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<DATE>2013-03-21</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON Preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and Aldermen OF THE City of London, AT <HI>Guild-Hall</HI> Chappel, On <HI>Sunday, Novemb.</HI> 13. 1692. By RICHARD BOWCHIER, B. D. Fellow of St. <HI>John</HI>'s College in <HI>Cambridge,</HI> and Chaplain to the Right Reverend Father in God, <HI>Robert,</HI> Lord Bi&s;hop of <HI>Chiche&s;ter.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Walter Kettilby,</HI> at the <HI>Bi&s;hops-Head</HI> in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard, 1692.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE Right Honourable Sir John Fleet, Lord Mayor of <HI>London.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>MY LORD,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WHen I was appointed to Preach before Your Lord&s;hip, I little imagined, That what was then delivered, would have ever receiv'd Your Lord&s;hips Orders to be made Pub|lick. I am, my Lord, truly con&s;cious to my &s;elf of the meanne&s;s of this Di&s;cour&s;e;
<PB REF="3">but, in&s;tead of making Apologies, I here entirely re&s;ign my &s;elf to Your Lord&s;hip's Commands; which both &s;hews my Obedi|ence, and, at the &s;ame time, furni&s;hes me with an excellent opportunity of tel|ling the World with what a great Re|&s;pect and Duty I am,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your Lord&s;hips mo&s;t Humble, and mo&s;t obedient Servant RICHARD BOWCHIER.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Galatians,</HI> chap. <HI>5.</HI> ver. <HI>25.</HI></BIBL>
<P>If we live in the Spirit, let us al&s;o walk in the Spirit.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE words &s;eem to be an earne&s;t and pa&s;&s;ionate Exhortation to the practice of a Religious and a Chri&s;tian Life, drawn from that particular and exact account of the Works of the <HI>Fle&s;h,</HI> and the Fruit of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> which the Apo&s;tle has given us, from the 18th to the 24th ver&s;e of this Chap|ter; and the occa&s;ion of them, in &s;hort, was this. As the Church of <HI>God</HI> has in all Ages been troubled with Men of corrupt Morals, and pernicious Principles; &s;o in the very fir&s;t beginnings of Chri&s;tianity, there ro&s;e up a &s;ort of Men, who, as they were the fir&s;t He|reticks we ever read of, &s;o for their damnable Opinions, and wicked Lives, have much out|done all others of &s;ucceeding Times. They were Men in whom there appeared wonder|ful Fal&s;ene&s;s and De&s;ign; and who taking al|ways advantage of the Apo&s;tle's Ab&s;ence, had
<PB N="2" REF="4">by their fal&s;e and plea&s;ing Doctrines, almo&s;t every where corrupted that Faith which the other planted. Thus we find that they imme|diately crept in among&s;t the Churches in the <HI>&V;pper A&s;ia,</HI> where they made &s;uch &s;peedy work in perverting the Go&s;pel; and had by new Scruples and fal&s;e Sugge&s;tions, &s;o quick|ly &s;haken that Faith, which at fir&s;t &s;eemed &s;o well grounded in the <HI>Galatians,</HI> as occa&s;ioned that mighty &s;urpri&s;e in St. <HI>Paul,</HI> to find &s;uch a &s;udden change and alteration among&s;t them: <HI>I marvel</HI> (&s;aith he, <HI>Galat.</HI> chap. 1. ver. 6.) <HI>that you are &s;o &s;oon removed from him, who called you into the Grace of Chri&s;t unto another Go&s;pel.</HI> The&s;e Deceivers de&s;igning nothing but Ea&s;e and Intere&s;t, urged vehemently on the new Converted Chri&s;tians Circumci&s;ion, and other Mo&s;aical Rites; not out of any Principle, or a real Per&s;wa&s;ion there was in them of the nece&s;&s;ity of either, but from a ba&s;e and &s;er|vile compliance to the humour of the <HI>Jews,</HI> hoping this way either to gain their Favour, or e&s;cape their Fury: <HI>For they con&s;trained o|thers to be Circumci&s;ed,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Galat.</HI> 6.12, 13.</NOTE> <HI>only lea&s;t they them|&s;elves &s;hould &s;uffer Per&s;ecution for the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t; for neither they them&s;elves</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>who were Circumci&s;ed kept the Law,
<PB N="3" REF="4">but de&s;ired to have others Circumci&s;ed, that they might glory in the Fle&s;h.</HI> And as it is ea&s;ie and natural for Men, who can once force their Con&s;ciences, either for fear or Intere&s;t, to &s;tick at nothing afterwards, how black or de|&s;perate &s;oever it may be, when they are pre&s;t to it by the like motives; &s;o the&s;e Men having once Preached up Circumci&s;ion, for fear of the <HI>Jews,</HI> made no &s;cruple afterwards to declare it lawful to deny even Chri&s;t him&s;elf, to avoid Per|&s;ecution for him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.1.</NOTE> <HI>Thus denying the Lord who bought them.</HI> The&s;e are the Men whom the Apo&s;tles point at in almo&s;t all their Epi&s;tles; and on whom they be&s;tow &s;uch black and di&s;mal Characters, as never could have been fa&s;tned but on the wor&s;t of Men:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Phil.</HI> 3.19.