifm. 
 
 4. Words may be culpable, as they are 
 an Offence againft Decency, Of this Sort 
 are unmannerly Words, which, though 
 neither falfe, nor malicious, nor unchari- 
 table, nor wfcked, are (conftrudively) a 
 Denial of that Efteem which is due to a 
 Man's Worth, his Station, or Charadter, 
 For this Reafon, they are always offen- 
 live; and, upon fome Accounts, they 
 may be reckoned, not the lowefl kind of 
 Injuftice. He that cheats me, or fteals 
 from me, means not Me, but my Money ; 
 but Rudenefs is an Attack upon a Man's 
 Self; in this, worfe than Slander; that 
 whilft it charges him particularly with 
 nothing, it leaves him open to charge him- 
 felf, with every Thing he can but fufpedl 
 of himfelf, that may render him worthy 
 of Difefteem ; which, the lefs Self-Confi- 
 dence a Man has, the more it hurts him. 
 Nor is there any Defence againfl rude 
 t Treat- 
 
A Difcourfe on Speech, 
 Treatment One cannot avoid an un= 
 mannerly Man, as he may avoid a Knave, 
 or a Thief. Ill Breeding is unbecoming ; 
 not fcandalous. We may meet v^^ith it in 
 moft Companies ; and v^hen we do, , there 
 is no Remedy but Patience. For though 
 there is always enough in it to make it 
 troublefome, there is commonly too little 
 in it to make it accountable. Ill Manners, 
 it is true, have not alwayi an jll Mean- 
 ing, but they have always a bad Appear^ 
 ance; and make even what is well done, 
 to come with an ill Grace j which fpoils 
 much of that Pleafure and Satisfaction, 
 which Converfation, and the mutual ac- 
 cepting and returning good Offices, is na- 
 turally difpofed to yield. But the woril 
 kind of unfeemly Difcourfe, is that which 
 is lewd, wanton, or lafcivious ; which is 
 fo {hocking to natural Balhfulnefs, that 
 nothing but the very Crimes, painted out 
 by fuch Difcourfes, can^bemore offenflve 
 to a virtuous Mind. Therefore as, by 
 difcovering a naughty Heart in thofe who 
 make them familiar to themfelves, they 
 fet forth a bad Example j fo they carry 
 with th^m a tacit In^utation upon thofe 
 
 that 
 
and the Abv szs of h, 230 
 
 that hear them ; and a very juft one upon 
 thofe who are delighted with them. There 
 would be fcaree Decency even in faying 
 what might juftly be oiFercd in Rebuke of 
 this filthy kind of Communication, fitter 
 for Beafis (if they were able to fpeak) 
 than for Men. Therefore I fhall clofc 
 this Head only by repeating St. Paul's 
 Advice; But Fornication, and all Uncle an- 
 nefs — let not be once named among you 
 as becometh Saints ; neither Filthinefs nor 
 foolifi talkingy nor jejiing — For this ye 
 knoWy that no Whoremonger, or uncle aii 
 Perfon hath any Inheritance in the King-^ 
 dom of Chriji, and of God, Eph. v. 3, 4. 
 
 I have now gone through the feveral 
 Abufes of Speech; and fhall conclude 
 with obferving, that our Converfatioa 
 will then be as it ought to be, when we 
 (hew forth thofe Virtues, which fland ia 
 Oppofition to them. To this Purpofe the 
 fame Apoftle ; Let no corrupt Communis 
 cation proceed out of your Mouth, but that 
 which is good to the Ufe of edifying, that 
 it may minijler Grace to the Hearers, 
 Eph. iv, 29. As Words are the Image of 
 the Mind ; and it is out of the Abundance 
 
 of 
 3 
 
240 A D'tfcourfe on S? IS. ECUj Sfc. 
 
 of the Heart that the Mouth fpeaketh-, 
 the Innocency, the Benevolence, the De- 
 cency, the Serioufnefs, the Inftrudivenefs 
 of our DIfcourfes, will be a Proof that 
 we are poflefTed of every amiable Qualityj 
 according to that of St. 'James-, IJ any 
 Man offend not in Word, the fame is a 
 PERFECT Man, Jam. iii. 2. 
 
 F I N I S. 
 
jatgUiLl-SL'.: ' .':^ah:;.£ifl