/ 1/ + £E* 53 03 IS. <£^ £S ^2- OF THE AT PRINCETON, N. J. SAMUEL AGNEW, OF PHILADELPHIA,- PA. tee.. G4Z.. ^/tc^uayi^y /efr*L.f8&$~. ■ ^Ta^JLJJ^gg (; Cte«e, Divisio Section ■^551 Book, ID f' »v' { v^ EVAN GELI C AL ISCOURSES. ■ EVANGELICAL DISCOURSES. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A LETTER, OCCASIONED BY THE LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER'S DOCTRINE OF GRACE. BY JOHN PAYNE. » LONDON PRINTED MDCCLXIII, A D V E ifiH^&tfEN T. f B "^ H E defign of the following pieces, however feebly exe- cuted, is, in humble con- currence with The Gofpel of Jesus Christ, to {hew the weaknefs anfcl vanity of man, and the All-fuffici- cncy of GOD. The reafon of their being written in the form of dif- courfes delivered from the pulpit, rather than of efTays, it is unnecef- fary to mention. Divine Truth can be communicated to the mind, only by the immediate operation of The Spirit of Truth; and the arguments that are fuggefted by men for turning the denre and dependence of the foul to Him, may be thrown into various a forms, ["] forms, and yet into none that will be equally ufeful and acceptable to all. If, therefore, the form of thefe pieces does not difguft many readers; and, in particular, as it is fincerely hoped it will not, does not offend any member of the venerable body of Christ's minifters, as an im- proper imitation of the form of one of their ftated offices ; it will be fuf- ficient to fay, that they were the em- ployment of fome hours, that might have been devoured by melancholy, or wafted by idlenefs, or facriflced to folly and to fin. From an attentive obfervation of the whole, in which the fame points of doctrine fupported by nearly the fame arguments occur more than once, as well as from other marks of inaccuracy, inaccuracy, it will appear, that thcfe pieces were not originally intended for the prefs ; but when the motives that have influenced their publica- tion took place, the alteration necef- fary to remove the repetition of par- ticular parts, as well as to change the general form, was found to be more than could be accomplished in the midft of numerous ftated engage- ments. The whole, therefore, with all its imperfections, is intrufted to the candour of the reader. a 2 SUB- THHGLOGie&L./ s u b s c frrtr e r s NAMES. M RS. Auftin Mr. Bacon Mrs. Baker Mr. Samuel Baker, two copies Mr, Francis Blackbeard Mifs Barker Mifs B. Barker The Rev. Mr. Beighton Ralph Bigland, Efq; a3 Richard, vi SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. Richard Bigland, Efq; Mr. Samuel Brife The Rev. Mr. Broughton The Rev. Mr. Bulkley Mr. Richard Clark Edward Capel, Efq; Mr. Nicholas Crifp Mifs Colby Mr. John Collier Mrs. Cropley Mr. Thomas Cox Samuel Clutterbuck, Efq; Mifs Duce William Duke, Efq; Mr. SUBSCRIBERS NAMES, vii Mr. Fladgate Benjamin Franklin, Efq; of Philadelphia David Garrick, Efq; John Gwilt, Jun. Efq; Sir Francis Gofling, Km and Aid. Robert Gofling, Efq; Nathaniel Haggatt, Efq; two copies John Hawkefworth, L. L. D. four copies John Hawkins, Efq; of Twickenham, five copies Mrs. Hawkins Mr. John Henderfon Mr. David Henry The Rev. Mr. Heme, two copies John Adam Frederick HefTe, Efq; The Rev. Mr. James Heywood, of Chef- terfield a 4 Mr. viii SUBSCRIBERS NAMES, Mr. William Hyde Mr. Starkey Hyde Mr. Hudfon Mr. Richard James Mr. Caleb Jeacock Mr. Thomas JefFerys, fix copies Mr. Abel Jenkyns Mr. Samuel Johnfoa Mr. Howell Jones Mr. Jeremiah Joye Mr. Kilburn John SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. ix Mrs. Langdale John Martin Leake, Efq; John Lewis, jun. Efq; Dr. Lillin^ton Mrs. Littlehales Mr. John Locke Dr. Lowther Mr. James Mac Ardell, two copies Mr. Thomas Marriott Mrs. Mary Magdalen Mafle Vincent Mathias, Efq; Mr. John Mayo Mr. Jeremiah Meyer, two copies Mr. Edward Million Richard Milnes, M. D. of Chefterfield Francis Minfhull, M. D. George Nares, Efq; Serjeant at Law Daniel x SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. Daniel Olivier, Efq; Edward Clark Parifh, Efq* Robert Parifh, Efq; Mrs. Parifli Mifs Parifh William Parfons, Efq; Mrs. M. Payne Mr. Thomas Payne, fix copies Mr. Benjamin Pewtrefs, Jun. Mr. John Phillips Mr. Pittway Mrs. Ann Portman Mr. Daniel Race Mr. John Ryland Mr. William Robinfon, of Brampton