</NOTE> <HI>Enemies</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Paul) to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, who&s;e God was their Belly, who&s;e Glory their &s;hame, who minded Earthly things: Without natural Affe|ction, Truce-breakers, Fal&s;e Accu&s;ers, Incontinent,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3, 4.</NOTE> <HI>Fierce, De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that were Good. Tray|tors, heady, high-minded, lovers of Plea&s;ures, more than lovers of God, having a form of God|line&s;s, but denying the Power thereof.</HI> St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s Character is no le&s;s &s;evere concerning them, in his &s;econd Epi&s;tle, whom he &s;tiles,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chap.</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>Natural brute Bea&s;ts, &s;pots and blemi&s;hes, beguiling, un&s;table
<PB N="4" REF="5">Soulss, Wells without Water, Clouds</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that were carried with a Tempe&s;t, to whom the Mi&s;t of Darkne&s;s was re&s;erved for ever. &V;n|godly Men</HI> (&s;aith St.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ver.</HI> 4.</NOTE> <HI>Jude,</HI> &s;peaking of the &s;ame Per&s;ons) <HI>turning the Grace of God into La&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The&s;e are the cou|lours in which they are &s;et forth to us by the Apo&s;tles of our Lord; and as the&s;e Chara|cters to be &s;ure were exactly drawn from their Carriages, &s;o then there is nothing can be thought &s;o wicked and abominable, &s;o con|trary to Rea&s;on, and &s;o de&s;tructive to Religion, as that of which the&s;e Men were guilty, and of which they &s;tand recorded infamous to all &s;ucceeding Times. Plea&s;ure and Intere&s;t be|ing that great principle that in&s;pired all their Actions, they followed that to the uttermo&s;t. And as Mens Inclinations and De&s;ires com|monly give a huge bya&s;s to their Under&s;tand|ings, &s;o they fal&s;ly interpreted and u&s;ed that liberty which the Go&s;pel had given them, as an <HI>occa&s;ion to the Fle&s;h;</HI> pretending that Chri&s;t, in effect, had &s;et them free from that &s;trict and Religious cour&s;e of Vertue and Goodne&s;s which he came on purpo&s;e to e&s;tabli&s;h: And thus indulging them&s;elves in the mo&s;t vicious
<PB N="5" REF="5">practices, and ju&s;tifying what they did by high pretences of knowledge, they were too far gone in conceit to be reclaimed them&s;elves, and too bu&s;ie and malicious not to corrupt others by their Examples. The Infection of the&s;e Mens Principles had, like a &s;trong Poy|&s;on, diffu&s;ed it &s;elf thro' the Body of all the Churches; for the greate&s;t part of Mankind being naturally un&s;table, and not being able &s;o ea&s;ily to penetrate into the De&s;igns and Artifices of fal&s;e Teachers; The greate&s;t and mo&s;t corrupt part of any Communion will commonly embrace and follow tho&s;e Doctrines which &s;uit be&s;t with their Plea&s;ures and Inte|re&s;ts: And thus the ca&s;e was now particularly in the Churches of the <HI>Galatians,</HI> who&s;e Cha|racter indeed is this, <HI>That they did run well,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gal.</HI> 5.7.</NOTE> <HI>but were afterwards &s;o fooli&s;h and bewitched as not to obey the Truth,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chap.</HI> 3. <HI>v.</HI> 1</NOTE> <HI>before who&s;e Eyes Je&s;us Chri&s;t had been evidently &s;et forth Crucified among&s;t them:</HI> For at the time of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Writing this Epi&s;tle, in&s;tead of adhering to that Go&s;pel which he had at fir&s;t &s;o &s;ucce&s;sfully Preached unto them, and which he tells them in his own defence,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 12.</NOTE> <HI>Was that which he re|ceived not of Man, neither was taught it, but by the Revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> They were
<PB N="6" REF="6">drawn off, it &s;eems, by the In&s;inuations of wicked and de&s;igning Men, <HI>de&s;iring again to be under the Law,</HI> and to ob&s;erve Circumci&s;ion. As the general drift therefore of the Apo&s;tle in this Epi&s;tle is to &s;hew them that this new di&s;pen&s;a|tion of the Go&s;pel, had freed them from the rigour of the Law, that is, from the nece&s;&s;ity of Mofaical Rights and Ob&s;ervances, and from that exact and perfect Obedience requi|red under the Penalty of the Cur&s;e: So a|gain, lea&s;t under pretence of that freedom which the Go&s;pel had given them, they &s;hould be guilty of tho&s;e vicious Practices, which their fal&s;e Teachers &s;o indu&s;triou&s;ly endea|voured to infu&s;e; He advi&s;es them particu|larly in this Chapter, to order all their acti|ons according to the Spirit of that Go&s;pel which they had received: and if they preten|ded to Chri&s;tianity, they &s;hould follow the Rules it pre&s;cribes. <HI>If we live in the Spirit</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>let us al&s;o walk in the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>Having &s;poken thus much concerning that which gave occa&s;ion to the Words; I &s;hall now proceed to tell you,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>What it is to walk in the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>How we &s;hall know when we are in the Spirit.</HI></P>
