^^7 
 
 LIBRA. HY 
 
 or THE 
 
 Theological Seminary 
 
 PRINCETON, N.J. 
 
 Case, .Qly.j.s.'.9.''^ ■ 
 
 Shelf, S?.9.'.!.?.." - 
 
 Book, J^.°'.-r 
 
 A. 
 4 
 
 
Sw 
 
 \ 
 
 ^. 
 
 <4 
 
 Q\ 
 
 X 
 
DISCOURSES 
 
 ON SEVERAL 
 
 Important Subjects. 
 
 By the X.ate Reverend 
 
 Daniel' WILLIAMS, d. d. 
 
 Publifhed fingly by Himself, and now colleded 
 by the Appointment of his Will. 
 
 VOL. V. 
 
 To which is added. 
 His Funeral Sermon preached by Dr. Evans. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by James Waugh, at the Turk's Head, 
 
 in Lombard-Street, 
 
 M DCC L. 
 
THE 
 
 c 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Fifth VOLUME. 
 
 25. AN £W /o Difcord y wherein is 
 -^ demonftrated, that no Dodrinal 
 Controverfy remains between the Prefey- 
 ierian and Congregatioiial Miniflers, fit to 
 juflify longer Divifions : With a true Ac- 
 count of Sociniajjifm, as to the Satisja^ion 
 of Chriji. 1699. Pag. i. 
 
 26. The Vanity of Childhood and Touth', 
 being feme Sermons preached in Hand- 
 Alley^ at the Requeft of feveral Young 
 Men. To which is added, A Catechifm 
 for Youth. 1 69 1. Pag. 157, 
 
 27. A Letter to the Author of a 
 Difcourfe of Free- thinkings wherein the 
 
 Chriftian 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chrlftian Religion is vindicated, by de- 
 tecting feveral Abufes of Free-thinking. 
 1713. Pag. 315. 
 
 28. Some ^icries relating to the Bill 
 
 iox preventing the Growth of Schifm, 17 14. 
 
 • Pag. 403. 
 
 At the End is added, 
 
 A Funeral Sermon, on the Death 
 of Dr. Williams, who deceafed Jan. 
 26. 17 1 5- 1 6. in the 73d Year of his 
 Age. By John Evans, 
 
A N 
 
 END TO DISCORD: 
 
 Wherein is demonftrated. 
 
 That no Dodlrinal Controverfy remains 
 between the Prejbyterian and Congrega- 
 tional Minifters, fit to juftify longer 
 Divifions. 
 
 With a true Account of 
 
 SOCINIANISM 
 
 As to the Satisfaction of Christ. 
 Printed in the Year 1699. 
 
(iil) 
 
 EPISTLE 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 READER. 
 
 /F Arguments mighf induce Chri fit aits 
 to Peace, it were enough to Jay, no- 
 thing is more exprefsly required than 
 Chriftian Concord by our Lord Je/iis, or 
 more commended from its heavenly Origijial 
 and happy Fruits ; nor fcarce any thing 
 more warned againji, as ohfiruBing the 
 Kingdom of Chrift, advantagious to Satan's 
 Inter eji, defiruBive to Religion^ yea to Civil 
 Society, and repugnant to the very Delign 
 and Spirit of the Gofpel, as well as to the 
 mutual Ufefulnefs of men, than uncharitable 
 and dividing Contentions be. The only 
 reafon that can be fuggefted to acquit fuch 
 Contendersyro;^ notorious Guilt mud be, that 
 it is for the Faith of the Gofpel that they 
 contend. But it's worth our ferious thoughts, 
 that as even this cannot excuje a rigid, cen- 
 forious., envenomed Spirit, or unhallowed 
 
 B 2 Me- 
 
iv Epiftle to the Reader. 
 
 Methods in our Jiruggles for Truth ; fo ?io 
 other than a diredt Oppofition to the Ef- 
 femials of fome fundamental Article can 
 warrant Divifions^ or refufah of Commu- 
 nion^ on the account of mere difference in the 
 Fcfithy provided no Aflent to any real Error 
 is impcjedon us as a Term of Union. 
 
 It is too obvious to require Proof, that 
 if a direcl Oppofition to what is not funda- 
 mental, or to whatever remotely belongs 
 to that which is fo ; nay further, tfoppofing 
 by denied Confequences what is of the Ef- 
 fence of any fmdamental Article of Faith ; 
 be a warrant for Separation of Mlniflers 
 and Churches from each other, then the in- 
 ftituted Rules of Chrifiian FellowfJnp do 
 not oblige us ; the approved Inft.inces of 
 Communiofi in the New-Tejlament -Churches 
 ought to be condemned j and all the Churches 
 of Chrift mufl daily be more and 772ore rend- 
 cd by Non- communion and dividing Animo- 
 fitics, until the Catholick Church lofe all 
 Jhew of Unity, or be reduced to a fingle 
 Congregation, (and that but for an uncer- 
 tain moment,) even when vajl numbers of 
 Chriftian Societies proclaim the advance- 
 ment oj our Saviour s conquejl. 
 
 Nor is their Folly lefs apparent, who 
 (for excufe of this) jurmife, that every Er- 
 ror which they ought to reclify in themfelves^ 
 and by juji methods to reform in others, is a 
 Par to Communion -, or yet, that Separation 
 
 u 
 
Epiftle to the Reader. 
 
 is one of thofe jufl: methods i?i the cafe fore'- 
 mentioned^ efpecially towards fiich over 
 niohom they pretend to no Authority. Oh 
 when will men fee^ that Chrift's Royal 
 Prerogative is ajjumed^ whenever other 
 Terms of or Bars to Communion are in- 
 n}entedy than what He hath exprefsly made 
 Juch^ and that in a matter wherein his own 
 Honour and his People's Intereji are con- 
 cerned, next to that of Union with him^ 
 
 But alas I in contempt of Rules fo ne^ 
 cejjary to the Churches Peace, many Ages 
 are filled with Inflances of affuming a right 
 to account him for a Heathen, who differs 
 but in Trifies, and cannot pronounce their 
 'Very Phraies, thd' fcrupled becaufe abufed 
 to fupport an Error ^ and the Truth defgn- 
 ed by them is rnof exprefsly owned: A 
 thing jo thwarting a Chriflian Temper^ that 
 Athanaiius and Bafil profefs they would 
 break with none who refufed the word 
 o//.«3-/o?, fo they would by any words declare 
 their foundnefs in the DoSlrijie of the Tri- 
 nity ; and yet that word had been ad' 
 jujled, not by a few particular Authors^ 
 but by the great Council of Nice, in op" 
 pofition to the Herejy of Arius. Ifcruple 
 not to pay, an Antichriftian spirit moft ef- 
 feBually extinguifieth the like Moderation -, 
 and fuch Impofers, intrufted with the Se- 
 cular Sword, would ufe it as they do their- 
 B 3 Eccle- 
 
VI Epiftlccto the Reader. 
 
 Ecclefiaftical, however they cotidemn Seve- 
 rity ivhile themfelvcs ai'c not the Per/ecu- 
 tors. 
 
 That there have been of late years great 
 Divifions amo?jg the DilTenters, is too pub- 
 lickly blown : A?id I had rather flmre in 
 the Imputation of an Acceffary^ than per- 
 petuate them by the fulleji Vindication j ho- 
 ping that a calm Sea/on will better fit all 
 of us to rejle5l, and repent of our Faulti- . 
 nefs, ejpecially the Unchriftian management 
 of our Debates j for which ^ we have great 
 reafon to pray^ . God would not fignally con- 
 tend hereafter. 
 
 But blejj'ed be the Name of our God, that 
 
 ere we be quite devoured by each other, a 
 
 fit Occafion is minijired for our healing ; 
 
 and thd Self-prefervation hath been my 
 
 work ever fince my temperate Confutation 
 
 of Dr, Crifp, (a?id then too,) none will 
 
 wonder I take hold of this Opportunity , to 
 
 evidence that further Contefts will be inex- 
 
 cufable. Nor is it a hard Province, when 
 
 the united Mi nifters, tfw^//j^ Congregational 
 
 Brethren, have fo far acquitted themfelves : 
 
 The firft, by fundry jormer Accounts (and 
 
 now more enlarged, from any word in 
 
 which I cannot fufpedl two will differ,) of 
 
 their Vindication from Errors concerning 
 
 the Satisfadion of Chrifi, and Juftifica- 
 
 tion, which are the only Points objedfed: 
 
 The laft, by their Declaration againft An- 
 
 tinomian 
 
Epiftle to the Reader. vii 
 
 tinomian Errors ; for which I am too thank- 
 fuly to remark its Stings j and had it come 
 out before my Poftfcript, / durji not 
 have reprefented their Judgment by the Con- 
 fequences of their ObjeBions^ (however na- 
 tural,) as in fome few things is done. That 
 the God of Peace would give us Peace ^ is 
 the unfeigned Prayer of 
 
 Thy Servant in the Gofpel, and Bro- 
 ther in the Kingdom and Pati- 
 ence of our Lord Jefus, 
 
 Daniel Williams. 
 
 Note, The Edition of the Works of Socinus, &c. 
 to which I refer, is that printed in Folio, Irenopoli, 
 1656. 
 
 B 4 1 N T R 0^ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 AS the too virible Progrefs of ^ntim- 
 mianifm grieved us, and obliged 
 our Defence of the Truth, and a Gofpel- 
 Miniftry ; fo we muft rejoice in the Con- 
 gregational Minifters Declaration againjl 
 Anti?iomian 'Errors^ well knowing the in- 
 fected will more regard the Judgment of 
 thefe Brethren, becaufe of their Agreement 
 with them in matters of Church-Difci- 
 pline. 
 
 We are forry they were not a little 
 fooner prevailed with to give this Teftimo- 
 ny i for then we had not been forced in 
 the Anfwer to the Report^ to hint fome of 
 the Reafons inducing us to think many of 
 them efpoufed, and the generality of them 
 in this City too much countenanced y^«//- 
 nomianifm, with its open Abettors. Nor 
 dare we indulge a Temper fo devilifh, as 
 for Party- fake to repine at thefe Brethren 
 acquitting themfelves from thofe imputed 
 Errors : But on the contrary, we gladly en- 
 deavour 
 
IntroduEiion, 
 
 deavour to procure Peace by this Declara- 
 iion of theirs ; for which defirable end, we 
 fhall overlook all the Refledions contained 
 therein againft us ; and not rcfufe to ac- 
 quit ourfelves once more from all hurtful 
 Errors concerning Chrift's SatisJaSlion, and 
 our yujlification, (altho' fo fully and often 
 done heretofore, that our Brethren's Infi- 
 nuation to the contrary doth not a little 
 furprize us ;) and, which is principally 
 aimed at, we hope it will appear, that in 
 all that's material, both our Brethren a^. 
 gree with us in our Teftimony againft An- 
 tinomianifmy and we agree with them in a 
 difapproval of the other Extreams. To 
 evidence which, we Ihall repeat, ( i .) Our 
 Teftimony againft Dr. Criffs Errors, 
 when fo many were indangered by his 
 reprinted hooks. (2.) Some part of our 
 former Declarations againft PopiJh^Socinian^ 
 and Arminian Errors, when our Brethren 
 accufed us thereof for fubfcribing the fore- 
 faid Teftimony againft Crifpianifm. (3.) 
 We (hall give an account of our Congre- 
 gationalBrpthren's 'Declaration againji Anti^ 
 nomian Errors. (4.) We fliall evidence 
 that this, taken together and examined 
 with Candor, ought to be acknowledged a 
 fufficient Vindication of the Approvers 
 thereof from all hurtful Antinomian Er- 
 rors. (5.) We ftiall add our further Te- 
 ftimony againft Errors about Chrifl's Sa- 
 
 tisfaBioHy 
 
lo IntroduEiton. 
 
 tisfaSfion, and Jiijiification. If Peace at 
 lead muft not be allowed us after this, we 
 muft bewail a judicial ftroke, and expe<ft 
 to be defpifed by fuch, who perceive our 
 common hurt from thefe Debates, but have 
 not Judgment to diftinguifli between the 
 injured Seekers of Peace, and the injurious 
 Fomentersof Trouble. 
 
 chap: 
 
An End to Difcord. i i 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 H^e State of Truth and Error^ 
 (fubfcribed by near Fifty of us J 
 drawn up and publifhed by Mr, 
 Williams, in a Book called Gof- 
 pel-Truth ftated and vindicated, 
 firfi printed in the Tear 1692. 
 
 ^ruth I. T T is certain from God's de-CnAPi 
 
 JL cree of eledion, that the E- I. 
 ledl (hall in time be juftified, adopted, and [yy\i 
 faved in the way God hath appointed ; and 
 the whole meritorious caufe and price of 
 Juftification, Adoption, and eternal Life, 
 were perfed:, when Chrift finijljed the 
 work of Satisfaction. Neverthelefs, the 
 Eled: remain children of wrath, and fub- 
 je<ft to condemnation, //// they are effec- 
 tually called by the operation of the 
 Spirit. 
 
 Error, The Ele(ft are j^ 710 time of 
 their lives under the wrath of God ; nor 
 are they fubjed: to condemnation, if they 
 (hould die before they believe ; yea, when 
 they are under the dominion of Sin, and 
 in the pradice of the grofleil Villainies, 
 
 they 
 
1 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, they are as much the Sons of God, and 
 I. juftified, as the very Saints in Glory. 
 
 Truth 2. Tho' our Sins were imputed 
 to Chrift with refpt(!^ to the Guilt thereof, 
 fo that he, by the Father's appointment, 
 and his own confent, became obliged, as 
 Mediator, to bear the Punifimefit of our 
 Iniquities ; and he did bear thofe Punifh- 
 ments to the full SatisfaBion of Juftice, 
 and to our ad:ual Remiffion when we be- 
 lieve ; neverthelefs, the Filth of our Sins 
 was not laid upon Chrift ; nor can he be 
 called the Traufgreffor, or was he in 
 God's account the Blafphemer, Murthe- 
 rer, &c. 
 
 Error. God did not only impute the 
 Guilt, and lay the Punifliment of the 
 Sins of the Ele^l upon Chrift j but he 
 laid all the very Sins of the Eletl upon 
 Chrift, and that, as to their real F)lthi- 
 nefs and Loathfomenefs ; yea fo, that Chrift 
 was really the Blafphemer, Murtherer, and 
 Sinner, and fo accounted by the Father. 
 
 T^ruth 3. The Atonement made by 
 Chrift, by the appointment of God, is that, 
 for which alone the Ele<5l are pardoned, 
 when it is applied to them. But the E- 
 led: are not immediately pardoned upon 
 Chrift's being appointed to fuffcr for them, 
 nor as foon as the Atonement was made ; 
 nor is that A(5t of laying Sins on Chrift, 
 
 God's 
 
 ^ 
 
An End to Difcord. 1 3 
 
 God's forgiving Ad, by which we are Chap. 
 feffonally dij charged, I. 
 
 Error. Th e very Adl of God's laying i^-v-n»^ 
 Sins on Chrift upon the Crofs, is the very 
 aSiual dtfcharge of all the Eledt from all 
 their Sins. 
 
 Truth 4. An Eled: perfon ceafeth not 
 to be a Sinner, upon the laying of our 
 Sins upon Chrilt j that is, he remains a 
 Sinner, as to the Guilt, till he believes, 
 if adult. He is a Sinner, as to ih^ Filth 
 of Sin, till he be fandified. He is a Sin- 
 ner, as to the charge of the finful Fa£l he 
 commits, and that even after Purdon and 
 Sandification. Nevcrthelefs, he is free 
 from the Curfe^ when he is pardoned ; 
 and (hall be purged from all the Filth of 
 Sin, when he is perfedin Holintfs. And 
 tho' Chrill did bear the Punifhmentof our 
 Iniquity, yet it never was Chrift's Ini- 
 quity, bet ours. 
 
 Error. The Eled upon the death of 
 Chrift ceafed to be Sinners j aijd ever ftnce 
 their Sins are none of their SiJis, but they 
 are the Sins of Chrijl, 
 
 Truth 5. The Obligation of fuffering 
 for our Sins was upon Chrift, from his 
 undertaking the office of a Mediator, to 
 the moment wherein he finifhed his fa- 
 tisfadory Atonement. The Punifiment 
 of our Sins lay upon Chrift^ from the 
 
 firft 
 
1 4 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, fi^fl: moment, to the lafl of his ftate of 
 I^ Humiliation. 
 
 Error The time when our Sins were 
 laid aBually on Chrift, was, when he was 
 nailed to the Crofs, and God adtually for- 
 fook him ; and they continued on him till 
 his Refurrection. 
 
 Trutjj 6. Tho' God teftified his threat- 
 ned hidignatmi againft Sin, in the awful 
 Suffering;! of Chrifl's Soul and Body in his 
 Agony, and fufpended thofe delightful 
 Communications of the Divine Nature to 
 the Human Nature of Chrift, as to their 
 wonted degrees; yet God was ucvtv fe pa- 
 rated from Chrift, much lefs during his 
 Body's lying in the grave ; neither was the 
 Father ever difpleafed with Chrift, and far 
 lefs did he abhor him, becaufe of the Fil- 
 ihinefs of Sin upon him. 
 
 Error. Christ was on the account 
 of the Filthinefs of Sins, while they lay 
 upon him, feparated from God, odious to 
 him, and eyen the Objeifl of God's Ab^ 
 horrence, and this to the time of his Re- 
 furred ion. 
 
 T^ruth 7. The Mediatorial Righteouf- 
 nefsof Chrijl is fo imputed to true Belie- 
 vers, as that for the fake thereof they are 
 pardoned and accepted unto Life eternal ; 
 it being reckoned to them, and pleadable 
 by them for thefe ufes, as if they had per- 
 
 fonally 
 
An "End to Difcord, 1 5 
 
 fonally done and fufFered what Chrift did Chap, 
 as Mediator for them ; whereby they are I. 
 delivered from the Curfe, and no other 
 Atonement nor meriting Price of faving 
 Benefits can be demanded from them. 
 Neverthelefs, this Mediatorial Righteouf- 
 nefs is not fubjedtively in them, nor is 
 there a Change df Ferfon betwixt them and 
 Chrift ; neither are they as righteous as he, 
 bat there remain Spots and Blemiflies in 
 them, until Chrift by his Spirit perfed: 
 that Holinefs begun in all true Believers ; 
 which he will effect, before he brings 
 them to Heaven. See the 2di Truth ; and 
 note, it is only Dr. Cn{^' s Change of Per- 
 Jon is denied J viz. a perfeB Change which 
 makes us as righteous as he, &c. but not 
 Chriji's dying in our ftead, which in this 
 Book is oft ajferted. 
 
 Error. Every Believer, or Eledt per- 
 fon, is as righteous as Chrift, and there is 
 2i perfe 51 Change oi Perfon and Condition 
 betwixt Chrift and the Eled: ; he was 
 what we are, 'viz. as finful as wej and 
 we are what he was, viz. perfectly holy, 
 ^nd without fpot or blemi(h. 
 
 Truth 8. I SHALL exprefs it in the 
 words of the Affembly : " The Grace of 
 ** God is manifefled in the jecond Cove- 
 ** nant, in that he freely provideth, and 
 5' offereth to Sinners a Mediator, and Life 
 jf and Salvation by him 5 and requiring 
 
 ** Faith 
 
1 6 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. " Faith as the Condition to intereft them 
 I. ** in him, promifeth and giveth his holy 
 Spirit to all his Elecfl, to work in them 
 that Faith, with all other fa ving Graces; 
 *' and to enable them unto all Obedience, 
 " as the evidence of the truth ot their 
 " Faith and Thankfulnefs to God, and as 
 *' the way which he hath appointed them 
 ** to Salvation." Note^ "Reader^ that thefe 
 Divines do here join together the Covenant 
 of Redemption with Chrifi^ and the Gof- 
 pel- Covenant whereby are difpenfed to us 
 theBeneftts impetrated by Chrifi ; which two 
 diJii?JguiJ1:>ed would lead to clearer thoughts. 
 
 Error. The Covenant of Grace hath 
 no Condition to be performed on man*s 
 part, tho' in the ftrength of Chrift : Nei- 
 ther is Faith itfelf the Condition of this 
 Covenant ; but all the faving benefits of 
 this Covenant, are aftually ours before we 
 are born : Neither are we required fo much 
 as to believe, that we may come to have 
 an Intereft in the benefits of the Cove- 
 nant. 
 
 Truth g. I SHALL exprefs this in the 
 words of the Ajfembly, and Congregational 
 Elders at the Savoy ^ of faving Faith : 
 Confeff. k ** By this grace, a Chriftian believeth to be 
 ^V^?*" true whatever is revealed in the Word, 
 " for the authority of God fpeaking there- 
 " in ; and a^cth differently upon that 
 •* which each particular Paffage thereof con- 
 
 */ taineth ; 
 
 XIV. a. 2. 
 
An End to Difcord, ■ i^ 
 
 talneth ; yielding Obedience to theCnAp. 
 Commands, tremblins; at the Threat- I. 
 nings, and embracing the Promifcs of < 
 God, for this life, and that which is 
 to come. But the principal Ads of 
 faving Faith, are accepting^ receivings 
 and refiing upon Chrift alone for Juif i- 
 fication, Sandification, and eternal Life, 
 by virtue of the Covenant of Grace." 
 Error. Saving Faith is nothing but 
 our Perfua/ionj or abfolute concluding 
 within ourfelves, that our Sins are pardon- 
 ed, and that Chrift is ours. 
 
 Truth ID. Christ is freely offered 
 to be a Head and Saviour to the vile/l Sin- 
 ners, who will knowingly affent to the 
 truth of the Gofpel, and from a convic- 
 tion of their Sin and Mifery out of Chriffc 
 are humbled, and truly willifig to renounce 
 all their Idols and Sins j and denying their 
 own carnal Self and Merits, accept of 
 Chrift as offered in the Gofpel ; relying 
 on him alone, for Juftification, Sanctifi- 
 cation, and eternal Life. 
 
 Error. Christ is oifered to Blaf- 
 phemers, Murtherers, and the worft of 
 Sinners ; that they, remaining ignorant, 
 unconvinced, unhumbled, and refolved in 
 their purpofe to continue facb, may be 
 affured they have a full Intereft in Chrift ; 
 and this, by o?ily concluding in their own 
 minds upon this Offer, that Chrift is theirs. 
 
 C • Truth 
 
1 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Truth ii. Every man is without 
 I. Chrift, or not united to Chrift, until he be 
 
 ^^V^*^ efFedually called : But when by this Call 
 the Spirit of God indineth and enableth 
 him willingly to accept of C'hrift as a Head 
 and Saviour, a man becomes united to 
 him, and a partaker of thofe Influences 
 and Privileges which are peculiar to the 
 members of the Lord Jefus. 
 
 Error, All the Eledt are aBually u- 
 nitcd to Chrift, before they have the Spirit 
 of Chrift, or at all believe in him, even 
 before they are born j yea, and again ft 
 their Will. 
 
 T^ruth 12. Tho* Faith be no way a 
 meritorious Caufe of a Sinner's Juftifica- 
 tion, yet God hath promifed to juftify all 
 fuch as truly believe j and requires Faith, 
 as an indifpenfablc qualification in all 
 whom he will juftify for Chrift 's merits ; 
 declaring, that Unbelief fhall not only 
 hinder men's knowing that they are jufti- 
 iied, but that it is a bar to any perfon's 
 being juftified while he continues an Un- 
 believer. 
 
 Error. The whole life of Faith in 
 Juftification, is only to manifejl that we 
 were juftified before j and Faith is no 
 way neceftary to bring a Sinner into 
 a juftified State, nor at all ufeful to that 
 end. 
 
 In 
 
An End to Difcord, 19 
 
 I?i a Digreffion there about Repentance, Chap. 
 is added^ I. 
 
 Truth, Altho' neither Faith nor Re- ' — ^-— ' 
 pentance be any part of the meriting Righ- 
 tcoulhefs for uohich we are juftifiedj and 
 the Habits of both are wrought at the 
 fame time, and included in the regenera- 
 ting principle ; and there muft be an af- 
 fenting adt of Faith, before there be any 
 exercife of true Repentance ; and Repent- 
 ance^ as confifling in the fruits meet for 
 it, viz, an external Reformation and a 
 fruitful Life, m\xi^ foUoiv Pardon^ as doth 
 alfo an ingenuous Sorrow for Sin in the 
 fenfe of Pardon : Never thelefs Repent- 
 ance^ as it confifts in fome degree of 
 Rumblings and Sorrow, from convidions 
 of our loft State and the Evil of Sin, with 
 a fincere purpofe of Heart to turn from 
 our Sin and Idols to God, is abfolutely ne- 
 cejfary in order to the forgivenefs of Sin. 
 
 Error, Our Sins are forgiven before 
 any Repentance ; and Believers ought jwt 
 to complain, or mourn, or forrow for the 
 Sins they have committed. 
 
 Truth 13. Tho* neither Hollnefs, fin- 
 cere Obedience, or good Works, do make 
 any Atonement for Sin ; or are in the lead 
 the meritorious Righteoufiiefs^ whereby Sal- 
 vation is caufed, or for which this, or any 
 Bleffing, becomes due to us as of debt : Yet 
 as the Spirit of Chrift freely worketh all 
 C 2 Holinefs 
 
20 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Ch AP. Holinefs in the Soul, and enableth us to 
 I. lincere Obedience and good WoriiS; To 
 
 o^v>-' the Lord Jefus hath of Grace, and for his 
 own Merits, promifed to bring to Heaven 
 fuch as are partakers of true Holinefs, as 
 perfortii this fincere Obedience, and do 
 thefe good Works perfeveringly ; and ap- 
 points thefe as the way and means of a 
 Believer's obtaining Salvation, and feveral 
 other Blefiings ; requiring thefe as indif- 
 peniable duties and qualifications of all 
 luch whom he will fo fave and blefs, and 
 excluding all that want or negledl them, or 
 live under the power of what's contrary 
 thereto, viz, Profanenefs, Rebellion, and 
 utter Unfruitfulnefs. 
 
 Error. Men have nothing to do in 
 crder to Salvation ; nor is Sanitification a 
 jot the way of any perfon to Heaven : Nor 
 can the Graces or Duties of Believers, no, 
 nor Faith itfelf, do them the lea/i Good, 
 or prevent the leaft Evil ; nor are they of 
 any u(e to their Peace or Comfort; yea, 
 tho' Chrift be explicitely owned, and they 
 be done in the ftrength of the Spirit of 
 God : And a Believer ought not to think, 
 he is jnore pleafmg to God by any Grace 
 he ad:eth, or Good he doth ; nor may 
 men expedi any Good to a Nation, by 
 the Humiliation, earneft Prayer, or Refor- 
 mation of a People. 
 
 ^ruth, 14, Tho' we ought to intend 
 
 God's 
 
An End to Dtfcord. 2 1 
 
 GocCi Glory as our fiipream End in all our Chap. 
 Duties, and to defign therein the expref- I. 
 fing our Love and Gratitude to God for ' — ^^^ — ' 
 his Benefits, with a great regard to publick 
 Good: Yet we alfo lawfully may, and 
 ought to drive after Grace, to grow in it, 
 and to perform holy Duties and Services, 
 with an Eye to^ and Concern for our owa 
 fpiritual and eternal Advantage. 
 
 Error. No man ought to propofe to 
 himfelf any Advantage by any religious 
 Duty he performeth j nor ought he in the 
 leajl to intend the Profit of his own Soul 
 by any Chriftian Endeavours j it being 
 vain and unlawful to do any thing with an 
 Eye to our fpiritual or eternal Good^ tho' 
 in Subordination to God's Glory in Chrift. 
 
 T!ruth 15. The ordinary wa"^ where- 
 by a man attaineth a well-grounded AJJlt- 
 rancey is not by immediate objedive Reve- 
 lation, or an inward Voice faying, Ihy 
 Sins are forgiven thee : But when the Be- 
 liever is examining his Heart and Life by the 
 Wordy the holy Spirit enlightens the mind 
 there to difcern Faith, and Love, and 
 fuch other qualifications, which the Gof- 
 pel declareth to be infallible Signs of Re- 
 generation ; and he adds (wchpo^ver to the 
 Teftimony of Confcience, for the truth 
 and in-being of thefe Graces, as begets in 
 the Soul a joyful fenfe of its reconciled 
 State, and feme comfortable freedom frorn 
 C 3 thofe 
 
2 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Cfi AP. thofe Fears which accompany a doubting 
 I. Chriftian : And according to the evidence 
 of thefe Graces, Affurance is ordinarily 
 flrong or weak. 
 
 Error. Assurance Is not attained 
 by the Evidence of Scripture- marks or 
 Sig7is of Grace, or by the Spirit's difcover- 
 ing to us that he hath wrought in our 
 Hearts any holy Qualifications : But Af- 
 furance comes onh by an inward Voice of the 
 Spirit, faying, ihy Sins are forgiven thee, 
 and our believing thereupon that our Sins 
 are forgiven, 
 
 ^ruth 1 6. The Sins of Believers have 
 the loathjomenefi of Sin adhering to them, 
 which God Jeeth^ and accounteth the Ccm- 
 mitters guilty thereby : And they ought 
 to charge themfelves therewith, fo as to ftir 
 up themfelves to Repentance, and renew 
 their adings of Faith on Chrift for For- 
 giveneis. Neverthelefs, they ought not 
 thereby to fear their being out of a ju/li- 
 fed State^ further than their Falls give 
 them fift: cauje of fufpecfting, that Sin 
 kath dominion over them, and that their 
 frft believing on Chrift was not fine ere. 
 
 Error. God feeth no Sin in Believers, 
 tho' he fee the FaB -y neither doth he 
 charge them with any Sin ; nor ought they 
 to charge themfelves with any Sin, nor be 
 at all fad for them ; ' nor confefs, repent, 
 or do any thing, as a mea?js of their Par- 
 don 5 
 
An End to D if cord, 23 
 
 don; no, nor in order to ajfurtng them-CHAP. 
 felves of Pardon, even when they com- I. 
 mit Murther, Adultery, or the grojjeji l/^Y"VJ 
 Wicked nefs. 
 
 Truth ij. It is true of Believers^ that 
 if Sin (hould have dominion over them, they 
 would thereby be fubjedt to Condemna- 
 tion : And tho* the Grace of God will 
 frevent the dominion of Sin in every eled 
 Believer, and fo keep them from eternal • 
 Death J yet true Believers may by Sin 
 bring great hurt upon themfelves in Soul 
 and Body, which they ought iofear ; and 
 they may expert a iTiare in national 'Judg- 
 ments^ according as they have contributed 
 to common Guilt. 
 
 Error, The ^ro^^ Sins that Believers 
 can commit, cannot do them the leajl 
 harm ; neither ought they to fear the leaft 
 hurt by their own Sins, nor by national 
 Sins ', yea, tho' themfelves have had a 
 hand therein. 
 
 Truth 18. Tho' God is not fo a?2gry 
 with his people for their Sins, as to caft 
 them out of his Covenant-favour ; yet by 
 their Sins he is fo difpleafed, as for them 
 to correal his Children, tho' he fpeaks In-^ 
 firuBiom by his Rebukes. 
 
 Error. None of the Affliiftions of 
 Believers have in them the leaft of God's 
 Difpleafure againft their perfons for their 
 Sins, C 4 Truth 
 
24 Peace with Truth •, or 
 
 Chap. , Truth 19. Tno' the prefent finccre 
 I. Holiuefs of Believers he not perfcB^ ac- 
 
 ^'^V^ cording to the Precepts of the Word j nor 
 'valuable by the Sanction of the Law of 
 Innocency ; nor any Atonement for our 
 defeats ; and we jlill need forgivenefs, and 
 the Merits of Chrift, for Acceptance there- 
 of : Yet as far as it prevails, it's lovely in it- 
 felf, and pleafing to God, and is not Dung 
 or Filth. 
 
 'Error. The greateji Holifjefs in Be- 
 lievers, tho' wrought in them by the Holy 
 Ghofl, is mere Dung, Rottennefs, and 
 Filthinefs, as in them. 
 
 'Truth 20. GoSPEL-PREACHING IS, 
 
 when the Meffengers of Chrift do publifh 
 to fallen Sinners the good news of Salva- 
 tion by Chrift, to be obtained in the way 
 which he hath appointed in his Word j 
 freely offering Salvation on his Terms j 
 earneftly perluading and commanding men 
 in the name of Chriif, to comply with 
 thofe Terms, as ever they would efcape 
 the Mifery they are under, and poffefs the 
 Benefits he hath purchafed ; directing all 
 to look to him for Strength^ and to ac- 
 knowledge him as the only Mediator, and 
 his Obedience and Sufferings as the fole 
 Atonement for Sin, and meriting Cauje of 
 all Bleffmgs; inftruding them in all re- 
 vealed Truth, and by Gofpel-motives 
 urging them to obey the whole Will of 
 
 God, 
 
An "End to Difcord. 25 
 
 God, as a Rule of Duty, but efpecially Chap. 
 to be fincere and upright, preffing after I. 
 Perfedion. 
 
 Error. Gospel-preaching is, to 
 teach men, they were as niuch pardon- 
 ed, and as acceptable to God always, as 
 when they are regenerate ; and while they 
 were ungodly, they had the fame Intcrefi 
 in God and Chrift as when they believe; 
 neither can Sin any way hinder their Sal- 
 vation, or their Peace ; nor have they any- 
 thing to do to further either of them, Chrift 
 having done all for them, and given him- 
 felf to them, before any holy qualification 
 or endeavour. 
 
 TCruth 21. Legal Preaching is, 
 to preach the Law as a Covenant of inno- 
 cency, or of works-, or to preach the Mo- 
 faick or fewiJJj Covenant of peculiarity : 
 But it is not Legal Preaching, to require 
 and perfuade to faith, holinefs, or duties, 
 by Promifes and Threatnings, according 
 to the Grace of the Go/pel^ and to direS 
 Men io fear and hope accordingly. 
 
 Error. Legal Preaching is, to 
 call People to ad: any Grace, or do any 
 Duty, as a required jneans of Salvation or 
 inward Peace ; or to threaten them with 
 Death or any Afflid:ion, to caufe Fear, if 
 they commit the groffeft Sins, and back- 
 ilide, and fall away ; or to promije them 
 Any BlefTing upon their Obedience to the 
 
 Com- 
 
26 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Commandments of Chrifl ; or to urge the 
 Threat flings, to perfuade Sinners to believe 
 and repent. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 A Renunciation of fundry Errors y 
 Anno 1694. A Paper called^ 
 The third Paper, 1696. A 
 Propojal made by us^ ^^^97- 
 
 AL T H O' we hoped the Caution 
 ufed in the forefaid ^tate 0} Truth 
 and Error ^ would prevent the Imputation 
 of Socinianijmy and other hurtful Errors ; 
 yet finding our Brethren diflatisfied, we 
 fubfcribed with them, j^nno 1692. (about 
 feven Months after the State of Truth was 
 publifhed,) certain Dodtrinal Propofitions 
 colle61:ed out of the ^Jfembly^ ConfeJJion ; 
 which we printed in 1693. v/ith this Title, 
 jin Agreement in Dochinah^ &c. But 
 that being too long to be here in- 
 ferted, we (hall confine ourfelves to the 
 more material Parts of what further Ac- 
 count we have given of our Judgment 
 concerning the Do^lrines of SatisfaBion 
 and JuJliJication\ which may be feen at 
 
 large 
 
An End to D if cord. 27 
 
 large in our Jnfiver to the Report , pag.CnAP. 
 33o> 336, 359> ^M' • ^ ^^' 
 
 In a Paper fent to our Cofigregational 
 Brethren, Anno 1694. it is thus de- 
 clared : 
 
 " We i\\t united Mini fiers in and a- 
 '* bout London^ do renounce and teftify a- 
 " gainft thefe following Opinions. 
 
 " I. That there is no definite 
 " number of Perfons ekBed from all E- 
 " ternity, whom God will by his ap- 
 " pointed means certainly fave, and bring 
 ** to eternal Life ; leaving the reft, who 
 " fall under a juft Condemnation for their 
 ** original and adual Sins, efpecially for 
 ** their negled and contempt of the means 
 " of Salvation, 
 
 " 2. That Chrift died equally for all 
 *' Men, not intending the final Salvation 
 *' of fome more than others. 
 
 " 3. That Men have in their own 
 " Power, by the ufe of the natural fa- 
 *' culties of their Reafon and Will, unaf- 
 " filled by the fpecial Light and Grace of 
 " the Holy Ghoft, to perform all that is 
 " neceffary to Salvation j or that his fpe- 
 *' cial efficacious Light and Grace is not 
 *' neceffary to their converfion, perfeve- 
 " ranee, and final falvation. 
 
 " 4. That any of them whom God 
 " hath foreknown, predeftinated, and cal- 
 ^* led effedually according to the purpofe 
 
 « of 
 
2 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. " of his Grace, fliall fall away, either 
 II. *' totally, or io as not to be finally glo- 
 ■J" rified. 
 
 ** 5. That Faith, Repentance, a 
 ** holy Converfation, or any Ad or Work 
 " whatever done by us, or wrought by 
 ** the Spirit of God in us, are any Part 
 ** of that Righteoufncfs, for the fake of 
 " which, or on the account whereof, 
 " God doth juftify any man, or entitle 
 " him to eternal Life." 
 
 Th EN follows a Tedimony againft the 
 other Extreams, •u/z. Antinomian Errors. 
 
 Again, Anno 1696. in a Paper (cal I'd 
 ^he third Paper,) fent to our Brethren, we 
 thus give our fenfe.-'^ -'^ ^• 
 
 *' I. Concerning Jiijiification. That 
 ** altho' the exprefs Word of God do af- 
 *' fert the neceflity of Regeneration, to our 
 *' entring into the Kingdom of God ^ 
 ** and requires Kepentance, that our Sins 
 *' may be blotted out ; and Faith in 
 *' Chrift, that we may be juftitied ; and 
 *' Holinefs of heart and life, without 
 " which we cannot fee God : Yet that 
 ** none oj thefe, or any Work done by 
 ** Men, or wrought by the Spirit of God 
 ** in them, is, under any denomination 
 *' whatfoever *, any part of the Righte- 
 
 *' oujhejsy 
 
 * Note, It ii:as declared, that by the ^joords [under 
 any denomination whatfoever,] ct-^ exclude all Rigiueouf- 
 
An End to D if cord. 29 
 
 ** oufnefs^ for the fake, or on the account Chap. 
 *' whereof, God doth pardon, juftify, or II. 
 " accept Sinners, or entitle tliem to eter- 
 " nal Life, that being only the Righte- 
 *' oufnefs ofCbrift without them, imputed 
 ** to them, and received by Faith alone. 
 
 *' II. Of a Commutation of Perfons be- 
 " tween Chrifl and us. As we are to 
 " confider our Lord Jefus Chrift in his 
 " obedience and fufferings, as God and 
 *' Man inverted with the office of Media- 
 " tor ; fo it is apparent, this Commutation 
 " of F erf on s with us was not natural^ in 
 " refpedt of either Nature, by which his 
 " individual Subftance (liould become ours, 
 *' and ours his ; nor morale in refpe(5t of 
 " qualities or adlions, whereby he fhould 
 ** become inherently fmful, and we im- 
 " mediately (inlefs ; nor was it any change, 
 ** whereby his office of Mediator fhould 
 *' be transferred on us : But it is to be 
 " underftood \n 2. legale ov Judicial Sen(c^ 
 *' (as we may call it,) viz. He by agree- 
 *' ment between the Father and him, came 
 *' into our room and fie ad, not to repent 
 " and believe for us, which the Gofpel 
 *' requires of us as our Duty, (tho' he 
 " hath undertaken the Elect fliali in due 
 " time be enabled thereto j) but to an- 
 
 " fwer 
 
 nefs from heing meritoriou'i, or atoning, yea, or a procu- 
 ring caufe of thtfi henefts ; none is at all fo, hut the 
 RighteL-ufnelo of Chrill : But ive intended not to excliidcy 
 ^what the Gofpel requireth in order to our intereji in theje 
 benefits, gi^jcnfor the fake of Chrill's Righteoufnefs. 
 
Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 fwer for our violation of the Law of 
 works : He being made Sin for «i, who 
 knew no Sin, that ive i7iight be made the 
 Kightecujnefs of God in him. 2 Cor. 
 V. 21. 
 
 " III. Of God's being pleafed or dif- 
 pleafed with Chrifl, as ftanding and fuf- 
 fering in our ftead. We judge that 
 God was always pleafed vf'iih. Chrift, both 
 in his Perfon, and in the Execution of all 
 his Offices, (which is exprelTed moft 
 particularly in that of his Prieftly, John 
 X. 17, 18. Therefore doth my Father love 
 me, becaife I lay down my Life^ &c.) and 
 was no otherwife dijpleajed, than as having 
 a difpaffionate Will to inflidt upon him 
 the Punifhment of our Sins, which he 
 had undertaken to bear, that God might 
 without Injury to his Jiiftice or Honour, 
 pardon and fave penitent Believers for 
 his Satisfaction, and Interceffion found- 
 ed thereon." 
 
 We alfo, in 1697, delivered our Judg- 
 ment in this Propoff.l to our Brethren. 
 
 *' (i.) That Repentance towards God 
 " is commanded, in order to Remifiion 
 " of Sin. (2.) That Faith in Chriji is 
 ** commanded by the Gofpel, in order to 
 " the Juftification of our perlons before 
 " God, for the fake of the alone Righ- 
 " teoufnefe of Chrift: (3.) That the 
 ** Word of God requires Ferfeverance in 
 
 " true 
 
An End to Difcord. 31 
 
 true Faith and Holinefs, that we may Chap. 
 be partakers of the heavenly Glory. II. 
 (4.) That the Gofpel promifeth Pardon 
 through the blood of Chrift to the Pe- 
 nitent^ Juftification before God to the 
 Believer^ and the heavenly Glory to 
 fuch as perfevere in Faith and Holinefs ; 
 and alio declareth, that God will not 
 pardon the Impenitent, juftify the Un- 
 believer, nor glorify the Apoftate or 
 Unholy. (5.) That juftifying Faith is 
 not only a perfuafion of the underiland- 
 ing, but alfo a receiving and refting 
 upon Chrift alone for Salvation. (6.) 
 That by Change of Perfon is meant, 
 that whereas we were condemned for 
 our Sins, the Lord Jefus ^2S,fubJiituted in 
 our room J to bear the Punijh?jjent of our 
 Sins, for the SatisJa£lion of divine Juf- 
 tice, that whoever believes on him^ may be 
 acquitted and J'aved : But it is not in- 
 
 • tended, that the Filth of Sin was upon 
 Chrift, nor that he was a Criminal in 
 
 '• God's account. (7.) That by Chrift be- 
 
 • ing our Surety is meant, that Jefus Chrift 
 
 • our Mediator obliged himfelf to ex- 
 ' piate our Sins by his blood, and to pur- 
 ' chafe eternal Life for all that believe^ 
 ' and Faith and every faving Grace for 
 ' the Ele(5t: But it is not intended, 
 ' that we were legally reputed to make 
 ' Satisfaction, or to purchafe eternal Life. 
 ' (8.) That by Chrift's anfwering for us 
 
 *' the 
 
3 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. " the ObUgatiom of the violated Law of 
 II. " works is intended, tliat whereas the 
 
 y^V^^ *' Law obliged us to die for our Sins, 
 *' Chrifl: became obliged to die i?i our 
 " Jleady and whereas we were, after 
 *' we had finned, ftill obliged to yield 
 *' perfecSt obedience, Chrifl per fed ly o^^_y^^ 
 " the Law^ that upon the account of his 
 *' aSiive and paffiue obedience Believers 
 ** might be forgiven, and entided to eter- 
 ** nal Life : But it is not intended, that 
 *' the Senfe of the Law of works fliould 
 " be, that if we or Chrifl obeyd we fhould 
 *' live, and if Chriji fuff'ered we (hould not 
 *' die, iho we finned \ nor that Believers 
 ** are fufiified, or to h^ judged by the Law 
 " of works y but by the Gofpel ; altho' 
 ** the Righteoufnefs for the fake of which 
 *' they are juftified, be as pcrfcd: as that 
 ** Law of works required, and far more 
 « valuable." 
 
 CHAP. 
 
An End to D if cord. ZZ 
 
 CHAP. IIL 
 
 Tlje State of Truth and Error^ 
 fubliped in the Congregational 
 Minifters Declaration againft 
 Antinomian Errors, about De- 
 cember, 1698* 
 
 ^rror i. ' I ^HAT the eternal Decree CnAPi 
 
 I gives fuch an exigence to III. 
 the Juflification of the Elect, as makes 
 their State whilft in unbeHef, to be the 
 fame as when they do believe, in all refpedts 
 fave only as to the Manifeftation ; and that 
 there is no other Juflification by Faith, but 
 what is in their Confciences. 
 
 Truth. That there is 2. difference be- 
 tween the State of the Eled:, whilft in 
 unbelief, and when believers, befides what 
 is manifeftative to their Confciences. Z)f- 
 clar. pag,i2^ 
 
 Error 2. That the Ele(5l, confider* 
 ed as in their natural State, or as in the 
 firjl j^dam, are not under the denunciation 
 oi Wrath by the Law, as well as other un- 
 believing and impenitent Sinners. 
 
 Truth. That the Eled, before they 
 D believe. 
 
34 Peace nsoith Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, believe, are not perfonally and aSlually juf- 
 
 ifl. tified in the Court of Heaven; pag. 13. 
 
 K^^TSi and none may expedl to be pardoned in a 
 
 ilate of Unbelief and Impenitence. Fag 47. 
 
 Error 3. That pardoned Sin is no 
 Sin ; and therefore God cannot fee Sin in 
 his People, to be difpleajed with them for 
 their Sins ; nor doth God exprefs \\\'i> fa- 
 therly difpleafure againft them by any Af- 
 fli(flions laid upon them. 
 
 Truth. That pardoned, yea morti- 
 fied Sins, are truly and properly Si7is ; and 
 God feeth the Sins of his own People, and 
 is difpkafed with them for their Sins, 
 Fag, 18, 19. 
 
 Error 4. That Believers are not 
 bound to confcf or mourn over Sin, as 
 committed by them ; or to pray for Pardon 
 of Siny in making a daily acknowledg- 
 ment of a need of it, becaufe it was par- 
 doned I?efore committed 5 and pardoned Sin 
 is no Sin. 
 
 Truth. That when Believers do fin, 
 it is their Duty to humble themfelves, to 
 confefs their Sins, and pray for Pardon. 
 Pag. 19. 
 
 Error 5. That Believers ought not 
 to be afraid of committing Sin, becaufe 
 their Sins can do them no hurt. 
 
 Truth. The Sins of Believers do hurt 
 
 them, 
 
An End to Difcord. 35 
 
 them^ and they fliould be afraid to commit Chap. 
 them J feeing they impair their Graces and 
 Comforts, harden their Hearts, wound 
 their Confciences, hurt and fcandalize * 
 others, grieve God's holy Spirit, expofe to 
 la\s fatherly difpleafure, and bring tempo- 
 ral Judgments upon them. Pag. 22. 
 
 Error 6. That they muft do no 
 good Work or Duty for their own Benefit, 
 or with an Eye to their own Salvation. 
 
 Truth. That Believers mufl: do good 
 Works, expelling BleJJings in the perfor- 
 mance thereof. Pag. 24. 
 
 l^rror 7. That Believers not having 
 in themfelves an Ability to do good Works, 
 are not 'bound to perform any good Duty, 
 unlefs excited thereunto by a fpecial motion 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 Truth. Tho' Believers Ability to do 
 good Works is not at all in themfelves, but 
 wholly from the Spirit of Chrift, yet are 
 they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if 
 they were not bound to perform any Duty, 
 unlefs upon a fpecial motion of the Spirit ; 
 but they ought to be diligent in ftirring up 
 the Grace oi God that is in them. Pag. 27. 
 
 Error 8. That SanBification, evi- 
 denced by the Spirit of God to their Con- 
 fciences, is not a Sign, Mark, or Evidence of 
 their fujiification\ and xk\z.\.Marh and Sigm 
 D 2 for 
 
36 Peace with Truths or 
 
 Chap, for the trial of a Believer's Faith are 6f 
 
 III. no ufe -J for Faith lying in a full perfuafion 
 
 ^^V^^ and cijjhrance that their Perfons were adfu- 
 
 ' ally Ju/iifit' J dud pardoned in Chrift, it is a 
 
 Sin to qiKJHon, Whether they do favingly 
 
 believe, or no? 
 
 Truth. Saving Faith lieth not in a 
 ixxWperfuafion and ajfurancc that our Sins are 
 adually pardoned j but Marks and Signs 
 for the trial of our fpiritual Eftate are ii/e- 
 fiil, and to be fought after ; and Sancfiji- 
 cation^ evidenced by the Spirit of God to 
 our Confciences, is a certain Sign and Mark 
 of our Juftification. Tag. 27, 28. 
 
 'Error 9. That Gofpel-Minifters are 
 not to preach the Law in its Commands 
 and Cuifes, to convince Men of thtir need 
 of Chrilf ; nor are Believers obliged to re- 
 gard the Law as delivered by Mojes^ nor as 
 externally propounded j nor are they 
 bound, when they commit Sin, to look 
 to the Law for further difcoveries and con- 
 vidions of the remaining Corruptions that 
 are in them, becaufe by the Gofpel its 
 Obligations are diffolved. 
 
 Truth. That the Law delivered by 
 Mo/es continues in its Commands and 
 Curfes undijjbhed ; and it's ffill of Ufe to 
 ccwoince of Sin^ that wc may fee a need of 
 Chrift } and therefore it is to be preached 
 and externally propounded, and we are to 
 look unto it : Pag. 36. And tho' there is 
 
 no 
 
A7t End to Difcord. 27 
 
 no S'm fo f mall h\it it deferves Damnation, Chap. 
 yet there is no Sin Jo great that it fliall III. 
 bring Damnation to them that truly repent j 
 which makes the condznt preacbing of Re- 
 pent a?ice necefTary. Pag. 39. 
 
 Error 10. That Minifters of the 
 Gofpel ought not to propound the Offers 
 of Salvation^ unto all thofe to whom God 
 calls them to preach; ferioufly inviting 
 them to improve the Means of Grace, that 
 they may be faved ; and afluring them in 
 the way of their minifterial duty, of the 
 Salvation of all fuch as believe in Chrift ; 
 bccaufe they want Ability to clofe with 
 the Offer, and all fliall not be faved. 
 
 Truth. That tho' men want Ability 
 to believe favingly, yet it's the Duty of 
 Gofpel Minifters to make the Offer ^ and 
 to teftify to them, that whoever Relieves and 
 repents fjall be faved; and that it's the 
 People's Duty, to make ufe of their natu^ 
 ral Faculties, with fuch external Mc^ans 
 and workings of the Spirit, as God affords 
 them, that they may believe, repent, and 
 be faved. Pag, 41, 42. 
 
 Error ii« That by God's lay i?2g our 
 Sins upon Chrift^ he became every way as 
 finful as we, and we every way as righte- 
 ous as he ; and that therefore perfons may 
 expedt to be pardoned, whilft they conti- 
 nue in a flate of Unbelief and Impeni* 
 P 3 tence ; 
 
3 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, tcnce ; and that continued Repentance and 
 
 III. Holinefs are not in the nature of the thing, 
 
 \yV^^ nor by the conftitution of the Gofpel, ne- 
 
 cejjary to our being pofTefled of eternal 
 
 • Life. 
 
 T^ruth. Our Sins were not laid upon 
 Chrijly fo as to make him every way as 
 Jinfiil as isoCy and we are not every way ai 
 righteous as Chrift j and none may expe6t 
 to be pardoned in a flate of Unbelief and 
 Impenitence ; and continued Repentance 
 and Holinefs are neceffary to our pofTeflioji 
 of eternal Life. Pag. 46, 47. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 It is made evident^ that this De- 
 claration of our Brethren, taken 
 altogether^ and examined with 
 due Charity a?2d Candour^ ought 
 to he acknowledged a fufiicient 
 Vindication of the Approvers 
 thereof from all hurtful Anti- 
 nomian Errors* 
 
 Chap. 'nr^O this end, L We think that Chrif- 
 IV. JL tian Charity and Candour oblige us, 
 to judgp of what they have declared by 
 
 thefe 
 
An End to Di/cord. 39 
 
 tliefe following Rules; and we exped thcCHAP. 
 fame for our felves from them. ( i .) That IV. 
 the omiffion of any Points unmentioned^ is ' — ^— ' 
 not to be attributed to a miftaken Judg- 
 ment concerning them ; and far lefs, when 
 the things exprefled are granted to be Truths 
 or Errors upon a reafon that alike infers 
 what is omitted. (2,) That the Approvers , 
 do truly intend for fubftance what is de- 
 clared. (3.) That in a Body of Suhjcri" 
 berSj fome few may be more narrow in their 
 conceptions ; and therefore, to avoid a 
 Breach, muft be accommodated in the 
 phrafing of fome Points, beyond what the 
 others, if at full liberty, would either need 
 or chufe. (4.) If any thing be a little 
 darkly or fufpicioufly worded in one part, 
 and rnore exprefsly and fully in another, the 
 latter muft be the Index of their Judg- 
 ment J upon which account we cite not 
 only their State of Error and Truth, but 
 refer to the Pages containing their Expli- 
 cations and approved Authorities, fome of 
 which will be mentioned afterwards. (5.) 
 That they ought not to be charged with 
 the Confequences of any occafional PafTages, 
 which they difovvn. 
 
 II. These juft Rules being admitted, 
 we (hall enumerate the hurtful Antinomian 
 Errors, as Antinomianifm is defcribed in 
 the laft Age, (which in many things dif- 
 fers from what was fo called at firft,) and 
 under each refer you to the places, (befides 
 D.4 the 
 
40 Peace with l*ruth ; or 
 
 Chap, the abovementioned State of Error and 
 1V» Truths) wherein the Brethren havefolaud- 
 L/^V^ ^b^y vindicated themfelves by their Deck- 
 ration. 
 
 The dangerous Parts oi Antinomianifm 
 are reducible to thefe general Heads, [i.] 
 As it renders the Miniftry unapt to its pro- 
 , per Ends. [2.] As it tends to Liber tinifm 
 in Pradice. [3.] As it hinders a well- 
 grounded j^Jjurance^ and encourageth Fre- 
 fumption. And, [4.] As it reproacheth 
 Chrift our blefled Redeemer. Againlt each 
 of which our Brethren bear their Tefli- 
 mony. 
 
 [i.J The hurtful Antinomian Brron, 
 ' which render the Minijiry unapt to its 
 proper Ends, are, (i.) Unduly limit- 
 ing the Offers of Sahatio?2, and decry- 
 ing Arguments to excite Sinners to ufi 
 their Endeavours under the afliftance 
 of Gofpel- Means and common Grace. 
 Againft this ke Error 10. and from pag. 
 41, to 4j5. (2.) Forbidding and branding 
 as legaly the preaching of Duties and 
 Threatnings, and the applying of promifed 
 Benefits as Motives to Faith and other Du- 
 ties, whereto ihofe Benefits are promifed. 
 Againft which fee Error 9. and pag. 36, 
 39. Error 6. and pag. 25, 26, 45. (3.) 
 Denying that the Eled: whilft imconvertedy 
 are under the Curfe of the Law ; and af- 
 firming they are united to Chrift, and 
 jujlified before God, and pardoned, whilft 
 
 impenitent 
 
An End to Difcord, 41 
 
 impenitent Infidels. Againft which fee Chap. 
 Errors i, 2, 11. and fag, 12, to 18. and IV. 
 
 47.5s- . . '^'^ 
 
 [2.] The hurtful Antijiomian Errors 
 tending to Libertinijm in Pradtice, befides 
 the Impediments to a Sinner's convidion 
 and converfion under the fore-mentioned 
 Head of the Minijiry^ are fuch as thcfe : 
 (i.) That God feeth no Sin in his People, 
 accounts them not their Sins but Chrift's, 
 and is not difpka/eJ with his People, nor 
 affli(fls them y^r their Sins. Againft which 
 fee Error 3. and pag. 19. (2.) That Re- 
 pentance is not necejfary to Forgivenefs ; 
 nor are Believers to mourn for Sin, or to 
 beg Pardon, nor to confefs it, unlefs it 
 be to fhew, for Chrift'^s glory, how many 
 the Sins are which are become his. Againft 
 which fee Error 4. 2irA pag. 19,20,21, 
 47, 58. (3.) That their Sijis can do Be- 
 lievers no hurt. Againft this fee Error 5. 
 pag. 22. 23. (4.) That we ought not to 
 intend our own Benefit by our Duties, nei- 
 ther are bound to perform Duties unlefs 
 excited thereto by the Spirit, nor are any 
 Ads of our Obedience rewardable ; and 
 that continued Repentance and HoU7iefs are 
 not by the conftituiion of the Gofpel ne~ 
 cejjary to our being pofiefted of eternal 
 Life. Againft this fee Errors 6, 10, ii. 
 and pag. 2Sy 26, 27,47,58, 59. (5.) 
 That jujiifying Faith is a Perfuafion, that 
 Chrift is mine, and that my Sins are par- 
 doned 
 
Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 doned in Chrift. Againft this fee Error 
 8. ^iudipag. 30, 31. 
 
 [3.] The hurtful Antinomian Error 
 which hinders a well-grounded j^fjurance 
 and Peace, and alfo encourages Prefump' 
 tion^ is, that befides the laft defcription of 
 Faith^ we are not to try our State by 
 marks and figns of Sandlification. Againft 
 this fee Error 8. and pag, 32, 33, 34. 
 
 [4.] The \\\m^\j\ Antinomian Errors vt^ 
 proachful to Chriji our Redeemer, are 
 iuch as thefe ; that Chrift is as finful as 
 we, and we are as righteous as Chri/i. 
 Againft which fee Error 1 1. and pag, 48, 
 
 57- 
 
 If the Reader confult thefe places, 
 
 and compare them with our State of Truth 
 
 a?2d Error in the Jirjl Chapter, he cannot 
 
 but rejoice in our Brethrens Agreement 
 
 with us in a Teflimony againft Antimmi-* 
 
 anifm. 
 
 CUAl\ 
 
An End to D if cord. 43 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 SOCINIAN Errors concern- 
 ing Chrijfs Satisfaction: Alfo 
 Limborch'j, with fome other Ar- 
 minians, concerning Chrijts Sa- 
 tisfadion. SOCINIAN 
 Errors as to Juftification : Lini- 
 borch'j'j with fome other Armi- 
 nian Errors^ about Juftification. 
 With a State of Truths oppojite 
 to each of thefey as alfo to Po- 
 pifti Errors. 
 
 F^ IN DING our Brethren fuggeftCnAP. 
 in the Preface to this Declaration^ V". 
 that after all we have faid, (in Chap, i,O^VNJ 
 and 2.) yet ftill we ought to do more to 
 df charge ourfelves from hurtful 'Errors a- 
 bout Chrifl's SatisfaBion^ and our fiiftifi- 
 cation j we fhall, to promote Peace, re- 
 nounce feveral more Errors about thofe 
 two Docftrines wherein we are fufpeded, 
 ^nd tell them what we think to be 
 Truths, 
 
 lE,rror 
 
Peac& 'With- Truth ; or 
 
 'Error i. Punitive Juftice againfl: 
 Sin is no property of God, but only an 
 efFedl of his Will, and therefore there was 
 no need of any SatisfaStion to be made by 
 Chrift for Sin ; nor is it lefs than ridiculous 
 to fay, God was at once jujl as well as 
 merciful in bringing about our Salvation by 
 Chrift. Socin. Opera Theol. torn. i. Pra- 
 le5l. cap. \6. & torn. ii. de Servafor, par, 
 1. cap. I. Fr<zle^, cap. i6. Woltzog. 
 in Mat. xix. 28. Crell. Refp. ad Grot, 
 cap. I. 
 
 ^ruth. God is efTentially y^/?, and fo 
 zealous for the Honour of his Law when 
 enadted, and his Government^ that Sin 
 muft not go unpunished ; and therefore if 
 Sinners be faved from the Punilhments 
 threatned by the violated Law for Chrift 
 their Mediator's fake, it was neccjfary that 
 he made SatisfaBion to Punitive Juftice 
 by enduring the penal efFeds of God's 
 • wrath. 
 
 "Error 2. Jesus Christ is not the 
 true eternal viofl High God, of the fame 
 fubftance, authority and power with the 
 Father. Socin. torn. ii. Refponf. ad Jac. 
 Vujeki, cap. i, &c. 
 
 Truth. Jesus Christ is the true 
 eternal moll High God, of the fame fub- 
 ftance, authority and power with the Fa- 
 thcfi and in time allumed the Human 
 
 Nature, 
 
An "End to DifcorJ. 45 
 
 Nature, and remaineth God-Man for Chap. 
 evermore. V. 
 
 Note^ This Article is inferted, becaufe 
 the Value of Chrift's obedience and death, 
 for SatisfaBion and Merits was derived 
 from the Dignity of Chrilt's Perfon as 
 God : And therefore tho' the Socinians 
 faintly argue, that if Chrifl: were the eter- 
 nal God, it would not render his death a 
 Satisfidion ; yet it's evident, their great 
 concern in denying Chrift's Satisfadlion is 
 to prevent the unanfwerable Argument 
 this would be for his Deity. The like is 
 alfo to be feen by their notion of the 
 Lord's-Supper. 
 
 Error 3. Christ did not by his 
 blood acquire or purchafe the Gofpel- Co- 
 venant, nor was his death an impulfive 
 Caufe of God's promiiing to men the blef- 
 fings of that Covenant ; nor did it move 
 him to make fuch Promif'^s : But Chrift 
 was only the Mediatory that is, the Spon- 
 Jor of it, who afTured men that God would 
 accomplifh it, and who in God's name, 
 and by his command, performed fuch 
 things as belonged to the confirming and 
 executing of the faid Covenant, Socin. 
 torn. ii. pag. 168, 199. Crell. 'vol. i. pag, 
 612. £5? vol. iii. Refp. ad Grot. pag. 19, 
 128, 171. 
 
 Truth. Christ did not only confirm 
 the Golpel-Covenant to men, and do luch 
 
 things 
 
4.6 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. t^'"gs as belonged to the execution of the 
 y^ Gofpel-Promifes; but God as Governor 
 made thofe Promiles in confideration of the 
 death of Chriji^ as what vindicated the 
 Glory of his Government in offering and 
 promifing fuch bleflings to condemn- 
 ed Sinners ^ altho' as our abfolute Lord and 
 Proprietor he freely purpofed within him- 
 felf, that thofe bleffings fliould be granted 
 in what method he judged fit. 
 
 Error ./{.. Christ was for no other 
 caufe a Mediator^ nor fo called, but that 
 he was appointed by God a middle Perfon 
 between himfelf and men j not that he 
 (hould appeaje God towards men, but that 
 he fliould declare God already pacified to 
 them, and moft evidently confirm the fame 
 by himfelf: And as for men who were 
 haters of and enemies to God, them he 
 was to reconcile to God, (that is, to con- 
 vert them,) and be their eternal Lawgiver, 
 and faithful Interpreter of the divine Will 
 to them, by whom they might always 
 have accefs to God, and obtain eternal 
 Life. Socin. torn. i. pag. 788. 
 
 T^ruth. Jesus Christ was by divine 
 adjuftment a middle Perjbn between God 
 and Sinners, and as fuch laid his hand on 
 both \ undertaking to appeafe God's wrath, 
 and procure Salvation for us at his hand ; 
 and alfo to make God and the way of Sal- 
 vation known to us, for our Reconcilia- 
 tion 
 
An End to Dtfcord, 47 
 
 tion and Obedience to God : And by him Chap. 
 God ftill imparts his bleffings to us, and 
 admits us to a free accefs to himfelf. 
 
 "Error 5. Christ is called ^ Surety^ 
 as a Sponfor or Meflenger on God's part 
 to us ; but he promifed nothing to God for 
 us. Crell. vol. i. pag, 612. 
 
 Truth. Tho' Chrift was not a joint fe- 
 derating Party with us in the Covenant of 
 iiDorks, yet he was not only a Surety on 
 God's part to us, but he was a mediating 
 Surety on both parts ; and as fuch, he en- 
 gaged in the Covenant of 'Redemption to 
 make Atonement for us, and in the GofpeU 
 Ccveitant, that all true Believers {hall perfe- 
 vere to the obtaining of eternal Life. 
 
 Error 6. Christ was not an High- 
 Prie/i while on Earthy nor was his Blood 
 offered by him to God ; but it was hi?nfelf 
 was offered, and that not on the Crofs, but 
 when he entered into Heaven: Yet the 
 death of Chrifl fo far belongs to his Prieft- 
 hood, that he was prepared by his death 
 to become a High- Priefl, and to offer him- 
 felf a perfedt Sacrifice for Sin in Heaven 5 
 neither of which could be, according to 
 the Decree of God, if his death had not 
 intervened. Crell. vcL iii. Rfp. ad Grot, 
 cap, 10. vol. i. pag. 613. & vol. ii. par. 
 I. pag, 1 02. Socin. torn. i. PraleSf, 
 Tkeol. cap, 23. 
 
 T^ruth, 
 
Peace with Truth \ or* 
 
 Truth. Christ was an High-Priefl 
 while he was on Earth, and as fuch upon 
 the Crofs offered up himfelf by his bloody 
 death a perfect Sacrifice, whereby his 
 Blood was a propitiatory Offering at the 
 very time it was (hed j and tho' in the 
 virtue thereof the Saints were faved before 
 his Incarnation, and Chrift for ever inter- 
 cedeth in Heaven, yet the prefenting of 
 himfelf or it there, makes no addition to 
 the Perfection of it as a Sacrifice. 
 
 'Error J. There is no ufe nor pkce 
 in the Priejlhood of Chrifl, for appeafing 
 God's wrath, or offering any Sacrifice, no 
 jiot in Heaven, as a condition of obtain^ 
 ing Remiffion properly as from God, or 
 impetrating the fame : But Chrifl's death 
 is a means of our enjoying that Remifiion 
 from God, and it was indiredly a condi- 
 tion thereof as to be given to us ; that is, 
 it was a condition impofed on Chrifl, with- 
 out which, by the divine Decree, he was 
 not to obtain Authority from God to for- 
 give us our Sins ; and it may be called a 
 Sacrifice to God's mercy, as of his own 
 free Grace reconciled, but not as offended 
 . with Sinners. Socin. toni, ii. pag. 665, 
 666. Crell. "vol i. pag. 612. Woltzog. in 
 yoh. iii. 16. 
 
 Truth. The firfl and principal ufe of 
 Chrifl's Priefthood, was to offer on the 
 Crofs a Sacrifice to appeafe God's wrath 
 
 againfl 
 
An End to Difcord. 49 
 
 againfl: Sinners, and to impetrate Remlf-CHAP,' 
 fion and eternal Lifcj that (o God the of- • V. 
 fended Governor might, confiftently with' 
 the honour of his Law, and of all his di- 
 vine Perfections, be at liberty, and inclin- 
 ed, as well to give the faid Bleffings, as 
 that we might become adtual Partakers of 
 them from Chrift, as authorized to apply. 
 them to us : And all the other Sacerdotal 
 Ads of Chrift do refer to this. 
 
 Error 8. Redemption mentioned 
 in the New Teftament, fignifies no more 
 nor other, than a freeing us from the Pu- 
 nifliment of Sin without any proper Price 
 intervening: And when it's faid, Redemp- 
 tion is obtained by the blood of Chrift^ it is 
 not meant, that the blood of Chrift could 
 move God, or that God was thereby oblig- 
 ed to grant us deliverance from the PuniQi- 
 ment of our Sins ; but that the fliedding 
 of his blood ought to intervene, that we 
 might be moved thereby to accept that de- 
 liverance when offered to us. Neither did 
 Chrift buy us, but God by Chrift alTerted 
 his Right to us 5 and tho* our deliverance 
 from Punifhment is gotten as if by a 
 Price, yet this is not as if the blood of 
 Chrift were paid to any. Socin. torn. i. 
 Prc^leSl, Theol. cap. 19. & torn, ii. pag, 
 145, 147. Slichting. in Rom. v. 10. 
 
 .Truth. Redemption by the blood of 
 
 Chrift^ is, that we are bought by his blood 
 
 E as 
 
50 Peace mth "Truth \ or 
 
 Chap, as a proper Price, and delivered from the 
 V. curfe of the Law, and captivity under Sin 
 ^Or^ and Satan, as by a proper Ranfom paid to 
 the juft Governor of the world. 
 
 Rrror 9. Christ by his death did 
 not reconcile God to us, but he reconcileth 
 , us to God by his death, that is, we come 
 thereby to be converted to God, and ceafe 
 to offend him j yea, God's anger was fo far 
 from being appeafed by the death of Chrifl, 
 that thereby it was declared, that God was 
 before pacified to us. Socin, torn. i. pag. 
 144, 145, 665, 666. Crell. vol. iii. Rejp, 
 ad Grot, pag, 154, 155. Slichting. torn, 
 ii, pag. 214, 401. & in Rom. v. lo. & 
 2 Cor. V. 18. 
 
 Truth. We being Children of wrath 
 becaufe of our Sin, the Lord Jefus did by 
 bis death atone our offended God, who 
 became thereby fo reconciled, that he of- 
 fereth Peace to Sinners, and requireth and 
 urgeth us by believing aright to accept 
 thereof; and upon our penitent believing 
 he becomes aSlually reconciled to us, de- 
 lighting in us, and dealing with us as Ob- 
 jeds of his reftored Favour. 
 
 Note, [i] Crellius, Rejp. ad Grot. cap. 
 8. part. 3. difputes againft this, as the Er- 
 ror of Grotiiis and the reft of the Ortho- 
 dox, ftating it in thefe words; '' God 
 " was before angry, but being appeafedby 
 *' the death of Chrift he determined to lay 
 
 " afidc 
 
An End to T>ifcorJ, 5 1 
 
 ^'^ afide his Anger ; and upoq our believ-CnAP. 
 " ing and repenting he doth equally lay V. 
 " afide his Anger." '•^-v — ^ 
 
 [2.] Grotius, de Satisf. cap. y. dlftin- 
 guiflieth the ablings of the divine Will; 
 as, (i.) Before Chrift's death is decreed, 
 &c. then God is angry with the Sinner, 
 yet io as not to be averfe to all methods of 
 Reconciliation. (2.) Upo?i Chrift's deaths 
 (as well when fixed, as when undergone,) 
 then God not only appoints the way, but 
 promifeth to be reconciled. (3.) When a man 
 believes in Chrift with a right Faith, and 
 Chriftaccording to the tenor of the Covenant 
 prefents the believer to God ; then God lays 
 afide his Anger, and receives the perfon into 
 Favour, (or is adiually reconciled.) 
 
 [3.] How little do well-meaning Antl- 
 nomiam confider, that not only in the third 
 'Error ^ &c. but in this lafi Error ^ they 
 agree with the Sociniam'^ and that in a 
 Point, whence mofl: of their falfe notions a- 
 bout Chrift's Satisfa&ion proceed. For, 
 fee you not ? they hold, that after God's 
 abfolute Decree to juftify us, there is no 
 wrath in God to appeafe, the change is 
 only on our part ; and no Reconciliation 
 but on our fJe^ whom God begs to be 
 reconciled to him, he being already at 
 Peace with us. 
 
 Error 10. By Chrift's dying for our 
 
 Sins as being laid on hivi^ is not meant, 
 
 E 2 that 
 
5 2 Peace with l*ruth ; or 
 
 Chap, that Chrift according to his Sponfion y^//i- 
 V. fied Divine Jujiice for our Sins, or that he 
 
 v-'^V'^ paid to God any thing which we owed for 
 our Sins : But when he is faid to have 
 died for our Sins as they were laid on him, 
 nothing elfe is meant, but that he died by 
 occafion of our Sins, to take them away ; 
 that is, he died to reclaim us from our 
 Sins, and to ajj'ure us, that if we did leave 
 our Sins we ftiould be forgiven ; and be- 
 lides this, that we might perceive and ob- 
 tain the fruit of that Forgivenefs, &c. 
 Socin. torn. ii. pag. 153. & torn, i. Pra- 
 leB, ^heol. cap. 18, 20. Crell. vol. iii. 
 Kefp. ad Grot. cap. 9. 
 
 Truth. When it's faid, Chrijl died for 
 our Sins as being laid on him^ it's not only 
 to bring about the forementioned Ends, 
 and fuch other Purpofes as are affigned by 
 the Socinians ; but they were imputed to 
 him as what he had for our Salvation en- 
 gaged to make Satisfad;ion for ; and he did 
 by his death make a real, full, and pro- 
 per Satisfadiion to God's Juftice, vindica- 
 ting the honour of his Juftice and Go- 
 vernment, and of the violated Law as ful- 
 ly, as if the pardoned Sinner had endured 
 the utmoft Punifhment threatned by the 
 fiid Law. 
 
 Error 11. God did not infli6l death 
 on ChriH: our Mediator to exprefs his ha- 
 tred of Sin, and to deter us from it by his 
 
 death 
 
An End to Difcord, 
 
 death as any inftance of divine Dlfplea- 
 fure againfl our Offences ; and therefore 
 our Sins were not punijhed in Chrift. So- 
 cin. torn, i. pag. c^jj, 578, 581. & torn. 
 ii. pag. 194, Crell. vol, i. de morte Chrijli ^ 
 pag. 61 1. 
 
 Truth. God did piinifi our Sins m the 
 death of Chrift, by fhewing his real hatred 
 againji Sin in all the extremities Chrift did 
 endure ; which extremities and death thus 
 inflidled, were not only fit, but truly de- 
 fign'd, to deter us from all Difobedience, 
 againft which God thus teftified his high 
 Difpleafure, 
 
 Error 12. Chpist did not by his 
 death properly merit Salvation or any other 
 thing for us, nor did he by the Merit of 
 his great Obedience appeafe God's Anger. 
 Socin. torn. ii. de Servat. part. 3. cap. 6. 
 pag. 205. Ruari £/>//?. 164. Smal. Difp, 
 2. contr. Frantz. 
 
 Truth. Ch r I s t by his death and o- 
 bedience did properly merit our Salvation, 
 and the Reconciliation of God to us ; his 
 death being to be confidered, firft as fatis- 
 fadory, and then meritorious j and his 
 obedience, firft as meritorious, and then 
 fatisfadory. 
 
 Error 13. By Chrift's dying for us, 
 
 or in our ftead, (as fome of them fome- 
 
 times word it, tho' they exprefsly difpute 
 
 E 3 againft 
 
5 4 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 CHAP.againft it,) is not meant, that Chrift was 
 V. fubrtituted to die in the room of us who 
 were condemned to die, that God might 
 be pacified j nor that his death was in- 
 ftead of our death, that we for the Merit 
 of it might be delivered : But the meaning 
 is, that ChnU for cur good did by his death 
 come to be crowned with Glory and Pow- 
 er, whereby he is able to make us meet 
 for Pardon, and is authorized to give that 
 Pardon to us. Socin. PrceleB. cap. 20, 
 21. ^ de Servat. cap. 8. Crell. Refp. ad 
 Grot. cap. 9. par. i, &c. 
 
 Truth. By Chiift's dying for us^ and 
 in our /lead, is meant, that whereas we 
 Sinners were condemned to die for our 
 Sins, our Lord Jefus, tho' he became not 
 a Sinner in our ftead, yet as Mediator, he 
 was fubftituted to die in our ftead, that 
 by his death God m.ight be inclined to for- 
 give us who otherwife muft have died ; 
 (and by virtue of his death, as a Satisfac- 
 tion to Divine Juftice, we are delivered 
 from Death.) This Parenthefis I add to 
 the defcription Grotius gives of Chrift*s 
 dying in our ftcad : De Satisf cap. 9. 
 
 Limborch's Opinion of Chriji's 
 SatisfaBion^ confonant to Epijcopius 
 and fome few other Arminians. 
 
 Error 14. Vindictive Juftice re- 
 mired not Satisf aBion to be made, in order 
 
 to 
 
Aft End to Difcord* 5 5 
 
 to the remiffion of Sin. Limbor, Tbeol.CnAV. 
 Chrijiian. lib. iii. cap. 18. § 4. V. 
 
 Irufk Vindictive Juftice for the </WJ 
 Honour of the divine Law required Satisfac- 
 tion in order to the remiffion of Sin, at 
 lead after the enadino; of Adam\ Cove- 
 
 nant. 
 
 "Error 15. Christ's Sufferings were 
 not a full SatisfaBion to Juftice, nor was the 
 Price of our Redemption fully equivalent 
 to the mifery we deferved : But God might 
 accept as a redeeming Price much or little 
 as himfelf judged fit, and might be fatis- 
 fied with any fort of AfBidlion laid on 
 Chrift : Nor did Chrift fatisfy the rigor of 
 divine Juftice, but the Will of God, con- 
 lidered as at once merciful as well as juft ; 
 (that is, Mercy abated to Chrifi in the terms 
 of SatisfaBiony what Juftice demanded.) 
 Lib. iii. cap. 2. §. 8, 9. cap. 22. §. 2. 
 cap. 23. §. 6. 
 
 Truth. Tho* the great Mercy of God 
 appeared in his being willing to admit, ac- 
 cept, and provide Chrift our Mediator to 
 make Satisfadlion for our Sins ; yet God 
 our juft Governor would have it, that the 
 terms oi SatisfaStion propofed to our Me- 
 diator (hould be fuch, as firiB fuflice de- 
 manded for the honour of his violated 
 Law, and fecuring the ends of his Govern- 
 ment ; which terms were no lower, than 
 that he fhould fuffer what was fully equi- 
 E 4 valent 
 
56 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 CuAV. valent to the Punifhments they whom he 
 V. was to redeem deferved to endure : And 
 
 V'V^ as our Lord Jefus did fuffer in kmd much 
 of what we deferved to fuffer ; fo he fuf- 
 fered (coniidering the Dignity and Innp- 
 cency of his Perfon,) what was in the 
 intrinfick Value fulfy equivale?2t to fuch of 
 our deferved Punifhments, as he was not 
 capable of fufFering i?i kind. Nay, the 
 Price of our Redemption paid by him, was 
 not only equivalent to what the Law of 
 Works required of us, but it was fupra- 
 legal, that is, far exceeded what any Sin- 
 ners were thereby obliged to ; nor fee we 
 how a full SatisfaBion for all our Sin^ 
 could be otherwife made. 
 
 Error 16. Our Faith and Regenera- 
 tion were not merited by Chrift. Lib, iii. 
 cap. 22. §. 3. 
 
 Truth. Considering that our New- 
 birth and Faith are the fruits of the holy 
 Spirit, whom by Sin we had expelled, his 
 Return to regenerate and make us believ- 
 ers muft be for the fake and with refpe6l 
 to the Merits of Chrift, as what vindicated 
 the honour of God who reftored him to us. 
 
 Truth. No Penance, Pilgrimage, Faft- 
 jngs, ox good Works J of our own, or other 
 men, can make proper Satisfa5iion to di- 
 yine Juftice for the leaft of our Sins, as 
 |Q any part of their Fault or Guilt. 
 ' ' ' ' ■ Thi§ 
 
An 'End to Difcord. 5 7 
 
 This laft we add, in oppofition to what Chap. 
 PopifJo Opinions feem to militate againft V, 
 the Doctrine of Chrift's Satisfadlion. 
 
 Soc I N I A N Notions of J unification. 
 
 Error i. In our Nullification by Chrifi 
 our Sins are blotted out, not by Chrift's 
 death and obedience as any Compenfation 
 or SatisfaBioji to God for them, but only 
 by God's fimple Forgivenefs and Pardon, 
 abfolutely free in all refpedts, without any 
 Merit of Chrift's or our own. Socin. torn, 
 \, PrceleSi. Theol. cap. 15, 16. Crell. 'vol. 
 i. in Phil. iii. 9. ^ in Rom. iii. 24. 
 
 Truth. In yuftification^ upon our peni- 
 tent believing our Sins arc pardoned, and 
 our Per fons accepted /or //6fy2?;^f of Chrift's 
 death and obedience, as what compenfated 
 and made SatisfaBion for our Sins : And 
 tho' neither our Graces nor Works ^o merit 
 our Pardon, Acceptance, or eternal Life, 
 yet thefe with all other faving Benefits 
 were merited by Chrift. 
 
 Note, The Socinians are as much for 
 abfolutely unlimited free Grace, as even 
 our Antinomiam would pretend to be, if 
 pot more. 
 
 Error 2. Faith in Chrift is accepted 
 under the Gofpel as a perfedt Righteouf- 
 nefy for a perfed: finlefs Obedience : And 
 as this Faith exprefTeth it felf in our Works^ 
 
 our 
 
58 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, our Juftification is in it felf firmer and furer. 
 V. Crell, 'vol. i. pag, no, 612, 613, 474. 
 
 Truth I. Tho' true Faith be a GofpeU 
 RighteoufnefSy yet it is not accepted for 
 Jinlefs Obedience ; nor doth the Gofpel en- 
 title us to Salvation upon our believing^ as 
 the Law entitled us to Life as of Debt for • 
 our Obedience^ as the immediate Merit of 
 that Reward by the adjuftment of govern- 
 ing Juftice ; whereas the Gofpel of mere 
 Grace (tho' in a way of Government,) en- 
 titles the Believer to Life, as what was 
 merited by the Lord Jefus, and not by 
 our Faith or Works. 
 
 Truth. 2. Tho* a dead Faith cannot 
 juftify us, and our believing Confent muft 
 be executed if we i'urvive it ; yet are we 
 as truly and firmly jiifiifed, and in Chriffc's 
 Right entitled to Glory, wheti we firji be- 
 lieve, as when ihofe genuine Fruits of it 
 are produced, which are contrary to that 
 Barrennefs, Ungodlinefs, and Apoflacy that 
 would fubjedl us to Condemnation. 
 
 We {hall alfo provide again ft Z//;;;^5r<:/6*s 
 and fome other Anninians Notion of Juf- 
 tification j tho' it be none of the five Points 
 which conftitute Arminianifm, and in the 
 former Papers we have oppofed each of 
 the faid Points, in concurrence with our 
 Britifi Divines in the Synod of Dort, 
 
 Error 3. By Faith being imputed for 
 
 Rigltco: fiefs. 
 
An End to Difcord, 59 
 
 Righfeoufnefs, is meant, that God graclouf-CHAP, 
 ly for Chrift's fake will account our Obedi- V. 
 ence which we yield him by Faith as if it - — v-^^ 
 were pcrfeB^ tho' it be imperfed : As if a 
 Creditor having a Debtor who owes him 
 1000 Gilders^ {hould upon this Debtor's 
 paying him lOO, forgive him the reft, and 
 gracioufly impute to him this part oj pay- 
 ment for the payment of the whole. Lib. 
 yi. cap, 4. §.39. 
 
 Truth. Tho' we arejuftified hy Chriji 
 believed on^ and Faith in him be accounted 
 a GofpeWRighteoufnefSy as it is the perform- 
 ed Condition upon which we are by the 
 Gofpel-Promife adjudged to have the Righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chrift imputed to us as our 
 pleadable Security againft the curfe of the 
 Law ; by which Righteoufnefs of Chrift: 
 alone, our Right to Pardon and eternal 
 Life (wherein we are perfonally inverted 
 by the Gofpel,) is merited, as well as the 
 Bleftings themfelves : Neverthelefs our 
 Faith in Chrift is no part of the Debt we 
 owed to God by the Lavi^ of Innocency ; 
 nor is it, or our iincere Obedience pro- 
 ceeding from it, either in themfelves, or 
 by divine acceptance, a full Conformity to 
 the Gofpel-Precepts j much lefsdoth God 
 impute to us this Faith, or that Obedience, 
 for the payment of the whole Debt owing 
 by the Law or Gofpel, tho' he grant us 
 thereupon that Pardon, Favour,, and Ac- 
 ceptance, Chrift hath procured, fo -as .to' 
 ' deal 
 
6o Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. <^eal with us as righteous Perfons -, and thefc 
 V. he doth not fufpend, until Faith produceth 
 the faid Fruit of Obedience, but grants 
 them upon our firft true purpofe to turn 
 from Sin to God, and our acceptation of 
 and truft in Chrift for doing this, and for 
 obtaining all Salvation by him. 
 
 We fliall next add the common Popijh 
 Notion of Juftification, as ftated by An- 
 dradius in his authorized Explication of the 
 Decree of the Vlth Se/jion of the Council of 
 Trent j whereto Bellarmhie, and the ge- 
 nerality of the Papijis agree. 
 
 Error 4. The firji Juftification is the 
 Renovation of an ungodly Man by the 
 infufed habit of Love, the infufion of 
 which is merited by Chrift. The fecond 
 Juftification is this habit of Love produ- 
 cing good Works, by the Merit whereof 
 we are further juftificd, and ex condigno 
 deferve eternal Life. But neither the firfi 
 nor feco7id. Juftification confifls in the for- 
 givenefi of Sin. 
 
 Note, By preparatory Works the Coun- 
 cil intend with the School-men, that our 
 Wills moved by the Spirit do by their 
 natural Power prepare themfelves to obtain 
 the habit of Grace, and ex congruo, merit 
 the infufion of it ; which Habit is that 
 jujiifyi?2g Right eoiifncj's^ for the Merit where- 
 of 
 
An End to DifcorL 6i 
 
 of the Sinner is at firft abfolved from Chap* 
 Guilt, and accepted to eternal Life. V. 
 
 '^ruth I.- Neither this ^r/? nor y^- 
 cond Juftification is the Nullification de- 
 fcribed ufually in the Gofpel, which is not 
 the Converfion of a Sinner, or the progref- 
 five Holinefs of a Convert, but 2^ forenfick 
 Adt, 'viz. God's judicial abfolving us from 
 the Curfe due for Sin, and adjudging us 
 entitled to Glory for the Merits of Chrift, 
 according to the Gofpel. 
 
 T^ruth 2. It is not true, that prepa- 
 7-atory Works do any way deferve from 
 God the habit of Grace at firft infufed, 
 tho' ordinarily the Divine Spirit doth by 
 knowledge and humbling convictions abate 
 the Obftacles to Grace in our Hearts, and 
 put us upon feeking help from Chrift j all 
 which are as truly owing to his more 
 common Operations, as faving Grace is to 
 his fpecial. 
 
 Truth 3. Neither the firft infufed 
 Habit of Grace, nor its Adls, do wm/ fur- 
 ther Grace or Holinefs ; nor yet any degree 
 of that Pardon or Acceptance, which by 
 divine ordination enfue thereupon. 
 