Mr. George Rutt Mr. SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. xi Mr. Richard Slater, of Cheflerneld Mr. John Shenton Thomas SherrirT, Efq; Mrs. Sherriff Mr. John Shields Samuel Smith, Efq; Mr. Richard Smith Mr. Pennington Smith Mr. John Southgate Mr. John Spurling Mrs. Stuart, of Cavendifh-Square John Thornton, Efq; John Tucker, Efq; Sir Jomua Van Neck, Bast, The Rev. Mr. Whalley Mc. Anthony Wake The xii SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. The Hon. Thomas Walpole, Efq; The Hon. Richard Walpole, Efq; Mr. Walter R.Waftneld, Efq; Samuel Wathen, M. D. Mrs. Watkinfon, of Brampton Moor Mr. Richard Wilkinfon, of Chefterfield Mr. John Wilkinfon, of ditto John Winter, Efq; Mr. Spencer Wood Jonathan Worrell, Efq; two copies. D I S- DISCOURSE L ON THE PROMISE AND GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST: From JOHN xiv. 15, i65 17, 20. DISCOURSE I. JOHN xiv. 15, 1 6, 17, 20. " IF YE LOVE ME, KEEP MY COM-. "MANDMENTS: AND I WILL " PRAY THE FATHER, AND HE " SHALL GIVE YOU ANOTHER « COMFORTER, THAT HE MAY " ABIDE WITH YOU FOR EVER > " EVEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. " — AT THAT DAY YE SHALL " KNOW, THAT I AM IN MY FA- " THER, AND YOU IN ME, AND " I IN YOU." TLIE convcrfation of which thefe verfes are a part, is the moil: tender and intereliino- that can be conceived. The hour drew near, in which the Saviour of the World was to drink the laft draught of his bitter cup of fuiferings ; and " having loved his " own" as the Evangelift obferves in the firfl verfe of the preceding chapter, the few "poor " and fimple ones" who were chofen to " con- " found the mighty and the wife" and whom He was now about to leave ; " He loved them* with unremitted affection ". to the end" B 2 As 4 DISCOURSE I. As the fittest preparation for the folemnity of this lad conference, the Divine Com- forter introduces it with the inftitution of his Holy Supper ; the perpetual earthly me- morial of all the Benefits which fallen man derives from Redeeming Love -, and having, in his Own Sacred Perfon, given his difciples an example of that Humility, which is the firft remedy to be applied to the diforders of human nature, and necerTary to prepare the mind for Divine Illumination ; He proceeds to tell them of the great events that were foon to take place, and to fortify their fouls againft them. He knew the thick darknefs that overfpread their hearts, in common with their degenerate countrymen ; who having loft the Spiritual and Divine fenfe of the Mofaic Law, and con- founded the ancient prophecies of the firft and fecond coming of the Mefliah, expected a prince invented with temporal authority, who, by breaking the Roman yoke, ihould reifore the outward liberties and privileges of the Jewim people, and reign over them in peace and fplendour for ever. He knew the weak- nefs of their zeal and faith; that, beiides " the fan of perdition' who was to betray Him, DISCOURSE I. 5 Him, " one would deny Him" ; and that " all " would be offended" at his Sufferings, and from a fenfe of their own danger defert Him in the hour of difficulty and death. He knew alio, that, with all this imper- fection, which would produce the pain of dis- appointed ambition, and the dread of perfonal Suffering ; there was a mixture of worthy af- fections, that demanded confolation and en- couragement : a love for his perfon -, a reve- rence for his character and precepts; a de- pendence upon his protection ; and a defire to be led to the pofleffion of that good which He had promifed, however miftaken they were in their apprehenfions of the nature of it. For Him, they had deferted their friends, their families, their employments ; with Him, they had endured poverty, diigrace, and perfecution ; in obedience to his laws, and in conformity to his temper, they had endeavoured to fupprefs the fenfual and malig- nant paffions of their nature : and was all this labour of love and obedience fruitlefs ? were all thofe hopes of reward in the honour and happinefs of the new kingdom, utterly vain and vifionary ? and mufl their dear Lord, their guide, their patron, and their friend, B 3 Whom 6 DISCOURSE I. Whom they expected to fee feated on the Throne of David, be now feparated from them by death, like a common