<PB N="7" REF="6">
<P>Thirdly, <HI>I &s;hall &s;hew the Obligations which lie on us all to walk in the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>And La&s;tly, <HI>From what &s;hall be thus &s;aid, I &s;hall conclude all with &s;ome clo&s;e reflections on our own Lives and Practices.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. Then, <HI>What it is to Walk in the Spirit.</HI> The word <HI>Spirit</HI> has many and very dif|ferent &s;ignifications in the Holy Scriptures; and it would be no le&s;s tedious than improper to reckon them all up in this place. Some|times it is taken for that &s;upream divine fa|culty that is in us, the Soul of Man, and for the various Pa&s;&s;ions of Joy or Grief, which either plea&s;e or di&s;turb us. Sometimes it is taken for a temper of Religion; for an oeco|nomy or di&s;pen&s;ation which is &s;ettled and pre|&s;cribed us by God. Thus the Law is called, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.15. <HI>The Spirit of Bondage,</HI> which in|deed was a &s;evere and an har&s;h di&s;pen&s;ation, &s;o oppo&s;ite to that which in the &s;ame Ver&s;e is called, <HI>The Spirit of Adoption,</HI> which is that tender and gentle way of God's proceeding with us now under the Go&s;pel. And in this &s;ence of a temper of Religion, is to be taken, our Saviour's An&s;wer to his Di&s;ciples, in his pa&s;&s;age thro' <HI>Samaria,</HI> when &s;ome of them
<PB N="8" REF="7">were all tran&s;port and fury at the inho&s;pitali|ty of the <HI>Samaritans,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luk.</HI> 9.53.</NOTE> who <HI>would not receive our Lord, becau&s;e his Face was as though he would go to</HI> Jeru&s;alem; and therefore they being im|patient to &s;hew a Revenge proportionable to the Affront they thought our Lord had recei|ved, waited only for a Commi&s;&s;ion from him of <HI>Commanding Fire to come down from Heaven. Lord</HI> (&s;aid they) <HI>wilt thou that we command Fire to come down from Heaven &amp; con&s;ume them, as</HI> Elias <HI>did.</HI> But the ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us <HI>turned and rebuked them,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ver.</HI> 55.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;aid, Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of;</HI> that is, ye know not that that oeconomy or di&s;pen&s;ation, which I intend to e&s;tabli&s;h by the Go&s;pel, in&s;pires Men with ea&s;ie and with forbearing Tempers; and with a higher de|gree of Charity than was ever yet required or practi&s;ed by the Prophets under the Law: For the&s;e Men were often moved and impowered with an inward Zeal to de&s;troy, without any more ado the Enemies of God. But the tem|per of the Go&s;pel is to be otherwi&s;e; for <HI>The Son of Man</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>came not to de&s;troy Mens Lives but to &s;ave them.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ver.</HI> 56.</NOTE> Sometimes the word <HI>Spirit</HI> is taken for tho&s;e &s;uper-natural and ex|traordinary Gifts of the Holy Gho&s;t, which were &s;o very common in the fir&s;t Ages of the
<PB N="9" REF="7">Church: Thus St. <HI>Paul</HI> arguing in this Epi&s;tle with the <HI>Galatians,</HI> about the wonderful Ad|vantages they had received upon their embra|cing the Go&s;pel, &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gal.</HI> 3.2.</NOTE> <HI>This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the Works of the Law, or by the hearing of Faith?</HI> where by the Spirit is to be under&s;tood the &s;everal Gifts of it, and the diver&s;ities of Operations, of which we have a particular account given in the 12. Ch. of the 1&s;t of the <HI>Corinthians,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ver.</HI> 7.</NOTE> <HI>And which were given to every Man to pro&s;it withal.</HI> But not to run on in many and foreign &s;ignifica|tions of the Word; by the Spirit in the Text, is only and properly (as I judge) to be under|&s;tood the Go&s;pel it &s;elf; in which &s;ence, both in this and in other places of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Epi|&s;tles, it is taken as oppo&s;ed to the Law &s;et forth under the Title of the <HI>Fle&s;h.</HI> So then by <HI>walking in the Spirit</HI> is here to be meant, the governing ones &s;elf according to the Rules and Precepts of the Go&s;pel: The imitating that &s;acred Temper of which we have the Commands and Pat|tern in Chri&s;t: And in&s;tead of following the Lu&s;ts and De&s;ires of the Fle&s;h, the &s;ecu|lar and &s;en&s;ual Ends to which this World na|turally carries Men; and which are &s;o eager|ly