 Erro?' 5. Christ hath merited, that 
 the Habit of Love {hould by its virtue 
 cxtinguifli Sin in us by good Works, and 
 we by thefe Works merit Reconciliation 
 with God, Forgivenefs of Sin, and eter- 
 nal Glory, as what do appeafe his Anger, 
 
 fati^fy 
 
62 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, fatlsfy for our Guilt, and are part of thd 
 V. Price of eternal Glory. 
 
 ^■^"^'"^ Note, The Pop/'/Jj Error concerning Sa- 
 tisfa5lio7i leads them to this Error about 
 yujlification ; and when Juftification is 
 confidered in a Protejiant fenfe, viz. as a 
 forenfick Kdi^ the true Controverfy be- 
 tween the Papijh and us is about the Doc- 
 trine of the Merit of good Works. 
 
 "Truth. Neither Repentance, Faith, 
 Love, nor any good Work proceeding 
 therefrom, do in the leaft merit Reconci- 
 liation^ Pardon, or eternal Life ; neither 
 did Chrift merit, that we might merit: 
 But Reconciliation, Pardon, and eternal 
 Life were merited only by Chrift's atoning, 
 fatisfying, and meriting Sufferings and 
 Obedience : And therefore the Righteouf- 
 nefsof Chrift is accepted and reputed the 
 only meritifig Righteoufnefs in God's jufti- 
 fying A61, altho' this Adt terminates on 
 none (adult) befides the penitent Believer, 
 and on all fuch by the Ordination of the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 Note^ (i.) It is one thing , for Chrijl 
 to ?nerit^ that we might by our Works 
 merit Salvation : It is another thing, for 
 Chrifl to jnerit that Salvation it felf which 
 he gives and applies to men on Gofpel- 
 terms : The fir ft is Popijh^ the Jaft is Pro- 
 tejiant Doctrine. (2.) It is one thing, 
 what our Judge in his juftifying Ad: ac- 
 counts to be the thing, which appeafeth 
 
 his 
 
An E?id to D if cord, 63 
 
 his Anger (for Reconciliation,) makesCHAP. 
 CGmpenfation to Juftice (for Pardon,) and V. 
 is the meriting Price (of eternal Life ;) to 
 which Reconciliation, Pardon, and eter- 
 nal Life he now adjudgeth the penitent Be- 
 liever to be entitled : Now the thing 
 which ourjudge accounts to be that, which 
 appeaj'eth his Anger, ^c. is the Righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift, and only that. But then, 
 it is another matter, whom our Judge in 
 his juftifying Ad: accounts and adjudgeth 
 in conformity to the Gojpel-Offer^ to be 
 the Perfons who he therein promifed (hould 
 be adually reconciled, pardoned, and en- 
 titled to Glory, in the alone meriting vir- 
 tue of what appeafed his Anger, made a- 
 mends for Sin, and was the Price of Glo- 
 ry. Now this Perfon is the penitent Be- 
 liever; and he is accounted to be fuch, 
 from his having Gofpel-Faith in Chrift, 
 with true Repentance j and as fuch is ad- 
 judged to be under the favour of the fore- 
 faid Gofpel-Promife of Reconciliation, Par- 
 don, and Glory j which yet are procured 
 and merited, not by his Faith, but by 
 Chrift's alone Righteoufnefs, (as before ac- 
 counted for,) and are obtained in his Right, 
 who as well had thefe promifed to him 
 for Believers in the Covenant of Redemp- 
 tion, as they are promifed by God in 
 Chrift in the Gojpel to Believers themfelves, 
 for a perfonal Title to poflefs them, and to 
 plead the Merits of Chrift for the enjoy- 
 ment of them. Hav- 
 
64. Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Having teftified cz/r C(?«ccr J with our 
 V. Brethren, and added this further account 
 
 ^■^^V^^ of what we efteem ^ruth and Error in 
 the Dodrines of SatisfaBion and yuflifi- 
 cation^ we muft exprefs our Thankfulnefs 
 to God, that our Brethren in the forefaid 
 Declaration have teftified againft ignorant 
 and fcandalous Perfons intruding themfelves 
 into the Miniftry. And tho' the Vindi- 
 cation of ourfclves in this matter be need- 
 lefs, when our Principles and Pradice are 
 fo well known j and it's fo notorious, that 
 of the great number of unqualified Men 
 who are of late turned Preachers, thofe 
 very few who broke out of any of our Con^ 
 gregations in this City, received no Appro- 
 bation or Countenance from us -, and 
 to avoid Reftraint and Difcouragement 
 they renounced the Name of Prejbyte^ 
 rianSy yea, preached againft us ; yet to 
 fupport what we can this prefent Tefti- 
 mony of our Congregational Brethren^v/e'll 
 publifli one of the Articles agreed to by all 
 of us for ftrengthening our Union after 
 our faid Brethren's Recefs, which is as 
 follows, 
 
 " 6. That no Minifiers of the Union 
 " {hall admit, or confent, that any Perfon 
 " {hall preach in their Congregations, unlefs 
 *' they have been folemnly admitted to the 
 " Miniftry by Ordiitation, or approved by 
 " fome of the united Brethren, or pro- 
 " duce a Tejlimony that .they have been 
 
 " under 
 
An End to Difcord, 65 
 
 under proper and preparatory Studies to 
 qualify them for that facred Func- 
 
 tion. 
 
 CHAP.- VI. 
 
 Some further Examination what is 
 Socinianifm, as to the DoBrine 
 of Chrift's Satisfadtion, and 
 what is not fo ; with a brief ac- 
 count of fever al Phrafes ufed by 
 Socinians and by the Orthodox 
 in a very contrary fenfe, 
 
 A STRICT Obfervation in how Chap. 
 uncertain a fenfe T^r/;zj and Phrafes VI. 
 are made ufe of, muft convince one, that ' 
 Errors may be eafily concealed from the 
 Ignorant jand the Or^W^x as eafily impeach- 
 ed without ground, by crafty Perfons who 
 defign impofing on the Vulgar. I (hall 
 give an Inftance in the Controverfy before 
 me, which makes it evident, that Men's 
 Explications and main Hypothefis mufl be 
 regarded above words, . otherwife their 
 fenfe will be miftaken. 
 
 [i.] I FIND the Socimam admit and 
 
 make ufe of the words, which fome Or- 
 
 F tbodox 
 
66 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Cu AV. thoJox Divines eHecmtd moft diftingulfli- 
 VI. ly expreffive of their own fenfe : Such as. 
 Commutation of Perfons, as well as Things 
 jor Perfons : Subllitution and Surrogation 
 of Cbrifi's Perjbn in our room (a) : Chrifl's 
 dyi^ig in our fie ad (b) : Cbrijl icas an expi- 
 atory Sacrifice {c\ : His Sufferings were 
 Punifiments (d) : Our Sins were an im- 
 puljive Caufe of ChrijVs Death (e) : God 
 was moved by Chriji's Death to give us 
 Forgivenefs (f); yea^ it was a Satisj ac- 
 tion (g) : Chrifi was made a Simier, yea 
 the chief Sinner (h). And many more 
 fiich I could mention : But this eviden- 
 ceth, that thefe very Phrafes are capable 
 of a very ill fenfe, as well as a good one. 
 Ruarus admits, Chrift did in a fenfe impC' 
 trate our Pardon by his Death. Rpili. 64, 
 So doth CrelliuSy Refp. ad Grot. cap. 9. 
 part. 3. 
 
 [z.] The lafl Chapter gave us fuch a 
 Summary of their Aflertions, as demon- 
 flrates they ufe thefe Expreffions in no 
 good fenfe ; but if you confult the places 
 now cited, and thofe in Chap. V. you'll 
 
 find 
 
 (a) Crell. vol. ii. in i Cor. v. 14. vol. iii. Refp. ad 
 Grot. cap. 9. par. 2, (b) Crell. Re/p. ad Grot. cap. 9, 
 10. (c) Crell. Rerp' ad Grot. cap. 9. (d) Crell. 
 Refp. ad Grot. cap. 10. Soc'm. de Ser'vat. Hi. 2. cap. 13. 
 (c) Socin. torn, i PrakSl. cap. z\. pag. 580. (f) Crell. 
 Refp. ad Grot. cap. i. par. i\. (g) Crell. Refp. ad 
 Grot. cap. 7, 8 (h) Crell. 'vol. ii. in 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 Slichting. torn. ii. in 2 Cor. v. 21. 
 
An End to D if cord. 67 
 
 find them wrefted toconfift with the fore- Chap. 
 mentioned Errors. But becaufe it will be VI. 
 tedious to particularize, 1 (hall enumerate '^-^V^^ 
 the Caufes and Ends they plainly and ex- 
 prefsly afcribe the Death of Chrift to. ( i .) 
 They afjign Chrifi's Death to God's mere 
 Dominion over him as his entire Creature, 
 whom he would reward for it, tho' not as 
 merited (i). (2.) It was an Example of 
 Patience (k). (3.) It was a Preparation of 
 his Sacrifice to be offered to God in Hea- 
 ven for our Sins (I). (4.) It fliew'd how 
 much he deiired our Salvation, tho' fuch 
 great Sinners, and how faithful he would 
 be in expiating our Sins in Heaven, when 
 he endured liich dreadful things for our 
 fakes ; which God would have chiefly con- 
 fidered in our High-Priefl (m). (5.) 
 His Death impreffed a tender AfFe(ftion 
 and Pity towards us, that fo he would fuc- 
 cour us who were to be fo extreamly af- 
 flid:ed : God would not have put Mankind 
 in his hands, unlefs he firll: fuffered Death 
 for Sinners : And that God might render us 
 more allured, that if we obeyed we fhould 
 have eternal Life, Chrift fhould be fo fa- 
 fhioned, that in a fenfe it fhould appear, 
 Chrift had more Tendernefs for us than 
 F 2 God 
 
 (i) Slichting. in Rem. iii. 24. ^ Phil. ii. 9. Crell. 
 Refp. ad Grot. cap. 2. par. 1. iff cap. 4. par. 7. (k) 
 Crell. ubifupra, ad cap. 5. (1) Crell. Refp. ad Grot, 
 pag. 198, 199, 215. (m) Crell. ubifupra, cap. 7.' 
 ^ cap. I. 
 
68 Peace with Truth -^ or 
 
 Chap. God himfelf; or otherwife, it had been as 
 VI. to us alike, that God had faved us imme- 
 diately, as to have faved us by Chrift (n). 
 Or, (6.) It was to eftablifh the new Cove- 
 nant and Promifes (o). (7.) To confirm 
 his Dodrine (p). (8.) To come, purfu- 
 ant to God's Decree, to be crowned with 
 Glory and Honour, and invefted with Au- 
 thority and Power to convert, protedt, for- 
 give, and give us eternal Life (q). (9.) 
 That there might be greater Rewards pro- 
 mifed to induce us to repent, than there 
 were before (r). ( i o.) To take away thofe 
 greater Sins, which the legal Sacrifices 
 were not appointed for (s). (i i.) To be- 
 get in us a firm hope of Life, tho' we 
 fhould die as terrible a Death (t). (12.) 
 That we might not fear Death, or the 
 Curfe, which we fee conquered by him 
 (u). (13.) That we might be induced to 
 leave our Sin, when he died that we might 
 be reclaimed from it by fuch hope of Par- 
 don upon leaving of it (x). And, (14.) 
 
 To 
 
 (n) Crell. vol. i. fag. 612, 613. (0) Socin. torn. i. 
 fag. 596. Crell. njol. i. fag. 620, 621. (p) Crell. 
 vol. i. fag. 612, 614, 616. (q) Socin. torn. i. fag. 
 578, 579. is cap. 21. fag. 580, 599. (r) Crell. 
 vol. i. fag. 619. Wohzogen. vol. i. Pra:le£l. caf. 2. 
 (s) Socin. torn. i. fag. 590, 594. Slichting. torn. ii. 
 fag. 37. Crell. vol ii. in Heb. ix. 13, 14, 15- (0 
 Socin. torn. i. fag. 667. Crell. vol. i. fag. 618. (u) 
 Socin. torn. i. fag. 575, 596. (x) Socin. torn. i. fag. 
 S77> 588. 
 
An End to D if cord. 69 
 
 To make known how highly kind and Chap. 
 pacified God was to us (y). I pais by a VI. 
 compliance with Pagan Cuftoms. (./VNJ 
 
 [3.] As they limit Chri/l's Death in this 
 manner, exclufively of and in oppofition 
 to other Caufes and Ends, which the pro- 
 per SatisfaBiori of Chrijl more di redly 
 fuppofeth, (as you fee in iht Jifth Chap- 
 ter :) So I could eafily (hew, how they 
 dilute their own feeming Conceffions, as 
 well as reduce plain Scripture- expreflions 
 to that Infignificancy, that no man can 
 hope by their method to apprehend any. 
 kind of words with certainty as to their 
 meaning. One while, an as if (a quaji) 
 is all they intend by their large Grants j 
 " as if a redeeming Price, &V. God is 
 *' as it were moved, and as it were obliged 
 " by Chrift to pardon us :" Another while, 
 all is figurative, as a metaphorical Redemp- 
 demption ; " Chrifl's Death was an expi- 
 " atory Sacrifice, that is, metonymically 
 " and fynechdochicaily called fo ; and it 
 " chiefly fignifies, what by God's Decree 
 " followed upon it, viz. his Entrance in- 
 '* to Heaven." Many more might be 
 heaped of this kind. Socin. de Servat. 
 par. 2. cap. 2. Crell. vol. i. in Rom. iii. 
 24. voL iii. Refp. ad Grot. cap. 8. par, 3. 
 F 3 pdg. 
 
 (y) Socin, torn. i. pag. 586. Crell- 'vol. ii. par. 2- 
 fag. 285. 
 
70 Peace with Truth -^ or 
 
 CuAV.p^S- ^9^> igg. Soc'in. torn. \.Prcele^. cap. 20. 
 VI. [4.] They fometimes ftate the Diffc- 
 
 ^/V>jrence between thcmfelves and others ; and 
 there are fome things which ihey ftill ad- 
 here to, and fecure; however they perplex 
 this Controverfy with their feeming Grants 
 and equivocal Expreffions. 
 
 (i.) (SoaVzwi ftates this Queftion, and 
 denies it : " ^re our Sins blotted out by 
 " any Compenfation or Satisja5lion^ or elfe 
 " by Forgivenefs ? Moft think they are 
 " blotted out, a Satisfadlion intervening ; 
 " but we think they are blotted out by Jim- 
 " pie Forgivenefs y or a Pardon abfolute- 
 *' ly free." PraleB. cap. 15. pag. 565. 
 He alfo flates the Difference with Co- 
 *vet^ and puts this for the Pofition held 
 by his own Party. " I judge and think 
 ** this to be the Orthodox Determina- 
 " tion, That Jefus Chrift is therefore our 
 " Saviour, becaufe he has made known 
 '* to us the way of eternal Life ; and 
 ** in his own Perfon, both by the Exam- 
 ** pie of his Life, and by his rifing 
 " from the dead, hath given affurance of 
 *' it, and made it evident ; as alfo, that he 
 " will give eternal Life to us who believe 
 *' him. But I affirm, that he neither j^z- 
 " tisjied Divine Juftice, by which we Sin- 
 ** ners did deferve to be damned j nor was 
 ** there any need that he fhould fatisfy 
 ** it*' Socin. torn, ii. de Servat. cap. i. 
 fag, 121, Crellius ftates this Queition ; 
 
 ' " Did 
 
An E?2d to Difcord. 71 
 
 " 0id the Redemption wrought by Chrifl Chap. 
 ** include his Payment of a t7'ue Price to VI. 
 " God for our Sins, which he calls Satis- 
 " fadion ? " Refp. ad Grot, cap. 8. This 
 he denies : And he and others of them 
 take great advantage of Covet's making ufe 
 of Creditor, Debtor^ and Debt, to exprefs 
 their Judgment in this Controverfy. Other 
 Inflances might be given. 
 
 (2.) The principal things they adhere 
 to are, " i. That Chrift did ?iot appeafe 
 *' God's Anger towards Sinners. 2. Tliat 
 " what Chrift did and fufFered had no 
 ** meriti?2g Virtue^ and fo did not merit 
 ** from God our Pardon, Acceptance and 
 " eternal Life, or properly move God to 
 " give or promife them." Thefe are the 
 Heart of Sociniajiifm as to the SatisfaBion 
 of Chriji ; and they do exclude what 
 Chrill: performs in Heaven, as well as his 
 Death on Earth, from any proper influ- 
 ence God- ward as to thefe things j tho' to 
 efFe(5t what they call Expiation, they a-- 
 fcribe more to Chrift's abiding on God's 
 Right-band taking care of the Church, 
 than to his Refurre5fion, and more to his 
 Refurredion than to his Death ; thefe two 
 laft being but the decreed intervening way 
 of coming to the other, which they call 
 the Expiation itfelf. Hence they always 
 deny any proper redeeming Trice, and fay, 
 ** God quitted his Right to punifh us 
 " without any refped to Chrift 3" and 
 F 4 diftin- 
 
7 2 Peace with %'utb \ or 
 
 Chap. diftlngui(h in their account of Expiation 
 VI. on God's party which they call his own 
 ^^''^'"'"^ Acft ; and on our part, which is, fay they, 
 Chrift's giving us eternal Life -, wherein is 
 contained a full deliverance from the Pu- 
 nifliment of Sin. As to Expiation on God's 
 party that's in no wife by Chrift's Inclin- 
 ing God to forgive our Sins by his Sacri- 
 fice ; yea, Socintis tells us, " God alone 
 ** expiates Sin." And when Crellius 
 blames Grotius, for making Socinus to 
 confine the Efficacy of Chrift's Sacrifice 
 to Sins future for Prevention or Pardon, 
 and excluding the Forgivenefs of Sins pafty 
 otherwife than as it begets Faith, and fo 
 turns us from Sin ; What greater expiating 
 Virtue doth he afcribe to it, under the 
 notion of an expiating Sacrifice ? it's this, 
 " It takes away the Guilt and Puniih- 
 ** ment of all Sins, thd paft before Con- 
 *' verfion, and however great :" But how, 
 and wherein? He anfwers, *' It's partly 
 " by declaring and granting us a Right to 
 • *' that thing,and partly by adually taking 
 " away Divine Punifhments." But is 
 that Right y or Pardon, at all properly pro- 
 cured by this Sacrifice ? No, by no means ; 
 that he had denied, and abides by the De- 
 nial here, and in the following Se6tions. 
 The furn is; *' A crucified Saviour's being 
 " exalted, and in Heaven taking care of 
 ** our Salvation, aftures us, that we fhall 
 ^^ be partakers of the Pardon appointed 
 
 and 
 
An 'End to Difcord, 73 
 
 ^ and promifed before, by themere Mer-CnAP. 
 cy of God, without refped to Chrift ; VI. 
 and Chrift as the authorized Sponfor on 1>^VNJ 
 God's part conveys it. and affifted with 
 the Divine Power fully removes the Pu- 
 nirhment, or rather God himfelf doth 
 it." Nay, by their Scheme you can- 
 not well fee, that they allow lefs expiating 
 Virtue to Me7is Prayers^ than to the legal 
 Sacrifices, yea, or to the yearly ; for, fay 
 they, ** we expiate our own Sins by thofe 
 " Prayers;" and fcarce more to Chrift's 
 Sacrifice^ than to the Legal, except as to 
 more forts of Sin, and its greater aptnefs 
 to difluade us from Sin, by the Love of 
 God, and ftrong grounds of hopes of 
 higher Rewards, being more evidenced 
 and afTured by this Sacrifice of Chrift, than 
 by thofe of the Law: " For this Sacri- 
 " fice of Chrift is no other than an inter- 
 ** vening Means, which being performed, 
 " that Difcharge follows by the Divine 
 " Decree, which the felf inclined God, 
 '* unmoved by any thing Chrift was to 
 " do or fuffer, refolved freely to beftow 
 " of his mere Mercy." 
 
 To add no more, they carefully diftin- 
 gui(h between the Impetration of Pardon^ 
 &c. with refpedt to the Divine Will, and 
 the means of the application of that Par* 
 don to the Sinner. From \ht former they 
 exclude Chrift's Satisfadion and Merits, 
 and confine their Virtue altogether to the 
 
 latter. 
 
74 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, latter. The thing itfelf is unprocured, as 
 ^■*' from God ; the Sinner's obtaining it is fub- 
 ferved by Chrift, by what he performs to 
 make us meet for it, and to pofTefs us in 
 the EfFedtsof it according to the way de- 
 creed, and that only becaufe decreed. So- 
 cin. torn. i. PrceleB, cap. 27, 21, 22, 23, 
 24. torn. ii. de Servat. cap. 4. Crell. Rejp» 
 ad Grot. cap. 8, 9, 10. 
 
 [5.] It is very obvious, that the Soci- 
 nian Controverfy lies not in thofe things, 
 wherein fomc are induced to place them, 
 becaufe of certain Phrafes fometimes oc- 
 curring in Debates concerning the Doc- 
 trine of Chrift 's Satisfadion. To inftance 
 in a few. 
 
 (i.) It is not, whether the Sufferings 
 of a Sponfor in the ftead of the Sinner, be 
 in fo jiriB a fenfe a proper Punifliment, as 
 the Sufferings of the Delinquent himfelf 
 would be ? This is nothing with them ; 
 for their Queftion is, " Were Chrift's Suf- 
 ** ferings fuch an Inflance of God's re5loral 
 " Hatred againft our Sins, and Anger a- 
 *' gainft Sinners, as that thereby the Ho- 
 " nour of his Juftice, and of his injured 
 " Government and Law, was provided 
 <* for and vindicated, and Sinners were to 
 " be deterred from Sin by God's infifl- 
 " ing upon fuch a penal Compenfation^ be- 
 " fore he would be reconciled to us V Pu- 
 nifhment under this notion they exprefsly 
 difpute againft. 
 
 (2.) Nor 
 
An End to Difcord. 75 
 
 (2.) Nor is it about the Phrafe, Cj/tz-Chap. 
 mutation of Perfons between Chrift and Sin- VL 
 ners : For this they grant ; and admit a 
 Surrogation of the typical Sacrifice inftead 
 of the Sinner, and a Subjlitiition of Chrifl 
 in our place. Their point depends not on 
 any fuch mere words. But, " was Chrift 
 ** appointed, and did he confent, to en- 
 " dure what the Sinner was to fuffer, that 
 *^ in virtue thereof the offended God might 
 " be appeafedy and the Sinner delivered^'* 
 This is the thing they oppofc. See CrelL 
 Rejp. ad Grot. cap. 9. par. 14. explaining 
 this very Phrafe. 
 
 (3.) Nor is it with them the Queflion, 
 Whether Chrift's Sufferings were in part 
 the Idem^ and in other refpe6ts a full E- 
 quivalent to the Punifliments the Sinner 
 deferved ? No, their Arguments run 
 againft the Equivalency ; and on that ac- 
 count they deny, that his Sufferings could 
 be 2. full Price of Redemption, or a Sa~ 
 tisfaBion j and well they may, when they 
 call him a mere Creature, Crell. Refp. ad 
 Grot. cap. 4. par. 2, & cap. 6. par. 18. 
 It's the Proportion in the Value, they 
 moft diredly militate againft. 
 
 (4.) Nor is it, Whether Chrift was a 
 Sinner in judicial Efteem, or was he re- 
 puted the innodnt Mediator making a- 
 mends t^ fu/iice for our Sins, that we the 
 Offenders might be redeemed by his merits, 
 who, to make Satisfadion, fubmitted to be 
 
 dealt 
 
7 6 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, dealt with as if he had been a Sinner^ 
 VI. The laft is enough for their Abhorrence j 
 
 ^•^V^^and tho' Socinus took all advantages to 
 expofe the Orthodox, in reprelenting their 
 Opinion as to the Imputation of Sin to 
 Chrift, yet he grants, they hold that Chrift 
 was truly innocent, and was reputed fo by 
 God even when he was punifhed as if an 
 Offender. De Servat. cap. 6. It's true, 
 fometimes they would force fome fuch 
 Confequence on the words of the Ortho- 
 dox, as if Chrift muft be legally reputed a 
 Sinner ; but that is to lurnifh themfelves 
 with an Argument to ridicule the true 
 Dod:rine of Satisfaction. And note, they 
 deny, that 2 Cor, v. 2 1 . Chrijl was made 
 Sin, is to be underftood, that Chrift was 
 made a Sacrifice for Sin ; yea, fome ren- 
 der it, he was made a Sinner, as Slichtiji- 
 gius, &c. and that God dealt with him 
 as a Sinner. Socin. in loc. 
 
 (5.) It is far enough from the Soci- 
 nian Controverfy, Whether Chrift was im- 
 mediately obliged by the Law of works to 
 die F that is, Did God thus fentence him, 
 " Thou Chrift haft finned, and therefore 
 " thou (halt die?" Or, was \\t immediate- 
 ly obliged to die by the Covenant of Re- 
 demption, and mediately by the Law of 
 works ? that is. Is the Sentence to be thus 
 apprehended ? " Whereas thou my Son, 
 " the Mediator, haft with my Confent, 
 " declared thy w^illingnefs to expiate Sin, 
 
 «* an4 
 
An End td D if cord. 77 
 
 ** and ranfom Sinners, juftly condemned Chap. 
 *' by the Curfe of my Law to die j and VI. 
 ** vfhcreSiS my vindi^ive yii/lice, the Ho-' — v-~- 
 *' nour of my Law and Government, re- 
 *' quired, that I the Re^or (hould exad 
 *' Satisfaction and Reparation for the 
 " crimes of thefe Sinners Ify thy Death, 
 *' if I agreed to thy redeeming and fav- 
 " ing them, and thou haft obliged thy- 
 " felf to die in their ftead to redeem 
 *' them, therefore thou flialt die this ac- 
 " curfed, fhameful Death." This, I fay, 
 is no part of the Difpute with the Soci- 
 niafts : For the laft account doth as di- 
 rectly oppofe their Notions as the former, 
 nay much more j for it allerts the Com- 
 padl before his Incarnation, and confe- 
 quently the Divinity^ or at leaft the Pre- 
 exijience of Chrift. 
 
 (6.) Nor yet is it of any moment 
 with them, whether men fay. Sin would be 
 in a more proper fenfe the immediate meri- 
 torious Caufe of the Sinner s dying who 
 committed the Sin, than of Chrifi's dying 
 who did not commit the Sin, tho' he ob- 
 liged himfelf to make Satisfa5iion for it 
 in the Sinner's Jiead, that the provoked 
 God might be reconciled to him. The 
 Point with them being this, Did our Sins, 
 notwithftanding God's w^r^r/Z/^/difpoGtion, 
 retain that Demerit in his account, as ren- 
 dered Satisfaction for Sin by Death necef- 
 fary to reconcile him to Sinners.'* and con- 
 
 fequently 
 
7 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, fequently did Chrlft fuffcr Death, to make 
 VI. that Satisfadtioiij which was become thus 
 
 ^^^'^^^^"^ necejjary by Sin, and yet impoflible for the 
 Sinner to make? 
 
 (7.) It is true, the Sociniam ufually 
 fay, " Our Si?2S were the occafion of 
 *' Chrift's Death :" Yet oft they call 
 them the antecedent Caufe ; but occafion 
 being more common and agreeable to their 
 HypotheJiSy I wifh others had waved that 
 word to prevent Abufe. Neverthelefs the 
 mere ufing of that word is far from argu- 
 ing any man to Soci?iianize^ fo that he ap- 
 ply it to a fenfe oppofite to what Socifiians 
 do. This will appear, if we confider in 
 what fenfe the Sochiians ufe it : They 
 fay, '* Our Sin was an occafion of Chrift's 
 *' Death, as Sin was that which we were 
 •' to be reclaimed from, and our hope fup- 
 " ported again ft : And the Death ofChriJl 
 " was that way, in which God, who was 
 ** not unreconciled before, did appoint 
 " Chrift to reclaim us from our Sinsj as 
 " his Death aflureth us of the Truth of 
 " his Dodrine and Promifes, and mani- 
 ** fefteth God's prior Reconciliation ; and 
 " fo his Death became an Argument to 
 *' incline us to believe and repent, and al- 
 ** fo a Can fa fine qua non^ both of a ftrong 
 ** Motive to Holinefs, 'uiz, the endlefs 
 " Glory defigncd in Heaven for us, (which 
 " was before rtiut up,) and of that Power, 
 *' Authority, and Care of Chrift at God's 
 
 " Right- 
 
An End to D if cord, 79 
 
 " Right-hand, to bring us into the Pof-CnAP. 
 
 " feffion of it." But when others fliall VI. 
 
 call our Sins an occafion of Chrift's Death, 
 
 and explain it thus ; " That it was an oc- 
 ' cajion of Chrift's Death as a pefial Sa- 
 ' tisfaSiioji to the Jujlice of God, and 
 
 * that he endured it to padjy God to Sin- 
 ' ners ; that God's hatred of Sin, and his 
 
 * Juftice (yea pimitive 'Jujlice) might be 
 
 * no lefs demonftrated in Chrift's Sath- 
 
 * faSiiony than if the Sinners had been 
 
 * damned; and his Obedience, and his 
 
 * Puniftiments, wherein vindiSiive 'Jvjlice 
 was thus glorified, did merit the Pardon 
 of our Sins,and eternal Life : " Such anE^:- 
 
 plication doth as much oppofe Socinianijm^ 
 as if they had ufed the word meritorious 
 Catife^ inftead of oc cajion. 
 
 That no Perfon may pretend the Re- 
 verend Mr. Baxters Authority in favour 
 of Socinianifm^ becaufe he fometimes calls 
 our Sins an occafion of Chrijl's Death ; I 
 do aflure the Reader, that he explains the 
 word occafion in the laft fenfe, and in the 
 moft dire(fl oppofition to Sociniafiijm : Nor 
 can any pretend, but that the reafon of his 
 ufing this word, as alfo pro caufd merito- 
 rid, (or inftead of a meritorious Caufe,) 
 is only to diliingiiifh Chrift the Sponfor 
 making Satisfaction to Juftice for our Sins, 
 from the Sinner himfelf, when fuffering 
 for his oivn Sins, To evidence which, I 
 
 have 
 
So Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, have repeated his own Afiertions under this 
 VI. feventb Head ; and could eafily cite his 
 own words, which exadly agree to what is 
 Anti-focinian in the fix foregoing Heads. 
 See Method. Theolog, par. iii. cap. i. de- 
 term. II, 12, 15. 
 
 Need I add that he fays, " God de- 
 *' clared to the feeling of Chrift his Dif- 
 " pleajtire againfl Sin, which was the Caufe 
 *' of all the Miferies which he endured ; 
 *' that is, (faith he,) Chrift h-s^x^thofe Pu- 
 *' nijhtnents^ which the Anger and Dif- 
 " pleafure of God againfl; Sin and Sinners 
 *' caiifed to be inflicted on him our Spon- 
 " for J [ubi flip. Difp. 4.) and all this in 
 " ourjiead. [Determ. 10.) He made Sa- 
 " tisja5iion for our Sins, to God as Kec- 
 *' tor^ and as the injured Party: [Determ. 
 " 14.) Chrift's Death anfwered all the 
 " Ends of the mofi proper Funifiments^ 
 *' and of the Threatning of the Law. [De- 
 " term. 12.)" When he calls Sin an oc- 
 cajion of Chrift's Death, he there calls 
 it alfo " a remote meritorious Caufe \ and 
 " fo far a proper meritorious Caufe ^ as 
 " when CZ?//<^rd';z are pun iQied for their Pa- 
 *' rents Sins : [Determ. 5.) His Satisfac- 
 *' tion yielded to our moft juft Rector a 
 " fijicient ground J on which \.o forgive pe- 
 " nitent Believers fpiritual and eternal Pu- 
 " nifliments: [Difp. 2.) Nay, he fees 
 ** not, fuppofing the Law of works, how 
 " God could forgive our Sins without the 
 
 " penal 
 
An End to Difcord. 8 r 
 
 ** penal Satisfatlion- of Chrift. {Difi. 2. Chap. 
 " & Dcferm. 15.)" It were endlefs to pro- VI. 
 duce the Inftances demonftrating the Or- 'v^nTViJ 
 thodoxnefi of this great Man, as to the Sa- . 
 tisfaSiiofi of Chrift, againft Socmianif?}2. 
 And by the way, fuch as fay Chrift's penal 
 SatisjaSlion w;.-.s not necejfary to the for- 
 givenefs of our Sins, do a thoufand times 
 more favour Socinianifm, thsin M.i\ Baxter s 
 notions or words can be wrefted to. 
 
 Perhaps others who follow EpifcopiuSy 
 and fome o\\\tr Arminians^ (when all muft 
 acquit him of Sochiianijm,) may furmife, he 
 favoureth their notion of Chrift's Death, 
 as if it were a Satisfaction only to the Will 
 ofGod^ and not a full Satisfadion to the 
 yufiice of God. To this I anfwer, Mr. 
 Baxter diftinguifheth SatisfaSlion into that 
 which is the fulfilling the Will of a Perfon, 
 and that which is the Payment of what 
 v/as owing by an Equivalent otherwife not 
 due. And he affirms, " that Chrift*s Sa- 
 " tisfaSiion was not a mere fulfilling ths 
 " Will of God, (tho' it fuppofeth his Con- 
 " fentj) but it was a full Equivalent to 
 " what PuniQiments we deferved, in that 
 ** it better anfwered the Ends of Divine 
 " Government, than the Sinner's Punilh- 
 " ment would have done ; it more fully 
 " demonftrated the vindiBive Jujiice of 
 " God, than if the Sinner had been damn- 
 ** ed ; and it was a full SaiisfaBion to 
 " governing Jufiicey and the End of the 
 G *' Law." 
 
8 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap.*' Law." Vbi fupra^ Determ, lo, if, 
 
 12, 15. 
 
 I THOUGHT this account neceflary, not 
 only for the forementioned End, but alfo 
 that our Agreement in oppofitlon to Soci- 
 nianifm might not exclude Mr. Baxter^ 
 and fuch as approve of his Scheme j which 
 would add ftrength to that Herefy, and be 
 injurious to many worthy Perfons. Nor 
 ought a few words fo fully explained be 
 preiTed to brand them with that odioui 
 ^itky who could more plaufibly fix the 
 fame Charadler on Perfons, from thingi 
 plainly alTerted in the Socinian fenfe, and 
 fubjerving their Hypothecs : As, " that 
 " Chriji's Death was not necejj'ary to the 
 ** remiffion of Sin ; that the Fromife of 
 " Forgivenefs is no EffeB of Chrift's 
 " Death 5 that Repentance under the Gof- 
 " pel is an Effedt of juftifying Faith in 
 ** Chrifl J and that the preaching of Re^ 
 " concUiatmi to Sinners, is only to publifli 
 " to them that God is already reconciled to 
 " them^ and to call them to be reconciled 
 " to God." Many others might be in- 
 flanced ; but I think it were unjuft, even 
 upon fuch grounds, to call any of thefe 
 Socinians, 
 
 CHAP, 
 
An End to D if cord. 83 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 
 An Enquiry into what Difference 
 feems to remaiit concerning the 
 Satisfadlion of Chrifl^ and the 
 Juftification of a Sinner ; and 
 this Difference reduced below any 
 Caufe of Difcord. 
 
 1 Think both Sides are acquitted fromCjj^P^ 
 all dangerous Errors concerning the Sa~ V\\, 
 iisfaBion of Chrift, and the Juftijication 
 of a Sinner : Nor can I doubt, but the 
 impartial Reader muft apprehend the re- 
 maining Difference doth not lie in Opi- 
 nions about thefe Do5frines themfehes^ but 
 in accommodating fome words in oppofition 
 to other Errors which either Side have more 
 efpecially applied their minds to confute ; 
 unlefs he (hould alfo afcribe it to a Zeal 
 for fundry received Phrafes on the one 
 part, and an apprehenfion on the other 
 part, that more accuracy is become needful 
 fince thofe Phrafes were received. On the 
 whole, it appears, 
 
 I. That in both thefe Dodrines, the 
 G 2 vifible 
 
84 Peace with T'ruth, \ or 
 
 Chap, vifible Spring of what Difference remains 
 Vil. is a different T\oi\Qv\ o^ Chri ft' s Suretifii p. 
 
 L/W\j For by this, the word Imputation^ as ufed 
 in both thelb Doctrines, is governed, vix. 
 how our Sim were imputed toChrift when 
 lie fatisfied^ and how Cbri/i's Right eouf- 
 nefs is imputed to us when we 2i.xQ,juJiified: 
 Both which depend upon the various Con- 
 ceptions of the Suretifliip of Chrift, and 
 the manner of his reprefenting us, which 
 I will now begin with. 
 
 The one Side think him a fnediating 
 Surety ; and diftinguifliing, both as to the 
 matter engaged, and the Inftrument where- 
 in he voluntarily engaged himfelf, as alfo 
 with relation to the Refpedt he had to us 
 therein, 
 
 I. They confider Chrift in the Cove- 
 nant of Redemption, as agreeing with his 
 Father the terms of Satisfaction to Juflice, 
 and Impetration of Life for Sinners, and 
 obliging ioimfeif to affume our Nature, and 
 therein perfedly to obey the Law, and to 
 die an accurfed Death, with whatever was 
 equivalent to what by the Covenant of 
 works our Sins deferved. Here they think 
 Chrift did not covenant /?r/<^/)' in our flead, 
 or as our Proxy, tho' he covenanted to die 
 in our flead, even JiriBly fo : He tranf- 
 aSfed as a free Interpofer, tho' for our Sal- 
 vation ; we were no jederating Party, tho* 
 we were the Perfons ivhofe Salvation was 
 his promifed Reward ? And therefore we 
 
 have 
 
A?i End to Difcord. ^ 8 5 
 
 have more Rea Ton, fince we are become Chap. 
 his Members, to fay we intercede inChrift VII. 
 710W, than to fay that we covenanted in - — /-* 
 Chrift then. Finally, they account his A5i 
 of engaging To peculiar to himfelf, that his- 
 non - performance of what he engaged, 
 (which was impoflible,) had not made us 
 more guilty^ tho' it would have left us mi- 
 Jerable for our own Sins, there being no 
 other way to redeem us. 
 
 2. They lind Chrift called a *S'«r£'/y in 
 the Gofpel-Covenant made with fallen Man, 
 Heb. vii. 22. and no where elfe. This 
 Covenant fuppofeth the former, yea fup- 
 pofeth Chrift's having executed his Engage- 
 ments by the Covenant of Redemption to 
 make Satisfad:ion to Juftice ; (that is, it 
 was at firft accepted as if executed ;) for 
 this Covenant with Man doth not adjuft 
 the terms of Redemption., but the way of 
 conveying the EffeBs of that Redemption ; 
 and is called the "Tejlament of our Lord Je- 
 fus, whereby he bequeaths the Bleffings he 
 acquired by his atoning Death. In this 
 Covenant Chrift is fuch a Surety^ as not 
 only allures us all will be performed which 
 is promis'd to us on God's part, but alfo un- 
 dertakes to bring in the Eled:,and to fecure 
 the Perfeverance of Believers unto eternal 
 Life, by his exerting that power and au- 
 thority he has received. But here alfo 
 they apprehend Chrift a dijiinSl federating 
 Party j a Mediator, treating and obliging 
 G 3 himlelf 
 
86 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, himfelf to make the Covenant ftand Aire, 
 VII. and to efFed the Ends it was deligned for: 
 t^^V^V; But he binds not himfelf to believe, re- 
 pent, or perfevere ybr us ; but that we (hall 
 repent, believe, and perfevere : Nor doth 
 his Engagement that we fliould do fo, pre- 
 vent our perfonal Engagement by Cove- 
 nant to do it our felves, iho' in his Strength, 
 Now our AB of engaging is not his en- 
 gaging A(5l, but an EfFed of it j nor is 
 our repenting his repenting Adt, but the 
 EfFed of his engaged AJjijiance j nor is 
 that Afliftance of his reckoned lo be legally 
 our affifting our felves j nor can we fay, 
 that we covenanted in Chri/i to bring in 
 the Ele(fl, or that Believers fliall perfevere. 
 By which, with other Reafons, we are 
 induced to think, that in covenanting he 
 tranfadts ftill as Mediator ; but by obliging 
 himfelf to thefe great Performances, in or- 
 der to our doing what we are perfonally 
 obliged to do, and our receiving what we 
 are neceffitated to receive, if ever we be 
 faved even in a Gofpel-way, (tho' it fup- 
 pofeth him already crucified,) he is pro- 
 perly called a Surety of the new Covenant^ 
 yet ftill connoting him a Mediator. 
 
 I NEED not fuggeft, that if in this nem 
 Covenant Chrift's Suretifhip will not infer 
 our being one federating Party with Chrifl:, 
 and hence that we covenanted in him ; it 
 will far lefs follow, that we did fo in the 
 Covenant of Redemption, which treated of 
 
 things 
 
An End to Difcord, 8 7 
 
 things fo improper to be once propos'd to usCh ap. 
 as undertaking Parties^ much lefs as Prin- VII. 
 cipah^ which to ftrid:ly legal Sureties always ^ — v— ' 
 are fuppofed. But of this I have treated \\\ 
 Man made righteous^ and in Anfwer to the 
 Report^ and in the Pojifcript to Gofpel-Truth, 
 
 The other Side think, that Chrift, with 
 the Father's confent, came into the Cove- 
 nant of works^ confidered- as a Bond^ (as 
 unviolated, {iy fome^ as violated, fay others^) 
 and therein became otie federating Party 
 with us, (as EleB fome fay, as Believers 
 fay others,) even fuch a Surety as made 
 the Covenant of worh run thus : " If thou 
 " Chrift my Son, or you the Ele(ft (or 
 ** Believers,) do obey all the Law, you 
 '' (hall live : But if they fin, thou or they 
 ** {hall die ;' or they having finned, thou 
 " (halt die." And conceiving Chrift to be 
 as a ftridt pecuniary Surety in this one 
 Bond with us, they efteem him one legal 
 PerfoH and Reprefentative in fuch a fenfe, 
 as that we did covenant in him^ and arc 
 legally efteemed to do and fuffer what he 
 did, and not only fecured of Salvation in 
 his righty and for his fake. 
 
 Th IS may be accounted by fome a dan^ 
 gerous Difference. And fo it were on our 
 party if we did not own, that Chrift's ful- 
 filling of the Law was an Article in the 
 Covenant of Redemption ; and that we are 
 as fully ajjured of Salvation, if we accept 
 of Chrift, as if we had covenanted in him ; 
 G 4 and 
 
8 8 Peace with T'ruth j or 
 
 Chap, and that he hath engaged the Eled (hould 
 VII. accept of him^ though they did not cove- 
 ^--"v — > nant in him j and that Believers have as in- 
 'uiohble an Intereft in the Benefits of 
 Chrift's Death, both in his right and by the 
 Gofpel-promife, as if they were legally 
 e deemed to fufFer what he did fuffer : 
 But all this we acknowledge. It would be 
 as dangerous on our Brethren's part to fay, 
 that we covenanted in Chrift and obeyed in 
 him, if they did not renounce all proud af- 
 fuming Boafts, as if they were as righteous 
 as Chrijiy or as if they flood on terms with 
 God, needing 720 more A5ls cf Mercy than 
 that one of appointing Chrift to be Media- 
 tor, being after that on terms of ftridt 
 Juftice, and above Forgivenefs, ^c. The 
 like Danger would enfue from their Pofi- 
 tlon, if they did not acknowledge the 7/^- 
 ceffity of Faith to Juftification, and this 
 Faith to be always accompanied with Re- 
 pentance and perfevering Holinefs. But 
 our Brethren renounce the former, and own 
 the latter. 
 
 Matters (landing thus, will afford 
 no ground to hereticate each other. We 
 think, a mediating Surety obliged in a 
 diflin6i Bond to perform the utmoft which 
 our Brethren affirm Chrift to have done, 
 doth as well fecure our State, and fupport 
 our Faith, as if in the fame Bond; and doth 
 better account for the fapiential methods of 
 Divine Government towards man fnce the 
 
 Fall^ 
 
An End to Difcord, 89 
 
 Fally with God's judicial Procedures to- Chap.- 
 wards man as U7ider Go/pel- offers^ and VII. 
 his fufpending Chrift's merited Benefits till *- 
 men believe, as alfo for his recorded Pleadings 
 with Sinners. Our Brethren think, not 
 that Chrift did more tor our Salvation than 
 we allow, but that we did more in Chrift ; 
 and thence judge our Faith more fupport*. 
 ed, and the Law of works more honoured 
 in their way. But did each Side perceive 
 all the aforefaid refpedlivc Ends alike pro- 
 vided for, and evil Confequences equally 
 avoided, the Notion in debate could for its 
 own fake admit no Difpute on either fide. 
 And is it not pity to hate each other for 
 miftaking the beft Scheme, to avoid the 
 fame Evils which both would prevent, and 
 fecure that fame Good which both honeftly 
 aim at by their refpedive Hypothefei ? 
 
 Forbearance is the jufter in this 
 point, becaufe it turns upon a Solution of 
 this Queftion j When Jldam is called a Fi- 
 gure of Chri/i^ (Rom. V. 14.) is there not 
 fome difparity in their Reprefentation of 
 men, as well as in thofe other things there 
 inftanced ? Our Brethren think Chrift fo 
 fully prefigured by Adam as a Reprefenta- 
 tive^ that we as truly obeyed and fuffered 
 in Chrift^ as we finned in Adam. We think 
 the Figure^ as to Reprefentation, is to be 
 explained thus : As no man becomes a Sin- 
 per, or dieth, whofe depravednefs and death 
 were not procured and merited by Adam'% 
 
 .firft 
 
90 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, fir ft Sin ; and tho' the Pi?gan Sinners who 
 VII. died, did notadually finagainfta revealed 
 
 K/^V\J pofitive Law, as ^Jam did, yet he was the 
 Root oj Death to them, as well as to the 
 'Jews under Mofes\ Law : So no men arc 
 quickned, juftified, fandified, or laved, but 
 Chrijl is a Root of Life, Grace, Juftifica^ 
 tion, Holinefs, and Glory to them, (in all 
 thefe by his Merits^ in fome alfo by his 
 Spirit and Power.) 
 
 Bu T yet we conceive Chnji may as well 
 anfwer Adam's Figure here intended, by our 
 being quickned, juftified, and faved by 
 Chrift's Obedience imputed to us, without 
 our being ejieemed to have obeyed and fuf- 
 fered in him j as Chrift was condemned and 
 died for Adam's Sin imputed to him, tho' 
 he was not efieemed to have iinned in Adam. 
 As he was condemned by our Difobedience, 
 fo we are juftified by his Obedience, i)iz-» 
 the firft by his own Compad with the Fa- 
 ther, the laft by that and the Gofpel too : 
 He was not condemned by any Imputation 
 that made him by the Law a Sinner^ as 
 having finned in Adam ; neither are we 
 judified by being legally judged ^/^r^n 
 ov Obeyers in him. It avails not to fay, 
 Chrift was legally a Sinner, and yet not 
 reputed to fin in Adam^ becaufe Chrift was 
 our Root : For tho' he was our Root as to 
 Grace, Acceptance, Pardon and Glory, and 
 whatever elfe did proa'cd jrom him to us^ as 
 OMX Saviour \ neverthelcfSjifhe w^ a Sinner , 
 
 he 
 
An End to Dtfcord. 91 
 
 he could not as to this be our Root, unlefs Chap. 
 WG derive Sin Uom\\\m I But furely that VII, 
 Denomination mud haveitsRoot, not in- him, 
 but in thofe that were Sinners before him, 
 and whofeSins were imputed to him : They 
 muft denominate that one legal Per/on into 
 which he came, a finful guilty Per fan ; as 
 he doth that 07ie obeying, fatisfying Perfon, 
 into which we are admitted : (Which terms 
 I argue from, as efpoufed by our Bre- 
 thren.) 
 
 Finally, we are inclined to fet the 
 forefaid Limit to Chrift's Reprefentation, 
 by this among many other Reafons ; that 
 in Kotn, v. 14. where Adam is called a i7- 
 gure, the Death of thofe Heathens was 
 merited by their oivn perfonal Tranfgref- 
 lions, as well as by Adam\ Difobedience : 
 But the Eledt, even when Believers, do not 
 merit Life by ihtix own perfonal Obedience; 
 and therefore we are nst reprefented alto- 
 gether in the fame manner in Chrift as in 
 Adam. And now, 
 
 IL From the former, another point 
 arifeth, referring exprefsly to the Satisfac- 
 tion, viz. In what fenfe our Sins were //«- 
 puted to Chrift. 
 
 The one Side fay, our Sins were im- 
 puted to Chrift, only as to Guilt, or Obli- 
 gation to bear the Punijhments which we 
 deferved for them ; which punifhments 
 tho* he obliged himfelf to endure in our 
 
 Jiead 
 
9 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. 7?^^^ to reconcile God to us, yet that did 
 VJI. not render him <j Sinner in God's account ; 
 
 ^^^V^^ becaufe that Title refults from the violation 
 of the Precept, abftradledly from a refped: 
 to the threatning : And conceiving he was 
 not a Sinner in our ftead, tho' he luffer'd 
 in our {lead the puni{hments due to our 
 fins, they think he was elleemed by God 
 what in truth he was, viz. the holy, in- 
 nocent Mediator, puni(hable by his own 
 confent for the Sins which he came to ex- 
 piate, and which were not expiable with- 
 out his dying in our ftead. 
 
 But our Brethren think, our Sins were" 
 fo impbted to Chrift, as to give him the 
 denomination and judicial acceptation of a 
 Sinner in the efteem of God and the 
 Law. 
 
 Yet left the difference fiiould appear 
 greater than it is, it's lit I inform you, on 
 the one hand, that our Brethren deny, that 
 Chrift had any Sin or Deiiiement in him, 
 or had any Sin of his own ; they were our 
 Sins^ only imputed to him j and he was a 
 legal Sinner by being one political Per/on 
 with thofe Sinners, whom the Law efteem- 
 ed real Sinners, and condemned as fuch. . 
 On the other hand, isDe own, that (fup- 
 pofing the Covenant of Redemption,) he 
 was as truly obliged, and God the juft Rec- ' 
 tor at as full liberty to punilh him for our 
 Sins, as if he had been reputed a Sinner : 
 Nay, Divine Juftice required the infliding 
 
 thofe 
 
An End to D if cord. 93 
 
 thofepuniOiments on him, if the Sinner was Chap. 
 to be redeemed from them for his fake. VII. 
 
 Now, Reader, can this difference juftify 
 mutual Cenfures or Alienation ? What is 
 a Sinner without Filth, yea or any Fault 
 of his own, above a Sponfor obliged to bear 
 the puniliiments of other men's Sins in the 
 ftead of the Offenders ? And they who 
 acknowledge him to be this, what lefs 
 fay they ot him, than the others mean, 
 iho' fcrupulous of that hardier Denomina- 
 tion ?. At lead: it. would appear ftrange to 
 revile each other for a different explicatioa 
 of that Text, 2 Cor. v. 21. He .'was made 
 Si 71 for us. The one Side think, he was 
 made a Sacrifice for Sin, after the Hebrew 
 cuftom : For we find very oft the words 
 C3ii^^ and nnon to fignify a Sin-Offering as 
 well as Sin : Lev. vii. i, 2. and iv. 28, 29, 
 33. And this very Apoftle follows the 
 fame ufage, expreffing an Offering or Sa- 
 crifice for Sin by the Phrafe 'th^i ai^a^nai. 
 Rom. viii. 3. HeL x. 6. The oiber Side 
 will have it meant, that Chrifl: was made 
 a Sinner, but a Sinner that is holy, unde- 
 filed, and never offended ; which notion 
 of being made Sin h toodimunitive, to ad- 
 mit harfh thoughts of fuch as entertain it. 
 
 An unconcerned Obferver will be apt to 
 fay, Thefe who call ChnU a Sinner 2iTQ 
 intent to renounce Socinianifm -^ and they 
 who call him a Sacrifice for Siji, are as fol- 
 licitous to confute Socinianifm and Antino- 
 
 mianifm 
 
94 Peace nvhh Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, mianijm too, by withholding an advantage 
 VII. which both thefe Errors receive by the ufc 
 of that word. But where's the Chriftian 
 Charity or Prudence of the condemning 
 Side, when both contend for what feems 
 the beft defence of the Dodrine of Satis- 
 JaBion? The other Phrafes accounted for 
 in the Sixth Chapter^ admit the fame 
 mitigation , as this, and upon the fame 
 grounds. 
 
 III. Th e third point wherein there ap- 
 pears fome difference, refers to the Doc- 
 trine of ynjlijication. But before I infifl 
 on this, permit me to offer a few hint?. 
 
 I. The Difference in this matter feems 
 to proceed from the want of an equal con- 
 fideration, of the Covenant of Redemption, 
 which fixed the ter7m of Satisfaction, and 
 Impetration of faving Benefits, which C/6r//? 
 alone was thereby obliged to perform ; and 
 of the Go/pel- Covenant y wherein the method 
 o{ giving us a perfonal IntereO: in the Blef- 
 fings impeirated by Chrifl: is ordained. By 
 the former, all that belongs to Satisfadion 
 and Merit are confined to Chrift, and Par- 
 don, Adoption, and eternal Life are put in 
 the hand of our Saviour as his Reward. 
 By the latter^ a way becoming our fallen 
 State and rational Nature is appointed, to 
 apply to us a Right to the purchafed Blef- 
 iings; nor can the Scripture-account of 
 God's Calls, Pleadings, and judicial Pro- 
 ceedings, 
 
An End to D if cord* 95 
 
 ceedings, be explained without it. I thinkGn AP. 
 the not dillinguifhing thefe two Covenants, VII. 
 or fixing the inind upon either of them' 
 with too little regard to the other, contri- 
 bute much to our Debates. 
 
 2. With Humility I propofe to con- 
 fideration, Whether fuch can dangeroiijly 
 err as to the way of Salvation, and parti- 
 cularly in the Dodrine of Juftificationy 
 •who do honellly adhere to our foregoing 
 account of Chrift's SatisfaBion ; and in 
 fubordination thereto, aflert a Gofpel-Law 
 or Covenant, wherein is enaded a Rule by 
 which the faving EfFeds of that Satisfa<flion 
 are given forth ? It feems to me highly 
 improbable. For in the account given of 
 SatisfaBiony we afcribe the whole Impetra- 
 tion of Pardon, Acceptance, and all faving 
 Benefits, ojily to the Atonement and Me- 
 rits of Chrijl, exprefsly excluding all our 
 own Graces and good Wor-ks from the leaft 
 place therein : And by our Judgment of the 
 Gofpel-Law, we fecure the Method and 
 Rule of the perfonal Application of thefe 
 merited Benefits, and that conformably to 
 the fcope of the Bible in its moft explain- 
 ed Parts, as well as in full con fiftency with an 
 aptMiniftry,and a judicial Sentence againft 
 impenitent Infidels, to whom thofe Benefits 
 are not applied, notwithftanding Gofpel- 
 oftcrs. Whereas if we conceived never fo 
 fitly and with the greateft Soundnefs con- 
 cerning the ^^i'/j/^^/i?;; ofChrift, and de- 
 nied 
 
g6 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. rn^^diGofpel-Law^ (ov what's egtavaknt to 
 VJI. tt,) we apprehend no fmall Danger inevi- 
 tably to enfue ; and that in no lefs a matter 
 than men's Salvation : For if this Gofpel 
 prove a Rule of 'Judgment^ and thatChrifl: 
 gives forth Pardon and fuch merited Bene- 
 fits thereby, will not our Minijiry be ufe- 
 lefs and infnaring to Souls, which doth 
 not explain and prefs the Gofpel- Conditions 
 in order to an Intereft in thofe Benefits ? 
 And muft not thofe fecure Sinners be de- 
 ftroyed, who fubmit not to thofe Condi- 
 tions^ however confident they be upon Or- 
 thodox Apprehenfions of what Chrift hath 
 done, to fatisfy Juflice, and merit eternal 
 Life? 
 
 The Boundaries therefore I would pro- 
 pofe to my felf are, that Chrijl: be not n- 
 'valled in his atoning or meriting Perform- 
 ances on the one hand, nor rejeSied in his 
 enaded Rules of difpenfing his purchafed 
 and ofieired Benefits on the other j for he is 
 truly difhonoured, and Souls undone by 
 both. But I would not be midaken, as if 
 this were fuggefted to reflect on the Bre- 
 thren who are ferioufly intent upon the 
 Jirft\ for it already appears, and will be 
 more evident, that they negledt not the 
 /«/?, but affirm what to this purpofe is eqiii- 
 'ualcnt to a Gofpel-Law. 
 
 3. It is very evident, that when Fro- 
 teftants exprefs great Zeal for Chrift's alojie 
 Right eoufjiefs imputed to us in Juftification, 
 
 againft 
 
An End to D if cord, 97 
 
 againft the PopifJj DoBrine, the generalityCn ap. 
 of the Learned among them do only ex- VII. 
 elude every thing belides that Righteouf-' 
 nefs of Chrift, from being meritorious of 
 Acceptance, Pardon, Life, and any other 
 Bleffing ; and from being any Satisfa6lion 
 or Compenfation for any Sin ; affirming, 
 that this alone can atone the Anger of God, 
 for the Jake of this alone will h? abfolve 
 us, and nothing below this is perfedt enough 
 for us to ftand in before the Bar of his Ju- 
 ftice : And therefore the work of Faith it 
 felf can be no juflifyiiig Righteoufnefs in 
 that fenfe they took juftifying Righteouf- 
 nefs : (All which we heartily own' :) And 
 hence they oft appropriate the jufti- 
 fying Aptitude and Office of Faith, moft- 
 ly to a Reliance on that fole meriting 
 Righteoufnefs of Chrift, and its receiving 
 Forgivenefs, Acceptance, and a Right to 
 Life, of mere Mercy, for the fake of 
 Chrift's alone Merits. All which is juftly 
 and truly fpoken, as they accommodate it 
 to the defence. of Chri/i's Righteoufnefs, as 
 the only thing appointed or fit for the fore- 
 defcribed Purpofes, and in oppolition to 
 the Popi/h Dodrine of Merit. 
 
 Th e Dlfpute they had with the Popi/h 
 Church was about this meriting, atoning, 
 fatisfying Righteoufnefs ; and you'll find 
 them often propofe, that if the Fapijis 
 would grant that this Righteoufnefs was that 
 of Chrift ahne^ the great Controverfy 
 H about 
 
9 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, about yuftijication was at an end : But at 
 VII. the fame time moft Protefiants, and our 
 Homilies do fully grant, that Repentance 
 was necefTary, and required to Forgivenefs, 
 and Faith to Juftification, and that thefe 
 Bleflings are promifed to thofe Graces ; tho* 
 they were not led to difpute, Whether 
 theie were to be called a Right eouf?2efs^ as 
 qualifying the SubjeSl on whom God's juf- 
 tifying A&. terminated ; but whether in 
 that A61 God regarded any thing as a me- 
 riting, abfolving, fatisfying Righteoufitefs, 
 any thing as a SatisJaBioh to Juftice, any 
 thing as an impelling Motive, or valuable 
 Conlideration, be fides the Righteoufnefs of 
 Chrifi? To this their Debates were confined 
 in tbeir day, and this they were intent to 
 maintain, as all Chriftians ought to be : 
 Whereas the reafon ot debating the Nam2 
 of that by which the Subjed of Juftifica- 
 tion was determined, in oppofition to fuch 
 whom God did not juftify, was not fo 
 much before them, as before others, of later 
 years afl'aulted by fuch as went into ano- 
 ther Extreme from the Dodtrine of Popi/h 
 Merit, 
 
 Nor was this matter otherwife ftated by 
 our able Divines, who contend againft 
 fuch Armimans as afhrmed the tI credere to 
 be our juftifying Righteoufnefs : For by 
 Righteoufnefs fuch Arminians mean, the 
 Righteoufnefs which is part of Payment^ 
 and flands in the place ofj gnd anfwers the 
 
 fame 
 
An End to D if cord. 99 
 
 fame Ends m our Juftification, as perfedCnAP. 
 Obedience ferved for to finlefs Man ; VII. 
 which we have before ftated and re- ' — "^-^ 
 nounced. Were there need, abundant Teiii- 
 monies offer by which this Head is eafily 
 proved, tho' I grant fome Men may be 
 found to vent fome inconfjflent Expreflions. 
 
 Having premifed thefe things, I reaf- 
 fume the Difference that feems to continue 
 about yufiijication, which lies, 
 
 [i.] Xn the manner of xhQ Imputation 
 of Chrift's Righteoufnefs. Both agree, it 
 is imputed'j but hoWj is not fo univerfally 
 a/Tented to. 
 
 Th e one Side think the fenfe of impu- 
 ting Chriffs Righteoufnefs to be, that God 
 reckons us to have legally done and fufFered 
 what Chrift did, and this to the full Satis- 
 fadlion of Juftice and the Law of works j 
 and therefore, that "lvc are reputed to have 
 perfedly obeyed the Precepts of this Law, 
 and fully endured its Curfe ; and for our 
 legally doing (o, God judgeth and pro- 
 nounceth us righteous in full Conformity 
 to the Law, and therefore entitled to Par- 
 don, Adoption, and eternal Life. If you 
 afk, Is this juftifying Sentence the Sentence 
 of the Law oj works^ viz. its premiant 
 Sandion applied to us by God as the righ- 
 teous Judge, judging us by the Law of 
 works ? They anfvi^er. It is the Sentence 
 of the Law of works, but it is of Gofpel- 
 Grace that God allowed Chrift to be one 
 H 2 Perfon 
 
lOO P eace with Truth \ or 
 
 Chap. Per/on with us in the Covenant of workSj 
 VII. whereby we are thus accounted to obey 
 
 >^Or^ and fuffer in him. 
 
 But others think, that the Righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift is imputed in the following 
 manner, viz, (i.) They conflder that the 
 Father promifed to Chriji in Reward of his 
 Obedience and Suffering, that they who 
 believed on him (hould be pardoned, adopt- 
 ed, dealt with as righteous Perfons who 
 had not finned, and be eternally fav'd : 
 Hence the Lord Jefui has a Right to Be- 
 lievers obtaining thefe thbgs. And as 
 Faith defcribes the Perfons in this Covenant 
 who (hall obtain them, fo when we be- 
 come Believers^ we are accounted and ad- 
 judged to be fuch Believers, and fuch as 
 are to obtain thofe BlefTings in Chrifl's 
 Right. (2.) They confider God in Chriffc, 
 for fapiential Ends, making in the Gofpel 
 an Offer of Pardon, Adoption, and eter- 
 nal Life to poor Sinners if they believe y and 
 promifing thefe Bleflings when they believe -y 
 yet flill as BlefTings bought by Chrifl's Obe- 
 dience and Sufferings, and promifed to him 
 for Believers ; tho' withal ufed in his Gof- 
 pel as motives, to enforce his Command of 
 Faith and his Calls to it. Thefe things thus 
 confidered, we apprehend, that when God 
 in Chrifl juflifieth us, he doth not only 
 give us Pardon, Adoption, and Life ; but 
 he adjudgeth and fentenceth us to be the 
 ferfom who by the Covenant of Redemption 
 
 \ver^ 
 
An End to Difcord. i o i 
 
 were to be pardoned, adopted, and faved in Ch a p. 
 the Right of Chrifl j and to whom the Gof- VJI. 
 pel by its Promife gives a perfonal Right to ^^''^^'^^ 
 that Pardon, Adoption, and Life as pur- 
 chafed by Chrifl : And he efteems and ad- 
 judgeth, that the Obedience and Suffer- 
 ings of Chrift in their full virtue, is our 
 pleadable Security for the enjoyment of 
 them ; whereby we have a Right to plead 
 his death and merits with God, as what 
 procured thefe for us, as well as God's Fi- 
 delity, who promifed them to us in his 
 Gofpel. 
 
 You fee by this account, that we rife 
 not fo high as to fay, we are accounted to 
 do and fuffer what Chrift did, and to be 
 abfolved immediately by the Sentence of the 
 Law of works ; nor do we fall fo low, as 
 to intend no more than a mere Participa- 
 tion of the EffeBs of Chrift's Righteouf- 
 nefs, but affert an Imputation of Chrift's 
 Righteoufnefs it felf relatively to thofe Ef- 
 fedls. Chrift's Right is applied, and his 
 very Obedience reckoned to us, as what 
 pleads with God for thofe Effcdls, and fe- 
 cures us againft all condemning obftacles 
 and Challenges. The juftifying Sentence 
 is not the Sentence of the Law ; God faith 
 not, " Tou have perfedlly obeyed, therefore 
 ** you (hall live ; you have fatisfied the 
 " Curfe, therefore you Ihall not die :'* 
 Yet the Righteoufnefs which procured our 
 Salvation, and is adjudged our pleadable 
 H 3 Security 
 
10 2 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Security of enjoying this promifed Salva- 
 VII. tion, includes an Obedience as perfed: as 
 that to which the Law promifed Life if 
 we had not finned, and Sufferings equiva- 
 lent to what the Curfe pronounced againft 
 us when we finned. But becaufe we ap- 
 prehend not where this Law includes fuch 
 a Sentence as this, viz. '* Becaufe Chrijl 
 " obeyed^ you fliall live tho' you obeyed 
 " not J and becaufe Chri/i who finned not, 
 " did jiiffer for your Sins, you fhall be 
 " abfolved tho' you have finned -y' there- 
 fore we rather conceive the juftijying Sen- 
 tence to be the Sentence of the Gofpel-Law^ 
 yet connoting ih^Law of mediation y^^ui^ pre- 
 fuppofing a Satisfadion made to the Law 
 oj worksy which we conceive to be to this 
 purpofe: " Thou believing Sinner, I ju- 
 " dicially efteem and pronounce thee to 
 *•' be one, that I promijed to my Son in the 
 " Covenant of Redemption^ to pardon, 
 " adopt, and glorify, in Reward of his per- 
 " fecft Obedience to my Law, and Satis- 
 ** fadiion to my Juflice, which I acknow- 
 V ledge he hath performed ; as alfo to be 
 ** one of thofe perfons, to whom I made a 
 *' Promife of Pardon, Adoption, and eter- 
 *' nal Glory, when I offer d thefe Blef- 
 *' fings to all Sinners who would believe on 
 *' him : Thou art therefore, in the virtue 
 ** of the Promife made to Chrift, and the 
 " Promife made to thee, adjudged to re- 
 " ceive Forgivenefs, Adoption, and Glory, 
 
 «* and 
 
An End to Difcord, 103 
 
 ** and to have a Right to plead the R\gh- Chap, 
 ** teoufnefs of Chrift for thy (afe and com- VII. 
 " fortable Enjoyment of them in the pre- 
 " vaihng efficacy of his Merits, who alone 
 *' procured both thefe Bleffings, and that 
 " Faith upon which thy EJiate is fo much 
 ** ahered." Charity obiigeth me to think, 
 that fome well-meaning Perfons who talk 
 of eternal yuflification in Chrift, intend no 
 more than this Promije made to Chrift in 
 the Covenant of Redemption : And by not 
 diftinguifhing between this Promife, that 
 all who Jhould believe on him fhould be juf- 
 tified, and that other Article, that all the 
 Ele5i Jhall believe on him^ (which is a dif- 
 tind thing,) they confider not, that by the 
 firfi no man can be juftified till he be a Be- 
 liever \ and the la/i Article only aflurcF, 
 that the EleB will be Believers^ and by the 
 Confequence of xhtjirj} that they (hall all 
 be jullified, but yet not before they are 
 Believers. In what is promifed to Chriff, 
 Ifa. liii. 10, [ I. He poall fee his Seed, and 
 by his Knowledge (or by Faith in him) hs 
 Jhall jujtijy many^ are not the fame thins; : 
 The former afcer tains, that the Eled fhall 
 believe j the latter, that they (hall be juf- 
 tilied when they believe : Nor could it be 
 otherwife, even when Chrift upon the 
 Crofs paid that, for the fake of which thefe 
 Promifes were made to him. He muft 
 then purfuant to the Compact ^/^, that Be- 
 lievers might be juftified^ and the Eledt 
 H 4 become 
 
104 Peace with Truth '^ or 
 
 Chap, become Believers -^ otherwife the Articles 
 VII. of the Covenant of Redemption mufl be 
 ^-'^V"^-' altered, and not diredt his engaged Per- 
 formances and Rewards. Nor can I chufe 
 but wonder, to fee our Divines in their 
 Difpute againft the Papifts proving that 
 yuflijication is a forenfick or judicial A<5t ; 
 and yet, to find many ufing terms fo im- 
 proper to fuch an Ad:, and omitting, yea 
 condemning, thofe which are proper. 
 
 But to digrefs no further: You fee 
 what is this part of the difference about 
 Jujlification: Yet remember^ cwr Brethren 
 5o not fay, that we our felves did perfonal- 
 ly obey or fuffer, or are reputed fo to do, 
 but that we are reputed to have done it in 
 Chriji^ who was one legal Perfon with us 
 in the account of the Law : Nor do they 
 deny the Pardon of Sin, but own it, what- 
 ever others think of the difficulty of re- 
 conciling fuch things: They deny alfo, 
 that we can be faid to fatisfy in Chrift, 
 tho' we died in him, or that we merited in 
 him, tho' he merited. Further, there is 
 no difference about the EffeBs of the im- 
 puted Righteoufnefs of Chrift, nor yet 
 about the Righteoufnefs it fef as including 
 both his aBive and pafjive Obedience, nor 
 about the time of its Imputation, *oiz, 
 when we believe. 
 
 And fhall we condemn each other, not- 
 withftanding this Agreement in almofl 
 fverv thing belides the manner of Imputa- 
 tion, 
 
An End to D if cord, 105 
 
 tion, and this with relation to what God Chap, 
 accounts us to have done /« Chrifl^ and VII. 
 not as to what Chrift hath done for us ? — -v-^ 
 Shall men rend each other ^ becaufe one 
 thinks, there can be no Imputation beyond 
 what he grants j the other fufpeds, it is 
 not an Imputation unlefs it be in his words ; 
 and yet both grant an Imputation effeiSu- 
 ally available to all the fame real Purpofes, 
 viz. the honour of Chrift and Grace, the 
 accomplifhment of God's Decree, and the 
 acceptance and falvation of Believers as if 
 they had never been unrighteous, with 
 ground of believing hopes about it equally 
 flrong and quieting ? 
 
 [2.] The other Foint undecided is, 
 what TUtle or Name we fhould give to that 
 Faithy which is required in the Perfon on 
 whom God's juftifying A(5l doth termi- 
 nate. 
 
 Our Brethren fcruple our calling it a 
 Salification^ a Condition^ or a Righteouf- 
 nefs. But o/^^-rj^^i think, that each of 
 thefe may properly be afcribed to it. — It 
 may be called a Salification^ as it diftin- 
 guifheth one man defcribed by the Word, 
 which declares who fhall be juftified, from 
 another who, according to the Rule of the 
 Word, and the Incongruity of the thing, 
 is not to be juftified, unlefs the divine 
 Perfedions and the methods of Grace 
 fhould be refledted on ; for by the Gofpel- 
 Rule, he that hath not Faith is to abide un- 
 der 
 
io6 Peace with Truth 'y or 
 
 Chap, der wrath. And how unbecoming and of 
 VII. ill Confequence would it be, to entitle a 
 
 ^■^"^^"^^ man to Glory, and receive him to favour 
 for Chrift's fake, while he rejedeth Chrift, 
 and is refolved to tread under foot his 
 Blood j tho' it is from God's Promife^ and 
 not from any Merit of Congruit)\ that the 
 Accepter of Chrift (hould be juftified ? — 
 They call it alfo a Condition^ not to fignify 
 any Merit or Compenfation^ which they 
 abhor ; but to connote God's Offers of 
 thefe Bleflings to more than do accept of 
 them, as alfo a Divine Authority enjoining 
 a Compliance with the terms on which the 
 Bleflings are offered, tho' that be no more 
 than a meet Acceptance. — And to fhew the 
 manner of God's conferring them upon that 
 Acceptation, they think it may be called a 
 Gofpel-Righteoufnefs j not as meritorious of 
 the Bleffing, no, nor a full Conformity to 
 the Gofpel- precept j but as it is the per- 
 formed Condition of the offered Benefit, ac- 
 cording to the tenor of the Gofpel- promife, 
 which always fuppofes Chrifl's Satisfadliony 
 and his paying the impetrating Price of 
 all fuch offered BlefTings. And they are 
 more induced to account the performed 
 Condition a Gofpel-Righteoufnefs, becaufe 
 the Gofpel fo very often fpeaks of a fub^ 
 je£live Right eoufitef in us, and denominates 
 imperfeB men righteous fo exprefsly with 
 refped: to that Righteoufnefs : They alfo 
 think, that this cannot be from Obedience 
 
 to 
 
An End to D if cord* 107 
 
 to ihe. Law of works unlefs it were ^^r-CnAP. 
 fe^, which it is not ; nor yet from full VII. 
 Obedience to the Precepts of the Gofpel, ^-^^V^*^ 
 which enjoin no lefs as a Duty than doth 
 the Law it felf ; Therefore they can find 
 no ground of that Denomination ^ befides a 
 conformity to what the Gofpel-promife 
 appointeth as a Condition of the Good it en- 
 titles a perfon to j yet Itill as a means of 
 giving us in a way of governing Grace, 
 what was promifed to Chrijt for us, as a 
 Reward of his full Satisfaction to Legal 
 Jufiice. 
 
 But our Brethren think thefe Terms too 
 high, and prefer calhng Faith an Injiru' 
 ment^ as many Proteftants do, who alfo 
 call it a Condition : Some chufe to call it 
 a Means, I fuppofe to note a phyjical In- 
 fluence, in oppofition to what's moral and. 
 expreffive of any Law : Both which, by 
 the way, we apprehend an afcribing much 
 more to Faith, than we dare ; becaufe it 
 makes Faith efficacious, from its natural 
 aptitude and adivity, without a divine Or- 
 dination of it to that end by any Promije, 
 
 The Reafon of any Debate concerning 
 thefe ExprelTions, lies in this : Our Bre- 
 thren confider all the Gofpel-Duties and 
 Benefits as a mere phyfical Order of Blef- 
 iings decreed by God to the Eled: -, and fo 
 one is given before the other, according as 
 the Gofpel defcribeth that Order. We 
 grant the faid Order, and ihould infift oti 
 
 no 
 
1 o 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, no more, were not the Benefits offered to 
 VII. more befides the Eledt, and ftill iifed as 
 
 v^V^^ Motives to induce men to fubmit to thofe 
 Duties; and this, by Promifes of the Bene- 
 fits // the required Duties be performed, 
 and TJjreatnings of withholding the Bene- 
 fits with additional Mifery to be inflided 
 if they be not performed, with an account 
 oi judicial Proceedings towards men with 
 refped: to their performance or non-per- 
 formance of the faid official Terms: But 
 things being thus, and fo very apparently 
 the Indications of governing methods j and 
 the aptitude of our Minijlry for Conver- 
 iion and Perfeverance fo much depending 
 upon the afFcding of men's hopes and 
 fears -, we are forced to own, that the Gof- 
 pel is not only a defcription of the forefaid 
 Order, but that it is a Law of Grace fub- 
 ordinate to the Covenant of Redemption. 
 
 Yet that none may fufped: the dif- 
 ference above what it is, I fhall recite what 
 our Brethren grant in their Declaration. 
 They fay, pag. 13. " We are made true 
 ** Owners of fuftif cation, at that Inflant 
 •* when we firji believe." And pag. 15. 
 ** It muft be faid, that even in foro Dei, 
 " in God's Court, and according to the 
 ** Judgment of that open Court which 
 ** God hath fet up in his Word, and ac- 
 *' cording to the Proceedings of his Word, 
 •* (which is the Rule he profefleth to judge 
 *' men by, and therein he keeps to the 
 
 «* Rule 
 
An End to Difco7'd. 109 
 
 ^' Rule of his Word -, as Chrift faith, 7Chap. 
 ** judge no man ; but the Word which I VI I, 
 *^ Jpeakj Jball judge you -y John xii. 47,^-'''^^'^^ 
 ** 48.) God doth judge and pronounce his 
 ?* Eledt ungodly and unjujlifiedy till /^^_y 
 " believe" All thefe are the words of Dr. 
 Goodwin, which they approve of: And 
 note, that in vol, ii. of the Creatures^ lib. 2. 
 cap. 7. />^^. 51, to 63. he proves at large, 
 that Faith in Chrift is of another kind than 
 the Faith required by the Law of works. 
 They alfo fay, pag, 46. " God in the Co- 
 " venant of Grace freely offer eth unto Sin- 
 ** ners Life and Salvation by Jefus Chrift, 
 ^* requiring of them Faith in him, that 
 " they may be faved." Note, the Ajfem- 
 hly pf Divines at Wejlminjler^ in their 
 larger Catech. ^. 32. exprefs it, " re- 
 " quiring Faith as the Condition to intereft 
 ** them in Chrift." And in their fljorter 
 Catech. ^, 85. we are told, *' To efcape 
 " the Wrath and Curfe of God due to us 
 " for Sin, God requireth Faith in Jefus 
 " Chrift, Repentance unto Life, &c." And 
 in the Savoy Confe[Jion^ as well as theirs. 
 Chap, xviii. §. 2. " The true Believer's Cer- 
 " tainty of Salvation is not a bare con- 
 ** jeduraland probable Perfua(ion,ground- 
 •* ed upon a fallible hope ; but an infalli- 
 " ble Affurance of Faith, founded upon 
 " the Divine Truth of the Promifes of 
 •* Salvation, the inward Evidence of thofe 
 *? Graces unto which thefe Promifes are 
 
 *' made. 
 
no Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. ** made, ^r." Of all which our Brethren 
 VII. have approved. To add no more, they 
 declare ^tf^. 47. It's an Error ^ " that con- 
 *' tinued Repentance and Holinefs are not 
 ** in the nature of the thing, nor by the 
 " Conftitution of the Gofpel, necejfary to 
 ** our being pofTefTed of eternal Life :'* 
 And may it not be fuppoled, that nor is put 
 for and ? and that by what is called ?2ecef- 
 fary by the Cotijlitution of the Gofpel, as 
 diftinguifhed from 7ieceffary in the nature of 
 the thing, fome of them may mean an 
 authoritative or reSioral Conftitution ? that 
 is, this Order is appointed by Chrift as our 
 'Ruler, wherein he hath enabled this Con- 
 nedlion, and requireth our Compliance. 
 
 These things being put together, muft 
 acquit our Brethren from the imputation of 
 rendering Faith, Repentance, or Holinefs, 
 jjeedle/s or ufelefs to Salvation, tho' they 
 fcruple to call it a Go/pel- Righteoujhefs : 
 And we hope it may incline them to a For* 
 bearance towards us, who think thefe Con- 
 ceflions contain for fubftance all that we in- 
 tend by the terms. Condition, and Gofpel- 
 Righteoufnefs ; which we make ufe of, as 
 what do more exa(5lly, comprehenfively, 
 and to fome purpofes more fafely, exprefs 
 what we conceive to be the true import of 
 thefe PafTages when connedted, and of 
 which therefore we approve. 
 
 Yet to put things in a fuller Light, I 
 (hall reprefent the matter as it ftands by 
 
 the 
 
An End to Difcord, in 
 
 the forecited Paflages ; (to all which they Chap, 
 declare their Aflent, pag. 64.) The Bre- VII. 
 thren affirm, that God in his Covenant of- <-/'V>J 
 fering Life and Salvation to Sin?iers^ and 
 requiring Faith in him that they may be 
 faved, this Faith in a Mediator is command- 
 ed by the Gofpel, (and not by the Law of 
 works, as Dr. Goodwin faith,) with Go/- 
 pel-Promt fes of an Intereft in Chrift: and 
 his Benefits j and thefe are niade to this 
 Faith, (as a Cojidition, fay the AJjembly of 
 Divines ;) and this, in fuch a manner, that 
 the Believer may have an infallible A[fu- 
 ranee of the Benefits upon an inward evi- 
 dence of his having this Faith ^ as that 
 Grace to which the Promife was made^ 
 wherein the faid Benefits were included : 
 And ahb, that this Gofpcl includes that 
 Word, which is the Rule of Judgfnent, by 
 which Rule God judgeth that man (tho' 
 Eledi,) who hath not this Faith, to be a 
 Chrijilefs, unpardoned Child of wrath ; and 
 him who hath this Faith, to be a true 
 Owner of Chrift and Pardon : Alfo, that 
 Repentance is of fuch necefjity to all Sin- 
 ners, that this, as well as Faith, is required 
 that they may efcape, and none may ex- 
 ped: to be pardoned in a ft ate t)f unbelief 
 and impenitence j yea, continued Repent- 
 p.nce and Holinefs are neceffary to our pof- 
 feffion of eternal Life : And all this is de- 
 clared to be necejfary^ not only from the 
 
 nature 
 
112 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, nature of the thing, hut alfo by the Confti- 
 VII. tut ion of the Gofpel. 
 
 This Account, I apprehend, is fo eqtii- 
 valent to a Gofpel-Law of Grace for all its 
 great purpofes, that I fhall not be offended 
 at what name they pleafe to give it : And 
 did not a Fear of offending them prevent 
 me, 1 would prove it to be all the Law of 
 Grace which we affert j efpecially if they 
 would allow, that when they fay God re- 
 quireth Faithy that Sinners under Offers of 
 Life may be faved, it's upon his Throne 
 (tho' a Throne of Grace,) that God in 
 Chrift requireth it, and from thence direds 
 his Offers of Salvation to Sinners ^ and 
 thence fenteticeth them who live under 
 Gofpel- Offers, by their affcrted Rule of 
 ^Judgment. 
 
 However, we have no reafon to con- 
 tend } efpecially when both agree, that the 
 Debate is about the Injlrument oj Dona- 
 tion, and the ^mlification of the Subjedl 
 to receive a Gijt ; and not about any thing 
 that meriteth the Gift, freely beftowed on 
 God's part, and thankfully and humbly 
 received on our part. A low degree of 
 Charity would make allowance on both 
 hands, when the Difference is fo minute. 
 They feem jealous of the honour of Free- 
 Grace, (yetowningChrift's Merits:) We^xQ 
 iox Free-Grace, in oppofition to all Merits 
 befides Chrift's, but not exclufively of all 
 governing Methods in applying the effeds of 
 
 Free- 
 
An End to Dtfcord, 113 
 
 Free-Grace. They grant, that Faith inGHAP. 
 Chrift is required^ that we may be faved : Vlf. 
 We more exprefsly fay, it's by a redloral ^OT^ 
 Authority. T^hey grant, it is fo by the 
 Law of works : We fay, it's by a pofi- 
 tive Gojpel- Law, tho' we grant when this 
 pofitive Law requireth it, we are obliged 
 alfo by the general Law of Nature to yield 
 Obedience ; yet not by the Law of works^ 
 as fpecified by Adam's Covenant, which 
 Faith in Chrift was inconfiftent with from 
 the eflential nature of that Covenant. Our 
 Brethren are watchful againft any inherent 
 Righteoufnefs of man mingling with 
 Chrift's Righteoufnefs : We, befides avoid- 
 ing of that, are felicitous left men come 
 fhort of Salvation by the Righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift, through a negledl of what he re^ 
 quireth in all thofe who ftiall be faved by 
 it J and yet we declare againft all things be- 
 fides Chri/i^s Righteoufnefs^ to be any impe- 
 trating, fatisfying, atoning, meriting or 
 compenfating Righteoufnefs ; and as Faith 
 hath no (hare or place in this Office, fo 
 Chrift's Righteoufnefs, tho' the fole merito- 
 rious Caufe, is not that which God by the 
 Gofpel requires oj Sinners that they may 
 be faved by the Righteoufnefs of Chrift $ 
 Faith is that commanded Requijite, and no 
 more than that ; its place is thereto con- 
 lined ; and therefore here is no mingling 
 of our Righteoufnefs with Chrift's, becaufe 
 their ufe, place, and offices be fo very diftindt. 
 I They 
 
I T. 4 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. They feem mod afraid of Popery and 
 VII. Armifiianifm -y and therefore keep to this 
 fenfe of being jii/lijied by Faith alone, vix. 
 we are ju {lifted only by Chrift believed on^ 
 or the Objedl of Faith only is imputed to 
 us for Righteoufnefs. We are truly afraid 
 of Popery and Arminianifm, but not only 
 of thefe, but of Antinomianifm too 5 and 
 therefore are intent to maintain two great 
 tTrw/Z^i included in that one Sentence, We 
 are juflified by Faith ; viz. 
 
 (i.) That the Believer is abfolved 
 from Guilt, accepted into God's Favour, 
 and entitled to eternal Life, /;/ a?id for 
 Chrift's Righteoufnefs ; and neither Fatth^ 
 nor any Grace or Adt of ours, makes the 
 leafl: Reccmpence to God, or is the leaft 
 Price or Merit of Pardon or Life, or any 
 Motive inclining divine Juftice to promifi 
 or accept us into his favour, or to treat us 
 m righteous Perfons. This from our heart 
 we own ; and know, that this is what 
 found Protefiants intended by it again ft 
 the Papifts. Yet as God promifed to Chrift 
 in the Covenant of Redemption, that all 
 Believers (hould be abfolv'd, &c. fo in the 
 Gofpel-Offer of his Grace to Sinners, he 
 promifed to Men, that he would in and for 
 the Righteoufnefs of Chrift , abfolve, accept, 
 treat as righteous Perfons, and give eternal 
 Life (already purchafed by Chrift,} to every 
 true Believer ; commanding Sinners to be- 
 lievey and threatning that if they believed 
 
 noty 
 
An End to Difcord. 115 
 
 mt^ they fliould remain condemned^ yea Chap. 
 become fubjed to forer punijhments ; and VII. 
 that he would judge them by this Go/pel" ^^w^ 
 Rule of Judgment, Whence we are at- 
 tentive to Sijecond Truth, viz. 
 
 (2.) That God accepteth and ac- 
 counteth Faith to be a performed Condition 
 of this Gofpel-Covenant, and upon it ac- 
 quits the Sinner from the C6^rfl^^ of damn- 
 ing Infidelity 5 and adjudgeth the BeHever, 
 qua fuch, in oppofition to Infidels, to be, 
 in Chriji's Right, and by his Gojpel-Pro- 
 mije, entitled to a prefent perfonal Inter eji 
 in the forefaid Abfolution, Acceptance, and 
 Gift of eternal Life ; yet as procured by 
 Chrifl's Righteoufnefs alone, and applied 
 for his fake. 
 
