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The duty of inculcating the Motives to Virtue recommended
the Gospel, in preference to other Motives,

A SERMON
PREACHED AT DURHAM
AUG. I6j 1810,
AT
THE VISITATION
or THE
HON. AND RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD
SHUTE
Lord bishop of durham.

By W. N. rJARNELU B. D.
FELLOW OF C. C. C. OXFORD,
RECTOR OF St. MARY-LE-BOW.

DURHAM

PRINTED AND SOLD BY G. WALKER, AND THE PRINCIPAL
BOOKSELLERS IN THE DIOCESE, BY F. AND C RIVINGTON,
LONDON, AND J. COOK AND J. PARKER, OXFORD.

TO THE
HON. AND RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD
SHUTE
LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
THE FOLLOWING SERMON,
PUBLISHED IN OBEDIENCE
TO HIS LORDSHIP'S COMMAND,
IS HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY HIS LORDSHIP'S DEVOTED SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.

JOHN v. 41.
HOW CAN YE BELIEVE, WHO RECEIVE HONOUR ONE OF ANO
THER, AND SEEK NOT THE HONOUR THAT COMETH FROM
GOD ONLY 1
JJT is understood, by all believers, that the establishment of a
pure morality formed no inconsiderable part of our Saviour's of
fice upon earth. Even many of those whose unenlightened pride
induces them to deny the necessity of an atonement, and to re
ject the blessed doctrine of grace, are inclined to view this por
tion of Christ's labours with veneration, and to acknowledge the
finger of God in the work produced.
The main defects of the morality which existed before the.
Christian revelation were these ; that it proposed unworthy ends;
encouraged the baser passions ; allowed motives to action which
partook of the nature of vice ; and being without authority, and
B

affording at all times a field for controversy, bore the nature of
speculation rather than of practice. It might b„e expected
therefore, that a purer system, proceeding from a higher source,
should correct all these errors, and supply all these deficiencies.
Accordingly we find, that, in the Christian system, new
ends of being are proposed to us ; the excess of certain passions
is proscribed, which had before been cherished and admired in
their excess ; motives to action, sanctioned by the practice of
ages, are set aside, and simpler motives advanced in their place.
The doctrines of Christianity carry with them the force of obliga
tion ; but they are so consistent with natural religion, that they
come in aid of reason ; and so tempered with benevolence, that
they constrain us for no other purpose than to cover us with
blessings. If such be the sanctions, and such the pre-eminence of Chris
tianity, it is natural to conclude that much steadiness, and there
fore much moral good must be the result of its influence : for
virtuous and vicious men are those, who, under the strongest
influences, are the most steady in the pursuit of their respective
ends. On this account, it must be the wish of every believer, to
establish the empire of Christian principles in the mind upon
the firmest grounds : for human weakness is, at all times, glad to
evade the restraints of religion ; and human learning, (if such it
may be called,) is ever ready to misapprehend, or pervert, its

precepts, in order to favour our propensities to sin. From what
ever quarter the danger shall arise, the zealous advocate for
his faith will still be found prepared to meet it. If the evidences
of Christianity be doubted, he will endeavour to combine and
display them under new forms ; if the obligations or the motives
to virtue be insidiously assailed, he will not be less forward to
assert their potency, and to rescue them from corruption.
The object of my present discourse will be, first, to examine
the inferior motives to virtue, which are often represented in the
world as sound and proper principles of action; afterwards, those
motives which the Gospel holds forth to us : to compare them
with each other in their nature and effects, and to endeavour to
meet such objections as are made to the latter.
It need scarcely be said that by Gospel motives, I mean such
as the fear of God, the love of God, faith, the hopes of eternal
reward ; by inferior motives, such as honour, renown, and the
prospect of temporal advantage.
It is easy to simplify these motives by shewing that the re
spective classes may each be reduced under one head. For,
whether we be called upon to serve God for his sake, or our
own ; it is evident, that we look for our reward, in both in
stances, from the approbation of the Deity : or whether we be
encouraged to virtue by the prospect of immediate profit, or be
cause we are told it is comely so to act ; it is equally evident
that, in this case, our reward is sought for in the approbation, or