<PB N="10" REF="8">pur&s;ued by the greate&s;t part of Mankind; We &s;hould &s;trictly live up to the Religion we profe&s;s, by <HI>ordering our Conver&s;ation according to the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And this will, 2dly, inform us how <HI>We &s;hall know when we are in the Spirit.</HI> There have been in all Ages of the Church &s;trange Pre|tenders to the Spirit, and to the immediate In&s;pirations of it; which is a thing no le&s;s vain in it &s;elf, than pernicious in its Con&s;e|quences. Men of dark and melancholy Tempers are tho&s;e who mo&s;t commonly run this way; for they being the Per&s;ons who generally Think mo&s;t, and in whom im|pre&s;&s;ions being once made, &s;tick the lon|ge&s;t; when ever it happens that they en|tertain any fal&s;e Opinions in Religion, they are always defended by them with that Ob&s;ti|nacy and inward Pride, as will not admit the lea&s;t contradiction. So that the mo&s;t convin|cing Rea&s;ons and powerful Arguments, which commonly have a happy and good effect on free and ingenuous Minds, do but make the&s;e Men the wor&s;e: and the greater oppo&s;ition they at any time find from Rea&s;on or publick Authority, the more they value them&s;elves up|on their oppo&s;ition to both. And thus the vio|lent
<PB N="11" REF="8">working of Conceit, and a &s;piritual Pride rai&s;es within them an odd heat and Zeal, which at la&s;t turns it &s;elf into down-right Enthu&s;i|a&s;m; and thus the&s;e Men unhappily mi&s;taking a warmth and tran&s;port within them for Di|vine In&s;piration, and looking on that as a &s;uper-natural effect, which really, after all, is but the pure notions of Blood and Spirits, They are from hence often guilty of tho&s;e ex|travagancies, in which neither Rea&s;on nor Re|ligion can ju&s;tifie them; and of which ours, as well as other Neighbouring Countries, have often felt the &s;ad and lamentable Effects. But after all, let &s;ome Mens pretences be what they plea&s;e to inward Motions and immediate In|&s;pirations of the Spirit, this is certain and in|fallible, That as God has only left us his Word in the Scriptures as the &s;ole Rule and Mea&s;ure of our Obedience, and according to which we are to direct and govern our Lives and Acti|ons; &s;o he that performs the things which the Revealed Will of God requires of us may re&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that he is in the Spirit; <HI>For he</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>John</HI> in his fir&s;t Epi&s;tle, chap. 3. ver. 24.) <HI>that keepeth God's Commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.</HI> The Scriptures (I &s;ay) being the only Rule now left us, by which we can judge of the goodne&s;s or pravity of our
<PB N="12" REF="9">Actions, every one may hence ea&s;ily know and conclude in him&s;elf, whether he is in the Spirit, by being con&s;cious to him&s;elf, whether he forms his Life and Actions according to the Precepts laid down in the Go&s;pel, as the only mea&s;ure of his Obedience: And this I dare &s;ay, that each particular Man, or publick Com|munion of Chri&s;tians, of what denomination or Country &s;oever it may be, has mo&s;t of the Spirit, that comes the neare&s;t to this Rule. Chri&s;tianity requires of us all a firm Faith and a &s;incere Obedience to the things it enjoyns; and he that hath the fir&s;t, and faithfully di&s;|chargeth the latter, that is, he who hath a Faith to believe what is required, and lives ex|actly according to his belief, may be a&s;&s;ured that he is in the Spirit, becau&s;e he does that which God requires of him; and for which he &s;hall hereafter receive that exceeding great Reward which God has promi&s;ed in his Word. That the governing ones Life and Actions ac|cording to the rules and temper of the Go&s;pel, is the being in the Spirit, is a truth be&s;ides as &s;afe as it is certain; for he who orders him&s;elf this way, will be &s;ure never to do ami&s;s, be|cau&s;e he will always mode&s;tly keep within the bounds which his duty pre&s;cribes him: Where|as he who is led by other notions of being in
<PB N="13" REF="9">the Spirit, and has no other rule for his Acti|ons but that motion and warmth he feels with|in him, may ea&s;ily, by mi&s;taking a hot and extravagant Fancy for the &s;acred impul&s;e of the Holy Spirit, be guilty of very bad things, and thus too often be unluckily found a <HI>Figh|ter again&s;t God,</HI> at that very time he thinks him|&s;elf immediately In&s;pired by Him. From what therefore has been &s;aid, every &s;ober and &s;eri|ous Man may ea&s;ily know and conclude when he is in the Spirit; if he &s;hews in every thing he does that Temper which the Go&s;pel requires of us; if in a &s;teady and regular Conver&s;ati|on of Life, he expre&s;&s;eth that <HI>Love, Joy, Peace, Long-&s;uffering,</HI> that <HI>Gentlene&s;s, Goodne&s;s, Faith,</HI> that <HI>Meekne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Temperance,</HI> Vertues again&s;t which there is no Law, and that are all of them &s;o eminently required in Chri&s;tians; let &s;uch a one go on as he has begun, and never doubt of his being in the Spirit, becau&s;e he &s;hews &s;o much of that which St. <HI>Paul</HI> calls the <HI>Fruit of it.</HI> On the other hand,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gal.</HI> 5.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">2.</NOTE> let Men fan|&s;ie what they plea&s;e of their being in the Spirit, if their Lives and Actions are not con|formable to the Temper of that Go&s;pel which is to be their Rule; If their &s;tiffne&s;s to their own Sentiments makes them value and con&s;i|der none but them&s;elves; If their Zeal for their