 To add no more, our Brethren in the 
 Dodtrine of Juflijication almoft confine 
 their Regards to the SatisfaBion of Chriji, 
 wherein Chrift tranfadted with the pro- 
 voked Juflice of God : We, be fides that, 
 confider a propitiated God in Chrift apply- 
 ing the effeds of his Redemption to men 
 in a Method of governing Grace j but 
 without any real difference in the Do(5trine 
 of Satisfadiion j and withal fincerely grant- 
 ing the Condition is performed in the 
 Strength of Chrift freely difpenfed^ Yet 
 upon the whole, they provide againft car- 
 nal Security, and we againfl carnal Boafl- 
 ing : And as they arc far from defigning 
 to eclipfe the Glory of Chrift, as King, 
 I 2 Lawgiver, . 
 
1 1 6 Peace nsiith Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Laivgrcer. and Judge -, fo we are as far 
 VII. from intending the diminution of his Glo- 
 ry, as a Prieft. How unreafonable and 
 unhappy therefore would perpetuated Con- 
 tefls be, where the Grounds pretended are 
 of fo little weight ? 
 
 Thus I have infifted on what feems 
 moll like a Difference, in the Dod:rine of 
 SatisJaSlion and Jujiification. Some weak 
 perfons may think there is a great Contro- 
 verfy, where I fee nothing worth our 
 notice. They will fay, Some think, that 
 we are jujiified by one A5i of Faith, 'vix, 
 'Reliance. Well, but they fay, juftifying 
 Faith is receiving Chrijl^ &c. as well as a 
 Reliance. Ay^ but a man fees only with 
 his E)r, tho' more is of the Effence of a 
 man : But I fay, no wan fees without that 
 which is of the Effence of his Eye. — 
 Again, fome think, that jujiijying Faith 
 as fuch receives Chrifl only as a Prieji ; 
 while others fay, it receives him alfo as a 
 King and Prophet : Yet the laji fay, the 
 convinced Sinner hath a fpecial refpeB to 
 Chrifl 's Priejihoody as mofi agreeable to his 
 prefent cafe ; and the former will fay, it's 
 but an hypocritical Faith ^ that receives not 
 Chrift as Prophet and King as well as 
 Prieji : Nay, it's not the true Chrifl, the 
 anointed Mefjias, who is received, unlefs it 
 be as Prophet, King, and Priefl, even 
 Chriji fejiis the Lord, — Ay, but fome 
 
 fay. 
 
An End to Difcord. 117 
 
 fay, Repentance is an effect of Juliification .-Chap. 
 But there be very few of our Congregation- VII. . 
 al Brethren of that mind j and I luppofe, L/WJ 
 they mean Works meet for Repentance^ 
 and not a Change of the purpofe of the 
 heart. 
 
 Nay, butfeveral fay. Faith alone is the 
 Injtrument of fiiftification\ while others 
 make Repentance the Condition of Forgive- 
 nefs» What then ? feeing the firft grant, 
 there is no jufHfying Faith without Repent- 
 ance ; and the laft grant, the aptitude of 
 Faith to receive and acknowledge Chrifl 
 (which I fuppofe they mean by Injlru- 
 ment,) is far greater than Repentance. But 
 when both Sides confider Faith as an or- 
 dained Condition as well as an Inftrument, 
 they'll fcarce difpute, but that Repentance 
 is a Condition, of Pardon as well as Faith ; 
 unlefs they would agree to join them to- 
 gether, by calling Faith a penitent Faith^ 
 or Repentance a believitjg Repentance i 
 connoting at once a Sinner's purpofe to 
 return to God by Chrift the Mediator, and 
 his clo/ing with Chrift the Mediator^ that 
 he may return to God by him : Tho' I 
 think the end is firfl agreed to, before the 
 way or means to that end is refolved on or 
 made ufe of. 
 
 Obj. But fure there is a vaft diffe- 
 rence, between thofe who think we are 
 jufeifed by Faith only, and thofe who think 
 Vi^dX^juftifiedby Works as well as by F^ith, 
 I 3 Jlnfw, 
 
1 1 8 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Anfw. i. Not fo very great; when 
 VII. both mean, that we 2iX^ juftified neither by 
 
 ^^^"^^"^ Faith nor Works, as the word juftijied is 
 commonly taken : For both agree, that we 
 areabfolved, accepted as righteous, and en- 
 titled to eternal Life, only for Chrift's 
 death and obedience, as the only meriting, 
 fatisfadory, and atoning Righteoufnefs. 
 
 2. They who fay, it's by Faith alone 
 that we apply this Righteoufnefs, do alfo 
 grant, that Faith is not alone in the perfon 
 to whom God applies the Righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift ; and when they apply it to them- 
 felves, Repentance, Love, ^c. are conco- 
 mitants with Faith. And they who think, 
 we 2S^ juftijied by Works^ as they think it 
 is God's applying Chrifl:'s Righteoufnefs to 
 us, and not our applying it to our felves, 
 that is the great jiijiifying AB ; fo they 
 grant, that God juftifieth us as foon as we 
 repent and believe with the heart, and 
 doth not fitfpend a juftified State, i\\\Works 
 meet for Repentance or the EffeBs of Faith 
 are produced j yea, fhould a man die then, 
 he would be certainly faved. 
 
 3. They who fay, it's by Faith alone, 
 acknowledge, that jnftifying Faith will 
 certainly produce good Works ; and if good 
 Works and perfevering Holinefs do not 
 fbllow, it was a dead Faith y ^nd becaufe 
 dead, it never was a juftifying Faith, how- 
 ever men flatter'd themfelves : Alfo, that 
 inen's Faith, the' not their Perfons, is jufli-. 
 
 fied 
 
An End to Difcord. 119 
 
 fied (^^ their Works: Yea, the moft Judi-CnAP, 
 cious own, that if Sin (liould reign in Be- Vlf. 
 lievers, and they apoftatize^ they would be (•VNJ 
 C07idemned, (tho' the Prom ife oiPerjeverance 
 make that impoffiblc ;) and therefore per- 
 fevering HoHnefs and good Works fo far 
 continue their Juftification, as they prevent 
 what would bring them into Condemna- 
 tion ; and Faith is the Condition of the con- 
 tinuation of Juftification. See Dr. Owen 
 of Juftijication^ pag. 207, 208, 306. On 
 the other hand, they who fay, we are juf- 
 tijied by Works ^ do account Works to be no 
 more but the executing the federal confent- 
 ing Ad: of Faith ; and fo it's Faith exerting 
 it felf by various occalions : And confi- 
 dering, that the Believer's not only forgiv- 
 ing his Enemies, but his perfevering in Faith 
 and Holinefs, are plain Conditions in many 
 Promifes made thereto; and God pro- 
 nounceth to Believers, that he will have 720 
 pleafure in any Man who draweth back, 
 and he Jhall die if Sin reigneth in him 5 
 {Heb. X. 38. Rom, viii. 13. Mat. vi. 14, 
 15.) they conceive, that by Perfeverance ■ 
 in Faith and true Holinefs, they are kept 
 from being chargeable with final and total 
 Apoftacy, and from obnoxioufnefs to the 
 Evils denounced by the Gofpel againft A- 
 foftates as fuch, and are adjudged to be 
 under the Influence and Safeguard of the 
 Promifes made to Believers as perfevering, 
 Neverthelefs they abhor a thought, that 
 I 4 P^rje"^ 
 
120 Peace with T*ruth ; or 
 
 Chap. Perfeverance in Faith and Holinefs, or any 
 VII. good Work^ is any meriting Right eoufnejsy 
 or the leaft Compenfation for Sin, or en- 
 titling Price of the leaft Benefit : Nor do 
 they exclude the need of multiplied and 
 continued Pardotiy or make any Bleffing 
 due of Debt ; but they rely wholly on 
 ChrilVs Merits for thefe things, as the only 
 procuring Caufe ; tho' they are aff'e5led2ind 
 governed by thefe places of God's Word, 
 which are direded to Believers as part of 
 his Rule of fudgment j well knowing, that 
 whatever Sentence is pafTed by the faid 
 Word in this Life, God executes it now in 
 part, and more at Death ; but at the great 
 Day it will be folemnly pronounced, and 
 perJeBly executed. 
 
 These refpecftive Conceflions duly 
 weighed, fecure thofe who fay we areyr//- 
 tifed by Faith alone from the danger of Li- 
 centioufnefs ; and thofe who fay we are 
 jufiified by Works alfo, from detracting from 
 the honour of Chriffs Right eoujnefs^ as 
 having the file meriting, atoning Virtue 
 and Efficacy in Juftification ; and do not 
 only grant Perfeverancey but think thefe 
 conditional Promifesand Comminationsare 
 apt and defigned means of it, in Subjeds 
 capable of moral Government, and whofe 
 Warfare is unaccomplilhed. 
 
 However fuch different Se72timent5 
 may appear to others, I lay fo little ftrefs 
 ypon theiD, that I had not thought it worth 
 
 «iy 
 
An End to Difcord, 121 
 
 my labour to have printed a Sheet againfl: Chap. 
 any man, who confeffed the necejjity of VII. 
 Javing Faith (as defcribed in the Gofpel) L/'^VS^ 
 . to Jujlification^ (Repentance and Love ftill 
 accompanying that Faith, in the Objedt 
 on whom God's juftifying A61 doth ter- 
 minate,) and the uneffeSlualnefs of Faith 
 to fave any who negleded to perform good 
 Works, and to perfevere in Faith and Ho- 
 linefs. Such as granted but thefe things, 
 I had never wrote againft for fcrupling the 
 conditional refpeft of them to the Gofpel' 
 Law, But Dr. Crifp\ Notions I appre- 
 hended dangerous; and they fo greatly pre- 
 vaiHng, my Brethren thought my confu- 
 ting them neceffary at that time ; whereas 
 I had no purpofe, when I wrote againft Dr. 
 Crifp, to intermeddle with thefe other 
 points : But fome Congregational Brethren 
 in their Attempts againfl my Book, did 
 from a very few occafional Expreffions 
 therein, accufe us of Socinianijm, Armi- 
 nianifm, and Popery j and that they might 
 have fome pretence to fix that Charge, they 
 turned the Controverfy into thefe leffer 
 Matters, whereby I was necejjitated either 
 to infift on them, (however againft my 
 Will,) or elfe to abide under the forefaid 
 fevere Imputation, to the prejudice not 
 only of my own Miniftry, but alfo of 
 moil of my Brethren, 
 
 CHAP. 
 
I 2 2 Peace nsoith Truth \ or 
 
 C H A P. VIIL 
 
 An Attempt to accommodate the 
 Differe7'icey between fuch as fay 
 Chrift's Righteoufnefs is im- 
 futed only as to Effeds, aitd not 
 in fe ; and thofe of us who think 
 it is imputed in fe. 
 
 Chap. T70RESEEING an ObjeBion, that will 
 VIII. X7 be improved againft a peaceable 
 
 ^^'-v-v^ Forbearance towards a number, however 
 fmall, and that Rigidnefs may include in 
 that number whomever the Objedors (hall 
 difafFed, it's of ufe to ft ate it. 
 
 ObjeB. Granting the forementioned 
 Points to be reduced below a Cauje of Dif- 
 jention, yet the Difference cannot be com- 
 promifed, between fuch as fay the Righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chrift is imputed [in fe] for 
 Juftification, and them who fay it is not 
 imputed [in fe,] but only quoad effeBus, 
 
 Anfw. I THINK it may be accommo- 
 dated ; at leaft fo far, as to cut ofFjuil Pre- 
 tences for hereticating and dividing from 
 each other : To which end I will confider 
 thefe feveral Opinions, and then reduce 
 the difference. 
 
 Firft, 
 
An 'End to Difcord, 123 
 
 Firjfy Among them who fay, Chrift'sCnAP. 
 Righteoufnefs is imputed [in fe,] there be VIII. 
 two Opinions moft noted, and whereto ^-^/^^ 
 all others are reducible : Of both thefe I 
 have already treated fo much, that little 
 more is needful. 
 
 [i.J There are /^w^ who think, that 
 the Elccfl are judicially, according to the 
 Law of works ^ accounted to have done and 
 lufFered in Chrijl all that the Law de- 
 manded, both as the Pnnifliment of Sin, 
 and the Merit of eternal Life. Such muft 
 hold, that Chrift's death and obedience 
 are y^^ formal Righteoufnefs of the Eled:, 
 and the formal Caufe of Juflification, and 
 that from the firft moment of their per- 
 fonal Subfiftence ; yea, and (except making 
 Chrift to be their Reprefentative,) without 
 any Gift of that Righteoufnefs, it being 
 imputed not of Grace, but of legal J uji ice, 
 as Adam's Obedience had been if he had 
 finally obeyed, and his Offence now is 
 upon his finning. 
 
 There are others, who are for this 
 judicial reckoning Sinners to obey and fuf- 
 fer in Chrift ; but they hold, they are not 
 adjudged to have done this, //// they are 
 Believers j and then, they are legally juft 
 before God, and as fuch entitled to eter- 
 nal Life. Thefe fpeak more fafely, but 
 lefs confiftently j they limit the Time, from 
 a conviilion that the whole fcope of the 
 Gofpel mufl be contradided, if Unbe- 
 lievers 
 
1 24 Peace with T'ruth ; or 
 
 Chap, lievers do not remain condemned, and Be- 
 VJII. lievers o«/k are jiiftified. But yet it feems 
 hard, to apprehend, that God by the haw 
 of Works accounts the Perfon oj a Believer 
 to have juffered in Chrift^ and therefore to 
 be abfolved ; whom yet he did not account 
 to Jifffer in Chrift while he was an Unbe- 
 liever,, and therefore condemned him, and 
 this by that very fame Law which now 
 acquits him. I know, to make this 
 confift, it's offered, that the Ele6l are not 
 Chriffs Seed till they become Believers. 
 But this comes fhort j for it will thence 
 follow, that Chrift in his death was a ftri(ft 
 Reprefentative, who perfonated Believers. 
 [qua'^ Believers^ which will induce ill Con- 
 fequences : And yet further, it is not true, 
 that the Perfons of Believers were JeminaU 
 ly in Chrift^ when he died, as we were in 
 u^damvihtn. he finned ; and fo no Argu- 
 ment can be brought from that Inftance. 
 I grant, that both the Merits and the 
 powerful Virtue whereby our Perfons in 
 time obtain Faith, were in Chrift before 
 we were born ; but that makes not Chrifl 
 the Root of our Perfons at that time, but 
 of that regenerating Virtue whereby we 
 become Believers : And therefore, tho' as 
 to this change of our ^lalification we may 
 be called Chriffs Seed when we believe, 
 yet it's not fuch a Seed, as that it may be 
 faid of us, we fuffered in him^ as we fin- 
 ned in Adam^ who was the natural Root 
 
 of 
 
An End to D if cord. 125 
 
 of our Perfons, and thereupon fuch a Re- Chap. 
 prefentative as his Defcendents finned in. VIII. 
 What may be faid of Chrift's adopting 
 Merits will have no place here ; for thefe 
 Authors make Adoption to be an R§e5i 
 of Juftification, and fo the Imputation is 
 prior. 
 
 [2.] There be others, who are for 
 imputed Right eouJ?tefs [in /e,] but cannot 
 approve of the former manner of Imputa- 
 tion J among whom there is fome variety 
 in wording their Conceptions, but they 
 come to one and the fame thing, viz. 
 That God adjudgeth the Believer to be 
 one, whofe Abfolution, Adoption, and Glo- 
 ry were promifed to Chriji in Reward of his 
 death and obedience by the Covenant, of 
 Redemption ; (which are promifed alfo to 
 the Believer himfelj in the Gofpel- Cove- 
 nant ;) and for his adluai intereft and en- 
 joyment thereof, as alfo his acceptance and 
 treatment as a righteous Per/on againft all 
 Challenges, God judicially accounts what 
 Chrid hath done and fufFered to be his 
 pleadable Security : This we take to be 
 Imputation, 
 
 Secondly^ As to the Opinion of thofe 
 who fay, Chrift's Righteoufnefs is not im- 
 puted [in fe,] but only as to RffeBs-, they 
 in expreflions oppofe all the forementioned 
 Account, denying that the Jirjl Head is 
 true, and that the fecond is any Imputa- 
 tion 
 
126 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, tion of Chrift's Righteoufnefs in. fe : Ne- 
 VIII. verthelefs they grant, that Chriji'i Righ- 
 teoufnefs is the meritorious Caufe of our 
 Juftiticatlon by Faith, and feem to infift 
 moftly upon its Efficacy to that end ; as 
 Chrift's Satisfaction was the ground upon 
 which God enacted the Gofpel-Covenant, 
 wherein our Faith^ tho' im perfect, is ac- 
 counted for Righteoufnefs. Concerning this 
 Opinion I (hall offer a few things. 
 
 [i.] None ought to narrow it, as if 
 the Authors meant, that Pardon and eter- 
 nal Life are not merited by the Righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift ; for they affirm, that thefe 
 and other Gofpel-Ble/fings are merited by 
 Chriji^ as well as the Gofpel-Covenant. 
 Pray fay not this ; for it's not only the 
 Covenant it felf, but thofe "very BleJJings 
 which that Covenant conveys, that are 
 the merited EffeSfs of Chrift's death and 
 obedience; they were his deferved Re- 
 wards, which are difpenfed to us upon 
 believing. This I infert, to obviate a Con- 
 ceit too much improved by fome, (fo 
 ftupid, or worfe, that they will not own 
 this Diftindion,) who ftill cry out againft 
 thofe of this Opinion, as if they confined 
 the Influence of Chrifl's Righteoufnefs to 
 the procuring of a Law whereby men 
 were to purchafe Pardon and Life by their 
 own Faith : Whereas they are fo far from 
 this, that they affirm thefe BleJJings were 
 already accounted purchafed^ and Authority 
 
 in 
 
An End to Difcord. 127 
 
 in Chrift to difpenfe them, before he could Chap. 
 ena<5t fuch a Law. VIII. 
 
 [2-] They intend not to exclude 
 Chriji's Righteoufnefs from being imputed 
 in any fenfe ; for they fay it's imputed 
 quoad effeBus, and therefore (hould not be 
 charged to deny all Imputation^ or repre- 
 fented to fay, we are pardoned and faved 
 for our own Works y without any Imputation 
 of Chrift's Death and obedience at all. 
 
 [3.] In all which they affirm concern- 
 ing 'Jufiification^ they ftill fuppofe Chrift's 
 compleat Satisfadliojiy and are found there- 
 in : None can accufe them to differ from 
 the Orthodox, as to Chrift's expiating Sa- 
 crifice, or Impetration of eternal Life. 
 
 [4.] I COULD wifti a very worthy 
 Perfon of this Opinion would review his 
 own account of fuftification', wherein he 
 faith, " It is that J^i, whereby God im- 
 *' putes to every found Believer his Faith 
 " jor Righteoufnefs upon the account of 
 ** Chrift's Satisjatlion and Merits, and gives 
 •* Pardon and Life as the Benefits of it,'' 
 that is, of fuftification j which he further 
 explicates, " Through Chrift's Sacrifice the 
 " defeSis of this Faith, which is our Righ- 
 ** teoufnefs, are pardoned, and by his Me- 
 " rits that imperjeB Duty is accounted or 
 ** imputed to us for Righteoufnefs, which 
 *' it is not in it felf." Had I thus ftated 
 this Point, I (hould alk my felf, Do not 
 I fet Pardon too remote from Chrift's Sa- 
 crifice 
 
128 Teace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, crifice as the meritorious Caufe? And ho\^ 
 VIII. can Pardon be the EffeB of imputing 
 Faith for Righteoufnefs, (which is Jujii- 
 Jication^) and yet God cannot impute 
 Faith for Righteoufnefs unlefs he firfl pa?-- 
 don its defedls for the fake of Chrifl's Sa- 
 crifice? But the caufe of my mentioning 
 this Account follows. 
 
 [5.] They do affirm what amounts 
 to a real Imputation of Chrifl's Righteouf- 
 nefs in je ; at leafl what fuppofeth this Im- 
 putation^ and infers it to be neceffary. For 
 how by Chrifl's Merits can a Righteouf- 
 nefs in it felf imperfeB be reckoned before 
 a juft God for our perfedl Righteoufnefs^ 
 and yet thofe Merits, for which it is io 
 reckoned, not he imputed at all for Righ- 
 teoufnejs to us who have that Faith ? 
 Would Faith be no Righteoufnefs, except 
 the Divine Mind did apply the Merits of 
 Chrift to Faith to make it a Righteoufnefs^ 
 upon which I am accounted righteous by 
 this Faith ; and yet the Divine Mind not 
 apply to me that Righteoufnefs of Chrift^ 
 without which my Faith left me flill un- 
 righteous f whereas it feems undeniable, as 
 far as Chrift's Righteoufnefs is neceffary to 
 make my perfonal Faith my Righteoufnefs 
 in God*s account, that fame very Righte- 
 oufnefs is neceffary to make my Perfon righ- 
 teous in God's account.— -Moreover, they 
 own, that God promifed to Chriji in reward 
 of his meriting Sufferings and Obedience, 
 
 that 
 
An End to Difcord, 129 
 
 that all Believers (hould be abfolved and Chap. 
 glorified: And can they be adjudged to VIII. 
 this Abfolution and Glory, without 2. ju- 
 dicial acknowledgment that they are to be 
 abfolved and glorified in that Right cf 
 Chri/i which refulted from that Promife 
 made to him ? And can that be, without 
 an Imputation o( thofe Sufferings and Obe- 
 dience of Chrift, which are rewarded in 
 that Right of Chriji, and thereby in thofe 
 Bleffings wherein Believers have this judi- 
 cially acknowledged Intereft ? — They alfo 
 abhor a thought, that our Faith can be 
 prefented to God as any Righteoufnefs in 
 Satisfa5lion to Juflice, Atonement for our 
 Sin, or the meriting Price of our Salva- 
 tion : And withal they grant, there muft 
 be fuch a Righteoufnefs ; and that this was 
 Chri/i's Righteoufnefs^ by which our Sins 
 are fatisfied for, we receive the Atone- 
 ment, are reconciled, and obtain the Sal- 
 vation fopurchafed. Now is it poffible, 
 that things (hould ftand thus, and Chrift's 
 Righteoufnefs not he imputed to us ? Can 
 our righteous Judge declare himfelf fatis- 
 fied, atoned, and reconciled to us Sinners 
 for the Righteoufnefs of Chrill:, and not 
 impute to us that Righteoufnefs in fe^ as 
 what he accounts a Plea for us in his ac- 
 count ? Can we enjoy the merited Eff'eBs 
 of Chrift's Death, and that Death not be 
 reckoned what fecures to us thofe Effects, 
 againft the Challenges which the Merits of 
 K it 
 
130 Peace with Truth 'y or 
 
 Chap, it were defigned toanfwer ? — Finally, Bo 
 VIII. not thefe Divines oft reft on and plead with 
 God the Merits of Chrtji, more immediate- 
 ly and diredly than a denial of Imputa- 
 tion will admit ? when they reft on Chrift's 
 Righteoufnefs, and plead it with God for 
 Pardon j (tho' it's true we could not ex- 
 pe<5t Pardon for it, were not Pardon pro- 
 mifed for the fake thereof.) I think their 
 Minds oft adt more directly and fully to- 
 wards the Righteoufnefs of Chrift, than 
 to intend it thus, viz. ** I truft in Chrifl's 
 ** Merits for Pardon, as that Pardon is 
 ** the effeB of that Juftification wherein 
 " our Faith is accounted through Chrift's 
 " Ssiiish&.ion a Righteoufnefs according to 
 ** the Gofpel- Covenant-, which Covenant was 
 ** procured by the Merits of Chrifl's Death." 
 I GRANT, there may be ufe of this 
 progreffive manner of arriving at Chrifl's 
 Death for fupport of our Faith, as we 
 confine its regards to the Gofpel-Covenant^ 
 and examine our Intereft thereby as a Rule 
 of Judgment. But 1 humbly think, that 
 when we plead with God for Pardon for 
 the fake of Chrift's Merits, we have a more 
 diredt Eye to the Covenant of Redemp- 
 tion, wherein a Pardon was piomifed ta 
 Chrift for Believers in reward of his Death ; 
 and which the Gofpel diftindly exprefleth 
 in this, viz. That Pardon is granted y^r ^/6^ 
 fake, of Chrift's Death, as what procured 
 it in fe^ as well as what merited the Gofpel- 
 
 Covenant^ 
 
An End to Difcord. 131 
 
 'Covenant^ which is the Inftrument of the Chap. 
 donation of it. And fo by keeping our VIII. 
 eye on the Covenant of Redemptioji, we ' — ^-— ' 
 plead Chrifl's Right as more immediately 
 imputable ; and by keeping our thoughts 
 on the GoJpel-ConneBion between Pardon 
 and Chrifl's Death as the procuring Merit 
 of it, we plead Chrift's very Performances 
 mediately imputed, 'viz. as our pleadable 
 Security for our certain obtaining and fafe 
 enjoying the faid Forgivenefs. 
 
 [6.] The Reafons why thefe vene- 
 rable Perfons are fo intent to deny an Im- 
 putation of Chrift's Righteoufnefs in fe, 
 are, (i.) An apprehenfion that there's no 
 fuch Imputation^ unlefs we are accounted 
 by God to have done and fuffered what 
 Chrift did j which would unavoidably intro- 
 duce the Antinomian Scheme, as mofl con- 
 fiftent. But this I deny to be the only 
 import of that Phrafe j for when that 
 Righteoufnefs it felf is imputed relatively 
 to the fpecial EfFeds of it, it's truly an 
 Imputation of it ijife. And whereas they 
 of the other Extreme fay, that its being a 
 pleadable Security for our Pardon, is but an 
 Effe£i ; I anfwer, This Righteoufnefs it 
 Jelf being that Security, is indeed an Effed: 
 of the Compadt between the Father and 
 the Son ; yet it is not thii Effe5l is im- 
 puted, but the Righteoufnefs // felf\ as 
 fuch : And by the lame Rule, as they can 
 deny it to be imputed in Je^ becaufe it's 
 K 2 imputed 
 
132 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, imputed as a pleadable Security^ they may 
 VIII. better fay, Its being in:iputed for Juflifica- 
 
 Lz-VNi/ tion, and for Atonement, &c, would make 
 it to be no Imputation of it in fe ; for thofe 
 arc but Effeils, and that by virtue of the 
 fame Compact. (2.) A Zeal for the Gof- 
 pel-Righteoufnefs of Faith : But that is 
 very confiftent with the imputed Righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chriji ; and the' both meet in 
 our Juftification, yet it's under very dif- 
 tin6t Confiderations, of which afterwards. 
 
 Nor can I forbear again to inform the 
 world, that both Extremes arife from too 
 much difregard of the one or the other 
 Covenants, wherein the Salvation of a Sin- 
 ner is adjufted. Thefe Brethren, forget- 
 ting the Covenant of Redemption to which 
 the Gofpel- Covenant is fubordinate, too 
 little mention the Righteoufnefs of Chrift : 
 The other Brethren overlook the Gofpel- 
 Covenant, and darken a Gofpel- Righteouf- 
 nefs of Faith : Whereas a diflindt refped: 
 to the Rule of SatisfaBicn aud Impetra- 
 tion on the one hand, and to the Rule of 
 the Application of impetrated Benefits on 
 the other hand, would put a period to their 
 principal Difputes. 
 
 From this Reprefentation of the feveral 
 Sentiments of the Brethren concerned in 
 the Point before us, a mutual Forbearance 
 feems no unjuftifiable thing between them 
 who differ molt 5 and no confiderable 
 
 Difagreement 
 
An End to Dtfcord, 133 
 
 DIfagreement remains between the others. Chap. 
 For, VIII. 
 
 (r.) They who think the 7w/'«^<^//o;2 vWJ 
 of Chrift's Righteoufnefs in fe^ is God's 
 reckoning we did and fufFered what Chrift ^ 
 did, claim a tender regard from them who 
 fay it's imputed only as to EffeSfs ; for they 
 difown the Antinomiaji Confequences of it, 
 and abhor all Abufes of it to carnal Boafts 
 and profane Libertinifm^ of which before. 
 How unreafonable then were it to perpetu- 
 ate Contefts about this Point from the /// 
 Confequences of it, when thofe Confe- 
 quences are denied ?— On the other hand, 
 it appears too like uncharitable Rigidnefs 
 for them to condemn as intolerable, fuch 
 who fay Chrift's Righteoufnefs is imputed 
 ojily as to EffeBs : For whatever is the 
 found of their words, they afcribe nothing 
 to Faith or Works which belongs to 
 Chrift's Righteoufnefs; nor do they detradt 
 from the honour of Chri/t's Righteoufnefs 
 any thing which thefe Brethren afcribe 
 thereto, and are Orthodox in the Doctrine 
 of Satis faSlion again ft Socinianifm and Po- 
 pery. When they fay, Faith is an ac- 
 cepted Righteoufnefs, do they mean, it's a 
 SatisfaSiion^ either to atone for Sin, or me- 
 rit Life ? No, they abhor it, and confine 
 both to Chrift's Righteoufnefs entirely. 
 But they do not fay, Chrifi's Righteouj- 
 nefs is imputed : That's not true ; for they 
 exprefsly fay, it is imputed. Ay, Ifut not 
 K 3 in 
 
134- Peace with Truths $r 
 
 Chap, in fe : But fhould that be fo, would it 
 VIII. not be far from a Chriftian Spirit, to be 
 implacable for nof ufmg a Phrafe which 
 the Spirit of God makes no ufe of, who 
 furely knew how to exprefs Truth as pro- 
 perly as faUible Men (hould pretend to ? 
 Tea, but the Scriptures [peak what amounts 
 to this Phrafe : And fo do they, in grantr 
 ing Chrift's Righteoufnefs to be the only 
 Atonement, and meriting Caufe of Par- 
 don and Life, and of Acceptance with 
 God as righteous Perfons. But do not they 
 think J we ftand before God only in this Righ- 
 teoufnefs of Faith, and not of Chrijl ? No ; 
 they aifure us, that what Righteoufnefs 
 Faith is, it's fo by Chrift's Sacrifice an4 
 Merits ; and it's only a Righteoufnefs, as 
 a performed Condition of the Gofpel, de- 
 fcribing the Perfons who obtain that Sal- 
 vation, which is the Effe(5l of the Righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chrift ; and whofe Satisfac- 
 tion flill interpofeth between the Juflice 
 of God and a believing Sinner : Neither 
 are they backward to afcribe to efficacious 
 Grace that Virtue, whereby we are in- 
 clined and enabled to believe. Men may 
 expofe each other by fery Debates after 
 fuch Conceflions ; but he who expreffeth 
 moft Heat, difcovers the more ungofpej 
 Spirit, if not the weaker Caufe, and weak- 
 er Judgment. 
 
 (2.) As for fuch who own Chrifl's, 
 ^lighteoufnefs in fe to be imputed in the 
 
 fecon4 
 
An End to Difcord. 13^ 
 
 fecond fenfe, and thofe who fay it's not Chap. 
 imputed in it felf, but as to EffeBs ; if VIII. 
 they contend, the fir/i mufl quarrel with — >/— 
 the other, for denying in words what they 
 grant for fubflarvce j and the latter mufl 
 be warm againft the former, becaufe they 
 will not join with them in offending the 
 weak, and hazarding Truth, by rejecting 
 a Phrafe^ which, well explained, doth 
 properly exprefs what both intend. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 An AbJlraB of what helped me to 
 avoid fame Perplexity concern- 
 ing Juftification, with fome ac- 
 count of our being juflified at 
 the Creator and Redeemer s Bar, 
 
 THO' I avoid arguing any Controver- Chap. 
 fy in thefe Sheets, which are defigned IX. 
 for Peace ; yet I think it may promote 
 this healing Defign, to give a fhort Ab- 
 ftrad of fome thoughts whereby I arrived 
 to Satisfadion in the Dodrine of Jtiftiji* 
 ccttion^ 
 
 §. I. Justification being aj^r^«/c^ 
 
 h% our thoughts ought not to wander 
 
 K 4 beyond 
 
136 Peace with Truth y or 
 
 Chap. beyond what is necelTary to it as 2. judicial 
 IX. SentencCy nor difregard whatever belongs 
 
 W^ to that. Here the principal Confiderations 
 are, the Judge, the Rule of Judgment, the 
 Caufe and Perfon to be tried by that Rule, 
 and the Sentence to be pafs'd by the Judge 
 on the Perfon whofe Caufe is fo tried j 
 •which muft be no other, than what that 
 Rule of Judgment, duly applied, contain- 
 eth. Hereby what fome call Conflitiitive 
 yujlificationy is flridly no other, than the 
 Conformity of the Perfon to the Rule of 
 Judgment, by which he is acquittable or 
 rewardable, or both. PaJJive yufiijication 
 is no other, than the EfFed of the judicial 
 Sentence ; or the Perfon's State confidered 
 as abfolved, or to be rewarded, or both, 
 by the Sentence now judicially pafs'd upon 
 him 5 and fuppofeth a Sentence, and is 
 meafured by it« 
 
 §.2. A JUSTIFYING Sentence /i^^/jV 
 upon every juflified Perfon, and continues 
 to pafs upon him by the Gofpel-Promifes, 
 applied by an omniprefent, all- feeing, in- 
 fallible, faithful, almighty God. Rom. v. 
 I, 2. The Gofpel- offer is the Rule of 
 "Judgment ; the Gofpel in its refpeftive 
 proniifes complied with, is God's jujlify- 
 ing Sentence, and that, conclufive and ef- 
 fedual, tho' not fo difcernible by us, as if 
 it were folemnly pronounced. Herethere^ 
 lore^ 
 
 (I.) The 
 
An "End to D if cord, 137 
 
 (i.) The tranfcendent Perfedlions of Chap. 
 God muft raife our minds above human IX. 
 Judicatories. He needs no Evidence ^ be- 
 caufe he knoweth all things ; there needs 
 no Summons to appear, for he is ever with 
 us ; he cannot err in Judgment, for he- 
 is inflexibly righteous, and knows the 
 Rule of Judgment in its extent and allow- 
 ances. 
 
 (2.) We know not what Solemnity 
 this Sentence may be pronounced with con- 
 cerning us, tho' out of our hearing. We 
 know not what Solemnity may be ufed in 
 Heaven, where there is Joy for the Con- 
 verfion of Sinners ; or what at the 'Throne y 
 where Chrift is our interceeding Advocate, 
 &V. Tho' fometimes God condefcends to 
 make it audible to our own Confcieiices by 
 the received Teftimony of his Spirit. 
 
 (3.) This Sentence is in part executed 
 upon every Believer as to what is promifed 
 for the prefent, as well as his Title is ad- 
 judged to what is referved for the future. 
 The in-dwelling Spirit, Affiftances pecu- 
 liar to Chrift's Members, Anfwers of Pray- 
 er, tjhe Comforts of the Holy Ghoft, and 
 whatever fpecial Adings of Providence 
 belong only to God's adopted ones, are 
 the Execution of the juftifying Sentence, 
 and fuppofe fuch a Sentence pafs'd^ as well 
 as that it is a gracious one. 
 
 (4.) God ftill pronounceth a juftify- 
 ing Sentence, according to the variety 
 
 ' " of 
 
138 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, of his Gofpel-Promifes, tho' that great 
 IX. one which alters our State paffeth upon our 
 
 '-'^'-^ firil beHeving. As he adjadgeth us to 
 Pardon and Adoption, upon owx Jirfi ac- 
 ceptance of his Grace ; fo he adjudgeth 
 us non-forfeiters^ upon our abiding inChrift, 
 or perfevering acceptance, according as 
 the various Promifes defcribe the Hein 
 thereof. 
 
 §. 3. The fame juftifying Sentence, 
 that God pafs'd by his Promifes applied by 
 himfelf in this Life, will be more folemn- 
 ly and convincingly pronounced at the 
 yudgment-Day^ when the full and perfe(5t 
 Execution of the Sentence is to take place. 
 
 (i.) We fhall be as truly judged at 
 that day\ as if we had not been fentenced, 
 or the Sentence executed at all, in this 
 Life, or at Death. The wife God, who 
 knows the Subferviency hereof to FraSli-^ 
 cal Religion^ doth oft and moft exprefsly 
 deliver it, and in fuch words as if we were 
 all to be among thofe that (hall be found 
 alive when the Trumpet founds. For we 
 mufl all appear before the 'Judgment-feat of 
 Chrijly that every one may receive, &c. (a). 
 So then every one of us fhall give an ac- 
 count of himfelf to God (b). And what 
 mull we give an account of? Our 
 
 Words 
 
 (a) 2 Cor. V. 10. (b) Rom. xiv. 12. i Pet. i7. 5. 
 
An End to Difcord. 139 
 
 Words [c), the Secrets of our Hearts (d),CHAP, 
 the ufe of our Talents (e), our Works (f), IX. 
 &c, that is, every thing that gives Evidence 
 concerning men's Condition, as it's determi- 
 nable by the Rule of Judgment,which prin^ 
 cipally centers in this. Have they pncerely 
 accepted of the Salvation offered by the 
 Redeemer ? 
 
 (2.) The Rule of Judgment and Sen- 
 tence at that day v^ill be the fame, as that 
 by which every Believer is juftified on 
 this fide Death. It's no new or other 
 Sentence, but the fame more folemnly 
 declared j unlefs you'll fay, it includes the 
 entire extent of the Rule for the time of 
 trial, as well as that which changed our 
 State. 
 
 (3.) The great defign of that folemn 
 Procefs and open Sentence, is to vindicate 
 God in Chrift as no RefpeBer ofPerfons (g), 
 in the extremely different State of the 
 Damned and the Saved, both in this Life 
 and Eternity, efpecially fuch as lived un- 
 der the offers of Salvation ; and withal to 
 vinditate his own myfterious Methods to- 
 wards the Juflified in their paft Life, as 
 alfo to vindicate them from unjufl Af- 
 perfions (h). But to inflance no more 
 than the firfl : He'll convince Angels 
 
 and 
 
 (c) Mat. xii. 36. (d) Rom. ii. 16. (e) Mat. xxv. 
 19, y feq. (f) Rev. xx. 12, 13. (g) Rom. ii. 11. 
 (h) 2 Thef. i. 6, 7. Dan. xii. 2. 3, Mat. xxii. iz, 
 13. xxv, 34, e*'/?. 
 
1 40 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. and Men by manifefied Inftances, that 
 IX. they whom he juftified, and now faveth, 
 were Perfons juftifiahle by that Rule of 
 Judgment whereby the others are 'con- 
 demned ; and that the Sentence he pro- 
 nounceth and executes on each^ is the njery 
 Sentefice which that Rule impartially ap- 
 plied to their real Cafes denounced, 
 
 §. 4. The Rule of 'judgment in its 
 nature and fcope is to be principally re- 
 garded, in order to right Apprehenfions con- 
 cerning the juftifying Sentence. This de- 
 termineth what is a juftifying Righteouf- 
 nefs, and what is not : This declares the 
 nature of the adjudged Title, whether it 
 be of Grace or Debt, dependent or inde- 
 pendent : And thereby is evident what we 
 are adjudged to, and whether the Sen- 
 tence pafleth upon feveral complex Con- 
 ditions, or one particular one : For we 
 muft be free from whatever the Rule of 
 Judgment denounceth condemnable, and 
 not be without what it confineth its pro- 
 mifed Abfolution or Benefits to ; feeing the 
 Lord our Judge doth fentence us, as this 
 revealed Rule takes hold of us. 
 
 §.5. I FIND nothing plainer, than on 
 the one hand, that we are made righteous 
 by Cbrift's Obedience (i), that we are ac- 
 cepted 
 
 (i) Rom. V. 19. 2 Cor. v. 21, 
 
An E?id to Difcord* 14^ 
 
 ccpfedin the Beloved (k), and wajhed from Chap, 
 our Sim in his Blood (1) ; and that by him IX. 
 we receive the Atonement (m) : And on the C/V\J 
 other hand, that Faith is imputed forRigh- 
 teoufrefs (n), and we are jujiified by Faith 
 (o), and by our Words (p), and by our Works 
 (q), and men are called righteous, with 
 refped: to their Graces and A6tings fl:iort 
 of Perfed;ion j that Chrift's judicial Pro^ 
 ceedifjgs are upon men's Temper dnd Be- 
 haviour (r), and Promifes of Pardon and 
 Life are made ftill to Repentance, Faith, 
 and Perfeverance ; and that the Gofpel de- 
 nounceth Death againft the itnpenitent (s), 
 the unbelieving (t), the difobedient (u), the 
 barren (x), Apojiates (y), and Workers of 
 Iniquity (z). Nor can it be overlook'd, 
 that PerfcBion is not intended in what the 
 Gofpel-Promife is made to, nor is the 
 Gofpel-threatning of Damnation levell'd 
 againft any Offences confiftent with Sin- 
 cerity, Hence I conclude, that when God 
 jufiifies a Sinner, the Rule by which he 
 judgeth requires a judicial regard to in- 
 herent Faith, ^c, 
 
 §. 6. By one Rule of judgment the 
 
 fame 
 
 (k) Eph. i. 6. (1) Rev. i. 5. (m) Rom. v. 11. 
 
 (n) Rom. iv. 9, ii, 22, 24. (o) Rom. iii. 30. v. i. 
 (p) Mat. xii. 37. (q) Jam. ii. 24. (r) Mat. x. 32. 
 xxii. 13. XXV. 30. (s) Luke xiii. 3. (t) John iii. 36. 
 (u) Rom. ii, 8. (x) Heb. vi. 8. (y) Heb.x. 38. 
 
 (z) Luke xiiio 27. 
 
142 Peace with Truth -^ or 
 
 Chap, fame jujiifying Se?itejice, in all refpefls^ 
 IX. could not be pronounced upon Chrift's 
 
 U'^VV; Righteoufnefs, and upon that of a believ- 
 ing Sinner : Unlefs either, 
 
 [i.] That o?2e Rule did originally 
 promife Life to perfeB legal Obedience, 
 and alfo to that which was not a perfecfl 
 Obedience to the Law. But if I fuppofe 
 this, 1 mufl admit, that the LaW did not 
 denounce Death for the leaft Sin ; for to 
 condemn to Death for the leaft Sin, and to 
 promife Life to imperfeB Obedience, can- 
 not be confiftent. Yea, I mufl then con- 
 fider God to enaft that Rule of Judgment, 
 as in his Jlrjl relation to innocent Man, 
 viz. as Creator ; governing by virtue of 
 his abfolute Propriety in Man as his Crea- 
 ture : But if God be confidered only in 
 that relation, it was inconfiftent with his 
 PerfeBions to ena(ft a Rule of Judgment 
 which promifed Life to any thing fhort 
 of perfect Obedience to the Law he de- 
 livered, and which Man was originally 
 capable to obey. And moreover, we find 
 in the Rule of Judgment, by which he 
 now juftifies men, a dire<ft refped to many 
 things, which that firft Law was incon* 
 fiftent with j as the Death of a Redeemer 
 for our Sin, Faith in this Redeemer, Par- 
 don of Sin, and Abfolution from the Curfe 
 which condemned us as Sinners, ^c. Or 
 unlefs, 
 
 [2.] That one Rule of Judgment 
 
 were 
 
An End to D if cord* 143 
 
 were the Go/pel-Prcmife of the Redeemer, Chap. 
 viz. He that believeth f^all be fa'ved. Here- IX. 
 by indeed the jufiifying Sentence would 
 directly pafs upon Man as a Believer^ and 
 judge him to a Right in whatever the 
 Gofpel promifed to Believers, qua fuch. 
 And confidering the chief defign of the 
 Gofpel is to induce fallen Sinners to believe, 
 upon a fuppofition and aflurance given, 
 that SatisfaBion is already made by our 
 Redeemer, and not now to be made or 
 adjufted ; many are apt to confine their 
 thoughts of ytiflification to this, as the 
 alone Rule of Judgment, and the account 
 of the final Judgment generally ftates it in 
 this manner : Nor can I deny, but this 
 is in fome refped:s a fafe as well as eafy 
 method. 
 
 But I cannot agree, that the juftifying 
 Sentence is by this Rule fo abftradedly 
 taken: For, (i.) This would too much 
 confine the Influence of Chrift's Merits 
 to the mere procuring of the Gofpel- Pro- 
 mife } whereas we find it more immediate- 
 ly zndi Jully conneded with Pardon, and 
 all other faving Benefits. (2.) We muft 
 be made righteous by Chrift's Obedience, in 
 fome way lefs remote than this. (3.) The 
 Satisfa£lion of Chrift is not hereby fuffi- 
 ciently acknowledged nor applied in our 
 Juftification. Many other Reafons might 
 be given, why I am convinced, that when 
 God juftifies a believing Sinner, the Sen- 
 tence 
 
1 44 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, tence refpecfts him under fome further ju* 
 IX. dicial Confideration than merely a Believ- 
 er J and confequently, the Rule of Judg- 
 ment extenfively taken, required Ibme- 
 what more to conftitute him a juftifiable 
 Perfon. 
 
 §.7. I TAKE the Ride of Judgment 
 therefore to be the Gofpel-Law, in a 
 fubordinate connexion with the Law of 
 Mediation; wherein the Honour of our 
 Creator governing us by the Law of works 
 is provided for, and the Ends of that Law 
 fulfilled : And fo the Sentence will re- 
 fpe<5l the imputed Righteoufnefs of Chrifly 
 and the Righteoufnefs of Faith too ; the 
 firft, as fatisfa6tory and meritorious with 
 our creating Lawgiver j the latter^ as the 
 performed Condition of the Redeemer'*^ Grant 
 of the bleffed EfFeds of Chrift's Satisfac* 
 tion and Merits; and whereby this man 
 who believes^ is difcriminated from fuch 
 who rejeBed the Offer of Salvation. In 
 the firfl^ Juftice is fatisfied that a Rebel 
 {hould be abfolved and glorified ; in the 
 lajl^ the Rule enadted by governing Grace 
 is anfwered by the Believer ; fo that the 
 Judge is no more a ReJpeBer of Perfom 
 in applying thefe Benefits as a Redeemer, 
 than he was regardlefs of governing fiiftice 
 in the Condition upon which they were 
 procured by our Saviour. 
 
 §• 8. 
 
An End to Difcord. 1 45 
 
 §. 8. The Rule of Judgment then Chap. 
 maft be this : That the Believer (tho' a IX. 
 Sinner,) whole Abfolution, Pardon, Ac- 
 ceptance as rif];hteous, and Salvation, were 
 promifed toCbrifi by the governing Crea^ 
 tor in reward of his Obedience and Suffer- 
 ings, and promifed to himfelf for the fake 
 of Chrift in the Gofpel upon his believing 
 with that Faith which it appoints, is to 
 be abfolved, pardoned, accepted as righ- 
 teous, and faved. 
 
 From this Rule of judgment is eafily 
 inferr'd that juftifying Sentence^ on • which 
 our State is changed, viz. " Thou art that 
 *' true Believer^ whofe Abfolution, Par- 
 *' don. Acceptance as righteous, and Sal- 
 " vation, were promifed to Chrift in the 
 " Covenant of Redemption^ and to thy f elf 
 *' perfonally in my Gofpel j and therefore 
 *' thou art adjudged to be abfolved, par- 
 " doned, accepted, and an Heir of Glory, 
 *' by virtue of that Promife made to Chrift^ 
 " and the Gofpel- Promife made to thy 
 *' felf', and haft a Title to plead Chrift's 
 " perfed: Obedience and Sufferings for thy 
 " certain enjoyment thereof, which will 
 " alfo be continually pleaded by Chrift 
 " thy Advocate:' 
 
 In like manner we fee, Conftitutive 
 yuftification is our being made Jiich Be- 
 /levers, through the Influence of the Spirit 
 of Chrift, as fall under the forefaid Pro- 
 iijife made to Chrift in the Covenant of 
 L Redemp- 
 
146 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap. Redemption, and the Gofpel-Promife made 
 IX. to our felves, and (o are conformed to the 
 
 ^•'^V^^ Rule of Judgment, but yet are confidered 
 as not judicially fente.nced according to it. 
 Again, Paffive Jiiftification is no other, 
 than our Perfons and State confidered as 
 affedled by that Sentence, as already pafsd 
 upon us, viz. abfolved, pardoned, accepted 
 as righteous, and entitled to Glory. Finally, 
 Executive yu/lijication is no other, than 
 God's dealing with us as Perfons fo abfolved, 
 pardoned, accepted, and entitled to Glory, 
 and his performing whatever is included 
 in the juftifying Sentence, yet in the way, 
 time, manner, and limits which the Gof- 
 pel declares. 
 
 §. 9. The Coniideration of iht Rule 
 of Judgment as before explained, led me 
 to affirm, that the fuftification of a be- 
 lieving Sinner is equivalent to a twofold 
 Juftification, the one at our Creators 
 Bar^ the other at the Redeemer'^-, the 
 firft^ by the imputed Righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift J the other ^ by that of Faith \ which 
 I have infifted on in the Poftfcript to 
 Gofpel'Truth^ pag. 496. & feq. And be- 
 ing defirous to prevent miftakes in this 
 Point, (which I think is probable to pre- 
 vent furious Debates concerning the Doc- 
 trine of Juftification^) I'll give a few 
 hints of fuller thoughts about it ; pre- 
 mifing only, that I hoped none would 
 
 think. 
 
A?t End to Difcord. 147 
 
 think, that I faid there is a twofold Juftifi-CwK?. 
 cation, for I make the Sentence to be but IX. 
 one, tho' that includes what's equivalent — ^r"-^ 
 to a twofold Juftification ; nor yet that I 
 denied Chrifi as of one EfTence with the ' 
 Father to be Creator, or faid there be two 
 aBually exijiing Bars. But thefe are things 
 too low for many words. 
 
 [i.] I CONSIDER God at our firft 
 Formation as our Creator, governing men 
 by a Law fuited to their rational, innocent, 
 and perfedl Nature ; by which Law he 
 promifed Life to Jinlefs Obedience, and 
 threatned Death for all Difobedience. God 
 confidered in this relation cannot be ap- 
 prehended to enaft a Gofpel-Law, with a 
 Promife of Pardon and Life to the imper- 
 fc6l, tho' fincere, Faith of Sinners. 
 
 [2.] I CONSIDER this Creator ^W(?J 
 . by man's Violation of his holy Law. Un- 
 der this notion, (i.) He condemns the 
 Sinner unlefs SafisfaBion be made, and 
 excludes him from Life unlefs purchafedh^ 
 one capable of meriting it. And, (2.) He 
 would rejed Faith, and every Work of a 
 Sinner, as what could not be fatisfaBory 
 or meritorious ; this Offender being inca- 
 pable to fatisfy for the /^"^ Fault, or to 
 merit the kajl Bleffing. 
 
 [3.] I CONSIDER our Mediator tranf- 
 
 adting with our offended creating Law^ 
 
 giver m the Covenant of Redemption j 
 
 wherein, (i.) Our governing Creator de- 
 
 L 2 mands 
 
148 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 Chap, mands of Chrift, if he would favc Sin- 
 IX . ners, that in their Nature he muft obey 
 
 t/V%^ the violated Law, and endure Death, and 
 what was equivalent to its threatned Pu- 
 nifhment, in their ftead. (2.) He decla- 
 reth, that this Obedience, and thefe Suf- 
 ferings of this Mediatory confidering the 
 'Dignity of his Perfon, (hould be accepted 
 for SatisfaBion for Sin, and for the Merit of 
 eternal Life, and of whatever fubferved 
 Sinners obtaining thereof. (3.) He pro- 
 rnifeth Chrifl as a Reward of his Obedi- 
 ence and Sufferings, that whoever of falleia 
 Men fhould believe on him, (hould be ab- 
 folved, pardoned, accepted as righteous, 
 and eternally glorified, for the fake of what 
 he was to do and fuffer j and that a cer- 
 tain number Jhould believe on him, and fo 
 be abfolved, &c. to his Glory ^ and he have 
 all Power, Authority and Judgment com-r 
 mitted to him. (4.) Chrift our Mediator 
 covenanteth to do and fuffer what was pro- 
 pofed, and accepts of the faid Rewards, 
 (5.) In due time Chrift performs his Un- 
 dertaking, and becomes intitled to the 
 faid Rewards, and inverted in a right there- 
 to } with refpeft to which, he is faid to be 
 juftijied. (6.) His Undertaking is allowed 
 to operate as if performed, at leaft from 
 Adams Fall ; and thereby his Kingdom, 
 ^nd the faving Effeds .of his Obedience 
 apd Death antecede his obeying and dying. 
 ( j7,) Whatever concerned the Sinner*s Sal va^ 
 
 tipn. 
 
An End to Difcord. 149 
 
 tion, was to be founded upon the fattsfaS^o- Chap. 
 ry and meritorious Death and Obedience of IX. 
 Chrift our Mediator. And thus, (8.) Man 
 is to be confidered under the Jirjl Head, 
 as an innocent Subjed: in a ftate of Trial, 
 according to the Law of works j and un- 
 der the fecond Head, as a Sinner obnoxious 
 to the Curfe of the Law, paft Relief by 
 his own Merit j and yet, upon Chrift's 
 Satisfadion (purfuant to the Covenant of 
 Redemption in this third Head,) as favable 
 notwithftanding the Curfe of the Law. 
 
 [4.] As an effed: of this Tranfadion, 
 I do not only confider Chrifi our Mediator 
 under the notion of a Redeemer^ (as all 
 will grant him to be in an efpecial manner, 
 becaufe he alone paid the redeeming Price j) 
 but I confider alfo the Creator to be Re- 
 deemer ^ as he gave his Son to be a Saviour, 
 accepted the Satisfaction made by him, pro- 
 mifed to him the forefaid Rewards, and 
 fo far executed them as to inveft him in 
 his Office of an accepted authorized Media- 
 tory admitting his Kingdom to commence, 
 (as well as his Death to operate to faving 
 effeds,) before he adually died, (^c. Upon 
 thefe and the like accounts, I apprehend 
 the bleffed God, confidered ejfentially^ (tho* 
 the Father eminently bears the Title of 
 Creator^ and fuftains the Dignity of the 
 Divine Eflence and Government in propQ_- 
 Jing the Terms, and receiving Satisfadion,) 
 to ftand towards us in the relation of a 
 L 3 Redeemer^ 
 
150 Peace with Truth ; or 
 
 QuAV, Redeemer, who hath received Satlsfadlon, 
 IX. tranfading with us in and by our Media- 
 ^"v- — ' tor, in whom he is well pleafed. 
 
 Our Creator being confidered thus as 
 God in Chrifty who is fatisfied as to the 
 Violation of his Law, (the Honour of his 
 Government being vindicated, and the Ends 
 of itfecured, tho' Pardon and Life be grant-^ 
 ed to Sinners j) it will follow, that in a 
 confiftency with re^toral yujiice^ he can 
 fo far fufpend the Curfe of the Law to- 
 wards finful Man, and exert his Mercy, as, 
 (i.) To be willing to admit to Peace and 
 Favour, all whom Chrift fhall prefent to 
 him. (2,) To be ready to forgive our 
 Offences. (3.) To make O^n of Peace, 
 Pardon, and Salvation to loft Sinners, beg- 
 ging them to be reco?2dIed, &CC. (4.) To 
 return his expelled forfeited Spirit ^to flrive 
 with and work on dead Sinners in order to 
 their acceptance of this offered Salvation. 
 And, (5.) To be long-fuffering^ and 14;^//- 
 ing to be gracious, in the ufe of fit methods 
 and means to conquer their Reliftance. 
 Thefe, and the like, immediately enfue 
 upon Chrift'' s SatisJa5iion : And if men 
 intend but Inflances of this kind, when 
 they fay, God was reconciled to us by the 
 Death of Chrift before Converfion, we 
 fhould allow it j yet intreating them to 
 note, that the Curfe fujpended thus far, and 
 the Curfe removed by an adlual Intereft in 
 faving Bleflings, are very diflindl, as be 
 
 Forgive- 
 
An End to Difcord. 151 
 
 Forgivenefs withGody and Forglvenefs be-CHAP. 
 flowed on us : And yet I fear, many do IX. 
 detradl from this Benefit, viz. that there is' 
 Forgivenejs with Godiox guihy Sinners ^ and 
 Salvation for undone Apofiates ; which is 
 in it Jelf 2ih\^-\Q^ thing, than that this or 
 that man is Partaker of it, tho' our per- 
 fonal Advantage confillethin the latter. 
 
 [5.] I CONSIDER God in Chrift as i?^'- 
 deerner^ making his Offers of Salvation to 
 Sinners, and ftating the Conditio7is upon 
 which he will give the merited Pardon and 
 eternal Life perfonally to them ; command- 
 if2g their acceptance, with a Promife of 
 applying Chrift's Satisfacftion in thofe ef- 
 feds upon their Compliance, and denoun- 
 cing their abiding under Guilt and Mife- 
 ry, with forer PunifldmentSy if they finally 
 refufe. This is by the Gojpel: To expli- 
 cate which, Note, (i.) Compliance is en- 
 joined by a. governing Authority, tho' with 
 a difplay of Grace : It fuppofeth Chrift's 
 Sacerdotal Offering over, and is an Inftru- 
 ment of Government refulting from a Do- 
 minion acquired as Redeemer-, and there- 
 fore may well be called a Law, yea, and 
 that by which he will judge us. (2.) The 
 Hiftorical account of Chrift's Ofiices, Ful- 
 nefs. Love, Death, and of Man's Mifery ; 
 the difplays of Covenant -Benefits prefent 
 and eternal, the revelations of Divine 
 Truths and Myfteries, Gofpel-Inftitutions, 
 and Dire(5tions whence to derive Grace, ^c, 
 L 4 arc 
 
152 Peace with l*ruth ; or 
 
 Chap. are all to fubferve our due acceptance of 
 IX. this Offer. (3.) If Chrift had not pro- 
 'claimed Pardon and Life to Sinners, we had 
 not known that thefe were to be obtained 
 by any oi us. If he had not declared, that 
 he gave Pardon and Life to fuch ai have 
 Faith^ and none elje^ we had not been cer- 
 tain whether it were the Believer or Unbe- 
 liever were pardoned : If he had not told 
 us, he gave Faith and then Pardon, there 
 had been no known Order of thefe Gifts: 
 If by his Go/pel God had not offered Par- 
 don to all tf they would accept it, com- 
 manding their acceptance in order to it, 
 promifmg it upon their acceptance, and de- 
 termining to judge men as they accepted 
 or refufed, then there had been only an Or- 
 der in giving Faith and then Pardon, but 
 Acceptation had been no Condition nor 
 Righteoujnefs, nor had Man httn jufiifiable 
 by it, or condemnahle to the want of Pardon 
 for rejecfting it. (4.) Acceptance of of- 
 fered Salvation, tho' a Right eoujnejs^ fup- 
 pofeth a meriting Righteoufnefs of Chrift ; 
 and can be no higher a Righteoufnefs, than 
 a. perjormed Condition of a Law of Grace, 
 by which Benefits already impetrated are 
 given: Which Law differs not from a 
 Deed of Gijt^ but that the Donor ex- 
 prelTeth a governing Authority in the me- 
 thod of applying thefe Bleflings, and re- 
 Iblves to judge them to whom that Offer is 
 aiade, by their acceptance or non-accepD- 
 
 ance; 
 
An End to Difcord. 153 
 
 ance. (5.) Our Right adjudged upon Chap. 
 our acceptation, is a Right of Grace and 
 Mercy ; and tho' infallible, it can infer no 
 Claim of Debt. (6.) This Acceptation is 
 defcribed by the Gofpel ; and nothing is 
 an Acceptation upon which we fhall f^eceive 
 the offered Bleffings, if it be not in its 
 Principle, Nature, Extent, Operativenefs 
 and Duration, fiich an Acceptation as the 
 Gofpel doth promife its faving Benefits to.- 
 (7.) Tho' this Acceptation merit nothing, 
 yet Chr id's Right eoufnejs being ordained to 
 merit Salvation for fuch 2i% fhall accept of it, 
 and ih\s Acceptance being theGofpel-ordain- 
 ed Condition of our perfonal Intereft in that 
 merited Salvation, we cannot be faved 
 without either of them. (8.) To prevent 
 miftakes I add, the EleB fhall infallibly be 
 brought favingly to accept of this Salva- 
 tion. 
 
 [6.] I CONSIDER God, applying Vzx- 
 don. Peace- Adoption, &c. to men that 
 have accepted of this Salvation, according 
 to the Gofpel- offer. And herein, (i.) He 
 a6ts as a Judge. (2.) The Relations he 
 (lands in are, as Creator^ and Redeemer j 
 the firft ceafeth not, tho* the other is fu- 
 peradded. (3.) The Caufe is adjufted by 
 the Rule of Judg??ient defcribed in §. &. 
 And this Caufe partly refers, to what fa- 
 tisfied the offended Creator for this Sinner's 
 Faulty and merited Salvation for this for- 
 feiting Rebel : Here Chriji's Right eoifnefi 
 
 is 
 
154 Peace with Truth 'y or 
 
 Chap, is the ov\y juftifying Righteoufnefs ; Faith 
 IX. hath noplace in God's regard, who asCreator 
 > judgeth in this matter. The Caufe is part- 
 ly alfo J " Is this a true Accepter of Sal- 
 vation, for "ivhom Pardon, Peace, and Glo- 
 ry were promifed to Chrift in the Cove- 
 nant of Redemption in reward of his fatis- 
 fying, meriting Dtath and Obedience, and 
 to whom thefe were promifed in iht Go/pel f* 
 Here Acceptation is a Righteoufnefs^ the 
 want whereof Chri/i's RightcouJhcJ'i is not 
 appointed to fupply j and the adjudging a 
 man a Believer ^ in titled to Pardon, Peace, 
 and Glory, upon the SatisfaBion of Chrift, 
 1 call a5live fufiificationy or the Judge's 
 juftifying Sentence. 
 
 [7.] I CALL itajuftification attheCr^-- 
 atQr% and Redeemers Bar. — I call it fo at the 
 Creator i Bar^ as far as the Sentence refers 
 to what 'vindicated the Honour of God's 
 violated Law, fecured his governing An- . 
 thority as our Maker, and merited the 
 Bleflings, before which there was no Par- 
 don, Peace, or Glory for the Sinner, tho* 
 a Believer j none to be offered^ none to be 
 had by accepting. Nor is it a needlefs 
 thing, that the j'uftifying Sentence have an 
 exprefs Regard to what that refers to, viz, 
 Cbriji's Righteoufnefs: For as it was the 
 alone Co?zdition of Chrift's Impetration of 
 Pardon, Peace, and Life for Sinners, fo 
 when thefe are to be adjudged to the Sin- 
 • ner, the Honour of the Creator, of the vio- 
 lated 
 
Ail End to Difcord, 155 
 
 lated Law, and of Cbrift's Satisfa£lIon,CHAP. 
 is wifely provided for, by an exprefs ac- IX. 
 knowledge men t of, and reference to that ^^-OP^ 
 Righteonjnefs. — I call it a Juilification at the 
 Redeemer's Bar, as far as the Sentence re-» 
 fers to our Acceptation, or Faith, as a 
 Righteoufnefi ; for the unfatisfied Creator^ 
 who governeth and judgeth by the Law of 
 works, could make 710 Offers of Pardon 
 and Glory to Sinners, if they would accept^ 
 nor admit Faith to be a Right eoujhefs -, 
 and yet, confidered as a Redeemer, (as God 
 was, when he had received SatisfaSiion,) 
 he could not again demand a fatisfying, 
 meriting Righteoufnefs to acquit the Be- 
 liever now upon j no, nor require i^^/V/6, 
 (unlefs under the notion of a Redeemer,) 
 as a proper Condition of Pardon, &c. be- 
 caufe in the Covenant of Redemption it was 
 promifed to Chrift for Sinners as merely de^ 
 fcribed by Faith, But God in Chrift a§ 
 Redeemer could make the Gofpel- offer of 
 Pardon upon condition of Acceptation, en- 
 joining that Acceptance, and promifing 
 thereto the Pardon impetrated by Chrift ; 
 and fo that Acceptation is referred to in 
 the jujiifyi?ig Sentence of God in Chrift as 
 Redeemer, as what difcriminates one Man 
 who obtains the Pardon according to the 
 Gofpel-Promife, from him who is judi- 
 cially debarredjtf it. 
 
 [8.] I THINK, they who are altoge- 
 ther for Faith as the only imputed Righ- 
 
 teoiifnels 
 
1^6 Peace with Truths &c. 
 
 Chap, teoufnefi in Juftification, do too much con- 
 IX. tradl iht juftifying Sentence, by excluding 
 
 \^V^ that diftindl Refpedt which ought to be to 
 the Satisfadtion and meriting Obedience of 
 Chrift, whereby God as our governing 
 Creator can admit the Abfolution of a Sin- 
 ner. And they who are altogether for the 
 Righteoufnefs of Chrift as only imputed in 
 Juftification, do alfo too much limit the 
 juftifying Sentence^ by excluding the Gof- 
 pel- Righteoufnefs of F<2/V^, which thei?^- 
 deemer regards, and by which he judi- 
 cially difcriminates who among them, to 
 whom Salvation was offered, {hall obtain 
 it, and who of them fhall not obtain it. 
 May thefe Hints contribute to an Agree- 
 ment between thefe worthy Perfons, or at 
 leaft incline all to Chriftian Forbearance, 
 and I fhall reckon it worth all my Labour 
 and Sufferings. Oh that the God of Peace 
 vjoyxXdgive us Peace by any juft means ! 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 V A N I T Y 
 
 O F 
 
 Childhood and Youth ; 
 
 WHEREIN 
 
 The depraved Nature of Young People 
 is reprefented, and Means for their Re- 
 formation propofed : 
 
 BEING 
 
 Some Sermons preached in Hand-Alley^ 
 at the Requeft of feveral Young Men. 
 
 To which is added, 
 
 A Catechism for Yo u T H, 
 Printed in the Year 1691 . 
 
TO THE 
 
 CHILDREN 
 
 AND 
 
 YOUNG PEOPLE, 
 
 WHO 
 
 Were Hearers of the following 
 SERMONS. 
 
 rH E defign of thefe Sermons was to 
 regulate and improve the /late of your 
 Jouls. The blejjing of God having 
 made them fiiccefsful to fever al of. you, in- 
 clined me to piiblifh them at your importu- 
 nity ; thd I do oft refufe a compliance 
 with many judicious friends, in defires of 
 the fame kind, even tvhen the fubjedis are 
 more perfuading. 
 
 Having overcome the difcouragement 
 which I fuggejled to my felffrom the plain- 
 nefs of thefe difcourfes, I dare ?2ot make an 
 apology for the commpnncfs of the file or 
 
 matter. 
 
i6o To the Young People, ^r. 
 
 matter. It had been a profanation of an 
 ordinance, when de fired to preach to youth, 
 to propofe any jubjedi below ivhat tends to 
 their fahation from that fin and wrath 
 they are naturally under. It had heeen 
 folly, to treat of fiich a fubjeB for edifi- 
 cation before children and apprentices, in 
 words unapt to inform or perfuade them. I 
 thank Gody I could rather bear the diflike of 
 a few lefs ferious wits, than negleB the eter- 
 nal concerns of fo many lefs ijitelligent hear- 
 ers. On the fame account, I am now afraid 
 to raife the flile, or emit the very repeated 
 appeals and pleadings with children j being 
 refohed fo approve ?>i]' felf to the weakeft 
 reader, and leave the judicious to what is 
 more fitted to their improvement. 
 
 My prayer and hopes are, that God will 
 accompany this book with powerful effedis on 
 your fouls, and not leave you to that objii- 
 nacy, as will render it a farther aggrava- 
 tion of your fin and punifijment. Tou can- 
 not pretend, that God never informed you of 
 your Difeafe, nor directed you to a Cure : 
 Tou dare not, after reading this book, fay, 
 " My dajiger was concealed from me, and 
 ** rules for my fcfety were not prefcribed'* 
 God will feverely witnefs, that he conde- 
 fcended to argue matters with thy foul j he 
 diffuades thee from the fins, that will con- 
 demn thee at lafl, however thou now fatter- 
 eft thy felf. He ufeth many arguments fo 
 incline thee to duties, which his very Gof- 
 
 pel 
 
Tq the Young People, ^c. i6i 
 
 pel cannot difpenfe with the want of, in any 
 perfon whom he will fave. 
 
 Let me then acquaint thee^ oh young 
 man / that God addfejfeth himfelf to thee^ 
 as by name. Thou by nature art brutijh 
 and devilifj^ and as long as thou followejl 
 the imaginations of thy vain mind^ thy cafe 
 becomes more defperate ; thy liifls by indul- 
 gence grow more violent^ and confcience fiill 
 lefs concerned y to vindicate the affronts thou 
 offer eji to God*s dominion,^ or to reprefent the 
 injury thou dojl to thy own foul : Tet be af- 
 Juredy whether thou mindeji it or not, there 
 is a God, whofe right it is to govern thee^ 
 and will be fure to judge thee : Thou art 
 . born hisJubjeSfy thd unwilling to obey^ and 
 forward to rebel againft him. Thou hajl an 
 immortal foul, how little foever thou pro- 
 videfl for its future ftate ; yea, how much 
 foever thou aBeji to expofe it to endlefs tnifery^ 
 and this for a Jhort and fading pleafure. 
 Thou art naturally depraved, and thereby 
 under that condemnation, which was paffed 
 by the law of inmcency againfi man^ in the 
 leafl finful. 
 
 Oh then, do not fancy, that Baptifm did 
 regenerate thee, while thou findefl the want 
 of every grace, and carnal inclinations are 
 thy governing law. Do not conceit, that 
 Baptifm delivered thee from thy cur fed ftate^ 
 when thy unbelief a7id enmity againft holi'- 
 nejs, do both exprefs it, and further ex- 
 pofe thee to it. It's true, there is a way of 
 M fakation 
 
J 62 To the Young People, ^^. 
 
 falvation for loft man publijhed in the Go/- 
 pel J but that can benefit none^ who continue 
 to rejeB Chrift^ atjd refufe the terms of 
 peace, Thou art the dedicated child of 
 believing parents ; but their faith cannot fave 
 thee J now that thou art capable of confent- 
 ing to the covenant^ and refufefi it ; yea^ 
 thy early dedication adds perjury and falf 
 hood to thy profanenefs. Plead not thy 
 chrifiian name^ while tijou art a reproach to 
 it. Boaji not oj religious helps ^ when they 
 have not that good effeB on thee^ as the 
 .light of nature hath on mere Pagans ; which 
 may convince us^ that where the Gofpel fails 
 to convert its hearers y Satan often governs 
 more powerfully, than if the Gofpel had ne- 
 ver been preached to them. We live in an 
 age of wonders, among which it is not the 
 leafl flrange or awful, that profcjjed Chrif 
 tians are viler than Heathens, and mofi of 
 our baptifed youths fcorn the plaineft rules 
 of Chriflianity. Ah, wretched age J where- 
 in gofpel- light cannot co?2vince of that wick- 
 ednejs, which even nature condemns ! What 
 conception have they of God, who think he 
 can approve of fuch enormities as they com- 
 mit, or be fatisfied with thofe heartlefs and 
 trifling regards to which they confine all the 
 homage which they afford him ? 
 
 Surely England'^ calamities are like to be 
 jterrible, when this jealous God arifeth to 
 force men to jujier thoughts both of his na- 
 ture and his laws, 
 
 1 mujl 
 
To the Young People, &^c. 163 
 
 / miift allow, that this treatife is intend-^ 
 ed to convince thee of the great evilof fuch 
 things, as moft ejieem indijerent^ and prac- 
 tife as allowable ; yea^ fo far doth their 
 blindnefs prevail, that fobriety (much more 
 Godlinefs) is ridicul'd as folly. But know^ 
 that the feeling of endlefs torments will foon 
 convince fuch, as dare mock at divine reve^ 
 lations, T^he perfediions, that render God 
 able to endure their affronts now, will ob- 
 lige him to vindicate his government and 
 honour then. Poor wretches^ that would not 
 be ruled by means fuited to their natures, as 
 rational, jhall without their confent under- 
 go the infliBed evils, which, while only 
 threatned, did not move them. Therefore, 
 young man, be not af righted from true wif~ 
 dom by the clamours of the worfi of fools ^ 
 whatever wit they pretend to. Undo not thy 
 f elf for the fake of a croud ; for it's better 
 be religious with the leffer number now, than 
 be damned hereafter with the multitude, 
 Sure thou muft be an Atheift, and wholly 
 difbelieve unfeen thijigs, if the contempt or 
 perfuafons of enflaved favors for the devil 
 can incline thee to chufe hell, by refolving 
 on the courfe that infallibly tends to it. 
 
 Imufi acquaint you, that in the la ft Ser- 
 mon / add no particular to the ?20tes, one of 
 your felves took from me when I preached, 
 and fupplied me fince with, to help the de- 
 fe6i of my own papers j yet I have added 
 many of the direSiions jor avoiding the eight 
 M 2 particular 
 
164 To the Young People, &^c, 
 
 particular fins I diffuaded yrji from in my 
 fir ft Sermon. / have alfo tkought jit to 
 fiibjoin a fliort Catechifm at the end^ where- 
 in you may learn the ejfentiah of pradfical 
 religion in J ami liar terms: If thou think Jit 
 to learn it, confult the proofs. 
 
 The good Lord prcj per all to you ! Could 
 1 but fee young ones generally inclined tofe- 
 rious Religion, Ifhould hope, that God hath 
 a mercy in referve for England ; and the 
 'vengeance that hangs over it, becaufe of the 
 laft thirty years too fuccefful contrivances 
 to debauch the nation, in order to Slavery 
 and Popery, might be diverted, or at leaji 
 confined to fuch as are too jar engaged, or 
 objiinate, to admit a reformation. 
 
 That every child and youth who Jhall 
 read this book, may (as many of you already 
 do,") thus contribute to my hopes, and fiare 
 in the benefit thereof Jhall be the prayer of 
 
 Your compafTionate Friend, 
 
 Jpril 12, 
 
 I69I. 
 
 Daniel Williams, 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ^ M H E context explained^ page 170 
 
 JL Vanity confidej'ed^ as it is natural 
 
 frailty y 176 
 
 Vanity in a moral fenfe^ in general^ 178 
 
 I. The Vanity of youth ^ in the Jins they 
 are prone to, l8i 
 
 Particularly as to eight fms, viz. 
 
 1. The folly of youth in the concerns of 
 eternity, explained and demonjiratedy 182 
 DireBions again fi folly, 187 
 
 2. The inconfideratenefs of youth, with di- 
 reSiions againft it, 190 
 
 3. The obftinacy of youth defcribed, and 
 diffuaded from, with direSfions againji 
 it, 194 
 
 4. Anger, and 'uiolent pafjions of youth de~ 
 fcribed, and diffuaded from, with direc- 
 tions, 203 
 
 5. Touth's Idlenefs and mifpending of time 
 defcribed, and diffuaded from, with di- 
 re&iofjSi 207 
 
 M 3 
 
 6. Tbt 
 
i66 Contents. 
 
 6. The levity and inordinate mirth of pung 
 people defcribed, and dijjuaded from, with 
 dire5lions to get fobriety, page 2 1 3 
 
 7. T^he Jin of lying defcribed, and dtjj'uaded 
 from^ with direBiom agaiji flit y 222 
 
 8. Flejhly lujls^ viz. gluttony, drtinkennefsy 
 and uncleannefsy dejcribedy and dijfuaded 
 from, 226 
 DireSlions againjl gluttony and drunken- 
 
 nefs, 228 
 
 L>ire£lions againjl uncleannefs, 232 
 
 II. n^e Vanity of youth, as it confjls in 
 their livi?ig to no 'valuable purpofes, de- 
 monjlratedy 2391 
 
 Illi TToe Vanity of youth, as it lives to de- 
 ftruSii've purpojesy 2 46 
 
 j^n account how childhood and youth be- 
 came vain, where original Jin is treat- 
 ed of, 248 
 
 An enquiry why youth continues vain ; 
 where alfo the pojjibility of their heal- 
 ing is fpoken to, 254 
 
 T^he reajons why many young people do 
 grow more vain daily, 262 
 
 '. cinferences from the whole dodtrine. 
 
 1. the difmal afpedt of the world, 265 
 
 2. Parents and maflers care and pains in 
 the education of youth, urged and direcled 
 fuitahly to the difeafe of youth, 266 
 
 3. The 
 
Contents. 167 
 
 3. I'he reafonablenefs of youth's fuhjeBion to 
 the rebukes and rejlraints of fupert- 
 or St page 270 
 
 4. Attentivenefs to advice needful and fit, 
 
 271 
 
 5. IVhat grace is fie-JDn in making a young 
 convert^ 272 
 
 Exhortations. 
 
 (i.) A ferious examination of the prefefit 
 
 ft ate oj youth ^ whether they are ftill vain 
 
 orm^ urged t 272 
 
 (2.) 'Hhey are called to admit directions an- 
 
 fwerable to their prefent condition^ 274 
 
 1. A call to yowig people ftill vain ^ with di- 
 reSlions and arguments for their prefent 
 cafting off their vanity, ibjd. 
 
 2. Advice proper for fuch young ones as are 
 ferious. 284 
 
 A plain Youth's Catechifm. 297 
 
 M 4 EccL. 
 
E c c L. xi. lo. laft claufe. 
 Childhood and youth are vanity. 
 
 THIS prefent meeting is for the fpi- 
 ritual advantage of you, Children 
 and Young people. Your good we Mini- 
 flers muft intend ; and it's your intereft 
 and duty to regard, and improve thcfe 
 helps, as well as elder perfons -, for your 
 fouls are as immortal, as the aged. God 
 hath a right to govern you, being you are 
 his creatures. He hath given you a rule of 
 life ; he obferveth your hearts and carriage 
 with concern. Young ones (hall be ar- 
 raigned at God's tribunal, and judged by 
 the rule contained in his word, according 
 to what they have been and done. Heaven 
 and Hell are before you ;, one of them will 
 be the eternal dwelling of the youngeft in 
 this affembly 3 and confidering, that moft 
 of mankind die when young, Heaven and 
 Hell are fuller of young people, than of 
 fuch as are arrived to a greater age. 
 
 Do fuch confiderations afFedlyou? Ought 
 they not tp make me ferious, and impor- 
 tunate 
 
170 l^he Vanity of 
 
 tunatc with your fouls ? and with ycur$ 
 efpecially, becaufe youth is under great in- 
 difpofitions to all that is ferious and fa- 
 ving ? 
 
 Oh ! let us look earneftly for a blefling 
 
 Num. xvi. jQ him, who is the God of the fpirits of all 
 
 flejhy and therefore is able to imprefs and 
 
 manage your fpirits, tho' unruly and vain. 
 
 The author of this book is Sohnon. 
 Will you regard what a great man faith ? 
 He was King of Ifrael in its moft profpe- 
 rous ftate. Are a wife man\ ditftates to be 
 heeded ? He was the wifefl of mere men. 
 But above that, this book was the refult 
 of great experience ; he fpeaks his feeling, 
 as well .as his judgment -, yea, he records 
 thefe things as a penitent after great of- 
 fences, and therefore muft reprefent things 
 according to their truth and importance, 
 efpecially fince he was infpired by the in- 
 fallible Spirit in what he here delivers. 
 
 I SHALL not look farther than the c)th 
 verfe^ to lead you to. my text. Where, 
 
 I. He doth by a fharp Sarcafm reprove 
 the fenfual delights of young people ; Re- 
 joicey O youJtg man, &c. It's fuch a faying 
 Mark as Chrifl's to his difciples, Sleep on, and take 
 »Y- 4^' your reft. It is not faid by way of appro- 
 bation, but he expofeth the fenfualifi by 
 . difdain, which may affedt fome people more 
 than a dire6t reproof j and God, for our 
 good, condefcends to try all ways. Surely 
 
 you 
 
Childhood and Youth. ' 171 
 
 you that think fenfual pleafure the greateft 
 bappinefs you are capable of, will fufped", 
 that it is not what it appears to your foolifh 
 minds, when God by the wifell man doth 
 thus irofiically brand it : He loads you with 
 fcorn, while you fondly pleafe your felves 
 with thefe poor delights, as your only para- 
 dife. God keep me from that as mv por- 
 tion, which God accounts my reproach ! 
 
 Obj, But may not a young man rejoice? 
 
 Anfw. Yes, no doubt thou oughteft 
 to delight thy felf i?i the Lord -y yea, thou yl\. 
 mayeft delight moderately and holily in xxxvH. 4. 
 objeds of fenfe;'but that's not the re^ 
 joicing here expofed. The following words 
 explain the nature of this forbidden joy ; 
 it's that e^nl pit afar e which thou takeft in 
 walking in the ivays of thy hearty and in the 
 Jight oj thine eyes : As if it were faid, 
 ** Oh vile creature ! how bafe art thou be- 
 ^* come, that confineft thy pleaAires to, 
 ** and refolvedly walloweft in, the delights 
 " that come by following the vain imagi- 
 " nations of thy carnal heart, and mere 
 ** gratifying thy fenfes ? What a brute art 
 " thou, that fporteft thy felf in a difre- 
 " gard of God and unfeen things, and va- 
 *' lueft the time of youth only as it fits 
 " thee to execute what is finful, and re- 
 ** lifli what is fenfual ! Is this rejoicing be- 
 " coming thee as a reafonable creature, 
 ** made for and fuited to things of fo far a 
 *^ higher nature ? Is thy Correfpondence 
 
 ^' with 
 
*72 The Vanity of 
 
 '* with the objcds of faith quite gone ? 
 " Art thou fo funk and buried in flefh ? 
 " Is there no fpiritual light or love, to 
 «' govern thy defires and pleafurcs?" If 
 this be the merry young man, what an ob- 
 je(5t of contempt is he in all his mirth ? 
 Even in his jollity he is to be fcorned, as 
 well as pitied. 
 
 2. He alarms this brutifh fenfualift 
 with a profpe(5t oi judgment. God addref- 
 feth himfelf to thee as one ftupidly igno- 
 rant J But know thou ; (it's what thou art 
 little acquainted with, or thoughtful 
 about ;) for all thefe things he will bring thee 
 into judgment. A fore thorn in thy gay 
 clothes, a great cooler to thy lufts, mere 
 gall in thy cups, and a fad difturbance to 
 thy airy conceits : God will bring thee into 
 judgment for all thefe things. " Tho' thou 
 " defpife his laws, thou flialt not efcape 
 " his fentence : He will not leave it to 
 ** thee, whether thou flialt be miferable, 
 ** though he referred it to thy choice, 
 " whether thou wouldft be ferious : He'll 
 " compel thee to feel his wrath, though 
 ** he would not force thee to refrain thy 
 ** voluptuoufnefs. Yea, oh thou that fport- 
 " eft thy felf in thy brutiQi delights ! thou 
 '* (halt account for all, thou flialt fuffer 
 ** for each. Thy punlfhment fliall be pro- 
 ** portioned to thy fins, and to thy pleafures 
 " thou didft take in finning j aud doft thou 
 " never confider how great that's like to 
 ** be ?" 3. He 
 
Childhood and Youth. 
 
 3. He then annexeth a ferious caution 
 againfl two evils, to which young perfons 
 are obnoxious j ver, 10. Therefore^ {1.) Re^ 
 move forrow from thy heart ; that is, anger, 
 as the word may be rendred, or all thofe 
 heart-lufts which will end in forrow of 
 heart. Thou art afraid of ferioufnefs ; 
 thou feemeft to prevent forrow by thy car- 
 nal mirth : But alas, thou art making way 
 for the deepeft groans by thy feeming 
 cure ; thou bringefl on forrow by a pre- 
 tended driving it away. But, young man, 
 God feeing thou takeft a wrong courfe, 
 condefcends to warn thee againft the an- 
 guifli which thou prepareft by thy vicious 
 inclination. (2.) And put away evil from 
 thy fleJJj y that is, fieflily pollutions, to 
 which youth is prone ; or the bodily pu- 
 nifhments, which vile courfes expofe to. 
 — If you take the firft fenfe, then, as in 
 forbidding heart-lufts, he flops a courfe of 
 lin at the fpring-head, without which all 
 the attempts for reformation will be too 
 feeble j fo in forbidding flefhly pollutions, 
 he would rcftrain the adting of fin : As if 
 he had faid, " Tho* luft is conceived in 
 " the heart, yet let it not break forth in 
 " thy pradtice ; for abftinence from wick- 
 " ed ads will conduce to change thy 
 " temper, and abate thy guilt." — -If you 
 take the latter fenfe, then he argues from 
 that mifery, which brutifli youth is moft 
 likely to be affedted by ; As if it were faid, 
 
 ** That 
 
 73 
 
174 ^^^ Vanity of 
 
 *' That body which thou fo indulged, that 
 " flefli whereof thou art fo tender, is Hke 
 " to feel the woful efFedts of thy foliy j 
 " therefore as thou loveft thy very flefli, 
 " kindle not the flames which are to de- 
 ** vour it in hell ; brir^g not down thofe 
 ** judgments, which may torment thy bo- 
 " dy on this fide the grave." 
 
 The wife man introduces thefe advices 
 by a motive referring to 'ver. 9. T^herejore^ 
 ^c. As if hehadfaid, *' Becaufe God will 
 ** bring thee into judgment ^ avoid thefe fins, 
 •^ for which thou fl:ialt certainly be ar- 
 " raigned ; and prevent the miferies, which 
 *' the fentence will include, and which 
 ** the judge mufl execute according to the 
 ** fandlion of that law whereby thou fhalt 
 " be judged. Then, then, O young man ! 
 ** thou (halt know by the punifliment felt, 
 " that thy lawgiver's threatnings were not 
 ** vain, tho' during temptations they ap- 
 " peared fo." 
 
 My text is a further motive, and as fuch 
 is here inff rted : For childhood and youth 
 are ^vanity ; as if it were faid, " To thefe 
 " fins your young years are prone ; they 
 " have room in your temper, and without 
 •* great care and labour cannot be re- 
 " moved, or put away 3 therefore be in- 
 ** tent and vigorous to put away eviljrom 
 " thy flejh^ to remove for row from thy 
 «« heart" 
 
 Having thus defcrib'd the coherence 
 
 of 
 
Childhood and Youth. 17 c 
 
 of the words, I (hall lay them down for a 
 dodiine as they be in my text. 
 
 DocT. Childhood and youth are vanity, 
 
 I SHALL explain this dodtrine, and then 
 
 infill on that fenfe of the words, which will 
 
 moft conduce to the advantage of young 
 
 perfons. 
 
 [i.] Childhood and youth may be 
 
 taken for that time of human life, which 
 
 is fhort of manhood. 
 