mortal ; and them- felves left expofed, without protection or com- fort, to the malignant fcorn and abufe of their exafperated countrymen ? No wonder, that, under the fenfc of fuch complicated evils-, " their hearts were oppreffed with for row, and " their tongues became fpee chiefs" He, who knew their hearts, knew the excefs of their forrow, and the confolations that were proper to remove it : He, who was Himfelf " a man of for rows a?id acquainted ** with griefs, and had attained perfection thro " fufferifig' ; now mewed, how deeply He was " touched with a feeling of 'human infirmi- " ties'. With all the tendernefs of pity, with all the freedom of friendfhip, with all the dignity of wifdom, with all the confidence of power, He fearches to the bottom of their diftrefs ; expostulates with their doubts and fears -, brings to recollection the wonders He had wrought in their fight ; exhorts to more animated love, and more faithful obedience ; foretells the fufTerings they muffc undergo for his fake, and foretells them as a reafon for their entire dependence upon Him : but en- courages DISCOURSE I. 7 courages them with the hope of future glori- ous rewards ; and promifes to fend " another " Comforter" in his ftead, " even the Spirit u of Truth, who fiould abide ivith them " for ever," fanctify their affections, enlighten their underftanding, and explain the reafon and efficacy of his approaching Death, and the whole nature of his Mediatorial King- dom : and clofes all, with a folemn and pa- thetic prayer to the Father, for their final per- feverance -, and their refloration to that Union with the Divine Nature, in which alone the life and fupreme felicity of man coniifr. But notwithffanding thefe endearing mo- tives to conflancy and faith, fo corrupt, fo ignorant, and weak, is human nature, with- out the immediate influence of The Spirit of Truth, that it could not endure the trial of which it had been fo tenderly fore- warned. The confequences of a known con- nexion with one who was become the object of" public rage, were fo much dreaded by Peter, that he gave up all his interefl: in that dear Lord whom he always profefled fo ar- dently to love, and " denied that he knew " Him:" C h r i s t, to rebuke felf-confidence, and reprefs the forwardnefs of a zeal that was B 4 not 8 DISCOURSE I. not born of The Spirit, foretold him of this defection and difgrace. And neither he, nor James, nor John the beloved difciple, tho' chofen for that purpofe from the reft as moft diftinguifhed for their affectionate at- tachment, could watch the hour of their Matter's agony in the garden ; but during the whole time of that amazing conflict with the Prince of Darknefs, the weaknefs of nature religrted all their faculties to the infenfibility of fleep : and when He was betrayed into the hands of power, Peter, and James, and John, and every other difciple, " forfook him and « fled." But when the tumult of their felfim fears had fubfided, when their Lord had expired on the crofs, and the rage of perfecution ceafed ; when they had leifure to revolve this, great event in their minds, and, by comparing it with what they had been taught, judge of its nature and importance, and derive that comfort from it which they fo much needed ; even then, their blind and incredulous hearts led them far from the truth, and they had no expectation that Christ would " rife from 11 the dead." The report of this fact was treated by them as an idle ftory framed by the wo- men DISCOURSE T. 9 men that related it, whofe minds were fup- pofed to be diilempered thro' excefs of for- row : and when the evidence of their own fenfes had convinced them of the reality of their Mailer's conquefc over death and the grave, and they had converfed with Kim forty days together on the moil important concerns of his Kingdom ; even in the moment of his afceniion, the hope of a temporal ad- miniilration was predominant in their hearts, and they enquire with eagernefs, whether He would not now be pleafed to make off the Roman yoke, " and rejlore again the Kingdom " to Ijraeiy At length " the day was fully come," when the promife of the Holy Spirit, which had been lb often made, was to be fulfilled ; and the accomplishment of it was attended with viiible appearances