<PB N="14" REF="10">own Sect or Opinion makes them exclude all others from their Charity, who are not of their own Communion and Party: If that <HI>Love</HI> which is &s;uch a peculiar Mark and Character of a Chri&s;tian, is not extended even to tho&s;e who perhaps may little de&s;erve it at their hands; If in&s;tead of that <HI>Joy, Peace, Long-&s;uf|fering, Gentlene&s;s, Goodne&s;s, Faith,</HI> which are all the beauties and excellencies of a Chri&s;tian Life, they are full of <HI>Hatreds, Variances, Emu|lations, Strifes;</HI> If in&s;tead of that <HI>Meekne&s;s and Temperance,</HI> which are Vertues that make us ea&s;ie both to our &s;elves and others, they are guilty of <HI>Envyings, Murthers, Drunkenne&s;s, Re|vellings,</HI> and &s;uch like: In a word, if Mens inward Temper or outward Deportment be &s;uch as carries them to &s;uch extreams as are incon&s;i&s;tent with the Duties which the reveal|ed Will of God has enjoyned us, let &s;uch, of what Church, Sect, or Opinion &s;oever they may be, pretend to what they plea&s;e, and gild over their Actions with fine and godly Words, they are &s;uch,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ver.</HI> 19.</NOTE> however, to whom we may ju&s;tly apply that of St. <HI>Jude, The&s;e be they who &s;eparate them&s;elves, being Sen&s;ual, not having the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>And now I come, 3dly, to &s;hew the Obli|gations which lie on us all of <HI>walking in the
<PB N="15" REF="10">Spirit:</HI> The <HI>walking in the Spirit</HI> being, as I have already &s;hewn, the conforming our &s;elves to the Rules and Precepts of the Go&s;pel, Our Obligations of doing this, will appear,</P>
<P N="1">1&s;t, <HI>From the rea&s;onablene&s;s that there is of living according to what we believe.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2dly, <HI>From the ea&s;ine&s;s of the Things enjoyned us.</HI></P>
<P>And la&s;tly, <HI>Becau&s;e this wholly tends to our own Intere&s;t and Advantage.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. Then I &s;hall &s;hew the Obligations of <HI>walk|ing in the Spirit, from the rea&s;onablene&s;s of liv|ing according to what we believe.</HI> The firm ad|hering to what a Man believes, and the or|dering his Life according to his Belief, is a thing &s;o very decent and plea&s;ing in the Eyes of all Mankind, that it is natural for one to com|mend &s;uch a practice even in that very Man who&s;e Opinion we may otherwi&s;e condemn. On the other &s;ide, let a Man be never &s;o Or|thodox in his Faith, if he is &s;candalous and ir|regular in his Life, this rai&s;es &s;uch an inward &s;corn and di&s;e&s;teem in the Brea&s;t of all good and under&s;tanding Men, as is &s;ufficient to te|&s;ti&s;ie what a low and mean Opinion the World generally has of &s;uch a Per&s;on: For when there
<PB N="16" REF="11">is not that harmony which there &s;hould be be|twixt ones belief and practice; when the Ho|line&s;s of Mens Lives does not an&s;wer the purity of that Religion they profe&s;s; it either argues a wonderful fal&s;ene&s;s and de&s;ign in de&s;iring to ap|pear otherwi&s;e than they really are; or a &s;trange in&s;en&s;ibility and neglect not to mind that which of all other things is their greate&s;t concern. 'Tis mean and pitiful to be a bare Pretender in any thing; but it is really wicked and un|accountable to be &s;o in matters of Religion, where the greate&s;t &s;incerity of Mind is requi|red; and believe me, all is but Hypocri&s;ie and folly without it. All Religion naturally &s;uppo&s;es an Obedience to the Things it enjoyns; and Chri&s;tianity is &s;o very exact in this, above all others, that <HI>who&s;oever &s;hall keep the whole Law of it, and yet o&s;&s;end in one point, he is guil|ty of all.</HI> If tho&s;e therefore who call them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, are really per&s;waded of the truth of the Go&s;pel, is it not mo&s;t rea&s;onable they &s;hould be of that temper it requires? If Men are convinced of the excellency of the Precepts which Chri&s;t has commanded, is it any thing le&s;s than Madne&s;s not to follow them to the uttermo&s;t? And what a &s;trange degree of folly is it in them not to make that the con&s;tant Rule of their Lives, which they them&s;elves
<PB N="17" REF="11">confe&s;s to be the only means of their Happine&s;s?</P>
<P>But 2dly, Our obligations of <HI>walking in the Spirit, will appear from the ea&s;ine&s;s of the things enjoyned us.</HI> Chri&s;tianity is a thing &s;o very plain and &s;imple, that never any Religion yet propo&s;ed &s;o great Rewards, and yet occa&s;ions fewer difficulties to obtain what is promi&s;ed. Every thing it commands is ea&s;ie and natural, either what directly tends to the Peace of the World, or the Reformation of our &s;elves: And that which &s;eems mo&s;t har&s;h and di&s;&s;i|cult, is quickly overcome, when one &s;ets heartily and &s;incerely about it. Of the many Religions which have appeared in the &s;e|veral Ages of the World, &s;ome of them have tied up their Votaries to &s;uch &s;evere and hard performances, whereof many have been &s;o cru|el and unaccountable, that Nature &s;eems to &s;hrink even at the very thoughts of repeating them. As for the Religion of the <HI>Jews,</HI> which of all others has the neare&s;t relation to us Chri|&s;tians, there was even in that &s;uch a multipli|city of Legal Rights and Ob&s;ervances, &s;o many attendances upon Fea&s;ts at <HI>Jeru&s;alem, which was the only place of Wor&s;hip,</HI> and whither Men were bound to repair &s;o many times a Year, as put them upon Journies no le&s;s tedi|ous than expen&s;ive; and from which nothing