 If you take it thus, then the whole 
 
 claufe may be thus exprefTed : ** Though 
 you are very apt to boaft of thefe years, 
 as moft conducive to happinefs ; tho* 
 
 ' now your fpirits are vigorous, your 
 bodies healthy and ftrong, your fenfes 
 quick, the cares and maladies of old 
 age are far from you ^ yet all this will 
 not make you happy : This time of 
 youth it felf is vanity ; it's infufficient 
 to make thee a bleffed creature j yea, 
 though thou didft enjoy all fenfible 
 things that can minifter to its fatisfac- 
 tion, it is but vanity ^ a poor thing, a 
 (hort and empty matter, which leaves 
 its admirers deceived, yea, undone, if 
 they have no better provifion," A fe- 
 
 rious old man difdains thofe years, and 
 ^ould not live them over again j yea, few 
 
 live long, that wifti not much of that time 
 
 expunged 
 
176 77)3 Vanity of 
 
 expunged out of their life, and remember 
 it with a blufli. 
 
 [2.] Childhood and youth denote 
 perfons of thofe years or age, viz, chil- 
 dren and young people. 
 
 I SHALL confider the words in this 
 fenfe ; and of fuch of you the Spirit of 
 God proclaimeth 'vanity^ as your proper 
 epithet. But, 
 
 ^eft. What Is meant by vanity y as 
 
 . it is predicated of thefe young people ? 
 
 jinfw. Vanity is either natural ot 
 
 moral : And thus it's the fame as to fay, 
 
 (i.) Young people are frail and mor- 
 
 Ifa. xl 6. tal. yf// fiejh is grajs^ and all the goodlinefs 
 
 thereof, as the flower of the field. The 
 
 robuft youth hath his breath in his nof- 
 
 irils ; by the courfe of nature he may live 
 
 longer than old men, yet by the frailty 
 
 of nature he may die before the oldeft 
 
 man. Thou reckoneft upon long life, but 
 
 thou mayeft die to morrow. Oh young 
 
 man ! thou haflthe feeds of death in thee, 
 
 thou canft not refift any meflenger of 
 
 Heb. ix. death J the fentence lies againft thee ; and 
 
 ^7- „. fm, the caufe of death, cleaves to thy early 
 
 Rom. vni/ -xtl ^ • . r • j ^ 1 
 
 ,0. age. What variety ot accidents art thou 
 
 fubjedt to every moment ? It's by God's 
 power, you children are alive till now, as 
 well as the man of eighty. Oh young 
 folk 1 that think of many years, before 
 death and you can meet > how many 
 
 younger 
 
Childhood and Youth, 177 
 
 younger than you are already rotten in their 
 graves ? There may be many children in 
 this place, whofe death your fathers, yea, 
 grandfathers may live to mourn for ? ii's a 
 brittle houfe your very fouls inhabit. 
 
 Rxh. I CANNOT omit this exhorta- 
 tion. Do and forbear, all you ought to do 
 and forbear, in order to eternity, as per- 
 fons Within a fiep of death. I hope the 
 youngeft here are aflured, that there is koEccI. ix. 
 working in the grave. What is to be done *°* 
 for eternity, muft be done while you live ; 
 the ftate of trial lafts no longer than life : 
 Whatever is beyond the grave, is unchange- 
 able reward or punifhment. 
 
 Wilt thou lay to heart thefe things ? 
 (i.) I have much to do for eternity. (2.) 
 Work for eternity is hard to do. (3.) This 
 work as hard as it is, muft be done, or 
 I periih for ever. (4.) How fliort a 
 while may I, as young as I am, have to 
 do all this hard work in ? which is the 
 point I am upon. Young man, if death 
 overtake thee, thou canft not put it off 
 till thou fet about the work thou haft 
 neglefted ; all the cries in the world will 
 avail nothing. Bethink thee then, if^3/- 
 jah had not been good betimes, he muft 
 have been eternally undone : So it may be 
 thy cafe, O child of ten years old ! if thou 
 doft not get grace before thou art a year 
 older, or it may be a month or week 
 older, thou muft die gracelefs. Doth not 
 N the 
 
178 Voe Va7iity of 
 
 Jobxxxvi.jj^g ^ord tell thee of fome, who die in 
 yoiith^ and their life is among the unclean ? 
 Shall that be thy cafe? canfl thou bear it? 
 Be perfuaded now to fix thy thoughts on 
 fuch things as thefe : " Shall I lye or 
 ** fwear now, who may be dead within a 
 " month ? Dare I profane this fabbath, 
 " who may be dead within a week ? yea, 
 " my next fin may be the lafi: adl of my 
 " life. How can I live without Chrift a 
 *' day longer, when I may die to night ? 
 " Shall I delay to know, and love, and fear 
 *' my God, who mufl do it foon or never ? 
 *' I am fure, If I do not fear God before I 
 " die, Hell will be my place ; and I am 
 *^ not fure of a week to attain this fear ot 
 *' God." Did the youngeft of you know 
 your frailty, you would tremble at delays ; 
 you would not dare to fin ; you would 
 blufli at your flothfulnefs in any good 
 work. Oh then hear this fermon, as one 
 that may never hear another ! Pray the 
 next time, as one that may never pray 
 again ! When thou art next tempted, afk 
 thy felf, ** Would I yield to this, if I were to 
 " die to-morrow ?" Will you believe this, 
 and walk as them that believe it ? Even 
 youth is too uncertain, for any wife one to 
 venture to fin, or negle(^ his falvation, as 
 if fure of lime to repent, and repair his 
 negleds. 
 
 (2.) Vanity is taken in a moral fenfe, 
 viz, as it regards the minds and manners. 
 
 Thus 
 
Childhood and Youth. 179 
 
 Thus the Spirit of God warns us againft 
 walking in the vanity of the mind. Vanity Eph. iv. 
 is oft put for all Jins : Yea, feveral fins are '/kings 
 exprefsly called 'L'^r?//'^ ; and this name isxvii. 15. 
 applied, partly with refpedl to the nature 
 of fome fins, but chiefly from the ten- 
 dency and confequence of every finful 
 courfe. Every way of fin is vain ; and 
 fin deferves the name of vanity from this 
 confideration, that it is committed to no 
 valuable purpofe ; yea, it ends in what is 
 deftrudive, and far worfe than merely un- 
 profitable. 
 
 In this fenfe I (hall improve the Text, 
 and it includes thefe things. 
 
 First, Toung people are prone to many 
 finSy that are notorioujly vain. 
 
 Secondly, Toung People are apt to live 
 to very low and unprofitable purpofes^ which 
 is vanity. 
 
 Thirdly, Toung people are apt to live 
 to evil and dejiru5tive purpofes^ which is the 
 height of vanity. 
 
 Before I enter on thefe things, let me 
 aflt you young folk. Is not this a true 
 charge ? and is it not as awful a defcription 
 of your ftate, as it is true ? 
 
 Obj. But how comes this to be laid fo 
 univerfally, that young people are thus 
 vain ? 
 
 j^nfw, I. Because the generality of 
 N 2 young 
 
1^0 The Vanity of 
 
 yonng people arc vain. For one that is 
 fobcr, how many are wild? for one that 
 is pious, there be many prophane. A re- 
 ligious child is become a wonder. Godli- 
 nefs in youthful years is very rare j the 
 body of your ordinary young people is fot- 
 ti{h ; the generality of witty youths are 
 atheiftical and irreligious. When the 
 difeafe is fo common, the charge is proper 
 as again ft the whole. 
 
 2. All young perfons are inclined to" 
 be vain :" Vanity is the temptation of that 
 age. Your conftitution, and want of ex- 
 perience, do efpecially expofe you to this 
 liiifchief. Though grace may deliver fome 
 of you from the power of vanity, yet it 
 hath not clean fed you from all difpofition 
 to vanity ; it hangs about you, and liveth, 
 though reftrained. Your ftumblings will 
 be at this ftone, and your faults will be 
 under this head of youthful vanity. 
 
 Young people ! you fee why the charge 
 is fo common : Will you then apply what 
 I fliall fay to your felves ? When I defcribe 
 this difeafe, fay, " This is my difeafe." 
 When I propofe the remedy, fpeak to thy 
 foul, ** This is proper for my cafe, this is 
 " neceffary to my condition." Thou child,, 
 fay, *' I. am a child, and therefore apt to 
 ** be vain." Thou young man, fay, " I 
 " am a young man, and therefore I am 
 " apt to be vain : I muft deny my age, or 
 * * own this charge." Nay further, rea fon 
 
 awfully 
 
Childhood and Youth, i8i 
 
 awfully with your felves, ** Moft young 
 '* people are under the power of vanity j 
 ** the wicked youths are a hundred, to 
 *' .one that is pious. Oh my foul, what 
 *•* is my condition ! is there not moredan- 
 " ger, that I am one of thofe hundred 
 ** wicked ones, than that I am that om 
 ** pious young one ?" 
 
 I SHALL now return to confider the 
 three particulars, under which I included 
 jhe moral vanity of young people. 
 
 First, Toung people are prone to many 
 fins, that are notorioiifiy vain. 
 
 There be fome particular fins, that in 
 their nature argue more vanity than other 
 fins J they infer a very vain mind in the perfons 
 committing them. Young ones have many 
 of thefe fins, and luft is ftrongly prompt- 
 ing them thereto. 
 
 I SHALL reduce your fins to eight par- 
 ticulars^ and give you fome diredlions un- 
 der each, to help you againft that particu- 
 lar fin ; But remember, each of thefe are 
 fins. Every fin defileth thy foul, and 
 bindeth thee to undergo the punifhment 
 threatned, if it be not repented of and 
 mortified : Nor canfi: thou hope, that thefe 
 fins will be put away, unlefs thou follow 
 ^he methods God hath dired:ed for th^t 
 end : He will not convert thee as a brute 
 that regards nothing, tho' he mull: confider 
 thy weaknefs as a finner, and therefore 
 N 3 exert 
 
i82 T^he Vanity of 
 
 exert his power by the means thou at- 
 tended. 
 
 I. Young people are fubjeB to folly. 
 
 The Spirit brands our tender years with 
 
 Prov.xxii. this Crime : Folly is bound up in the heart 
 
 '5* . of a child. Is this Hmiied to children ? no, 
 
 Prov. vii. ji young man 'void of underjlanding^ is too 
 
 7* often feen. This fault is not a want of 
 
 that wifdom which is unexpe(5ted from 
 
 your age j but it is fuch a folly, as in your 
 
 years might have been healed ; and it's 
 
 made up of blindnefs and miftakes, againft 
 
 that light which God hath afforded you. 
 
 Qon hath given you reafon to govern 
 your ft^lves by j you are under the means 
 of wifdom, whereby you may know your 
 true end, and the proper means to that 
 end, Neverthelefs, moft young perfons are 
 fooh, Doft not thou place thy intereft in 
 things which are vain and deftrudlive ? 
 Doft thou not think jollity thy only hea- 
 ven, and the pleafing thy lufts the only real 
 paradile ? What is enjoying God, or glo- 
 rifying God, to thee ? thefe are things thou 
 art unacquainted with, and unconcerned 
 for, 
 
 Ohj, Perhaps thou wilt fay, " I de- 
 *' fire to be faved, and I do fomething to- 
 *' wards it ; how then do I miftake my 
 ** end or means ?'* 
 
 j^vfw. I. I FEAR, thou doft not know, 
 what it is tp be faved. Salvation with thee 
 
 is 
 
Childhood and Youth, 183 
 
 is only being kept out of hell, as a place 
 of torment, when thou haft finn'd thy 
 fill : But there is little more to com- 
 mend heaven to thee. If there be not vain 
 fports, revelling, and the like carnal en- 
 joyments, thou canft not tell how heaven 
 Ihould bs a happy ftate, tho* better than 
 hell. But is not this the grofteft folly ? 
 What, to think that falvation, which con- 
 tains no vifion of God, no perfed: holi- 
 nefs of heart, no full conformity to Chrift, 
 no ravidiing fen/e or communications of 
 the divine love, no hand in God's praifes ? 
 Foolifli youth ! there's no heaven, but what 
 principally includes thefe -, that is not fal- 
 vation, which wants any of thefe. Let me 
 alk thee, " Art not thou foolifli, if thou 
 " judgeft falvation to be what it is not ? Art 
 " thou not foolifh, to think it to be another 
 " thing than God defcribeth it to be ? Art 
 " thou not a fool, who fancieft, that can- 
 ** not be a happy ftate, unlefs it wants 
 ** what all good men account to be hap- 
 " pinefs ? and unlefs it includes fuch 
 *' wicked and brutifti things, as heaven 
 ** muft keep and cleanfe us from ?" Oh 
 poor creature 1 thus foolifti do thy no- 
 tions of eternal life difcover thee to be. 
 
 2. Thy folly appeareth, in that thou 
 fancieft thou canft be faved in another 
 way, than that which leads to it. To con- 
 vince thee of this, confider, 
 
 (i.) Christ is the principal w^v tolohaxiv. 
 N 4 life/' 
 
184 '^^^ Vanity of 
 
 life. He as a Priefi^ by offering up him- 
 felf, merited life for fuch as repent, believe, 
 and obey him : He as a Prophet teacheth 
 men the author, means, and nature of the 
 terms of life : He as a King applies his 
 purchafe by the Spirit, fubdues impedi- 
 ments, fits the foul for, and judicially ad- 
 mits it into glory. Now, child ! doft thou 
 hope to live for ever, and negled: Chrift ? 
 Is it not folly, to exped life, and to defpife a 
 Saviour, yea, to trample his blood under 
 thy feet? Is it not folly, to hope to be faved 
 by Chrift, and yet to believe the devil rather 
 than him, and to prefer the dominion of 
 others before his government ? 
 
 (2.) Faith, repentance, and holinefs, 
 are a way to heaven, fubordinate to Chrift : 
 I fay, fubordinate to Chrift, for they could 
 not fave thee but for a Chrift. Sinners had 
 never obtained them, but by a Chrift ; and 
 they tend to fave, as they refer to Chrift, 
 whofe atonement is the only purchafing 
 price. But yet, they are a way to life ; no 
 man fliallever get to heaven without them. 
 Chrift hath relblved, that without faith^ 
 no man (hall have pardon by his merits ; 
 and therefore all the favingly enlightned do 
 Gal. ill 6 believe y that they may be juftijied. He ap- 
 points us alfo to repent, that our fins may 
 Aasiii. ^^ blotted out, when the times of rejrepo- 
 19- ifjg fiall come ; and limits the number of 
 
 ^i£ -v. 9. jj^^ faved, to fuch as obey him. 
 
 Now young man, is it not folly in thee 
 
 to 
 
Childhood and Youth. 185 
 
 to expe6l heaven, when thou haft nothing 
 which Chrift has inftituted as a means of 
 that glory ? Doth he as our law-giver de- 
 clare, that he will and muft fufpend thy 
 falvation till thou believe ; and wilt thou 
 madly fay, " He will fave me though I do 
 ** not believe?" Dofl: thou know what 
 he'll do, better than himfelf ? 
 
 Yea, your folly is greater, in that Chrift 
 hath not only fufpended life on thefe con- 
 ditions ; but he hath exprefsly declared, 
 that they (hall for ever perifli, who do not 
 in thefe things fubmit to him : And yet 
 thou art confident. 
 
 What greater folly, than for an un- 
 holy one to look for glory ? when God 
 faith. Without holinefs no man fiall fee the ^^''^- ^"' 
 Lord; and the wicked Jhall be turned intOYL\.\x, 
 hell. Is it not folly, to remain impenitent, » 7- 
 and yet be in hopes of heaven ? when 
 Chrift faith. Except you repent, you Jhall^^^^^^^^' 
 all perijh. Will not you own your mad- 
 nefs, that look'd for life In your difobedi- 
 cnce. ? when you fhall hear our Lord fay- 
 ing, Slay thefe mine enemies^ who would not ^"^^ *'^* 
 that 1 fiould reign over them. Is it not 
 an eftablifti'd rule under the gofpel, H^MarkxvL 
 that believeth not, fJjall be damned F Unbe- ^ * 
 lief and hell are as certainly connecfted, as 
 faith and heaven. 
 
 3. Thy folly appears yet more, in that 
 thou fancieft thou canft be faved in a way 
 contrary to falvation, and certainly leading 
 
 to 
 
i86 l^he Vanity of 
 
 to hell. Wouldil: not thou judge him a 
 fool, that intending for Dover ^ yet chufeth 
 the road to Tork ? Are not they fools, 
 who defiling health, refufe phyfick, and 
 take nothing but poifon ? Thy behaviour 
 exceeds the grofleft of thefe inftunces. 
 
 What bars any one from heaven, but 
 
 the dominion of fin ? And that confcience 
 
 juftly chargeth thee with. Doth not God 
 
 Bam. viii. declare, that to be carnally minded is death ? 
 
 Thou art fo minded, and yet expedeft 
 
 Eph. V. 5. life. Is not God exprefs, that no whore- 
 
 monger^ nor unclean perfon^ nor covetouSy 
 
 hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God ? 
 
 Rev. xxi. and alio, that the abominable^ and all lyars, 
 
 ^' JJoall have their part in the lake that burn- 
 
 eth with fire and brimftone ? Is he not as 
 
 I Cor. vi. pofitive, that 720 fornicator, reviler, thief, 
 
 *°' or drunkard, can be faved ? What can be 
 
 plainer, than that in being fuch as thefe 
 
 rhou deftroyeft thy felf ? Thefe vices lead 
 
 to deflrudion, and God warns thee againft 
 
 foolifh felf- deceit, by hoping for a better 
 
 iffue than ruin by fuch a courfe. Oh fot- 
 
 tifli youth ! will theft, drunkennefs, fwear- 
 
 ing, profanenefs, (think you,) lead to hei- 
 
 ven, after all thefe difcoveries of God's 
 
 refolves.f* What will damn thee, if fuch 
 
 vices will not ? Who can be damned, if 
 
 thou be faved .? Will a provoked God lye 
 
 for thy fake ? No, no, his threats will take 
 
 hold of thee, notwithftanding thy filly 
 
 dreams. 
 
 Chil- 
 
Childhood and Youth, 187 
 
 Children, you fee I have defcribed 
 the jolly of all young ones, who are 
 wicked. And this I have fliewn in this 
 great inftance, 'viz. They miftake iheir 
 true happinefs, and the way to it. 
 
 I M I G H T open this great fore beyond this. 
 Alas ! young people are generally ignorant 
 of God, and themfelves ; they kiiow neu'ner 
 good nor evil aright ; they cunimend what 
 they ought to difpraife ; they cbufe what 
 they (hould rejed: ; they make a mock of 
 the greateft mifchiefs, as fin and hell ; they 
 rarely underftand men, or know how to 
 carry it aright, for this world, or for eter- ' 
 
 nity ; they miftake truth for error, and are 
 governed by appearances rather than reali- 
 ties. Where fhall I flop, if I attempt a 
 full difplay of the folly of youth ? 
 
 ^ejl. What (hall I 'hat am young 
 do, to heal me of my jolly ? 
 
 Anfw. (i.) Beg wifdom of God by 
 fervent prayer : If any of you lack wifdom^ Jam. i. s« 
 let him afk it of God^ &c. Thou wanted 
 wifdom, thou art bid to ailc it : Thou 
 art encouraged to afk j for he giveth it to 
 fuch as afk ; yea, he gives liberally^ and 
 will not upbraid thee with thy part folly, 
 when thou fctteft thy felf to get wifdom. 
 Nothing will heal thy folly but wifdom, 
 and a prayerlefs creature is never like to 
 obtain it : Therefore prefs thy foul with 
 thefenfeof its win t, and with the loveli- 
 nefs and neceility of wifdom 5 this will 
 
 help 
 
i88 He Vanity of 
 
 help thee to ftrong defires, which are fer- 
 vent prayers. O child! wilt thou be a fool 
 for want of praying ? Shall God fay, 
 *' Here's a youth void of wifdom, becaufe 
 " he would not afk it ?" 
 
 (2.) Study and believe the Scrip- 
 tures. If thy judgment be directed by 
 Pfai. cxix. the word, it will be found ; for that 
 ^l^' gives underjlanding to the fimple, Belure 
 you learn to read ; and when you can 
 read, read the fcriptures moft. There 
 you muft learn to think aright of God ; 
 they will teach thee, what the will of God 
 is ; the way of falvation is there difcover- 
 ed J from them thou haft the trueft ac- 
 count of fin, and holinefs. In the writ- 
 ten promifes thou wilt know what to hope 
 for ; in the threatnings, what thou (houldft 
 fear j in the commandments, what thou 
 muft do ; in the revealed docflrines, what 
 thou fhouldft believe. Come, children, 
 you are allowed to learn the fcriptures. 
 2 Tim. Timothy is commended for knowitig the 
 li:. ^^. Jcriptures from a Child. Study you thefe ; 
 there is nothing needful for a Chriftian, 
 which is not contained therein ; every 
 thing as to falvation is doubtful, which is 
 not deduced from thefe. 
 
 (3.) Suspect thy firft thoughts, and 
 never be governed by thy fancy. If thy 
 fudden imaginations be right, they will 
 bear enquiry ; if they be wrong, they need 
 amendment. Ordinarily the firft dictates 
 
 proceed 
 
Childhood and Youth. 189 
 
 proceed from vanity j and fhall that pre- 
 fcribe, when hfe and death depend on 
 thy refolves ? Nay, how knoweft thou, 
 but that they be Satan's whifpers which 
 thou execute!!:, when fancy is thy guide ? 
 for he fpeaks to the foul by imprefling the 
 imagination* 
 
 (4.) Converse with the godly wife, 
 and ftricftly obferve and lay up their fayings 
 and examples. The word tells us, HethatVrov.xVn. 
 walketh with wife men^ fiall be wife ; but a ^°' 
 companion of fools fhall be defiroyed. Their 
 fpeeches will inftrud:, their practice will 
 allure imitation ; whereas ill company will 
 debauch thy mind, and nourifh thy lufts. 
 Prudent perfons will judge thy temper by 
 thy afTociates ; well knowing, thou art al- 
 ready, or wilt certainly be, what thy cho- 
 fcn companions are. 
 
 (5.) Design all knowledge in order 
 to pradice, and live up to the light thou 
 received. He that in facred things takes 
 up with notions for notions fake, is as truly 
 a fool as if he knew nothing. It's a prac- 
 tical judgment that makes us fpiritually 
 wife, when other knowledge will aggra- 
 vate our fin and woe. 
 
 Oh young man! wilt thou fay unto Pr:yv. yil 
 wifdom, thou art my fifler? Wilt thou caft'^- 
 ofF folly with indignation, as thy great di- 
 feafe ? Should you be fond of that which 
 fin introduced, and which obftruds your 
 healing while it prevails ? Follv is the bane 
 
 of 
 
I go The Vanity of 
 
 of intelledual beings; and that's of the 
 word fort, which guides our pradlice. 
 Folly is the root of all your other fins. Wert 
 thou fpiritually wife, thy work were more 
 than half done ; and methinks, thou 
 fhouldft not be hardly perfuaded to get 
 wifdom. Child ! wouldft thou be willing 
 to be an idiot ? Surely no ; every one pi- 
 ties fuch a one, and is too apt to laugh at 
 him. But I tell thee, to be a fool as to 
 eternal things, is much worfe than to be 
 an idiot. The idiot hath few, if any, ac- 
 tual fins to anfwer for ; but thou haft 
 many. There may be hopes of an idiot's 
 falvation, cfpecially if he be the child of a 
 believer ; but if thou remain fpiritually a 
 fool, there's no hope of thee, tho* both 
 thy parents were the beft of people. All 
 folly is the blemifli of human nature, but 
 fpiritual folly moft of any. 
 
 II. Young people are fubjeB to incon- 
 Jideratenefs and rafifiefs. How hard is it, 
 to make you think, or lay the greateft 
 things to heart ? Neither danger, nor duty, 
 do young ones apply to themfelvcs. Would 
 not the confciences of moft of you agree 
 with my accufation, if I tell thee, child, 
 and thee, young man or woman. Thou 
 art under God's wrath, but wilt not con- 
 lider it ? Thou doft not meditate on the 
 way of recovery, tho' it be at great ex- 
 pence provided : Chrift died for thee, but 
 
 thou 
 
Childhood and Youth* igi 
 
 thou haft not fpent one hour in the con- 
 templation of him : Thou art loth to 
 think, what thy ways are, whether good 
 or bad j or thy ftate, whether fafe or dan- 
 gerous. How few young ones here have 
 lerioufly afked themfelves, " Am I born 
 *' again or no ? what will my fins bring 
 ** me to ? what evil is there in my 
 ** fins ? when I muft ftand at God's tri- 
 *' bunal to be judged, what (hall I anfwer ? 
 " what is like to be the iffue ? how (hall 
 " I dwell with everlafling burnings?" 
 It is too commonly with others, as it 
 was with that young man. He goeth .af'^^^'^^'■''^'^' 
 ter her ftraightway, (or fuddenly,) as an ox ^^' ^^' 
 goeth to the Jlaugbter, till a dart ftrike 
 through his liver ; as a bird hafteth to the 
 fnare, and knoweth not that it is for his 
 lije. He took not time to think, what 
 would be the ifTue of fin : Unavoidable 
 torment gives the firft profped: of his dan- 
 ger ; when confideration would have re- 
 prefented this mifery, as a guard againft 
 fin, even while temptation follicited. 
 
 ^ejl. What (hall I a young one do, 
 to deliver me from this inconfideratenefs ? 
 
 Anfw. In general. Strive to confider, 
 and bind thy mind to fuitable and fixed 
 thoughts. To this end, 
 
 (i.) Do not at any time allow thy 
 thoughts to wander unaccountably. It's 
 hard to confine them at any time, when 
 they ufually rove. It's a great help for this 
 
 world. 
 
192 The Vanity of 
 
 world, and for another, to have onr 
 thoughts manageable; and our fouls capable 
 of being eafily fixed in their contemplations. 
 Whenever thou thinkeft, be able to fay, 
 " What I think of is worth a thought." 
 
 (2.) Awe thy foul with the impor- 
 tance of the things thou oughtelt to con- 
 iider. If they be foul-matters, they be of the 
 higheft nature ; and they be of the greateft 
 concern to thee. Tell thy felf, " Life 
 *' and death depend on thefc : If fin have 
 *' dominion over me, I fiall die; if I am 
 John iii. *« not born again, I cannot enter into the 
 S- " kingdom of God, And (hall I lightly 
 
 " think of thefe ? what's all the world to 
 *' me, if I perifh for ever ? Things di- 
 '* vine, things on which eternity depends, 
 *' mufl be confidered. Oh my foul ! wilt 
 ** thou, yea, dareft thou, refufe to dwell 
 *' on thefe, which thou wert made for, 
 " which thou muft (hortly converfe with, 
 " as the only realities, whether thou wilt 
 *' or nor" 
 
 (3.) Get fo much knowledge of what 
 thou ftiouldfl confider, as that thou mayfl 
 be able to reprefent it to thy mind in fome 
 evidence. It's hard to confider long, of 
 what we little know : If it be of God, be 
 not unacquainted with his nature ; if it be 
 of Sin, be not ignorant of arguments to 
 difTuade from it, and a fenfe of what ag- 
 gravates it, &c» 
 
 (4.) Learn to difcourfe with thy felf, 
 
 and 
 
Childhood and Youth. 193 
 
 and to urge things upon thy heart : This 
 will fix thy thoughts, and bring things 
 with fome due impreflion on the heart. If 
 thou canft not debate the matter inwardly, 
 fpeak outwardly with thy tongue, as if 
 two perfons were in talk together. 
 " What, (hall I lofe my foul for a luft? 
 " Muft not I, if God's word be true, rue 
 " my prefent courfe ?" It is God's charge, 
 that _)'(?« commune with your own /6^'^r/j. ■HePfal.iv.4. 
 can neither be true nor profitable to him- 
 felf, who feldom fpeaks to himfelf. 
 
 (5.) Take fit time and place to de- 
 bate, and apply things of moft concern, 
 and bring things to a good conclufion. 
 Great things muft not be determined by a 
 few thoughts j for fo thou wilt neither 
 pafs a right judgment, nor yet be duly 
 affeded. Neither are ferious matters be- 
 comingly confidered in a croud, or when 
 thou art unfit to think : And to confider, 
 without coming to a conclufion, cannot 
 fix thy judgment, or govern thy will and 
 pradice. Therefore if the matter thought 
 of be a doubt, prefs it to a refolution ; 
 if it be a duty, confider all arguments, till 
 thy will be fixedly determined to do it ; if 
 it be a fin which thou layefl: to heart, ceafe 
 not reprefenting the evil and danger of it, 
 before thou feelefl thy felf refolved againft 
 it, and a ftrong indignation kindled to fup- 
 port that refolve. 
 
 Will yop refolve to follow thefe 
 O Rules? 
 
194 ^'^^ Vanity of 
 
 Rules? will yon ftrive to manage your 
 thoughts, and fliew your felves willing to 
 be confiderate ? I am fure thou wilt not 
 refufe, if thou haft a mind to chufe aright, 
 to walk fafely, or to have the benejBt of 
 what God hath afforded by natural light, 
 revelation, or providence, to govern man- 
 kind by. Yea, young man, it's impoffi- 
 ble to be truly religious, or to anfwer the 
 great ends of religion, without confidering. 
 Prov. iv. Oh then ! ponder the path of thy feet ; 
 maturely deliberate on things that thy 
 thoughts are due to. 
 
 III. You N G. people are fuhjedl to he oh- 
 fiinate ajid heady. Tliis is one of your 
 difeafes ; you break through reftraints, and 
 are regerdlefs of advice ; intreaties avail 
 little. Yea, children, though you be com- 
 pared to tender twigs, do you not diko- 
 ver much ftubbornnefs ? Parents com- 
 mand, but you are difobedient ^ they cor- 
 red, but you remain obftinate j they per- 
 fuade and intreat you to be fober, but you 
 are iViU vain. Mafters reprove, but you 
 are ftill the lame. Minifters importunate- 
 ly call thee, (oh young man,) from thy 
 defi:rudive courfe, but thou paiTefl on, 
 and fhutteft thy ears againft the word. 
 Confcience oft fpeaks, and reprefents thy 
 guilt, but thou feemeft refolved on thy 
 own ruin. Yea, God (lands in thy way, 
 as the angel with a drawn fword j but thou 
 
 art 
 
Childhood a?td Youth. 195 
 
 art fearlefs, and feemeft to fay, ** I will 
 *' fin ftill, let what will come of it : Let 1°^ '^^• 
 ** guilt grow, let God ftiike, let my foul 
 *' periih, all thefe fliall not alter me/* 
 
 Oh poor ftripling ! how foon can God 
 undo thee ! how loon will hell- torments 
 break thy ftomach ! And wilt thou flill be 
 like the wild a/s, which fniiffeth up the Jer- ii. 24. 
 wind^ and in her occajtony who can turn 
 her away ? How canft thou, child, endure 
 to hear thy parents groan, " I perfuade my 
 " child to be good, but I cannot prevail ; 
 ** I would inftrucl him, but he is un- 
 " teachable ? Woe is me, I have brought 
 ** forth for the deftroyer, when this my 
 " child was born : I fee him running 
 *' hell-ward, and cannot reftrain him : [ 
 " tremble to think from his fetting out, 
 " what he is like to come to: Oh that 
 ** the fruit of my body fhould dilhonour 
 " God, as he is like to do ! that he fhould 
 ** do the mifchiefs, I forefee he will! If 
 *' God change not his heart, he may come 
 *' to an untimely end, and is fure to be 
 " damned for ever ! Oh that I had been 
 " written childlefs T Canft thou be un- 
 moved, and ft ill perverle ? 
 
 ^ieji. How (hall a young perfon be 
 cured of this cbjlinatenefs ? 
 
 Anfw. (i.) Get thy heart pofTelTed 
 
 of a holy fear. Beg of God a heart that 
 
 is in awe of him ; a heart that reverenceth 
 
 thy parents and fuperiors j a heart afraid of 
 
 O 2 fm. 
 
196 The Vai^ity of 
 
 fin, and tren^bling at hell, and all the 
 other punidiments due to fin. Fearleflnefs 
 is a great ground of obllinacy : Young 
 man, tbefe deferve fear j God hath put 
 this paflion into thy nature, to make thee 
 governable. What horrid madnefs is it, 
 Heb. xii. not to fear a God who i^ a confuming fire ? 
 ^9- not to fear hell and mifery, which will 
 Matt. xxii. force thee to iveep and waily and gnafl^ thy 
 '3' teeth Jor ever? What confufion and dif- 
 
 order is it among mankind, that inferiors 
 are wholly fearlefs of their fuperiors ; 
 efpecially finful worms of a dreadful God ? 
 (2.) Believe the kindnefs of thofe, 
 againil: whom thou art obftinate, and ftir . 
 up fome grateful returns of love to them. 
 Thy perverfcnefs implies, that thou loveft • 
 not thy advifers ; nor thinkeft that they 
 have any love to thee, when they advife 
 thee. But, young body, I would mind 
 thee to day, that it is from love all thefe 
 oppofed admonitions do proceed. 
 
 Doth not God love thee, who made 
 thee ; who put fuch bowels in thy parents 
 towards thee? Doth he not love thee, who 
 gives thee all the good thou enjoyeft ; who 
 fpares thee, and intreats thee, month after 
 month, when he might have fent thee to 
 hell at fiift, without any lofs to himfelf ? 
 
 Doth not Chrift love thee, oh child, 
 who gave his life for thee, when thou 
 wert an undone enemy to him ? who fent 
 his Spirit to flrive with thee, his Gofpel to 
 
 offer 
 
Childhood and Youth, 197 
 
 offer mercy to thee, his minifters and others 
 to teach thee, as foon as thou could ft un- 
 derftand any thing ? Muft not he love thee, 
 young man, who pleads with God, ready to 
 cut thee down, hord^ lei him alone this year Lvkc xlii, 
 longer ? Doth not he love thee, that weeps ^• 
 over thee, when he finds thee unper- 
 fuadable ; and this, becaufe he knows the 
 woful anguifh thy contempt will end in ? 
 
 Do not thy parents love thee ? Oh think 
 what care and pains thy father is at for thy 
 livelihood ! Think of the tender bowels of 
 thy mother, what forrow ihe hath felt, 
 what fears fhe is in, when thou art ia 
 danger; what tears fhe poureth forth 
 when thou art fick, and how it goeth to 
 her heart to correal thee ! I might (hew 
 further, that all others love thee, who ad- 
 vife thee to be good. 
 
 Well, young body ! canft thou chufe 
 but think, that the reproofs of thefe muft 
 proceed from love ? And art thou fuch a 
 brute, as not to love them at all ? What ! 
 not love thy God, who is fo good to thee ? 
 not love thy Chrift, who bled out his foul 
 in love to thee ? What I not love thy fa- 
 ther and mother, to whom thou art fo in- 
 debted ? Wouldft thou be fo requited, 
 when thou haft children ? 
 
 Oi?J, " I HOPE, I do love God, Chrift-, 
 ** and my parents : I am not fuch a de- 
 ^[ vil ; And I think, they love me." 
 
 O 3 ^info'. 
 
198 7"/6^ Vanity of ' 
 
 Anfiv. What! love them, and be 
 obftinate againft their intreaties ? love 
 them, and be difobedicnt in things they 
 moft infift on ? God and Chrifl: account 
 Luke xix fhem enemies^ that are rebels : Chrift 
 *'^' puts it plainly to thee, If you love me 
 
 keep my commandments ; John xiv. 15. 
 as if he (hould fay, Never fancy or talk 
 that you love me, unlefs you w^ill obey 
 me. Thy parents, if they be pious, will 
 reduce thy love to the fame inftances : 
 Prov.xxxi.rpj^yg thy mother beipeaks thee ; What my 
 Jbn^ and what the [on cf my womb^ and 
 njohat the fon of my vows ! give not thy 
 Jlrength to women : And fo too, in the 
 next following words, fhe forbids driink- 
 Prov, iv. ennefs : Thy father charges thee, Hear, 
 ^'^' my child, the inftriiBions of a father-. 
 Let thy heart retain my words, keep my 
 commandments, and live j get wifdom, &c. 
 They will both intreat thee 5 " Child, if 
 *' thou hafi: any love for us, keep from 
 " fin ; fave thy felf from hell : We are 
 ^' moft concerned, to fee thee a real faint, 
 ?^ and eternally glorious ; we'll bear any 
 *' thing rather than fin ; we are afraid for 
 " nothing fo much as thy foul ; if thou 
 " deftroy that, thou fheweft the greatefl 
 ^' hatred, and art as cruel as thou canft 
 ?* be, to us." 
 
 Canst thou think thou lovefl them, and 
 be thus perverfe? Nay, if thou think they 
 lovp thee, that muft c.iufe foine relent- 
 
 ings : 
 
Childhood and Youth* 199 
 
 ings : *' How can I run fo crofs to my 
 ** God, and to my parents, who fo dearly . 
 ** love my foul, and are fo folicitous for 
 " its weal ? My hardened heart begins to 
 ** yield, and I cannot continue obftinate ; 
 *' my love to them, and my fenfe of 
 ** their love to me, do overpower my 
 ** flubborn fpirit." 
 
 (3.) Be perfuaded of thy own igno- 
 rance and unfitnefs to direcft thy felf. A 
 proud conceit, that you know better than 
 any what is for your good or harm, is in- 
 cluded in an obitinate frame, Doft not 
 thou think, that if thou wert convinced, 
 that God bids thee do nothing, but what 
 were for thy good, nor forbids thee any- 
 thing but what is for thy harm, thou 
 wouldft do what he commanded, and ceafe 
 from what he forbids ? And would it not 
 be the fame as to thy parents and others ? 
 Let me then reafon with thee, young 
 man ! Doft thou think, that God would 
 deceive thee, or thy parents and minifters 
 would lye to thee, when they diifuade thee 
 from fin, and perfuade thee to ferious piety, 
 and are fo earneft in it ? Thou muft con- 
 clude they think as they fay : " If they 
 ** be not miftaken, they would encourage 
 " me to do as I do; but if I be miftaken, 
 ** I ought, and would do as they advife." 
 
 Then, young creature, the matter is 
 
 brought to this : Thou art obftinate againft 
 
 counfel, becaufe thou art in the right, 
 
 4 and 
 
200 The Vanity of 
 
 and they that give thee counfel are in 
 • the wrong : They, as thou thinkeft, ad- 
 vife thee to thy lofs ; and all things fet 
 together, thou confuheft thy own true in- 
 tereft better than they do. 
 
 But is not this a very vain conceit, 
 and capital error ? Oh child ! fure thou 
 art not wifer than thy holy parents ! They 
 know more than thou, they have expe- 
 rienced what thou haft not ; they and thy 
 mafters are forced to teach thee the little 
 things of this life ; thou wouldft foon 
 fpoil and kill thy felf, if they left thee to 
 thy own management.' 
 
 Oh young men and women! are not 
 you fordidly foolilh ! Can you imagine you 
 know what God will do with you, better 
 than he knows it ? do you know what 
 you muft lofe by fin, and fuffer for fin, 
 better than God knows ? You judge by 
 a fliort moment, but he fees what eternity 
 is. You conclude from what your body 
 now feels ; but he knows what thy foul 
 is, and what himfelf is to the foul, whe- 
 ther in wrath or love: He knows what 
 the glory of heaven, and terrors of hell 
 amount to. Thou concludeft by thy fan- 
 . cy, but he pafTeth a juft judgment, whiqh 
 every one will foon fubmit to j therefore I 
 beg thee to diftrufi: thy felf, as ever thou 
 wouldft fa ve thy felf. Confider, all the 
 good men in the world were conceited as 
 thou art now, but they have repented, and 
 
 , owned 
 
Childhood and Youth. 201 
 
 owned their folly : When they came to 
 their right minds, then they came to be 
 of God's mind. Yea, all the wicked will 
 be convinced of their miftake ; why elfe 
 will they wail and mourn for ever? If it 
 be beft to be in hell, why (hould they 
 always complain there ! The prodigal L\ikt xv. 
 thought, he was wife when he rioted ; but*^' *^- 
 repentance afTured him, he had been mad. 
 
 Young folk, have you never feen re- 
 folved finners, even in ficknefs and pover- 
 ty, roar out and mourn at the lad, faying. 
 How have I hated i^jjlrudlion ? P^°v- v. 
 
 Consider, how unlikely is it, that thy '^' 
 Opinion is truer, than that of thy holy 
 mafter, or minifter ? Thy lufts darken thy 
 mind : They have all the wife part of the 
 World on their fide. Thou canft remem- 
 ber thou wert as confident of other things, 
 which now thou feefl to be falfe, as they 
 told thee then. Thou fometimes now con- 
 demnefl: thy felf for thy courfe, when thy 
 linful inclinations are calmed. When thou 
 wert fick, thou didft own, that thy loofe 
 way, thy irreligious way, wa^ thy folly. 
 And after all thefe wilt thou bear it out ? 
 Muft that be thy characfter, Ihe fool ra-'P^ov.xi^r. 
 geth^ and is confident^ while thou knoweji 
 not at what thou ftu?nble/i ? Mufl: this be 
 written on thy grave- (tone. He died with-'P'^^v. v. 
 cut inJlru^ioNy and in the greatnefs of his ^^' 
 folly he went ajlray ? 
 
 (4.) Acknowledge thou art one under 
 
 dominiony 
 
20 2 The Vanity of 
 
 dcminiony and not at thy own diipofal. 
 People refufe to be fubjecfl, from a con- 
 
 Pfai xii ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^y ^^"^^ ^ ^'S^' ^° govern 
 4. themfelves. Is not this your cafe ? Our 
 
 lips are our oivn^ who is Lord over us? 
 therefore I will lye, fwear, talk frothily, 
 let who will contradicft. 
 
 But, child, thou cand tell who made 
 thee ; it was God : And fhould not he 
 that made thee, govern thee ? Ought not 
 the Creature to obferve the laws which his 
 Creator gives him ? Nothing thou haft i^ 
 fo much thine, as thou art his. Chrift 
 bought thee with his blood, and addition- 
 ally founded his dominion in his purchafe : 
 Rom. XIV. fjg therefore dicd^ that he might be Lord 
 both of the dead and living : Thou art 
 therefore the moft uniuft of rebels, if 
 thou art an obftinate linner. 
 
 Thy parents, thy mafters, thy mini- 
 flers, have an authority over thee j and 
 difobeying their juft commands and calls, 
 is a renouncing an authority thou jfliouldft 
 own, and ufurping a power, to which 
 thou haft no claim. A mafterlefs child, a 
 mafterlefs youth, is a flave under pretence 
 of liberty ; and doubleth his yoke while 
 he feeks to break it. Therefore know, 
 young folk, you'll find God a terrible judge, 
 whom you rejeded as a lawgiver: He'll vin- 
 dicate his own authority, and the deputed 
 authority of your parents, by the forefi ven- 
 geance. Eternal chains (hall hold that 
 
 youth, 
 
Childhood and Youth, 203 
 
 youth, who would attempt to break God's 
 eafy bands. 
 
 If any of you fay, " I do own God to 
 " be my ruler and mafter j" confider 
 God's challenge: If I he a mafier^ where 'Ma.ll 6. 
 is my fear ? faith the Lord God of ho/is. 
 
 To fini(h this. How many fturdy, refo- 
 lute young people are here? Will none 
 of your knees tremble ? Will love melt 
 no heart? Will a fenfe of God's fkill to 
 direct, and authority to command, bend 
 no flubborn Will this day ? Dare any child 
 or young perfon go hence, and fay, **I 
 " have been ftiff-necked, and will be fo ; 
 " nor will I follow thefe rules to become 
 " more perfuadable?" If thou haft the 
 impudence to do thus, I have God's war- 
 rant to tell thee, T'hou Jhalt fuddenly be de- ^^°^- 
 ftroyed, and that without remedy, 
 
 IV, Yo u N G people are fubjedt to anger 
 and violent paffions. Children are apt to be 
 peevifli and crofs j young men to be full of 
 rage : The claufe before the text may be 
 rendered, Oh young man, put away an- 
 ger from thy heart. How foon is the fire 
 kindled, how fervently doth it blaze ? 
 Young perfons are oft angry with their 
 beft friends, even for what they fliould be 
 thankful for ; they are incenfed too fre- 
 quently without a caufe, and are fo hafly, 
 as not to fearch the reafon. Slight matters 
 are with them great provocations ; and 
 
 moderation 
 
 XXIX, I. 
 
204 '^^^ Vanity of 
 
 moderation in their refentments they dif- 
 dain. And no wonder, for thy realbn is 
 darkened from feeing the fatal confe- 
 quences of thy fury. Lafting enmities, 
 quarrels, murthers, are too frequently the 
 efFe(£ts of this inordinate fervour. 
 
 Young man! is this a thing allowable? 
 
 Confider with thy felf, anger is a (hort 
 
 madnefs. Thou lofefl: the management of 
 
 . thy own foulj whence our Lord com- 
 
 "'^ '''''' mands, Jn patience pofjefs your foul. An 
 over-heated fpirit is void of prudence, and 
 fure to procure bitternefs to it felf. God 
 
 rov. XIV. ^^j^l^^ jj^ ffj^f 1^ jf^Qj^ angry ^ dealeth fool- 
 
 ifily J and truly, he that is very angry, is 
 next to mad-y he looks, he fpeaks, he ads, 
 too near a lunatick. A paflionate man is 
 at the mercy of any defigning foe, and by 
 indulging his anger becomes his own torr 
 mentor. How uneafy to his family, how 
 dangerous to himfelf, how unfit for coun- 
 fel, how troublefome to his friends, how 
 infniring and infeding to fociety, is a paf- 
 lionate man ? May not I hope, you young 
 ones will be out of love with anger ? It 
 unmans you, tho' it feems brave : It makes 
 you contemptible with the wife. But 
 above all, argue with your felves, ** This 
 Eph. iv. " my God forbids me : Let all bitternefs, 
 3^- *' njcrathy and anger be pit aivay. This 
 
 *' will unfit me for the vifits of the Spirit, 
 1 Tim. ii." who loves a calm temper , and therefore 
 ^- . " appoints meeknefs, as a qualification for 
 21. ' ' " communion 
 
Childhood and Youth. 205 
 
 ** communion with him in his ordinances." 
 How lovely is patience ? it is the height of 
 fortitude : Yea, God faith, He that rules P«-ov. xvi. 
 bis Jpirity is better than he that takes a^^' 
 city ; and he that is Jlow to anger, than 
 the mighty. In a word, a meek and quiet ' "'• 
 Jpirit is an ornament, and defcribes oneMat. v. 5. 
 bleffed. How amiable is a patient child 1 
 he is more beloved by all, than a froward 
 one. How excellent is that young man, 
 who is mafter of his paillon ? He is arm- 
 ed againft fudden afTaults ; he is fit for 
 great fervices and fufferings ; he is fit to 
 ufe the knowledge he hath attained, in 
 the moft dangerous pallages of his life. 
 
 ^efi. What fhall a young perfon do 
 to be healed of anger and unruly paf- 
 fions ? 
 
 Anfw, In general, Get the grace of 
 patience, and delightfully accuflom thy 
 felf to the exercife of it, as what is really 
 thy glory, and no way a reproach. But 
 more particularly, 
 
 (i.) Get thy heart filled with love to 
 God and man. Love to God will incline 
 thee to imitate him, who is long-fufFering, 
 flow to anger, kind, full of love, and good Luke vi. 
 to all. Love to man will incline thee to 35- 
 interoret all to the befl ; to be afraid to 
 hurt him, willing to benefit and forgive 
 him ; and not prone to thofe diflikes, 
 which are unfuitable to thy fellow crea- 
 ture ; efpecially, if the image of Chrift be 
 
 . inflampcd 
 
20 6 The Vanity of 
 
 inftamped on him j as you fee, i Cor. xiiL 
 
 4» 5' 7- 
 
 (2.) Often prefent to thy foul the 
 
 example of thy Saviour, and flrive to imi- 
 tate him. He was humble, meek, lowly, 
 and patient under the greateft provoca- 
 Mat. xi. tions. He calls thee to learn of him t 
 ^^' And if thou haft any part in him, he hath 
 
 1 John, formed thy foul to fome degree of imita^ 
 ^^' ^* tion^ and to endeavour after more. 
 
 (3.) Reckon on provocations, and 
 be ftill armed againft them. Thy own 
 carriage is not fo inoffenfive, nor are thy ac- 
 quaintance fo innocent, but that thou 
 oughteft to expedt fome trials: And to ex- 
 pert them, and be unguarded, is folly ; 
 neither is it poffible to prevent anger, when 
 wholly unprepared : Therefore awe thy 
 foul againft pailion, and accuftom thy mind 
 to fuch confiderations as are fit to reftrain 
 thy fpirit. 
 
 (4.) Be humbly convinced, how mean, 
 flnful, and ill-deferving a creature thou art. 
 Prov. xiu. Contention is from pride^ and he is fondly 
 conceited of himfelf, who thinks he ought 
 to bear nothing 5 whereas a due fenfe of 
 thy own nothingnefs, and ofFenfivenefs to 
 God, will make thee fit to endure much j 
 efpecially confidering, thy provocations 
 from men may be the humbling rebukes 
 of thy God, who muft forgive thee great 
 things, if he caft thee not into hell itfelf ; 
 yea, whofe decree it is, if you do not for- 
 
 give. 
 
Childhood and Youth, 207 
 
 give^ neither ivill he forgive yotir tref- 
 pajfes. Mark xi. 26. 
 
 (5.) Allow not thy froward fpirit a 
 liberty, even where thou haft moft power 
 and freedom. He that is not pettiih at 
 home, will not be paflionate abroad 5 
 whereas anger indulged among fervants, 
 and in trifles, will expofe thee to its power, 
 when more dangerous and indecent. 
 
 (6.) When thou feeleft anger begin 
 to kindle, forbear to do or fay any thing, 
 till thou haft well confidered. The caufe 
 of thy refentments, if juft, will abide the 
 thoughts of a calm temper, and the ways 
 of thy vindication are far likelier to be 
 due; whereas, if the caufe in itfelf is too 
 flight, or thy fudden purpofes are too fe- 
 vere to be approved, how dareft thou take 
 blind pafTion for thy guide ? Thou muft 
 believe, that the difcretion of a man defer- Prov. xIt 
 reth his anger. » ' • 
 
 V. Young people are fiibjeB to idle- 
 nefs and ivajie of time. It's a while before 
 you are fit to learn, or do any thing ; but 
 when you are capable, how commonly 
 are you remifs and flothful ? Were you 
 left to your felves, what would you do 
 befides eating, drinking, fteeping, and 
 playing ? Thou art put to learn, and thou 
 art idle at thy book ; not learning in a 
 week, what thou mighteft learn in a day, 
 if diligent. Thou art a fervant or appren- 
 tice, 
 
20 8 l^he Vanity of 
 
 tice, having work to do ; but art thou 
 not a wafter of that time, which is thy 
 mafter's, and not thy own ; and loth to 
 do the bufinefs incumbent on thee ? How 
 little is it, moft of our youth do for this 
 world, or for eternity ? Sports and idlenefs 
 eat up that feafon, which is the beft op- 
 portunity cf life ; and the charader of 
 moft young people is, to fpend their time 
 in doing nothing. You are idle in the du- 
 ties of religion, and wafte that time you 
 pretend to employ with God. You are 
 idle in your particular callings, as if you 
 had no bufinefs as inhabitants of this lower 
 world. 
 
 Oh young people ! how precious is that 
 time you do mifpend ? and how fad an ac- 
 count are you able to give of thofe hours, 
 which are not to be recalled ? Will it be 
 comfortable in this world, to refledl on 
 vafted time ? Grown years will be full of 
 hefe refledions : ** I might have been a 
 
 * fcholar, my knowledge had been im- 
 ' proved, I had now been fit to ferve my 
 
 * country, and benefit my felf and fami- 
 ^ ly, had I been fludious in my youth : 
 ' I might have underftood my trade, been 
 
 * encouraged in my calling by others, and 
 ' laid up for my fubfiftence, had I been 
 ' diligent and induftrious in my youth. 
 ' But thofe years are fpent in folly, and 
 
 now I am unteachable ; my credit is 
 
 gone 
 
 gnorance, contempt and poverty 
 
 are 
 
 <( 
 
Childhood and Youth, ' 209 
 
 " are my companions : Oh foolifh I !" 
 
 But, oh thou child ! oh thou youth ! 
 how much more uncomfortable on a death- 
 bed, and in eternity, will thy idlenefs and 
 mifpent fcafons be, as they refer to thy 
 foul ? '* I had a teachable time, but 1 die 
 " in ignorance of God and Chrifl: : Woe 
 " is me ! the feafons of grace I enjoy- 
 *' ed are my torment now, becaufe I 
 *' improved them not ! I hardened my 
 *' heart by neglects in my tender years : 
 " How have I trifled, when I heard 
 " iermons? How have I mocked God, 
 "by my fleepy prayers ? How have I 
 *' undone my own foul, by a foolifh re- 
 *' mifTnefs in all my feeming labours for it? 
 " What can I (hew for all the years I have 
 " lived ? To what a cafe have my fports, 
 *' my idlenefs and vanity reduced me ? Oh 
 " that I could recall my precious time! 
 " but that's impofTible. Oh that -I had 
 " profitably employed thofe mifpent fea- 
 ** fons! but that's as vain a wifh. Oh 
 " then that I had never lived thofe days, 
 " which I did not live, but finned away, ^ '^'^^' "•' 
 " as one afleep, ot dead in pleafure T 
 
 Darest thou, O young body, for a 
 little prefent indulgence to thy fleflily 
 floth, entertain thy felf hereafter with fuch 
 heart-piercing thoughts as thefe ? 
 
 ^lefi. How fhall a young perfon be 
 healed of idlenefs and wafle of time ! 
 
 Anfw, In general, Abhor y7o/^, and re- Prov. xix. 
 P deem^^' 
 
2IO Ihe Vanity of 
 
 Eph.v. ^^ggfJl time. Sloth is a wicked unaptnefs 
 for adion, and very unfuitable to an adtive 
 foul. Time not redeemed is mifpent ; 
 and when it is not applied to its proper 
 work, it pafTeth away to no advantage. 
 And therefore, 
 
 (i.) Enquire what is thy prefent 
 
 work, and be affiired that what thou art 
 
 Col m. about, is what God ivould have thee do, 
 
 2 2.' 
 
 Every hour hath its bufinefsj if what thoa 
 art about be not that bufinefs, meddle not 
 with it, but find out what it is thou ought- 
 eft to be employed in at that time. Con- 
 vidtion of duty is a fpur to diligence. 
 
 (2.) Still remember, that God who 
 is thy owner, hath given thee thy abilities, 
 and the time thou haft, to do thy pre-* 
 fent work. God calls thee as by name, 
 Eph vi " ^^^ ^^y t^^^^^s to this, which I have 
 7, 8. *' made thy prefent ivork ; in this thou im- 
 *' proveft the ftock I lent thee ; in this I 
 *' will blefs thee, and protedt thee as one 
 ** pleafing to me ; for this thou {halt not 
 " fail of a reward." 
 
 (3.) Excite thy felf to do what 
 thou art about with vigour. Engage thy 
 ilrength, call up the powers of thy foul 
 Prov. ^ to adivity ; for the Jlothful is brother td 
 the wajier. Idlenefs is a degree of omif- 
 fion, in the affiiirs both of foul and body j 
 for there is much undone, that might have 
 been done. 
 
 (4.) To this end confider, Qod will 
 
 call 
 
 \ 
 
 xvni. 9. 
 
Childhood and Touth, 2 1 1 
 
 call thee to a ftri<5l account, how thy work 
 hath been performed in that time which 
 he affords th.^e. Tell thy felf, " There 
 " is a time of reckoning for this, that I 
 *' am new doing or negleding." The 
 Jlothful Jervant is in God's efteem a Mat. xxv. 
 imcked fervant j and he that hid his talent 2^- 
 muft perifh, as well as he that mifpends 
 it. The more good that might 'have been 
 dope in fuch a day, will be obferved, as 
 well as what little hath been done in that 
 day. Oh never forget, that vacant hours 
 and loiter'd moments are recorded v»^ith 
 him, who will not infpect dreamingly, 
 what thy flothful fpirit makes no account o 
 of. Again, 
 
 (5.) Remember, that all thy works 
 preparatory for heaven, need an intenfe 
 fpirit, and are confined to a fliort feafon. 
 It is proper advice, What thy hand fadeth^'^^^-^^' 
 to do^ do it with thy might j for there is no 
 working in the grave, whither thou art go^ 
 ing. Time is porting, and we had need 
 redeem it, becaufe our bufinefs is dif- 
 ficult and the confequences great. There 
 are great things to be acquired and done, 
 before we are meet for glory. There be 
 great oppofitions in our nature, and from 
 our tempers, to every degree of that meet- 
 nefs. A vile heart is not eafily renewed ; 
 darling fins are not foon nor eafily mor- 
 tified ; the necelTary faith, knowledge, 
 love, flrcngth, and joy are hardh come 
 P2 ' by; 
 
212 ^he Va?uty of 
 
 by ; and the expected fervices in our ge- 
 neration are flowly proceeded in. Hafte 
 and eagcrnefs are abfolutely needful to fuch 
 things. He that idleth^ can hope for little ; 
 and trifling in fuch matters islittle better than 
 zPet. i. downright negled:; efpecially, when^zww^ 
 diligence is as much, a duty, as doing any 
 thing. He is not upright in the matters 
 of religion, whofe deep concern doth not 
 make him induftrious ; becaufe his judg- 
 ment never determined for thefe things as 
 the grealcrft ; nor hath his will refolved the 
 purfuit of them above all others, whofe 
 idlenefs declareth his indifferency. There- 
 , fore oft tell thy remifs foul, *' This day is 
 . *' pall: ; that weelc is over, and fliortly 
 *' time will be at an end ; and {hall I idle 
 " as I do ? How little work is done in paft 
 " years ? Dare I to loiter Aill, and be fur- 
 " prized, while my works are fo imper- 
 " fed ? Or can 1 reckon on greater im- 
 " provements in the fame number of days, 
 ** if I be no more intent and induftrious 
 " than I have been in thofe ?" To thee is 
 Rom. xii. that direded. Not Jlothjul in bu/inefs^ fer^ 
 *'• vent in Spirit^ ferving the Lord : Refolve 
 then to obey it. 
 
 (6.) Be able to give a good account 
 to thy confcience, of the time that's laid 
 out in fleep and recreations. Thefe are 
 the common wafters of time, by a difrc- 
 gard to their juft bounds. Many do almofl 
 divide their hours between lleep, and re- 
 creating. 
 
Childhood and Youth. 213 
 
 creating fports, vifits, and talk ; which 
 three fall under this head of recreation. 
 It's an awful confideration, that what are 
 appointed only to fit men for bulinefs, 
 (hould become with many their only 
 bulinefs ; as if they had little elfe to em- 
 ploy themfelves about. But know thou, 
 young man, that he who Jleepeth longer Prov. vi. 
 than health requireth, is a jluggard ; and^" 
 he that lays out more hours in diverfions, 
 than prepares him for the better dilbharge 
 of duty, is a mifpender of time. Thy 
 reafon fliould tell thee, *' God would 
 " never have given me a foul endowed with 
 " fuch abilities for fervice ; he had never 
 " placed me in a world full of opportunities 
 " and calls to employment ; he had never 
 " charged me to be diligent and ufeful ; 
 " if I am able with comfort to plead my 
 '' deep, and pleafures, as the great^ft part 
 " of my exercife while I lived." 
 
 Attend to thefe rules with care, and 
 from this moment gird up the loins of thy 1 P^t- »• 
 mind^ as one determined to run thy chril- \^" 
 lian race with intenfencfs and hade. 
 
 VI. Young people are fubjeSi to levi- 
 t)\ and inordinate mirth. This is a com- 
 mon diliemper. Your talk is frothy and 
 unfavoury : How far from grave are you, 
 in your carriage, or drels ? Vain books 
 thou loveft to read, idle tales thou likeft 
 to hear, foolifh fights thou art beft pleafed 
 P 3 with, 
 
ZO 
 
 214 The Vanity of 
 
 with, foolifli fongs thou greedily learneft : 
 What airy conceits is thy imagination filled 
 with? Thefe thou indulgeft, till thev be- 
 come the guides of thy pradice, and the 
 chief objed: of thy thoughts and difcourfe ; 
 to l^iy nothing of thy inlfability, exceilive 
 laughter, vain jeftings, merriments, ^c. 
 
 Oh young ones! is this a temper to be 
 allowed ? It is condemned by all prudence j 
 it's contrary to all that is ferious, and ob- 
 ftruds all improvements in wifdom. How 
 ;£ Sam. vi, odiousis the charader of a vaitijeilow} How 
 do God and angels defpife thee j how do 
 the good and wife compaflionate thee ? 
 yea, canft thou refufe to be angry with 
 thy felf? Reafon a little with thy own 
 foul : *' Have I not better things to think 
 " of, than thefe filly matters, which tend 
 " to no good for foul or body ? Dp not 
 " thefe antick geftures make me ridicu- 
 " lous? What hurt to others, what a 
 " wound to my felf, comes by this frothy 
 ^' talk ? Is not my mind grofsly vain, that 
 '* I can relifh fuch fooleries ? Gan it ever 
 '' be bettered, while I employ my felf in 
 r.othing but what is fooli(h ?" Doft 
 not thou find, that this lightnefs is even 
 rifen to profanenefs ? Thou canft ridicule 
 the Scriptures, fport with the divined fub- 
 jeds, and turn the moft ferious matters into 
 fuel to thy childifh conceits, Poor wretch ! 
 God will force thee to be ferious, by the 
 torments he'll fliortly inflid. Thou wilt 
 
 be 
 
 it 
 
Childhood and Youth, 215 
 
 be convinced, that thy atheifiick thoughts 
 have not put God out of his throne, tho' 
 they caft thee out of his favour. Thy ri- 
 diculing of religion hath not made it lefs 
 real, or neceflfary, thou8;h it hath excluded 
 thee from all the . bleffings of it. Thy 
 inaidng a mock at fin, hath not a jot lef- ^^°^- ^^^' 
 fened its evil, but expofcd thee more to 
 the vengeance due to it. Thy jocular 
 temper (hall not delay the awful recom- 
 pence of that contempt, wherewith thou 
 haft treated the graveft matters. What is 
 more fit to make a ferious heart bleed, 
 than to fee thee jeft and fool thy felf into 
 eternal flames .? How furprifing will thofe L^ke xH. 
 torments be to a poor creature, that al- '^ ' 
 ways difdained a fober thought ? 
 
 ^^efi. How (hall a young perfon be 
 healed of this Iruity^ and inordinate mirth ? 
 
 Anfw. In general, Follow after fo- ' ^^^- ^^ 
 briety and difcretion. The want of thefe '* 
 is evident in thy frothy behaviour : And 
 a total want of them is ujibecoming thee, 
 in the moft early exercife of thy reafon ; 
 much more in improved age. The gra- 
 vity of an old man cannot be expelled in 
 a child ; but a degree of it is necelTary to 
 the youngeft, that is capable of ading by 
 the notice of a difcerning mind. What 
 is thy reafon for, but to difcern what is 
 meet, diredl thee to what is fit, and go- 
 vern thee in thy carriage according to the 
 rules of thy condition } Difcretion will 
 P 4 ' tell 
 
2i6 ^he Vanity of 
 
 tell thee, that a godly hook is more pro- 
 fitable than a play- book ; that the foul de- 
 ferveth more care than a perifliing body, 
 which will fliortly be meat for worms j 
 and that filly tales edify not, as wife 
 difcourfes. Sobriety will diredl thee, to 
 endeavour a demeanour becoming a man 
 rather than an ape ; it will check thee in 
 thofe jefts which difcover thy vanity, as 
 well as expofe a chriftian name ; it will 
 urge thee to refrain matter of future for- 
 row, for the fake of that contemptible 
 pleafure which thou takefl in indulging a 
 light fancy, while more important things 
 are not regarded. To this end, 
 
 (i.) Oft reprefent to thy felf thy 
 condition in this life. Sure it mufl: con- 
 duce to ferioufnefs, when thy mind is ac- 
 cuftomed to fuch thoughts, as thy prefent 
 ftate fuggefls. Oh young man ! thou art 
 Eph. u. \yoxi\ a child of wrath : Thy nature is vi- 
 Rom V. cious, the condemning fentence was pa fled 
 »8. on thee by the; very law of innocency : 
 Death is juftly fearful ; thou art in a Itate 
 of trial, and on thy good behaviour for 
 an endlefs joy or mifery. Thou haft con- 
 trad:ed much guilt by thy adual enormi- 
 ties and omiffions : Satan, the world, and 
 thy own lufts, are adive to fix the curfe, 
 and prevent thy reconciliation with God, 
 by keeping thee in a ft^ate of infidelity, 
 impenitence, and difobedience to the gof- 
 pel. Thy exercifes as a chriftian are diffi- 
 cult 3 
 
Childhood and Youth. 217 
 
 cult ; if thou art faved, it muft be fcarce- « Pet. iv. 
 ly : And many endeavours for falvation do ^ 
 prove ineffedtual, becaufe a perfeverance 
 in fo many things is ellential to determine 
 thy ftate. Alas 1 of many called^ how few Mat. xxii. 
 are chofen ? Multitudes of profeflbrs mif- ^'^' 
 carry J feemingly ftrong hopes are oft de- 
 lufive : The heart is deceitful above ^// J^'"- '^vii. 
 things J afid fo defperately ivicked^ that it^" 
 may well be afked, who can know it ? 
 Thefe, and the like things, may call thee 
 to mind thy felf, and be a means to lay 
 that froth, which argueth fmall fenfe of 
 thy bleeding wounds, and of the flippery 
 paths, difadvantages and dangers, attending 
 thy cafe in this life, as it leadeth to eter- 
 nity. 
 
 (2.) Deliberately propofe a be- 
 coming end in all thy words and adtions, 
 and let them be conducive to that end. 
 To fpeak or ad thou knoweft not why, is 
 a reproach to thy prudence j and fo it is, 
 to fpeak or do things to an end which they 
 are not fit to ferve. Neither is it becom- 
 ing a ferious perfon, to intend that which 
 will put him to the bluQi, while he deli- 
 berates of it. I can hardly think, thoa 
 dareft fay to thy felf in thy clofet, " I'll 
 *' fpend 10 many hours to day, in fhewing 
 " my own folly, or gratifying another's 
 ** madnefs : I'll lay out my pains, to di- 
 *' vert my owm mind, or another's, from 
 *' all that is ferious ^ to make my heart 
 
 " vainer 
 
21 8 The Vanity of 
 
 " vainer than it is j to furnifli my felf with 
 ** thofe falfc notions of tilings, which I 
 ** muft with trouble unlearn before 1 be 
 " wife ; and to ftrengthen that levity, to 
 " which I am already too prone." Cinft 
 thou refolve, " I will fpend this week, 
 *' in trimming a poor carcafe, and negledt 
 *' my foul? Let this fhift for itfclf, as to 
 ** any care of mine, unlefs it be to add 
 " to its hurt, by the fnares which my vain 
 *' convcrfaticn {hall expofe it to." But 
 if thy defign be what's edifying, thou 
 canft not imagine a courfe of foolery will 
 ever accomplifh that defign. Yea, this 
 very fixing on warrantable purpofes, will 
 gradually difpofe thee to ferioufnefs. 
 
 (3.) Remember thou art ftill under 
 the obfervation of fuch, as fhould awe thee 
 to fobriety, and make thee afliamed and 
 afraid of a frothy behaviour. Thou wouldO: 
 be alliamed, that a wife friend were ac- 
 quainted with all thy light fancies and 
 talk, but one day. Oh ! forget not, that 
 God trieth the reins ^ and knoweth all thy 
 thoughts. Poor youth 1 is hot the eye of 
 thy God and Judge, more than all the 
 world ? Holy angels are not always 
 fl rangers to thy carriage, and difcourfes ; 
 and mayft thou not blu{h at their remarks? 
 Devils do oft imprefs thy fancy, and put 
 thofe things into thee, which thou think- 
 eft and talked of ; thefe enemies of thine 
 do gladly behold thee unmanning thy felf, 
 
 wounding 
 
 l;i. Ix vi 
 18. 
 
Childhood a7jd Youth, 219 
 
 wounding thy foul, and corrupting others 
 with thy foolifli fpeeches and actions. Thy 
 filly companions obferve thee, and receive . 
 the contagion to which their own inclina- 
 tions make them apt. And is it nothing 
 with thee, that thou converfeft with people 
 ready to be diverted from ferioufners, and 
 forward to be vain by thy example ? Alas ! 
 thou becomeft acceflary to all the evil 
 they (hall propagate ; and wilt be con- 
 demned in their thoughts, if God give 
 them repentance, or curfed by them in 
 hell, if they die impenitent. Thy ungravs 
 deportment fometimes is feen by fuch as 
 are wife and good ; and thofe defpife thee, 
 and pity thy'madnefs, when thou pleafeft 
 thy felf as being airy and witty. 
 
 (4.) Be not an unconcerned flranger 
 to the ftate of the xyorld, where enough 
 daily occurs to make thee ferious. Canft 
 thou be light, and altogether vain, in a 
 world fo full of lin and mifery ? How 
 many difmal objedts doft thou fee and 
 hear of ? what cruelty in one man to 
 another? How oft is the church opprefTed ? 
 what judgments and calamities are thy 
 neighbours under ? what dangers is the 
 land of thy nativity expofed to ? Moft of 
 the earth lies in ignorance, idolatry, and ' J^^" ^• 
 fubjedl to the devil's empire. How many 
 fouls are bemoaning their own fins, and 
 ready to defpond under doubts and fears ? 
 Where is there a family, but groaneth un- 
 der 
 
i6 
 
 2 20 The Vanity of 
 
 der fome dirafter ? And canft thou play 
 the buffoon, as if childiQi toys diverted 
 thee from all fenfe of thefe things? 
 
 (5.) Awe thy foul with the import- 
 ance of facred things, fo as not to dare 
 to entertain a light thought concerning 
 them, much lefs to fpeak iefiingly of them. 
 Every fcripiure-tmth is a beam of divine 
 light ; it's revealed by the eternal Spirit to 
 2TIm. iii. mankind, for to dirc5i their faith and 
 pradtice: And dare a poor worm that (hall 
 be judged thereby, affront heaven by ri- 
 diculing its difcoveries ? Young man ! that 
 cannot be matter of jeft, which the holy 
 wife God is intent on, and the hearts of 
 all devout perfons are deeply exercifed 
 with. Arefuch things to be fported with 
 by man, which the very devils tremble at? 
 Canft thou chufe but be ferioufly affeded 
 with the matters of religion, if thou be- 
 lieve, thefe are the things which the in- 
 carnation, fuffcrings, death, and teftimony 
 of the Son of God refer to ? Thefe are 
 the things, which great miracles have at- 
 tefted ; thefe a-e the things, which the 
 various operations of the Holy Ghotl on 
 fouls defign, and the miniflry of angels 
 fubferve ; thefe are the things, which the 
 devil is fo induftrious to oppofe ; thefe are 
 the things, a gofpel-miniftry is eftabliOied 
 for, and about which all pious minifters are 
 io intent r^nd importunate ; thefe are the 
 things, which moft affcdt, and govern all 
 
 fuch, 
 
Childhood and Youth, 221 
 
 fucb, who are freed from the dominion of 
 their lufls, and can die with hopes; thefe 
 are the things, which if totally difregarded, 
 expofe mankind to all brutifli villanies in 
 this world, and endlefs tortures in another. 
 
 (6.) Abstain from the fociety of 
 light pcrfons, and obferve the danger of 
 exceffive mirth. There's that levity in 
 thy temper, which infers danger by vain 
 perlbns ; and thou art inconfiderate, if the 
 latter doth not force thee, to fay of laugh- Ecd.ii. 2. 
 ter^ it is P2ad ; and of mirth^ what doth it ? 
 Yea, forrow is better than laughter ; y'or Eccl. vii. 
 by the fadnefs of the count enatice^ the heart ^' 
 Is niade better. 
 
 (7.) Acquaint thy felf with thofe 
 purer and higher joys, which a ferious 
 temper leads to. There be delights of a 
 higher nature, than what thou purfueft ; 
 they would foon render thefe unfuitable 
 to thy tade, as well as contemptible to thy 
 judo;ment. No holy young man would 
 exchange the feafi of his heavenly father, Luke xr. 
 for thy {\v\v\{[\ hujki \ there's no prefent '^» ^3- 
 emptinefs, nor following bitternefs, in fpi- 
 ritual delights. Thefenfe of God's love, 
 peace of confcience, the lively hopes of 
 glory, the fatisfadion of well doing, the 
 ferenityof a compofed foul, the eafe of a 
 redified nature, as far as the faculties are 
 delivered from fin and healed by grace, do 
 conftitute a delight fo real and refined, as 
 if thou once talle, will make thee reiied: 
 
 on 
 
22 2 ^he Vanity of 
 
 on thy prifl: joys with iliame and difdain. 
 See Ifal. iv. 6, 7. and Cant. ii. 3, 4. 
 
 VI I. Young people are prone to he. 
 This fin appeareth in childhood, and then 
 fuch a hahit is contraded, as they hardly 
 are delivered from. It's now true of many, 
 Pfa!. Iviii. ^j:)gy go aftray as foon as they are horn^ 
 fpeaking lyes. You lye to your parents, to 
 excLife your faults : You lye to God, in 
 breaking vour baptifmal vow. You lye 
 to your equals, for pleafure, or gain : You 
 fpeak falfely, to revenge your felves on 
 fuch as you are angry with. Oh how 
 oft do you fpeak otherwife than you think, 
 and contrary to what you know, deceiving 
 them to whom you fpeak ! 
 
 Consider, thou child, lay to heart, O 
 
 young man ; that lying is a horrid fin. 
 
 Johnviii. Herein thou imitated the devil, who is the 
 
 ^^- father oj a lye^ and the firft lyar. Thou art 
 
 Prov. xii. contrary to God, v/ho is a God of truth ; 
 
 ^2* to him lying lips are an abomination : He 
 
 is fo incenfed by this lin, that he allots 
 
 Rev, xxii. every lyar his portion among the worft of 
 
 *S- iinners. Oh child ! wouldft thou get to 
 
 heaven ? then thou mufl not lye. Art 
 
 thou afraid of burning in hell for ever ? 
 
 then fear a lye. Wouldft thou be-a child 
 
 Ifa. Ixiii. of God ? he tells thee, his children are 
 
 ^' fuch as idll not lye. It's the charge of 
 
 Kph. iv. God to thee ; Put away Iring^ and fpeak 
 
 ^■^' truth, Dareft thou fay, '' I will not re- 
 
 ** gard 
 
Childhood and Youth. 223 
 
 " gard what tlie Lord faith to me!" 
 Alas ! he will puniQi thee for a lye, worfe 
 than thy father or mafter can punifti thee 
 for any fault. 
 
 Young men, allow not your felves in 
 this iniquity. Let no mafter force you to 
 lye in your trade ; much lefs do you ufe 
 it in your difcourfe : It's a mean thing, it's 
 deftrudtive to human fociety, and the. bane 
 of converfation. What is a greater re- 
 proach, than to be a lyar r What is efteem- 
 ed a worfe affront, than to fay thou lyeji ? 
 Great are the mifchiefs to men's repute, 
 cflates, peace, by a falfe tongue j and in 
 vain are all pretences to religion, if the ]?.m. L 
 tongue be not bridled as to this fault. How ^^• 
 hateful is it to debafe fo noble a thing as 
 fpeech, in deluding thy brother in thy 
 communication with. him ! 
 
 ^lej}. How (hall a young man be 
 preferved from lying ? 
 
 Anfw. (i.) Love truth, and defpife 
 what would allure thee to quit it in thy 
 fpeech. It's the charader of him that {hall 
 inhabit God's temple. He fpeaketh tlje?h\.%y.z. 
 truth in Ins heart. To fpeak the truth ar- 
 gues a plain man, an honeft man, an he^ 
 roick man, and generally a godly man. 
 Therefore, like it in thy felf, as thou muft 
 do in another. In order to this, get rid 
 of flavifh fear, which induceih to lying 
 cxcufes : Hate pride and vain glory, 
 whence all lyes for ollentation proceed ; 
 
 trample 
 
2 24 -^^ Vanity of 
 
 trample on love of filthy lucre, and thou 
 wilt not lye for gain j abhor a hurtful 
 envious fpirit, wjiich will prevent thofe 
 lyes that are framed to the damage of thy 
 neighbour. 
 
 ": (2.) Be wary, and thoughtful of what 
 thou art about to fptak. He that fpeaks 
 haftily, is in danger to fpeak faljly j and 
 having uttered one lye in hafte, is too apt 
 to back it with more : Whereas he that is 
 fparing in his words, doth not eafily betray 
 truth J and he that conliders, dares hardly 
 utter a falfe thing. Who will venture to 
 lye, that fays within himfelf, *' God hears 
 ** what I am going to fay, and he will 
 " judge me by my wordsT' This redraint 
 on thy fpeech is fo needful, that thou 
 Pfal. cxli. {houldft pray, Set a ivatch, Lordy be- 
 ^' fG?-e my mouth ; keep the door of my lips ! 
 
 (3.) Let the lyes thou haft uttered at 
 any time, be matter of deep humiliation. 
 Repenting forrow for what's paft, will 
 be a ftrong caution againft the fame fault. 
 Thy grief for it will make thee earneftiy 
 pray with David^ (whofe fault this was,) 
 Pfal. cxix. Remove from me the ivay of lying I They 
 ^^* nightly, confefs a lye, who can perfift in 
 the practice of it. 
 
 (4.) Take heed of equivocation, 
 which is ordinarily downright lying. What 
 is blamed in Jefuits^ is too ufual among 
 Proteftants : As if a poor artifice would 
 compenfate for truth. To conceal thy 
 
 meaning 
 
Childhood and Youth » 225 
 
 meaning where thou doft not owe a dif- 
 covery of it, is warrantable j but to im- 
 pofe delufion under pretence of truth, is 
 intolerable, efpecially where rules of juf- 
 tice are violated. How fad is it to obferve 
 the liberty fome take in deceiving their 
 friends with ambiguous wo'rds, which they 
 hope will be interpreted contrary to what 
 they know to be true ? 
 
 (5.) Do not be encouraged by reports, 
 to publish what thou haft not juft reafon 
 to believe. What falfe llanders do fome 
 utter on incredible evidence ? Report^ fay Jer. xx. 
 they^ and we will report it ; as not daring ^°* 
 to invent the lye, yet not fcrupling to re- 
 peat what they more than fufpedl to be 
 falfe. But learn thou, never to fay any 
 thing of thy enemy, upon worfe teftimony 
 than thou wouldft believe it of thy friend. 
 
 (6.) You that are fubjecTt to correc- 
 tion, be watchful and innocent in your 
 carriage, that you may not need to lye. 
 Do nothing that thou needeft be afraid to 
 own. This will prevent falfliood ; and 
 thy fear of being put to lye, may guard 
 thee d:gainft many irregularities. 
 
 Here I would advife parents and maf- 
 ters to encourage truth, by abating fome- 
 what of feverities for faults, that are plain- 
 ly confefled. And I wifh, buyers by their 
 backwardnefs to give a juft price, would 
 , not tempt the fellers to lye, in bargaining 
 for their goods. 
 
 Q^ VIII. Young 
 
 ty 
 
2 26 The Vanity of 
 
 VIII. Young people are fubjc^f to 
 Jlepoly lufis, efpecially uncleannefs. This head 
 concerns perfons part childhood, and there- 
 fore I diredl it to young men. You are 
 not ignorant, that your appetites are unruly, 
 and your inclinations too lafcivious. Iq 
 eating, you are prone to gluttony : Excef- 
 iive drinking is too common a fault j there 
 be many drunkards fhort of twenty years 
 old : And voluptuoufnefs feems the Idol, 
 whom our ftriplings worfhip above the 
 living God. 
 
 Uncleanness is thy raging difeafc. 
 What immodeft dalliance, what filthy- 
 thoughts, what obfcene fpeeches, what 
 wanton looks, felf-pollution, yea, adtual 
 fornication, doth confcience charge fome 
 I Thef. Qf you with ? How few pofefs their vejfels 
 ^' ^' in honour, or arrive at manhood without a 
 forfeiture of chaftity ? 
 
 Thou that art apt to drunkennefs, or 
 gluttony, oughteft to confider, what thefe 
 vices are ; and how vile thou rendered thy 
 felf, by indulging thy felf therein. Sure 
 thou forgetteft thou art an embodied foul, 
 while thou art led by thy brutifti lufts* 
 The name of Chriftian ill becomes thee, 
 Phil. iii. ivhofe God is thy belly. Where is thy rea- 
 '^* fon, that thy appetite fliould thus rule 
 thee ? What is thy confcience, that fails to 
 terrify thee out of fins, (o undoubted, and 
 dangerous ? Shall God put thee ofF with a 
 poiiion that becomes a bead j and when 
 
 thou 
 
Childhood and Touth, 227 
 
 thou afkeft heaven, reproach thee with 
 faring Jumptuoujly every day^ and receiving^^^^ ^^'• 
 thy good things in this life ? '9» ^i- 
 
 Oh drunkard ! how odious art thou to 
 all that behold thee ? How fubjed: to do 
 and fufFer the worft of mifchiefs ? Thy 
 enemies have an advantage to betray thee j 
 Satan may eafily perfuade thee to the great- 
 eft of fins, when thy foul is in no cafe to 
 fee the temptation, or the confequences of 
 it. What fecret art thou able to keep ? 
 What bufinefs art thou fit to do : How 
 do reproach and penury wait thy perfift- 
 ing in this courfe ? But above all, doft 
 thou lay to heart, that God is incenfed 
 againft thee ? He left it a rule to Ifrael^ 
 that the young man (hould htftonedy againft ^^"'- ^*'- 
 whom his parents witneft^ed, that he was 
 a glutton and a drunkard : . And 'tis the 
 fand;ion under the gofpel, that Drunkards i Cor. vi. 
 Jhall not inherit the kingdom of God. Is 
 thy pleafure worth the pains thou muft 
 endure, or the lofs thou Ihalt fuftain ? 
 
 Oh unclean perfon I how difmal is thy 
 cafe ? This luft blindeth thy judgment, 
 and feareth thy confcience, fo that mifery 
 becomes unavoidable by ftupidnefs in fin. 
 How dareft thou worfhip a holy God, 
 while thou walloweft in thy pollution ? 
 Doth not thy filthinefs make God a ter- 
 ror to thee in every duty, as well as defile 
 the duty by the wandrings of a vile ima- 
 gination ? The holy Spirit is quenched by 
 0^2 luftful 
 
 10. 
 
2 28 The Vanity of 
 
 1 Cor.vi. luftful motions, and cannot dwell in a 
 ^' heart fo unclean. Thou profeflcfl to be- 
 long to Chrift's body j hear the Apoftle's 
 1 Cor. vi.expoftulation, Shall I take the members of 
 ^^* Chri/i^ and make them the members of a 
 
 harlot? Godjorbid! How oft, O young 
 man, hath the Spirit of God reproved thee ? 
 How oft hath confcience bitterly warned 
 thee ? And dareft thou wafte thy body, 
 debauch thy mind, ruin thy eftate, deface 
 all hopeful imprelTions on thy foul, and 
 renounce Chrift, for a bafe lufl ? Wilt thou 
 defy God to avenge thy affronts, and for 
 ever undo thy felf, and them whom thou 
 allureft to partake in thy lafcivioufnefs ? If 
 Rom. xiii. not, admit that as a holy refolve. Let us 
 '3» H- cjjDalk honellly as in the day^ not in rioting 
 and dninkennejs^ not in chambering and 
 niuantonmjs \ hit put ye on the Lord 'J ejus, 
 
 Rom. i. 'j-.j.g j^^^g^^ \^f^ Q^^ ^j^g ^fj^^ ^p fQ ^llg 
 
 aff'eBions. 
 
 1 ^left. How (hall a young perfon be 
 delivered from gluttony and druiikennefs ? 
 
 AnPw. (i.) Set thy felf to get the 
 maftcry of thy appetite* Reafon with thy 
 foul, and cry earneftly to God, that this 
 may not be thy ruler : None would be a 
 glutton or drunkard, but that his appe- 
 tite hath more power than his reafon ; 
 and confcience is too weak to relift the 
 cravings of his luft. Mofl young people 
 are pleafed, that the beaft (hould rule the 
 man 3 they quietly yield up themfelves to 
 
 the 
 
Childhood and Youth, 229 
 
 the empire of this brutal part ; they can 
 bear no check to it, they are afraid it 
 (hould come under reftraints. But, Oh 
 young man ! thou art carnal or fpiritual, 
 as thy appetite or fan(ftified reafon governs 
 thee : Much of a chriftian's warfare con- 
 fifts in the flruggle between thefe j the 
 inordinate appetite is a great part of that 
 jiejh^ which liilieth again ji the Jpirit, ajid^^^- ^• 
 is contrary to it. Is it not high time, ^'' 
 thou fliouldft fet thv felf to contend with 
 this enemy, and attempt to bring it into 
 fubjedion ? This is temperance, when 
 thou canft reftrain its irregular motions, 
 and deny its cravings. Oh then, daily 
 quench this fire ; and prefs after that fo- 
 briety, which implies a moderation of foul 
 to the objeds of fenfe, and a government 
 of our life by the will of God, and not 
 by flefhly delires. Let it then be thy bu- 
 finefs in every duty to weaken this tyrant, 
 and the fcope of thy life to deliver thy felf 
 from the power of thy appetite. 
 
 (2.) Make no provifion for the jlefJo^ Ro"»- xiH. 
 to fulfil its hijis. It's afflidive to behold ^^' 
 fome perfons contriving for their bellies, 
 as if careful for nothing elfe. The defign 
 of their labours, and the thing that makes 
 riches valuable with them, is, that they 
 may pamper the flefh, and fulfil its defires. 
 But refolve with thy felf, thou wilt not 
 minifter to this flame, nor live as if cater- 
 ing for the flefh were thy principal employ- 
 0^3 ment 
 
230 T^he Vanity of 
 
 ment in this world. Prepare what is meet 
 for thy body j it's a mercy in our pilgri- 
 mage to hcve the coFiVeniencics of life ; 
 but excefl'es are fitted for them who dare 
 
 1 Cor. XV. bi-utifi;ily fay, Let us eat and drink^ for to 
 morrcw we die. Poor worms! is thtre no- 
 thing after death, that they fliould live in 
 preparation for ? yea, is not life it felf as 
 bad as death, while it ferves to no high- 
 er an end ? Nay, thefe voluptuous courles 
 do often fo enfeeble nature, and multiply 
 difeafes, that life is a burthen, and fome 
 beginning of hell in bodily torments. 
 