of tranfcendent glory, and produced aftoniihing effects. But, furely, none fo aftoniihing, as the Change that was immediately wrought in the minds of the Apoflles ! Ignorance and infidelity gave way to Divine Knowledge and immoveable Faith : the fenfe of perfonal danger was fo totally fubdued by Holy Fortitude, that even at Jerufalem, the place where their Mailer was accufed, io DISCOURSE I. accufed, blafphemed, and condemned to death, and from which they were fo lately driven by their fears, they flood forth as " Wilnefes of " the Refurreftion ^Chris t," the truth of which they were prepared to feal with their blood : the Kingdom of the Mefliah was no lunger conceived to be founded in temporal dominion, under which they hoped to enjoy the diftinctions of riches, honour, and plea- fure; but it was known to be a Spiritual Kingdom, that muft begin in the heart of every believer ; a Kingdom of Holinefs and Love, of " Right eoufnefs and Peace, and Joy lc in the Holy Ghoji ;" and the nature of this Kingdom, its progrefs from Glory to Glory, and its final eftabliihment in the Spiritual Per- fection of all its members, thefe mean and illiterate fimermen, who had never travelled from their own coafts but in company with their Bleffed Lord, were enabled to explain to the multitudes that were then affembled in the city, " in every language of every nation ** under heaven." This was the full and perfect meafure of the Difpenfition of Grace -, which could not be poured out during Christ's abode upon earth, becaufe his Holy Procefs, " the work " that DISCOURSE I. ii " that was "hen Him to do" as the onlv pofiible means of obtaining its ineflimable treafures, was not finimed ; and mod: of its peculiar laws, glories and bleffings, depended upon his fufferings and death, his refurrec- tion, afcenfion, and exaltation to the Right Hand of his Father's Throne. The bufmefs of Christ on earth, was to open the na- ture and deiign of his Heavenly Miffion, and give inconteirible evidences of its authority; to rebuke the Selfimnefs, Pride, and Malignity of fallen nature, as the chief obftacles to the reception of The Spirit of Truth; and, in his Own Perfon, to exhibit a glorious example of the reunion of the Divine Nature with the human ; and, as " the Captain of " our J ah at ion" to make way for the univer- fal conqueit of fin, hell, death, and the grave. As, therefore, Mofes and the Prophets con- ftantly referred to the Coming of C h r i s t ; fo Christ, when He came, as conftantly referred to the Pouring out of The Spirit, as the laft and beft Difpenfation of GOD to the children of men. " Thefahation," fays St, Paul, " which at the Jirfi began to be fpoken " by the Lord, was" afterwards ** confirm- " ed" and fully published, " by thofe that <( heard Him ; GOD alfo bearing them wit - " nefsy 12 DISCOURSE L M nefs, with fgns and ' wonders 9 and with divers " miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost." Let the Infidel paufe here a moment, and reflect on the tremendous evil to which the pride of imaginary wifdom expofes him. The Holy Spirit proceeding from the Fat her and the S o n, on the appointed day began his miniftration of Grace and Glory, attefted by "Jigns and wonders, and divers " miracles and gifts :" miracles and gifts, that are part the power of any Being but the fame Spirit, truly to defcribe ! For, even againfl the deep rooted prejudices, arifing from the expectation of a temporal Meffiah ; from the meannefs, obfcurity, and diftrefs, of Jesus and his followers ; and from the infamy of the Crofs on wThich He had fo lately fuffered ; nay, in the midrt of the city of Jerufalem, and in the fight of Pilate, Herod, the Chief Priefls, Elders, Scribes and Pharifees, Peter's firft fermon, after he was filled with The Spirit, produced the converfion of " more " than three thoufand fouls." This, and the gift of tongues, are fads, which, in eighteen centuries, few have dared to controvert, none have been able to refute. Let the Infidel, I fay, confider, with awful ferioufnefs, whe- ther, DISCOURSE I. 13 ther, by his obftinate rejection of the Truth and Power of Chriftianity, when fupported by fiich evidences of the Miniftration of GOD's Spirit, he does not incur that dreadful fentence, which