<PB N="18" REF="12">but an invincible nece&s;&s;ity could excu&s;e them. But the Go&s;pel, tho' it rai&s;es Men to a more noble and excellent way of Devotion, yet re|quires none of tho&s;e &s;ervile and bodily Labours to perform it: for in&s;tead of the laying on us &s;uch things as the weight of Legal Rights and Ob&s;ervances, it only requires an inward di&s;|po&s;ition and a temper of Mind, <HI>the Wor&s;hipping God in Spirit and Truth, for the Father &s;eeketh &s;uch to Wor&s;hip him.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John</HI> 4.23.</NOTE> In&s;tead of forcing us to take long Journies thro' the whole Kingdom to a fixt place of Wor&s;hip (which was exactly the ca&s;e of the <HI>Jews</HI>) we may now &s;erve God at home here in our Chapels, and in our Churches. In&s;tead of the <HI>Blood of Bulls and Goats,</HI> as an atonement for Sin, God only re|quires now of us a <HI>Broken and a Contrite heart;</HI> And the mo&s;t acceptable Offerings and Obla|tions we can make him, are the Sacrifices of Prayers and Thanksgivings. In a word, the things expected of us under the Go&s;pel being pure|ly Spiritual, the forming within us a new Crea|ture, by Crucifying the Fle&s;h, with the affecti|ons and Lu&s;ts; This is a work which may be done in all times and Places; and the difficul|ty of it is ea&s;ily removed, when we our &s;elves are plea&s;ed but to u&s;e the means which are pre&s;cribed.</P>
<PB N="19" REF="12">
<P>But la&s;tly, our Obligations of walking in the <HI>Spirit,</HI> will farther appear, <HI>when, be&s;ide the ea&s;i|ne&s;s of the things enjoyned us, it wholly tends to our own Intere&s;t and Advantage.</HI> As God in his Wi&s;dom endued Man above all other Crea|tures with a power of knowing and perform|ing his Will; &s;o again, by a Goodne&s;s as great as his Wi&s;dom, he has made him the promi&s;e of eternal Felicity, to encourage him in the performance of his Duty: we therefore &s;ee the end of all our ju&s;t and good actions &s;eem chiefly de&s;igned by God to our own Intere&s;t and Advantage. For tho' God, who is the Fountain of all Goodne&s;s, has declared him&s;elf to be plea&s;ed with the ju&s;tice and uprightne&s;s of our Actions; yet, as he is a Being infinitely happy in him&s;elf, he cannot any ways be &s;uppo|&s;ed to &s;tand in need of the Services of his Crea|tures: His Glory is not augmented by our poor Prayers and Thanksgivings; nor is his Great|ne&s;s dimini&s;hed by any neglect of our Duties. <HI>Can a Man</HI> (Job 22.2, 3.) <HI>be pro&s;itable to God, as he that is Wi&s;e may be pro&s;itable to him&s;elf? Is it any plea&s;ure to the Almighty that thou art Righ|teous?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chap.</HI> 35.6, 7.</NOTE> Or is it gain to him that thou make&s;t thy way perfect? If thou Sinne&s;t, what do&s;t thou again&s;t him? And if thy Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions be multiplied, what do&s;t thou unto him? If thou art Righteous,
<PB N="20" REF="13">what give&s;t thou him, or what receiveth he at thy hands?</HI> So then we &s;ee that the performance of the things which the Go&s;pel requires of us, tends wholly to our own advantage: Which con&s;ide|ration alone &s;hould be &s;ufficient powerfully to engage us to do the things that are requi&s;ite to obtain it: For tho' Arguments drawn from ones Intere&s;t are not always good and proper to be urged in things relating to this World; yet they are &s;ome of the be&s;t which can be u&s;ed in re&s;pect of the happine&s;s of the next. Since God therefore has created us all with the de|&s;ign of making us eternally happy with him on the conditions required at our hands, this &s;hould &s;tir us up to &s;uch &s;uitable and grateful returns of governing our Lives and Actions, according to the Rules he has pre&s;cribed us, that we may all at la&s;t be partakers of tho&s;e endle&s;s Ble&s;&s;ings and Joys he intends us. If the <HI>walking in the Spirit</HI> is the only way of con|ducting us to Glory, this &s;hould make us all <HI>become the Servants of God, that having our Fruit unto Holine&s;s,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 6.22.</NOTE> <HI>we may have our end everla&s;ting Life.</HI></P>
<P>What is &s;aid to all at large, is applied but by few to them&s;elves; &s;o that tho' a general Di&s;cour&s;e, like this, may be mo&s;t plea&s;ing to Men, becau&s;e it touches them lea&s;t, yet 'tis on|ly
<PB N="21" REF="13">a particular and an affectionate application of things to our own Per&s;ons and Circum&s;tan|ces, which leaves the mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible and la&s;ting Im|pre&s;&s;ions upon us: Having therefore &s;hewn what is meant by the <HI>Spirit,</HI> and &s;et forth the &s;everal Obligations which lie on us all to walk in the <HI>Spirit,</HI> I &s;hall now conclude this Di&s;cour&s;e with &s;ome clo&s;e reflections on our own Lives and Practices.</P>