 (3.) Avoid temptations, according to 
 thy weaknefs to refift them. He that is 
 prone to flip, ought the more carefully to 
 look to his ways. Is gluttony thy crime? 
 be afraid of feafts. Art thou apt to be 
 drunk ? look not at the wine when it 
 fparkles. Refrain the company, in com- 
 pliance with whom thou haft fo oft offend- 
 
 Proy. c(j^ Knoweft thou not, that the compa- 
 nicn of riotous perfons fhameth his jather ? 
 It's in vain to pretend, " 1 will not be 
 *' drunk, though I do aflbciate with them 
 " that will perfuade me to it." How oft 
 baft thou refolved, and yet complied ? 
 nay, thy delight in the fin is plain, in the 
 choice of fuch affociates ; and thy luft is 
 ftrong enough to prevail when the temp- 
 tation offers, if it be able thus before-hand 
 to lead thee into the occaiion. 
 
 (4.) Force thy felf to an abftincnce 
 
 from 
 
 XXVIU. 
 
Childhood and Youth, 231 
 
 from juft liberty for fome time, when 
 the ftrength of thy luft is found to abufe 
 what is otherwife lawful. Some people 
 are fo exorbitant, that if they drink any 
 wine, they muft drink to excefs j if they 
 go into a tavern at all, they cannot forbear 
 drunkennefs : If that be thy cafe, do not 
 defpife it as below virtue, for a while to 
 drink no wine at all, or wholly to forbear 
 a tavern or alehoufe. It is thy mifery,. 
 that what is to another man lawful, is to 
 thee a fnare j but it is thy duty and wif- 
 dom, to manage thy felf with a regard to 
 thy weaknefs, that thou mayeft by degrees 
 get rid of thy wickednefs. 
 
 (5.) Be intent by watchfulnefs and 
 hard ftruggles to oppofe thy lufts, till time 
 and frequent repulfes abate their power. 
 An appetite long indulged, is not foon 
 brought under the power of the foul. It 
 will be importunate and uneafy, even after 
 its dominion is removed j much more, 
 while the conteft for fuperiority between 
 it and grace is undecided. Therefore link 
 not, as if it were in vain to ftrive ; nor 
 let the unealinefs of the ftruggle, tempt 
 thee to give it over. For as yielding to 
 the flefh makes it more impetuous, fo fre- 
 quent denying it will abate the ftrength of 
 its motions. Many drunkards, after a 
 while, become rid of all inclinations to be 
 drunk ; and fobriety grows fo habitual to 
 them, as if excefs had never been their 
 (^4 temper. 
 
232 l^he Vanity of 
 
 temper. Oh children ! never make your 
 cure hard, by beginning a wicked cuftom : 
 Oh young men that are infnared ! grieve 
 not to be at due pains, nor patiently to wait 
 the flopping of the courfe of (in, which 
 you have ftrengthened by frequent com- 
 pliances. Thou murr ceafe to be a drun- 
 kard, or thou art miferable for ever. And 
 thou muft be at all the labour here ad- 
 ■ vifed, and be willing to continue it till thou 
 art reformed, or a drunkard thou wilt be 
 ftill. 
 
 2 ^eft. How fhall a young man be 
 delivered from iinckanncfs .^ 
 
 Anfw. The former diredions are pro- 
 per to this cafe : I fhall apply fomewhat 
 of them, and add fome more rules. 
 
 (i.) Awe thy foul with the purity 
 and perfedion of God's law, as it refers to 
 this fin. It's a great fnare, to miflake a 
 precept, and confine it below God's ex- 
 plication of it, or intention in it. Yet 
 how many young people allow themfelves 
 in degrees of uncleannefs, as innocent ; not 
 feeing, that thefe things are comprehended 
 in that precept, l.'hGii fljalt not commit 
 odultery f Therefore young man ! examine 
 the word more ftridly, and thou wilt 
 find, that God hath provided againft every 
 degree oi uncleannefs, and againft all that 
 leads thereto. Are thy hidden thoughts 
 Prov. and motions free ? No ; the thought of 
 ^x!v. 9. JQQiijj;)Yicj^ /j jIj^ . Qyj. Lord reproves the 
 
 Pharifees 
 
Childhood and Youth, 233 
 
 Pharifees as hypocrites, becaufe their hcarts'^-^^--i^^\n. 
 .were full of uncleannefs ; and evil concu- ^^j ^j 
 pifcence^ inordinate affetlions^ &c. are to 
 be mortified. Are thy luftful gazings on 
 a woman allowed ? No ; our Saviour ex- 
 prefsly faith, He that looketh on a woman to Mat. v. 
 iufi after her, hath committed adultery with ^^* 
 her already in his heart. Mayeft thou 
 talk obfcenely ? No ; neither filthinefs, nor Eph. v. 
 foolifi:) talking, nor jejling, are convenient, 3» 4- 
 nor to be once named among Chriflians. If 
 the command of God reach to thefe lef- 
 fer degrees, fure thou art not fo flupid, 
 as not to fee that all groffer ads are for- 
 bidden, as more abominable. And if mar- 
 riage be the remedy againft incontinence, 
 thou dareft not think that God allows thee 
 other ways to gratify thy luft, and fo fruf- 
 trate the great ends of that ordinance, and 
 the aptitude of human nature for it. 
 
 (2.) Be watchful againft all occafions 
 of uncleannefs. Nourilh not luft by an 
 intemperate diet. He had need be free from 
 flefhly inclinations, who dares ftrengthen 
 the aflaults of the flefli againft his chaftity. 
 The Spirit of God tells thee, that if wine Prov. 
 prevail^ thine eyes Jhall behold ftrange wo-^^^^^' '^' 
 men. Be not in the reach of a woman 
 that will entice thee. Jofeph efcaped the 
 fnare by flying from his raiftrefs, and re- G^"- 
 fufing to be with her : Whereas the young *^^'^' ^°' 
 man that admitted the fpeeches of the im-Prov.vii. 
 modeft woman, was foon infnared. Ven-21. 
 
 ture 
 
234 "The Vanity of 
 
 ture not on thy own ftrength too far : God 
 may juftly leave thee, when thou tempteft 
 him ; and fironger than thou art, have 
 ladly rued the power of occafions. Play- 
 houfes, mixt dancings, &c, have been 
 the ruin of many youth. 
 
 (3.) Guard thy fenfes. Thefe arc 
 inlets of evil ; by them objeds infnare, 
 and kindle thofe lufts which lay afleep. 
 Davids eye betrayed him into adultery. 
 jfoi? is to thee a good example, who fays. 
 Job. xxxi. I have made a covenant with mine eyes. 
 *• Liften not to immodeft fongs, or leud difi- 
 
 courfe ; which infenfibly ftir up thofe in- 
 clinations, which tend to the vilcft ads. 
 
 (4.) Stifle the firft workings of luft. 
 Firft motions are weakeft, and fo more 
 eafily conquer'd ; the longer they are en-r 
 tertained, the more violent they grow, and 
 the foul lefs apt to oppofe them. Filthy 
 contemplations allowed, daiken the mind, 
 and abate that dread and iibhorrence which 
 are a great part of thy fecurity againft fin. 
 Oh then crufh the firft appearance ! If 
 thou afk me, how ? I'll tell thee : Banifli 
 thefe evil thoughts out of thy mind : Plead 
 God's command, and feek his help : Re- 
 prefent to thy felf the threats and punifli- 
 ments of God againft this fin : Confider, 
 that thefe motions unreftrained, may end 
 in the grofieft aftion ; and refolve, not to 
 fpeak a word, to glance one look, or ufe 
 
 one 
 
Childhood and Youth, 235 
 
 one gefture, in compliance with that fin- 
 ful motion. 
 
 (5.) Avoid idlenefs, as that which 
 tempts the devil to tempt thee. Young 
 man ! it's a great mercy to the world, that 
 we have bufinefs to follow ; and he that 
 hath no employment, will wi{h hereafter 
 he had never had an eftate to prevent a 
 calling ; therefore, be fure thou haft work 
 to do, and attend it. Sin ^afily entangleth 
 the idlers, who will be doing wickedly for 
 want of bufinefs : But the diligent is not 
 at leifure for vain thoughts, he needs not 
 infnaring company to divert him. Labour 
 fubftradts matter from lufts, and renders 
 the body lefs difturbing to the foul. 
 Leifure hours are the young man's dan- 
 ger. Be not defirous of too many fuch, 
 and double thy watch in the fpending of 
 them : For Satan obferves thee then, and 
 will fuggeft vain thoughts to thy mind, 
 excite fleshly motions, and prepare infnar- 
 ing opportunities. 
 
 (6.) Attentively regard, and yield 
 up thy felf to the motions of the holy 
 Spirit. The Spirit will warn thee againft: 
 thefe defilements, and diredl thee to that 
 purity of heart and life, that will prevent 
 the advantages the unclean fpirit finds in 
 thy youthful age. A reverential regard to 
 the prefence of the Spirit, will call thy 
 mind from bafe employs, and excice thee 
 to what is approved by him; And the 
 
 more 
 
236 The Vanity of 
 
 more his fruits abound, and exprefs them- 
 
 fclvcs in thy temper and carriage, the more 
 
 efFedtually wilt ihou be cleanfed from all 
 
 thy flertily pollutions. To this we arc di- 
 
 Gal.v, i6.redted in that exhortatipn. Walk in the 
 
 Spirit, and ye Jhall not fulfil the lujis of 
 
 the flejh. Yea, the aids and influence of 
 
 this holy one are neceffary to a faving ab- 
 
 ftinence from, and dominion over lufts ; 
 
 Rom viii. as you fee from that of the Apoftle, But 
 
 ^3- if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds 
 
 of the body, ye J}:all live. 
 
 (7.) Keep thy thoughts well em- 
 ploy 'd. This will prevent thofe vain ima- 
 ginations, which are the incentives of luft ; 
 and by which the judgment is blinded, or 
 Col. iii. bribed to perluade the will. Let the u-ord 
 f Chrijl dwell richly in thee, by filling thy 
 mind. Contemplate God in his perfec- 
 tions; behold him prefent with thee, when 
 in the greateft fecrecy. He makes a third, 
 when thou and thy paramour are moft re- 
 jer. xxix. tircd. In this cafe he teftifics, Eve7i I 
 ^3- know, and lam witnefs, faith the Lord. Re- 
 
 prefent to thy foul the torments following 
 thele lufts, if gratified. Hell-fire is enough 
 to quench thefe luftful flames ; and who 
 dare wifli the pleafure fo dearly bought ? 
 Heb. xiij. Attend to fuch fcriptures, as, Whoremongers 
 +■ and adulterers God will judge, &c. Oh 
 
 young man ! canft thou think of this be- 
 lievingly, and caft off reftraints, or give a 
 carnal mind its fcope ? 
 
 (8.) Resolve 
 
Chihdhood and Touth, 237 
 
 (8.) Resolve before thou complieft 
 with the moft urgent temptation, to put 
 up a ferious prayer to God in Chrift. Lay 
 thy felf under this law, " I will not con- 
 *' fent, before I look to God." It muft be 
 a dreadful evil, that will not admit an ad- 
 drefs to Chrifl. If it be a fin, I have need 
 of frrength from him, who came on this 
 errand, to put away Jin^ to cleanfe from 
 iniquity^ and dejiroy the works of the devil, 
 (Heb. ix. 26. Eph. v. 26. i John iii. 8.) 
 Prayer may deaden the temptation when 
 Urongeft : It may recover thy baffled 
 power J for Chrift is able to infpire thee 
 with that light and vigour, as may fup- 
 port thee when thou art almoft gone. St. 
 Paul prayed thrice^ when grieved with a 2 Cor. 
 thorn in the fle(h, and the grace ofChrift^^^' '^* 
 proved fufficient for him. The devil, the 
 fle(h, and an enticing objed, are too hard 
 for any man, that calls not in the help of 
 Chrift by prayer. Satan defires no more, 
 than to engage thee fingle : And without 
 frequent fupplications, thou art like to be 
 fo. On the other hand, prayer will drive 
 Satan to fome more fubtle allault, than fo 
 grofs a wickednefs as uncleannefs muft ap- 
 pear to every one, that beholdeth Chrift: 
 when calling on him. Therefore, I do 
 again intreat thee, even when thy lufts 
 feem to have moft advantage, that thou 
 wilt not forget to prefent thy cafe to him, 
 who is concerned for thy good, and able 
 
 to 
 
238 ^^ Vanity of 
 
 to foil the enemies of thy foul, when in 
 the greateft profpedt of fuccefs. 
 
 Thus have I reprefented to young peo- 
 ple fome of the fins, to which your age 
 is moft fubjed. All are not named : Alas ! 
 there's Swearings which is a prophane vil- 
 lany, that hath neither pleafure nor profit 
 to allure. There's Theft, which is a viola- 
 tion of juftice, and a difcontent with what 
 God hath thought fit to give you. There's 
 Pride, (one inftance whereof I (hall here- 
 after fpeak to,) which among you children 
 and youth is generally upon very fordid ac- 
 counts : You are proud of a little beauty, 
 which the fmall-pox may fpoil, and no 
 body is truly the better for : You are proud 
 of your fine clothes, and from pride de- 
 fire them ; but what trifles arethefe? none 
 but fools efteem them, or value thee the 
 more for them. 
 
 Though I cannot infift on thefe, yet 
 if God is pleafed to deliver thee from fuch 
 fins as I have mentioned, all others will be 
 reformed. Oh then fet thy (elf againft 
 them. Let the youngeft be warned againft 
 thefe, as what they will feel temptations 
 to : And be all refolved, faithfully to 
 obferve the directions given j that if pof- 
 fible, you may arrive to middle age, free 
 from the corruptions of childhood and 
 youth, and not be forced to cry out with 
 bitter rcfledtions, Thou ?nakejl me to pojfefe 
 
 the 
 
Childhood and Youth. 239 
 
 the mquitm of my youth. What would )^^ x"'* 
 an aged faint give, that he had been inno- ^ 
 cent of all thefe crinaes while he was 
 young ? Learn wifdom by fuch now, while 
 thou haft opportunity and warnings. 
 
 I NOW proceed to the fecond head of 
 the vanity of childhood and youth, 'uiz,. 
 
 Secondly, Children and young people 
 are apt to live to no valuable purpofe, which 
 is vanity. 
 
 Thou wilt eafily allow, that to fpend • 
 ones ftrength and time for nothing, or what 
 is as good as nothing, is vain. Is not he a 
 vain body, that thinks much, talks much, 
 and doth much, to no purpofe ? Common 
 opinion will grant this. We brand Caius 
 Caligula as vain, for bringing a great army 
 to the fea-{hore, and gathering cockle- 
 (hells, when he pretended a great attempt. 
 The Spirit of God juftly accufeth thefe 
 perfons ; Behold, they are all vanity, their l^a. x\l 
 works are nothing. Solomon doth frequently ^^' 
 mean this in his book of Ecclefiafles, when 
 he faith, ^his alfo is. vanity ; that is, it's to 
 no valuable purpofe ; it is not worth the 
 labour and concern a man is at : One had 
 as good let it alone, and be unemployed, as 
 reap no other fruit. 
 
 Young people ! this is your very Cafe : 
 Moft of you live, and bufy your felves for 
 nought. 
 
 1. You 
 
240 ^^ Vanity of 
 
 1. You are apt to defign nothing at 
 all in your living. It's long before thou 
 afkeil thy felf, *' What do I live for ? what 
 " end (Ivall I purfue ?" Are not moft of 
 thy actions performed, thou knovveft not 
 why ? Moft of you are hurried by a fool- 
 i(h temper, allowing no deliberate defign 
 to govern you. A vain mind, or devilifli 
 fuggeftions determine the actings of moft 
 young people. Is not this a reproach to 
 thee, If thou happen to do any good, it's 
 more by chance than by thy choice ? If 
 thou receiveft any real advantage, it's by 
 
 . a merciful providence, and not by thy in- 
 tention. If God (hould alk thee at the 
 church door, Wherefore comeft thou hi- 
 ther ? May not fome of you fay, ** I dcj 
 *' not know : It was from a fancy I had 
 " to hear, or from cuftom." But how 
 few can fay, '* I had a defign to get fome 
 *' help to grapple with my youthful lufts ; 
 " 1 propoied to meet with God in his word 
 " for my foul's improvement." When 
 you intend fo little in an ordinance, what 
 ; purpofesmuft govern you in the ordinary 
 affairs of life ? 
 
 2. Your youth is fpent to no con- 
 fiderable purpofe. May not I tell moft 
 here. Thy tin^.e paft is loft, and the time 
 to come is like to be loft ? For, 
 
 ( I.) Thou haft lived in vain, as to thy 
 felf. What haft thou gotten by the ten 
 
 years 
 
Childhood and Touth, 241 
 
 years thou haft lived, O child of tea 
 years old ? What haft thou improved by 
 the fifteen years thou haft lived, O youth 
 of fifteen years old ? Yea, may not I as 
 juftly afk the young man of twenty. What 
 haft thou done ? what ufe haft thou made 
 of thy twenty years ? Muft not confcience 
 anfwer, *' Oh ! I had as good been juft 
 ** now born, for any good I have got- 
 " ten !" That I may faften this convic- 
 tion, I call every foul to anfwer me ; What 
 art thou nearer God to this day ? How 
 much is fin mortified ? What grace haft 
 thou attained to this very time ? Oh 
 youth ! haft thou yet got an intereft in 
 Chrift ? What treafure haft thou laid up 
 in heaven ? If thou muft own, " 1 am 
 ** further from God, and not nearer ; 
 ** fin is ftronger, and not weakened j" 
 then fure thou wilt own, thou haft lived 
 in vain to thy felf. But farther, 
 
 (2.) How many others may lay to thee 
 the charge of unprofitablenefs ? Thou liv- 
 eft in vain, as to God, He may fay, " This 
 *' young man never ferved nor praifed 
 " me 5 I had as good there had not been 
 ** fuch a youth in the world." Thou 
 liveft in vain, to thy friends : Thy pa^ 
 rent may fay, " It is an unprofitable child 
 to me ; I have yet had no comfort by 
 him." Thy relations may cry, " He 
 never gave us good counfel or ex- 
 ample." Thou liveft in vain, to thy 
 R 7najler : 
 
 (C 
 
 « 
 
2^2 The Vanity of 
 
 mafter : He hath got little advantage hf 
 
 thy care, or labour. Thy minifler may 
 
 cry, " This young body brings me little 
 
 ** joy as yet ; I have ftriven to little pur- 
 
 " pofe with him j he feems as if I had 
 
 1 Thef. « laboured wholly i?i vaiji^ Thou haft 
 
 '"' ^* lived in vain, to the church : What in- 
 
 creafe, or glory, hath it reaped by thee ? 
 
 Thou haft lived in vain, to the nation : 
 
 Thou haft not helped to make it, more 
 
 innocent by thy life, more flouriihing by 
 
 thy induftry, or more flife by thy prayers. 
 
 So that now, young man ! is it not a 
 
 true charge, which I lay to thee ? and 
 
 mayeft thou not cry out, *' Oh ufelcfs 1 1 
 
 " I have lived for nought ; I have been 
 
 Luke xiii.K an ufelefs Shadow ; I have cumbered the 
 
 '^' " ground^ and God may juftly cut me 
 
 *' off as an unfruitful one?" 
 
 Obj. I FORESEE fome young one will 
 be ready to evade this charge, and fay, 
 *' I do live to fome purpofe that is valu- 
 " able : I gratify my fenfes, I live plea- 
 " fantly, I begin to mind and look after 
 ♦' the world, &cr 
 
 Anfw, Alas, poor creature ^ is living 
 to the fiefli valuable ? is living barely to 
 this world valuable ? is living to the devil 
 valuable ? Methinks thy reafon (hould tell 
 thee, it's better not to live at all, than to 
 live to thefe. An intelligent fpirit to live 
 to the fleQi, is bafe ; An immortal foul to 
 
 live 
 
Childhood and Youth, 243 
 
 live barely to this world, is madnefs : A 
 creature of God, redeemed by the Lord 
 Jefus, to live to the devil, is felf-deftruc- 
 tive, and foolifli. What! live to him, who 
 hath undone thee in the Fall, and is fo 
 fludious to prevent thy recovery by Chrift I 
 live to him, who hath blinded, blemifhed, 
 and debafed thee, as he hath done ! live 
 to him, who though he hates thy God, 
 cannot efcape his own mifery ! live to 
 him, who envieth thy good, defires thy 
 woe, oppofeth all that is the benefit of 
 mankind, and contributes to all the mife- 
 ries and diforders which the world is dif- 
 trefled by 1 Oh young man 1 canft thou 
 juftify this courfe of living ? 
 
 But this will more appear, if upon a 
 due refledion on thy life, thou wilt anfwer 
 me thefe queftions. 
 
 [i.] Doth thy life anfwer God's end 
 and purpofein giving thee a being ? 
 
 The wifdom of God may afTure thee, 
 he had an end becoming himfelf in thy 
 creation. He tells thee. All things were <^oli. 16. 
 created by him, and for him. The blelTed 
 God had an eye to himfelf, and a regard 
 to Chrift the Redeemer, in giving thee an 
 exiftence. He exerted his power in thy 
 being, that thou mighteft ferve and ho- 
 nour him : Doft thou anfwer this end, by 
 living as thou doft ? haft thou ever aimed 
 at this ? doth thy behaviour contribute to 
 R 2 this 
 
244 '^^^ Vanity of 
 
 this at all ? Thy way of life would be a 
 reproach to thy maker, to have propofed 
 it to himiflf in thy creation. 
 
 [2.] Are there not greater purpofes, 
 to which thy nature and abihties are 
 fuited ? 
 
 He lives to no valuable purpofe, that 
 negledls to live to the highejl purpofes he 
 is capable of. Little things are a reproach 
 to him, that is adapted to great things. 
 Have not you faculties to know and love 
 your God ? and do your childifh or wick- 
 ed employments anfwer them ? You are 
 capable to ferve, and glorify the bleffed 
 God ; and is the gratifying thy lufts equal 
 to thefe ? You are receptive of divine joys ; 
 and are thy carnal merriments anfwerable 
 to thefe ? Oh young body ? what ufe art 
 thou fit for to others'^ what benefit doft 
 thou yield to //)y felf^ How canft thou 
 feem to anfwer thefe, by a trifling diver- 
 fion, or a peri(hing advantage ? Sure, thy 
 capacity is thy fhame: The very beaft, 
 that liveth to the utmoft of his power, 
 will witnefs againft thee, who behaveft thy 
 felf fo much below thine. It would have 
 been thy mercy, whofe exercifes have 
 been fo low, that thy abilities had been 
 lefs. Hence, 
 
 [3.] Wilt thou not (hortly acknow- 
 ledge with fhame and grief, that thou hafl 
 lived to unvaluable purpofes ? 
 
 No mi,nifter's rebuke will be fo (harp as 
 
 thy 
 
Childhood and Touth, 245 
 
 thy own, when grace renews thee, or 
 endlefs torments overtake thee. If the 
 Spirit ever enlighten thy mind, and aher 
 thy will, we may aflc thee, What fruit had^"^^- ^'- 
 you of thofe things ^ whereof you are now 
 ^fJjamed ? With a grieving blafh thou wilt 
 anfwer, ** Nothing I dare boaft of, no- 
 " thing I can juflify. I am afliamed of 
 ** my reward, as well as my labour. What 
 " I reaped by my fin is my (hame, as well 
 " as fin it felf. It was a fool's diverfion, 
 " wherewith I pleafed my felf j it was my 
 " blemifli, wherein I gloried ; it was my 
 " lofs, whereby I valued my felf. What 
 ** are they now to me ? They are dog's Pliil. HI 
 " meat [(n(.vCxK<i\ to what I now tafte. I * 
 " am aftonifhed, that I could relifh thofe 
 ** unfavoury thiiigs,or derive the leafl: con- 
 " tentment from them, when my chief 
 " good was unfecure." Young man ! if 
 grace do not awaken thee. Hell will. This 
 and the never-dying worm will be convic- 
 tions, of the emptinefs of what thou haft 
 purfued, and of the bafe purpofes thou 
 haft lived to. How will they tear thy foul 
 with fuch thoughts as thefe ? " Where*s 
 " the pleafure now ? Whereas the fa- 
 " tisfadlion, to which my endeavours 
 " were confined? Oh that I had been 
 ** but a beaft, who have lived to defigns 
 ** fo brutifti ! Oh that I had no intellec- 
 ** tual nature, fince I ftudied not to know 
 " my God, and the way of Life ! Oh 
 R 3 ' *[ that 
 
246 The V.anity of 
 
 ** that I had been void of rational powers, . 
 ** fince I did not govern my felf accord- 
 " ingly ! Oh that ever I had natural abi- 
 " lities to love and fear, fince I have not 
 *' loved my God, nor fo revered him, as to 
 " abftain from vanity ! Woe is me, that I 
 *' had a capacity for any fervice, feeing I 
 " have lived fo ufelefsly to God, to my 
 " friends, and to my felf! Alas, where is 
 " the fruit of my labour ! What now do 
 *' I enjoy, that deferved one hour of my 
 " life, or anfwers the leaft of my abili- 
 " ties !" Thefe, thefe, oh child ! will be 
 the efFedts of thy prefent way. 
 
 Thirdly, Children and young people are 
 apt to live to deftru6live purpofes^ which is 
 the height of vanity. 
 
 The lafl head is convincing, that it 
 were as well thou hadft never lived ^ but by 
 this it were far better for thee, thou hadfl 
 remained mere nothing to this day. To 
 live to hurtful ends, is worfe than not 
 living at all. Yet this is your condition 5 
 you dishonour God, you provoke the eyes 
 of his glory, you trample the blood of 
 Chrift under your feet with contempt. 
 How many young people ferve the devil 
 with their ftrength, and are a fnare and 
 infedion to all they can influence ? One 
 young body fpoils many others, and leads 
 them to that villany they had never thought 
 of. 
 
 You 
 
Childhood and Youth. 247 
 
 You oft break yon^y arcnts hearts ; and 
 they by thy means feel, that a foolijh y^«Prov.x. 1, 
 is the heavinefs of his mother. 
 
 You frequently deftroy your ma/iers 
 edate. To the ferious, you are a grief ; 
 to the city and kingdom a plague, as 
 helping on its fin, haftning its punifli- 
 ment, and. obflruding its good. How 
 many nxiy complain of harm on thy ac- 
 count ? 
 
 But whatever hurt you bring to others, 
 fure you avoid mifchiefs to your fehes F 
 No, no : Young men live mod to their 
 own hurt, and feem to take great pains to 
 make their mifery fure and great. Oh, 
 vain youth ! thou daily makeft thy felf 
 more the child of v^^rath by thy finful 
 practices ; thy wicked habits grow more 
 ftrong. By idlenefs and frequent oppofi- 
 tion, hopeful principles are more baffled 
 and expelled. Confcience by thy affronts, 
 is lefs concerned, and capable to admonifh 
 thee. Thy ill treatment of God's Spirit 
 makes him w^ithdraw, and his vifits are 
 more feldom ; fo that he is ready to fay of 
 thee, Let him alone. Hof. iv. 17. 
 
 Believe it, carelefs youth! thy ways 
 tend to more fin, and lefs hopeful nefs of 
 grace and glory. Oh, wretched life 1 to 
 live only to be more guilty, and to be ex- 
 pofed to greater punifhments. Thou run- 
 neft hell-ward j thy thoughts tend there, 
 thy words lead there, thy vile avSions heap- 
 R 4 the 
 
248 I'he Vanity of 
 
 Rom. ii. tjie greater ftore of eternal flames. Indig- 
 * ^' nation and ivrath, tribulation and anguijlj^ 
 are the things thou workeft for: Thoula- 
 boureft for thefe wages ; thou delivereft 
 thy felf daily to a greater obnoxioufnefs to 
 thefe woes ; as if thou wert afraid thou 
 fliouldft not be miferable enough. 
 
 Oh foul to be pitied ! Not to be born had 
 been thy mercy, as well as Judas*s\ unlefs 
 thou change thy living. Is it not to thee 
 Ifa. xli. thofe words are proper, Behold you are 
 ^^' worfe than nothings \*}^^. ? Hadft thou not 
 
 lived at all, thou hadft not done the mif- 
 chief thou art now doing, thou couldft 
 not have felt the hurt thou muft ftiortly 
 endure. How may moft young folk be- 
 moan the day of their birth 1 their life is a 
 mifery, which might have capacitated 
 them for the blifs of angels, had they well 
 employed it. The Lord grant, you be not 
 found thus foolifh, and cruel to your felves 1 
 But to this you are more prone, than to a 
 more profitable courfe. 
 
 [ My next work is to (hew you, i. How 
 childhood and youth became thus njain ? 
 2. Why they continue fo? 3. How mojl 
 young people grow Jiill vainer ? 
 
 I Queft. How comes it to pafs^ that 
 childhood and youth are vain ? 
 
 jlnfw. Childhood and youth be- 
 came vain by original fin. There's the 
 
 fpring 
 
Childhood and Youth, 249 
 
 fpring of the difeafe : Thou didfl: not come 
 out of God's hand thus prone to fin, and 
 thus averfe to himfelf ; but a depraved na- 
 ture defcends to thee from Adam, by the 
 line of thy anceftors. Thou vvafl: born 
 under the infection common to mankind, 
 generated in the ordinary manner ; the 
 very quickened Embrio in the womb hath 
 all the feeds of thofe fins, which time 
 ripens, and opportunity brings forth. Our 
 conftitution is become finful, and all cor- 
 rupt effedls are next to natural. 
 
 I SHALL not trouble you with dif- 
 putes, but merely inform you, (i.) How 
 our nature became corrupt : And (2.) How 
 it defcends thus corrupted to thee. 
 
 ( I .) Our nature became corrupt, or vain, 
 by the entrance of fin j whereby the divine 
 image was expelled, as well as forfeited. 
 
 A RATIONAL foul Cannot be void of 
 moral qualities and difpofitions, as it is a 
 fubje6l of God's moral government. There 
 muft be wifdom, or finful ignorance, in 
 the mind : There muft be love or enmity 
 to what is good, and averfion or inclina- 
 tion to what is evil, in the will. For man 
 is not conlidered in God's law, merely as ' 
 an agent with refpedt to what he otcafion- 
 ally adeth ; but he is confidered alfo as to 
 his temper, what he is ; what are his go- 
 verning principles, and prevailing difpofi- 
 tions. Thefe are necefTary to the denomi- 
 nating him a godly or ungodly man, as 
 
 well 
 
250 The Vanity of 
 
 well as influential into the ordinary courfc 
 of his actings, which will be anfwerable 
 to his inclinations and light. 
 
 Adam was created after God's image ^ 
 which confifled /« knowledge, right eoujnefs^ 
 and true holinefs. Gen. i. 27. Eph. iv. 24. 
 Col. iii. 10. This was his conftitution j tho' 
 not fo fixed, as to prevent the poflibility of 
 finning. And while Adam finned not, our 
 nature was imprefled with that holy power, 
 light, and love, which anfwcrcd the law, 
 and capacitated us for that exa(5t obedience 
 enjoined by it. Thefe divine qualities are 
 inconfifi:ent with their contraries, by the 
 laiD oj innocency ; tho' they are not incom- 
 patible, by the law of grace. For that law 
 infified on perfedion, and entire inno- 
 cency ; and fixed a forfeiture of all holy 
 gifts, by man confidered in any degree fin- 
 ful. Yea, befides this forfeiture of thefe 
 gifts by the penal fandtion of the law, man 
 was not entitled to thofe aids of the Spirit, 
 whereby divine qualities might fubfift in 
 the fame foul with contrary finful difpofi* 
 tions, as they do under the law of grace. 
 No fuch influences of the Spirit were pro- 
 vided in the law of creation. And there- 
 fore, as the leaft fin in the foul brought 
 down our holinefs below perfed., and 
 thereby made it ceafe to be holinefs by the 
 rule of innocency j (for love was not love 
 by that law, if there was any mixture of 
 enmity againlt God 3) fo Sin veould pre- 
 vail 
 
Childhood and Youth, 251 
 
 vail to extinguilli that Purity, and expell 
 thofe holy difpofitions at firft implanted, 
 if once it entered into the foul. 
 
 Adam did fubfifl: a while happy under 
 this law : But at laft he finned. His heart 
 turned from God to the creature ; which 
 implies ignorance in the mind, and averfi- 
 tion and enmity to God in the will. The 
 entrance of thefe did of courfe deprave the 
 foul of Jdam j knowledge was expelled 
 by darknefs, corruption removed his ori- 
 ginal purity. -The difeafe invaded the whole 
 man, the poifon operated to the extindion 
 of his glorious excellencies. There was 
 no need for God to take any good out of 
 the human nature j it neceflarily died by 
 the force of fin : And it is by a new 
 grant, that there be any remains of good 
 in lapfed man. It is not from any thing 
 in man, or in the firft covenant, that there 
 be any moral virtues, or good nature in 
 any : God in mercy beftows thefe, and 
 reftrains the growing contagion of fin, that 
 we become not more deviHfh. 
 
 When holy light and love were expelled 
 by fin, the appetite (of courfe) became 
 mafter of our reafon, and all diforders hence 
 enfue. The foul being clothed with flefli, 
 doth for want of holy principles become 
 fubje(5l to fenfible inclinations, which thro' 
 the prcfence of agreeable objects hurry 
 poor man into all that is fleih-pieafing ; 
 while the proper concerns of the foul are 
 
 forgotten. 
 
252 T'he Va72ity of 
 
 forgotten, and its intercourfe with unfeeir 
 things is cut off, for want of that light 
 w^iich Ihould perceive them, and that holy 
 love which might relifli and defire them, 
 A foul thus debafed and entangled, be- 
 comes little better than an adtive power to 
 contrive fuel for our various lufts, and re- 
 ceive the little delights which are miniftred 
 by fenfe and fancy. Oh wretched ftate ! 
 efpccially when error, and enmity againft 
 God and holinefs, help to compleat its de- 
 pravedn'efs. 
 
 (2.) Thy nature defcended thus cor- 
 rupted to thee, as propagated by the ap- 
 pointed law of natural generation. 
 
 Adam was not only the common head 
 of mankind, as reprefenting all mere men, 
 but alfo he was the original of all men in 
 order to propagation. As reprefentative, 
 he was capable to forfeit much good. As 
 he was the common parent, he muft tranf- 
 mit the nature which he had with its im- 
 purities. He was to propagate his kind. 
 Gen. V. I, and begat /S^/Z? in his own likenefs ; which is 
 ^* oppofed to the likenefs ofGod^ wherein Adam 
 
 was made : Though Seth was the father of 
 the holier part of the world, and a good 
 man 5 yet he was not begotten after God's 
 likenefs, or with a nature in its original 
 purity, but with a nature as depraved in 
 fallen Adam. Lapfed corrupted nature 
 Job xiv. cannot propagate a holy nature : For -who 
 ^' can bring a clean thing out of -an unclean'^ 
 
 Or. 
 
Childhood and Youth. 253 
 
 Or, how can he be clean ^ that is born of a 1°^ ^^^• 
 woman ? A perfon 7jatura!ly fmful^ cannot 
 generate a child free from that finfulnefs : 
 If the father be naturally void of fpiritual 
 wifdom, the fon in the courfe of nature 
 will be fo. And if we are born void of 
 wifdom and holinefs, we muft: be vain, 
 foolilh, and ungodly; for human nature 
 muft be unholy, if it be not holy. This 
 made David own, / was Jhapen in Ini^'^^^^'^^.s- 
 qidty^ and in fin did my mother conceive me. 
 This is fo fixed a rule, that our blefled Lord 
 muft have an extraordinary generation, to 
 efcape the pollution of human nature : 
 Mary was found with child of the Holy ^^f- »• 
 Gho/i ; the Spirit overJJoadowed her ; and Luke i 
 this Chrift is the only one born holy, 35. 
 Others are made holy by grace : Some, it 
 may be, are renewed in the womb ; but 
 none are naturally fo, or by ordinary ge- 
 neration. Therefore if thou fliouldft afk, 
 Why do not good men 7iaturally beget good 
 Children ? I anfwer, Their goodnefs is fu- 
 peradded to their nature, it comes by 
 another law than that of nature ; their 
 grace is from Chrift, for the falvation of 
 their own perfons, but not to propagate 
 to their offspring by generation. 
 
 Oh young man ! thou feeft, how thou 
 groaneft under Adam\ fall, and laboureft 
 under the depravednefs of human nature, 
 as propagated from Adam by thy anceftors 
 down to thee ! And is there ever a child 
 
 here, 
 
254- ^^ Vanity of 
 
 here, but is a living witnefs to this cor- 
 ruption ? Are you not all proner to fin, 
 than holinefs ? Is it not eafier to make you 
 vile, than to make you gracious ? Do not 
 fewer and weaker arguments incline you 
 to be wicked, than to be godly ? Is there 
 not that in thee, which ferves inftead of a 
 tempter to evil, tho' there were no ill exam- 
 ple orfollicitation from without? Wert thou 
 ever fenfible of this, oh child ? Haft thou 
 been yet truly humbled for original Jin ? 
 Thou waft wicked while an infant, as to 
 the temper of thy foul ; the corrupt na- 
 ture thou then hadft, is the Ipring of all 
 thy vanity. Thy nature is, to be foolifti, 
 to lye, to be unclean, and what elfe is 
 vile. That nature, while unrenewed, will 
 exprefs its unholinefs and enmity againft 
 God, one way or another. It's true, the 
 power of one contrary luft may bridle or 
 deftroy another : Thy bodily conftitution, 
 God's reftraints, education, ^c, may pre- 
 vent the raging of fome lufts j but the 
 malignity continueth, and cannot fail to 
 govern, till the grace of Chrift do alter thee. 
 
 2 Queft. Why do childhood and youth 
 continue vain ? 
 
 j^?ifw. Child h ood and youth continue 
 vain^ for want of a due ufe of the means 
 appointed for their healing. O young peo- 
 ple, here are three things in this, that are 
 very fit to move you. 
 
 (i.) Here's 
 
Childhood and Touth. 255 
 
 (i.) Here's comfort, that the vanity 
 of youth is healahle. Thy cafe is fad, but 
 'tis not dcfperate. There's hope in Ifraely 
 concerning the recovery of finners in their 
 youth. The devils became wicked, and 
 never can be recovered ; they may grow 
 viler, but they can never grow better : 
 But bleiTed be God, this is not thy cafe. 
 Thy wound, though fad, is yet curable. 
 There have been many young folk made 
 pious and ferious. Ifaac was good betimes; 
 "Timothy and John were old difciples, before 
 they could call man 5 yo/!ah''% tender years 
 were imprelTed with grace. I have known 
 undoubted evidence of grace before ten 
 years old. Oh then you need not refolve 
 to be vile, becaufe 'tis in vain to attempt 
 to be good. No, no. No young perfons 
 in this aifembly need to fay fo, or need to 
 think {o. God has not refolved againfl 
 young perfons, that they (hall never be re- 
 covered ; nay, he has determined, that out ^^t- xxi. 
 of the mouth of babes and fucklings he will ' 
 pefeSi praife. Children ! our Lord Jcfus 
 has never faid, I will have nothing to do 
 with fuch as you ; I'll neither walh you, 
 nor heal you, nor teach you : Nay, he has 
 faid quite otherwife. Suffer little chilJren'^^^- x'^^- 
 to come unto me^ and forbid them not^ &c. ^^' 
 The Spirit of God never refolved, I will 
 convince no wicked children, I will fanc- 
 tify no profane youth : Nay, inftead of 
 that, to you he fays, Come^ ye children, pfai. 
 
256 7he Vanity of 
 
 hearken unto me^ and I will teach you the 
 fear of the Lord. The Spirit has a mind 
 to be the teacher of children, and the in- 
 flrudter of youth ; he has a mind to train 
 up the young generation for heayen, as 
 well as the old ones. So that young ones 
 may fay to day, " Why, though I am 
 *' wicked, yet there's hope j and though 
 " I have a vile nature, yet there's hope. 
 ** I may be recovered, even though my 
 *' whole frame feems thus fet for villany, 
 *' and appears thus defperately difpofed." 
 
 There is the firft point, and that's a 
 great matter ; and under the power of 
 that, I preach to young ones j under the 
 hopes, that you young ones will regard 
 what I fay, and urge j for the cafe of 
 youth is beatable. 
 
 (2.) Here's a loud call to you, that 
 God iifes meam to heal young ones of their 
 vanity. This confirms the former. Is 
 God at pains with youth to make them 
 better? then there is hope of youth; for 
 God would not be at this labour, if it 
 were wholly ufelefs. O my friends ! God 
 has fent his Son to die for young children, 
 as well as old men ; even young ones re- 
 1 John ii. ceive forgivenefs by his blood : My little 
 *^' ' children, your fms are forgiven you for his 
 names fake. The Spirit of God flrivcs 
 with many young ones, as foon as they 
 can underftand any thing ; he bids early 
 for your compliance. 1 believe, there is 
 
 not 
 
Childhood and Youth, 257 
 
 not a child of fix years old under the 
 gofpel- means, but the Spirit of God has 
 been ftriving with. This holy one can 
 truly fay, I have been dealing with this 
 child to make it happy. 
 
 Pray let's a little confider : Thou child 
 or youth ! haft thou had no fenfe of hell's 
 mifery ever upon thy heart ? Haft thou 
 never been convinc'd, that 'twas ill to lye, 
 or fwear ? Haft thou never found prefling 
 motions to be good, and to refolve againfl: 
 evil ? have no good defires ftirred in thy 
 foul ? Why, all thefe were the workings 
 of the Spirit of God on thy poor foul. 
 God has been labouring with every young 
 body in this congregation. He has been 
 labouring with thee, by the advice of thy 
 parents ; When they taught thee to read, 
 or taught thee thy catechifm, or inftru6ted 
 thee to pray, it was God by them was 
 taking pains with thee. 
 
 We Minifters preach to you young 
 ones, as well as to the old. Nay, we 
 preach to you with more hopes, expeding 
 that you are not hardened as old perfons 
 are. Young people, confider 1 have not 
 the mercies of God, have not his prefer- 
 vations of you, been fo many teachers ? 
 What has been the language of every mer- 
 cy to thee, child, to you, young ones, but 
 this ? " Oh children 1 don't you provoke 
 " this God \ don't make me your enemy ; 
 ** for you fee, I would fain do you good, 
 S " I would 
 
258 7136 Vanity of 
 
 ** I would fdin be merciful, and not a de- 
 " ftroyer of you." Nay, have not afflic- 
 iions been the pains of God with you ? h 
 there ever a young one here, that has not 
 been fick at one time or other ? why the 
 Lord fent that ficknefs to thee, and fpake 
 in this manner thereby, *' I will warn this 
 " young one to be religious, left he (hould 
 ** die before he be converted." All the 
 correBiom of thy parents, and mafter, for 
 thy fin, have all been the calls of God ; and 
 his language in them all has been, ** I 
 " would fain imbitter fin to this poor 
 " young one, by fomething (hort of hell : 
 ** I would gladly reft rain the wickednefs 
 *' of this youth, that I may not damn 
 " him." 
 
 You fee, you had need look to it, for 
 God has ufed means towards your recovery; 
 Think not, ** God doth not mean me in 
 his word." Don't fay, " God did not 
 intend my cure in the helps I enjoy." 
 But believe, he intendeth thee as well as 
 any other, It*s thy enlightning, O young 
 man ! that he intends by all his teaching. 
 'Tis thy conveifion, O young woman I 
 that he defigns by all his calls. All thefe 
 have been direded upon this very defign ; 
 and left you (hould doubt it, the Spirit 
 Pfai. of God does particularly name you : Young 
 ^WHuiz.jnen and maidens <, praife ye the Lord', and 
 •Tit. H 6. young men are exhorted to be fiber minded. 
 Nay, Chrift himfelf tells us, in the begin- 
 ning 
 
 
Childhood and Youth, 259 
 
 ning of the Proverbs^ that his great defign 
 there, is, to give difcretioh to the fimple young P''°^- •• 4- 
 ones. Therefore I beg, that not ohe yoiing 
 body in this place may forget what I nbw 
 fay. That they friiftrate God's hopes, if 
 they be not good ; and difappoint him or 
 all his labour, if they be not gracious : All 
 the pains that have been taken with thfem, 
 are loft upon them. And will God bear 
 this ? What will become of you, if you 
 proceed this way ? 
 
 (3.) Here's an awful charge, that 
 ydu young men continue vain, becaufe 
 you don't rightly ufe the rneam for your 
 healing. Ah, fad charge ! The cafe of 
 young ones is curable, but why is it not 
 altered before now ? Why, O confcience 
 fpeak ! Children, you have confciences ; 
 young ones, you have confciences \ can 
 you fay, *' It is long of God I am vile 
 ** flill ? 'tis long of the want of means, 
 " that I am vile ftill ?" Ah, friend ! The 
 Father, Son, and Spirit can all fay, " It 
 ** is not my fault, that this child is bad 
 ** ftill ; it is not my fault, that this young 
 " man and woman is wicked fo long j 
 " it is not long of me." May not the 
 Spirit of God lay, " I have taken more 
 " pains with this child, and fpoken oftner 
 ** to this young perfon, than I have done 
 ** with thoufands in the world." Alas ! 
 So it is concerning every one of you. Chil- 
 dren of Pagans never had thy helps, in 
 S 2 all 
 
26o The VaiJtty of 
 
 all their days. Confidcr a little with your 
 felves, God may this day fay, '* I began 
 ** early with this young one ; I hi.ve ftill' 
 ** pleaded after many a repulfe, 1 havu 
 ** followed him and her, from day to day, 
 ** and from fin to fin : Oh how earneft 
 ** have I been with this young tripling;, 
 '' that I could propofe very little good by ; 
 ** yet have I taken pains end labour with 
 " him." Come, young people, Is it now 
 to begin, that God has cry'd to you, liirn 
 ' ye^ turn ye from your evil ways ; for why 
 will you die ? Is it now the firft time, that 
 he has faid unto you, IFill you not be made 
 clea?i f when fhall it once he ? Has Chrift 
 never faid unto thee. Look unto vie, and 
 be faved ! look unto me for help, for 
 there's help no where elfe : Thy diftrefs 
 makes me needful, and pity makes me 
 willing. 
 
 Lay thefe things to heart, and I will 
 defy any young body in this place, to 
 go away, and fay ; " I have lived up to 
 " what I know, I have improved all that 
 " God has afforded me, but he denied to 
 " give me more : I am miferable and 
 " wicked ftill, becaufe God has refufed 
 .." to help me, when I have fought it of 
 *' him." Is there any that can talk at 
 this rate ? No, not one.— Not one ? Why- 
 then, whence is it that we have fo many 
 young people bad ftill ? why ftill fo fatal 
 to thy fell? why a Have to bafe luds ? O 
 
 ff ien d 
 
 Ezek. 
 
 xxxiii. 1 1. 
 
 Jer. xiii. 
 
 27. 
 
 Ifa. xlv. 
 
 22. 
 
Childhood aiid Youth, 261 
 
 friend ! God knows the caufe, and thou 
 
 knoweft the caufe : Thou didft not ufe 
 
 the knowledge thou haft j thou didft not 
 
 improve thy opportunity. Doth not con- 
 
 fcience witnefs, Thy ear has not been 
 
 opened, thy heart has not been attentive, 
 
 thou dldjl not frame thy doings to turn unto ^^^- ^' 4- 
 
 the Lord ? God can fay this day, " This 
 
 *' poor creature might have been in a good 
 
 ** cafe ; he v/ould have been ferious be- 
 
 ** fore now, if he would but have yielded 
 
 ** to my pleadings, if he would but have 
 
 " turned at my reproofs. This young 
 
 ** body would have been an eminent 
 
 *' Chriftian before now, had all my im- 
 
 ** preffions been retained, and all my calls 
 
 ** complied with: He had known me 
 
 ** better, had he been but as teachable in 
 
 " my ways, as he was in other things : 
 
 ** But he Jet at nought all my counfel, and^^°'^' ** 
 
 " would none of my reproofs 
 
 Oh then, young people ! confider with 
 
 vour felves, what has been your cafe : 
 
 You have told God plainlv, / will not J°^" ^- 
 
 ^ . "40. 
 
 come to thee^ that I might have life. Where's 
 
 the young body, that has not pradtically 
 
 given God a denial ? Every time thou 
 
 waft under conviction of Sin, and didft 
 
 not leave it, thou didft tell God j " Lord, 
 
 *' I would be thine, but I love my fin 
 
 ** better : I would be happy for ever, but 
 
 " I will not, unlefs I may be wicked in 
 
 " this world." The youngeft here h^th 
 
 S 3 the 
 
262 The Vanity of 
 
 the great hand in his own ruin j he that is 
 but of ten years old, if he perifli, he is 
 his own dellroyer: (I think it's true of 
 many younger.) 
 
 CHILDREN ! Ypu were born vain, and 
 you have wilfully chofen to remain fo. 
 You may be ready to accufe Adam^ by 
 whom you became wicked j but it is your 
 ovyn fault that you continue wicked, fince 
 God hath provided a remedy. Ii's your 
 f^n, that you are no better for mercies, no 
 better for affli6tions, no better for means ; 
 wicked before, and wicked ftiil. 
 
 Oh therefore! v/hat will yoi; be abls 
 to anfwer ? How flid is it 1 that any young 
 body here fliould be forced to fiiy, *' Lord, 
 " 'tis my fault, that I am no better for a 
 *? Cfiriiti and no better for the gofpel ; 
 " my mifery is of my own chufing j God 
 " has taken pains with me, but 'tis all lofl 
 " through the obftinacy of my will." 
 
 These three things are plain undei* that 
 fecond head, wherein you fee, why young 
 people remain vile and vain. 
 
 3 Queft; How is it moft young peapJe 
 grow Jiill 'vainer ? 
 
 Anfw. Youth becomes yet more vain 
 by evil cujhms, and indulging carnal felf. 
 Vanity unhealed is of a growing nature 5 
 and there is no bad child, but grows ftill 
 worfe. Sin is not a ftream that grows 
 empty, or a root that dies by mere time : 
 
 God 
 
Childhood and Touth. 263 
 
 God knows, we have bad experience of 
 that. Alas, how doth villany grow with 
 years! The child that began with few 
 iins, grows up to many fins i infomuch 
 that we have foine young men before 
 eighteen, have committed as great fins as 
 the man of eighty. Youth enters with 
 leffer fins, and proceeds to grolTer fins. 
 We have many young people that feem to 
 abound in wickednefs, as they advance in 
 age ; as if they grew older, only that they 
 may grow viler. Oh, what a mercy would 
 have it been for fuch, to have died in the 
 womb ! or any one year before another ! 
 Now, Sirs, whence is it \ how can it be, 
 that young people fhould grow thus 
 vainer and vainer, inflead of better and 
 better ? 
 
 I TELL you, One fin brings on ano- 
 ther J and by the lefTer, thou art fitted for 
 a greater. Sinful habits are ftrengthene4 
 by finful a6ts ; and fear, and fhame for fin 
 wear off, yea, are even extinguifhed by a 
 courfe of fm. O poor foul ! Satan has 
 got the fafter hold j the Spirit has %een 
 provoked, and given over fbiving ; and it 
 may be, thy parents through defpair, have 
 almofl given over praying. Confcience that \^l^' 
 warned thee, is feard and filenced, and 
 fo the wicked creature has his full fcopc. 
 God fays of him, " Let this poor creature 
 
 IV. 2. 
 
 » Geo. vl. 
 S 4 fore 
 
 ** alone, Vll jirive with him no more, 
 Q young folks ! you may be hardened be- 
 
264. The Vanity of 
 
 fore you grow old ; lufl: may be flrcngly 
 rooted before old age ; and I fear 'tis lb 
 with abundance of youth. Is it not fo 
 with fome of you ? Did not fome of you 
 blufli at a little fin, and now thou canft 
 mock at great ones ? Are there not fome 
 among you, that once dared- not to tell a 
 fmall lye, and now you can lye all forts ? 
 Are there none here, that trembled when 
 they fwore a little oath, and now can fwear 
 at the bloodiell rate, and add blafphemy 
 and curfing to their oaths ? Sirs, did not 
 fome of you feel a check for a light a6t, 
 ^nd now you can commit fornication and 
 uncleannefs without any inward rebuke ? 
 It was hard to bring thee to pilfer a penny, 
 tp4 now .thou canft" fteal {hillings and 
 pounds. It was with much ado, that thou 
 couldft endure to be drunk in the night; 
 tiut. now. thou canft do it openly, and 
 glory in it. Thou durft not formerly have 
 neglected a fermon, and thou muft pray 
 by thy felf J but now, alas, poor creature ! 
 thou canfl: play away a whole fabbath, and 
 fpeffd weeks without prayer, without one 
 -ierious prayer. My friends, what's the 
 matter ? Is lin grown a lefs evil ? By no 
 Ijpeans. Is God, and heaven, and hell, lefs 
 certain ? No, no, firs, you will feel it to 
 your coft. Is thy poor foul lefs precious, 
 and lefs valuable ? No, this is not it nei- 
 ther. But the reafon of it is this, wicked- 
 nefs is grown by wickednefs 3 committing 
 
 fin 
 
 .(.;;T 
 
Childhood a?id Youth. 265 
 
 fin has made it eafy ; the current of fin 
 running, has made the channel wider, and 
 the oppofition lefs. Oh, therefore, for the 
 Lord's fake, begin this day to confider, the 
 devil is grown more impetuous by tliy 
 confent : And I can tell thee to day, and 
 let the youngefl of you obferve it, If thou 
 continuefl wicked, thou wilt be yet more 
 and more fo ; and thou wouldft now blufh 
 to think what wickednefs thou wilt here- 
 after come to : As Hazael^ when it was 
 foretold him by the Prophet what cruelties 
 he {hould commit, cries out. Is thy fervant ^..^^"g^ 
 a dog^ that he fioidd do this great thing ? 
 
 Thus I have finiflied what 1 intended 
 in the explication -, and now, 
 
 I come to the USE. 
 
 Firfl, By the way of Inference : May 
 the Lord fet it home ! Some owned great 
 good on this day twelve-month ; may 
 more receive good to day ! The inferences 
 then are thefe. 
 
 Inf. I. How difmal a fight doth this 
 truth afford us of the world ? Childhood 
 and youth are ^vanity. Ah, Lord ! How 
 true then is it, that even the whole world ' ^^°^" ^* 
 
 IQ. 
 
 lies in wickednejs f The greater part doth 
 fo ; for young people are many more than 
 old ones. The chief part of age is vanity ; 
 the beft part of time is vanity : Childhood 
 is the time fittefl to learn in j youth is the 
 
 • time 
 
i66 The Vanity of 
 
 time fitted: to a(^ in ; and yet both thefc 
 are 'vanity. Oh, how little are heavenly 
 defigns carried on by young ones ? Oh, 
 how little is God vvorfhipp'd and ferved 
 by young ones ? how few of them are en- 
 gag'd in their own true concerns ? Dread- 
 ful 1 that in youth we ijoill do nothing, 
 and in age we can do nothing ! Oh, who 
 loves God, and is not grieved ? who 
 loves fouls, and is not melted ? All come 
 Jick into the world, and molt men grow 
 more difeafed by their ftay here. All come 
 miferable^ and moft help on each other's 
 ruin, and increafe their own. Oh, how 
 many go off the ftage, and have reafon to 
 wifh, ** Would to God I had peri(h'd, 
 " before I faw the light!" So hke Hell is 
 this prefent ftate, that it's a wonder we are 
 able to take any delight therein. God is fe- 
 rious with people in their younger years, 
 and they heed it not. Minifters are earned 
 with young people, and they regard it 
 not : Ah, poor wretches ! they think we 
 have nothing to do with them. Oh, 
 young ones ! Help us to mourn to day : 
 For I am calling on men to mourn for yo^, 
 who in your youth yield your felves up to 
 your lufts, and thereby are injurious to 
 Chrift, and cruel to your own fouls j and 
 will you be unmoved ? 
 
 Inf. 2. What care is incumbent on 
 parents and mafiers, in the managing of 
 young perfons ? Youth is vain, and that 
 
 befpeaks 
 
Childhood and Touth. 267 
 
 bpfpeaks a fuitable carriage. O parents^ 
 you don't beget angels, but finful children j 
 you breed up corrupt ones, and not per- 
 fe<5l ones. Few are fandtified in the 
 womb, and therefore you flipuld deal with 
 children, as v/ith depraved and corrupt 
 perfons, as with them whofe childhood 
 and youth are vanity. The very ^iftemper 
 direds parents and mafters in their duty 
 apd carriage towards their children : I fhall 
 efpecially name parents in niy diredions. 
 
 (1.) Children are ignorant ', oh there- 
 fore take occafion to inftrudt them. Alas ! 
 canft thou let thy children be unacquaint- 
 ed with God, and infenfible of their own 
 mifery, or of the way of their efcape ? 
 What, jnuft thy child be infpired, or it 
 mufl periJJj for want of knowledge ? If it ?° *^* 
 muft knowy pray who is fitteft to teach it ? 
 upon whom does it lie in point of duty, 
 as it does upon you ? And who has the 
 advantage of doing it as thou haft ? Who 
 is fo like to prevail with thy child as ihy 
 felf ? None faithfully dedicates his child 
 to God in infancy, that will not carefully 
 inftru(fl him when of age to learn. 
 
 (2.) JToiith have unruly appetites ; 
 and therefore don't indulge them. Oh 
 that every parent here had but his heart 
 open to what I fay ! and I fpeali it out of 
 pity to the fouls of young ones. *Tis an 
 ill pradice in parents, to feed their child 
 |ly the cravings of its luft, and not by 
 
 their 
 
268 The Vanity of 
 
 their own judgment. 1 will tell you the 
 . ^ mifchief of it; befides the laying a foun- 
 
 dation of diftempcr in age, it gives the 
 appetite an ungovernable force. Children 
 being always indulged in what they crave, 
 cannot deny themfelves any thing they de- 
 fire : And by the fame rule, that they 
 murt now eat and diink what and when 
 they will, while they are under your care ; 
 they will be drunk and whore, ^c, when 
 they grow in years. Their reafon cannot 
 bridle their appetite then, if yours (which 
 ought to guide them) negledt to do it 
 now. Oh dreadful thing ! that any chil- 
 dren's appetites fiiould come from under 
 their parents tuition unbridled. I look on 
 nothing as a greater reproach to parents. 
 And what's the ground of all wickednefs 
 in the w6rld, more than an inordinate ap- 
 petite ? yet how few parents do help to 
 cure it, while curable ! whereas an appe- 
 tite curbed in childhood .Would endure a 
 denial in age. 
 
 (3.) Youth have vIoIe?2f htmours, and 
 felfipmefs ; and therefore don't foolifhly 
 Prov. gratify them. A child left to himj'elj\ bri?7gi 
 xxix. 15. his mother to jhame. Oh what a deviliih' 
 fight 1 how pleafiog to Satan, to fee chil- 
 dren cockered,' and youth indulged ? It's 
 peeviQi, then all mull be done to pleafe 
 it ; it's obflinate, and it mud have its will ; 
 it's revengeful, and it muti not be check- 
 ed : This is the way of moft parents. Ancr 
 
 ^is 
 
Childhood a^d Youtk 269 
 
 Vis jnft with God, that child fhould break 
 your hearts, whofe will you never broke. 
 How many poor creatures will have caufe 
 in hell to curfe their parents ? Dreadful ! 
 that they prove the vvorft enemies to their 
 children, under a pretence of fondnefs. 
 
 (4.) Touth have many lujis, and are 
 prcne to fin j therefore be afraid for them, 
 and prevent all occafions. Joby when his . 
 children h-d been feafting, offered btiriit']ohi. 5, 
 offerings Jcr them, left they ftdould have fin- 
 7iedy a?id curfed God i?i their hearts. Oh 
 that parents would confider, what brittle 
 veiTels children be I what dried tinder 
 youth is! Occafions tho' fmall, over-rule 
 young perfons. What then ? Oh then be 
 perfuaded to chufe the company of your 
 children for them ; fee that it be of their 
 own fex, and virtuous. Put them to 
 trades, and fuch trades as have the lead 
 fnares ; place them in families, where moft 
 good is to be got, and leafl: evil to be 
 catch'd. Find them bulinefs and fulnefs 
 of employ, and cut out their time for 
 them. Parents, learn this wifdom, that 
 your children have no time for idlenefs. 
 Marry them as foon as convenient, if fo be 
 you are not very certain of their fobriety. 
 
 (5.) The vanity of youth is deeply 
 rooted ; therefore be importunate pleaders, 
 and fharp correctors. If advice prevail 
 not, 'tis not an eafy thing to cure a child 
 oj its vanity, or youth of its folly, Fooliflo- Prov; 
 
XXIIt. 13. 
 
 270 7Z^ Vanity of 
 
 nefs is bound up in the heart of a child, hut 
 the rod of cor region will drive, it Jar from 
 Proy- him J and withold not correction from thy 
 child, and he foall not die, I look upon it 
 as a fad fign of growing villany in the 
 next age, that correBion is become uh- 
 fafhionable. The Lord pity us ! 
 
 Let me tell you once for all, Sir$, 
 youth is chiefly governed by fear 5 and 
 they that lofe the benefit of that paffion, 
 lofe the greateft advantage which youth 
 have to be manag'd or improv'd by. Peo- 
 ple may talk of love, bat God's enjoining 
 the rod (o oft, difcovers that it will prevail 
 but with v^ry few. Wifdom muft be ex- 
 ercifed in this matter, as the end may be 
 beft attained : But be affured, the blood 
 of that child lies at the parent's door, who 
 might have been reform'd by corredtion, 
 and was not. Can parents forget God's 
 fevere judgment againft Eli, for his indul- 
 gence to his fons ? Or do you think, that 
 children are now fo harmlefs, that they 
 need not be corredled ? I (hould have call'd 
 you to give them good examples, as being 
 powerful means to incline them, who 
 flridtly obferve, and are prone to imitate 
 you : They are apter to evij than good ; 
 deny them no help to their holy improve- 
 ments, and create them no hindrances. 
 But time prevents me. 
 
 Inf. 3. How fhould young ones bear 
 the rebukes and reftraints oi fuperiors, un- 
 der 
 
Childhood and Youth, 271 
 
 der a fenfi of their own vanity ? Here I 
 call to young ones again. Parents and 
 mafters know what will harm you, better 
 than you do your felves j they know how 
 weak you are to re(ift temptations j they 
 know what's iinful and deftruftive, better 
 than you. Oh therefore thank God 1 and 
 thank them that are over you, who en- 
 deavour your healing, and do not fuffer fin to Lev. xix, 
 lie upon you. If you be good your felves, ^^' 
 you'll do the fame for your children wheii 
 you have them ; therefore don't fake that 
 ill, which is your neceffary cure : Bat 
 reckon thus with your felves, " Am I 
 " vain ! Then, though I have not the li- 
 ** berty I would, and have not the allow- 
 ** ance I defire, matters are better order'd 
 ** for me ; for I can't bear thofe other 
 « things." 
 
 Inf. 4. How attentive ought you to 
 be to all the advices and pleadings of your 
 relations, as being defign'd to heal you ? 
 Oh I for thy foul's fake, young one, never 
 let the advice of thy parents be loft j never 
 let thy friends counfel and reproof be 
 loft J becaufe 'tis all deiigned to remove 
 this difeafe. Thou doft not fee the hell 
 thou art juft running into; thou doft not 
 fee the heaven thou art flying from ; thou 
 doft not fee the God thou haft provok'd j 
 thou doft not know the mifery thou art 
 under ; thou art ignorant what grace, what 
 wifdom thou wanteft. How much muft 
 
 thou 
 
5^72 7Z^ Vanity of 
 
 thou learn and attain, before thou art 
 wife, or good ! Thou art ignorant of 
 many fnuies, and fins ; thy folly hides 
 thy folly from thee. Oh therefore ! be 
 heartily intent to all their advices, and 
 fay to thy fv:?lf, " Lord, is this for my cure, 
 ** and ftiall 1 negled it ? Is this reproof 
 " for my good, and fhall I make light of 
 " it ? Is all this pains to heal my poor 
 ** difeafed foul, and fhall I caft it behind 
 " my back? God forbid!" 
 
 Inf. 5. How great a wonder of grace 
 is a young convert ? and how thankfully 
 (hould fuch acknowledge it ? Oh the pow- 
 Luke XV. er^ that makes the vain prodigal come to 
 *^' himfelf 1 How near does God come to the 
 Job xi. foul, to tame it, when 'tis like a wild ajss 
 colt ? How efficacious is Grace, that over- 
 comes luft in its greateft rage ? and that 
 deadens temptations when they ftrike on 
 youth, fo prone to relilh the offer, and 
 yield to it ? Oh bleffed work ! that inclines 
 us to fear that God, whom in our youth 
 we are fo apt to defpife. 
 
 Having laid thefe things before you, 
 I (hall now offer. 
 
 Secondly i Two general Ufes of Exhort a-^ 
 tion, and apply particularly to you. 
 
 Exh. I. Reflect on your felves, 
 whether you are under this vanity, or de- 
 livered from it. Young folks, I fpeak 
 moftly to you, and therefore I intreat you 
 
 for 
 
Childhood and Youth, 273 
 
 for the Lord's fake to lay to heart what I 
 am faying. Your cafe is difmal, you are 
 born vain, and prone to be vain ; are you 
 ftill fo, or not ? It is a great work that goes 
 to the heahng of you j is that work pafTed 
 on thee ? It is a great deal of God goes to • 
 the making a youth good, and ferious ; 
 have I felt that ? Pray afk your felves, 
 " Am I vain, or am I not ? Is my heart 
 " a fpring of divine motions, or of beafl- 
 " ly inclinations ?" Young people, how is 
 it with you ? Try your ways. Are they ^^"^- "^• 
 under the government of grace, or of ''^'^* 
 luft ? Are they under the conduct of wif- 
 dom or folly ? Afk your felves, " Do my 
 •* ways profit, or hurt people ?" Is it not 
 time to afk ? — What, Sirs ! are the years 
 you have fpent unfit to be enquired after ? 
 or is thy fin not worth being concerned 
 about ? Oh ! afk your felves often, 
 " What am I doing ? whither am I go- 
 " ing ? does my walk pleafe God, or pro- 
 " voke him ? do I walk with him, or do 
 " I forfake hi^m ?" Try and judge impar- 
 tially. It's thy greatefl concern : Thou 
 may eft deceive thy felf, but thou can ft not 
 deceive thy God, who will judge as the 
 matter truly ftands with thee. How is it 
 with you. Oh young ones ! There is none 
 here, but ought to be concern'd, how it is 
 with them. You will be concern'd, nay, 
 within a while you tmiji be concern'd ; 
 T therefore 
 
274- ^^^ Vanity of 
 
 therefore enquire into this to day, and ne- 
 ver reft 'till it be determined. 
 
 Rxh. 2. Receive Diredions fuitable to 
 your cafe. And here I mud divide this 
 whole aflembly into two parts: [i.] Such 
 as are under the ■po'wer of vanity \ and, [2.] 
 Such as are hy grace delivered from it. One 
 of thefe two is the cafe of every one in 
 this affembly. Young and old, you are 
 ilill under the power of vanity, or you are 
 delivered from it. There is a great dif- 
 ference in your cafe, I'll fpeak to each. 
 
 [i.] As to thofe of you ^ who are yet 
 under the power of this vanity. 
 
 Poor fouls! would you be delivered ? 
 Or have you a mind to continue what you 
 are ? Come, children, dare you be ftill 
 blind, and ftill obdinate ? Shall thy foul 
 Rev. xvlii. that was made for God, be a cage of un- 
 ^- clean birds ? Shall thy tongue which is thy 
 
 glory^ be employed to his difhonour ? Oh 
 young body ! (hall not Chrift heal thee of 
 that nature, which the devil introduced ? 
 Wilt thou live a brute and a devil ftill ? 
 Shall Satan ferve himfelf of thy parts, and 
 of thy ftrength, and of thy opportunities ? 
 Shall the devil fay of thee, " Here's a 
 ** child, I hope, will do me a great deal 
 " of drudgery? here's a young perfon will 
 *' do my work while he lives, and be 
 " damned when he dies ?" Young folks, 
 Satan flands by, and feems to fpeak thus 
 
 of 
 
Childhood a7td Youth, 275 
 
 of you. And muft Chrift all this while 
 weep over thee, and fay, " Here's a young 
 " thing that's my creature, but he will 
 *' rebel again ft me as long as I fpare him ? 
 *' Here's a youth fit to ferve me, but he 
 ** will bring on me all the diflionour that 
 *' he can, and obftrud: my interefts as far 
 " as he is able. Here's a ftripling that I 
 *' bought with my blood, but he ferves 
 *' Satan before me, and will not be faved, 
 " unlefs againft his will ?" For the Lord's 
 fake lay thefe things to heart to day I 
 What fay you, child, to this ? What fay 
 you, young people ? I hope fome of you 
 will be ready to anfwer, " O Sir, help 
 ** me ! give me fome counfel -, for I am 
 ** weary of this prefent condition, and 
 *' would be in a better !" If fo, take thefe 
 few advices, and refolve to follow them in 
 earneft. 
 
 I. Believe ho w bad thou art by nature, 
 and bewail it -before God. Oh, 'tis thy 
 pidture I have been drawing, as bad as it 
 is ! Come poor young folks, you that pride 
 your felves when you look in the glafs, 
 could you but fee your fouls with a right 
 eye, you would abhor your felves. Young 
 people, will you believe God fpeaking of 
 you ? does not he fay, you are vain and 
 vile ? Will you believe all the wife people 
 that know you ? and will they not all agree 
 in this, that thou art a finful wretched 
 creature ? Doth not thy own experience 
 T 2 convince 
 
276 The Vanity of 
 
 convince thee ? Oh friend ! own it, and 
 go away mourning. How canft thou but 
 do lb, when thou confidereft, ** My heart 
 *' is filthy, my afFedtions diforder'd, the 
 *'• powers of my foul poor and wound- 
 " ed, the image of God loft, Satan's nature 
 *' is vifible upon me !" What a reproach 
 doth every title fallen ? What can be 
 faid worfe of thee, than that thou art 
 thus r Is this a Cafe to be refted in ? Is 
 this a ftate to be quiet in ? Yet this is thy 
 cafe, O young pErfon ! by nature thou art 
 full of what's hateful to God, and hurtful 
 to others ; thou art intent on thy own ruin. 
 Oh, Sirs ! the moft innocent young fin- 
 ner here, is fuller of poifon than a toad, 
 and filthier than a fwine : All of you are 
 thus by nature J and yet thou remaineft 
 fo. 
 
 2. Consider often, how miferable 
 thou art whilft thou continueft thus vain. 
 Danger will affright fome, whom fin will 
 not. But, O how unable am I to repre- 
 fent the horror of this to you ! Young 
 Eph. ii. 3. people, you are children of wrath^ as 
 ivell as others. Every luft is a killing 
 wound ; every ftep is on the brink of hell. 
 There's not a wicked child in this con- 
 gregation, but I can ftand over it, and fay, 
 " Here's a child, with whom God is angry 
 Nah. i. I," every day j here's a young body, /or 
 " whom God referves his wrath ^ and fees 
 ** his time a coming." Young people, fure 
 
 you 
 
Childhood and Youth, 277 
 
 yon will be afraid to go home, and fay, 
 ** I am a finner; and 1 am an impenitent 
 ** finner, and therefore an unpardoned 
 *' fmner j a finner for whom everlafting 
 *' wrath is referved." Once for all, you 
 refolve to be wicked j and God cannot but 
 be juft. You will not be born again ; and ^^ ""^ 
 God muftthen keep you- out of his king- 
 dom. You will live after the flejh-, ^y> viii!"i3. 
 and God is as refolved, you fJjall die in your 
 fins. Come young people, God will be as 
 peremptory as you, and his will (hall ftand. 
 Therefore tremble to go out of this con- 
 gregation, unlefs in a founder mind than 
 you came. 
 
 3. Be convinced, that nothing (hort of 
 renewing Grace can favingly heal thee. , 
 Morality may polifh thee ; fear and fhame 
 may reftrain and conceal a finner ; but 'tis 
 only grace can truly alter a finner. Oh 
 
 my friends, it muft be a new hearty or it 
 will always be a vain heart. Vain incli- 
 nations will govern, 'till God writes his law ^^^' ^"** 
 there. The youngell muft be a new cred- G^l.wi. 
 ture, or natural corruption will baffle all ^s- 
 pretenfions. 
 
 4. Be affur'd, Grace cannot be had but 
 from God, through Chrifl:, by the opera- 
 tions of his Spirit. Don't think it an eafy 
 thing to attain grace, though it be necef- 
 fary to have it. Young folks, God mufl 
 open his treafures anew, or you will for 
 ever want it. Chri/l mufl plead for thee, 
 
 T 3 or 
 
278 ^he Vanity of 
 
 or thy difeafe is incurable j he mufl adl to- 
 wards thee as Redeemer, and not merely 
 as Creator, unlefs he pafs by thee as one 
 Mat. rejedted. He feeh the loft peep ; he makes 
 xvui, 12. j|^^ flubborn willing: Faith is his gift j 
 confent is his purchafe, as well as the blef- 
 Aas iv. fings annexed to it. There is no other name 
 ^^' by which we can be faved-, there is no 
 other fountain of grace or help. Know 
 John xvi.Qlfo^ that the Spirit muft give of Chrift's 
 ^'^' fidnefs : He muft enlighten thee, O child, 
 or thou wilt go blind to thy grave ; he 
 muft renew thee, or thou wilt die in thy 
 uncleannefs. Chrift made the atonement, 
 but the Spirit makes us capable of its ap- 
 plication. Chrift hath acquired a fulnefs 
 of grace and bleftings ; it's by the Spirit 
 he imparts thereof to man. Men cannot 
 renew thee ; Means of themfelves are too 
 weak to alter thee. Oh, then look up- 
 wards ! wait upon God ; direct thine eye 
 to Chrift ; depend on the holy Spirit, as 
 able to conquer thy reludancy, and ready 
 to work by the means to which his prefence 
 is promifed. 
 
 5. Observe, that the more thou fin- 
 neft, and the longer thou art gracelefs, 
 the more oppofition thou layeft in the way 
 of grace. Think ferioufly of this j the 
 hopes of the foul are upon the Spirit's 
 working, and the difpofednefs of the heart 
 to yield to his motions. Oh, my friends ! 
 will you go on in fin ? then the Spirit of 
 
 God 
 
Childhood and Youth. 279 
 
 God will leave you, he will not always^^"^-"^^-^- 
 Jlrive : The more you fin, the more you 
 quench the Spirit, Will you go on in fin ? 
 then your heart will be hardened ihc moreHeb iii. 
 through the deceit fulnejs of fin. Wilt thou go '3- 
 on delaying ? then to morrow it will be 
 harder to prevail with thee than to day. Oh! 
 therefore be alarmed to day. More fin will 
 (Irengthen your lufl:s, and further preju- 
 dice your foul againfl Chrifi:. Is not con- 
 verfion difficult enough already ? and is 
 there need to make it next to impofilble ? 
 For the Lord's fake confider ! greater of- 
 fences may make God and men fay of 
 thee, " This wretch is refolved againft 
 " grace, he arms himfelf againft hope." 
 
 6. Resolve within thy felf, that thou 
 wilt follow after Chrift, and throw off 
 thy vanity without delay. Oh, that I 
 could but get this confent from you all 
 this day ! that all the young people in this 
 congregation would fay, O Lord, Amen^ 
 Amen ! Come, poor finners, put it to your 
 felves this moment : Say, " For this I 
 ** will pray, that I may ceafe to be vain ; 
 " I will meditate for this ; I will hear for 
 '' this." O young folks, that are yet in a 
 flate of fin, you have work enough for 
 your time ! Sometimes you know not how 
 to pafs away your time. What, fpiritu- 
 ally blind, and not know how to pafs away 
 time ? What, dead and gracelefs, and not 
 know how to pafs away time ? A finner 
 T 4 wild 
 
28o 7he Vanity of 
 
 wild in his frame, and have no work ? 
 Oh ! be intreated this day to be earneft 
 with God, and never be quiet 'till he has 
 given thee wifdom inftead of folly ; 'till he 
 has given thee fobriety inftead of raftinefs ; 
 humility inftead of conceit ; calmnefs in- 
 ftead of paflion ; truth inftead of falftiood. 
 Never be fatisfied 'till God has brought 
 thee to live to the beft and higheft pur- 
 pofes. And, Oh, that every foul would 
 fay Amen ! How would Satan be difap- 
 pointed ? how would heaven rejoice ? It 
 would be thy beft day, and the entrance 
 of eternal life. 
 
 Obj. But I believe fome here are ready 
 to fay, " Sir, muft I now change ? muft I 
 *' now ftop my vanity ? Surely 'tis too 
 " foon ', fure I might be vain a little 
 " longer ; there's no danger in it, I hope." 
 jinfw. My addrefs to you is, for this 
 
 ileb. iv. 7. inftant ; even to da\\ harden not your hearts. 
 Oh child I juft now ceafe to be vain j 'tis 
 late enough with the youngeft of you. It's 
 not too foon to ftop a wicked courfe. 
 Now, now thou ftiouldft yield to Chrift : 
 \i you aik. Why noiv ? I tell you, 
 
 (i.) Because young people's fouls 
 {hall be faved or damned by the fame rules 
 as the old ones, if they be paft infancy. 
 om. ii, Qh^ if yon die tonight, God will judge 
 you by the gofpel I and that's the loweft rule 
 
 Ecd. xi.n, that God can judge you by. Touth muft 
 be judged^ as well as m^n : Tou?jg ones^ 
 
 that 
 
 lb 
 
Childhood and Youth. 281 
 
 that obey not the gofpcl, {hall not efcape the ^ I'J^ef- «• 
 "uengeance, ' ^' 
 
 (2.) God is concerned at, and provoked 
 by the vanity of children. Pray confider : 
 You think, it may be, that God takes no 
 more notice of what you fay or do, than 
 you do your felves. Alas ! you are de- 
 ceived : Don't you think, God was angry 
 with the little childrefj^ whom ht Jlew by '^ ^^^'S>f^^' 
 the Bears for deriding the prophet? God^^'^'^* 
 notes what you do : Young ones, God 
 doth not rule old men, and leave children 
 to their own wills. His laws are prefcribed 
 to young men, under the fame threats, as 
 to the old ; and it's not indifferent to him 
 what you do. God obferves what you do, 
 as much as any other perfon; for you are 
 his fubjed:s, who were made for his glory. 
 You ferve him, or his enemy the devil -, and 
 what you do, is good, or evil, 
 
 (3.) The youngeft of you are under 
 vows to God againft vanity. I fuppofe, 
 you were entered into God's covenant by Deut. 
 your parents : And was not a holy heart, ^^'^' "* 
 and a ferious godly life engaged in that 
 covenant, in oppolition to lin and Satan ? 
 You are dedicated to God in your infancy -, 
 you are his^ and not your own. Young ^ ^^^- ^'^• 
 children ! what, will you lye to God now? ^^' 
 will you be perjur'd now ? Oh, God for- 
 bid ! Dare any young perfon here fay, ** I 
 ** was given to God in my infancy, but 
 " I now retrad: it ? I was fworn to be the 
 
 " Lord's, 
 
282 7hc Vanity of 
 
 ** Lord's, but I will not keep to him ?'* 
 Baptifm will fink thofe children of believ- 
 ers, who perform not their vows, and 
 pradically renounce their God. 
 
 (4.) Let me tell you, if you remain 
 vile all your youth, a thoufand to one but 
 you will ever be fo. You may die before 
 you are old, and then you are undone : 
 But if you live, and are not converted 
 when young, it's improbable that ever you 
 (hould. Oh, it's ill dealing with old fm- 
 ners ! they are conceited, full of preju- 
 dices, and immerfed in worldly cares ; the 
 calls and threatnings of God are grown fa- 
 miliar to them, and their fouls ftupid and 
 void of afFedion. God makes now and 
 then an inftance of grace in them, but 'tis 
 rare. The la ji hour Converts are next to 
 miracles. Mod find how true it is, that 
 Prov.xxix. Joe that hardens his heart, being often re- 
 ^' proved, fldall die imthout remedy. Again, 
 
 (5.) Oh, what fervice mayll thou do 
 for God, when thou ceafeft to be vain be- 
 times 1 Come, my friends, what a heap 
 will every day's little come to in time ? 
 If young perfons would but now begin to 
 be holy, tho' they adt but a little for God 
 every day, it will at length amount to 
 much ; as we fay, he that begins with the 
 fun, will make a long day's journey. Oh, 
 how much do young people do for the 
 devil, in a ftate of fin, when they live 
 long ! how large is the roll of their tranf- 
 
 greffions ? 
 
Childhood and Youth, 283 
 
 greflions ? And how much might they do 
 for God in a ftate of grace ? How many 
 may blefs God for thee? and what apublick 
 bleffing mayft: thou prove? Thou mayft 
 thus be an eminent Saint, much improved 
 for heaven, and abundant in the fruits of 
 righteoufnefs. 
 
 (6.) Our youth. will be the plague, or 
 hope of this land, in this great crifii» 
 Great things are before us j the rapid mo- 
 tion of providence hints no common mat- 
 ters. There have of late been many ways 
 taken to debauch young people in their 
 manners, to prejudice them againft holi- 
 nefs and fobriety. Neverthelefs the holy 
 God has feafoned fome young ones ; there 
 are many looking heaven-ward ; and God 
 feems defigned to reform the reft. Well, 
 whether of thefe two prevail, doth deter- 
 mine England'^ lot. Oh, if our youth 
 grow yet more profligate, God is about to 
 leave us ! If he recover our youth, we 
 may hope he'll yet continue amongft us. 
 Young ones, I would be earneft with you ; 
 for God indicates his mind to 'England by 
 you. Oh ! be you all ready to fay, " Can 
 ** I help to fave a nation ? By the grace 
 " of God I will be one of thofe that will 
 " *' do it ; let Satan, and the world, and 
 " the flefh ftruggle with me as they can." 
 
 (7.) This youthful vanity continued 
 in, will be the grief and wounding of thy 
 age, though thou fhouldft: be converted 
 
 then. 
 
284 ^^ Vmilty of 
 
 then. Little do you now know, what 
 youthful fins may cofl you in old age. 
 Job xiii. T^hou makejl me to pojj'efs the i?2iqmties of my 
 ^^' youth J fays Job. Oh ! how bitter will 
 the remembrance of paft villanies be ? 
 How wilt thou tremble, to think thou 
 haft help'd any one in the way to hell, 
 when thou thy felf art got out of that 
 road ? How will it grieve thee, to think 
 thou haft been a means to damn any foul ? 
 Can it be a little thing to thee ? The joy of 
 late Converts is abated by the thoughts of 
 youthful fins. Paul carry'd it to the grave 
 with him, that he was a perfecutor in his 
 youth. Believe me. Sirs, the evidence of 
 our converfion, when late, is more than 
 made up by the innocency of our lives, 
 when converted young : And they are to 
 blame, who feem to complain, that grofs 
 villanies have not made their change more 
 remarkable. 
 
 Thus I have done with theory? Sort I 
 was to fpeak to : God grant, it may be to 
 fuch purpofe, that none may go out of this 
 place unwearied and unrefolved ; unwea- 
 ried with his vanity, and unrefolved to put 
 an end to it ! And now, 
 
 [2.] As to thofe of yen ^ who are through 
 grace delivered from this vanity. 
 
 Before I enter on this, I muft declare, 
 you are our joy^ and our crown. I would 
 I could fpesk it of every one here to day : 
 
 Oh^ 
 
Childhood and Tenth, 285 
 
 Ob, that every young one in this place 
 were of this number ! You are our com- 
 fort, that God has fome to propagate re- 
 ligion when we are dead and gone. How 
 lovely is God's image in your tender years! 
 Your grace is lefs queftionable now, than 
 it would be if you were aged. I fay, 
 your converlion is more evident now ; for 
 you are now in your health and heat ; 
 you are now under the force of tempta- 
 tion J you are not decrepit, and aged, and 
 under the government of fear, as old folks 
 be. Oh, my friends ! what but Grace 
 could win your confent to Chrift now, 
 when the devil and the world are ftrongly 
 bidding for it ? You are like to reap the 
 largeft harveft, becaufe you have the long- 
 eft feed- time. You young ones that do 
 fear the Lord betimes, you are like to be 
 the more remarkable in heaven. All the 
 bleffings that belong to the oldeft Saint, 
 belong to you j and Chrift as truly loves 
 you. The youngeft believer in this place 
 may rejoice in all the fulnefs of Chrift, as 
 his ftore-houfe and fecurity ; he may read 
 over all the greateft promifes of the gofpel 
 with comfort, as his own. We blefs God 
 for you : Blefs God for your felves, that 
 he hath adopted you for his fo foon, and 
 thereby prevented much fin, and made 
 you early bleffings. For your fake we 
 hope, the Gofpel will not be removed from 
 'England : How happy are each of you ? 
 
 Your 
 
2 86 The Vanity of 
 
 Your parents can die comfortably, now 
 that you are in Chrift. Your friends look 
 with joy upon you, as fecure in your bet- 
 ter part. Oh the comfortable afped: that 
 every fuch foul affords 1 
 
 I WILL give you a few words of ad- 
 vice ; and let them be attended to, and 
 carefully obferved, as DtreSiiom to fuch as 
 are converted in their youth, 
 
 I. Be watchful over your fclves, be- 
 caufe fome vanity remains in the beft while 
 here, Satan would more gladly overcome 
 you than others ; and he knows there's 
 matter for temptation to work on in thee. 
 Youthful years are fubjedt io youthful lufls : 
 sTim. iJ. y^yj^g q'ijjjQtJjy himfelf was warned of 
 
 them by wikPaul. Therefore don't venture 
 on occafions of vanity j don't venture 
 into temptations to fin : Nothing but 
 perfect Grace perfedly heals the Sin of 
 your conftitution. Young ones, you don't 
 think you are perfedt! you are not thorough- 
 ly cleari j therefore walk carefully, walk 
 v/atchfuUy. Take care of voluptuoufnefs, 
 for there is fome unrulinefs in thy appetite 
 ftill : Take care of wanton dalliance, and 
 *-Tim. V. walk with all purity, for there is ftill fome 
 difpoiition to uncleannefs. Still take care 
 of evil company ; for youth may be en- 
 fnared, though they are good : Avoid all 
 ♦ frothy fociety, for youth is apt to be per- 
 fuaded to lofs of time and levity : There- 
 fore walk with watchfulnefs in whatever 
 
 you 
 
Childhood and Youth, 287 
 
 you are doing. You are not in heaven, 
 though in a ftate of grace ; you are not 
 perfed, though upright j therefore keep a 
 jealous eye, while your green years con- 
 tinue. 
 