6
praise of men. Perhaps it may be incorrect to state that tem
poral advantage has this adjunct always in view : for avarice may
Decome pure and abstract love of gold ; sensuality seems to im
ply a state of mind free from the operation of any passion but
the desire of incessant indulgence : still I think, that the estima
tion of men, (whether of good or bad men) will be found to be
a powerful ingredient in the composition of every pleasure which
falls short of a brutal excess. There are few luxuries, or acqui
sitions of any sort, which would not soon lose their value, if the
possessors of them were obliged to conceal their good fortune
from the world, or forbidden the gratification arising from its won
der, and empty praise.
Now it must be observed, that whatever motives may be sug
gested and patronized by speculative men, no Christian, will, in
his sober judgment, encourage any others than those which the
Gospel ordains. Yet the inferior motives, as they have been
termed, if they be not put upon the same level with the former,
are confessedly inculcated with more zeal and perseverance.
Every sagacious friend is familiar with principles of worldly wis
dom, and enforces them with authority, while he passes by Chris
tian motives as if they were ground on which it would be unsafe
to tread— a region, rich perhaps in ore, but whose treasures are
not sufficiently ascertained to make them a legitimate object of
pursuit : every confident moralist is ready to instruct the young
£nd unexperienced ; but the instruction which he gives is not

that which has its root in the Bible, he feeds them not with that
fruit which is gathered from the Tree of Life.
The Old Testament abounds in exhortations which breathe
a spirit opposed to such sentiments and practices. Rely upon
the Lord God Omnipotent— Put not thy trust in man, nor in the
sons of man, in whom is no help—Ms breath goeth forth, he turn-
eth again to his earth, and then all his thoughts perish. The New
Testament is still more decided upon this point. We find that
the Pharisees did not confess Christ, because they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God.
Again, we do not find that principles of action, which have
for their end the approbation of men, are recommended to us in
the Gospel. We are, indeed, told by St. Paul to do good, and
we shall have praise for the same ; but this is mentioned as a
contingent gratification, not as a sole and unmixed object for
doing good-— besides, it is not spoken of the praise of men in
general, but of rulers, that is, of men who may be likely, if any
are to be supposed likely, to judge of conduct upon true prin
ciples. Still the wish for gaining the esteem of our fellow creatures
is so deeply implanted in our hearts, that the possibility of pu
rifying this passion is sufficient to make us view it with indul
gence, and the most scrupulous do not find it difficult to per
suade themselves, that in courting praise, they seek only the
approbation of the good.

8
Thus it is, that the baneful passion which feeds upon vanity,
and has empty admiration for its reward, is introduced into our
breasts, and there established, by the aid of every mild and spe
cious term which language can supply. It is instilled into us,
in youth, under the name of emulation, it deludes our riper
years with the phantom of glory, and it flatters our self-love with
the expectation of posthumous fame. It may nevertheless, be
apprehended that when we are taught to love fame for the sake
of fame, we shall soon cease to love virtue for the sake of virtue.
In the first place, it is impossible to gain our object, unsatis
factory as it is, without accommodating ourselves, in some de
gree, to the manners and customs of the world. It is not the
milder virtues which call forth the plaudits of the multitude, but
those brilliant traits of character, which require an ample stage for
their performance, and the adventitious aid of wealth for their
display. Humility is unobserved in her retreat ; Charity shrinks
from notice ; and that silent controul which struggles with temp
tation, and breaks the spirit in private, fails of admiration when
contrasted with the buoyant gaiety of heart which remains un
impaired through every changeful succession of debauchery.
Nor is the transition difficult to crimes of a deeper dye. One
might trace to an extravagant love of fame, many of the cruel
ties of aggression in public life ; and the impieties of which they
are guilty who aspire to become the founders of new sects; much
of the deliberate wickedness of literary imposture ; and no small

9
portion of that abandonment of principle, which wantonly scat
ters poison through the world, and corrupts the heart by inge
niously adding fuel to the imagination. There is one case also
in which the maxims of the world, or of honor as it is called, en
join a practice which entails heavy calamity on domestic life,
and at the same time sets at defiance the commandment of God.
But let us reverse the picture, and consider the nature of the
Virtues which are produced by this principle. Let it be admitted
that the praise of the wise and good alone is sought after. Yet
who are the wise and good ? Men very far from perfection them
selves, who, however pure they may be, are not enabled, in con
sequence of that purity, tosee into the motives of others. It
may easily then be imagined how unsubstantial that virtue must
be, which is to be judged of by outward shew ; how limited that
justice, which desires only to give satisfaction to the public eye;
how easily attained that temperance, which is content with de
corum. Si non caste tamen caute, the maxim of monks, is a fit
motto for such feeble morality.
But if the votary of public estimation be not content with
negative praise, how ample a field is then presented for the af
fectation of virtues which he does not possess ? itfow the re
finement of hypocrisy is, the attributing our actions to purer
motives than those which really give rise to them ; and perhaps,
a little reflection upon this enormous sin will both shew, how
easily it may be committed at every moment of out lives, and