<P>'Tis the peculiar Ble&s;&s;ing of us who are now met together in this place, that as we are all Profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;tianity, &s;o we declare our &s;elves likewi&s;e Members of that Reformed part of it, which is e&s;tabli&s;hed in this Nation, and which is both the &s;trength and glory of the Reformation: But now let us examine our &s;elves a little in that double relation we have both as we are Chri&s;tians and Members of this particular Church. The things to which the Go&s;pel obliges us are as plain in them&s;elves as they are ea&s;ie in the performance of them: The a&s;&s;i&s;tances of Grace which we receive are many, and the promi&s;es of Reward are un&s;peak|able: We pretend all to be &s;o far from disbe|lieving the Go&s;pel, that there's not a Man a|mong&s;t us, but would think it the highe&s;t af|front not to be thought a good Chri&s;tian: But now after all, <HI>If we live in the Spirit, do we al&s;o
<PB N="22" REF="14">walk in the Spirit?</HI> Does the &s;en&s;e of our Du|ty &s;tir us up to the performance of it? and does the Holine&s;s of our Lives an&s;wer the purity of that Religion we profe&s;s? Has Chri&s;tianity, I ask you, that happy and ble&s;&s;ed effect upon us as to make us every way better than tho&s;e who either never heard or believed it? and is the di|&s;tinction as plain and as vi&s;ible as it ought to be betwixt us and the re&s;t of the World, for Piety and Vertue, as much as our advantages to God|line&s;s are greater and more excellent than theirs? Have we that true &s;en&s;e of God and Religion which becomes the Greatne&s;s and Maje&s;ty of the one? and do we order our Lives with that circum&s;pection and care, as we may not bring the lea&s;t reproach or di&s;honour on the other? Have we God always in our thoughts, and do we daily offer up unto him our Sacrifices of Prayers and Thanksgivings? Do we in our Ad|dre&s;&s;es to him heartily bewail our own Sins, and the many occa&s;ions we may have given others of offending him? Do we intercede with God for others as well as for our &s;elves? and does the &s;en&s;e of the Mi&s;eries and Wants to which Mankind is &s;ubject, kindle in us that univer&s;al and Chri&s;tian Charity, as to beg his ble&s;&s;ing on all Men, of what Nation, Country, Religion, Sect, Principle, or Opinion they may be? Are
<PB N="23" REF="14">we thankful to God for the lea&s;t Mercy we re|ceive? and are we re&s;igned and ea&s;ie in the meane&s;t condition we may be in? Do we &s;tudy to glorifie God by all means? and do we em|ploy our whole time for the Salvation of our Souls? Do we live and act as becomes tho&s;e who really think there are Rewards and Puni&s;h|ments for Men in the next Life, and that we mu&s;t all be for ever happy or for ever mi|&s;erable in another World, as we behave our &s;elves here in this? Do the Thoughts and Con&s;ideration of this work in us that &s;erious care and concern as to be always earne&s;t about our own happine&s;s, and not to do any thing by which we may mi&s;s that Glory which we hope to po&s;&s;e&s;s? Do we mind that great and excellent Rule of Chri&s;tianity,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 7.12.</NOTE> of <HI>doing to others as we would they &s;hould do unto us?</HI> and do we make a Con&s;cience of not promoting our Ho|nour, Riches, Reputation, or Intere&s;t, by any other means than what Religion pre&s;cribes and ju&s;tifies? Do we make the Commands of the Go&s;pel the Rule of our Lives? and in all our Actions have we a re&s;pect to the Precepts and Example of Chri&s;t?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Phil.</HI> 2.5.</NOTE> Is <HI>that mind in us which was al&s;o in Chri&s;t Je&s;us?</HI> and do we imitate that Humility of which he made him&s;elf &s;uch a won|derful Pattern and Example to the World? Is
<PB N="24" REF="15">that <HI>Love, by which all Men &s;hall know that we are his Di&s;ciples,</HI> &s;o firm and univer&s;al in us, that it goes much beyond that of the <HI>Publicans,</HI> by being extended to Enemies as well as Friends? Does that <HI>Joy, Peace, Long-&s;uffering,</HI> that <HI>Gen|tlene&s;s, Goodne&s;s, Faith,</HI> that <HI>Meekne&s;s and Tem|perance,</HI> which are all the Fruits of the Spirit; do they, I &s;ay, appear as eminently in our Lives, as they are all really nece&s;&s;ary to our happine&s;s? Are we Merciful, and are we Forgiving, and do we chearfully relieve the nece&s;&s;ities of tho&s;e who &s;tand in need of our Charity, con&s;ider|ing, <HI>That we our &s;elves are al&s;o in the Body?</HI> Are we moderate in our De&s;ires, Mode&s;t in our Behaviours, Peaceful in our Tempers, Ju&s;t to our Promi&s;es, and exemplary in our Lives? The&s;e are the general Duties of Chri&s;tians, and it will be well if our Hearts condemn us not, when with a &s;evere and &s;earching care we ex|amine our &s;elves, how conformable our Lives have been to the&s;e Rules.</P>
<P>Let us now pa&s;s on from that general noti|on of our being Chri&s;tians, to &s;ee how we live and act as we are Members of this particular Church. We all value our &s;elves, I &s;uppo&s;e, upon our being of the <HI>Church of England,</HI> (and it is a ble&s;&s;ing for which next to the Redempti|on of the World, we &s;tand mo&s;t indebted to