was once pronounced againil the arrogant, the felf- taught, and felf- righte- ous Pharifee — " All manner of fin and blaf- " phemy flail be forgiven unto men ; but the " blafphpmy cgainfi the Holy Ghost, it " Jhall not be forgiven unto men: and whofo- and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me " and I in him ;" we are become one nature : " for, as the Living Father hath fent me, u and I live by the Father ; fo he that eateth u me, even he Jhall live by me ." In this Holy Supper, which I have inftituted as a Memo- rial of my Love, and my defire to live in Per- fect: Communion with you, " I in you, and " you in me ," I give you my body to eat, and C my 18 DISCOURSE I. my blood to drink j" my body., which is broken' on your account, and for your fakes -, " my ** bloody which is Jhedfor the remifjion of your " fins' — not only to deliver you from the tor- ment, but to cleanfe you from the impurity of Sin : " This do, in Remembrance of Me f" This is my laft, my dying requeft : and to endear us the more to each other, to confirm that Holy Union which I defire always to have with you ; I afk your compliance, as well on my account, as yours — " This do, in ** Remembrance of Me /" What amazing Condefcenfion, what trans- cendent Love is this ! How far beyond the power of man to acknowledge or conceive ; and yet, how often ineffectual, to awaken in his dark and felfifh foul, a fenfe of gratitude and duty ! One would think, that the danger of forfeiting fo important an interefl inCHRiT, to which a life of worldly bufinefs and amufe- ment continually expofes us, mould make us long for every opportunity of recollecting and pleading it : but fome '• whofe hearts are " choaked with the cares and pleafures of the " world," fo far from feeking this opportu- nity, decline it when it is offered ; and con- trive pretences to defraud their fouls of that fufte- DISCOURSE I. i9 fuflenance, without which they cannot live : fome, while they are " wretched, and mifer able, " and poor, and blind, and naked," fancy them- felves " increafed in mental riches, and to have " need of nothing -," and fome, in the oppofite excefs, fear they are too blind to receive fight, too naked to be cloathed, too wretched to be made happy. Let thefe laft recoiled, that " a broken and " a contrite heart" will never " be defpifed by " Him, who fearcheih the heart :" that a deep fenfe of the evil and demerit of fin, and a full conftant defire to be delivered from its power, is the temper of mind moil fuitable to the nature and defign of this Holy Communi- on : that " Christ came not to call the " righteous, butfmners, to repentance y and, therefore, that thofe chiefly, " who labour and " are heavy laden" with the burthen of fin, are invited to " come to Him," and receive that " Reft" which He is always ready to bellow. The Penitent Prodigal will be met with open arms ; he will be brought in Triumph to his Father's Houfe ; and Angels, and " the " Spirits of the Juft made perfeB" will cele- brate the Joy of his Return. O may we con- C 2 tinually 20 DISCOURSE I. tinually fear the delufions of Satan, and the deceitfulnefs of our own hearts ! With the deeper! humility for the igno- rance, impotence, and wretchednefs of fallen nature ; with the deeped contrition for all vo- luntary and chofen deviations from Holinefs and Truth; and with the firmed dependence, not only on the Power, but the Will of Christ, " tofave to the attermojl thofe that " come unto GOD ^y Him ;" let us embrace every opportunity to approach the Table of our Lord, and beg to be continually fed with " the Bread that came down from Heaven, " the Food of Ever 'lofting Life !" Let us be- feech our dear Redeemer, "by the my- " fiery of his Holy Incarnation ; by his Holy " Nativity and Circumcifion ; by his Baptifm, " Fading, and Temptation ; by his Agony " and Bloody Sweat, his Crofs and PatYion," and his Unknown Sufferings -, " by his Death (t. and Burial j by his glorious Redirection " and Afcenlion ; and by the Coming of the "Holy Ghoil," the Comforter which He had promifed : let us befeech Him by all thefe endearing circumdances, which com- prehend the Holy Procefs in which every hu- man foul mud be perfected ; to deliver us from the DISCOURSE I. 21 the malice