10
also serve to establish the value of those primary motives which
it fain would imitate.
How then can we expect, that a reward, uncertain, and un
satisfactory, an object fugitive, and difficult to gain with*
out crime, will give us support, or keep us in the right path,
in those critical situation of life, which put to the test the
soundness of moral principles, as adversity tries the <truth of
friendships ? How can we expect any consolation in poverty
from this quarter, when we know that riches on their own ac
count are universally the object of admiration, and pursuit ?
What, when we suffer from calumny ? It is almost a contradic
tion in terms to imagine such a case. Yet, supposing the opini
ons of the world to be divided on our conduct ; is it not notori
ous that men are apt to blacken, and defame, even the immacu
late character ; how then can we expect them to unite in defence
of one which is already an object of suspicion, or a mark for
obloquy? Again, in sickness, or in grief; in grief arising from
natural causes, or in depression of spirits proceeding from a more
awful visitation ; do we not, at such times, see the vanity of hu
man things most distinctly, and feel the pang of the world's in
difference most poignantly ? Or to pursue this pernicious prin
ciple to one of its most fatal excesses, what is deliberate suicide,
but the bold act of one, who seeks not for refreshment unto his
soul from that fountain, to which all who labour and are heavy
laden are invited to approach ; but who prefers death, with all

11
its fearful uncertainties, to 'life, accompanied <by the -scorn, or
the neglect, of a misjudging world ?
This is one melancholy result of false principles of this nature,
and it is peVhafps not 'less distressing to behold men who are en
gaged in kicked and unlawful projects, braving death with en
thusiasm, and leaning for support upon no better basis, than the
vfeidnaty hopes of living in the estimation of men, at some fu
ture and distant period. It is not many years since a convicted
rebels in these dominions, broke forth upon receiving his sen
tence, into the followittg memorable expressions, " My lamp <of
" life,* sa'M he, " is exhausted ; my race is finished ; the grave
" opeffls before Mrte, and I sink into its bosom. Let no man write
". my epitaph ; for as no one, who knows my principles, dares to
" vindicate them, let not prejudice, or ignorance, asperse them :
" but let me, and my "motives, sink into peace and obscurity, till
" otiher times, and other men, shall do justice to my character."
Such wetfe the dying words of a man* whose talents and whose
eloquence might have beeU a bulwark to Ireland — but his 'heart
was false to his country. There is an imposing air of heroism
about the sentiment, uttered under such circumstances, which
will excuse me for having adverted to it from this place ; an air
of heroism however, w*hteh will soon be dissipated, if we refer the
^en^ment, as we ought to do, to the least rational of the subor
dinate motives ; but to one, whieh is indeed replete with danger,
* Mr. Emmett.
C

12
if it dazzle us, with false lights, in the last stage of our mortal
journey. It may, perhaps, be hoped, that the consideration of such
an instance as this, will lead all reflecting persons to regret, that
minds, formed with sensibility to the impressions of sentiment,
should not, at an early period, be fortified with better principles
of action.
I proceed to contrast with the motives which I have just ex
amined, the higher motives, which have for their object the ap
probation of God. First then, they who act from such motives,
whether it be that the fear, or the love of God, or the wish to do
every thing to the praise and glory of God, predominate in their
minds; or whether these motives be occasionally blended together,
or successively evolved in their conduct ; they, I say, pursue the
end, and not the means. They are not content with contingent
advantages, but contrive to secure every good consequence by
first gaining the source of all good. They obey because obedience
is enjoined them, and obedience, so generated, is virtue. *Such
is the simplicity, and unity of their motives, that they cannot
easily be diverted from their aim, nor misapprehend their duty.
They have but one master to serve ; they know but of one way to
serve him. They cannot evade omniscience or omnipresence.
Those who seek the approbation of men know that the greatest
effort of human prudence, is to persuade themselves that their
disappointments will have an end ; the greatest effort of human
* Vide Hey's Leflures.