 2. Keep humble and modeft as to 
 your opinions y for Truth admits the dif- 
 quifuions of age and a long ftudy. Young 
 people think every notion they have gotten 
 is infallible ; and every plaufible reafon is 
 with them unanfwerable. But let me tell 
 you, you will change your judgments, it 
 may be before you die : And too qpuch 
 confidence in youth, leads a man to Scepti- 
 
 cifm in age : Be not -wife therefore in your^^' ^^^' 
 own conceits. You are fubjed: to error j in 
 deep things your knowledge can be but 
 fuperficial j if you live long, you will blufh 
 at your prefent confidence : And therefore, 
 don't prefently take up notions ; deter- 
 mine not baflily difficult points. Make 
 no noife about fingular opinions, and do 
 not rafhly cenfure men that are wife and 
 aged J whofe deep thoughts are preferable, 
 to a voluble tongue, or luxuriant fancy. 
 
 3. Design and furnifh yourfelves for 
 great fervice for God in the world. I would 
 earneftly befpeak a mercy for the next age: 
 Refolve an eminency in holinefs. I would 
 have every young convert here refolve to 
 be one of the higheft faints. Refolve to do 
 much for God's name and gofpel j and if 
 you have hopeful abilities, refolve to be 
 
 great 
 
288 ^e Vanity of 
 
 great biefiings to your country ; fide with 
 the beft caufe, and the beft men. You may 
 live to have greater opportunities to ferve 
 God, than we have bad j you may do fo, 
 and I hope you will do fo. The Lord fur- 
 nifli our youth with abiUties tranfcendent 
 to ours, as their work is Hke to be above 
 ours ! Oh my friends, I would have you 
 therefore prepare your felves j get your 
 heads well enlightened, get your hearts 
 well enflamed with Love to God and men. 
 Labour to be induftrious in your calling, 
 thattyou may have eftates to do good 
 withal ; for idlenefs and wafte make per- 
 fons top poor to do great fervice ; whence 
 they live as (hrubs though planted young. 
 Study good Catechifms, as a guard againft 
 errors. Lay up rules of prudence for your 
 converfation, but beware of craftinefs and 
 little bafe defigns. Obferve your conftitu- 
 tion, that ficklinefs may not prevent your 
 ufe. Get fuch an elocution, as may give 
 advantage to what you fpeak, ^c. 
 
 4. Admit the helps, and put your 
 felves under all the inftituted engagements 
 of Chrjft's members. 
 
 Admit the helps.— Sirs, we have good 
 books; fee that you carefully per ufe them : 
 Read the Scriptures ; ay, and labour to 
 zTim. ili.be Well furniflVd, and flcill'd in them from 
 15- your youth. Set your felves to hear Ser- 
 mons ; efpccially put your felves under the 
 labours and condudt of the beft Minifters. 
 
 Contrive 
 
Childhood and Youth, 289 
 
 Contrive every one of you to fit under 
 that MIniftry, that truly underftands, and 
 plainly and powerfully urges, the great 
 things of the Gofpel, njiz. the myfteries, 
 promifes, and laws of our Redeemer. I 
 tell you why I fay this ; young ones are 
 apt to like the Preacher, that has fancy 
 rather than weight, ftrong affedions ra-' 
 ther than judgment ; that has vain jingles 
 rather than folid truth -, and that is earneft 
 for fmall matters above elfentials. Oh 
 take it fronl me to day ! all hearers fa- 
 vour of their Paftor. Give me therefore 
 a Faftor, that's likeft to ripen for a heaven- 
 ly life, and not to amufe me with little fine- 
 fpun notions, where light carries not its 
 evidence. Prefer moderate Paftors above 
 others ; men who are more intent on the 
 great things of the gofpel, than lefTer mat- 
 ters; men who allov/ for different con- 
 ceptions in others, knowing themfelves to 
 be imperfei5l ; men who infift on no terms 
 of, or bars to, communion, but what 
 Chrift hath made. If God do not deliver 
 the growing age from a contentious, divi- 
 ding, uncharitable temper, I (liall fay, 
 the next fiery ftruggles will hazard the life 
 of religion, and facrifice Love (the very 
 heart of religion,) to every trifle, and to dif- 
 putable notions, which hath forely wound- 
 ed us. Value moderate men ; wife men 
 are always fuch. Your furious dividing 
 ' U Bigot 
 
29^ 'The Vanity of 
 
 Bigot is unacquainted with liimfelf, and M 
 incapable of taking up the body of divine 
 truths, as they ftand in their order and place. 
 Hence one thing fills h?s mind, and that' 
 commonly the leaft ; and all his zeal is laid 
 out in that, while he confounds truth 
 and error. Few m6n have heads clear' 
 enough to diftinguifh truth. Truth and 
 error lie oft fo near, that the man who has 
 not the cleareft judgrtient, and the con- 
 dud: of the Spirit, will eafily fail ; much 
 more fuch whofc parts afe low, and whofd 
 uncharitable temper excludes the afliftan'- 
 ces of the Spirit. 
 
 Further, I call you young ones td 
 attend at the Lord's /upper. You are de- 
 dicated to God by baptifm, in the right 
 of your parents : That was not thy adt, 
 but theirs for thee -, that was not in thy 
 own right, but in thy parents right. The 
 firfl: folemnizing of thy own profefHon is 
 at the Lord's table, or in order to it j 
 therefore I call you to make confcience of 
 that. Young people, I fay, make confcience 
 of it. I tremble to think, how we dif- 
 fer from the church in former ages j that 
 people now (hould be fo backward to at- 
 tend the Lord's fupper. 
 
 Obj, But fome may objedl, " Pray 
 ** how old mufl we be, that come to the 
 « table of the Lord ? ^ 
 
 An/ 
 
Childhood and Touth, 29 £ 
 
 'Anf. I ANSWER, he is old enough, 
 that can give evidence of his confent to 
 be the Lord's, and when he can adl the 
 graces that belong to a Sacrament, and 
 improve the matter contained therein: 
 "Whenever any can do this, age is no 
 obftacle. I would not fcruple one of 
 fourteen, no more than I would one of 
 fifty, where there's a credible profeflion 
 of grace, and a competent knowledge of 
 the great efTentials of religion, and a con- 
 verfation fuited to it. Therefore, my 
 friends, make confcience of this great 
 duty ; for I am afraid, our young profef- 
 fors remain giddy, for want of this and of 
 paftoral conduct. I fear, you v^z.w\.ftrengtb 
 for want of this ; and comfort for want of 
 this; and Satan has great advantage a- 
 gainft our young profeflbrs, becaufe they 
 are not more eftablifhed and ileady than 
 they be. Therefore if thou haft given 
 up thy felf to be the Lord's ; and if God 
 has enlightened thy mind to underftand 
 the great things of the Covenant; thou 
 haft a claim, and thou oughteft to make 
 it. Sure thou art old enough to confent 
 to be Chrift's, when thou art fit to give 
 thy felf in marriage. 
 
 5. Dispose of your felves to the grea- 
 
 teft fafety, and the moft ufefulnefs. You 
 
 that 2iXQJervantSt chufe no family where 
 
 God is not worfliipped ; for a-€Urfe and a 
 
 U 2 fnare 
 
292 Ithe Vanity of 
 
 fn^re Is there, befides the want of thofe 
 daily helps which you ftand in need of. 
 You that are changing your dwellings, go 
 to no place where the gofpel is not; 
 live not in a country where Chrift is a 
 ftranger as to his inftitutions. You young 
 ones that are about marrying! Be fure 
 that Grace be the firft thing that you pro- 
 
 V.^^*"- vide for. God knows, how much eafier 
 it is to ftifle good beginnings, than to 
 conquer riveted cuftom ; and it's much 
 eafier to be overcome by a bad wife, than 
 a, bad wife to be converted by a good huf- 
 band. Know this, my friends, he that 
 does not wifely contrive for his foul, as a 
 man in danger, will rue it fooner or later, 
 God is not bound to help us, when we 
 run out of his way. 
 
 6. Reckon upon a world of trou- 
 bles and fnares, and be ftill preparing for 
 them. Oh young people, be every day 
 arming your felves, for you may be every 
 . day attacked. Don't promife your felves 
 
 33. ' ■ too ferene a flate on this fide heaven : In 
 the ".vorld you fiall have trouble. Thy 
 work is a warfare, and holds for life ; 
 temptations will affault, difappointments 
 and fcandals will try ; the beft men may 
 be a flumbling-block : Be fit for every 
 thing, and refolved to hold on thy way. 
 It is hard work ; but Chrift hath under- 
 taken to alTift thee, and heaven is worth 
 
 thy 
 
Childhood a7td Youth, 293 
 
 thy labour. Oh do not think and act, 
 as if you were to have your refting place 
 here, where Satan hath fo much power, 
 and fin fo great an intereft ! 
 
 7. Still grow in grace, and ufcful- 
 nefs, with age. Though thou art good 
 for thy time, thou art not fo good as thou 
 mayft be, nor oughtefl to be ; much lefs 
 fo good as you fhould refolve to be. Oh 
 let not age's dulnefs be reproached by the 
 vigour of your efpoufah ! Take care, that jer. w. 2. 
 time adds to thy light, to thy love, to thy 
 flrength and fruit. Move heaven-ward, 
 
 as days are prolonged. 
 
 8. Familiarize the Word as your 
 inftrudtor and monitor. How JJjould ^pfai. cxlx. 
 yowig man clean] e his ivay, but by taking 9- 
 heed to the IVord? Let the Word ht the 
 
 man of thy coiinfel', take the Scripture for 
 thy rule, and refolve to live by it. Oh 
 fervants ! look what God makes your duty Col. iii. 
 in Scripture j will that allow you to be ^^' 
 idle, infolent, or wafteful? Children^ ^^^ Eph vi 
 what God makes your duty to your pa- i. 
 rents, and to your other relations: May 
 you be rebellious, unkind? &c. The 
 Word is the true meafure and light. . A- 
 las ! the oldeft of us are fure to flumble 
 without the Word j what then can young 
 ones do ^. Therefore ftudy the Scriptures 
 more, fearch therUy and labour in every 
 thing to manage your felves by them. 
 U 3 Sirs, 
 
294- ^^^ Vajtity of 
 
 Sirs, I would have no one here ignorant 
 of a Rule proper to moft of the exigen- 
 cies of his life ; and let that be ftill be- 
 fore thy eyes. I will give you young 
 people one adince, that may do you good 
 all your days, and that's this: I would 
 have you all conlider what temptations 
 you are like to meet with, and what are 
 the duties you are like to be called to ; 
 always have an apt Scripture lodged in 
 thy mind, fuitable to each of thefe ; and 
 refolve to do nothing, purpofe nothing, 
 before thou haft firft coniulted that Scrip- 
 ture in thy mind : This would be a ftat- 
 ed v/ay of avoiding much fin. Young 
 people 1 you that are in Chrift, labour to 
 live to ihefe rules. 
 
 I SHALL now conclude: I have been 
 plainly telling all of you, Childhood and 
 youth are vanity. You all come vain into 
 the world, (j'c. Are you altered, or are 
 you not ? Do you ftill grow more vain, 
 or more ferious ? Should God come this 
 day, and divide this aflcmbly, and fet the 
 Vciin on the right hand, and the ferious on 
 the left ; O child, O young man, on 
 which fide wouldft thou be found ? Oh 
 put it to your felves j what anfwer canft 
 thou return ? Wilt thou go away and 
 refolve to be as vain as ever, after all 
 that has been faid ? If that be thy re^ 
 folve, would to God thou hadft not been 
 
 here I 
 
Childhood and ToUth. 295 
 
 here ! this Sermon will be a thorn in thy 
 fide for ever. But if from what has been 
 faid, you go away refolving through 
 grace to be faithful in the practice of all 
 thefe diredions, given you for the cure of 
 your vanity ; then thou wilt have caufe 
 for ever to blefs God for the 25 th of JD/- 
 cember, 1600. 
 
 KJ 4 A Youth** 
 
Youth's Catechifm. 
 
 Queft. 
 
 HAT artthou^ 
 
 Anfw. I AM a crea- 
 ture endued with rea- 
 fon, who mufl be in 
 heaven or in hell for 
 ever. "Rom. ii. 9, 10. 
 Q. Who made thee f 
 A. God made me ; by whofe power 
 every creature was made. ]fa,x\v. 12. 
 Q:^ What is the God that made thee ? 
 A. God is a Spirit perfedly good, great, 
 wife, holy, prefent every Vv'here, and with- 
 out beginning or ending. 
 
 Q^ How many Gods be there ? 
 A. There is but one true God, Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Spirit, i Cor. viii. 6. i 
 yohnv. 7. 
 
 Q^ What did God mah flee for ? 
 A. God made me to bring him glory, 
 and to be happy in him. Rom. xi. 36. 
 
 • CXJ^Vhcre 
 
A Tout IS s Catechifm* 297 
 
 Q^^Wbere may you know how to bring 
 glory to Gody and to be happy in him ? 
 . A. In my Bible, where he declares his 
 nature, and his will. 2 T/w. iii. 16, 17. 
 
 Q. What condition was mankind created 
 in ? 
 
 A. God made all of us holy and hap- 
 py in Adam our firft father, and common 
 head. Reel. vii. 29. Gen. \. ij. 
 
 Q:_jBy what rule did God govern all men 
 in Adam ? 
 
 A. God required finlefs obedience, as 
 a condition of life, and denounced death, 
 if man (liould in any thing break his law. 
 Gen. ii. 17. Gal. iii. 10. 
 
 Q. Did mankind continue holy and happy ^ 
 by a perjeSi obedience to this law of inno- 
 cency ? 
 
 A. No : Adam finned againfl God, 
 and thereby he corrupted the human na- 
 ture, and became fubjed to all the mifery 
 which the law threatned againfl fin. Rom. 
 V. 12, 18, 19. 
 
 Cl^What condition wert thou born in ? 
 A. I WAS born in a very miferable and 
 finful condition. Eph. ii. 3. Pfal.W. 5. 
 
 (X^How camefi thou to be born in this con- 
 dition ? 
 
 A. I MUST be miferable, if finful ; 
 and I could not but be born finful, becaufe 
 my nature was depraved in Adam, from 
 whom it defcends fo to me by the line of 
 my forefathers*. Job xiv. 4. and xxv. 4. 
 
 Q^Why 
 
298 A Youth* s Catechifm. 
 
 Q^ Why mil ft thou be fmful, becaufe thy 
 nature ivas at firft depraved ? 
 
 A' God enadted this as the law of ge- 
 neration, that Adam (houid beget his chil- 
 dren in natural likenefs. Gen. v. 3. 
 
 Q^ What if thou flmildjl die in that cork- 
 dition ivherein thou ivert born by nature ? 
 
 A, I SHOULD be undone, and be with 
 the devils in hell for ever, Johfi'm. 5, 36. 
 Horn. V. 17, 18. 
 
 Q^ Doth the law of innoccncy provide no 
 way for thy deliverance out of that mifcry ? 
 
 A' The law of inno,cency provides no 
 \5^ay for my deliverance out of this mife- 
 ry, as great and dreadful as it is. Rom, ii). 
 19, 20. Gal. iii. 21, 22. 
 
 Q^Why doji thou think fo ? 
 
 A. Because the law of 'innocency ad- 
 mits no pardon, but condemns for one 
 fin j and I daily find that I have many 
 fins. Rom» iii. 23. yam. iii. 2. 
 
 Q^ Is there no way then to avoid that 
 Jin and mifery thou wert born in ? 
 
 A. Yes ; there is, by the rich mercy of 
 God, a way to fave loft finners. Rom. \i\u 
 3. I Tim.'i. 15. 
 
 Q. What is the way which God hath 
 contrived to fave loft [inner i ? 
 
 A. Th e way of pardon and reconcilia- 
 tion revealed in the gofpel. Rom. iv. 7; 
 2 Tim. \. 10. 
 
 CX^How did God appoint a way ofpar^ 
 don md reconciliation ? 
 
 A. The 
 
A YoutJjs Catechifm. 299 
 
 A. The Father appointed his Son to 
 be the Saviour of iinners, and Chrift ac- 
 cepted of that work under certain terms 
 agreed on between them both. Zech, vi. 
 13. John xvii. 3, 20, 21, 25. 
 
 Q. ^hat was appointed to^ and wider- 
 taken by Chri/iy as Saviour or mediator ? 
 
 A. Christ was to ailume our nature, 
 and therein to fulfil all righteoufnefs, and 
 die a facrifice for our fins, and to fave all 
 the eledt committed to him. J/d. liii. 5. 
 John X. 15, 16. 
 
 Q^ fi^hat was promifed to Chrijiy as the . 
 reward of his undertaking ? 
 
 A. There was promifed to Chrift, be- 
 fides the glory of his perfon, as God-Man, 
 that his obedience and fufi^erings (hould be 
 accepted as an efFedtual price for the re- 
 conciliation of all fuch finners to whom 
 it was applied. IJd. liii. 10, 11, 12. 
 
 (X^fVas there nothing elfe promifed ta 
 Chriji, with refpeB to the eleB ? 
 
 A. All the abfolute promifes of grace 
 in order to the application of his blood, 
 were made to Chrift. Gal. iii. 16. 2 Cor. 
 i. 20. 
 
 Q^ Did our Lord Jefus fulfil all righ- 
 teoufnefs^ and make his foul an offering for 
 /in ? 
 
 A, He did ; and thereby honoured the 
 law, and vindicated the government of 
 pur Creator, notwithftanding his gracious 
 
 dealings 
 
300 A Youth's Catechifm. 
 
 dealings with finners. Mat. iii. 15. ^ohn 
 xix. 30. Ifa, xlii. 21. Heh. ix. 14, 28! 
 
 Q^JlVhen Chriji had thus made atone- 
 ment, was he fufficient to be a Saviour ? 
 
 A. Yes : JFor, (i.) He hath the Spirit 
 and a fulnefs of grace, with a right to 
 give thereof to men. (2.) All jadgment 
 is committed to him whereby he is the 
 law-giver to a finful world. And, (3.) 
 By the fulnefs of his merits he hath par- 
 don, peace, and eternal life to difpofe of, 
 notwithftanding we had forfeited all into 
 the hands of our Creator. 'John xvi. 14. 
 yohn i. 16. John v. 22. Heh, v. 9. Heh. 
 vii. 25. 
 
 Q^^What more is necefjary to refiore the 
 happinefs of lojl man ? 
 
 A. The application of the effeds of 
 Chrrft's fulnefs to their perfons, that they 
 may be regenerated, pardoned, and faved. 
 Horn. v. 1 1. A5ls\\, 38. 
 
 (X^What 'way doth Chriji take to apply 
 his merits for the falvation of finners ? 
 
 A. He ena(5teth and publifiieth a law 
 of grace, wherein he promifeth pardon 
 and life to fuch finners as will accept of 
 him as a Saviour on the terms of the gof- 
 pel. Heb.x'u 6. Johnui, 16, 17, i'6.Rom. 
 iii. 26. 
 
 Q^ What are the terms of the gofpel ? 
 
 A. True repentance, faith in Chrifl-, 
 and fincere obedience. A^s iii. 19. A^s 
 xvi. 31, Acis XX. 21, Heh. v, 9. 
 
 Q^What 
 
A Toutljs CatechiffH* 301 
 
 Q:_ What is repentance ? 
 
 A, A SORROW for, and the feparatlon 
 of the heart from fin, as the greateft evil. 
 'Jer. xxxi. i8. 
 
 Q^What is faith in general ? 
 
 A. Such alight of things revealed in 
 the Word, as powerfully affeds the heart 
 fuitably to the nature of them. Heb,x\. i, 
 
 Q^ What is faith in Chrift ? 
 
 j^. Such a fight of, and regard to 
 Chrift, as caufeth the humbled foul to ac- 
 cept of, and come to him as our Prophet, 
 Prieft, and King, fohn'i. 12. Mat. XI.2S, 
 
 Q^ What is it to come to Chriji as a 
 Prophet ? 
 
 A, To yield up our felves to his teach- 
 ings, believing him infiillible, fohn vi. 45, 
 68, 69. 
 
 CX^What is it to come to Chriji as our 
 Prieji? 
 
 A. Under a convidion of our guilt 
 and the fulnefs of his merits, to rely 
 on him, as the only atonement for fin, 
 and purchafer of all good for finners. GaL 
 ii. 16. Rom. iii. 25. 
 
 Q^^JVhat is it to come to Chriji as 
 Kingf 
 
 A. To acknowledge his fole authority, 
 and fubmit to all his laws, unfeignedly re- 
 folving to obey him in every one of his 
 appointments. Adis\x,6. Luke xix. 14, 
 27. Ifa. 1. 10. 
 
 Cl^What elfe doth the gojpel Contain ? 
 
 A. It 
 
^6^ y^ Youth's CatechifnU 
 
 A, It contains a prophetick account 
 of what God decreed, and a tranfcript of 
 what was promifcd to Chrift, with refpe(ft 
 to the Eled ; to fay nothing of dodtrinal 
 myfteries, rules of a chriftian's walk, con- 
 ditional promifes, the danger of finners 
 that rejedt Chrift, Gff. 
 
 (X;^JVhen did this gofpel-rule of life be- 
 gin f 
 
 u4. la the firft promife to Adam after 
 his fall, though the fulleft difcoveries of it 
 were referved till Chrift came in the flefti. 
 Gert. iii. 15. Gai. iii. 8. 2 Tim. i. 10. Heb. 
 ii. 3. 
 
 Q^Did God ever fince the fall propofe 
 any way of Sahationy bejides this law of 
 grace ? 
 
 A, No : And every faved finner was 
 faved by this rule, according to the mea- 
 fure of its difcovery that obtained in every 
 age. I Cor. x. 4. 
 
 Q^How far are all finners that li'ue 
 under this gofpel concerned in it ? 
 
 A. Life throughChrift is freely offered 
 fincerely to every finner that will repent 
 ind believe ; and if they do thus, the 
 want of perfection ftiall not condemn 
 them. ASls iii. 19. A^s x. 43. A^s xvi. 
 30, 31. Rom, iii. 22. 
 
 Q^What if thou doji not accept of Chrifl F 
 
 A. I sHALt be more milerable than 
 if Chrift had never died, i Fet, ii. 7, 8. 
 Mat, 2U. 24. 
 
A YoutBs CatetUfm, jo^. 
 
 Q^/^ the mere enaBing and publiping 
 the gojpel all that Chrijl hath done towards 
 the application oj his merits to eleB fin- 
 ?2ers ? 
 
 A, Besides that, he hath appointed 
 his Spirit to incline their hearts, and effec- 
 tually enable them to obey thole terms 
 which the gofpei requireth. i T^hef. i. 4, 
 5, 6. I Cor. ii. 10. Gal. iii. 14, 
 
 (X-And doth the Spirit thus concur to 
 apply redemption^ and enable them to obey the 
 gofpeH 
 
 A* Yes; and doth not only fliive with 
 them, as he doth with others. 2 Cor, iii. 
 3. I Pet. i. 2. 2 Thef. ii. 13. 
 
 Q^5y what means doth the Spirit work 
 upon Souls F 
 
 A. Principally and moftufuallyhe 
 works by the gofpei itfelf, putting forth 
 his power thereby, as a feed of life. GaL 
 iii. 2. Jam, i. 18. Rom.x. 14. 
 
 Q^By what part of the gofpei doth the 
 Spirit ufually work ? 
 
 A. He is confined to no part ; he works 
 by the precepts, by the account of Chrift's 
 death, by the promifes, threats, or the 
 gteat rewards j yet which ever of thefe he 
 works by, it is purfuant to, and in accom- 
 pliftiment of, the abfolute promifes of grace 
 which were made toChrift. A£is xvi. 30, 
 31. Gal. iii. 29. Gal. iv. 28. 
 
 Q^How dofl thou expe6l to be made wil- 
 ling and able to accept of Chrijl F 
 
 A. Not 
 
2 04 ^ Youth s Catechifm* 
 
 A. Not by any natural power of my 
 own, who am dead in fin ; but by the 
 grace of Chrift cxpreffing itfelf in the 
 operations of the Spirit. £/•/>. ii. i, 5. A5ti 
 V. 31. Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 CX^How doth the Spirit caiife the finner 
 to accept of Chrifi ? 
 
 A. By enlightening the mind, and 
 
 changing the heart in regeneration ; 
 
 . whence there is an inclination, will, and 
 
 ability to accept of Chrill. AB^ xxvi. 18. 
 
 Tilt. iii. 5. 
 
 Q^ i)oth the Spirit nothing in order to 
 the making the Soul earneft and ivilling to 
 this? 
 
 yf. He awakens the foul to a concern 
 for falvation, and a deep fenfe of its prefent 
 mifery without Chrift. A5ls ii. 37. Luke 
 XV. 17. 
 
 Q. What oughteji thou to do on thy part, 
 in order to get this grace f 
 
 A, I MUST not be idle, but I mufl: ( i.) 
 Diligently hear the word. (2.) Pray fer- 
 vently to Chrift for the Spirit's operations. 
 (3.) Confider and bewail my condition. 
 (4.) Put a flop to all ways of lin to my 
 utmoft. (^) Carefully entertain, and im- 
 . prove every motion of the Spirit. And, 
 (6.) Strive with my heart, and urge it 
 with all gofpel arguments to obey the call 
 of Chrift. Pro-u. ii. 3, 4, 5. Mat, xiii. 19. 
 
 Qi. What may a Jinner expeB when he 
 accepteth of Chrifi ? 
 
 A. He 
 
A Touth^s Catechifm. 305 
 
 ' A, He may exped:, (i.) To be united 
 \o Chrift in the neareft relation. (2.) To 
 be admitted into a ftate of pardon and 
 peace. (3.) To be adopted, and made ftlU 
 more conformable to Chrift in grace and 
 holinefs. (4.) To be fupported with 
 ftrength for fervice, and perfeverance. 
 And, (5.) To be partaker, when he dies, 
 of the glory of Chrift in the higheft hea- 
 vens.- Eph. V. 30. Gal. ii. 16. John i. 12. 
 Col, i. II. I John\\\. 2. 
 
 Q^ What is the condition of every fmner 
 till he do accept of Chrijl ? 
 
 A. He abides under the wrath of God, 
 and hath no perfonal title to pardon, peace, 
 or glory. "John'm. 36. 
 
 Q^ h this the condition of the Ele£l while 
 they abide in iinheliej ? 
 
 A, Yes: For though God hath de- 
 creed, and Chrift hath purchafed, faith and 
 life for them ; yet God hath determined by 
 the law of faith, that all are under con- 
 demnation until they do believe. Mark 
 xvi. 16. Xtt^f xiii. 3. hence Rom, v. i. 
 viii. 30. iv. 24. 
 
 Q^ h not a believer pardoned, before he 
 can put forth any other aSls of obedience ^ 
 
 A. Though true faith is a certain prin- 
 ciple of obedience, yet as foon as we be* 
 lieve, we are pardoned j even before there 
 fcan be any time to put forth any other ads 
 of obedience. Gal. v. 6. 
 
 X Q^Do 
 
3o6 A ToutFs Catechifm. 
 
 Q^ Do reppitanu or faith any way make 
 fatisf'aBion to juftice f . 
 
 A. No : That is only Chrlft's work ; 
 but God hath appointed, that that foul 
 (hall repent and believe, on whom pardon 
 for Chrlft's fake fliall be beftowed j and he 
 hath folemnly declared he'll forgive no 
 man till then. Mark xy'u 16. Rom. xi. 20, 
 23. Heb.'w. 6. 'John viii. 24. Rom. x, 13, 
 16. I Fet.\\. 7, 8. hence Gal. ii. 16. 
 
 Q. What a^urance haft thou^ that God 
 will forginjc and fa've thee ij thou believe f 
 
 A. I HAVE God's teftimony, and pro- 
 mife ; and the leals of the covenant, viz. 
 baptifni and the Lord's fupper. i John v. 
 9, 10. ABs xxii. 16. Luke xxii. 20. Rom, 
 iv. II. 
 
 Q^ Art thou engaged to accept of, and 
 fubmit to Chrifi according to the gojpel f 
 
 A. Yes, I am ftrongly engaged to fub- 
 mit to Chrift, becaufc he bought me with 
 his blood, my parents dedicated me to 
 him in baptifm, and love to my own foul 
 requires it. Rom. xiv. 9. Mat, xxviii. 19. 
 Eizek, xxxiii. 1 1. 
 
 Q^ On what account wert thou hap^ 
 tifed? 
 
 A. My believing parents were allowed, 
 and engaged to dedicate me to God as 
 their child ; and God gracioufly admitting 
 the infant feed of believers into covenant, 
 as part of themfelves, did feal to me thofe 
 bleffings which my infant flate needed, 
 
 and 
 
A Toutlis Catechifm, 307 
 
 and was capable of. Dent, xxix. ir, 12. 
 Gen. xvii. 7. ASis ii. 39. i Cor. vii. 14. 
 
 Q. /^/6j/ ^o/Z? /^d? covetiant bind thee to ? 
 
 ^. To be the Lord's, in a iincere care 
 to know, love, believe, obey, worfliip and 
 ferve him all my days, and to depend on 
 God through Chrift for all happinefs. 
 Ezek. xvi. 8. Rom. xii. i. Rom. vi. 4. 
 
 Q^ What did]} thou engage againfl ? 
 
 A, I ENGAGED againft being governed 
 by Satan, or the fle(h, as my rulers j and 
 againft taking up with the world's goods as 
 my portion, and againft the cuftoms of 
 the men of this world as my guide. Rom^ 
 
 vi. 14, 15- 
 
 Q. When ought a child to ' knowy confi- 
 der, and agree to this covenant ? 
 
 A. As loon as he is capable to ufe his 
 reafon, and judge of good or evil, which 
 many are fit to do about feven years old, 
 2 Tim. iii. 15. Pfal. xxxiv. i f. 
 
 Q^fVhat if a child through the love of 
 Jin, or vanity oj mind, will not agree to 
 this covenant 'when he is capable f 
 
 ^. He then rejedleth Chrift our Savi* 
 our, and renounceth the bleffings of the 
 gofpel. 2 Pet. ii. i. 
 
 Q^/i it a great fm to refufe to agree to 
 this covenant, to which thy baptifm engaged 
 thee ? 
 
 A. It's the damning fin, and the heart 
 of all fin; for, (i.) It's rebellion conti- 
 nued againft my maker. (2.) It's ingrati- 
 X 2 tude 
 
308 A YoutFs Catechifm, 
 
 tude and perjury to my redeemer. (3.) It's 
 grofs injuftice to my parents. (4.) It's an 
 affront to all the Godly. And, (5.) It's a 
 felf-killing cruelty to my own foul. PJal, 
 ii. 3, &c. 
 
 Q^ When wilt thou perfonaUy confent t9 
 this cove?Janty as the only way of' life to Jin^ 
 ners ? 
 
 A. I WILL truly with my whole foul 
 confent now, and live expreffing my con- 
 fent : And as foon as I underftand how to 
 improve the Lord's fupper, I will by 
 Chrift's help folemnly renew it there. 
 
 Q^ Ought you upon every fault to quefiion 
 your interefl in this covenant ? 
 
 A, Though I ought to bewail every 
 fin, and feek pardon by faith in Chrift^'s 
 blood J yet I fliould not doubt my cove- 
 nant intereft, unlefs my fault be fuch as 
 gives juft caufe to quefiion whether my 
 confent was ever fincere. Ffal. xxxii. 5. 
 Mat. vi. 12. Pfal. xviii. 21, 22, 23. 
 
 Cl^What is the bejl joy and pleafure in 
 this life ? 
 
 A. The deep fenfe of God's love, and 
 the lively hopes of glory, i Pet. i. 8. 
 
 Q^Vhat jhoiildfi thou be moft afraid of 
 in this World ^ 
 
 A, Of fin ; becaufe that provokes my 
 God, and is the caufe of all mifery. Rom. 
 vi. 23. Heb. xii. 15. 
 
 Q^ What mufi thou do to hep from fin ? 
 
 M* (i.) 1 MUST believe every thing to 
 
 be 
 
A ToutFs Catechtfm. 309 
 
 be a fin, which is againft the word of 
 God. (2.) I mud humbly look to Chrift 
 for ftrength. (3.) I muft avoid all occa- 
 fions which lead to fin. And, (4.) I muft, 
 when I am tempted, conlidcr what a dan- 
 gerous and evil thing (in is, and refolve 
 againft it. i "John iii. 4. 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. 
 Gen. xxxix. 9, 10. 
 
 Q^ What is the Jin that moll hinden the 
 good of fouls y except unbelief ? 
 
 A, A CARNAL felfiflmefs, which I 
 ought to deny and mortify. Mat. xvi. 24. 
 CX^JVhen is one carnally felfijh f 
 A. (i.) When one is governed by his 
 fleftily appetite, humour, or felf-will. (2.) 
 When he inordinately purfues the things 
 of the prefent life. And, (3.) .When he 
 loves carnal felf above God. Deut. xxix. 
 19. 2 Fet. ii. 10* 2 T^im. iii. 2, 4. 'Jam, 
 iv. 4. 
 
 Q^ What he the /ins which prcfeji?2g 
 Chriftians are moft fubjeB to ? 
 
 A. Hypocrisy, formality, cenforiouf- 
 nefs, and divifions. 2 'Tim. iii. 5. Rev, 
 iii. I. Mat. xv, 8. Rom. xiv. 3, 10. 1 Cor, 
 xi. 18. 
 
 Q;^ ^ho are hypocrites f 
 A. They whofe hearts are not truly 
 changed by grace, and who allow them- 
 felves in any known fin, or are feem- 
 ingly religious from fome carnal end. Rev, 
 jii. I. Mat. xxiii. 25. 27. Mat, vi. 5. 
 Q^What is formality ? 
 
 . X 3 ^. Ta 
 
310 A YoutKs Catechifm, 
 
 A. To be fatisfied with the bare out- 
 ward doing of the duties of religion, 
 while the heart is not anfwerably affeded, 
 or employed. Hof, vii. 14. Mai i. 8, 
 
 ^^l^^herem lies the life and power of 
 religion ? 
 
 A. (i.) In mortifying fin. (2.) In ex- 
 ercifing grace for more communion with 
 God. (3.) In love to God, which is holi- 
 nefs. And (4.) In love to men, which will 
 keep from hurting them, and incline us 
 to feek their good. CoL iii. 5. i T?w. iv. 7. 
 I Cor, xiii. 3,6. 
 
 Q^ Who arc the happiejl perfom in the 
 world F 
 
 A. They that have mofl grace, and 
 do mofl good. 
 
 CX^Who are the hopefullcfi children ? 
 
 A, They that are mofl afraid of fin- 
 ning, and are mofl induftrious to know 
 and love God, and become like to 
 Chrjfl. 
 
 Q^ What graces mofl adorn children ? 
 
 -^.Humility, meeknefs, and teach- 
 ablenefs. 
 
 Q. What mufl thou do when thou wanf^ 
 ejl any good f 
 
 A. I MUST in the name of Chrifl pray 
 carneflly to God, who is ready to give 
 whatever good thing I need. Phil, iv. 6. 
 John xiv. 13. Mat. vii. 1 1. 
 
A ToutFs Catechifm, 311 
 
 Q^From what doft thou receive all good . 
 things ? 
 
 A. From God my Father, who gra- 
 cioufly beftows whatever I have for foul 
 or body. 'Jam, i. 17. 
 
 Q^PFhat doji thou owe to God for his 
 daih mercies ? 
 
 A. (i.) I MUST love him more. (2.) I 
 muft heartily praife him for his goodnefs. 
 (3.) I muft be more careful to pleafe God. 
 And, (4.) I muft ufe his gifts to his glo- 
 ry, that fo I may be able to give a good ac- 
 count of my talents. Luke xvi. 3,10. 
 • Q;_5^ what figns mayeji thou try the 
 fiate of thy foul^ whether thou art a true 
 Chriftian or no ? 
 
 A. I MUST faithfully and oft examine 
 my heart and ways by thefe things : 
 
 (i.) Do I love God above all things, 
 and delight in the thoughts of him ? Mat, 
 X. 27 I Cor. viii. 3. Pfal. civ. 34. 
 
 (2.) Do I unfeignedly accept of, and 
 fubmit to the Lord Jefus, as my full and 
 only redeemer? yohn i. 12. Pfil. ciii. 3. 
 
 (3.) Is there no fin which I live under 
 the dominion of? Rom.v'u 16. fam, ii. 10, 
 2 Sam. xxii. 24. 
 
 (4 ) Have I a fincere regard to every 
 command of Chrift ? Luke i. 6. Pfal, xviii. 
 22. 
 
 (5.) Are my aftedions more fet on 
 heaven than on this world? Luke xii. 34 
 
 X 4 (6.) Are 
 
312 A TotitFs Catechifm. 
 
 (6.) Are the thoughts of heaven fwect 
 to me, as it is a ftate of perfedt holinefs, 
 and communion with God and Chrift ? 
 Eph. V. 27. I Cor, xiii. 10. i T^hef. iv. 17, 
 18. 
 
 (7.) Am I thankful for the worft af- 
 flidion, if I find I am better, and liker to 
 Chrift by it? P/iz/. cxix. 71. Heb»x\\* 
 1 1. 
 
 (8.) Do I find a foul-renewing power in 
 the truths and duties of religion ? PfaL 
 cxix. 50. I Pef. ii. 2. 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 
 (9.) Is the fcope of my life and aims, 
 to pleafe and honour God, and be meet 
 for glory ? ^^s xxiv. 16. Luke xii. 43. 
 
 (10.) Do I love the image of Chrift 
 wherever I fee it ? and do good men pleafe 
 me beft, when they moft exprefs the life 
 of Chrift in their fpeech and carriage ? 
 I John iii. 14. Pfal, Ixix. 32. 3 John ver. 
 I, 2, 4. 
 
 (11.) Am I more thankful for an inter- 
 eft in Chrift, than any temporal good ? 
 andam I moft concerned to keep this inter- 
 eft unqueftionable ? Col. i. 12. i Cor. ix. 
 2.7. Heb. iv. I. PJal. cxxxix. 23. 
 
 (12.) Do I find every holy attainment 
 makes me ftill hunger and prefs after more, 
 longing to be perfect ? Phil. iii. 12, 13, 14. 
 Mat. v. 6. 
 
 (13.) Do I carefully approve my felf to 
 God in what I am, and in what I do, 
 defpifing the opinion of men in compa- 
 
 rifon 
 
A Y'outl^s Catechifnu 313 
 
 rifon therewith ? I Cor, iv. 3, 4. 2 Cor. x. 
 
 17,18. 
 
 Q^JVhen thy confcience is helped by the 
 Spirit to fee thefejigns in thee^ what mayejl 
 thou then do F 
 
 A. (i.) I MAY fafely rejoice in all the 
 perfedions of God, and in the fulnefs of • 
 Chrift, as what doth fecuie my happinefs. 
 2 T^im. i. 12. I Cor. i. 30, 31. 
 
 (2.) I MAY comfortably apply to my 
 felf all the promifes made in the gofpel to 
 believers. 2 Cor. vii. r. 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 
 (3.) I MAY admit a holy joy, and ex- 
 pert death without fear. Rom. v. 2, 5, 
 J Cor. XV. SS^ S7' 
 
 The End. 
 
A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 AUTHOR 
 
 O F A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 O F 
 
 FREE-THINKING: 
 
 WHEREIN 
 
 The Christian Religion is vindi- 
 cated, by deteding feveral Abufes of 
 Free- thinking. 
 
 Printed in the Year 1713. 
 
T O T H E 
 
 AUTHOR, &c. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 S remifs as the Zeal for 
 true Chriflianity is at pre^ 
 
 fent^ the jaint Remains of it 
 muft excite fome of different 
 l^^^l^l^^l T>enominations ^ to contend • 
 f^tM'^^^M^I^ jor our common Faith. With 
 this View I publtfl) thefe Sheets, which (ex- 
 cept the firfi Paragraph) were finifhed for 
 my own life, before I faw any of the An- 
 fwers to your Difcourfe, and not a word al- 
 ter d upon reading thofe admirable Tradfs, 
 I hid them ajide to this Time, to fee if I 
 wight be excufed by what fome DifTenters 
 were preparing of the like Nature, But 
 conjidering the prefent State of Things, I 
 think it better y to publifi what I hafiily 
 
 wrote 
 
3i8 To the Author, &'c. 
 
 . wrote hi an infirm State of Healthy than 
 that all of us fiould be filent for fo long time^ 
 as thofe more elaborate Anfwers may require. 
 Intending this Antidote for fuch as may 
 regard what'i ijoritten by a DilTenting Mi- 
 nifter, 1 repent not^ that 1 confined my felf 
 to plain ferious Reafoning. Nor Jljall I ex- 
 amine the ^otationSy becaufe thofe from 
 Heathen Authors -would be of no ufe to mofl 
 of theniy to whom I can hope to be fervice- 
 ahle : And as for the Englifli Writers^ I 
 think Conformifts ivill vindicate them^ for 
 the honour of the Church of England, of 
 which all of them were Members, 
 
 Sir, my Defign by thefe Sheets^ which I 
 direB to yoity is to prove fundry Truths^ 
 and to detedl the weaknefs of the (too oft jo- 
 cular) Infinuations, whereby you attempt to 
 expofe them. Nor can I think it imperti- 
 nent j to produce Scriptures, when I vindicate 
 Chriflian Friendfliip, and prove the'Eitxmiy 
 of Hell-Torments. The SubjeB of our De- 
 bate I judge too awful y to admit my writing in 
 a way favouring of Levity j ajid your felf in 
 CircumfianceSy which require me as a Chrif- 
 tiany neither to harden you by provoking In- 
 JiiltSy or wrathful l^reatment j nor yet to 
 forbear a fober Appeal tH your own Con- 
 fcience. Any Veneration for the mofl high 
 Gody will keep ns from jefling with his 
 Name ; or fporting with the Scriptures, 
 were it for no^ other ReafonSy than that 
 they contain fo ttmch of his undoubted JVilly 
 
 in 
 
To the Author, &c. 319 
 
 m the Morality of them ; and that their 
 aptitude to ferve Divine Purpofei^ is Jb 
 demotifirated by their holy effeBs^ as to ar- 
 gue at leafi a Probability, that the Author 
 of them is no other, than the ever bkjjed 
 and jealous God. 
 
 The vefj Potribility of a Future State of 
 Retribution^ ought to terrifie us from ban- 
 tering Hell-Torments^ and rendering our 
 felves or others obnoxious^ by any Opinions^ 
 or Speeches, which exprefs a contempt of 
 what may prove to be, the DivtJie Govern^ 
 ment, Grace, and Image, 
 
 If you have any certain Evideftce, that 
 the Scriptures are a Forgery, why did not 
 you produce folid Arguments injiead of Ri- 
 dicule ? which can convince no Man, but 
 muft be felt as a Degree of Perfecution, by 
 all who love the Lord fefus and his Gof- 
 pel : And many of thefe are impartial in 
 their Enquiries ; fior is their rational Fa- 
 culty lefs infiruBed by natural Light , by be- 
 ing illuminated by Divine Revelation, and 
 therefore they are as capable of difcerning 
 the evidence oj Truth, as any who appro- 
 priate to themfelves the Title of Free- 
 thinkers. 
 
 Toull find, I grant (what no true Pro- 
 teftant denies) that every man has a right 
 to Free-thinking about Religion : But I 
 propofe fome necejfary Salifications ; for 
 though we are free to think of any SubjeB^ 
 we are not free to think of every SubjeB 
 
 in 
 
320 To the Author, ^c. 
 
 in ivhat Manner ^ and to what purpofes w^ 
 pleafe -, and much kfs to confine Free-think* 
 ing, only to profane Challenges and impious 
 Cenfures of all true Religion -, right Reafon 
 condemns all juch Abujes. 
 
 Ifs our Intereft to confider^ that if men 
 are SubjeSls of Moral Government, there 
 will be a Rule as well as a Time of 'Judg- 
 ment, By this inflexible Rule we fid all be 
 juflified^ or condemned. Truth will then be 
 Truths and Error be Error^ independent 
 on our Apprehenfions. If the Go/pel be 
 found the Rule of fudgment^ you have 
 Caufe for trembling, unlefis God give you 
 Repentance to the acknowledgment of the 
 Truth in this World. But if your Scheme 
 contain that Rule of Judgment, you afiure 
 mCy that I fhall be in no danger by my O- 
 pinion j for I not only think freely, which 
 with you is f'ufiicient j hut unbiajjed by any 
 worldly RefpeBs, I join with my Endea- 
 ' vourSy many fervent Prayers to God, in the 
 Name of Chrifi, that I may be direSied to 
 know {and obey) the whole Mind and Will 
 of Gody fignified either by the Light of Na- 
 ture , or his Revealed Word. Nor can this 
 Addition to what you prefcribe, be dange- 
 rous, feeing you declare, (pag. 33.) If I do 
 my beft, 1 {hall be as acceptable to Godj 
 if I fhould prove miftaken in my Opinions, 
 as if I receive none but right Opinions. 
 May not I hence infer, your Contempt of 
 the Gofpel, as any Means of your Convic- 
 tions, 
 
To the Author, &^c. 321 
 
 tions^ to be Jo far more dangerous^ as to 
 oblige me to pray God foon to enlighten your 
 Mind ? for as yet I hope it's my Duty^ though 
 you Jhould pity my mijlaken Concern for 
 you. 
 
 If Fame reporteth the true Author^ 
 your CharaBer alfo excites me to wifh^ that 
 your bright Parts were employed in De^ 
 fence of the Truth ; that your fober Life 
 were fuflained by a Principle of true Faith ; 
 and that the Publick may not more ways 
 than one^ f^ff^^ h ^^^'-^ Performance of 
 yourSy who are reputed a zealous Lover of 
 your Country, I am. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your faithful Servant, 
 . Daniel Williams. 
 
\-^ 
 
TO THE 
 
 AUTHOR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Difcourfe of Free-Thinking. 
 
 JJI& A D your tDifcoarfe been 
 only a Prefervative from 
 Popijh reflralnts on our 
 thoughts, it had been fea- 
 fonable. But as the plauli- 
 ble Rights of the CImrch un- 
 dermined all Chriftian Ordinances ; foyoa 
 feem, by Free-thinkings to arraign and con- 
 demn the Gofpel and the Chriftian Re- 
 ligion. You can't then blame any, who 
 have founded on thefe all hopes of eternal 
 Life and of prefent Supports, that the 
 following Qupries are propofed. 
 
 Free-thinking is thus defined by 
 
 you, pag. 5. By Free-thinking I mean, the 
 
 JJfe of the Under/landings in endeavouring 
 
 to find out the meaning of any Fropofetion 
 
 Y 2 whatfoever^ 
 
324 -^ Letter on the 
 
 whatfocvery in confidering the Nature of the 
 E'vidence for or againjl it^ and in judg- 
 ing of it according to the feeming force or 
 weaknefs of the Evidence. 
 
 ^. i. Ought not fome Qiialifica- 
 tlons be added, to diflinguifh fober, uieful 
 Free- thinkings from that which is fcepti- 
 cal and dangerous ? Of which hereafter. 
 
 ^/. 2. Do yoii mean only the intrin- 
 fck Evidence of ^vcry. Ibrt of Propofition ? 
 For if you intend this, you exclude Re- 
 velation as a Divine* Teftimony from being 
 any determining Evidence of the truth, of 
 any Do(5trinal Propofition ; unlefs you can ' 
 account for it as true by Human Reafon. 
 For inflance, if God hath revealed ^that 
 the Dead fhall rife again ^ is not this Tefti- 
 mony a fufEcient Evidence of this Truth, 
 though it be an extrinfick Evidence ; and 
 natural Reafon can find no Evidence in 
 the Nature of it, upon which to conclude 
 it, without fuch Revelation ? 
 
 ^<j. 3. If all men have not an equal 
 Degree of Underftanding, nor Advantages 
 to attain the lame Degree of Evidence of 
 a Dodrinal Propofition j will not their 
 Judgment of it proportionably differ, 
 about the meaning, and about the truth 
 of it ? being they cannot judge alike of 
 the force of the true Evidence, or of the 
 weaknefs of the contrary : Nor have they 
 equal Evidences, becaufe of lefTer helps. 
 
 ^u 4. Can any man who rejeds Di- 
 vine 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking. 325 
 
 vine Revelation as jalfe^ j^^^gc aright of 
 all th6 reveal'd Articles of Faith ? feeing, 
 he thinks the Evidence given by Revela- 
 tion to have no force^ and the weakeft 
 Objcdion againft fuch Articles to be con- 
 clufive. 
 
 ^, 5. May not they who judge of 
 a Propofition by the feeming force or 
 weaknefs of the Evidence, be uncertain, 
 and miftake about fome Proportions ? 
 For that Evidence may fcem of force, 
 which is really weak j ^Xi^feem weak^ when 
 it is of more force than what is ofFer'd 
 againfl: it. 
 
 ^«. 6. Is it a certain confequence of 
 any felf-evident Truth, that man's Un- 
 derftanding fince the Fall needs no more 
 help, to fearch the meaning, and judge of 
 the Evidence of what Truth and Duties 
 concern our Recovery ; than it needed 
 before the Fall, to fearch the meaning, 
 and, judge of the Truths and Duties pro- 
 per to a State of Innocency ? Is not the 
 Mind more blind ? Is not the Will by its 
 corrupt Inclinations apt to pervert and pre- 
 judice the Mind, and indifpofe it to that 
 Induftry and Impartiality which are ne- 
 ceffary to fearch and judge of all fuperna- 
 tural Truths? nay, even ofthofe that con- 
 cern the Practice of fuch Virtues, as the 
 very Light of Nature dire(5ts ? How much 
 more then of fuch^ as tranfcend that 
 Light? 
 
 y 3 You 
 
326 A Letter on the 
 
 You tell us, pag. 5. You will prrcc 
 this right to think freely. 
 
 ^. I. If men have a right to fuch 
 Free-thinking about religious matters^ as be- 
 comes fallible men, ferioufly concerned to 
 know Truth in order to Salvation j does 
 it follow, that they have a right to fuch 
 licentious Liberty of thinking, as argues 2, 
 contempt of Religion, and careleffnefs 
 about Salvation ? 
 
 ^. 2. Ought not men, tvhen they 
 would ufe their Underftandings to fearch, 
 in order to judge rightly of Divine Sub- 
 jedts, to fee that their Aims are pious, and 
 not to become fecure in evil Pradices ; 
 to fee, that they be humble, and not 
 proudly conceited ; to fee, that they re- 
 verence Things facred, and indulge not 
 profane Levity, or a fondnefs of Novel- 
 ties, from a difguft of Truths, becaufe 
 long accuftomed to their thoughts, or vul- 
 garly received -, and to fee, that the Mind 
 is open and attentive to receive Light, by 
 all fuch ways as God communicates it ? 
 and not to rejed: Revelation, if he chufe 
 that ? 
 
 ^. 3. Is it rational to think, the 
 Creatures dependance on God is fo incon- 
 fiderable, as that it's needlefs with our en- 
 deavours to find out Truth, to join fer- 
 vent Prayer to God, that he would open 
 pur Underhand ings, to know the true 
 iTieaning of Dodrines, and to make a 
 
 right 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 327 
 
 •right Judgment of what we are examin- 
 ing ? 
 
 ^. 4. Are not blafphemoiis, un- 
 godly, unbelieving Thoughts ftnful^ if in- 
 dulged, though under pretence of Free- 
 thinkings or as the efFed: of that ? 
 
 i^. 5. Ought notfuch as enjoy the 
 benefit of Gofpel - Revelations greatly to 
 fear, that if they fliould not like to retain 
 God in their Knowledge^ by the Evidence 
 of Go/pel- Lights and a Love thereto ; ieft 
 God give them up to a reprobate Mind, 
 and the Lulls of their own Hearts ? For 
 fo he did the Heathen^ who liked not toV.om. i, 
 retain God in their Knowledge^ received by ^^• 
 the Light of Nature j and thofe, who fell 
 MwAtx Jlrong Delu/io7is to believe a Lye, be- a Thef. ii. 
 caufe they received not the Love of Gofpel- ^°' '^* 
 Truths. 
 
 ^. 6. If you confound thefe very 
 different Kinds oi Free-thinkings and meaa 
 to prove, that the ill manner of Free- 
 thinking is proved, by what only proves 
 a warrantable vJ2iy oi Free-thinking:, will 
 not all rational Judges condemn your Rea- 
 fons, as proceeding upon a falfe State of 
 the ^eftion j and be convinced that they 
 conclude no more, than that men have a 
 rights and obligation, only to that Free- 
 thinkings which takes in the before de- 
 fcribed limitations ? 
 
 These hmitations to Free-thinking m 
 
 ijiatters of Religion, are as felf- evidently 
 
 Y 4 true. 
 
328 A Letter on the 
 
 true,, as that men have a right to Free- 
 thinking at all : And to pretend a right to 
 jree-thctights without fuch limitations, Is 
 to claim a right profanely and proudly to 
 fearch for matters to undermine and ban- 
 ter all true Religion ; under the cover of 
 pleading for that Judgment oi private Dif- 
 cretioUy which is allow'd by all true Pro- 
 teftants. Granting therefore the force of 
 moft of your Reafons, to prove, that it is 
 Man's right and duty to think fnely^ un- 
 der the mentioned limitations and adjunds, 
 I {hall remark fome Paffages only, which 
 may appear inconfiftent with that Venera- 
 tion for revealed Truths, that becomes 
 thofe who are profefTed Chriftians. 
 
 You argue, pag. 6. If the Knowledge of 
 no Truth be forbidden us by God, or hurt- 
 ful to us^ then we have a right to know 
 any Truth. 
 
 ^. If God has declared fome Truth 
 in fuch a manner, as to intend our know- 
 ing it at prefent but in party and to be 
 more perfedly known hereafter ; have we 
 a right to know that Truth fully at pre- 
 fent ? Againft whom is that Right plead- 
 able ? Is it againft God, who has made 
 known now as much as fuits our prefent 
 State, though he has bounded our Know- 
 ledge as to what of it is unrevealed, and 
 requires us to know no more than that 
 which is revealed ? 
 
 You 
 
D'tfcourfe of Free -thinking, 329 
 
 You fay, pag, 10. It is impoffible that 
 Gody 'when he condefcends to teach mankind 
 by Writing or Books, fiould write as ill or 
 worfe than mortal Men, and a£i againjl the 
 Rules of Art^ &c. — Pag. 11. To under- 
 ftand the Matter of the Bible, requires the 
 moji thinking oj all other Books ; Jince to 
 be majler of the whole, a Man mujl be 
 able to think jujily in every Science and 
 Art. — Pag. 12. Nay, the Morality of the 
 Holy Scriptures is not to be precifely and 
 difiindily underfiood, without an antecedent 
 Knowledge of Ethicks, ^c. So that no Du- 
 ty whatfoever contained in Scripture, can be 
 precifely and with certainty underjlood^ 
 without a Knowledge of the haw of Na- 
 ture. 
 
 ^u. I. When God by the Bible in- 
 tended to teach men Divinity, and not 
 Trades, or common Arts or Sciences ; is 
 it rational to judge he writes well or ill, 
 by the aptitude of his Writings to inftrudt 
 men in the Knowledge of himfelf and his 
 Will, (which is the end for which he 
 wrote ;) or by the aptitude of his Writings, 
 to inftrudt men in Trades and common 
 Arts and Sciences, which was not his end ? 
 
 ^. 2. When God fent his Word to 
 diredt in the Way of eternal Life, perfons 
 of all countreys and forts. Young and 
 Old, unlearned as well as learned, fim- 
 ple and more intelligent j is the accuracy 
 of Arts y or is a conducivenefs to affe(^ 
 
 and • 
 
2 JO ^ Ijetter on the 
 
 and imprefs all forts^ in order to their 
 compliance with the conditions of Eternal 
 Life, the beji rule of Writing ? The Ex- 
 perience of all pious men (even the moft 
 learned) to this Day determine this. 
 
 ^. 3. Had it become the Majcfty 
 of God, who didlates, and authoritatively 
 commands, what we are to believe and 
 do, to have written otherwife than he 
 did ? 
 
 ^/. 4. The Word being written for 
 all future ages of the World, as well as 
 thofe prefent, and it mentioning occafion- 
 ally fome things in the Sphere of Nature 
 according to the received Opinion of Man- 
 kind in that age ; is it a dishonour to the 
 Word, as a rule of divine faith and man- 
 ners, that we, in after ages, think we are 
 more improved in Natural Philofophy ? By 
 the fame Rule, thofe former ages had then 
 difputed the Truth of the Word, as a 
 rule of divine faith and manners in their 
 time ; and all muft do the fame in fu- 
 ture ages (when they iliall have different 
 notions,) if thofe occafional Expreffions 
 were now accommodated to the prefent 
 prevailing Sentiments. 
 
 ^. 5. May not one think juftly in 
 other Arts and Sciences, and yet be igno- 
 rant of thofe Truths which were princi- 
 pally intended to be taught by the Word r 
 And may not another profitably and faving- 
 ly know thofe Truths, and be very un- 
 
 ildltul 
 
Difcotirfe oj Free-thinking, 331 
 
 fkilful in the other Arts and Sciences ? The 
 inflances are comjiion : The Philofopher 
 flumbling at the Gofpei, from a conceit 
 of his Learning ; the plain Man beheveg, 
 and Hveth the Word. 
 
 %/p 6. Will that man thinJz freely 
 to any great or godly purpofe, who fpends 
 his whole time to be a majler only of 
 thofe parts of the whole Scripture, which 
 he cannot be majler of, unlels as he is able 
 to judge juflly in every Science ? (I writ^ 
 the word majier with dillike.) 
 
 ^i. 7. If an occafional Word in re^ 
 ference to Sailing, Hufbandry, Pharmacy, 
 make a precife Skill in thofe Arts necefTa- 
 ry, to become majler of the whole of the 
 Scripture ; will not the mention oi Chrijl^ 
 Holy Ghofl, ^ngel^ Hea%:en, the ftated 
 T^erm of Life ^ the fudgment Day^ and the 
 like Subjedts, (which include the princi- 
 pal Sum of Scripture, and as to which thofe 
 words referring to Arts are ufed,) make it 
 neceflciry, that we receive Divine Reve- 
 lations, which only can give a certain in- 
 flrudive Account of thefe Things ? And 
 if we cannot comprehend the utmofh of 
 all thofe Revelations, is it not rational 
 humbly to own, that our Ability to judge 
 of fome Parts of thefe fublimer Things, 
 is not (o proportionable to thofe, as it is 
 to mafter fcnfible Arts and human Sci- 
 ences, of which neverthelefs no man is 
 perfect Mafter ? 
 
 % 8. If 
 
332 A Letter on the 
 
 ^. 8. If a man has no antecedent 
 Knowledge of Ethicks^ but acquires it by 
 Study of the Scripture, why may not he, 
 as precifely and certainly underftand the 
 Morality of the Scriptures, as by any other 
 external Means ? For where is the Law of 
 Nature fo fully explained, fo certainly 
 ilated, and particularly applied, as in the 
 Bible ? 
 
 ^. 9. Is not the Senfc of thofe 
 Words very ambiguous, or worfe ; No 
 Duty whatfoever contained in the Scripture^ 
 can be precifely and with certainty under- 
 Jlood, without a Knowledge oj the haw of 
 Nature ? It's true, fome degree of the 
 Knowledge of the Law of Nature is necef- 
 fary, to know the Duties enjoined by that 
 Law ; and yet thofe, as they be recorded 
 in the Scripture, may be known by us as 
 that Law is there explained : But is it 
 therefore true, that the Scriptures contain 
 no Duties but what the Law of hature 
 contains ? Or is it true, that we cannot 
 know thofe additional Duties with certain- 
 ty upon Scripture Evidence ? or that the 
 unwritten Law of Nature can give us a 
 more precife or equal underflanding of 
 thofe Duties, as we may attain by what 
 is recorded, explained, and eflablifhed, by 
 the Scripture Revelation, feeing this is the 
 way by which we come to the firft no- 
 tice, that God requires fuch pofitive Du- 
 ties ? 
 
 You 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking. 333 
 
 You argue, pa^, 13. That if men have 
 no right to think freely, they miift^ if they 
 will have any Opinions^ run into the grojfeji 
 jibfurdities in Principle and PraBice. 
 
 ^. Does not this depend on the due 
 Regulation of men's thoughts ? For how 
 great mifchief in the Chriftian Church did 
 thinkings when free from the reftraints of 
 the Scriptures ? Papal Inventions difcovered 
 this : But the Reformation was made by 
 cafting away Human Inventions^ and re- 
 ducing Principles and Pra<5tices to the Rule 
 of the Word, How little availed the free- 
 thinking of Pagans^ to red:ify the prevail- 
 ing falfe notions of a Deity ^ till Divine Re- 
 velation prefcribed to their thoughts ? And 
 are there not multitudes of Chriftians, who 
 think very juftly, and pradtife anfwerably, 
 who dare rely on the Scriptures^ as the 
 Guide and Limiter of their thoughts in 
 matters of Religion ? 
 
 From pag, 15. to pag. 25. you argue 
 from the Abjurdities of an Rye-fight Faith^ 
 that Pr lefts are needlefs and dangerous 
 Guides : And among the various and con^ 
 tradiBory Forms of Confefjion made at dij^ 
 ferent times, (pag. 17.) fuppofing one to 
 be drawn as the Standard of Eye- fight 
 Faith^ you fay, (pag, 18.) The feveral Pro- 
 pofitions will be (aid by them to be above, 
 but not contrary to Eye-fight ; it will be 
 
 ejleemed 
 
334 
 
 A Letter 07z th^ 
 
 efieemed dangerous trufling to carnal Eye* 
 fight, ^c, 
 
 ^/. I. After you have told us, that 
 fo great Skill in all Arts and Sciences is 
 neceflary to enable men to underftand the 
 Scriptures ; muft we fuppofe every man 
 as able to underftand the Scripture, 'uoith- 
 out the affiftance of ajiy Teachers, as they 
 are to judge of a vifible Objedt by their 
 bodily Eyes ? 
 
 ^. 2. If the hodtly Eyes cannot right- 
 ly difcern, and judge of a propofed Object, 
 without a proper Light or Medium, can 
 our Keafon rightly difcern, and judge of 
 fupernatural Truths, without the Light of 
 Revelation to inform it ? 
 
 9lu. 3 . Ought Perfons of weak Farts, 
 when tempted by fubtil Deluders to deny 
 the Chriftian Religion, fo far truft to their 
 cwn Under flandifig, as not to confult men 
 of greater Knowledge, to try whether 
 they can folve their Doubts, and give them 
 Reafons fufRcient to eftablilh them in the 
 Truth ? 
 
 ^. 4. Is it not an Advantage to 
 manidnd, that there is an Office inftituted 
 by Chrift, to which none ought to be ad- 
 mitted without confiderable Abilities to in- 
 ftru(5l men in the matters of Religion ; and 
 by which Office they are obliged ftatedly, 
 as their Bujinefs, to inftrudl, and to rendec 
 • their Inftrudtions as ufeful as they can to 
 men*s practice of Godlincfs and Virtue ; 
 
 and 
 
Dijcourfe oj Free-thinking, 335 
 
 find this in a dependance on the Divine 
 Prefence^ which is promifed to be with 
 them ? Or can it be juft, to deny a Sub- 
 fiftence to fuch as are faithful herein ? 
 
 ^. 5. Wh e n the Perfons inverted in 
 this Ojjice are required by Chrift Jefus, to 
 put People on fearching the Scriptures, and 
 to exercife a Judgment of private Dilcre- 
 tion, whether what they teach, require, 
 and pradife, be conformable to the Rules 
 appointed in the Word ; ought that Office 
 to be condemned, if fome Perfons exter- 
 nally admitted to it, prefume agamft its 
 Prefcriptions, to be hordi of. Mens Faith, 
 impofe their own Dictates, or for ambiti- 
 ous or covetous Ends, employ their La- 
 bours to overthrow religious or civil 
 Rights ? Yea, muft not fuch as endea- 
 vour to fubvert this Office, have a malig- 
 nant Defign againft Religion, Godlinefs, 
 and Virtue ? For who feeth nor, that the 
 promoting of thofe muft be far lefs at- 
 tended to, by Perfons under no peculiar, 
 folemn Obligation ? yea, intelledual Qua- 
 lifications for inftru(fting others will be 
 confined to a few, if not diminiihed in all, 
 when none are defigned for this Office ; 
 not to mention, how God may be pro- 
 voked to give up a People to judicial 
 Blindnefs^ who (hall rejedt fo great a Be- 
 nefit ? 
 
 ^. 6. Will not your Cenfure of 
 Forms of ConfeJJion be accounted an Accu- 
 • , fation 
 
336 A Letter on tht 
 
 fation of that commonly called the Apo* 
 file's Creed, which is a Summary of what 
 we are to believe ; and of the Decalogue^ 
 which contains the Precept, refpeding 
 moft Moral Duties ; and of the Lord's 
 Prayer^ which is an Abridgement of what 
 are to pray for ? 
 
 ^u. 7. When it*s notorious, that 
 there are fenfible Objecfts too remote, or of 
 too fmall a Quantity, to be feen by our 
 Eye, and fundry things in Nature too dif- 
 ficult for our Underrtanding, (as the extent 
 of the Divifibility of Matter, and a thou- 
 fand other things j) is it a Wonder, that 
 fome Propo/itions of Faith fhould be in 
 fome refpecls above our Reafon at prefent, 
 and againji our filfe Reafonings, though 
 not againji true Reafon ? Cannot my Rea- 
 fon be well informed, and fure that a thing 
 exifts, and know in a good Degree what 
 that is, unlefs it comprehends the Man- 
 ner how it is ? 
 
 ^, 8 J Will it not be found too fad 
 a Truth to jeft with, that the carnal Mind 
 difcerneth not the Thijigs of God, becaufe 
 they are foolifhnefs to him, and are fpiritu- 
 ally difcerned ? Do not prevailing Lujls of 
 thenilelves indifpofe the Mind, to credit 
 the Reality, confider the Importance, and 
 feel the effedtual Power of fuch Truths, as 
 tend to imbitter Obedience, and mortify 
 the Dominion of thofe Lufts, by introdu- 
 cing the oppofite Graces and Virtues ? 
 
 And 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking. 337 
 
 And may not thefe Liifls alfo provoke God 
 to abate affifting Helps, which conduce to 
 enhghten the Mind ? And are not thofe, 
 who refolve to indulge their corrupt 
 Hearts, very prone to embrace fuch falfe 
 Opinions, as are neceflary to quiet Con- 
 fcience in their wicked Courfe ? 
 
 You fay, pag. 25, 26. Any reftraint 
 whatfoever Jrom Reafon on thinking, is ah- 
 furd: Nojufl reftraint can be put to my think- 
 ingy but fome Argument wJoich Jheivs me^ it 
 is not lawful for me to think on the SubjeB 
 I propofi to do : As for injlance, I pro^ 
 pofe to con/ider. Whether the Chriftian Re- 
 ligion is founded on Divine Revelation? 
 but am told the great Datiger and Sinjul' 
 nefs of thinking on that SubjeB, &c. 
 
 ^t. I. Should any be branded with 
 telling you fo, who oft perfuade men to 
 examine and think of theGrounds^ on which 
 they believe, that the Chriftian Religion 
 is founded on Divine Revelation j that fo 
 their Faith may be confirmed, and the In- 
 fluence of revealed Truths be thereby the 
 more cfFe6lual ? Who are the true Prote- 
 ftant Divi?7es who do otherwife, even when 
 they warn men, that they examine theje 
 Grounds with a devout Mind, and not 
 fceptically, or with evil Defigns ? 
 
 ^. 2. Do not Chriftians owe that 
 
 regard to what induced them upon former 
 
 Enquiries to believe this, as not to doubt 
 
 Z of 
 
338 A Letter on the 
 
 of it, before they meet with fome good 
 Reafon, to think it is not founded on Di- 
 vine Revelation ? 
 
 ^/. 3. Ought we not as diligently 
 and impartially to fearchfor Arguments to 
 prove this Truth, and to admit their Force 
 as fincerely and gladly, as we do thofe new 
 Arguments, which feem to difprove it? 
 ' A contrary Method difcovers too plainly 
 an evil Heart of imbelief, 
 
 ^. 4. Can you upon thinking come 
 to a certainty y that the Chriftian Religion 
 is an Impojiure j unlefs it be upon better 
 Evidences, than you may find of its being 
 founded on Divine Revelation ? And if 
 you attempt this, muft not you prove, 
 either, (i/?,) That God has not revealed 
 a?7y Religion : Or {2dly,) That he has 
 revealed fome other Religion different from 
 the Chriilian ; which other you are obliged 
 to follow ? If you chufe the Firfiy muft 
 not you prove, either that God couU not 
 give any fuch Revelation, or that he would 
 not, although the State of mankind ren- 
 dred it fo ufeful and neceffary ? But if 
 you fix on the Second, does not your own 
 Scheme require, that every Part of that 
 other Religion be more agreeable to the 
 Law of Nature, more God- like to enjoin, 
 and that it's founded on a Divine Revela- 
 tion better atteited ? 
 
 ^/. 5. When you enquire into Evi- 
 dences^ that the Chriflian Religion is found- 
 ed 
 
Dtfcourfe of Free-thinking. 339; 
 
 ed on Divine Revelation j may you re- 
 jed: all the former External E/indences^ 
 whereby God attefted thofe Revelations to 
 be from him, unlefs you fee them repeat- 
 ed ? For inftance, If God did work Mi- 
 racles for the Conviction of Injideh, when 
 he introduced the Chriftian Religion ; and 
 tranfmits a certain account to us, that fuch 
 Miracles were fo wrought ; ought we 
 who live in a Time when, and Place 
 where, this Religion is become effedtu- 
 al and received, to deny the former Mi- 
 racles to be any Teftimony at all, un- 
 lefs God will* condefcend to produce the 
 fame fenfible fupernatural Effects of his 
 Power in our fight ? And confequently, 
 that he muft do the like from Age to Age, 
 in the fight of every Perfon, who (hall be 
 obliged to entertain the Chriftian Reli- 
 gion ? Upon the fame Reafon, muft every 
 particular Man rejedt all former infpired 
 Revelation, unlefs he feel the fame felf- 
 evidencing Teftimony of God's fpeaking 
 thofe Things to him, as the Prophets and 
 Apoltles experienced ? 
 
 ^. 6. When we find the Scripture- 
 Revelation, explaining and requiring Obe- 
 dience to all the real Precepts of the Law 
 of Nature^ and inforcing it by the moft 
 cogent Arguments, with proper Direc- 
 tions ; and that whatfoever more is enjoin- 
 ed, diredly tends to promote Godlinefs 
 and Devotion j does it moft become us, 
 
 Z 2 to 
 
340 A Letter on the 
 
 to accufe thefe Revelations of Impojflurc, 
 becaufe oi {omtDifficulties therein; or from 
 a Senfe of the fablimenefs of fome Points, 
 and the (liortnefs of our Capacities, to 
 fufpend our Judgment concerning thofc 
 Difficulties ? 
 
 You argue, pag. 27. Free- thinking is 
 upon experience the only prcper Means to 
 dejlroy the Devil's Kijigdom among men. 
 And pag. 28. you add. Thus the Devil is 
 baniJJoed intirely from the United Pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 ^. I. Does not the Devil's Kingdom 
 conlift in oppofing the Gofpel, hindering 
 Reformation, promoting the dominion of 
 Sin, the ignorance and profanenefs of Peo- 
 ple, Perfecution, and perverting the Minds, 
 and turning them from Chrifl; and his 
 Truth, as much as it confifts in Witch^ 
 craft ? The Word tells us, the deluded 
 are led captive by the Devil, and he rules 
 in the Children of Difobedience : Or is the 
 Devil ba?iifhedy where any of thefe pre- 
 vail ? 
 
 ^u. 2. Cannot the Devil ferve his 
 Purpofes in oppolition to the Kingdom of 
 Chrift, by forbearing Apparitions and 
 contrading with Witches, and the like, in 
 a Chriftian Country ; when he has s prof- 
 peft of regaining his Empire by Infidelity 
 and Sadducifm? May not his Malice vent 
 itfelf againil fome few ignorant wretches, 
 
 by 
 
T>'ifcourfe of Free- thinking, 34.]r 
 
 by Witchcraft, ^c. in Pagan Countries, 
 or in Places where Chriftianity is fo ftridl- 
 ly and generally profeffed, that the People 
 are averfe to fpeculative Infidelity, and 
 there are few or no fit Inftruments to 
 promote it ? And yet, may not he inter- 
 ?)iit fuch Apparitions and Witchcrafts, ^c. 
 in thofe Places, when he finds them more 
 inclined to renounce Chriflian Principles, 
 and that many are qualified and adlive to 
 undermine the Faith of the Gofpel, efpe- 
 cially as to things unfeen ? Is not he, in 
 fuch a cafe, too fagacious to confirm the 
 ftaggering, and to confute his bewitched 
 Emiffaries, by fuch Demonftrations of the 
 Being of 5/'/nVj, and thereby of the Truth 
 of many other things, from the dilbelief 
 v/hereof he knows his'Kingdom would be 
 far rnore enlarged, than by his Impreffions 
 on the Bodies of fome poor ignorant Peo- 
 ple ? i 
 ^. 3. When you fay. Free-thinking 
 is upon experience the only proper Means to 
 deftroy the Devil's Kingdom ; and add in 
 Jtalick Letters, pag. 28. that cafting him 
 out miracuhujly^ multiplying Priefts, ^c, 
 have often increafed, but never wholly de^ 
 Jlroyed his Power : Have not you Re.^fon 
 to fear the Power of Satan s Delujions, un- 
 lefs you can demonftrate the Scripture, 
 and the moft credible Hiftory, to be For- 
 geries ? Did not Chrift and his Followers 
 miraculoiijly cafi out Devils ^ Did not the 
 Z 3 Gofpel 
 
4-2 
 
 A Letter on the 
 
 Gofpel prevail more again ft Idolatry and 
 Pagan Blindnefs, than all that your Hea- 
 then Free-thi7ikers faid or wrote ? nay, 
 were not moft fuch the greateft Supports 
 of the Devil's Kingdom ? And is it not ftill 
 the common Experience, that the faithful 
 endeavours of godly Magiftrates and Mini- 
 flers, and the exemplary Lives of Chrif- 
 tians, conduce more to the Deftru6tion of 
 the Devil's Kingdom in the Hearts and 
 Lives of People, than all that Free-think- 
 ing, which ever was, or ftill is, employed 
 in undermining the Foundations of the 
 Chriftian Religion ? And is any man fo 
 blind, (if not infatuated,) as not to fore- 
 fee, that if Chriftianity were overcome, 
 the Authority as well as the Power of the 
 Devil muft be acknowledged by all Na- 
 tions, and Heathenifm prove a thicker 
 Darknefs than Popery it felf ? (though 
 you fay otherwife, pag. 28.) But blefled 
 be God, fuch as obey the Gofpel are fure, 
 that true Chrijlianity {hall in due time tri- 
 umph over both, and their refpecftive Sup- 
 porters too. 
 
 You fay, pag. 33, 34. If the fur eft and 
 left Means of arriving at Truth, lies in 
 Free- thinking, then the whole Duty of 
 Mdn with refpeB to Opinions^ lies only in 
 Free- thinking ; becaufe he who thinks free- 
 ly, does his be/i towards being in the right, 
 and coffequently does all that God, who can 
 
 require 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking. 343 
 
 require no more of any Man than that he 
 Jhould do his bejl^ can require of him ; and , 
 fiould he prove miftakcn in any Opinions^ 
 he muft be as acceptable to God, as if he re^ 
 ceived none but right Opinions. 
 
 ^. I. Can God require no more, 
 and can Man do no more towards being 
 in the right in his Opinions in the matters 
 of Religion, than to think freely ? May 
 not God require Prayer, for his Affiflance 
 to difcern the Truth ? May not he re- 
 quire us to call upon him, to give us 
 Faith to receive the Truth ? May not he 
 require a humble Reverence, a Love to 
 Truth, an honed Purpofe to obey it, an 
 Abftinence from what provokes God to 
 with- hold his help from us, and his re- 
 flraints on Satan ? May not he require us, 
 to mortify thofe Lufts, which blind and 
 prejudice the Mind, and faithfully to prac* 
 tife what we already know ? Is God w;z- 
 juft or impotent, in requiring fuch things 
 with our Free-thinkijig ? Or cannot Man 
 do thefe, as well as think freely ? The 
 Light of Nature muft allow, if not en- 
 join, Things which have in them fuch a 
 tendency to thinking freely with good 
 Succefs. 
 
 ^. 2. If a Man by a negledt of thofe 
 Things, receive fuch falfe Opinions, as 
 the Scripture calls damnable Herefies^ and 
 Errors whereby Men make Shipwreck of 
 Faithj can you think,that Man is as accept^ 
 Z 4 able- 
 
344 ^ Letter on the 
 
 able to God by an Opinion that is fo con- 
 trary to Divine Revelations, as by an O- 
 pinion which is according to them ? Is a 
 God of Truth fo indifferent to Truth and 
 Error, that when he has given forth his 
 Revelations, it's alike fo him^ whether Men 
 believe them or not ? Is it no mattery if 
 their Opinions allow them to blafpheme 
 his Son, ridicule his Spirit, deny the Re- 
 furreftion, make a Jeft of the Corruption 
 of Human Nature and Hell-Torments, 
 &c ? Would God be no more pleafed 
 with them, if they conceived honourable 
 Thoughts of his Son and Spirit, and juft 
 Notions of every revealed Dodrine ? ^y 
 ■what Rule do you put God under a Ne- 
 ceffity to accept alike, where there is fo 
 great a contrariety, as receiving important 
 Truths, and important Falflioods ? Are 
 fuch Men alike to you, or to any Man of 
 Senfe. 
 
 ^. 3. Will it not follow, that your 
 Free-thifikers are as acceptable to God, when 
 they aSi conjbnantly to their erroneous O- 
 pinions, as thofe Believers who a6l accord- 
 ing to the true Principles of Religion ? 
 Saint Paul was once fuch a Free-thinker ; 
 Aasxxvl. for he verily thought within himfelfy he 
 9- ought to do many things contrary to the ISlame 
 
 of Jefus of Nuzareth : But did not he after- 
 I Tim. i. wards account himfelf the chief of SimterSy 
 13. 15- for having done fuch Thing* ? or did his 
 Ignorance excute him from (landing in need 
 
 of 
 
Dtfcourfe of Free-thinkiftg, 2^% 
 
 of pardoning Mercy, and thinking himfelf 
 unworthy to be called an Apofik ? 
 
 ^i, 4. Did not many whom you 
 applaud as Free-thinkers, entertain fuch 
 Opinions as directed them to pra6^ife what 
 the Holy God muft abhor ? Some af- 
 cribed ail to Chance, and hence defpiled 
 all religious Worfbip all dependance on 
 God, arid Thankfgivings to him for be- 
 nefits. Others received unworthy Notions 
 of God, and thence utter'd the moft hor- 
 rid Blafphemies ; not to mention the Ido- 
 latry, Self-murder, ^^r. warranted by the 
 Opinions embraced by others. 
 
 From pag. 35. to pag. 40. Superjiition 
 is treated of as a great Evil; and your 
 Cenfure is juft, as to Pagan Fooleries, and 
 Papal Additions to the Rules prefcribcd 
 by Chrift for WorQiip, &c. nor can it be 
 denied, that groundlefs Scruples and Fears 
 among Chriftians are blameable. But the 
 Point is carried far beyond thefe in fun dry 
 PalTages. For, pag. 38, 39. you fay, T/&^ 
 Superjiitious make God talk to all Man^ 
 kind from Corners, and confequently require 
 things of Men under the [Sandlion or] Penal- 
 ty of Mifery in the next World, of which 
 they are incapable of havifig any convincing 
 Evidence that they come from him. They 
 make him (who equally beholds all the 
 Dwellers upon Earth,) to have favou- 
 rite Nations and People^ without any confi- 
 
 deration 
 
346 A Letter 07t the 
 
 deration of Merit, ^hey make him put other 
 Natiofis under dif advantages without any 
 demerit^ &c. Thefe Men have no quiet in 
 their own Miiids ; they rove about in fearch 
 of faving Truth, ^c. and negleSling what 
 God Jpeaks plainly to the whole World, take 
 up with what they fuppofe he has communi- 
 cated to a jew 'y and thereby believe and 
 fra5iije fiich things y in which they can never 
 have SatisfaBion. 
 
 ^. I. Does God's equally beholding 
 all the Dwellers upon Earthy prove, that 
 God may not exert his Sovereignty, in 
 favouring fome Nations above others ? He 
 who does fo in external Advantages, is 
 not confined from giving greater helps for 
 Salvation to fome than others. Is not his 
 giving fome Men ftronger Faculties, to 
 judge of what God fpeaks to all mankind 
 in order to future Happinefs, fome help 
 towards obtaining that Happinefs, which 
 they of duller underftandings have not ? 
 
 ^. 2. If the Gofpel is an Advantage 
 an order to Salvation, as it contributes to 
 our fuller Knowledge of God and his 
 Will, and gives the ftrongeft Motives, 
 and beft Directions to render Men obedi- 
 ent; what Merit can any plead for ob- 
 taining it, or what freedom from Demerit 
 could be pretended, when all Nations (ex- 
 cept the Jews, and they oft,) were for 
 many Ages impious and idolatrous ? But 
 if the Light of Nature is fufficient, 
 
 wherCj, 
 
DifcQurfe of Free-thwkmg, 34.7 
 
 where, or when did God deprive them 
 of it ? 
 
 ^t. 3. Ought the Teftimony of 7/j/- 
 ahj ( whom you commend as a Free- 
 
 '^ thinker^ ) be received ? He aflerts, In the Ifa. ii. 
 /<?/? Days^ the Mount ain of the Lord's ^' 3- 
 Hoiife jhall be eflaUified on the Top of the 
 Mou?2tainsy and all Nattom ftjall flow un- 
 to it ; a?7d ma?iy People fiall go atid fay^ 
 Come ye^ and let us go up to the Mountain 
 of the Lord's Houfe^ and he will teach us 
 of his JVays^ and we will walk in his 
 Paths : For out of Zion fljall go forth the 
 LaWy and the Word of the Lord from Je- 
 rufalem. Was not Jerufalem a Comer ^ 
 which long enjoyed the means of knov/- 
 ing thefe Ways of the Lord above other 
 Places ? And were not the Nations under 
 difadvantage, 'till they came to know 
 where to find thofe means, and were made 
 Partakers of them as received from fern- . 
 
 falem ? Or did God put them under that 
 difadvantage before, by giving fome better 
 helps to others, when he left to them 
 what they were pofTeiTed of, and what 
 you judge fufficient ? 
 
 ^. 4. What Things does God 
 
 fpeak plainly to the whole World, which 
 lincere Chriftians negleB ? Are there 
 any Duties evidently required by the 
 Law of Nature, which the Chriftian Re- 
 ligion confirms not ? or does the Chrif- 
 
 tian 
 
34^ ^ Letter on the 
 
 tian haw allow any thing, which the hanv 
 of Nature forbids ? 
 
 ^, 5. Does not God fpeak ai evi- 
 dently to Chriftians, by his revealed Word 
 annexed to the Law of Nature ; as he 
 fpeaks to other Nations by the haw of 
 Nature alone f And had not the Pagam 
 as difftTcnt Apprehenfions, about what the 
 hawof Nature required, difcovered, and di- 
 reded ; as Chriftians nave about tbetr Ride ? 
 and far more and greater, than Chriftians 
 have concerning what the haw 0} Nature 
 requires and didateth ? Your Free-thinker 
 Varro will tell you the many contrary O- 
 pinions, which the Heathens received con- 
 cerning God. 
 
 ^. 6". Is it unjufl or mpojjibk for God 
 to reveal fome Truths, and enjoin fomc 
 pofitive Precepts, be fides thofe which he 
 fignified by the hight of Nature ? How 
 is he obliged to give no further Difcove- 
 ries of himfelf and his Purpofes ? Why 
 mufl he give no further Diredions con- 
 cerning his Worfliip ? Why may he not 
 promife, and more explicitly manifeft, 
 what Rewards he will confer on the Righ- 
 teous, than the Light of Nature declares and 
 affures Men of ? Or why can he not fur- 
 ther reprefent, what Sorts and Degrees of 
 Punifliment he will judge proportioned to 
 the Aggravations of Men's Crimes ? For 
 herein you know the wicked ^re fo fa- 
 vourable 
 
Difcotirfe of Free-thinking, 349 
 
 vourable to themfelves, as to be unapt to 
 infer them from the Law of Nature. 
 
 ^. 7. Will not your own Not ion i 
 of the gtodnefs of God, incline you to think 
 him concerned to inftrudl and reform 
 Mankind ? And will it not follow, that 
 he would reveal fuch things as before 
 mentioned, when for many Ages the Lighi 
 of Nature was ineffeBual to deliver the 
 World from their Blindnefs, Idolatries, Ir- 
 religion, Carnality, Barbarities, and neg- 
 lects of the Labour neceffary to know 
 their Duty, and to be convinced of their 
 Sins ? He knew alfo their violent Pro- 
 penlions and Temptations to all thofe Sins, 
 as well as their Averlion and Impediments 
 to the Exercife of Virtue, and much more 
 of Godlinefs. 
 
 ^. 8. When the Nations (not ex- 
 cepting Greece^) were fo univerfally igno^ 
 rant of God, and his Worfhip, and a fu- 
 ture State of Retribution, notwithftand- 
 ing what you term his plain /peaking to 
 the World 'j Is it not more probable, that 
 thofe few among the Heathens who ar- 
 rived to any jufter Notions of fuch things, 
 derived them either mediately from fome 
 Divine Revelations given to others, (as 
 Bochart and others collect,) or from />//- 
 'mediate Infpirations communicated to them, 
 for their own and others Benefit; than 
 that they acquired them only from their 
 own Attention to natural Light ? ^ 
 
350 A Letter on the 
 
 ^. 9. Can you expedt to be be- 
 lieved by any underftanding feiious Cbrif- 
 tians, that they are incapable of having 
 any convincing Evidence, that the Revela- 
 tions on which their Religion is founded 
 are from God ? If then they are convinced 
 of this, all of them muft therefore be re- 
 proached as Fools, w?ho admit Convidions 
 without the Evidence, which every wife 
 Man would require ? But what if they 
 cannot inform you, how far their inward 
 Difpofition, and Divine Illumination, con- 
 tribute a convincing Force to that Evi- 
 dence, which does not perfuade fuch as 
 are Strangers thereto ? Yet they can declare 
 to you the Reafons, why they think fo 
 well of the Evidence, as to wonder how 
 any are capable of rejeBing that Degree of 
 it, which fnay be known by every honeft 
 Enquirer. 
 