of Satan ; from the influence of this vain, deceitful, and perifhing world ; and from our more dangerous enemies, the darknefs, impurity, pride, and malignity of our own hearts ! " O may the GOD of Peace, that brought "from the dead our LordJesus, that great <( fiepherd of the f jeep, thro the blood of the " ever lofting covenant, make us perfeB in every u good work to do His Will; working in us that " which is well pleafmg in his fight, thro Jesus " Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ** ever I Amen, C ? D I S- DISCOURSE II. ON THE PROMISE AND GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST: From JOHN xiv. 15, 16, 17, 20. DISCOURSE IL JOHN xiv. 15, 16, 17, 20. « IF YE LOVE ME, KEEP MY COM- " MANDMENTS: AND I WILL "PRAY THE FATHER, AND HE " SHALL GIVE YOU ANOTHER " COMFORTER, THAT HE MAY « ABIDE WITH YOU FOR EVER; " EVEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. « -AT THAT DAY YE SHALL M KNOW, THAT I AM IN MY FA- « THER, AND YOU IN ME, AND " I IN YOU." IN the former difcourfe on this promife of Divine Confolation, I have endeavoured to givefome account, however imperfecl, of the eftablifhment of Christ's Kingdom upon earth; when, with refpect to the great work of his perfonal miniftry in the flefb, bow- ing his head upon the crofs, Himfelf had faid, with his expiring breath, " It isfi- " fiified!" when thus triumphing over hell, death, and the grave, " He afcended up on " high 1 and led captivity captive ■; and gave " gifts unto men, even to the rebellious \ that " the Lord GOD might dwell among them," The miracles that attended the comple- tion of this promife, 1 have juft mentioned as an external evidence of the truth of The Qofpel* 26 DISCOURSE IL Gofpel, that is fufficient, upon their own boafted principles, to reprefs the felf-confi- dence of infidels, and alarm them with the dreadful confequences of rejecting the Re- deeming Power of The Holy Spirit, without which man cannot be " delivered " from the wrath to come" But with a view to apply this promife, and the completion of it, more immediately to ourfelves, and {hew the perfonal interefl we have in both; I have urged the Change, which the ErTufion of the Ho l y S p ir i t inftanta- neoufly produced in the underitanding will and affections of the Apoftles, as a miracle not lefs aftonifhing than the gift of tongues and the power over life and death : and from thence took occalion to fpeak of the Inter- nal Witness to the Truth and Power of Chriftian Redemption; that Witnefs, which is common not only to them, and us, and all believers in Christ, but to every fon of Adam, in every age, and every nation; that Divine Comforter, " who abiding " with us continually" will, while we place our whole dependence upon Him, " Lead us into All Truth, heal our infirmities, alleviate our afflictions, and fupport DISCOURSE II. 27 fupport us under all the darknefs, diforder, and wretchednefs of fallen nature. Regarding the Apoftles, therefore, with refpecl to this gracious promife, as the repre- fentatives of all defcending Chriftians, nay of human nature itfelf ; I propofed to confider, in an abftracted view, The nature of that Diftrefs, which has made the continual prefence and communion of fuch a Comforter neceffary; The nature of the Relief He is fent to ad- minifter; and The Concurrence required on our part, to render that Relief effectual. This I mall now attempt to profecute; tho' not ftrictly according to the divifion of the fubject which I have juft given, yet with fuch an enforcement of each particular part, as may contribute moll: to the ftrength of the whole. When the humanity of Jesus Christ, in which He had finifhed the Wonderful Pro- cefs of Redemption, was glorified, the Gift of the H o l y S p 1 R 1 t, as the blefTed EffecT: of 28 DISCOURSE II. of all that had been done and fufFered, was beftowed upon the children of men ; under whofe Continual Miniftration, the Heavenly Life, " born of that Incorruptible See d of the " Eternal Word" which is implanted in every foul, was to be cherifhed, ftrengthened, and perfected ; and men were to acquire a nature tranfcendently different from that which they inherit from Adam, and, in the language of St. Paul, experience a Total Change "from " an earthly to an Heavenly