13
patience, is to endure the intermediate misery-— yet how dis
couraging is it to think that this prudence may be baffled, and
thrown away, and this patience left without remuneration ? A
deficiency of this nature is not to be found in the Christian mo
tives. If we act under the command of God, we shall inherit the
promises. We cannot fail of a recompence from the God of Just
ice — we need not fear to be forsaken by the God of mercy. The
great reward of our labours, if it does not begin sooner, will as
suredly begin at that time, when the petty advantages which the
world offers, shall have ceased for ever. Such hopes may well
be supposed to afford the greatest consolation in grief, and to be
the safest guides in the midst of the temptations which the pur
suit of temporal advantages, or the influx of prosperous fortune
may bring with them. Again, he who is influenced by these bet
ter motives is restrained from false pretences to virtue by a con
viction of their inutility ; whereas mankind in general, have nei
ther means to discover, nor judgment to estimate, the value of
the unobtruding virtues which are noted in the book of God.
There is also another reason why such men are preserved from
vice. They are safe from the peril of running into extremes. No
man can have too profound a fear of God — no one can glorify '
him too much, nor love his approbation too ardently. This is
not the case with him who proposes to himself the reward of
fame. Pride, ambition, and covetousness, often lie concealed
beneath those modified desires which he persuades himself are

14
natural and praise-worthy. His mind is. occupied with the desire
of excelling other.s, not with the desire of excellence, and it
will require all his philosophy, and all his resolution,, to keep
this dangerous passion within its proper limits.
Such is the view which may be given of the nature and. tenr
dency of those motives which look for their respective regards
in the approbation of God or man. Still however, human inr
genuity, ranging itself on the side of inclination, has< advanceds
many plausible arguments in favour of the subordinate motives,,
and urged objections to the simple motives of the Gospel-.
It is pretended that we are stimulated by the love of? repute
tion, to do things worthy of the approbation of God. Now if thie
value of the action be determined by the purity of the motive,
without any reference, for the present, to its practicability^ there
is no one who will not allow that the latter motive is, more pure
than the former ; unless he be inclined, at the same time, to ad"
mit that the wisdom of the world is equal to the divine wisdom.
Besides, to aim at the approbation of the Almighty through the
medium of the praise of men. seems a mode of proceeding intri
cate and perplexed, by no means agreeable to the general cha
racter of revelation, nor intelligible to the great body, of man
kind. Surely it is more consistent with reason to, seek the apr.
Probation of God in all our actions, and to comfort ourselves
with the hope that we shall be respected for so doing, thaa to

15*
pursue the approbation of men, and to expect that the favour of
God will' follow a favour; so partially bestowed.
It is not denied that the inferior motives ace often employed
about the same acts as the higher motives, at least, about acts,
to express which* we are obliged* from want of accuracy in lan
guage, to apply the same term*, For instance, a man. may per
form either- from principles of honour, or; from principles: of reli
gion, actions which are termed just, or benevolent. Yet these
actions have very different degrees, of merit as they proceed from
different sources* Honour is. certainly that secondary motive
which arrogates to itself the greatest purity ; yet it is,, after alls
an arbitrary standard1 of virtue, formed at our own peril, the very
formation of which is presumptuous.; and how inconsistent it
is with itself, and of course with revealed motives, is evident
from recurring to the vicious excesses into which it is apt to
lead us.
It is also argued, that a preference should be gken* to the
lower motives because they are most stimulant. How incauti-
tiou&thisis, to say the best of it, need scarcely be observed; for
no one will doubt that if motives which flatter our vanity, and
encourage, the vicious propensities to which we by nature incline,
are once admitted to have a superiority on any point, they will
soon be substituted for those higher motives which have a less
attractive aspect, and we shall thus commit ourselves to guides
who promise nothing more than to condust us safely and pleas=

16
antly through the world, while we reject the ministration of an
gels, who would bear us, in their hands, over that unknown gulph,
at the verge of which the powers and pretensions of the former
are alike at an end.
But it will be said, are we to discard the inferior motives al
together, and to decry the use of passions which seem implanted
in our nature ? No — the world will suggest these motives, and
call these passions into play. There is no fear that we shall de
part from our nature, or cease to recognize any of its propensi
ties. But why should we strain every nerve to encourage pro
pensities, which all our labour exerted in a contrary direction
is frequently unable to direct to a good purpose ? If there be, as
we have good reason now to think Jhat there is, a " via compen-
diaria ad virtutem" let us take that way.
An eminent divine*, in a dissertation in which the moderate
love of praise is ingeniously vindicated, has observed, that " the
" fear of disgrace has restrained some persons from evil actions
" when no other tie would hold them, and Religion wasinsufB-
" cient for the purpose." The fact, I dare say, will not be dis
puted that the fear of disgrace has frequently operated when the
voice of Religion has not been heard ; but that religious motives
are either in themselves, or relatively weak and insufficient, will
not, I hope be easily believed. Were this the case, we should
* Dr Jortm.