 Can they refifl: Convidion that the 
 
 Gofpel is of God, which has fuch a Tejli- 
 
 7nony, that none but the true God can 
 
 give ; a Gofpel in it felf yii Divine, and 
 
 fubfervient and effedual to holy Purpofes, 
 
 that none but God could didtate ; and fo 
 
 far from contradiSiing his Law of Nature, 
 
 that it explaineth, confirmeth, and in- 
 
 forceth Man's obfervance of it ? Can a 
 
 2 Cor. iv. Gofpel thus glorious be hid to them, when 
 
 ^* ^' it pines into /^^//z with a Light refiftible 
 
 by none, whofe Minds are not blinded by 
 
 the God of this World ? For, 
 
 I, To 
 
Difcotif'fe of Free- thinking. 351 
 
 I. To them it's evident, that to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ agree all the Cha- 
 raBers, by which God defcribed the Mef- 
 Jias to his Prophets in all the former Ages 
 of. the World : And in him were anfwer*d 
 all the TypeSy which God had inftituted to 
 prefigure him. God oft acknowledged 
 him by his Angels ; he attefted his Autho- 
 rity and Miffion, at his Bapttfm^ and at 
 other times, by a Voice from Heaven. What 
 greater Teftimony could be given, than 
 by his raifing him from the Dead^ after 
 the great Things that attended his Death, 
 and the Miracles which he performed in 
 his Life in Atteflation of his Holy Doc- 
 trine ? Our Lord was unfpotted in his 
 Life J the Miracles he performed were 
 realy in open View^ for the good of Men, 
 and declared by him before-hand^ as what he 
 would work to prove, that he came from 
 God, and to which he appealed. He 
 prophefied of his own Deaths with the 
 Manner of it j he foretold his Refiirrec- 
 tioUy the ruin of the Temple, the fuccefs 
 of his Gofpel by improbable Inftruments, 
 the Converfion of the Gentiles againft the 
 great Power, Learning, and all the efta- 
 blifhed Cuftoms and Prejudices which ob- 
 ftrudted it. He promifed to fend the Holy 
 Ghoft to his Apoftles, with Power to give 
 him to others, and to work Miracles in his 
 Name: And this Power of Miracles re- 
 mained fome Hundreds of -Years in the 
 
 Church 
 
25^ A Letter on the 
 
 Church fo evidently, that Tertullian and 
 others appeal to their Enemies of greateft 
 power, for the Truth and Trial thereof. 
 — Thefe amazing things were foretold by 
 him, to be wrought as the EffeBs of his 
 ReJurre5lio?2 : The Spirit of Prophecy was 
 alfiS in many of his Followers, and de- 
 clared to be the Tefiimony oj the bleffed ye- 
 fits, — And may not thefe now be efteem- 
 ed (though a fmall Part of what might be 
 mentioned,) fome External Evidence, that 
 our Religion, which Chrift and his Ser- 
 vants publiftied, is founded on a Revela- 
 tion which is Divine ? 
 
 2. We have further grounds to believe, 
 becaufe thefe are contained in the Scrip- 
 tures as the T^efiimony of Chrifl's infpired 
 Difciples, who are moft credible Witneffes 
 as to Matters of Fadt : For they could 
 not be deceived themfelves •, and were mean 
 Men, who could have no View to ferve 
 any fecidar Intereft ; and Men, who if 
 they believed what Chrift or themfelves 
 had [aid, they could expedt nothing but 
 eternal Mifery if they deceived others, and 
 in this World the great e[i Siifferi?2gs if 
 they publifhed them as Truths : In a 
 word, they were Men, whodidy^^/ thofe 
 Truths with their Bloody fome in 'Jenfalem 
 and fewry, the Places where, and at the 
 very Time when, thefe things were adted ; 
 not to mention the great Number of other 
 Martyrs in that Age. Need it be added, 
 
 that 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinling. 353 
 
 that ihefe Matters of Fadt are conveyed 
 down by many other ways with more Ad- 
 vantages, to aflure us of their certainty, 
 than any other Hiftory can pretend to ? 
 
 3. The Miracles^ &c. thus recorded are 
 the k/s exceptionable, becaufe they atteft as 
 Rules of Pradice, the improved Law of 
 Nature , and no pofitive Duties or Inftitu- 
 tions, but what are exadly fuited to our 
 Eflate as remediable, and which God has 
 promifed to blefs. Moreover, as to the 
 attefted Articles of Faith, moft of them 
 are felf-evident Truths ; none of them 
 impoffible to be true ; the moft fpecula- > 
 tive are ufeful to practice, and fo far in- 
 telligible ; and as far as any part of any 
 of them is incomprehenfible, God does 
 not require us to underftand that. 
 
 4. We think, that the Attefiations be- 
 ing thus folemn, and the Matters attefted 
 of fuch Importance to future Ages, it 
 would be the Concern of Providence, to 
 have them tranfmitted fecure againft all 
 Attempts, to render them infufficient, or 
 unfit to anfwer the faving Defigns of thofe 
 Revelations. 
 
 5. But you may alfo meet with many 
 Chriftians, who will tell you, they arc 
 capable of difcerning in thefe Scriptures 
 (now in our hands) intrinfck Evidences of 
 their being Divine j and that they arc 
 thereby convinced, the Chriftian Religion 
 is founded on Divine Revelation. They fee 
 
 A a the 
 
354 A Letter on the 
 
 the Truth of many Prophefies and Pro- 
 mifes, by their accompUpoment, They be- 
 hold the godlike Dejign^ Purity, Spiritu- 
 ality, Power and Tendency of the feveral 
 Parts, (as well as the Harmony . of the 
 Whole,) to fanBify Perfons in their in- 
 ward Difpofuions, and: regulate their Be- 
 haviour towards God, and other Men, 
 and themfelves. And they find, that, as 
 they advance in a divine Life, they have' 
 more reafon to approve, admire, and re- 
 lifh thofe Truths, as agreeable to the Na- 
 ture of that Life, and as much conducive 
 to its Perfed:ion, as they felt them to be 
 at fitft to their Converfion from Sin to 
 God. 
 •, 6. Th E.Y can alfo plead, if it were re- 
 quifite, that it is againft all common Senfe, 
 that the Scriptures could be corrupted in 
 things of moment ; becaufe their Copies 
 were foon fcattered far and near, and care- 
 fully watched and examined by Jews and 
 Gentiles^ Friends and Enemies, Orthodox 
 and Heterodox ; and alfo flill prefervcd by 
 the Church, as its great Charter, Rule, 
 and Treafure. 
 
 ^/. lo. Are you v/ell acquainted with 
 true Chriftians, if you can think, that by» 
 taking tip with Scripture Revelations, they- 
 believe and pradife fach things /;? which 
 they can ne^er have SatisfaBion ? If you 
 had faid, they could not come to a Satis- 
 faSiion about what they believed arid prac- 
 
 tifed. 
 
Difcourfa of Free 'thinking. 355 
 
 tifedy without this Revelation, or againft 
 it, they would afTent to it. But as they 
 cannot, take up with this Revelation, if 
 they negtc5i what God /peaks plainly to the 
 whole World ; becaufe the Scripture con- 
 taineth the haw of Nature more explicit- 
 ly and fully than it's any where elfe re- 
 corded : So they give the mod certain 
 Evidence the Matter is capable of, that 
 they are arrived at full Satis/aBion in wh"at 
 they believe and pradiife according to 
 Scripture Rules ; for they deny them- 
 felves, mortify their Lufts, facrifice their 
 Eftates,' Places, Honour and Lives, in O- 
 bedience to the Precepts of the Word j 
 and as far as they are dilige?2t to walk by 
 this Light, they live and die in a true 
 Peace and Joy, founded on the fatisfying 
 Evidence they have of the Certainty of 
 the Gofpel-Revelation : And fuch o^ them 
 as want this Peace, will inform you, that 
 their iineajinels proceeds from the defeBs of 
 their Obedience to the Gofpel, and not 
 from a Sufpiciofz that the Gofpel is not 
 true. 
 
 ^. II. May not fuch Truths be 
 juftly called Javing Truths, and not Tri- 
 fles, to the Belief and Practice whereof 
 God promifeth Salvation ; and threatens- 
 to damn fuch, as difbelieve and difobey 
 thofe Truths ? 
 
 %/. 12. Must not fuch as live under 
 
 the Gofpe), be in greater Danger of fall- 
 
 A a 2 , ing 
 
356 A Letter on the 
 
 ing under that damning Sentence^ for rc- 
 jcdling thofe Truths j than fuch as never 
 heard the Word ? 
 
 ^. 13. Is it Wifdom to banter fuch 
 faving Truths^ and their San<5tion, unlefs 
 Men can infallibly prove, that it's impojji'' 
 ble^ that thofe (hould be Truths, and 
 that God has fo threatened the Rejeders 
 of them ? A TalTc too hard for the boldeft 
 Wit, though he could offer fome Excep- 
 tions to God's threatning to damn Men, 
 for not believing fome more doubtful, and 
 lefs important Truths. 
 
 You add, pag, 37. ** Happy is the 
 ** Man^ (fays the divine Virgil,) who has 
 •* difcovered the Caufes of 'Things ^ and is 
 ** thereby cured of all kind of Fears ^ even 
 " of Death it felf and all the noife and 
 " din of Hell." For by Free-thinking 
 alone Men are capable of knowingt that a 
 perfecfly Good, Jtifly Wife, and powerful 
 Being, made and governs the World ; and 
 from this Principle they know, that he can 
 require nothing of Men in any Country or 
 Condition of Life, but that whereof he has 
 given them an opportunity of being con- 
 vinced by Evidence and Reafon in that 
 Place, &c. And, that an honefi and ra^ 
 tional Man can have no jujl Reafon to fear 
 any thing from him. 
 
 Not to enquire, how the divine Vir- 
 gil fhews himfeif fo well acquainted with 
 
 God, 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 357 
 
 God, the univerfalCaufe, as todiredt Men, 
 how to be cured (rightly) cf all Fears^ 
 even of Deathy and all the noife and din 
 cf Hell ? Nor to aflc, why Strepitus is 
 rendered mife and din too ? I aik, 
 
 ^. I. How few Nations, either now 
 have not, or once had an opportunity to 
 know the Gofpel ; and of being acquaint- 
 ed by degrees with the Evidence that it is 
 from God ? And if they add a wilful neg" 
 leSi of this opportunity^ to their Idolatry, 
 and wicked Courfes againft the Light they 
 have J muft God adt againft bis own Na- 
 ture, if he give them not the fame degree 
 of Evidence as to others ? But our con- 
 cern is not, to penetrate into God's Tranf- 
 adtions with Heathens^ (which are more 
 fecret;) though certainly even they are 
 fuch, as become God, and will be vindi- 
 cated by him : We ought to be follicitous 
 about the Rule, by which God will judge 
 us, who enjoy the Gofpel. 
 
 ^ 2. May not God require of Men 
 living in a Chrijiian Country, that they 
 believe and obey the Gofpel, upon the Evi- 
 dence he has given of the Truth of the 
 Gofpel ? And if fuch know God to be a 
 juft Governour, muft not they exped he'll 
 punifh their Negleds and Contempts ? But 
 of this elfe-where. 
 
 ^. 3. Has not every Law of God, 
 
 publiftied to Men in a State of Trial, a pe^ 
 
 nal San£lion ? Can you fuppofe God fo 
 
 A a 3 uncon* 
 
35 8 A Letter on the 
 
 unconcerned whether his Laws be ohferv- 
 ed, that the Tranfgreflbrs even of the haw 
 of Nature are obnoxious to no Punilh- 
 ment ? 
 
 ^4. Is. it Super flit ion for a guilty 
 Sinner to be afraid of the threatned Pu- 
 nifhment, when confcious of his Fault 
 and Danger ? It's the Office of Confcience 
 to charge Guilt, and put him io fear : 
 And when it does fo, rational SeU-Love 
 will prompt him to exercife that fear, 
 which is implanted in his Nature, as a 
 means of his governablenefs and fafety. 
 Will it not follow hence, that the Law 
 of Nature may be tranfgrefTed with Im- 
 punity ; or that fuch Free-thinkers en- 
 courage ftupid Security, that fo they may 
 ridicule Hell-Torments upon the Authority 
 of Pagan Authors, while they call true Re- 
 ligion by the Name of Superfiition, which 
 nioft of them diftinguilhed ? 
 
 ^i. 5. When you fay, that an honefi 
 and rational Man has no juji Rea/on to fear 
 any thing from God, can you fuppofe this 
 very Man innocent from all Tranfgreffions 
 of the Law of Nature ? Has not he of- 
 fended in many Things againft that Rule ; 
 yea, does not he continue to do fo in 
 many Inflances ? 
 
 ^. 6. Is he ^ rational Man^ who 
 muft own he has finned, and that God 
 is a holy, wife, and juft Go'vernour ; and 
 yet can be confident he is y<^^, though he 
 
 has 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 359 
 
 has no good Evidence, that God will not 
 punilh him ? 
 
 ^, 7. W'HAT certain Evidence can 
 any who rejedi the Gofpel have, that God 
 will not punifi them for the Sins they 
 cqmmitted again ft the Law of Nature ; 
 yea againft the moft extenfive Explications 
 of the Precepts of that Law, which they 
 may find in the Gofpel j yea, and for difo- 
 beying the Gofpel ? 
 
 ^. 8. If Men conclude themfelves 
 fafe^ becaufe they fin from a fatal Nece/- 
 fity^ would not that be to deny fhetnfelves 
 to be Subjeds of Moral Government^ al- 
 though they profefs to own God to be 
 their Governour ? Or is it good 'Reafon- 
 ing, that becaufe God forbears for forhe 
 time to punifh them, that therefore he 
 will never punifli them ? or to infer Im- 
 pimity hereafter^ becaufe they receive fome 
 common Benefits at prefent ? Or can they 
 collect a certain' Evidence of Impunity, 
 from what God is at free Liberty to do 
 or not do ? This is no other, than to be 
 certain of obtaining that, which God &s 
 an arbitrary Agent may withhold, as well 
 as grant. 
 
 ^«. 9. From whifch of the Ferfit- 
 tions of the true God, who is fuprerae 
 Governour, can the RejcSfers of the. Gof- 
 pel com^ to a Certainty, ihzi Qod zmll not 
 funifh their Sins againft the Law of Na- 
 ture f — Can they argue it from his Holi^ 
 A a 4 nefs^ 
 
360 A Letter on the 
 
 nefs ? when as a Holy God, he muft hate 
 Sin, as it's repugnant to his Nature, and 
 therefore an Evil too great not to deferve 
 Punishment. — If they infer it from his 
 yuftice i will not this adjudge the Sinner 
 to bear the Punijhmmt which he deferves ? 
 —If they infer it from his WifdoWy they 
 muft conclude, that God will deal with 
 Tran/grejfors, as if he made a light Matter 
 of their Affronts, obftruded their Obedi- 
 ence, encouraged their Rebellion, and 
 tempted them to defpife both him, and his 
 Laws.-— Or can Sinners found any certain 
 cxpedations of Impunity, upon the Good- 
 nefs of God ? He is good, but can they 
 think that to be the Goodnefs of a God, 
 which would incline him who is Gover- 
 nourof the World, to grant an Impunity, 
 that muft reflect on his Holincfs, Juftice 
 and Wifdom ; that muft proftitute the 
 Honour of his Government, and fruftrate 
 the Ends of it, by giving the reft of Man- 
 kind occafion to think, they incur no fu- 
 ture Danger by Difobedicnce ? Moreover 
 we fee, that notwithftanding the Goodnefs 
 of God, he infiids fo many Punilhments 
 on fome Sinners at prefent, as may give 
 others (yea, and thefe if unreformed,) 
 ground to expedl 2. future Vengeance. 
 
 ^. 10. Should Sinners plead as a 
 further Support to their Hopes, that Man- 
 kind is by Nature habitually corrupt and 
 prpne tp Sin, and averfe to Obedience ; 
 
 would 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 361 
 
 would not this be to expedl Impunity, by 
 impeaching God as unholy, or weak ; in 
 that he formed the root of Mankind with 
 fuch irregular and impure Inclinations, and 
 that without any demerit on Man's part ? 
 A Charge far more reflefting on God, than 
 it can be to affirm, that Adams Apof- 
 tacy was the Origin of this Diforder in his 
 Pofterity. I need not infinuate, that if 
 the depravednefs of Human Nature were 
 granted to be this Way derived, Free^ 
 thinkers would find more rational and cer- 
 tain Evidence for moft of the Principles 
 of revealed Religion, than they can find 
 for the Impunity of a Sinner who rejedts 
 the Gofpel ; or for his being jujily fear" 
 lefe of the Punifhments, to which he is 
 obnoxious for violating any of the Laws of 
 Nature ? 
 
 ^. II. If any Man who reje&s the 
 Gofpel pretend to Innocency, muft not he 
 be unacquainted with himfelf, and with the 
 Law of Nature j or elfe accufe the Law 
 of Nature to be very imperfeB^ as not for- 
 bidding all Evil in Heart and Life, nor 
 commanding all that's Good, and fit to 
 be obtained and done by men ? But mea 
 will find God's Laws to bear the impre(s 
 of his Nature, and not to be variable, or 
 to be meafur'd by men's ignorance, lufts, 
 or fancies. 
 
 % 12. The Gofpel indeed gives a fa- 
 tisfkdory Account, how a penitent Be^ 
 
 liever 
 
362 A Letter o?i.the 
 
 liever may be certain, that he fhall efcapc 
 all dejirutlive Pumfimejits, though he has 
 oft tranfgrefled the Law of Nature : For 
 it contains a Promife of Pardon to fuch, 
 upon a Sntisfadlion made by Chrift, 
 which fubferves and fecures the Ends of 
 God's Government, and rcprefents the 
 Glory and Harmony of the Divine Per- 
 fedtions. But what Intereft in this can 
 any Rejedlefs of theGoJpel exped: ? feeing 
 they tread under foot the Blood of the Re^ 
 deemer as a profane "Thing, and are con- 
 demned by the Gojpel Law^ as well as by 
 the Law of Nature. 
 
 Further you fay, pag. 37, 38. nat 
 God being incapable of havi?2g any Addi- 
 tion made to his Power or Happinejs, and 
 wanting nothing, can require nothing of 
 Men for his own fake, but mly for Maris 
 fake J and confequejitly, that all Adiions and 
 Speculations, which dre of no ufe to Man- 
 kind, [asfinging or dancing, eating or drink- 
 ing, &c. (in which the greatefi part cf the 
 Heathen Worfhip confifted,) or the Belief 
 c/'Tranfubftantiatioa or Gonfubftantiation, 
 or of' any DoBrines not taught by the 
 Church of England,] f/V/^er lignify nothing 
 at ^with God, or fij/^ difpleafe him,' but 
 €an never render a Man more acceptable to 
 kirn. 
 
 ■ ^/. I. Though Qo^l cs^vi require no- 
 thing of men for his own fake, to make 
 . him 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 363 
 
 him more powerful or happy ; does it fol- 
 low, that he can require nothing of men, 
 in Acknowledgement of his Dominion and 
 Perfections, and of their Dependance on 
 him ? One you call a Free-thinker^ faith, 
 God made all Thijigs for himfelf 5 and muft Prov. xvi. 
 he require nothing from man, with an in- 4' 
 tent of receiving any Homage of Praife or 
 Service from him ? He has wife and good 
 Purpofes to ferve by men in this woijd, 
 which tend to his Honour ; and may he 
 not command men to fubferve fuch Pur- 
 pofes ? Is it not rational, that we do all 
 Things to the Glory of the Author of our 
 Being, and of all Benefits? and muft it 
 be againfl Reafon, to dejign his Glory in 
 any Thing we do ? 
 
 ^. 2. Cannot God for the fake of 
 mankind require fome things, which men 
 thi7ik not to be Jor their Good f Vafl Na- 
 tions have long thought many things re- 
 quired by the Law of Nature, to be un- 
 profitable and hurtful to mankind. And 
 are not men capable oi wanting fome things 
 to make them happy, which are more 
 and greater than thofe of which they are 
 at prefent fenfible ? Or can men under- 
 fland by the Light of Nature, all that is 
 necelTary to their Improvement and Felici- 
 ty in both Worlds, and what's conducive 
 thereto, as fully as God knows thefe ? 
 
 ^. 3, Is it not more rational to pdgCy 
 that whatever God requires of men, is 
 
 fome 
 
364 A Letter on the 
 
 fome way or other ufeful to them ^ than 
 that God cannot require that Thing, which 
 they know not the way how it becomes 
 ufeful ? 
 
 ^. 4. Cannot God require of men 
 fome things, as fubfervient to his Glory, 
 or as means by which he will communi- 
 cate his Blefiings, which feem ufelefs to 
 fome men ? To inftance, fmging his Praifes, 
 hearing his Word, Csff. Nay, what if he 
 makes choice of what appears contemptible 
 to fome Perfons, that he may the more 
 manifefl his own Power, hide Pride from 
 many convince us of our Dependance on 
 him, and that his Prerogative and Autho- 
 rity are not to be limited by his Crea- 
 tures ? 
 
 ^ 5. Cannot God by his Injlitution 
 and promifed Blejing, make fuch Things 
 ujejul to men, which in their own Na- 
 ture, and to the Eye of Senfe, appear in- 
 fufficient for that Purpofe ? If he com- 
 mand us to eat and drink at the Lord's 
 ^abky in Commemoration of his Death j 
 and promifeth us in fo doing. Communion 
 with him, and Improvement of Grace and 
 Comfort J what Evidence have you, that 
 our eating and drinking as he appoints us, 
 /hall not be ufeful to fuch Ends? Even 
 Naaman's bodily Cure was effected, by 
 what he thought impoffible to effect it. 
 
 ^ 6. Have we any Reafon to judge, 
 that they \vho in Obedience to God, and 
 
 Faith 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 365 
 
 Faith in his Promifc, obferve the meaneft 
 ofhis InftitutionSf do not pleafe God, and 
 may not expert the Benefits piomifed by 
 him ? Or is it the beft way to pleafe him, 
 and obtain thofe B^eiiis, to negle^ his In- 
 Jiitutions^ and contemn them, as ufelefs to 
 Men, and unfit for God to appoint ? 
 
 ^. 7. Will thofe humble devout 
 Chriftians, who attend the Ordinances of 
 God's external Worfhip in the manner he 
 prefcribes, and who experience the Aptitude 
 as well as Benefit of them, be perfuaded, 
 that they are either ufelefs to them, or no 
 Part of their Homage to God, or of that 
 Profeflion which he exads from his Fol- 
 lowers ? Sacraments are in their account of 
 great ufe^ as diflinguifhing Badges, and af- 
 furing Seals J and every one who believes 
 ihaiCbri/i died a Sacrifice for our Sins, can 
 difcern the aptitude of the external Repre- 
 fentation of his Death by the Lord's Supper^ 
 to excite their Graces and holy AfFedlions, 
 
 ^. 8. Must all thefe Truths you 
 call Speculations, (as well as ASiions^ be 
 ufelefs to mankind^ becaufe they are fo to 
 fome men ? May not men of equal Ho- 
 nefty. Diligence and Underftanding, as 
 confidently affirm what they know and 
 experience ? They fee, how thofe fpecU'- 
 lative Do5lrines direcfl and influence them 
 in Adls of internal Worfhip, and contri- 
 bute to a Chriftian Life. Nor is it unac- 
 countable^ how they and others fo differ 
 
 about 
 
366 A Letter on the 
 
 about the ufefulnefs of fuch Speculations i 
 For they believe them, others believe them 
 not : They reverence Gofpel-' Revelations, 
 others Teem to defpife them : They pray 
 for the teachings of the Spirit, others ri- 
 dicule them: They take the Word of God 
 for the Rule by which they judge of 
 Truths, efpecially fuch as could not be 
 difcovered but by Revelation j others make 
 their own Reafon (though refufing the 
 Light of the Word,) to be the Rule by 
 which they judge of fuch Truths : They 
 exercife themfelves in what both the Chris- 
 tian and Natural Religion require ; others 
 confine themfelves to Natural Religion 
 only, (if they exercife any part of it :) 
 They are content to know as much, and 
 as far, as they are capable of knowing ; 
 others rejecfl the whole Gofpel, becaufe 
 their finite Minds are incapable to com- 
 prehend all that belongs to the jublimefl 
 DoBrines : They apply what they know 
 of all Do6trines of Faith to pradical Pur- 
 pofes J others look at them as empty and 
 falfe Speculations. 
 
 ^. 9. Do you adt (incerely^ when 
 you fay, T^ke belief of any DoBrine not 
 taught by the Church of England, Jignifies 
 mthi77g with God^ &c ? Do you mean by 
 this Exception, that the belief of all the 
 Doctrines taught by the Church of England, 
 does fignify fomething with God, to ren- 
 der us acceptable to him ? If fo, our be- 
 lief 
 
Dijcourfe oj Free~thhiki?ig* 367 
 
 lief of the facred Tr/«//y, and of allthe Fim- 
 dameiitah oi theQiriftian Faiths is of great 
 ufe to render us acceptable to God. But 
 when this is fo diredly contradid:ed by 
 many Paflages in your Book, it muft pats 
 for a Banter, or a Blind, 
 
 You tell us after this, pag. 38. By means 
 of all this^ a Man may pojjefi his Soul in 
 peace y as having an expeBation of enjoying all 
 the good things which God can bejiow^ and 
 no fear of any Juture Mifery or Evil from 
 his hands ; and the very worft of his State 
 can only be, that he is pkafantly deceived. . 
 
 ^t. I. Can what you refer to by all 
 this, be a juft Ground of this peace and 
 expeBation ? What if Men negleB to ufe 
 the Opportunities they have to be con- 
 vinced of what God requires ? Or what 
 if they alfo omit and refiife to perform, 
 what they are convinced God does require 
 of them, and do njchafs contrary ? Are not 
 both too common ? And yet fuch as you 
 call happy^ may be guilty of all thefe. 
 
 ^. 2.;. Or if you mean, that an honefl 
 rational Man may by means of all this,. 
 be polTeiTed of this peace-, ought you not 
 to exprefs that, and defcribe what you in- 
 tend by im honeji rational Man^ For if 
 your rational Man is no more, than one 
 capable of knowing and judging of the 
 Truth of Propofitions, and arguing there- 
 on J furely fuch a Man with a wicked 
 
 Heart 
 
g68 A Letter on the 
 
 Heart and Life can have no true Peace 
 now, nor juftly expedt thofe good Things. 
 Or if by honeft Man, you intend no more 
 than one jufi to Men ; may not fuch a 
 Man notwithftanding his Juftice to Men, 
 be unjuft to God? And if fo, hath he a 
 right to fuch peace and expectations f 
 
 ^. 3. Is it an cafy Thing for honejl 
 rational Men, if fober and of tender Con- 
 fciences, who Hve under the Gofpel, Jo to 
 refifl the Evidences of its Truth, and hcfo 
 certain of its being a Forgery, as always to 
 enjoy inward Peace f Will no Fears dif- 
 turb them, upon reviews of that Infideli* 
 ty, Contempt, and Omiflions, againft which 
 that Gofpel denounceth the Wrath of 
 God, and eternal Damnation ? 
 
 ^. 4. Upon what Evidence exclu- 
 fivc of Divine Revelation, can any Man 
 expeB to enjoy all the good things, which 
 God can give? — A Believer has fufficient 
 notice in the Go/pel of a real Happinefs in 
 both Worlds, and he hath God's Promifc 
 upon which to ground his Expectation; 
 and yet he mud think lefs will make him 
 happy, than all the good things which an 
 Infinite God can befiow, — But where in 
 the Book of Nature is this large Charier 
 to be found ? Many of your commended 
 Free-thinkers deny the Immortality of the 
 Soul : Such find no ground by the Light 
 of Nature to expert many good Things 
 after Death, or that God can give them 
 
 Immortality. 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinUng, 369 
 
 Immortality. Others of them fpeak of a 
 future State with the greateft Uncertainty^ 
 Bat did any ever pretend, that God in the 
 Law of Nature gave any Promife fpeci^ 
 fying the Kind^ and Degree^ of what good 
 things he would give ? Or can his Jaftice 
 or Goodnefs be accufed, if he is fo arbi- 
 trary as not to give all that he can beftow^ 
 when he gave them no ground for fuch 
 undue expedlations ? 
 
 ^. 5. Is a future State fo uncertain, 
 that to perfuade Men to ufe your pre- 
 fcribed Means againft Supertlition and fears 
 of the din of Hell^ you ufe thefe words as 
 an Argument, viz. The very worfi of his 
 State can 07ily be^ that he is pleafantly de- 
 ceived ? Many Heathens, befides Socrates^ 
 and Cicero^ feem more affured of a Life of 
 Retribution, from the prefent methods of 
 Providence. But is it not ftrange, that if 
 God as a Governour [peaks fo plairily to all 
 the World dX\ that's neceffary to be obeyed, 
 all the Free-thinkers fliould not more cer- 
 tainly know, what is fo neceffary to re- 
 flrain men's Difobedience to God's Laws, 
 and to incline men to keep them ? But if 
 the Light of Nature had not fo plainly 
 expreffed this, which is the aptefl: means 
 to inforce God's Laws, they may find he 
 has revealed it by Ms Word fo fully, as 
 may affedt and terrify a very Infidel. And 
 the Obfcurity of the Light of Nature in fo 
 important a Matter, ought to make Divine 
 B b Revelation 
 
370 A Letter on the 
 
 Revelation acceptable to all, who mind 
 their own Happinefs. 
 
 ^t. 6. But if he who rejects the 
 Go/pel^ (hould find hinnfelf deceived in his 
 Opinions and Adings, will not his being 
 pleafa?2tly deceived foon appear to be indeed 
 the very %vorJl 0} his State ? For whereas 
 a godly Fear and Concern had contri- 
 buted to his Safety, his pleafant Dreams of 
 Safety in his irreligious Courfe harden him 
 againft Divine Warnings ; His delightful 
 JLxpe6tation of ail good things^ fixeth him 
 in a blind Security, and emboldens him 
 in his Infidelity, in his Scoffs at revealed 
 Religion, and in negledts of the Duties 
 thereby required. As luch Things expofe 
 him to the forer Pu7jijhments hereafter, fo 
 his pleafantnefs in committing them maketh 
 his State in this World next to defperatc, 
 as to any hopes of his Recovery. 
 
 You fay, pag, 40. T^he infinite numbers 
 of Pretenders in all y^ges to Revelations 
 Jrom Heaven^ fupported by Miracles^ &c. 
 make thinking necefjary, 6cc. 
 
 ^u. I. Must no holy Prophets and 
 ApoiUes have received true Revelations from 
 God, becaufe Deluders have faljly pre- 
 tended to Revelations ? 
 
 ^i. 2. When God had given fuch 
 Revelations of himfelf and his Will, as he 
 declares to be a fufficient Rule^ is there the 
 fame Reafon to queftion the Truth of 
 
 thefe; 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking* 371 
 
 iht^Q ; as of after-Revelations pretending 
 to make a new Canon for Faith, Wor- 
 (hip, and the Terms of Salvation ? 
 
 I AM glad to find among the Errata the 
 following Claufe, viz. dele. If a Man be un- 
 der an Obligation to It ft en to any Revelation at 
 all. If this Sentence had come into the 
 Book, as the Author's deliberate Thought ; 
 I would afk, whether Man is under any 
 Obligation to liften to the haw of Nature ? 
 For that's a Revelation of God's Will, as 
 well as infpired Revelation : So it is, tho' 
 Cuftom lead us to fpeak of the haw of 
 Nature^ as contradiftinguifhed from Re^ 
 velation. But this acknowledged Erra- 
 tum (if honeftly done) will give us ground 
 to fay, that you grant Man is under an 
 Obligation to liften to fome Revelation ia 
 fome degree* 
 
 Again, you tell us, pag. 44. ^be Deftgn 
 of the Goipd was^ tofet a /I Men upon Free- 
 thinking, &c. St. Paul offers many Argu- 
 ments^ for the Confirmation of Chriflians in 
 the true Faith ; whereby he made them^ and 
 all his Readers for ever^ Judges of their 
 Force j for whoever reafoneth^ lays ajtde all 
 Authority^ &c. Our Saviour commands us 
 to fearch the Scriptures. 
 
 ^a. I. Because Free -thinking is al- 
 
 low'd by the Gofpel^ io find out the Truth, 
 
 and eftablifli us in the Truth ; may we 
 
 therefore fceptically employ our Free-think'- 
 
 B b 2 ing^ 
 
372 A Letter on the 
 
 ing, altogether to fearch for pretences to 
 rcjcB the Gofpel^ after we have received it 
 upon Evidence ? 
 
 ^i. 2. Because St. Faul fometimes 
 offers Jirguments befides his Authority, to 
 confirm Men in the true Faith ; has he 
 made all his Readers for ever yudge^^wht- 
 ther what he delivered from God as an 
 infpired Apoftle, (hall have a7ty Authority y 
 Of ferve as an Argument of any force, to 
 determine their Judgment? 
 
 ^i. 3. Because our Saviour com- 
 mands Men to fearch the Scriptures, which 
 tejfijied of him ; and forbids them blindly 
 to refign their Confciences to the Didaies 
 of any fallible Perfons ; does it follow, 
 that Chrifl forbids us to refign our Judg- 
 ment, to what God fpeaks by infallible in- 
 fpired Perfons, and contained in the Scrips 
 tiires as the Rule f Faith^ as far as they 
 are rightly explained ? Had Chrift favoured 
 luch a Conclufion, the Corr.mand had 
 contradided his Purpofe, which was to 
 put them on fearching the Scriptures^ as 
 containing infallible Truths. 
 
 You add, pag. 46. The Condu5l of the 
 Priefl'S, who are the chief Pretenders to bs 
 Guides to others in matters of Religion^ makes 
 Free- thinking unavoidable: And to prove 
 this, I will give you an InduBion of fe- 
 veral Particulars of their ConduB. And 
 then from/'^^, 47, \opag. 76, the Divi- 
 
 fions 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinhing, 272 
 
 /ions among Englifi Friefls, (as you call 
 them,) about the Nature and Attributes of 
 God^ and \\\t Authority and ^enfe of Scrip- 
 tures^ are mentioned. 
 
 Having ftill owned, that Free-think- 
 ing rightly managed is lawful, and a Duty, 
 I fliali fuggefl: fome Queries. 
 
 ^. I. Are not more and greater D/- 
 'uifions among the Heathen Free thinkers 
 concerning God, and his Attributes ? Yea, 
 from them many Herefies came into the 
 Chriftian Church. 
 
 ^. 2. Is it not as juft to reflcd: on the 
 Light of Nature J or Reafon, on account 
 of fuch Divifions among the Heathe?! Fhi- 
 lofopherSy as to refled: on the Scriptures, 
 becaufe of thefe Divifions among Chriftian 
 Minifters ? 
 
 ^. 3. Yea, would not fuch Reflec- 
 tions on the Light oj Nature be more juft ? 
 confidering you tell us, that God fpeaks by 
 that fo plainly j whereas Chriftians own, 
 that their Religion is in fome Things myf- 
 terious, 
 
 ^. 4. Is not your bold unlimited 
 way of Free-thinking, the very Caufe of 
 the obnoxious Paflages, which exprefs the 
 Sentiments of fome of our divided Prie/is ? 
 For they had written and judged with 
 more Sobriety, if their Minds had been re- 
 ftrained by the fear of God, and a due 
 Veneration for his Word. But they ran 
 into ExceJJes by indulging a profane Wit, 
 B b 3 avaia 
 
374 
 
 A Letter on the 
 
 a vain Itch of Novelties, an irregular Fan» 
 cy, and an Ambition to fay fomething 
 piore than others. 
 
 ^. 5. If Priefts are generally a$ bad 
 Men as you reprefent them, is it any won- 
 der fome of them give you fuch a handle 
 for Triumph ? But might you not with 
 equal Juftice, expofe revealed Religion by 
 what Heathen Enemies have written againft 
 it, as by what any fuch Protejiant Priefts 
 utter ; who appear as much Atheijii and 
 T)eijh as any others, and with whom the 
 Scriptures are but an idle Tale? 
 
 ^. 6. Is it impoflible, yea or impro- 
 bable, that fpme Truths improving of our 
 Knowledge of God, and his Attributes^ 
 muft have remained Secrets as to us, un- 
 lefs God had revealed them ; and is not 
 the Knowledge of fuch Truths an Ad- 
 vantage ? You had been more ignprant^ 
 had there never betn any Divine Revela- 
 tion. 
 
 ^. 7. May not th:fe Truths when 
 revealed, be committed to wntiiig ; and 
 the Book containing them be cahed tbei 
 Scriptures of Truth ? 
 
 ^u. 8. Had Chriftians come to the 
 Notice of fuch Truths by unwritten Tra- 
 dition, would not their Divijions be much 
 greater j when they are fo great notwith- 
 Aanding they enjoy the Scriptures ? 
 
 ^i, 9. Must not thefe Scriptures 
 have a true certain fixed Senfe, though 
 
 Men 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 375 
 
 Men differ ever fo much concerning that 
 Senfe ? If it be not fo, why do you aflert 
 Free-thinkings that you may find out the 
 meaning of the Scriptures ? 
 
 ^. 10. Must not this proper Senfe 
 and Meaning of the Scriptures, be infalli- 
 ble Truth y though many wre/i the Scrip- 
 tures to their own Deftrudion, and the 
 Difturbance of others ? 
 
 ^. II. If fome Men thi?ik freely 
 about the meaning of the Scriptures, and 
 yet mijlake the true meaning of them, 
 and fix on afalfeSenfe 5 is not that 2ijalfe 
 Opinion and Error ? If it be not fo, all 
 who think freely muft be of one and the 
 fame true Opinion^ though ever fo contra- 
 didlory to each other. 
 
 ^«. 12. If the Err on which a Man 
 falls into upon his prefumptuous Free-thijik' 
 ingy be fuch as determine him to negle<3: 
 or ad: contrary to any Duty, ejjential to 
 happinefs by the Divine Conftitution ; may 
 not that be called a damning Error ? 
 
 ^' 13- If fome upon that Fir^^-/^/«/^- 
 ingy which becomes Men fmcerely felici- 
 tous to know the Mind of God, and ^« 
 'uoutly fupplicating his Affiftance in their 
 fearches into the Scriptures, do attain the 
 true Senfe of them as to fome Points ; may 
 not they be aflurcd, that they fo far have 
 arrived at the Knowledge of infallible 
 Truths^ notwithftanding the different Sen- 
 tipients of others ? 
 
 B b 4 %. 14. 
 
376 A Letter on the 
 
 ^/. 14. Are not upright Chriflians^ 
 who believe that the true Senfe of the 
 Scriptures is the chief and proper Rule^ by 
 which they are to judge, what they are 
 to believe concerning God and his Will, 
 efpeciaily about the Salvation of Sinners ; 
 in a more likely way to adjuft their different 
 Sentiments, thuo by fixing on natural 
 "Light or human Reaforjy as the chief Rule 
 or Judge of their Fuith concerning God, 
 and the Salvation of Sinners ? — This ap- 
 pears fo, becaufc the Senfe of Scjipture is 
 fo plain as to many Truths, that the oppo- 
 iite Errors are confuted at firfl View ; and 
 wherein it appears more dsubtful^ yet when 
 Arguments are drawn from the Word, as 
 the agreed Rule, the extravagancies of the 
 Mind are mach reftrained, and thofe Ar- 
 guments from the Divine Authority of that 
 Rule are apt to convince, as far as the de- 
 duced Confequences are gradually brought 
 up to what is plainly exprelTed there- 
 in. 
 
 ^i, 15. Can any who believe the 
 Scriptures to be divinely revealed, admit 
 that natural Light and human Reajon are 
 the proper and chief Ride and Judge, by 
 which the Differences about all the great 
 Dodrines of the Gofpel are to be decided ? 
 
 Some who acknowledge no higher a 
 Rule than natural Reafon, may profanely 
 put an end to DilTention about thofe 
 Truths, by condemning all of them as 
 
 Trifles 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking. 377 
 
 Trifles and filly Fancies: But this Rule is 
 unfit and infufficient^ to adjuft Debates of 
 this kind to the Satisfadion of the Minds 
 of real Chriftians 5 for they are convinced, 
 that the Manifeftations of God as the Sa- 
 viour of Sinners by Chrifl, and his Will 
 about their Salvation, tranfcend human Rea- 
 fon J and that it was not by the Light of 
 Nature, that God revealed thefe Doc- 
 trines. 
 
 The Redemption of Sinners contains 
 fuch Miracles of Wifdom, Mercy, and 
 Power, as human Reajbn could not invent ; 
 nor could Reafon not informed by Revela- 
 tion, infer them from the Nature of God, 
 or his Works, or from what he had writ- 
 ten on the Hearts of Men. Nor yet are 
 all of them, any of thofe felf-evident 
 ^ruths^ which Reafon without the help of 
 Revelation can difcern, and mufl approve 
 at firft View. 
 
 To fet up natural Reafon as the chief 
 Rule by which all thofe Dodrines mufl: 
 be judged, feems to be an Affront to God j 
 as if he had difplay'd his Perfedlions to the 
 utmoft in the Works of Nature, and had 
 no more of his Will to make known, than 
 he fignified by the Light oj Nature ; to 
 which alfo he muft be confined, as the only 
 way by which Himfelf or Mind mu^ be 
 revealed, however the Condition of Man- 
 kind is changed. 
 
 To infer the falfood of any revealed 
 
 Article 
 
378 A Letter on the 
 
 Article of Faith, becaufe it cannot be 
 proved by natural Reafon^ is to fubjedt a 
 Divine T^ejlimony to our iiuman Under- 
 ftanding, which is not only fallible, but 
 apt to miftake through Ignorance of Mat- 
 ters above its proper Sphere. Moreover, to 
 take natural Rcafon for the chief Rule^ as 
 to Matters of Gofpel Dodrines, is incon- 
 Jiftent with believing the Scriptures to be a 
 Divine Revelation ; becaufe thefe aflert, 
 that they are the Rule in thofe Matters, 
 and are fufficient to be fo. Yea, is it not 
 a Contradiction ? For as a Faith founded 
 on Human Reafon, (if it were Faith,) is 
 mt a Divine Faith ; becaufe a Divi?ie Faith 
 is founded on God's Teftimony contained 
 in the Scriptures : When therefore I do be- 
 lieve any particular Truth, becaufe it is af- 
 firn:)ed in the Scriptures, and yet appeal to 
 natural Reafon as the Rule by which 1 muft 
 judge whether it be true' or falle j is not 
 this believing the Scriptures, and not believ- 
 ing th^ni^? Yea, is it not excluding i^^z//;^, 
 and pleading for Science in tht place of- it ? 
 
 ^. 1 6. May not the ujefulnefs of 
 human Reafon, and its concern as to the 
 Chriftian Religion he great, though it be 
 not admitted to be the chiej Rule, but fuh- 
 jeBed to the Scriptures^ wherein any Rival- 
 ihip«s pretended ? 
 
 The Cafes wherein Rivaipoip may be 
 pretended, are fuch as thefe: (i.) If a re- 
 vealed Doctrine of Faith is plainly contain- 
 ed 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 379 
 
 cd and affirmed in the Scripture as a certain 
 ^ruth, and the meaning of it be fully 
 agreed ; and yet a Difpute arife, whether 
 that DoBrine be true or falje ; if my 
 ^eafon cannot reconcile it with Truth, 
 {hall I believe that Dodrine to be true^ 
 becaufe I know the Scripture affirms it to 
 be a true Dodrine ? or (hall I rejed: it as 
 ffllfe, becaufe my Reajon cannot reconcile 
 it with Truth ? (2.) If the Difpute be 
 about the meaning of a revealed Precept ot 
 Dodrine, acknowledged to be in the Scrip- 
 tures J muft I fearch the Scriptures^ and 
 .compare them, and conclude that to be the 
 meanings which is truly collected from the 
 Scriptures fo compared ? or muft I con- 
 clude againft that meanings and prefer fuch 
 pther Senfe as I coUeft not from any part 
 of Scripture, but altogether from other 
 Topics ? — In fuch Cafes, ought I to fufpeB 
 my Reafbn to be defective, and JubjeB my 
 Underjlanding to the Scripture ? Or from 
 an Opinion of the Injallibility of my ufc 
 of Reafon, condemn the Scriptures as falfc 
 and imperfed ? 
 
 But though a Chriftian yields the pre- 
 ference to Scripture in fuch Cafes, the ufe- 
 fulnefs and concern of Reafon are great in 
 the Chriftian Religion. 
 
 Reason admits as a moft felf-evident 
 Truth, that men are to obey whatever God 
 commands, and to believe what he reveal- 
 eth. It alfo condemns Idolatry, many 
 
 Vices, 
 
380 A Letter on the 
 
 Vices, and many falfe Opinions, all which 
 oppofe men's receiving the Chriftian Reli- 
 gion. It alfo approves of thofe Precepts of 
 the Law of Nature^ which the Scripture 
 more fully explaineth ; and o^ many Doc- 
 trines difcoverable by its Light, which the 
 Word reveals more perfedly : Yea, Rea- 
 Jon has fuggefted to moll Men, the necef- 
 fity of fome Divine Revelation, from the 
 defedl and uncertainty of natural Lights 
 in what concerned the Worfiiip of God, 
 Expiation of Sin, ^c. By fuch Things, 
 and Inferences rationally deduced from 
 them, t! e Minds of men are prepared to 
 receive the Cnriflian Religion, when pro- 
 pofcd to them. 
 
 Reason with the Afliftance which 
 God affords to upright Enquirers, is alfo 
 capable of judging of the Evidence of Re- 
 velation ; and thereby to conclude, whe- 
 ther it be Divine or not. And as it re- 
 quireth us to be diligent and impartial in 
 the Enquiry, left we be deceived by Im- 
 pofture ; fo true Reafon will incline us 
 to acquiefce in fuch Evidence as is proper 
 and fufficicnt. 
 
 When we are rationally convinced, 
 that the Revelation is of God, we muft 
 labour by Srudy, Meditation, and Prayer, 
 to underftand the revealed Truths, and to 
 affent and approve of them, by bringing 
 every Imagination into SuhjeSlion to Chriji, 
 The Faculty ofRea/cn being enlightned by th^ 
 
 revealed 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 381 
 
 revealed Truths, is to be exercifed in com- 
 paring Scripture with Scripture for further 
 Knowledge, and in making juft Inferences 
 by the Light of the Word, and in repre- 
 fenting Truths with all proper, and efpe- 
 cially Gofpel Motives, to the Will, in or- 
 der to its confent for prad:ical Obedience ; 
 and in comparing our Temper and Practice 
 with the Gofpel and the Law of Nature, 
 and in approving or condemning the fame, 
 according to their Conformity both to the 
 Law of Chrift, and the Law of Nature. 
 In doing thus, we Jhew our felves Meji 
 and Chriftians too^ and as wherein even 
 our own Inferences from the Law of Na- 
 ture feem to differ from the Explications 
 of that Law in the Word, we muft pre- 
 fer thofe Explications as more certain than 
 our own Reafonings from Nature j fo we 
 muft examine xhok Explications w^ith an 
 Alfurance of .Mind, that God will com- 
 inand nothing by his revealed Word, which 
 is agaiufl true Reafon, or the Law of Na- 
 ture rightly underftood, though many Gof- 
 pel Doctrines may be againjl what Infidels 
 imagine by a Miftake of the Light of 
 Nature to be their truefl Reafon. Reafon 
 is alfo of great Importance to defend the 
 Chriftian Religion againfi: the Attempts of 
 Deluders : This can deted all falfe Con- 
 clufions illated from Scripture Premifes, 
 and prove all fuch Truths, which have 
 their Foundation in the Light of Nature, 
 
 (either 
 
38^ A Letter on the 
 
 (either in whole, or in part,) by its owri 
 connate or acquired Frinciples^ as proper 
 Mediums. 
 
 As to the large Catalogue of the In- 
 ftances you give, wherein our Proteftant 
 Priefts are dividedy I fhall leave it to be 
 confidered by others ; who will eafily find, 
 that in moft of what you quote from fe- 
 veral of the Authors, their Senfe is per- 
 verted by your concealing the true Occa- 
 fion of their Expreflions. 
 
 I SHALL confider only what you men* 
 lion concerning the Eternity of Hell-Tor^ 
 ments. You tell ns, pag. 6S. Our Priejis 
 difpute whether Hell-Torments are eter- 
 nal ; fome of the mofl eminent either doubt 
 oj their Eternity, or deny them to be eter- 
 nal. Among thefe you name Dr. Morey 
 and the excellent Archbilhop Tillotfon. 
 
 ^. I. Supposing (but not granting,) 
 that utuv and muvi^, and God's Commina- 
 tionSy (as Dr. More thinks,) would not 
 prove the Eternity of Hell-lorme?its, are 
 not many other Arguments to be produced 
 from Scripture, which are fufficient to con- 
 vince us, that thofe Tonnents will be eter- 
 nal f And the eminent Perfons you in- 
 ftance, being Chriflians who had the Grace 
 to believe the Word of God, it will not 
 - be improper to make ufe of Scripture Ar- 
 gutnents in determining this Point. 
 
 ^u, 2. 
 
Difcourfe of Free- thinking, 383 
 
 ^. 2. Not to mention other Argu- 
 ments, will not a careful comparing o^ Mat, 
 XXV. 31, 32, 41, 46. with I Ci?r. xv. 23, 
 24, 25, ^V. prove, that Hell-Torments are 
 eternal ? For St. Matthew, and St. P^w/, 
 fpeak of the fame Time, viz. the Day of 
 Judgment. In St. Matthew^ Chrift pro- 
 nounceth this Sentence in that Day on the 
 wicked. Depart jrom fne, ye cur fed, into 
 evej'lajling Fire, prepared for the Devil and 
 his Angels : And he faith cf them, Thefe 
 Jhall go into everlafling Fiinijhment j a Pu- 
 nifliment, rej'ervcd and refpitcd to that J "'^^»'^''''' 
 Time. St. Paul faith, Fhey who are ChrijTs, '3' '5- 
 fliall be made alive at his coming ; and then 
 Cometh the Knd, when he Jhall have deli^ 
 vered up the Kingdom to God, even the Fa- 
 ther ; when he Jfjall have put down all 
 Rule, and all Authority, and Power ; Jor 
 he muji reign, till he hath put all Enemies 
 under his Feet. Now, 
 
 ^. 3. Is it not evident, that when 
 Chrift delivers up his Kingdom to the Fa- 
 ther, he leaves the wicked under this Sen- 
 tence, Depart from me, ye curfed, into ever- 
 lafling Fire, prepared for the Devil and 
 his Angels ; and the Execution of that 
 Sentence but juji begun f 
 
 ^. 4. Must it not follovv', that JEf^//- 
 Torments muft be eternal, unlefs the Damn- 
 ed obtain a Releafe from thofe Torments, 
 after that Chrift has delivered up the 
 Kingdom to the Father ? 
 
384 A Letter o?2 the 
 
 ^. 5. Will it be difficult to con- 
 clude, that the Damned (hall not obtain 
 a Releafe from their Torments, ^fier Chrift 
 has delivered up the Kingdom to the Fa- 
 ther, if we confider what Kingdom it is, 
 and how delivered up ? The Kingdom which 
 Chrift delivers up, in his mediatorial King- 
 dom ; by which he applied the Fruits of 
 his Death by mediatory A6ts, and having 
 all Power given h\tn as Mediator ^ he ex- 
 erciied. it till he had effedually attained 
 the deiigned Ends -of his Office ; and this 
 he did fo perfedly, that the Godhead y as 
 in Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, becomes 
 all in all \ as communicating Favours to 
 the Saints, admitting Worfliip, and exer- 
 ciling Dominion, immediately ^ without the 
 interpofal of a Mediator, as 'u^r. 28. The 
 Kingdom and Priejlbood of Chrift, are faid 
 to be for ever^ as to their being perfedl in 
 themfelvesj eternal in the Blcflednefs of 
 the Saved, as their Effjdt ; and fucceeded 
 bv no other Priefthood, or mediatorial 
 Kingdom ; yet thefe will then be at a Pe- 
 riody as to mediating Adls : Our Lord Je- 
 fus converts no more men by his Power ; 
 he faves no more Sinners by his Merits ; 
 the Trujl committed to him, he delivers up 
 as fully difcharged j and the vicarious 
 Power y as fuccefsfuUy employed to all the 
 Purpofes, for which it was delegated to him. 
 
 ^. 6. The delivering up of the King- 
 dom of Chrift being of this Nature, are 
 
 there 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 385 
 
 there not many Reafons which will make 
 it certain, that the Damned cannot be re- 
 leafed from their Torments ? and confe- 
 quently, that Hell-TormejJts will be eter^ 
 nal? For inftance, 
 
 ( I.) Will it not be greatly to the Dif- 
 konour of Chrift, and contrary to the Gof-? J^^^* 
 pel of God, andofChrifl, that ihQ Damn-^' 
 ed be releafed? For they will not be re- 
 leafed for the fake of the Merits of Chrift ; 
 feeing they cannot be applied to any new 
 SubjeSl, after his Kingdom is delivered up. 
 The Sentence of Chrift muft be alfo r^.Jobnxii. 
 verfedi though it was according to thcj^iark 
 Sandtion of the Gofpel, which condemjied x\i. 16. 
 the impenitent Unbeliever, Oar Lord de- 
 clares, that thofe muft be flain before him, Lukexix. 
 who would not fubmit that he, as Mediator, ^^' ^7- 
 fJjouid reign over them j but when he has 
 delivered up his mediatorial Kingdom, they 
 cannot admit this man, as Mediator, to 
 reign over them. By the Gofpel, whoever 
 comsi to God, muft come by Chrijl, but if Johnxiv. 
 the Damned come to God, it is not by 
 Chrift. We read, that Chrift will be glo- 2 Theff. i, 
 rified and admired in all thofe ^ whom he 5* '°' 
 does not punifh with everlafling DeftruSlioti 
 from his Prefence 'y but he will 7iot be glori- 
 fied in thofe, who obey not the Gofpel, as the 
 way of their recovery. Can the Damned 
 be releafed, when the Gofpel, as -the Rule 
 of Judgment, is paft into a Sentence again ft 
 them; and this to be under an Admini- 
 C c ftration. 
 
386 A Letter on the 
 
 flratlon, which the Mediator has no con- 
 Gal, i. 8. cern in ? Angeh are curfed, if they preach 
 another Gofpel. In the following Heads we 
 (hall fee more of this kind. 
 
 (2.) Is it not very inconfiftent with God 
 the Father^ to releafe the Damned, when 
 the Mediator has delivered up the King- 
 John V. dom ? ii/^ committed all judgment to the 
 *^' ^^' S,on ; and will he become a 'Judge in op- 
 poirtion to Chrift, to favour his Enemies, 
 and diffolve his Sentence ? — Has God 
 thought it not becoming his Holinefs and 
 Majcfty to tranlail about Peace v^\x\\^\n- 
 1 Tim. ners here en Earth, except it were by 
 I Pet, i. Chri/} as Mediator^ nor to iave them from 
 19. the Wruth to come without his Satisfae- 
 Heb. IX. ^-^^^ p ^j^^j ^,-j| j^g ^^^j^g Pf^r^ with Re- 
 22. 
 
 bcls in Hell without the Mediator^ and {vto 
 
 them from Wrath, without regard to that 
 SatisJaBion, as if the work of Redemp- 
 tion were a needlefs contemptible Matter? 
 Or is there another Mediator of more Dig- 
 nity than his Son Cbrifl Jefus ? — God is 
 Hab. i. for- ever /6c/v and* jufi -, and muft not he 
 '^" abhor the Damjied, if they retain their 
 Malignity, and continue the Pumfl:>ment 
 Chrift bound upon them, if they remain 
 wicked : — Or it you (hould fuppofc them 
 to be releafed as Converts, how (hall they 
 become fo ? It's not by the Wordoi Chrift, 
 nor by the Spirit of Chrift, nor by Grace 
 derived from his Fubiefs. — The Papijis 
 have a better Pica for their Purgatory^ 
 
 than 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 387 
 
 than can be found for admitting the 
 Damned to a new State of probation proper 
 for Hell } and this, after Judgment is puffed- -^^^ ^u 
 upon them, (which \^ the Judgment of God ^ 5. 
 as well as of Chrift ;) after the Books^ and ^^^- ^^^' 
 the Door^ are Jhut ; yea, after that folemn 
 Declaration, He that is unjufl^ let him be Rev. xxii. 
 unjujl ftill J and he that is filthy^ let him be^^' 
 filthy ftill: Their Worm that ?iever dieth^^"^'^ 
 will aggravate their woe ; and tbc'ir gna/b-^'^' 
 ingoj ieeth for pain and rage, ihew rather 
 that a defperate Malignity will groiv^ than 
 that Contrition from the Love of God, 
 and Holinefs (hall begirty efpecicilly in Out- 
 lawSy who are in Hell incapable of me- 
 riting. 
 
 (3.) Are the Damned (if they could 
 be released,) capable of en t ring into H^'^z- 
 ven ? Chrift Jefus hath the Keys of Hell -^ Rev.i.iS- 
 and will he let out his condemned Ene- 
 mies ? Heaven is his Kingdom ; and will ^P^* ^" ^' 
 he receive into it fuch as are none of his 
 Subjedls, no Members of his Body, nor 
 Parts of his Church, nor written in the Rev. xxu 
 Lamb's Book of Life f Shall they pofTefs ^7- 
 that Glory, to whom he declared, I knoiv Mat. yW. 
 you not ; depart from me, ye ^workers of Ini- ^^' 
 quity ? He is the way to Heaven, and has 
 declared, there is no other hame under Hea- -^^^* *^' 
 "oen by which men mu}l be faved -, and can ' 
 they be favedy who come not to Heaven 
 by him, nor who owe any thing to that 
 Namef Are thefe things confiftent with 
 C c 2 God'a 
 
388 A Letter on the 
 
 God's declared Will, or with his Oath ; 
 
 Heb iii. ^vho hath Jhcorn, the Unbeliever Jhall tie- 
 *' * 'uer enter into his Rc/t ? 
 
 (4.) If the Damned fliall be releafed 
 after Chrifl: has delivered tip the Kingdom^ 
 will it not be againft: God's own eternally 
 decreed Method which he has fixed, as well 
 as againft the Gofpel-Conftitution ? God is 
 
 Eph. i. 5. exprefsly faid to have prede/linated us unto 
 the Adoption of Children by J ejus Chrifl to 
 himjelf^ according to the good Pleafure of 
 his IVill : And of fuch as are faved, we 
 
 iPet. i. 2. read, they are ekB accordirfg to the Fore- 
 knowledge of God the Father, through Sanc- 
 tification of the Spirit unto Obedience^ and 
 Sprinkling of the Blood of Jefus. But if 
 the Damned are to be adopted, it*s not by 
 yefus Chrijl that God adopts them to him- 
 fclf, nor by the Sprinkling of his Blood 
 that tliey are faved. 
 
 These things will make it evident to 
 fuch as believe the Scriptures^ that they 
 whom Chrift Jefus puts under deflruBive 
 Tunifhments {or condemns to be cafi into 
 Hell) at the lafl Judgment, can no more 
 be releafed after he has delivered up the 
 mediatorial Kingdom^ than that it's poflible, 
 that God will rob his Son of the Glory of 
 his being the only Mediator and Saviour of 
 Sinners, will reverie his Sentence as unjuft, . 
 will brand his Mediation as infufficient, 
 will proclaim the Work of Redemption as 
 vain, will contradid his own Gofpel-Con- 
 
 Aitution 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinki?tg. 389 
 
 flltution as weak and falfe ; will expofe 
 the folemn Proceedings of the lafl Judg- 
 fnent as ludicrous ; will ered: a new King- 
 dom QJ Grace, at the Head of which Chrift 
 is not to be ; will grant another State of 
 Probation in Hell, for fugh as were con- 
 demned for wilfully negleding that on 
 Earth ; will create a neiv Kingdom for 
 fuch as cannot enter into Chrift's Kingdom 
 of Glory ; and will reverfe his own Efer- 
 nal Decree, whereby he fixed the method 
 of the Salvation of Sinners ; whether that 
 Decree be confidered as conditional, or as 
 abfolute. No better hope can the Damned 
 have, to efcape out of that Fire, which is 
 unquenchable, 
 
 I SHALL conclude this Matter with this 
 Query. 
 
 ^. Do not they who at all believe a 
 Helly run a bold and defperate Rifque, if 
 they flatter themfelvcs in an irreligious 
 Courfe, with the Expedation that theTor- 
 vients of Hell are not Eternal ? 
 
 What if the Light of Nature do no 
 more than evidence, that there's a future 
 State of Retribution^ wherein the Wicked 
 fliall be puniflied in proportion to their 
 Crimes, without determining the Term of 
 Duration : Yet what Stupidity is he un- 
 der, who reads the Scripture, and believes 
 not the Account that gives of thofe Pu- 
 nifhments, unlefs he can infallibly prove it 
 to be an Impofture ? Or does he who be* 
 C c 3 . lievetb 
 
390 -^ Letter on the 
 
 lieveth the written Account, confult his 
 own Safety^ if he exped a Period to Hell- 
 Torments j unlefs the Scripture gives him 
 more exprefs and plain Evidence for 
 fucb a Period^ than is produced for the E- 
 ternity of thofe Torments ? 
 
 Suppose that ctiewpf, or EverlaJ^ingy 
 fometimes fignifies a long Time^ and not 
 Eternal : Yet when Chrift exprefleih the 
 Reward of the Saints by this word, in- 
 tending it to be expreffive of the Eternity 
 Mat. XXV. of thofe Rewards J would he in his Sen^ 
 ^^' ^ ' tence on the. Wicked^ make ufe of the Jame 
 ivord at the fame Time^ with an intent to 
 exprefs the Torments oj the Damned to be 
 but Temporary ? Would not he have men- 
 tioned a definite Time, and not have 
 hardned them -againft Repentance by a 
 word, that mufl induce them to dejpair of 
 a Releafe ? — And if Eternal Torments are 
 (as lome without Reafon imagine,) incon- 
 fifient with the Divine PerJeSfions^ would 
 he ufe a word that might be interpreted to 
 refled on thofe Perfedions ? For this word 
 does generally exprefs what is Eternal ^ 
 9nd is fit to do fo ; and there's no apter 
 word to fignify what is perpetual. — Or 
 can we doubt, if God has affirmed Hell- 
 Torments to be Eternal, that they arc cer- 
 tainly conjijient with all his P erf eB ions ^ 
 aad will in his Time be convincingly de- 
 clared to be fo, although we could not at 
 prefent fully reconcile them therewith ? 
 
 But 
 
Difcourfe of Free-thinking. 391 
 
 But Believers will now fay, fVe are fure^ ^o"^ "• 
 that the Judgment of God is according to ^' 
 Truth, who ivill render to every Man ac- 
 cording to his Deeds ; and^ Righteous art J^*"- ''"■ 
 thcu, Lord, 
 
 Will it be any relief, that Annihila- 
 tion is hoped, becaufe the Punifliments of 
 the Damned are exprcfled by fiich words 
 as Deaths Perifi, DeftruSiion ? Whereas, 
 thofe Terms exprefs their Punifliments 
 from the firfi Moment they begin ; they 
 are fit, and are made ufe of, to exprefs the 
 high degrees of their Mifery : and are join- 
 ed with other terms ^ that fignify the Per- 
 fons who fuffer are alive, and fefijible of 
 their Punifliments ; fuch as, being deliver^ ^^.V 
 ed to the Tormentors, weeping and wailing, xiii. 42. 
 and gnajlnng of Teeth, Tribulation and An^ 
 guifh, &c. Finally, the long- fuffer ing of the ^^'^' "• 
 Lord, and willingnefs that all jhould come\^^^ -^ 
 to Repentance, was fo great, that men 3, 9. 
 walked the more after their Lu/is from a 
 Conceit, that he was Jlack concerning the 
 Promife of his coming ; (o that a longer de- 
 lay, or forbearance of fuch Sinners, had 
 done them no good, but hurt, 
 
 ■ Having commended Epicurus, pag, 
 129. as eminent for that moji Divine of all 
 Virtues, and wherein the greateji Pleafure 
 of human Life confijls, and of which an ill 
 man is incapable, viz. FriendPnp ; you fay, 
 pog, 130. iVe Chrijlians ought fit II to have 
 C c 4 a higher 
 
392 A Letter on the 
 
 a higher Veneration of Epicurus for thii 
 Virtue of Friend fl-rip, than Cicero ; be- 
 caiife even our holy Religion itfelf does net 
 any where particularly require of us Juch a 
 high degree of Virtue. 
 
 ^. I. Is Friendfhip among men the 
 ffjojt Divine of all Virtues ? Not to men- . 
 tion other Virtues, is not a fincere Love to 
 God a Virtue ? and is not he a more excel- 
 lent Objedl of Love, and deferving of 
 greater Love than is to be allowed to any 
 Creature ? Yea, to love any Man equally 
 with God, fliews that injurious Contempt 
 of God, as may juftly be termed a hating 
 oj him. But it feems, z^ Epicurus makes God 
 regardlefs of human Affairs^ fo it's no 
 wonder, they who h^ve this Veneration 
 for that Man, (hould aflert that a Friend 
 is more worthy of our higheft Love, than 
 God himfelf, whom he makes fo ufelefs 
 to men. 
 
 ^. 2. Are you well acquainted with 
 the JDelights of a watchful Chrijlian^ when 
 you think Friendfhip is the greateft Plca- 
 fure of Human Life ? For he accounts, 
 that Communion with God, a Senfe of his 
 Favour, inward Peace, and the Hopes of 
 Eternal Glory, much more contribute to the 
 Plea fu re of his Life. 
 
 ^i. 3. Is 2Lprofane man an /// man ? 
 Or are Idolaters ill men ? Yet thefe are not 
 incapable of Friendjhip in your Efteem. 
 Who more profane, than Epicurus and his 
 
 Followers ? 
 
Difcotirfe of Free-thinking. 393 
 
 Followers ? And the celebrated Injlances 
 commonly ^wtn of Friendfiip^ are among 
 idolatrous Pagans. 
 
 ^. 4. Are you fcrious, when you 
 call that our holy Religion^ and yet tell us, 
 it is fo defe(fl:ive in its Rules, as no where 
 particularly to require that high degree 
 of Virtue^ and that for inftrudling us 
 therein, Epicurui deferves our Veneration ? 
 Lawful Friendfhip our Religion appoints j 
 but that's fo fmall a part of it, that it 
 would not deferve the Name of a holy Re- 
 ligion^ if it required not higher degrees of 
 Virtue^ and other Inftances of Piety. 
 
 ^i. 5. Can any lawful Friend/hip pTQ" 
 tend to a higher degree of Love to Men, 
 than what Chriftianity particularly re- 
 quires ? And is it not a higher degree of 
 Virtue^ to exercife this Love to the vari- 
 ous Objedts defcribed by the Laws of 
 Chrift, than in that contraded Manner as 
 what you call FriendJJjip allows ? 
 
 Our Lord Jefus tells us, that to love Mat. xxii. 
 our Neighbours as our fehes^ is our great 39- 
 Duty, next after our Love to God : Yea, 
 all the Law is faid to be fulfilled in this : Gal. v. 
 And the end of the Commandment is Char i-'^^' 
 ty, out of a pure Hearty and of a good Con- 5. 
 fcience^ and of Faith unfeigned. Where- 
 fore as we have Opportunity^ let us do good ^^- '^J- 
 to all men j which Love to all men is upon 
 the account of their having the Image of 
 God as Men. Our bleffed Jefus com- 
 
 mandcth 
 
394- ^ iMter on the 
 
 Mat. V. inandeth US, Love your Enemies^ blefs tUm 
 
 '^■^' ^^' that curfe you^ do good to them that hate 
 
 you ; that you may be the Children of your 
 
 Father which is in Heaven : And by St. 
 
 Rom. ^i-p^ul^ he requii'cs, If thine Enemy hunger, 
 
 feed him ; ij he thirft^ give him drink. 
 
 But with regard to fuch as are partakers of 
 
 the fame Grace, 
 
 What greater Injiances o^ Friendftjip 
 can be juftly given, that exceed what the 
 Gofpel enjoins on the Followers of Chrift 
 Gal.v.13. to one another? By Love ferre one am- 
 I Pet. I. ther 5 and fee^ that you love another with 
 Mat XXV. ^ /wr^ heart fervently. We mvi^i feed^ 
 'i^^,l^ feq. clothe ^ vifit them when fick or in prijon \ 
 Ads IV. 2Lnd Jell our E/Iates, if they cannot other- 
 wife fubfift, as the fiift Chriftians did. 
 We ought to have feihwfiip with them^ 
 Gai. vi. 2. and to dear their Burdens ; to be kind one 
 Eph. IV. ^Q another^ tender-hearted, forgiving one 
 iiom. xii. a?7other 'y to weep with them that weep, and 
 10. 15- rejoice with them that rejoice ; and to be 
 kindly affeBioned one towards another, with 
 brotherly love, in homur preferring one 
 i John iii. another. We ought to lay down our lives 
 '^- for the Brethren j to confefs our faults one 
 
 jamesv. ^^ another ; and z/ a man be overtaken in a 
 Gal. vi. \. fault, to refiore juch an one in the Spirit of 
 meeknefs. 
 
 Are not thefe Rules fit to direct us to 
 the height of Friendpip, as far as it is a 
 Virtue ? Is it a Fault in Chriflianity, that 
 it prefcribes fuch kind Treatment towards 
 
 our 
 
Difcourfe oj Free-thinking, 395 
 
 our Enemies ^ and to all Mc?i? or that it 
 calls for fuch high Injlances of FriendflAp 
 with all, who have the holy Image of 
 Chrift upon them ? Sure it's the Honour 
 of our Religion, to enjoin what argues us 
 to be fo like to God, and fuch Lovers of 
 him : For the Chrijiian Love is of a Di- 
 vine Original, and founded on Divine Con- 
 iidcrations. 
 
 In our Religion we have alio the 
 firongeft Motives to induce us to Love, 
 The Neceflity of it is fo aiTerted, that no- L^°J- 
 thing can prop without it : All things that 
 obJiruB it, are forbidden j and whatever 
 formeth the Heart in the. beft difpofition 
 towards it, is enjoined. Upon fuch Evi- 
 dence, none can inftance a defeB in our 
 Religion, as to true Love to men, unlefs 
 they were fo bent to quarrel with Chrif- 
 tianity, as to condemn it for that, which is 
 fit to recommend it, as the greatelV Blefling 
 to mankind at prefent. Happy World, hap- 
 py Church, if this Chrijiian Virtue pre- 
 vailed ! Then neither Revenge, Malice, 
 Self-feeking, Envy, Pride, nor Rage, (all 
 which it forbids,) would hinder the com- 
 mon Benefit of all Men ; the moft holy, 
 wife, and ufeful, would be moft elleem- 
 ed J and a fafe Foundation laid, that all 
 other good Qualities and Offices might 
 contribute to that delightful Satisfadion and 
 Confidence, which flow from that more 
 Jpecial Friend/]:ip, as refults from a greater 
 
 Harmony 
 
 ^' 
 
396 A Letter on the 
 
 Harmony of Tempers between fome than 
 others. 
 
 I SHALL take no notice of any of your 
 mentioned Free-thinkers^ except the in- 
 fpired Writers of the Scripture, who are 
 cited from ^^^. 150, to pag. 157. 
 
 ^/. I. When you cite words from 
 
 them as Free-thinkers, do you confider, 
 
 that what they wrote was by In/piration, 
 
 aud not from their own Suggeftion, or 
 
 2 Pet i P^'ivate Thoughts ? For the Prophecy came 
 
 21. not in old time by the Will of Man ; but 
 
 holy Men of God [pake as they were moved 
 
 by the Holy Ghoft. It was the property of 
 
 jer. xxiii. falfc Prophets, to /peak Vifions out of their 
 
 J 6. own Fie art, and not out oj the Mouth of 
 
 ■the Lord. 
 
 ^. 2. Can any juftly infer, that the 
 Eternity of the World was Solomons Judg- 
 Eccl. i. 4.. ment, from thofe words ; One Generation 
 paffeth away, and another cometh^ but the 
 Earth abideth for ever F Can this import, 
 that the Earth had no beginning, becaufe 
 it endureth longer than the fuccefiive Ge- 
 nerations that dwelt on it ? and perhaps, 
 it may always continue, after it is purified. 
 But Solomon affures you, the Earth had a 
 Frov. viii. beginning ; where Wifdom fays, I was fet 
 23, — 26. up from ever la fling, from the beginnings or 
 ever the Earth was ; — while as yet he had 
 not made the Earth, nor the higheji part of 
 
 the 
 
Difcoilrfe of Free thinking, 397 
 
 the Duft of the World j which may lignify 
 the firft Matter, 
 
 ^. 3. Have you better Reafon to 
 accule Solomon y as one who denied the In.-' 
 viortaltty of the Soul, or argued again ft a 
 future State ? pag. 152. You produce EijcL 
 iii. 21. IVho knowetb the Spirit of Ma7i 
 that goeth upward ? And neither the Ori- 
 ginal, nor Context, can admit your read- 
 ing, viz. Who knoweth that the Spirit of 
 a Man goeth upward ? But will you allow 
 Solomons Vindication of hirnfelf in this 
 very Book ? Eccl. xii. 7. Then fiall the 
 Duft return to the Earth as it waSy and the 
 Spirit fdall return to God who gave it : 
 And at the Clofe of it, ver. 13, 14. Let 
 us hear the Conclupon of the whole Matter ^ 
 Fear God and keep his Commandments ; for 
 God Jlmll bring every Work into fudg- 
 menty with every fecret Thing y whether it 
 be goody or whether it be evil. Any who 
 read this x\\th Chaptery muft wonder you 
 could reprefent Jo wife a Man as denying 
 fo important a Truths or a future State : 
 (pag. 1 52 J Itiseafy to prove, that thefe 
 Truths were alfo known to the Saints 
 under the Old Teftamenty and generally re- 
 ceived as what influenced their Patience 
 and Obedience. 
 
 ^. 4. Is it the fame thing for God, 
 not to accept but rejeB^ the external Wor- 
 (hip of a profane People, who from their 
 hypocritical Obfervvince of that, encou- 
 raged 
 
39 8 ^ Letter on the 
 
 raged themfelves to live wickedly^ as it 
 would be to deny that he had ever in- 
 jlttuted that external VVorfhip it felf ? You 
 objed-, yer. vii. 22. I /pake not to your 
 Fathers^ nor commanded them in the Day 
 that I brought them out of the Land of 
 Egypt, concerning Burnt-offerings^ or Sa- 
 crifices. But if you read the next Verfe, 
 you will find it explain'd ; for he faith, 
 ver. 23. But thii thing commanded I them , 
 faying^ Obey my Voice, and 1 ivill be your 
 God, and you fiall be my People ; and 
 walk ye in all my Ways that I have com^ 
 manded you, that it may be well with you : 
 But they hearkened not, &c. The plain 
 Senfe is this : " I did not command 
 *' Burnt -offerings, as what would excufe 
 " your Obedience to any of my other 
 •' Commandments which you negle<ft ; 
 " nor were they alone, no, nor were they 
 *' the principal Condition of my being your 
 " God, and your being my People, or of 
 •* its being well with you : But the Con- 
 *' diticn was, that you fhould obey my 
 " Voice by walking in all my Ways, as 
 " well as in offering thefe Sacrifices,'' But 
 to infer htncG, pag, 154. That the Fro^ 
 phets wrote^ as if they believed the Religion 
 ofthe]QWS was not the Infiitiition of God, 
 but an Impoflure, is to charge God with a 
 bad Memory, and Self-contradi6tion. 
 
 Nor can either thtHolinefs of God, or 
 the Divine Inflitution oj the Jewifh Re- 
 
 ligion. 
 
Dijcourfe of Free-thinking, 39^ 
 
 ligioriy be accufed, from Ezek, xx. 25. 
 where he faith, Wherefore I gave them 
 aJfo Statutes that were not good, and fiidg- 
 ments whereby they fiouJd not live. Thefe 
 Statutes cannot intend what concerned 
 their Religion, exceptas they turned them 
 into an occafion of Evil, or as oppofed to 
 the Gofptl-Difpenfation*: For he faith, 
 ver. 2 1 . The Children rebelled again jl me^ 
 they walked net in my Statutes^ neither kept 
 my fudgments to do them ; which tf a Man 
 do, he Jhall even live. They muft refped: 
 therefore a penal PermiJ/jon of fuch ido- 
 latrous or civil Statutes, which their Hea- 
 then Enemies brought them under, as a 
 juft Puniihment for rejeding the good Sta- 
 tutes the Holy God had given them. 
 
 ^. 5. When, pag, 155, 156. you 
 cite the true Prophets declaring God's Re- 
 bukes and Threatnings againlt the wicked 
 Priefts, and faife Prophets, does what they 
 •fay iiigm-iiiiZQ good Priejis, or true Prophets^ 
 or imply there can be none fuch? Were 
 not feveral Priefls and Prophets approved 
 of God as good men, and -as mofl eminent- 
 ly fuch ? But moreover, does God nullify 
 the Offices of true Prophets or Priefts, by 
 any of thofe Reproofs ? We find, the 
 Offices remained ; the j^aronical Priejihood 
 continued, till Chrift put a Period to it 
 by adting as a Priejl of the Order of Mel- 
 chifedeck j and the Prophetick Ojffice con- 
 tinued long in the Chriftian Church. Or 
 
 does 
 
40 o A Letter on the 
 
 does God, in any of the cited Texts, in 
 the leai\ condemn the Office of either Priefts 
 or Prophets ? No ; inftead of that, his 
 fevere Reproofs and Threatnings againft 
 thefe wicked Men, imply the great Ac- 
 count he made of both the Offices which 
 they profanely rnanaged : For the In- 
 dignation of God was excited againft 
 them, becaufe Men in fo facred an Of- 
 fice as the Priejihood (hould be fo wicked; 
 and that vile Perfons (hould pretend to 
 fo Jivine an Office as the Prophetick, 
 The Dignity of thefe Offices aggravated 
 their Sins, and expofed them to forer Pu- 
 nifliments. If your defign in thefe In- 
 ftances be to condemn all the Minijlers 
 of the Gofpel, becaufe fome of them are 
 wicked ; will not it follow, that all Free- 
 thinkers muft be Libertines, becaufe jome 
 are fo ? Or if you would infer, that the 
 Office of the Minijiry is to be rejedled, 
 becaufe bad Men pervert it to ill Pur- 
 pofes; is it not as rational to condemn 
 Free-thinkingy becaufe this is abufed by 
 too p^reat a Number to the worft Pur- 
 
 o 
 
 pofes ? 
 
 I DO not hereby infinuate, that Free- 
 thinking is not both lawful and a Duty^ 
 when it's juftly limited and directed to 
 a proper and good End. Whether it has 
 been thus managed in your prefent Per- 
 formance, I leave to the Judgment of 
 the Chriftian Reader, and the Refledions 
 
 of 
 
Difcou7'fe of Free thinking, 
 
 of your own awakened Confcience. In 
 the mean time, you have Reafon to fuf- 
 pecSt, that many well-meaning People 
 will not be fo much convinced by your 
 ftrongefl; Reafons for Free-thinkings as 
 they will be prejudiced againft it, when 
 they find you reprefent it as no other 
 thing, than a raking only for fuch Stuff, 
 as will mod: expofe Revealed Religion, and 
 a Gofpel-Miniftry. 
 
 401 
 
 D d 
 
 SOME 
 
SOME 
 
 QUERIES 
 
 Relating to the 
 
 B ILL 
 
 For preventing the 
 
 Growth of SCHISM. 
 
 Printed in the Year 17 14. 
 
 D d 2 SOME 
 
SOME 
 
 QUERIES, d'^. 
 
 ^. r. IJi^^^l^ ILL it not bring a fe- 
 vere Ferfecution upon 
 Diflenters, though eafed 
 and proteded by a he- 
 gal Toleration^ oft con- 
 firmed by AiTarances from the Throne ; 
 and thereby encouraged to lay out their 
 Money in the Publick Funds, South-Sea 
 Stocky &ic ? 
 
 For will it not prove a Ferfecution 
 againft DilTenters, when they (hall be ex- 
 cluded from feveral more Privileges than 
 by former Laws ? fuch as, Teaching to 
 ready &c. 
 
 More of their Number are reftrained 
 from a Subfijlence j as the Wmnen^ who 
 have a Livelihood by Teaching to read : 
 And further ^alificatiom are impofed on 
 the Men, vi%. Receiving the Sacrament 
 after the manner of the Church of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 -The Fenahies are alfo greater than by 
 
 former Laws, if they keep any School. A- 
 
 D d 3 mong 
 
40 6 Some Queries on the Bill 
 
 mong the reft, if they go at any time to 
 any of our Meetings^ they are for ever in- 
 capacitated to teach j yea, though quali- 
 iied according to the Bill. 
 
 The Procefs againft: them if they of- 
 fend, is more dangerous, and lefs agreeable 
 to the former Liberties .of EngliJJ:men. 
 
 That general Claufe in it [any other 
 Litemture] will give a handle to uippari- 
 tors and others to difturb, if not a founda- 
 tion for conviding and punifliing many, 
 for following their Trades and Callings. 
 Nor can the Reftraint other wife prevent 
 Schifniy than as it ruineth vaft numbers of 
 Men, who are ufeful and neceflary to the 
 Nation's Benefit and Safety : For Litera^ 
 ture is not a Word determined by our 
 Laws. Who knows then, but Attorneys, 
 Apothecaries, Mafters of Ships, ^c, may 
 be profecuted for teaching their refpedive 
 Arts to their Apprentices ? as alfo, fuch as 
 teach Anatomy, Surveying, Arithmetick ; 
 yea, Writing-Mafters, (though the word 
 Writing fhould be expunged j) for Letters 
 and Learning are concerned in each of 
 thefe ? 
 
 ^L n. Will it not bring Difionour 
 upon the Church of England ? feeing that 
 it's very inconfiftent with the Preamble to 
 the Occafional Bill, wherein fhe is declared 
 to be againft Perfecution. This alfo pro- 
 motes Ignorance, And will it not feem, 
 
 that 
 
to prevent the Growth of Schifm. 407 
 
 that file puts Her Majefty upon doing 
 that, whence fome will ra(hly think her 
 forgetful of her many Gracious Promifes, 
 to protc6i the Diflenters, and keep the To- 
 Uratmi inviolable ? as alfo to invite her to 
 permit Severities againft her own Subject s^ 
 when her Majefty with Zeal contends for 
 the Rights of fucb F rot eft ants abroad ? 
 . : Again, Will it not proclaim the 
 Weaknefs of the Church, as if the Occa^ 
 fional A6f^ fo lately added to many other 
 Laws and Advantages, were infafficient for 
 her Support, whilfi: poor Old Women teach 
 Children their A B C in Engliflj ox French? 
 Yea, will it be the Glory of the Church, 
 to differ from all, Nations ; for none to 
 whom a Liberty for WorQiip was granted, 
 were hindered to educate their Children f 
 Or will it be her Glory, to imitate the 
 French King^ who began the ' Extirpation 
 of the Protejlants by prohibiting their 
 Schools ; and to out-do Julian the Apoflate, 
 who declared it unnatural to cramp the 
 Education of Children ? As to the lelTcn- 
 ing her Repute among Foreign Reformed 
 Churches, it's not worth the naming to 
 fome Perfons. 
 
 ^. III. I s it not agalnfl the Interejl 
 of the Church ? 
 
 All who are true Members of it as a 
 Church ofChrili, will efteem themfclves to • 
 fuffer by the Errors and other things de- 
 D d 4 trimental 
 
40 8 Some Queries on the Bill 
 
 tiimental to Religion^ which will hardly 
 be avoided, when the Dijfcnting Teachers 
 become illiterate^ for want of Education 
 at home. But if their Youth are fent 
 abroady they will (befides the Money there 
 expended) probably receive Principles lefs 
 moderate, and have more Learning to de- 
 fend them, than can be expeded in the 
 few and jmall Academies of Diffenters in 
 this Land. 
 
 ^. IV. May not this Bill ilTue in 
 the Groivth of Schifm^ (as they call it ?) 
 
 For fober Englifimen abhor Severities^ 
 and pity the Perfecuted ; efpecially v/hen 
 under foot, and not wilfully Criminals. 
 But they envy the Domineering, and 
 fuipc(5l that Caufe to be jhitichrijlinti^ 
 which inflames the Perfecutors, and can't 
 fubfift by lefs inhuman means than Vio- 
 lence J efpecially if they, feem too potent 
 already, or lefs circuiTjfpe(!t in their Be- 
 haviour. 
 
 ^. V. Are thofe of the Church who 
 refolve to oppgfe Poper\\ fure thofe Times 
 will never return^ when a Pcpifi Prince 
 may attempt to 7-uin the Churchy as pof- 
 feffed of Power, with all pcblick Emolu- 
 ments ; and in order thereto, tempt the 
 Dijentcrs (by removing their Yoke) to 
 ■ ftaiid Neuters ? Or can they expedt, that 
 newFro?mjes to thefe, will fo eafily obtain 
 
 their 
 
to prevent the Growth of Scliifm. 4.0.9 
 
 their Afliflance as formerly, when they 
 are now again perfecuting them, after fuch 
 a plain Breach of repeated lolemn Pro- 
 miles in the like Extremities ? 
 
 ^. VI. In prefent CircurnjlaiKe^ at 
 home and abroad, and when the moft 
 important Matters are depending, and 
 Trade fo redqced ; have not the Poptjh 
 Party' the jufte|l Reafon to rejoice in, and 
 expedt Advantage from this Billy as it di- 
 vides, irritates, and weakens any true Pro- • 
 teflants ; efpecially fuch, as they think 
 more remote from and zealous againft 
 them, than fome others be ? Nor ought it 
 to he forgotten, that a Houfe of Commons ^ 
 (who, had they obtained the Bill of Exclu- 
 fion, had faved us much Blood, Treafure, 
 Honour, and Quiet,) and feveral Bifiops 
 fince that time, have publi(hed. That the 
 Dijfenters were perj'ecuted by the Inftigar 
 tion of Papijls, and to ferve their Interefls. 
 
 ^i. VII. Are all Men in this blinded 
 Age wife enough to comprehend the ut- 
 moji Views and Tendencies of this Bill ? 
 Is it only to diftrefs the Non-Conformifts? 
 No :. For tho' more Hurt may be intended 
 againfl them, if there be time enough for 
 a gradual Progrefs ; yet they being low 
 Game, and having few left of greater fi- 
 gure than Tradefmen, may it not in time 
 conduce to fubjed the Common and Statute 
 
 Laws 
 
41 o So7m Queries on the Bill^ &c. 
 