Image" This Change is reprefented, not as fome- thing that was always new and fuperiour to human nature, but as the Renovation of a Life that had been loft ; a Recovery of that ftate of being, in which man was originally placed, and from which he had voluntarily fallen. And, indeed, the conviction, that he is not in his primitive ftate, and fuch as his Maker formed him ; has, in every age, led many minds into all the mazes of Philofb- phy, to feek for fome folution of fo dark an enigma. It could not be conceived, that the Blefted GOD mould have made a creature with an averfion to the only important ends of which it DISCOURSE II. 29 it muft be fuppofed naturally capable, and particularly with a difafTeclion to Himfelf ; that lb excellent a fpirit mould be lb fer vilely employed in the permits of animal Life ; and that pofTerling powers of a fuperiour and in- feriour kind and order, the meaner mould have been, by original constitution, framed to command, and the more excellent only to obey and ferve. Hence, the bitterefl com- plaints of " the mind's fubjeclion to the " body, as a bond of corruption, a dark " coverture, a living death, a feniible car- " cafe, a moving fepulchre V Hence the vari- ous attempts to account for the origin of this evil : " fome reprefenting nature as a conti- " tual war and force, cenfure the Firil Caufe " for producing fuch a distortion, as an im- " mortal fpirit united to a mortal body : fome " reckoning every thing evil that has pertu- " bation in it, and fubjecling all things to fate u and neceffity, make the Holy GOD to be u the original caufe of all the evil in the mind " of man : and fome," by far the moft dif- tinguifhed for the confillency of their opini- ons, and the purity of their morals, ** with " great reverence for the Divine Majefty, con- " iefs, that the fole caufe of evil is in man " himfelf; that whatever comes from GOD, u is 30 DISCOURSE II. " is good ; but evil proceeds from a certain. " ancient nature, an hereditary pravity of an " almoft forgotten original; and that man " was formerly in an incorrupt ftate of being, " but is now plunged in matter and corpo- " riety." Of the queflion about the origin of evil,, which the moft improved philofophy could but darkly and remotely guefs at, Revelation has given the clearer!: folution ; and to the evil itfelf, and its univerfal influence and domini- on, eftablifhed upon the ruins of a Life origi- nally Pure, Perfect, and Divine, has borne the moft awful teftimony. " Man was created upright, in the Image, *' and after the Likenefs of GOT) !" formed for the moft intimate intercourfe with his Divine Parent; to receive the large communications of Immenfe Goodnefs, Life Light and Love, which, as a birth or nature, were continually riling up within him ! Examine now the intellectual faculties of the human mind, the ground of its arrogant diftinction, its glory and its boaft : and what find we there, but flow and dull perceptions, roving DISCOURSE IL 31 roving and uncertain judgments, feeble and miftaken reafonings about matters of the neareft concern ? What find we, indeed, but darknefs ? " Te were fometimes darknefs," fays St. Paul to the Ephefians — not merely fur- rounded with darknefs, or in whom fome degree of darknefs dwelt ; but darknefs itfelf ! And is darknefs the Image of Original and Uncreated Light? Examine the human heart: and there, on the throne which GOD once filled, fits the abominable Idol Self, as her own original, center, and end! Extending her view no further, than her own hand can reach ; and by no other light, than what the vapours that rife from her own clouded brain afford ; fhe gives confufed laws to fancy, judgment, reafon ; which, like willing flaves, traverfe the regions of animal and fenfual Life, to procureluxurious amufementsfor her foft and drowiy hours, and more turbulent and rap- turous enjoyments for fits of activity and ar- dour. But in the fecret corners of this dark domain, favoured, cherifhed, yet concealed, lurk impatient Pride, corroding Envy, and envenomed Wrath ! Here alfo dwell, though unwelcome inmates, Difappointment, Dif- guft, and Spleen ; cold Doubt that chills the ardour of Confidence, and cruel Jealoufy that blafis 32 DISCOURSE II. blafts the fruits of