17
be obliged to admit that we are called upon to perform impossi
bilities when we are taught to love Christ through honour and
dishonour, through evil and good report.
The same person has remarked that those nations have flou
rished most in which praise and honour have been most judici
ously bestowed, and generally pursued. And truly, if the real
prosperity of a country consist in having spread far and
wide the terror of its arms, or in having acquired wealth by ad
venturous speculation ; then we might allow that the remark
were just. But it does not appear that Christ came into the
world for either of these purposes, and it does not seem proper
that we should place the prosperity of nations upon any other
foundation than that of their advancement in Christian virtues.
Doubtless there are many worse motives to action than private
distinction, and public aggrandizement, yet the Christian con
tends that there are many better ; and if mankind were but per
suaded that the higher motives are practicable, there would, I
think, be little question respecting their efficacy. It would be
seen that the subordinate motives will only produce a sub
ordinate happiness, and that we may begin with the former when
from the latter we can derive no further good.
It is also objected that the higher motives are of too unwieldy
a nature to be made to bear upon every minute action. This is in
part true, for it can scarcely be maintained that many actions are
not indifferent. Let then the arts and the sciences, and the lighter

1$
accomplishments also, have their reward of praise ; (remember
ing always that they are not calculated to 'occupy an ample Space
in a probationary state, and that our argument against seeking
the praise of men by higher exertions, encreases in strength when
it is directed against a life devoted to trifles) let them however
acknowledge the fostering influence of praise ; but to all actions
of a virtuous tendency, let us recollect that it is not more diffi
cult to -apply a religious, than -a moral motive. Our boasted
powers of reason would be of little avail, if it were not as possi
ble to acquire a habitual fear of 'God, as a habitual fear of men.
A host of martyrs, and of sufferers for the faith, would prove the
suspicion to be false. If indeed we all had as much faith in the
denunciations of future punishment as we have belief in the cer
tainty of penal Justice here, we should never hesitate how to
act : but a regard for the praise of men is, as my text asserts, a
great Obstacle to belief; and it will scarcely be pretended that
we have any principle but that of faith able to counteract the
pressing instances of worldly allurements.
Let it not therefore be thought presumptuous, when support
ed by this authority, if I ascribe to deficiency in faith the care
less rejection of motives with which we have been furnished by
revelation. We are all inclined to shrink from the labour of at
taining Christian perfection, and to revert to guides who regu
late our conduct upon principiles more congenial to our falletn
nature. It should seem therefore to be the duty of ministers Of

19
the Gospel to enforce its peculiar motives and doctrines, and to
employ all their zeal and ingenuity to prove them to be practi
cable in their fullest extent. For to endeavour to render Christi
anity as generally acceptable as possible, is by no means our
duty, if it be done by enfeebling its characteristic energies, and
reconciling it with the ways of the world ; much less if an argu
ment be triumphantly drawn for the truth of Christianity, in
consequence of its being represented as a system accommodated
to our weaknesses, and content with partial obedience. It is no
slight misconception of the Gospel to suppose that it can be
made to compromise with the manners of modern times, any
more than with those of the Augustan age when it was first pro
mulgated. It professes to regenerate the hearts of individuals at
all periods, to supply them with new principles of action, and to
make them in this world the temples of the holy Ghost.
If it is therefore of importance to be convinced that our cor
rupted nature gravitates perpetually to sin, it is not of less im
portance to be assured that we are endowed with powers which
can correct these evil tendencies, and refine, and restore, our na
ture. Let us not then reject the higher motives upon the plea
that they are not suitable to us, (true it is, they do not promise
immediate pleasure to a vitiated taste,) but they remedy the de
fects of our nature; but they improve its capabilities; they harmo
nize with all our best affections; they accord with the dictates of

20

conscience ; they suit our aspirations after immortality, and they
are in unison with those heavenly graces which are the seal of
our acceptance with God.

THE END