 Laws to the Canon Law ? Will it not be- 
 gin to raife the Bijhops Courts to a Power 
 unbefitting our Proteftant, and inconfift- 
 ent with our Limited Government ? 
 
 It is true, the Church of England^ 
 whilfl: managed by real Proteftants, can'c 
 be fatal to the Nation : Yet all her pru- 
 dent and faithful Leaders know, the Ko^ 
 Tni/h Churchy upon her growing Corrup- 
 tions, proceeded gradually to determine 
 the SucceJJion of Princes at her Will, oft 
 excluding fuch who had the Legal Efta- 
 blifiment. But whether (he condefcended 
 to admit their Title, or advanced a Com- 
 petitor again ft Law, both mufh be made 
 either mere impotent Cyphers^ or formi- 
 dable Tools to execute her ambitious De- 
 figns ; as im powered to tyrannize over the 
 People by a Standing Army of Slaves or 
 Foreigners, with her AJjifiance. Nor was 
 (he difappointed, till the deluded Laieiy^ 
 by the Smart of cruel Oppreffions, were 
 forced to fee with their own Eyes ; and 
 ffom that dear-bought Convid:ion, to re- 
 cover thofe juft Rights they had Jottijh- 
 ly refgncd to the worfi TJjurpers^ under 
 the ficred Pretenfions oi M'A her- Church. 
 
 F I f\r I s. 
 
A FUNERAL 
 
 SERMON 
 
 Occafioned by 
 
 The much Lamented Death 
 
 Of the late Reverend 
 
 Daniel Williams^ D. D. 
 
 WHO 
 
 Deceafed "January the 26'\ 17 15-16. 
 In the 73d Year of his Age. 
 
 B7JOHN EVANS. 
 
 Printed in the Year 171 6. 
 
T O 
 
 Mrs. Jane Williams, 
 
 Relifl of the Reverend 
 
 Dr. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 rO U have here offered to your E.ye^ 
 Jlnce your Circumjiances allowed you 
 not to hear it^ the Difcourfe preached 
 at your Defire upon Occajion of the Great 
 and General Lofs we have fuflained. 1 ten' 
 derly fympathize with Tou in the Part Tou 
 bear J and h'ope our compajjionate High- 
 Prieji in Heaven does Jo too^ in a much 
 more beneficial Manner than any of Tour 
 Friends on Earth can do. 
 
 r H E 
 
41 6 The Dedication. 
 
 THE Sovereign Difpofer of all Things 
 has been pleafed to give Tou fenfihle Expe- 
 rience ^ in this dying World ^ of the Vanity of 
 earthly Comforts^ by the Removal of many 
 deferable Relations, Bejides your firft pious 
 Confort, {whofe Memory is precious to them 
 ihat knew him^) fever al of your immediate, 
 and more remote Defcendants, have beeH 
 carried to their long Home before you. And 
 while your Tears ivere yet flowing for one 
 hopejul Branch of your Oj^-fpring, who was 
 gtowing up apace towards Maturity ; God 
 has touched Tou alfo in that nearer Part, 
 the SubjeSi of this Difcourfe. 
 
 B UTy Madam, though Tou have thus 
 had Sorrow upon Sorrow ; yet you have no 
 Reafon to forrow as One without Hope. 
 Thofe fprung from Tou^ who are called 
 hence, were Children of the Covenant \ and 
 di fuch is the Kingdom of Heaven. The 
 Excellent Perjons, to whom fuccejfively 
 lou flood in the neareji Relation, labour- 
 ed to pleafe Chrift in their Stations while 
 thev lived, and are new pleafed in Him 
 and with Him, Allow me therefore to 
 defire, Tou II bear fome Bart with Them 
 in l^oeir prefcnt Joy, By the Favour tf 
 Trovide?Ke Tou have a ProfpeB, fuperi- 
 
 or 
 
The Dedication. 417 
 
 or to many others^ of Comfort and Satis^ 
 Ja£lion from your furviving Poflerity^ who 
 have been fo agreeable and dutiful both 
 to the Dead and to Tou, After threatning 
 Diflempers and hazardous Accidents at- 
 tending them, Tou live to fee them entred 
 upon the World with Hopes of Service and 
 Comjort. 
 
 B UT above all, your Highejl and Be/i 
 Friend in Heaven ever lives. He has 
 Jhewn a Care and Favour for Tou and Tours 
 hitherto, which has fignally rewarded the 
 Chrijlian Bravery of your Pious Father, 
 in quitting with Chearfulnefs a noble Eflate 
 in France, rather than make Shipwreck of 
 Faith and of a good Confcience. IfJjould . 
 value the Entail of fuch a Blejfing, far 
 beyond the Pofefion of fuch an EJlate with- 
 out it. For while Tou and your Pofterity 
 Jhall continue to make it your great Aim, 
 living and dying,- to pleafe the fame Majler ; 
 Tou may depend upon his Favour^ in Life and 
 Death too. 
 
 THA T the Great God may be a Huf- 
 band to the Widow , 7hat the Peace 
 of God, which paffes all Underftanding, 
 may keep yotlr Heart and Mind in Chrift 
 Jefus i ^bat the bejl of Blejjings^ for Time 
 £ e and 
 
41 8 The Dedication. 
 
 and Jor 'Eternity^ may ever reft upon all 
 Tours^ and Theirs -, and Tou may be guided 
 by his Counfel, till You are brought to 
 his Glory j is the hearty Prayer oj^ 
 
 Honoured Madam, 
 
 Tour much obliged Friend^ 
 and affeBionate Servant, 
 
 Feb. i6. 1715. 
 
 John Evans. 
 
 A FU- 
 
A FUNERAL 
 
 SERMON 
 
 FOR 
 
 Dr. Daniel Willi AMs. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 9. 
 
 Wherefore we labour^ that whether 
 prefent or abfenty we 7nay be 
 accepted of him, 
 
 A Great Man this Day is fallen in 
 our Ifrael : It is, I doubt not, the 
 common Senfe of this mournful AfTembly. 
 The Improvement of fo affeding a Provi- 
 dence from the Pulpit, is devolved upon 
 One on many accounts unfit for it j were it 
 not, that as a Son with the Father, he hath 
 ferved with him in the Go/pel here for fe- 
 veral Years paft. When upon that ac- 
 count this Province is afligned me, by Her 
 whofe Authority I could not difpute in 
 the Cafe ; I would endeavour in the bed 
 manner I can, with God's Affiftance, to 
 excite you aud myfelf, by the Life and by 
 E e 2 th© 
 
420 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 the Death of this excellent Minifter of 
 Chrift, to prepare to follow him into his 
 Mafter's Joy. 
 
 The higheft Character of a Gofpel- 
 Minifter, or of a private Chriftian, is 
 drawn in the Text : And I think it was 
 the moft (hining part of Mis, And the 
 Temper and Coarfe here exemplified is 
 the furefl; way for us all in our feveral Sta- 
 tions, to obtain the glorious Rewards of 
 another Life. 
 
 There were fome, we find in the 
 former Part of this Epiftle, who had en- 
 deavoured to lelTen St. Paul's juft Eftecm 
 among the Corinthians^ by falfe Inlinua- 
 tions. Therefore, after other Arguments 
 in Vindication of himfelf and his faithful 
 Brethren, he urges the noble Principles 
 which governed them in their Miniftry j 
 fhewing, that they acfted not upon Tem- 
 poral Confiderations, but the Profped: of 
 a World to come, and the Rewards and 
 Punifliments in Reverfion there. 
 
 He enters upon the Principles of their 
 Hope at the 13 th verfe of the ivth Chap- 
 ter, and carries it on through the Bcgin- 
 ping of this. The Scope of his Argu- 
 ment is to this EfFed * : ** Knowing, 
 " that God, who raifed up Chrift from 
 " the Dead, will raife up us alfo ; 
 ** therefore we preach the Gofpel faith- 
 *' fully, not fearing any prefent Evils 
 
 ** which 
 
 * Vid. Locke in Loc. 
 
for Dr. Williams. 42c 
 
 *' which it may draw upon us. For 
 *' we reckon the fhort Afflidiions which 
 " may be endured here very inconfi- 
 ** derable, in comparifon of the Eternal 
 " Things of a future Life ; and we know 
 *' that they will be fo far from hinder- 
 ** ing, that they will increafe our Hap- 
 " pinefs there. Therefore Death, which 
 " will bring us home to Chrift, is no 
 ** Terror to us. All our Care is, that, 
 " whether we (hall flay longer in tlie 
 " Body, or foon leave it ; virhether living, 
 *' or dying ; we may approve ourfelves to 
 ** Chrift in our Miniftry." In the two 
 Verfes after the Text, he turns from their 
 Hope to the darker Side, the Objed of 
 their Fear ; the Punifliment they muft re- 
 ceive in the Day of Judgment, if they 
 were unfaithful or remifs in their Truft. 
 
 While he is reprefenting their Temper 
 towards this and another Life, he launches 
 out into an elegant Defcriptlon of our Re- 
 lation to both States j how the Cafe flands 
 with us with reference to the Body, and 
 what we expedt in the Life to come. 
 
 (i.) Our Abode here^ on the one hand, 
 is but a Refidence in a T^ahernacle. Our 
 Bodies are only a Tent fet up for a Seafon, 
 like the Tabernacle in the Wildernefs j fuit- 
 ed to the Paflage-flate wherein we are, and 
 intended to be puU'd down ere long. But, 
 on the other hand, we expedt in the Life to 
 come a more durable and excellent Dwel- 
 E e 3 ling, 
 
42 2 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 Ver. 1. ling, a Hotife not made with hands ^ eterfial 
 in the Heavens ; a Manfion for our Souls, 
 immediately prepared by God without any 
 Human Agency j fuitable to the Perfe<5lion 
 and Continuance of the Heavenly State ; 
 that is, Bodies oi a nobler Contexture ; fpi- 
 ritual, incorruptible, immortal Bodies. Up- 
 on confideration of the Diffc;rence, he goes 
 Ver. 2. on, In this we groan earnejily^ de firing to be 
 clothed upon with our Houfe which is jrom 
 Heaven : The Incumbrances and Sorrows 
 and Sins, which attend us by occafion of 
 our fojourning in our prefent Bodies, make 
 us long for thofe of a Heavenly Make. If 
 Ver. 3. Jo be (or, Forajmuch) that being clothed, we 
 JImU not be found naked. If it were an abfo- 
 lute, perpetual Separation from the Body 
 which was to be expedled, the Law of our 
 Nature would reftrain us from defiring 
 that : But iince our vile Bodies are to be 
 changed for glorious ones, therefore we 
 Ver. 4. defire this advantagious Change. For we^ 
 that are in this Tabernacle, do groan^ being 
 burthened ; 7ict for that we would be un^ 
 clothed, but clothed upon, that Mortality 
 might be [wallowed up of Life. Herein, as 
 Chrift upon the Crols exprtfles the Reluc- 
 tancy of Human Nature to a Separation, 
 when he faid, If it he poffble, let this Cup 
 pafs from me : So the Apoftle intimates, 
 that he and other Chriftians would not 
 chufe in itfef to be ftripped of their Bodies 
 by Death, and to have them, laid in the 
 
 Grave, 
 
for Dr. Williams. 423 
 
 Grave. If they could have the fame 
 Change, as that which will be made by the 
 Refurredion, to pafs upon them without 
 Dying, as it will on thofe found alive at 
 Chrift's Coming, this they could chufe ra- 
 ther i an immediate Transfiguration of 
 their mortal Bodies, into their incorrupti- 
 ble State. But we muft underftand him 
 as defigning a tacit Submiflion to the So- 
 vereign Pleafure of God, in what way they 
 (hould come at their perfed: Bodies. Thefe 
 Afpirings towards the State of the Refur- 
 redtion, he afcribes to the Operation of God ^ ^^^^\ S* 
 and particularly to hh giving them the Spi- 
 rit as an Earneft of the Inheritance. 
 
 But fuppofing they could not immedi- 
 ately pafs from lmperfed:ion to Perfection ; 
 but before they had their new Bodies, 
 muft lav down their old ones to fee Cor- 
 ruption, and be pure Spirits for a Seafon : 
 What would they chufe in that State of the 
 Cafe ? Why, even upon thofe Terms they 
 had rather be with their Lord. Though 
 put the Cafe between Tranflation and Re- 
 furredion, they (hould certainly prefer a 
 Tranflation ; yet rather than be abfent 
 from the Lord^ they would quit their Bo- 
 dies. He therefore rifes higher in the fol- 
 lowing words, and chufes to ht feparate 
 from the Body rather than feparate from 
 Chrifi, To uflier this in, he obferves, 
 that 
 
 (2.) While we are in the Body, we 
 £ e 4 are 
 
424 A Funeral Ser?mn 
 
 are ahfent from the Lord ; but when we 
 leave the Body^ we go to the Lord. This 
 begins at ver. 6. The Original has a 
 greater Force than our Tranflation, and 
 contains a lively Turn of Thought, with' 
 which the Apoftle (eems greatly delighted: 
 For he dwells upon it in one Vcrfe after 
 another. He reprefents Chriftians, as be- 
 longing in different refpeds to two feveral 
 Countries. By their Natural Birth, while 
 they continue imbody'd, this World may 
 in fome refpeds be called their Home, their 
 Native Country. Here they came into Be- 
 ing, and this is now their Refidence. They 
 have many Interefls and Affairs here, 
 which concern them as well as other Peo- 
 ple. And towards this State, and the Peo- 
 ple and Things of it, there is a flrong 
 Biafs in their Natures by means of their 
 Bodies ; like the particular Affedion and 
 Bent, which Men have for their own 
 Country and People. Good Men them- 
 felves, till they lay down their Bodies, can- 
 not and fhould not get above all Regards 
 for thefe Alliances to Earth, But then, 
 as they are mw-born, they belong to ano- 
 ther Country, where their Lord is ; and td 
 another People, the Family in Heaven. 
 They are Citizens of the New yerufalem^ 
 whither Chrijl as their Fore-runner is for 
 them entered: And while they are here, they 
 continue at a diftance from their more pro- 
 per Home, which muft be with the Lord, 
 
 This 
 
far Dr. Williams. 425 
 
 This different State of the Cafe is plainly 
 defcribed ; Knowing that while ive rejide in V^'"- ^' 
 the Body as our Home^ we are abfent from 
 that other (that better) Home with the 
 Lord. The next Verfe tells us, how this is : 
 Not that there is no manner of Converfe 
 or Intercourfe between Chrift and his Ser- 
 vants now : But 'tis at a greater Diftance, 
 and in a more imperfedt Way : For we Ver. 7. 
 walk by Faith^ and not by Sight : As a Peo- 
 ple out of their own Country, know the 
 Affairs of it more imperfedly by Relation 
 at Second hand, than they would do if 
 they were upon the Place. 
 
 When the Cafe is thus flated, the Apo- 
 flle declares, which of thefe he and fuch 
 other Chriflians would chufe, if they had 
 their WiQi. They were willing rather (orVenS. 
 ihty Jhould be much better pleajedy) to tra- 
 vel cut of the Body^ to quit that Home, 
 and to get Home- to the Lord. There was 
 no room to hefitate in cool and calm 
 Thoughts, which of thefe was prefer- 
 able. 
 
 And thereupon, as the Conclulion of 
 the whole Matter, he profefles that De- 
 termination which we have in the Text : 
 Wherefore we labour^ that whether prefent 
 or abfenty we may be accepted of hi?n. As 
 if he had faid ; " Since we know the Fa- 
 " vour of Chrift to be fo valuable, that 
 " for the fake of the fuller Enjoyment of 
 " it we could chearfully confent to leave 
 
 " the 
 
^.26 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 •* the Body and all Things here ; there- 
 " fore it is the Height of our Ambition, 
 " the Mark we chiefly aim at, that whe- 
 " ther we are in Heaven or upon Earth, 
 *' both during the Courfe of this mortal 
 " Life and when we are actually leaving 
 ** it, we may be acceptable to our Lord." 
 Th at which was the Frame and Tem- 
 per of the Apoftle and his faithful AfToci- 
 ates in th.eir Times and Circumftances, is 
 the real Difpofition of all Chrift's fincere 
 Difciples in every Age, and in all the Sta- 
 tions which they are called to fill. So that 
 we may juftly found this General Maxim 
 upon it. 
 
 Th a t 'th the great Aim and Eftdea- 
 
 ''cour of true Cbrijliam^ both while they fo- 
 
 journ in the Bony and when they leave it, to 
 
 be acceptable and pleajing to their great 
 
 Lord. 
 
 There isfomewhat of this Temper in 
 every Chriftian : And as far as any Man 
 a(fls like a Chriftian, and worthy of that 
 Name, this is indeed true of him. I (hall 
 therefore endeavour to ftate thi^ Charadler 
 diftind:ly to you. To that Purpofe three 
 Things are to be confidered, which the 
 Text points at. 
 
 Firji^ Th e End itfelf which Chriftians 
 
 propofe. 
 
for Dr. Williams. 427 
 
 propofe, or the Mark they aim at '. To be 
 accepted of their Lord. 
 
 Secondly^ How they {land afFedted to- 
 wards this End, and what they do in pro- 
 fee ution of it : Tkey labour to be accepted of 
 Hi?}!. ■ The more com prehen five Senfe of 
 the Word will be confidered prefently. 
 
 Tf^irdly, The Extent and Compafs of 
 their Concern and Care to reach this great 
 Defign : Whether at Home^ orjrom Home ; 
 whether fojourning in, or leaving the 
 Body. 
 
 I. We are to confider the End itfelf 
 which Chriftians (hould propofe and aim 
 at. We read it, that they may be accepted 
 of Him. 
 
 This Expreflion is ufed in the New 
 Teftament for our Admi[jion into a State of 
 Fa-vour and Acceptance upon our firft Be- 
 lieving. He hath made us accepted in the E^h. i. 6.. 
 Beloved. But that is not the Thing direct- 
 ly intended here. TheApoftle, and thofe 
 whom he includes with himfelf, were al- 
 ready in fuch a State, and alTured that they 
 were, fo as to be able to look forward to 
 another World with Comfort j as the 
 whole Context fhews. Every real Chrif- 
 tian indeed, as far as he has remaining 
 Doubts of his State of Acceptance with 
 God, cannot but be follicitous to have it 
 fecured and cleared. But that is a Matter 
 pre-fuppofcd to the Defign here in view. 
 
 And 
 
428 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 And the Original will be better expreffed 
 by rendering it, to be well-pleafmg to him ; 
 that is, to be fuch, and to carry it in fuch 
 a Manner, that Chrifl: may be well-pleafed 
 with us. 
 
 The Thing afpired after may be de- 
 fcribed by the following Steps : 
 
 I. A Christian fhould defire, that 
 Chrift may take Delight and Complacency 
 in him. 
 
 He (hould have fomething farther in 
 View, than merely that the Sentence of 
 Condemnation be reverfed ; that he may 
 have a real as well as a relative Change^ 
 and may be fuch a one as his Lord will 
 like. Now there can be no Complacency 
 farther than there is a Suitablenefs : Hence 
 Rom. viii. they that are in the Flejh^ cannot pleafe 
 ^' him ; the abfolute Diffimilitude of Nature 
 
 and Temper makes it impoffible. On the 
 contrary, Chrifl delights in his Servants^ as 
 they bear his Image, and perform Obedi- 
 ence to his Will. Our Holinefs is not the 
 Satisfadtion to Juftice for our Sins j nor the 
 meriting Coniideration, for which we are 
 accepted with God after our Apoflacy : 
 But 'tis the only Thing in us^ which can 
 be amiable in Chrifl's Eye. Therefore in 
 Scripture he is fpoken of as delighting in 
 his Servants^ only as they exercife Grace 
 Johnxiv. and live in a Courfe of Obedience. He 
 Prov xi ^^^ loveth me, jhall be loved of my Fa- 
 20. ther^ and I mil love him. Such as are up" 
 
 right 
 
for Dr. Williams. 429 
 
 right In their Way^ are hh Delight. This 
 then (hould be the Chriftian's Ambition, to 
 have the inward Glory and outward Luftre 
 of Holinefs, which will be pleafing to his 
 Holy Mafter. 
 
 2. It fhould be his Aim, that Chrift's 
 Delight and Pleafure in him may be more 
 entire and nearer Perfection, than it has 
 been hitherto. 
 
 Christ's Complacency in his own 
 Servants rifes or falls, in proportion to the 
 Strength or Weaknefs of their holy Difpo- 
 fitions J to the Fervency or Decay of their 
 Love and Zeal for God ; to the exempla- 
 ry Luftre of their Ufefulnefs and good 
 Works J or to their Falls into Sin and Slum- 
 ber to the Dilhonour of his Name. He 
 cannot poffibly like and approve any more 
 in them than is truly Good : For Sin mud 
 be hateful to him in them^ as well as in 
 any others j he muft be difpleafed at it, 
 and with them for it. A Chriftian there- 
 fore (hould be follicitous, not only that he 
 have fomething in him truly amiable in his 
 Lord's Account, but tnucb which he will 
 approve. He (hould be- afraid of any 
 Thing remaining in him, or done by 
 him, that may offend (o good a Friend, 
 and make it necefTary that his Smiles 
 (hould be turned into Frowns. He (hould 
 afpire in all Things to be more the Man 
 ■which Chrift would have him be, in all 
 holy Converfation and Godlinefs -, to out* 
 
 grow 
 
^30 ^ Funeral Sermon 
 
 grow his Ignorance and Miftakcs, and 
 Carnality and Negligence ; and to perfeSi 
 Holitiefs in the Fear of God : That he may 
 
 Phil. iii. fully apprehend that^ J or 'which he was ap- 
 
 '^' prehe?ided of Chrifl Jefus, 
 
 3. It (hould be his Defire, to outfirip 
 others in Chrift's Pelight and Compla- 
 cency. 
 
 An Emulation here is truly commend- 
 able. Chrift does not delight in all his 
 own Servants alike. Though they have all 
 an equal Security for the eflential Blefhngs 
 of the Covenant ; yet they are not equally 
 the Objeds of his Complacency; but in 
 proportion to the Eminency of their Graces 
 and the Brightnefs of their Charadter. Da- 
 
 Dan. ix. »^^/ is fingled out as one greatly beloved. 
 
 23- And among all the Apoflles, 'tis laid with 
 
 John xiij. an Emphalis of John, that he was the 
 
 23- Difciple isshom Jefus loved. 
 
 Those that fliine with uncomm.on Rays 
 of Holinefs, the Excellent of the Earthy 
 are his peculiar Delight : He has a fpecial 
 Value for them, he glories in them. Who 
 would not be ambitious of fuch a firfl 
 Place in the Efleem of his great Lord, as 
 jfoh had ! when God himfelf propofed him 
 
 Job i. 8. ior a Non-fuch ; Ha/l thou conjidered my 
 Servant fob^ that there is none like him in 
 the E^rth, a perfecl and upright man^ one 
 that feareth God, and ejcheweth evil f 
 Every Chriftian (hould afpire to fland in 
 the firft Rank of his Wprthies, and not 
 
 content 
 
Jor Dr, Williams. 431 
 
 content himfelf with a vulgar (hare in his 
 Mafter's Approbation. 
 
 4. He fhould be concerned, that he 
 may receive the julleft and moji diftinguijh^ 
 ing Marks of Chrill's Delight and Pleafure 
 in him. 
 
 He encourages us to expeft proportion- 
 able Difcoveries of his Love, and peculiar 
 Signs of Favour, if we outftrip others. 
 In this World he is ufed to grant larger 
 Meafures of his Grace, to thofe who im- 
 *prove moft carefully their prefent Stock, 
 and to give moft Comfort and Refrefli- 
 ments by the Way to his beft Servants. 
 He frequently honours them by extraordi- 
 nary Favours of Providence or Grace, who 
 honour him in the moft diftinguiftiing man- 
 ner in the Courfe of their Lives. He gives 
 them more remarkable Anfwers to Prayer, 
 more chearful Foretafts of Glory, or the 
 like Tokens of fpecial Love. This is or- 
 dinarily his way with his Servants now. 
 
 But fuppofe eminent Saints fhould mi(s 
 of theJTe, or fome of thefe Signals of dij- 
 tinguijhing Favour now ; yet we have cer- 
 tain Afturances of a full DiJiinSfion to be 
 made in the Life to come^ not only be- 
 tween the Enemies and the Friends of 
 Chrift, but among good Men themfelves, ac- 
 cording to the Degree of their Care to (erve 
 and pleafe him. People are differently em- 
 ployed 5 but according to the Labour they 
 ijfe in their Stations, their Wages will be. 
 
 He 
 
432 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 1 Cor. iii. Jle that planteth, and he that water eth^ are 
 
 one ; and every man jhall receive his own 
 Reward, according to his own Labour. The 
 prefent Life is the Seed-Time for us all ; 
 but the Hav^cefi will anfwer the Seed fown. 
 
 2 Cor. ix. He which foweth fparingly, Jhall reap alfo 
 
 fparingly ; and he which foweth bountifully, 
 Jhall reap alfo bountijiilly. Of thofe that 
 get to Heaven, feme will find their Hap- 
 pinefs abated by the Alloys in their Cha- 
 rader on Earth, in comparifon of more uni« 
 form Chriftians. Some build on Chrifl the 
 7 Cor. iji. jj.yg Foundation Gold^ Silver^ and precious 
 ' ' ^' Stones: Now upon the Trial, if a?iy Man's 
 Work abide which he hath built, he Jhall re- 
 ceive a Reward, that is, a proportionable 
 Reward : But if any Man's Work flxill be 
 burnt ^ as far as it will not fland the Trial, 
 he Jhall Ji^ffer Lofs, it will lelTen his Re- 
 ward J but he Jhall be Javed, yet Jo as by 
 Fire -, with great Difficulty, in comparifon 
 Dan. xii. Qf (\^q other. They that turn many to 
 ^' Right eoufnefs, Jhall Jlnne as the Stars. Now 
 
 certainly fuch Declarations as thefe, are 
 not made with no Defign ; but to excite 
 our Ambition, to covet the bejl of our 
 Mafter's Gifts, and the higheft Marks of 
 his Favour. Though we are unworthy to 
 have the meaneft Place in his Houfe on 
 Earth, or efpecially in the Heavenly State: 
 Yet when he has fet the highejl as a Prize 
 in our View, it is not Modefty, but an 
 unworthy Meannefs of Spirit in a ChHftian, 
 
 pot 
 
for Dr, Williams; 433 
 
 not to afpire to the jioblefl Recompences, 
 with which the King of Glory iioill delight 
 Jo honour his fpecial Favourites. 
 
 II. I AM to fhew, How Chriftians 
 [land aff'eSied towards fuch an End as this, 
 and what they do in profecution of it. 
 
 We labour for this purpofe : So we 
 tranflate the Word 9/Ao7(//a^£^a. In its ori- 
 ginal Senfe 'tis as much as to fay, We love 
 N sr defire it as a Point of Honour. And as* 
 Ambition is a powerful Principle of Ac- 
 tion, from thence it comes (both in the 
 New-Teftamentj and in other Authors,) to^'^'"- ^^* 
 fignify the Purfuit of any End with un- i Theff. 
 common Study and Diligejice and Applica-'^'^' ^i* 
 tion. As an ambitious Courtier, who is 
 fet upon gaining his Prince's Favour, will 
 turn about in his Thoughts all ways of 
 compafllng his End j make every Thing 
 he is Mafter of, fubfervient to his Defign ; 
 relinquiih other Aims, when they cannot 
 be made to comport with this j and ufe 
 unwearied Pains, and perfevering Labour, 
 to come at his Point : So the Chriftian 
 fliould Jland affeSied towards his great 
 End of pleafing Chrijl 5 and thus {hould 
 he aB^ that he may reach it. 
 
 Three Things may comprehend the 
 Chriftian Temper in this Cafe. 
 
 I. A Christian fettles it with hlm- 
 felf for his higheft Ambition to pleafe 
 Chrift. 
 
 F f It 
 
434 -^ Funeral Serjnon 
 
 It fliould be a determined Point with 
 us, that this is the moft honourable Aim 
 we can have in View. The Generality of 
 People form quite another practical Judg- 
 ment, and accordingly govern themfelves 
 by it. They are eafily diverted from their 
 Duty, or perluaded to embark in the worft 
 John V. Interefts, becaufe they feek not the Honour 
 ^'^' which cometh from God only. But a true 
 Chriflian will efteem it the greatejl Honour 
 * of which he is capable, to ftand fair in 
 Chrift's Efteem, and to have a Profped: 
 of receiving his blelTed Approbation of 
 TFeil done J good and faithful Servant. The 
 Dignity, the Wifdom, the Supream Au- 
 thority of the Approver, give his Sentence 
 the greateft Weight. Men court the Fa- 
 vour of Princes, and value themfelves 
 mightily upon a Share in it : What fliould 
 it then be accounted, to ftand fair with 
 the King of Kings ^ and Lord of Lords ? 
 To be in the good Opinion of Men of 
 good Senfe and Judgment, is juftly valued : 
 But here is the mojl infallible Judge of true 
 Worth. We ftudy efpeciaily to pleafe 
 thofe, from whom we have the moft to 
 hope or fear : But Chrift is to pafs the de- 
 finitive Sentence upon all Men and all their 
 Adions, fo as to adjudge them paft Re- 
 trieve either to everlafling Life^ or to Shame 
 and everlafling Contempt, The Chriftian 
 therefore wifely efteems this^ the Aim moft 
 worthy of his Nature aod Obligations, of 
 
 his 
 
for Dr. Williams. 435 
 
 ills Profeffion and bell: Interefls ; and 
 therefore comes to a fixed Refolution, that . ., 
 he will make it his Study to fieio bhnjelf\._^^^'^'' 
 appvo'vcd to him. 
 
 2. He makes all other Conjide rat ions 
 pve place to this his higheft Ambition. 
 
 A s ive cannot ferve -two Alajlers -, (o we 
 cannot make two Sorts of Good our fu- 
 pream End ; but cither ive JJoall hate the ^'^^- ^i. 
 one, and love the other ; or elfe hold to the ^^' 
 cfiCy and defpife the other : Either be vio- 
 lently fet upon the one, and againO: th^ 
 other J or at leaft, mofl fteadily purfue 
 the one, and treat the other in comparifon 
 with Indifference. A Chriftian therefore, 
 having determined this to be his moft be- 
 coming and reafor.able Aim, to pleafe his 
 Mafier in Heaven^ v/ill allow nothing elfe 
 the fame Place ; much lefs will he make 
 this to truckle to lower Defigns. He is 
 not fo fet upon plcafmg himjelf\ but that 
 he can chearfuUy confent to den)' himfelj^^^-^'^'^' 
 too, that he may follow and pleafe. his^'^* 
 Mafter; to relinquiOi his Eafe, when his 
 Mafter calls him out to hard Service ; or 
 to expofe his Credit and Reputation, when 
 lie cannot avoid Reproaches without being 
 unfaithful to Chrift and his Intercft. For 
 he purfues his Approbation, through Z/l?- 2 Cor. vl. 
 nour and Dip:onour, through evil Report '^' 
 and good Report ; yea, even his Life he Afts w. 
 counts not dear to him\ fo that he may finifh 
 bis Courfe with Joy. He is willing to pleafe 
 F f 2 other 
 
 zx. 
 
43 6 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 other Men^ as far as is confiftent with his 
 Duty : For he pays a due regard to the 
 Authority of Superiors, to the Tender- 
 nelTes of Relations and Friends, to the 
 Judgment of the Wife and Good, and 
 even to the common Opinion of the 
 World : All thefe have their Weight with 
 .him in their proper Spheres. Chriftianity 
 teaches him, by all innocent ways, to re- 
 commend himlelf to the Love and Efteem 
 
 Rom. XV. of other People ; to pleaje bis Neighbour 
 for his good to Edification. For this pur- 
 pofe he'll pradife frequent Forbearance 
 and many Condefcen lions, and freely part 
 with his own Right in fome Cafes : But 
 he will not fuffer by any means, this End 
 to be fet on a Level with the pleafmg of 
 Chrift : In that comparative View the A- 
 
 Gal. i. poftle fays, J/ I yetpleafed Men^ then were 
 
 ^°' 1 7iot the Servant of Chrift, He behaves 
 inoffenfively to Men as far as he can, as a 
 Part of his Duty to Chrift : But when he 
 muft break with them, or offend his 
 Mafter, then comparatively he will hate 
 
 Luke xiv. Father and Mother^ and Wife and Chil- 
 dren, and Brethren and Sifters, and his own 
 Life alfo for Chrift's Sake. He obeys God, 
 rather than the greateft Authority upon 
 Earth j and renounces the Influence of the 
 deareft Friend, with a Get thee behind me^ 
 Satan. In a Word, he dares not commit 
 the leaft known 5in^ or deny the leaft 
 
 Truth 
 
for Dr. Williams. 437 
 
 Truth of God, to plcafe all the World or 
 the heft Man upon Earth. 
 
 3. He will carefully direB his ABions 
 and Eiideavours in the beft Manner he can 
 towards his great End. 
 
 This diredtly exprefTes the Force of our 
 Tranflation. We labour to be well-pleafing 
 to Chrift. 'Tis a vain Thing to profefs that 
 we defire and intend his Approbation, if the 
 Courfe of our Adions is quite another way 5 
 or indeed, if they carry not a plain Biafs 
 and Tendency towards it : For that is a 
 Man's governing Aim, which he chiefly 
 purfues. He that would in earneft be 
 what Chrift would have him be, car a how 
 he may pleafe the Lord, I mean not, that 
 this Defign can be fuppofed actually to 
 come into his Thoughts in every particu- 
 lar Adion he does : That is next to im- 
 poffible. But fuch a Man will take a 
 great deal of Pains to difcover his Matter's 
 Will ; to prove what is acceptable to the Eph. v. 
 Lordj whofe he is, and whom he de(ires^°* 
 to ferve. He employs himfelf ruofl in 
 fuch Things, as are certainly agreeable to 
 him : He cannot fatisfy himfelf to want, 
 or fo much as feem to want, the Qua- 
 lifications indifpenfably neceflary to his 
 Acceptance ; and his Pleafure and Bufi- 
 nefs is in the Difcharge of his Duty : 
 Whereas, on the contrary, he keeps a 
 ftridt Guard againft every known Offence. 
 In the deliberate and more important Ac- 
 F f 3 tions 
 
^38 A Funeral Eermofi 
 
 tions of Life, he will oblige himfelf to 
 , enquire particular^, how far they fuit 
 
 with his Defign. All the Talents and Ca- 
 pacities he is furni(hed with, are confe- 
 crated without Referve to his Lord : Nor 
 can he be content to refer one Sort of 
 Adions only to this End, while othei's are 
 ordinarily exempted j as fuppofe a Man 
 (liould pretend to pieafc Chriil in his Re- 
 ligious Anions, but not in the Courfe of 
 Common Life. A fincere Chriftian pur- 
 fues his Approbation in every Station he 
 fills ; in every Relation wherein he fiands ; 
 with every Talent, natural or acquired, 
 of Body or Mind or Eftate, wherewith 
 he is intruded. A devoted Servant of this 
 Mafter cannot fatisfy himfelf to neglect 
 his Duty, when he can propofe no other 
 Aim by it befides Chrift's Acceptance; as 
 for Inftance, fuch Parts of his Duty as are 
 invifible to Men, or unreputable in the ac- 
 count of the World. He will take pains, 
 to purify his Heart, as well as his Life ; 
 1 Pet. IJl. to ado?'?i the hidden mail of the Heart, which 
 4- in the fight of God is of great Trice j and 
 
 to manage all his Performances in that 
 Manner, which he has reafon to hope 
 Col. iii. Chrift will like beil ; to do all heartily and 
 ?■'}>' chearful ly, as to the Lord, and not to jnen-^ 
 and to carry his Conformity and Obedi- 
 ence to him, to the greateft Heights he 
 Mai. i. can. He'll think himfelf concerned, in 
 n- '4* AiSts of Worfhip, not to bring the tern, 
 
 and 
 
for Dr. Williams. 439 
 
 and the lame^ and the fick, but the Male of 
 his Flock ; and in the Service of Life, to 
 do his beft for the Glory of God and the 
 Benefit of his Generation. 
 
 There is yet another Branch of the 
 Character to be enlarged upon ; and that is, 
 
 III. The Extent and Compafs of a 
 Chriftian's Concern and Care to reach his 
 excellent Aim. Whether prefent^ or abfent ; ^ 
 
 whether continuing in the Body, or dif- 
 lodging out of it ; he prefjes towards the 
 Mark of this Prize^ to be acceptable to 
 Chrifi". 
 
 Some indeed refer this, to our Accept- 
 ance 'with Chrift : As if the Apoftle had 
 faid, " We defire, that Chrift may be 
 " well- plea fed with us here and hereafter : 
 " We ftrive, both for thofe Marks of Ac- 
 '* ceptance which he grants his Servants in 
 " this World, and efpecially for the higher 
 *' Tokens of it in the Life to come." 
 And this is, without doubt, in the Chrif- 
 tian's View ; as there has been Occafion to 
 lliew already. He is follicitous for the 
 Grace and Mercy he needs from Chrift by 
 the Way; and for his Mercy alfo tmto]^^^ 
 Eternal Life. He defires to belong to'^^'"'^*' 
 Chrift's Family, on Earth, and in Heaven 
 too. 
 
 But I apprehend, we are rather to re- 
 fer thefe Words, to the^Cbrifiian's Co?2cem 
 about being acceptable to Chrift. As if he 
 F f 4 had 
 
440 A Funeral Sermo7i 
 
 had faid, " Whether we are going on in 
 •' Life, or on the very Borders of another 
 " World, this is the Ambition and Concern 
 " of our Souls*." This emphatical Ad- 
 dition may befpeak three Things. 
 
 I. That a Chriftian is more concerned 
 to have Chj'ijl plcafed with him, than about 
 the Time of his Life or his Death ; whe- 
 ther he is to continue in the Body, for a 
 longer, or a fhorter Time. 
 
 Thus the Words will be brought in as 
 a Sort of Check to thofe eager Defires of 
 leaving the Body and going home to the 
 Lord, which the Apodle had expreffed in 
 the foregoing Verfe. *' However, though 
 ** were I to chufe for my own Intereft, 
 " I fhould gladly quit this Body to be 
 ** with my Lord : Yet as to that, 7iot as I 
 " tf///, but as my Lord wilL I am con- 
 *' tent, for that and every Thing elfe, to 
 ** be concluded by his Determination. 
 *' Let me but have my higher Wifh in 
 " tliis, that I am acceptable to Chriji ; and 
 *' then, whether in the Bods, or out of the 
 " Body, I am fully fatisfied in his Choice 
 *' for me." He cxprelles juft the fame 
 
 Temper 
 
 * As the words lie in the Original, they may admit 
 of either Senfe; i\io yct,i (piXol/fy.isy.id-ct, eni ifS'itfj.avjii, 
 «7£ £';J'm//«!^j<-, ivct.-^i?-ci avreo e.vdt. The words I am 
 now confiderirg, lie in the midit between tpi^oTiix^y.id-ec 
 and svocpi?-c/ 1 and therefore may without Abfurdity be 
 applied to either. Yet I apprehend, if they were in- 
 tended to relate to the laft, they would rather have run, 
 syftf £?■(?/ AVTc' f-iVAif e.n si'J^iifi. Sec. 
 
for Dr, Williams. 441 
 
 Temper in his Epiftle to the Philippians ; 
 According to my earnejl ExpeBation and P'"'- ^* 
 my Hope^ that in nothing I Jhall be ajham- 
 edy but that with all BoldneJSy as always, 
 fo ?20w alfoy Chrifi Jhall be magnified in my 
 Body, whether it be by Life or by Death. 
 His greateft Hope and Wi(h was, that 
 Chriji fiould be magnified in him -, whether 
 by his Life, in adive Service to his Inter- 
 eft j or ^^y his Death, fuffering for the 
 Teftimony of Jefus. And therefore, tho' 
 afterwards he declares the fame Preference 
 of a Departure to be with Chrifi, as he Ver. 23, 
 does in this Context ; yet upon an Appre- ^^' ^^' 
 henfion that it would be more for the In- 
 tereft: of Chrift and his Church, that he 
 fhould remain a little longer below, he 
 exprelfes himfelf fully fatisfied to do fo. 
 Such ought to be the Frame of Chriftians 
 in general. Heaven Ihould be preferr'd to 
 Earth, as far better : But they (hould 
 be fully willing to ftay or go at Chrift's 
 Pleafure ; to exercife Patience in waiting 
 for their own Reward, till they have done 
 all the Service which Chrift will have 
 from them below ; and have borne all the 
 Exercife he is pleafed to affign them, ^ 
 cither by fuffering for his C'aufe, or endur- 
 ing the Pains and Sicknefs of a crazy 
 Body, or the Infirmities of Age. Faith 
 and Patience are indeed ?2eedful to a Chrif- Heb. x. 
 tian, who know^ he (hall go to his Fa- ^^* 
 ther's Houfe when he leaves this 5 that 
 
 after 
 
442 A Funeral Sermoft 
 
 after he has done the Will of God, he may 
 receive the Promije : But this he fbould 
 be ftriving and praying for, that he may 
 be chearJiiUy 'willing to deny hiinfelf in 
 this, as well as other Cafes, for the pleaf- 
 ing of his Mafter. 
 
 2. It may intimate^ that a real Chrif- 
 tian continues and perfeveres in this holy 
 temper to the End. 
 
 He defers not, on the one hand, to 
 make Provil'ion for fo important a Con- 
 cern till his laft Moments J but purfaes 
 his Prize, living as well as dying j and 
 though he (hould begin early, Vv'ould 
 reckon the whole Courfe of this {hort Life 
 little enough to lay in for the Smiles of his 
 Mafter. On the contrary, he is not fa- 
 tisfied with a tranfient Care in this Matter j 
 but keeps up the fame Concern to the laft j 
 Heb. X. ^g knowing, that if he fhould draw back, 
 Chrift 'would have no Pleafiire in him. A 
 lively Chriftian works bard all the Day, 
 and yet is not weary of his Mafter's Ser- 
 vice in the Evening. And for certain, 
 when he comes actually into the feparate 
 State, he'll be far from changing his Bials : 
 Though there will be no Occafion then 
 for any painful Purfuit of his Defign ; yet 
 a Tendency, a Bent towards it, will be 
 the Temper mod connatural to his con- 
 firmed and perfedt State. 
 
 3. This may be intended to iignify, 
 tl:iat a Chriftian will fiew his Dfire to 
 
 pleafe 
 
 38. 
 
Jor Dr. Williams. 443 
 
 pleafe Chrift, both in Life and Death ^ by 
 
 a fuitable Behaviour in both. // he lives^,^°^- xlv. 
 
 he lives to the Lord ; and if he dies, he dies 
 
 to the Lord ; -whether he live therefore or 
 
 die, he, is the Lord's, 
 
 As long as a Chriftian remains in the 
 Body, to him to live is Chrift. He will P^^^- J« 
 readily do him all the active Service he canj ^'* 
 while he has Breath and Being, with his 
 Health, and Strength, and Capacities of 
 all Kinds. As a Probationer and a Citf- 
 zen of this World, he endeavours to maj- 
 nage himfclf with a farther View than to 
 this World : Though he lives in it, bis 
 Life is direded to higher Aims, than any 
 Thing within the Bounds of Time. 
 
 And when he has it in nearer View, 
 that he (hall leave the Body j yet he'll ex- 
 prefs a Devotednefs to Chrift in ways fuit- 
 able to his prefent Circumftances. When 
 dying, he labours to pleafe Chri/i. If he is 
 threatned with Death by the Cruelty of 
 Perfecutors, unlefs he will be unfaithful to 
 his Mafter ; he is content to offer Life a 
 Sacrifice to him: As St. P<7?^/ fpeaks, I am Ad.sxxl 
 ready, -not to be bound only, but alfo to die^^' 
 at ferifalem for the Name of the Lord 
 fefus. And when Death makes it's Ap- 
 proaches in the ordinary way, as he has 
 Room and Opportunity, he will be glad 
 to do Chrift Service in his laft Moments ; 
 to be a Witnefs of his Goodnefs and Fi- 
 delity, and of the Pleasures of his Service, 
 
 to 
 
444 ^ Funeral Sermon 
 
 to thofe about him ; and to leave the heft 
 Impreflions he can, on the Minds of his 
 furviving Relations or Friends : As St. 
 2 Pet. i. Peter^ kfiowing that he mufl JJ:ortly put off 
 ^^' ^^' this Tabernacle^ endeavoured, that thofe 
 who had been his Charge before, tnight be 
 dble after his Deceafe to have the things 
 wherein he had inftrudted them abj^ass in 
 Reme?nbrance. A good Man will contrive 
 with pleafure for the Good of future 
 Times, when he is bidding an Adieu to 
 the World himfelf ; that Chrift's Honour 
 may be promoted, and his Service ad- 
 vanced, as far as he has a Capacity for it, 
 when he himfelf is dead and gone. Cha- 
 ritable Benefactions out of his Subftance, 
 or good Advices to thofe that come after 
 him, will be a pleafant Employment, when 
 Flefh and Heart are failing. 'Tis true. 
 Good Men have not always Time, or 
 Strength and Spirits, for this j or they may 
 not be apprehenfive of Death immediately 
 approaching : For the beft Men may be 
 furprized with the Harbingers of Death, 
 as well as other People, or may not be 
 fenfible how near Life is ebbing out j 
 though they are 7iot furprized with Death 
 itfelf, fo as to be altogether unprepared for 
 it. But fuppofing a Chriftian, to difcern 
 his "Departure at hand^ to be in a prefent 
 chearful Frame, and to have a defirable 
 Supply of natural Spirits -, he will be glad 
 
 to 
 
ft)r Dr. Williams. 445 
 
 to feal his Tejiimony for Chrijl with his 
 laft Breath. 
 
 And now, having drawn out this Cha- 
 raBer of a real and Hvely Chriftian, ac- 
 cording to the Apoftle's Defcription in the 
 Text ; 'tis fit I (hould come to make fome 
 Application. And that Ihall be in the fol- 
 lowing Inferences. 
 
 (i.) We may colle(ft hence, how great 
 a Thing itis^ to be a Chriftian. 
 
 'Tis far more, than wearing a dlfFcrent 
 Name from the reft of the World : For 
 it refines and raifes a Man's governing Aim 
 and Bent, It gives him a new Centre, 
 and confequently alters his Tendencies and 
 Inclinations. He chiefly loves and regards 
 an unfeen Saviour, and makes more ac- 
 count of his Smiles or Frowns, than of 
 the Friendship or Enmity of all the W^orld. 
 And his Courfe of ading is fuitable to a 
 Heart thus fixed. May it not then be 
 juftly feared, even of moft that bear the 
 Denomination, that they are altogether un- 
 acquainted with the Temper and Spirit, of 
 Chriftians I They pafs under the Name : 
 But the Defigns they plainly purfue, mark 
 them out for Men of the /{'orld, whofe P''^^- ^'-^ 
 Portion is in this Life. They rije up early ^ ^xxvii. a. 
 and fit up late^ and eat the Bread of Car e- 
 fulnejs^ to compafs fome fecular Defign: 
 But the pleafmg of Chrijl appears to have 
 
 little 
 
44-6 ^ Ftmeral Ser?noH 
 
 JIttle Place in their Thoughts, becaufe 'tin 
 evident that is not made the Scope of their 
 Lives. Ti^ey are either purfuing Ends in- 
 conliftent with this, or difcover a Negli- 
 gence here, which fpeaks other things to 
 have the Afcendant in their Affe<5lions. 
 But the true Chriftian firft fettles his great 
 End, and then in the main of his Cha- 
 ratfter ads confiftently with it both living 
 and dying. 
 
 (2.) This Charadier of a Chriftian, 
 may juftly put the Beji among us to the 
 Blufi^ and engage to deep Repentance and 
 Humiliation, that we aB fo Jar beneath 
 the Aims by which we profefs to govern 
 ourfelves. 
 
 If Confcicnce can vouch for us, that 
 we have fixed our End right 5 yet in 
 how many Cafes may it be our Monitor, 
 That either we forget our chief Defign, 
 or purfue it with great Coldnefs and In- 
 con ftancy ! It was our Saviour's Obferva- 
 tion, and every Age proves it too true, 
 Luke xvi. That the Children of this World are wifer 
 ^' /« their Generation^ than the Children of 
 
 Light : That is, Thofe who have aded the 
 moft foolish Part in the Settlement of 
 their chief End, fatisfying themfelves with 
 a Portion here, generally take wifer Steps 
 in purfuit of the Good they have fixed 
 upon, than thofe, who have made their 
 Choice by better Light, ordinarily do for 
 
 fecuring 
 
for Di\ Williams. 447 
 
 fecurlng theirs. The ambitious Courtier, 
 the covetous Mifer, the ?vlan of Pleafure, 
 profecute their fcveral Aims with Eager- 
 nefs and AppHcation; can deny themfelves 
 in other Matters to reach the Point of their 
 \Vi(hes ; and are very folHcitous to know 
 what Progrefs they make towards their 
 End by ail their Endeavours. But how 
 often may Confcience reproach us with 
 pradical Indifference in our greateft Con- 
 cernment ! We luffcr ourfelves to go off 
 from our Centre ; we forget our Mafter, 
 and how we fhould behave to him ; we 
 let other Aims carry us impetuoully after 
 them, and go on at an Uncertainty whe- 
 ther our Mafler approves us or no. Such 
 Sallies from our main End, are the greater 
 Reproach to us, when we have fixed our 
 Choice on a Defign fo worthy and rea- 
 fonable. It fliould humble us before God, 
 and at the Bar of our Conlciences, that 
 when we took the wifeft Step of our whole 
 Lives in determining to feek the Favour of 
 Chrift as our principal Intereft, we ihould 
 carry it more irrationally in Purfuit of 
 fuch an End, than thofe who have only 
 fading Trifles in viev/. 
 
 (3.) We (hould all be excited to ^ Gj«- 
 formity of T^emper to that expreffed here 
 by the holy Apoftle : We fliould be dc- 
 liver ed into the fame Mould. 
 
 Are you hitherto utter Strangers to 
 
 any 
 
44^ -^ Funeral SermoH 
 
 any fnch Biafs? Have you never bent your 
 thoughts towards pleajing of Chrift j but 
 merely lived to your felves, or the Hu- 
 mours and Inclinations of vour Fellow- 
 Creatures ? Think a little, how unjuftly 
 and unrighteoufly you have lived. Chriji 
 has the moft undoubted Claim to your 
 being thus affed:ed towards him. You are 
 his in Right, before your own Confent. 
 He is clothed with his Father's Authority 
 for your Subjed:ion : He has bought you 
 with the Price of his own Blood : Moft 
 of you have been lolemnly dedicated to 
 his Service : You call him Lord^ which be- 
 fpeaks your full Obligation to this. Either 
 therefore renounce the Name of Chrif- 
 tians ; or let Him be owned in his Claims 
 from you. How ungrateful is your Re- 
 fufal, after all his Condefcenfion and 
 Grace ! He pleafed not himfelf, but became 
 a Man cf Sorrows , made himfelf of no Re- 
 putatio7j\ became obedient unto Death, for 
 your Sakes : And can you refufe this Re- 
 turn of Duty and Affedtion ? You are 
 2 Cor. V. called to live to him, who died for you, 
 ^^' (that you might become pleafing to God 
 
 through him,) and rofe again, that he 
 might receive the Teftimonies of your De- 
 votednefs to him. What Enemies are you to 
 your own Intereft, by ftanding out againft 
 this Demand ! You have no other way to 
 fecure your everlafting Welfire, but by 
 his Favour. Can you think of dying, 
 
 while 
 
for Dr, Williams. 449 
 
 While He is not your Friend, who ha^ fhe^^^- '• 
 Keys of the invifible World and oj Death ; 
 who has the Power to give eternal Life ^ 
 or fentence to eternal Death ! You have a 
 more certain way to fecure his Approbation, 
 than the Efteem of men: They are humo- 
 rous, inconftant, and of different Senti- 
 ments : But he is of one Mindy and has 
 let us know his Will ; and is ealily pleafed 
 by any one that heartily makes it his Bufi- 
 nefs : Tf there be fir ft a willing Mind, it ^j.^'^'"- 
 is accepted according to that a Man has. 
 And I may juftly fay, if you would be 
 perfuaded to make a Trial, you would 
 find the triieft Pleafure to yourfelves in 
 purfuing Chrift's Approbation. In Pur- 
 fuit of this End, you would find Reft to 
 your SoulSy and that Peace of God through 
 Chrifly to keep your hearts and minds ^ which 
 is not to be met with elfewhere. 
 
 If we have deliberately fettled upon 
 this for our governing Aim, let us purfue 
 it with the Spirit of the Text : Often re- 
 view our End j recall ourfelves, when we 
 are going off from it ; and prefs towards it 
 with more Zeal, and Stcadinefs, and Uni- 
 formity ; endeavouring to walk worthy of Co\, i. 10: 
 our Lord, unto all pie afmg. Every Branch 
 of Holinefs and Duty will be then natu-'^,, . 
 ral and eafy to us ; in keeping his Commands n 
 we ihall feel a great Reward. Confcience 
 will furnifh us with a conftant Entertain- 
 ment. Afflidions and Sufferings will lofe 
 G o their 
 
 o 
 
45 o A Funeral Sermon 
 
 their Sting: Chrid, whom wd fetve, will 
 
 care tor us, and be with us, in all our 
 
 Difliculties : His Spirit will help our Jn^ 
 
 firmities^ and abide iso'uh us as a Comforter, 
 
 Death itfelf will hav2 a chearful Afpe6l ; 
 
 cPet. 1. ^^^ ^,^ Entrance will be minifired to us 
 11. 
 
 abundantly into bis everlajling Kingdom, 
 
 (4.) We have great Reafon to lament 
 it as a fenfible Lofs to our World, when 
 fuch ChriJiia?iSy and efpecially fucb Mini- 
 JlerSy are rc7no'ved hence^ as were eminent- 
 ly governed by this noble Aim. 
 
 Such Perfons arc the moft diffufive 
 Bleffiogs, while they live : Adling under 
 this Influence, they fill up their feveral 
 Stations at another Rate than the common 
 Rank of People, to the Honour of God 
 and the Good of Mankind. Miniflers 
 efpecially, (as their Office and Bufinefs has 
 the mofl beneficial tendency to the higheft 
 Tntereils of men,) when they behave them- 
 fclves in their Work with a lively Regard 
 to their- Mailer's Judgment, fpread a Blef- 
 fing around them, and have luch Oppor- 
 tunities to do Good as come not in every 
 one's Way, Therefore all the Time al- 
 lowed them to Ifay below, while they are 
 capable of ading for their Mafter, is a 
 Kindnefs to the Places where they are. To 
 M. i, abide in the Flejh (fays the Apoflle,) is 
 *"^' more 7ieedful J or you. And if their Wif- 
 
 dom a«d Experience are ripened by ad- 
 vancing 
 
for Dr. Williams. 4.51 
 
 Vancing Years, they may do more Service 
 then in a fmall CoEiipafs of Time, than they 
 were capable of before in a far longer 
 Space. 
 
 You are therefore all fenfible, what a 
 wide Breach is made upon us in the Death 
 of our ^venerable Father a?id dear Friend^ 
 whofe Remains were lately laid in the 
 filent Duft J who among all his Excellen- 
 cies was mod: eminent for this, that iivirj^ 
 and dying he laboured to pleaje his IvLiJlcr 
 i?2 Heavett : For' this confecratcd all lus 
 other Endowments,, and made them fhine 
 with Luftre, and fpread a lively Warmth 
 around. 
 
 He was furnillied wiih many uncom- 
 mon Advantages for S&rvice. God blelTed 
 him by Nature with an unufual Genius : 
 He had a copious lavQUiion, a penetrating 
 Judgment, a faithful Memory, and vigo- 
 rous Affcdiions : Thefe were cultivated by 
 much thought, and diligent reading. His 
 Mind was capable of the clofeft Applica- 
 tion, and could eafily dive into Points of 
 no fmall Difficulty, immediately faften 
 upon the main Hinge of a Debate, (which 
 was efpccially remarkable in his Reiolution 
 of Cafes of Confciencc ;) could furvey the 
 Compafs of an Argument, turn it on all 
 its Sides, and reprefent it in all its Views, 
 with as great Force and Qincknefs as were 
 eyer me; with in any man. This natural 
 G g 2 Strength 
 
45 2 A Funeral Ser?nofi 
 
 Strength of his Mind fupplied fome Difad- 
 vantages in his Education at firft fitting 
 out, which would have cramped a com- 
 mon Genius through his whole Life. 
 
 To fuch a Make of Mind was added 
 a ftrong and vigorous Conftitution of Bo- 
 dy, which was favourably continued to 
 him till his elder Years. That Diftemper, 
 which moft of his Friends apprehended 
 might have been peculiarly dangerous to 
 bim^ the Small -Pox, he efcaped to the laft. 
 And before he appeared in this City, he 
 was poflefied by the Bounty of Providence 
 of a coniiderable Share of worldly Sub- 
 ilance ; which, with his large Acquain- 
 tance and difFufive Influence, gave him 
 Advantages for Ufcfulnefs beyond many of 
 his Brethren. 
 
 These Things indeed, without good 
 Principles and Ends to govern them, will 
 not ferve to brighten a Charadier : When 
 wrong fet, they only make men more 
 capable of oppofmg the Intereft of Chrifl 
 in the World. But that which gave them 
 all a real Luftre in him was this, that he 
 lifted them All in the Service of his Great 
 Lord. 
 
 He began to mind Religion in earneft 
 in his younger Years ; as I have learnt 
 from his own Converfe, and the Informa- 
 tion of others who knew the Zeal of his 
 youthful Days ; And entred upon the 
 
 Miniftrv 
 
for Dr. Williams. 4^^ 
 
 Miniftry on the defpifed bottom of Aw7- 
 conformity^ in an early part of his own 
 Age, not being then arrived at trcenty ; 
 and one of the earlieft of the rifing; Ge- 
 neration, after the melancholy Ej:.'dion of 
 Two thoujand Minijlers in 1662. 
 
 When he had preached for a few 
 Years occafionally in feveral Parts of Efig- 
 land J and found the Times here fo frown- 
 ing on a Protejiant T)if]enter^ that he 
 could have little Profped: of purfuing his 
 Miniflry on this fide the Water ; Provi- 
 dence very feafonably opened him a way 
 for Service in Ireland ; where even in thofe 
 T^imes the Government faw fit to treat 
 Men of his Principle, amid ft a Swarm of 
 bigotted Papijh, in a very -different Man- 
 ner from the Ufage of their Brethren 
 jiere, and even from the Difficulties 
 thrown upon the Prefiyterians of Ireland 
 fince, whereby their Hands are tied dowA 
 to this Day from ferving the Government. 
 As he made an occafional Vifit to a pious 
 Lady *, who was not apamcd of the Dif- 
 fenters Chain ; he received an unexpected 
 Invitation to be Chaplain to a Noble Fa- 
 mily of that Kingdom -f*. There he found 
 a Refuge from the Storm, and at length 
 was called to the Pafloral Office in the City 
 of Dublin over a Congregation of princi- 
 pal Figure there. In that Kingdom he had 
 G g 3 an 
 
 * Lady Wilbraham Q.f We^on in Shropjhke. -j: Tiie 
 Countefs of Mentha 
 
^54 ^ Funereal Sermon 
 
 an Opportunity of publick Service, for 
 near twenty Teari^ by his Labours in the 
 Pulpit, by his prudent Advice, by the Im- 
 provement of the Interefl: he obtained in 
 Perfons of the higheft Rank, and by many 
 other Methods in which Providence chofe 
 \o make him a general Blefiing. There he 
 filled his Station with unufual Acceptancej 
 in great Harmony with his Brethren in the 
 Minifiry, and refpedled by moft who were 
 hearty Protejiants in that I (land ; till he 
 was driven away with many others, by 
 the tyrannical and violent Proceedings of 
 a Popiflj Adminijlratton in the Reign of 
 King 'James. 
 
 In this City, to which he made his Re- 
 treat, he was foon obferved and efieemed, 
 and invited to more Congregations than 
 one for their Aated Minifter. But God, 
 in his kind Providence, referved him for 
 Tou, where he has continued in the Ser- 
 vice of the Gofpel about twenty- fcven, 
 Tears. 
 
 Upon the Death of the pious Mr. Bax- 
 ter, he was chofen into the Merchants 
 LeBure at Pinner s Hall. There was ano- 
 ther Competitor propofed*; and the Elec- 
 tors happened to be equally divided. It 
 was therefore immediately agreed, that 
 they fhould appeal to Providence by a Lot-, 
 which fell upon him. Upon this Occafion, 
 a Perfon well known to be a Judge of 
 
 men, 
 
 . ^ * Mr. Woidrcik. 
 
for Dr. WiLLiAMS. 455 
 
 men, and far from being prejudiced in his 
 Favour-f-, faid, " That ihongh he had 
 *' i'erved his Friend, yet now he thought 
 " every one ought to acquiefce in the 
 *' CUoice, upon lo immediate Diredion of 
 * ' Heaven, and that Mr. WiUiaim was a Per- 
 '* fon of the befl: natural Parts \n England.'* 
 The unliappy Differences, which fell 
 out afterwards, and the flrange and hard 
 Treatment which lie met with from fome, 
 I chufe to pafs over in Silence 5 wilhing, 
 (as he did,) that it may for ever be buried 
 in Forgetfuinefs. It is neither in my In- 
 clination, nor a Thing becoming me, to 
 revive thofe preter- natural Heats, (\i\Ct the^ 
 Flame was far fpent before my Acquain- 
 tance with him. Yet 1 cannot forbear 
 mentioning it, to the Praife of this Congf-e- 
 gation^ that You faithfully flood by your 
 Minifler in all his Difficulties j and to the 
 Praife of God, (as I have heard him and 
 many others take notice of it, who were 
 acquainted with the Tran factions of thofe 
 Times,) that God gave him that Sedate- 
 nels and Calm, beyond his natural Tem- 
 per, and that Prefence of Mind under his 
 eager Profecutions, which defeated the 
 Dcfigns againft him. And I will add with 
 Plealure from my own Knowledge j that 
 he lived to foften the Minds of many 
 who were mofl angry at him, and to coq-^ 
 vincc not a few, that they had taken 
 G g 4 up 
 
 ' ■ ■ ■ ■ ""i.", - ■ - ' ■ ' "* - ' 
 
 •j- Mr. Jer. JVhitc. 
 
456 
 
 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 up very wrong Apprehenfions concerning. 
 him. 
 
 I AM fatibfied, thofe who knew him, 
 beft, had the grcateft Eftecm for him; 
 and could not but dilcern juft Grounds to 
 beheve, that his governing Aim v/as to be 
 acceptable to Chrifl, 
 
 f; ;In the Exercife of his Minijiry^ he flu- 
 died to {hew himfelf approved to God, and 
 to every • jnans Confcience in the Sight oj 
 God. He had a very ftrong Conviction of 
 the Importance and Defign of the Minijle- 
 rial Work j and therefore dihgently la- 
 boured in it in Seajon, and cut of Sea fen. 
 His Subjedts were generally of a practical 
 Nature ; and yet (whatever fome have 
 fuggefted,) he was a flrenuous AfTerter of 
 the Grace of God. His Thoughts were 
 folid and copious; fo as to go over the 
 whole Compafs of a Subjed:, and to take 
 in an uncommon Variety of that which 
 was pertinent'to it. His Manner of ma- 
 naging it, was plain and Scriptural ; with 
 an Intermixture of dodtrinal and applica- 
 tory parts, with great Propriety and Life. 
 Light and Heat were joined together in his 
 Difcourfes. He fcldom clofed a Sermon 
 without a particular Addrefs to good and 
 bad Men, according to the Tenor of his 
 Subject ; and fome clofe Queflions to 
 them upon it, which were peculiarly adapt- 
 ed to fend them Home in a ferious Frame. 
 
 He 
 
for Dr. Williams. 457 
 
 He had a fpecial Happinefs in explaining 
 the Nature of our Covenanting ivith God^ 
 fo as to make People fenfible of the De- 
 fign and Force of it. h\A I cannot but 
 apprehend, we {hould find it turn to a 
 good Account in the Courfe of our Mini- 
 ftry, if we were more plain and frequent 
 in this important Matter. 
 
 And as he preached in earned^ io he 
 was a conftant Preacher, When he was 
 feized leven Years ago with that fii'fc lllnefs, 
 which began viiibly to break his Conftitu- 
 tion, he was heard to fay, " that from his 
 *' firfl: Entrance upon theMiniftry to that 
 *' Time, he had never been obliged wholly 
 " to omit Preaching for above five Lord's- 
 ** days." And with what unwearied Zeal 
 he continued in that his beloved Work 
 among you, though frequently under great 
 Indifpofitions in his later Years, you are 
 all Witnelles. 
 
 His SucceJJes were remarkable as well 
 as his Labours, for the Converfion of 
 fome, the Improvement of others, and the 
 Direction many received by the Word of 
 God in his moiith in particular Difficulties ; 
 of which I could tell fome remarkable In- 
 ftances. His anniverfary Sermons io young 
 People on that Day of leifure, Chrijl^as- 
 Day, (which he preached himfelf all the 
 time he continued among you, except 
 once,) had the Blefling to begin a good 
 Work in feveral, 
 
 The 
 
458 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 Th e fame Love to his Mafter's Inte- 
 rcft, which fpirited him to fo much Zeal 
 in his ownMinifleiial Work, induced him 
 to encourage the Sc?2S of tht' Prophets^ and 
 the younger Generation of Minifters. No 
 man was a more candid Hearer of their 
 Publick Peiformances, or more glad of an 
 opportunity to help them forward into 
 Ufefuhiefs j and yet no man a -niore faith- 
 ful Friend by kind and neceffary Admoni- 
 tions, wliCn there was Occafion tor it. 
 Upon Eleven Tears Experience I muft de- 
 clare, that fuch was his Condcfcenfion and 
 friendly Behaviour in all that Time to 
 one fo much his ytiniory tliat I could not 
 expert to ferve in the Gofpel with any 
 other with more Eafinefs and Satisfad:ion 
 of Mind. And I have had the fime Ac- 
 count from both my worthy PredeceiTors 
 in that Relation to him, both .in Ireland. 
 and England^'. 
 
 The fame Defign which he purfued in 
 the Pulpit, was the Thing he had in View 
 in his V/ritings alfo ; viz. the Service of 
 Chrifl. As he endeavoured confcientioufly 
 to form his Principles ot Faith and Prac- 
 tice upon an impartial Enquiry into the 
 Mind of God in the Scriptures : So where- 
 evei* he thought Truth carried him, he 
 boldly avowed it without Difguife or Con- 
 cealment, whatever Cenfures or Oppofi- 
 
 tions 
 — . — — — . . ' - i ' 
 
 * Mr. Jojeph Bojfe, and Di. Edmund Calam^\ 
 
jor Dr. Williams. 459 
 
 tions he might have reafon to expedt. 
 And whatever he thought the pre/hit 
 Truth, or that Branch of the Chriftian 
 Scheme which was moil ftruck at in any 
 prelent Junifture ; he was one of the moll 
 forward to appear for it. This gave Rife 
 to thofe of his Writings which are Cofitro- 
 'uerfial ; wherein People of Candour and 
 Impartiahty, whether they agree with his 
 Sentiments or no^ mull fee a very honeft 
 Defign, a Clearnefs in the Manner, a plain 
 State of the Matter in Qneftion, a Strength 
 of Reafon, and a Temper becoming a 
 Chriftian and a Minifter. 
 
 He was often obliged to be concerned 
 in Matters of a publick Nature ; and cer- 
 tainly had a Head admirably turned for 
 Bufinefs. The Compafs of his Thoughts, 
 and the Wifdom of his Advice, would re- 
 markably appear upon fuch Occafions, 
 and was obferved by many of high Rank. 
 But in this Part of his Condudf, he was 
 under the fame Government of Religion 
 and of a Regard to his Lord, as in all the 
 reft ; and therefore vi^as inflexibly honeft 
 in all, and abhorred any Wijdotn oj the Ser~ 
 penty which could not coniift with the 
 Innocency of the Dove. He would never 
 fufFer hinrtfelf to come in to a Court-Trick 
 or a politick Doubling ; nor could be af- 
 frighted, or allured, into Meafures con- 
 trary, to the Intereft of his Country : And 
 
 quickly 
 
460 A Fujieral Sermon 
 
 quickly gave up an Intimacy or Friendship 
 with the Greateft, when they ventured to 
 make any fuch Attempt upon him. There 
 is one Thing fit to be particularly remem- 
 bered to his Honour : When feme Mef- 
 fengers from the Court, in the Reign of 
 King 'Jmnes II. endeavoured to bring the 
 Dijfenting Minifiers of London into an Ad- 
 drefs approving the difpenfmg Power ; in a 
 Conference upon that Occaiion, and in the 
 Prefence of the Court-Tools, Mr. Williams 
 bravely declared, "That as it was paft 
 *' Doubt, that the Severities of the ior- 
 ** mer Reign upon Protejlant Dijjenters^ 
 *' were rather as they flood in the way of 
 " arbitrary Power ^ than for their religious 
 *' DiJ/ef2t ; fo it were better for them to 
 " be reduced to their former Hardfliips, 
 *' than declare for Meafures deftrudtive of 
 ** the Liberties of their Country." This 
 he purfued with fo much Clearnefs, that 
 all concerned reje<3:ed the Motion, and 
 the EmifTaries went away difappointed. I 
 will only add. That though he had fre- 
 quent Occafion to ftand before great Per- 
 fons^ yet he was far from affecting it, 
 otherwife than as he had a Profpedl of 
 doing fome Service to Religion by it. 
 He was a hearty Mourner for the late 
 • melancholy Afped: of our Affiiirs ; and 
 bore as great a Share as any Man in the Joy 
 of His Majefty King GEO RGB's peace- 
 able Acceffion to the Throne of thefe 
 
 Kingdoms, 
 
for Dr. Williams. 461 
 
 Kingdoms. The Safety of his Sacred Pet- 
 fon, the Profpeiity of his Royal Family, the 
 Peace and long Continuance of his Go- 
 vernment, the Dire<5lion of his Counfels, 
 and the Suppreffing of his Enemies, were 
 the Subjedt of his daily Prayers j as they 
 are of all his Brethren. 
 
 His Ejiate was chiefly ufed in doing 
 Good. He exercifed a Frugality as to 
 his own Perfon, poffibly to an Excefs , 
 but it was with this Defign, (as he expref- 
 feshimfelfin his laft Will,) that he might 
 be the more ufeful to others^ both in his Life^ 
 and after his Death. And accordingly, 
 the Bleffings of many who were ready to 
 periJJo came upon him. Befides, that Num- 
 bers of Mini/lers and Students^ who were 
 in neceflltous Circumftances, received fre- 
 quent and hberal Exbibitiofis from him. 
 And I muft fay from my own Obferva- 
 tion, that though he was naturally of a 
 very provident Temper, and might not p-o 
 fo far as fome others upon the mere Princi- 
 ple of Generofity ; yet where a Senfe of 
 Duty, or a Profped of Service to any good 
 Defign called him to dijlribute freely^ I 
 have met with few Men tmre ready and 
 furnifhed to good Works, Thev were no 
 fmall Sums of Money, which he entirely 
 loft among fome, to whom he charitably 
 lent them for their Support and Afiift- 
 ance in the World, upon apprehenfions of 
 
 their 
 
462 ^ Funeral Sermon 
 
 their good Charader, or the hopes of pro- 
 moting fome ufeful Defign thereby. And 
 as he ?pent much of his Life in BenefaC' 
 tions^ as God had profpered him ; io it 
 was plainly his Aim at his Death alfo, to 
 confign the Body of his Eftate to the 
 greateft Variety of excellent Charities^ for 
 the Glory of God and the Good of Man- 
 kind, that I remember to have met with 
 within the Defign of one Man. 
 
 Besides his watchful Care over his 
 own Congregation, and the many other 
 Services in the Pulpit and out of it, to 
 which he was called in this great City ; he 
 had a very extenfive Concern for the In- 
 tereft of Chrift in all Parts ; and was 
 ready with his Advice, or Purfe, or Influ- 
 ence, to give his Affiftance for advancing 
 or fupporting it, upon Applications even 
 from the remotell Quarters. Not only 
 England y but Scotland ^ndi Ireland^ and the 
 American Colonies, had a very large Share 
 in his Concern : So that it might be ap- 
 plied to him, as truly as to any ordinary 
 Minifter 1 have known, that be had upon 
 him the Care of all the Churches, 
 
 Though he was a fteady Nonconfor- 
 mifl upon Principle, yet he had a cha^ 
 ritabJe Temper towards the Ellablified 
 Church. This induced him at the Revo- 
 lution to be very defirous of a Comprehen- 
 foUy on condition of a free Toleration to 
 
 fuch 
 
for Dr. WiLt-iAMs. 4.63 
 
 fuch other Proteftant Diflcnters as could 
 not be included. But the Temper (hewn 
 by the prevailing Part of Clergymen at that 
 Time and fince, made him apprehenfive, 
 that little Good was to be expected that 
 Way i Yet he often exprefled a firm Per- 
 fuafion, " that God would in time bring 
 *' -d^jober and moderate Profcflants nearer 
 ** together, and find fome Way of fepa- 
 " rating them more entirely from the 
 " loofe and the ''oiokntr 
 
 I VERILY believe, that He governed 
 himfelf fteadily, in all the Provinces he 
 was called to, by the Dictates of hh Con- 
 fcieiice : And when that was determined, 
 he was immoveable by any Temporal Con- 
 fiderations ; but purfued what he thought 
 right, with a blunt Integrity and unfliak- 
 en Refolution. For it was a little Thing 
 'with him^ to be judged cf Man^s Judgment. 
 
 This Firmnefs in profecuting and go- 
 ing through with the many Affairs he wad 
 concerned in, without Regard to the Opi* 
 nion of Men, mufl be expc(5ted to draw 
 upon him many CenJureSy and make him 
 jhme 'Enemies. But I mufl fay, he had an 
 unulual Readinefs to forgive his ivor/l E?2e^ 
 mies. He rejoiced in their Welfare, fym- 
 pathized with them in their AfHicftions, 
 willingly did good Offices for them after- 
 wards y and feldom or never cared to fipeak 
 ill of them, or to hear others do it, with- 
 out important Reafon. The Tejiimony of 
 
 bis 
 
464 A Fupierat Se?^mon 
 
 his own Conjcience gave him fufficlent Sati^- 
 fadion : But however free fome People 
 made with his Reputation^ he was con- 
 fcientioufly tender of that of others^ efpe- 
 cially of Mi?iifters j as knowing how nice 
 a thing a good Name is, and of what Con- 
 fequence to Men's Service in the World. 
 
 That which was his own beloved 
 Charadier, Simplicity and Godly Sincerity^ 
 did above all things recommend others to 
 his Efteem ; though it were found in the 
 meaneft: People, or attended with very 
 weak abilities, or difcerned in thofe of 
 very different Sentiments from himfelf : 
 For he ixu\y'loved an honefi man^ in whom 
 there was no Guile ^ where- ever he met 
 him. 
 
 In fuch a Courfe of Service to his Ge- 
 neration and Fidelity to his Lord, havifig 
 obtained help oj God, he continued to a 
 good Old Age. But now it has pleafed the 
 gteat Lord of Life and Death to put a Pe- 
 riod to this valuable and ufefal Life i and 
 thereby to give Occafion to many, to la- 
 ment fo great a Breach j efpecially to for- 
 row moji of all, that we jloall fee his Face 
 no more. This Congregation will enjoy no 
 more the Inftrudtions, the Overfight, the 
 Prayers, of this able, experienced, and vi- 
 gilant Paftor. I am bereaved of a kind 
 and tender Father, and a mofl affedionatei 
 Fellow-Labourer in the Lord. His Bre- 
 thren 
 
for Dr. Williams; 465 
 
 tllren in the Minidry have loft an agreeable 
 Companion, a prudent Counfellor, and an 
 eminent Ornament and Strength : The 
 Diflenting Intereft, a zealous Friend and 
 Supporter : And almoft all the Churches, 
 one who naturally cared for than. A Lofs 
 it is, which will be long jelt ; and, I 
 doubt not, more hereafter than at prefent. 
 And impartial Pofterity will readily own 
 his Merit, when all matters of Perfonal 
 Difference fliall be quite forgot. 
 
 This Lofs is the more fenfible, becaufe 
 it has fo foon followed the Removal of 
 two other Minijien of principal Note and 
 Worth for Experience, Fidelity, and Pru- 
 dence, the one in Scotland^, and the 
 other in Ireland •)- ; any one of whom 
 would be a general Lofs to an Intereft at 
 any time. Yet, 
 
 (5.) This Subjed furnifhes us with 
 juft Grounds of Satisfa5lton and Support 
 under fuch melancholy Providences. 
 
 A s we are Chriflians^ our great Defire 
 is, that Chrill may be pleafed. It was his 
 Will, to call his faithful Servant to receive 
 his Reward. He had finified the Work 
 which he gave him to do ; and we are fure, 
 the time he chufes for difmiffing any out 
 of their Pofts of Service here, is upon all 
 Confiderations the befl ; though we might 
 H h appre- 
 
 * Mr. Cajiaires, Principal of the College of Rdinburgb* 
 ^ Mr. Slare of Londondtrrj^ 
 
466 A Funeral Sermon 
 
 apprehendj their longer Continuance would 
 ferve many excellent Purpofes. 
 
 Our pious Friends or Minifters, who 
 are dead in the Lordy are certainly well- 
 pleafed themfehcs j not only becaufe their 
 Will is entirely refolved into Chrift's, but 
 becaufe it is in itfelf /^r better to be with 
 him. If we could hear them fpeak, it 
 would be the fame Language with that of 
 John xiv. Chrift to his Difciples, If ye loved me, ye 
 would rejoice^ hecaiife I /aid, I go unto the 
 Father. And fince Chrift and they are 
 fully fatisfied, we can have no Reafon ta' 
 repine. Good Men would not live here 
 always, for they deliberately prefer the 
 other State, and dejire a better Country^ 
 that is, an Heavenly. 
 
 And when Age and Infirmities grow 
 upon them, then efpecially we fhould not 
 grudge them an Entrance into Reji, a Reft 
 from their Labours ; or think much that 
 they are called to go out of the Body to 
 their God and Redeemer and Mailer,- 
 when their Bodies begin to become unte- 
 nantable. The Removal of our Reverend 
 Father was agreeable to a Defire he oftenr 
 cxprefTed, (and which wife and good Men 
 in all Ages have concurred with him in,) 
 that if it pleafe God, he might not outlive 
 his Vfeftdnefs. There was indeed fcarce 
 any difcernible Abatement in the Capaci- 
 ties of his Mind: But as he had turned the 
 Age of man, fo Bodily Diforders greatly 
 
 imbittered 
 
for Dr. Williams. 467 
 
 imblttered Life, and began (in a manner 
 unufual to him) to fequefter him from his 
 beloved Work in the Pulpit. *Twas but 
 living (as he often expreffed himfelf in 
 his lalt fliort Sicknefs,) a dying Life. God 
 gave him his Wijh in caUing him hence, 
 before Nature funk under greater Infirmi- 
 ties. 
 
 'Tis a great Relief to us that furvive, 
 that the Example of our departed Minir- 
 Jlers ftill lives ; and their Inftrucliom are 
 not all buried with them, if we are but 
 in earneft willing to recoiled: and improve 
 them. We may from both fee how to 
 pleafe our Mafler j and be excited by the 
 Circumftances of their Death to labour 
 in our feveral Stations for that End. Being 
 deady they yet /peak this. And if we learn 
 from them how to walk and to pleafe 
 God, our Labour will not be in vain in the 
 Lordy any more than theirs was. We 
 fliall meet them with Comfort, and have 
 a Share in the blifsful Approbations of the 
 fame Lord. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
A 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 O F 
 
 T^he Sermons and Trads publtjhed 
 by Dr. Williams ; with the. 
 places where they Jlarid in this 
 Edition* 
 
 1. *' I ^ H E Kingdom of God in Fower .• 
 J[ A Sermon preached before Sir 
 ^ohn Shorter, Lord-Mayor, at Grocers- 
 Hall, Nov. 20. 1687. ^to. Vol. 1. pag. I. 
 
 2. The jidvajjcement of Chrifj's Lite- 
 rejls, the go'vernifig End of a Chrijiians 
 Life : A lecond Sermon before the Lord- 
 Mayor, Jan. 9. 1687-b'. ^to. 1. 53. 
 
 3. A Thanksgiving-Sermon for 
 the Prctrfiants Deliverance from the Irijb 
 Ktbelliony begun O^/. 23. 1641. preached 
 OB. 23. 16b' 9. 4/0. L 117. 
 
 4. A Sermon on that Qiicftion, What 
 Repentance God requires jor National Sins ? 
 in the fourth VoUime of Cafuiflical Morn- 
 ing Exercifes. 1689. 4 ^'(?. . L173. 
 
 5. The 
 
Sermons and TraBs^ &c. 
 
 * 5. The Fanity of Childhood and Touth i 
 being fome Sermons preached in Hand' 
 Alley\ at the Requeft of feveral Young 
 Men. To which is added, A Cate- 
 chifm for Toutb. 1691. i2mo. 
 
 Vol. V. pag. 157; 
 
 6. Gospel-Truth ftated and vindi- 
 cated J wherein fome of Dr. Crifp's Opi- 
 nions are confidered, and the oppofite 
 'J'ruths are plainly jftated and confirm- 
 ed. 1692. i2mo. III. I, 
 
 7. A Defence of GofpeUTruth ; 
 jn Reply to Mr. Chauncy, 1693. 4/^?. 
 
 in. 275. 
 
 8. Man made righteous by Chri/i*s O- 
 bedience ; being two Sermons at Pinners^ 
 Hall, with Enlargements, C^c. To which 
 is added, A Reply to Mr. Mather*s Foil- ' 
 fcript. 1694. iimo. IV. i. 
 
 9. An Anfwer to Mr. John Humfrefs 
 fecond printed Letter, wherein he publifh- 
 eth Mr. Lobb's Objedions againft Mr. 
 Williams\ Books. 1695. 4/0. IV. 205. 
 
 10. The Excellency of a publick Spi- 
 rit : A Sermon preached at the Fune- 
 ral of that Reverend Divine Dr. Samuel 
 Annefley. 1696. \zmo, I. 237. 
 
 11. The Anfwer to the Report, &c, 
 which the United Miniflers appointed 
 
 their 
 
Sermons and Tra&s 
 
 their Committee to draw up : Alfo Letters 
 of the Bifiop of JVorceJier, and Dr. Ed- 
 wardsj to Mr. Williams, againft whom 
 their Teftimony was produced by Mr. 
 Lobb : And Animadverfions on Mr. 
 Lobb's Defence of tbe Report. 1698. izmo. 
 
 Vol. IV. pag. 309. 
 
 12. A Sermon preached at Salters- 
 Hall, to the Societies for Reformation of 
 Manners in London, May 16. 1698. ^vo. 
 
 J- 383- 
 
 13. A Postscript added to the Third 
 Edition of Gofpel-Triith fated C^c. for 
 clearing fundry Truths objeded againft, 
 &c. 1698. i2mo. IV. ^65. 
 
 14. An End to Diford; wherein is 
 demonftrated, that no Doctrinal Contro- 
 verfy remains between the Prefbyterian 
 and CongregationaiyV\v^\^tx^, fit to juftify 
 longer Divifions : With a true Account of 
 Socinianifm, as to the SatisfaSiion of Chrift, 
 1699. i27no, V. I. 
 
 15. A Sermon preached before tbe 
 Societies for Reformatio?! of Manners in 
 Dublin. July 18. 1700. 4/^. II. i, 
 
 16. A Funeral Sermon on the De- 
 ceafe of the Reverend Mr. John Wood- 
 houfe. 1 701. \imo^ II. 43, 
 
 17. A Thanksgiving-Sermon for 
 
 the 
 
j)MiJhed by Dr. Williams. 
 
 the Succefs of her Majellfs Forces ; preach- 
 ed at Hand- Alley ^ Nov-. 12. 1702. 4/0. 
 
 Vol. II. pag. 123, 
 
 18. A Funeral Sermon occafioned 
 by the Death of the Reverend Mr. Jobn 
 ^lick 3 preached May y. 1706. /^to, 
 
 II. 179. 
 
 19. A Sermon preached at Hand- 
 Alley ^ Dec. 31. 1706. being the Day of 
 Thank/giving appointed by tlie ^een. ^vo» 
 
 il- 233. 
 
 20. A Thanksgiving-Sermon oc- 
 cafioned hy theUnhn oi England and Scot^ 
 land \ preached at Hand- Alley ^ May iz 
 1707. %-vo. II. 263. 
 
 21. Chriftian Sincerity : A Funeral 
 Sermon occafioned by the Death of the 
 Reverend Mr. Thomas Doolittle^ M. A. 
 preached Jun. i. 1707. ^vo, II. 289* 
 
 22. A Funeral Sermon occafioned 
 by the Death of Mrs. Mary Gravener-^ 
 preached a.t Crojby-Squarej Nov. ^o, 1707. 
 8m II- 355- 
 
 23. The Minifterial Office ; wherein 
 the Importance, Difficulty, Nature, and 
 NecelTity of that Office are confidered 5 
 being Two Sermons^ one at the Ordination 
 of Mr. B. Grofvenor, the other at the Or- 
 
 dinatio?i 
 
Sermons and TraEis^ &c. 
 
 dination of Mr. S, Wright. I'joS. Svo: 
 
 Vol. III. pag. 44r. 
 
 24. An Enquiry info the prefent Duty 
 Trotejlant Dijenters : A Sermon preached 
 at Salters-Hallj Jan. 22. 1711-12. 81;^. 
 
 11. 407. 
 
 25. The Preface ioMx. Samuel Clark's 
 Ordination Sermon at St. Albans^ Sept, 
 17. 17 1 2. (hewing the Method and So- 
 lemnity of Prejbyterian Ordination. 2>vo. 
 
 II. 509. 
 
 26. A Letter to the Author of a 
 Dijcourfe of Free-thinking ; wherein the 
 Chriftian Religion is vindicated, by de- 
 tecting feveral Abufes of Free-thinking. 
 
 1713. S'uo. V. 315. 
 
 27. Some ^eries relating to the Bill 
 for preventing the Growth oj Schifm. 1 7 1 4. 
 A Half-Sheet, Folio, V. 403. 
 
 28. A Funeral Sermon on the 
 Death of the Reverend Mr. Matthew 
 Henry ^ preached at Hackney^ Jun. 27. 
 
 1714. 8w. 11. 457. 
 
1 1012 01056 1282 
 
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