Love ! Here is the worm of keen Reproach, that never dies ! Here the Vifitations of an ejected GOD ; unfrequent, indeed, and fudden ; but in fuch pomp of terrour, as makes the whole fabrick fhrink almoft into annihilation ! And at a diftance, hovering over this chaos of wild paflions and difordered faculties, fits black Defpair ! And is this the primitive integrity of man ? Is this the Likenefs of Infinite Wifdom, Pu- rity, Benignity, and Love ? Is this the being that is filled with the " Breath of GOD's " S p i R i t," and formed for His Communion and Converfe ? Can, not only alienation, but enmity and oppofition be the ground of inti- mate fellowship ? Can light fubfift with dark- nefs, can fpirit unite with carnality ? And is a life of ignorance and guilt, of perverted fa- culties and tormenting paffions, an Image of the Life of GOD ? Some faint traces, in- deed, ftill remain of man's great original : fome imperfect footfteps may yetbedifcovered, that fhew he was once a glorious Temple, dignified with the Prefence of an Indwelling DEITY, and confecrated to his Honour. To ufe the words of a fublime writer, " The " ftately ruins are vifible to every eye, that " bear DISCOURSE II. 33 " bear in their front, yet extant, this doleful " infcription — HereGodoncedwelt! " But, behold the defblation ! The faded " glory, the darknefs, the diforder, the impu- " rity, the decayed flare in all refpecls of this " Temple, too plainly fhew, the great Inha- " bitant is gone !" How tranfcendently kind and honourable, was the appointment of man to fo exalted an office and ufe ! this moment, not to exifl: ; and the next, to be capable, and full of GOD ! How free and voluntary the conde- fcenfion of the Self-fufficient Good, thus to defire union and familiarity with his crea- ture! How free and voluntary a!fo was the ali- enation, the apoftafy, and revolt of man ! No force compelled, no i nfufhciency betrayed him : heaven and earth could not fupply the ftrength of a plaufible temptation, to withdraw him from what was thus infinitely excellent ! u Eat not" fays the Bleffed GOD, " of " the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in " the day thou eat eft thereof thou wilt furely " die." This was not an arbitrary reft Fit, D imp 34 DISCOURSE II. impofed only for the exercifeof GOD's au- thority, and the trial of man's obedience : but a kind and paternal caution, to beware of defiring a perception of the good and evil of the outward world ; which, as well as a corruptible and temporary, was an animal and beftial ftate of things, partaking of the nature of thofe be- ings, who by their apoftafy firft introduced evil into the creation. Out of the horrible chaos of fire and darknefs, into which thole revolted fpirits, by the wrathful workings of nature feparated from GOD, had begun to change the once happy region they inhabited, was formed this fyftem of divided elements; a mixture of good and evil unfuitable to the na- ture of Adam, who was only " to fubdue and f* exercife dominion over it" till by heavenly fire it mould be purified from its corruption, and made a fit habitation for him and his offspring for ever. " Eat not of the tree of the knowledge of Good " and Evil." ' Be content, O Adam ! with * thy prefent ffate of being -, and happy in the 1 perpetual communications of my favour, ? rule over this imperfect and perifhing world f till my purpofes are accomplished, without * defiring to partake of its corruption and im- ? purity. DISCOURSE II. 35 ? purity. Thou canft not have its perceptions, *. without its nature ; and if once the animal ' and beftial nature has power in thee, in f that moment the Divine Nature which thou * now pofferTeft, the Life of F a t h e r, Son, * and Spirit, that is now generated in thee, f will depart from thy foul, and feparated from ' my Light and Love, thou wilt become, like * the fallen angels, an immortal wrathful ' fpirit, whofe effence is the rage of fire, and 7 the horrour of darknefs. Eat, therefore, ' only of the bread of Heaven, the food of * Paradife ; and touch not the fruit of the tree I of knowledge of good and evil, which will * immediately open in thy foul the animal, f beftial, and wrathful Life of this outward \ world; and to the Heavenly and Divine Life,