<PB N="25" REF="15">Heaven) but are we as Holy in our Lives as we are Orthodox in our Faith? And are we as like the Primitive Chri&s;tians for Piety and Zeal, as much as our Religion and Wor&s;hip, of any other in the World, comes the neare&s;t to theirs? We come once a Week at lea&s;t into this, or &s;ome other Hou&s;e of God, and we do well in it; but do not many of us by our heedle&s;ne&s;s and unconcernedne&s;s too often <HI>Offer up the Sacrifices of Fools, not con&s;idering that they do Evil?</HI> Do we mind the bu&s;ine&s;s we are here about, and the greatne&s;s of that Maje&s;ty, before which we are now in a more particular manner pre&s;ent? Do we think that God is in this place, and do we bring with us &s;uch thoughts as &s;uit with the Ho|line&s;s of his Hou&s;e? Do we draw near to God with our Hearts, as well as with our Lips? And have we upon our Minds and Con&s;ciences that true &s;en&s;e of his Goodne&s;s, Ju&s;tice, Power, and Mercy, as may at the &s;ame time rai&s;e in us both a Love and a Fear of his Name? We fall down formally here upon our Knees, and, in our Confe&s;&s;ion, we tell God roundly to his Face, <HI>That we have erred and &s;trayed from his ways like lo&s;t Sheep; That we have left undone the things which we ought to have done; and that we have done the things which we ought not to have done; and that there is no health in us;</HI> nay, we go
<PB N="26" REF="16">higher yet,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Communion Service.</NOTE> and tell him, that <HI>we earne&s;tly re|pent, and are heartily &s;orry for our mi&s;doings; that the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, and that the burthen of them is intolerable:</HI> But have we now all this while that hearty contrition and inward &s;orrow, that unea&s;ine&s;s and di&s;&s;atisfacti|on in our &s;elves which becomes tho&s;e who are truly Penitent for their Offences? After the&s;e large Confe&s;&s;ions of our Follies and Sins, do we &s;hew a hatred of them by the Reformation of our Lives? And are we as careful to amend as we are always ready to confe&s;s our Mi&s;doings? Do we con&s;ider that God is not to be mocked, and that when we come here into his pre&s;ence, and pretend to confe&s;s our Sins to him, with|out any thoughts of amending them, that then we offer up the highe&s;t Affront to Heaven, and ju&s;tly provoke God's Vengeance again&s;t us, for adding <HI>Hypocri&s;ie</HI> to our other <HI>Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions?</HI></P>
<P>As for <HI>Bapti&s;m</HI> and the <HI>Supper of the Lord,</HI> how little do we mind the Vows and Promi&s;es which we have made in the one, and with what a coldne&s;s and unconcernedne&s;s do too many of us come to the other? we promi&s;e in our <HI>Bapti&s;m</HI> to <HI>Renounce the Devil and all his Works, the vain Pomp and Glory of the World, weth all Covetous de&s;ires of the &s;ame:</HI> But now where are the Men among&s;t us who are not lead away Captive by
<PB N="27" REF="16">them all? Where is that re&s;ignation we preten|ded when we were admitted Members of Chri&s;ts Flock? and to whom does the Humility of the Cro&s;s appear more glorious than all the Vani|ties of the World? Where is the dying to Sin and the living to Righteou&s;ne&s;s? And how few are there, notwith&s;tanding all their Promi&s;es, who Manfully fight under Chri&s;t's Banner, and continue his <HI>faithful Soldiers and Servants to their lives end?</HI></P>
<P>As for the Sacrament of the <HI>Lord's Supper,</HI> this Church invites us to it by its Mini&s;ters <HI>in the name of God, calls us in Chri&s;t's behalf,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Communion Service.</NOTE> <HI>exhorts us, as we love our own Salvation, that we will be Partakers of this Holy Communion.</HI> Now we, who pretend to be of this Church, do we mind the earne&s;t and godly de&s;ires of it? Do we take all opportunities of coming to that Holy Ta|ble,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.24, 26.</NOTE> and <HI>thus &s;et forth the Lord's Death till he comes?</HI> Do not many of us &s;eldom or never ap|pear there? and in&s;tead of <HI>Doing this often in remembrance of him,</HI> by rea&s;on of an extraor|dinary Coldne&s;s and &s;ome idle excu&s;es, commu|nicate but once or twice in our Lives? As for the others again of us who are often pre&s;ent at tho&s;e Holy My&s;teries, do we with a true peni|tent Heart, and a lively Faith, receive that Ho|ly Sacrament? Do we come with that &s;eriou&s;|ne&s;s
<PB N="28" REF="17">and due preparation of Soul, which be|comes the mo&s;t high and &s;olemn part of our Religion? <HI>Do we judge our &s;elves that we be not judged of the Lord?</HI> Have we a dete&s;tation of Sin, and a hearty Repentance for the Follies of our Lives? Have we a flaming de&s;ire after God and Heaven in our &s;elves? and have we a perfect Love and Charity for others?</P>
<P>In all the other acts and duties of our Reli|gion, have we that tenderne&s;s and concern for it, as really becomes tho&s;e who pretend &s;o much the Honour of God, and the pro&s;perity of this Church? We &s;ay indeed (and 'tis mo&s;t true) that this Church, for its con&s;titution and Do|ctrine, is <HI>the Joy of the whole Earth,</HI> but do we endeavour to give it a farther lu&s;tre and beau|ty by the excellency of our Lives, and to rai&s;e it from that degree of &s;corn and contempt, which the loo&s;ene&s;s and &s;candals of too many of its Members have brought on it? There is indeed every where &s;uch a wonderful coldne&s;s in Religion, and &s;uch a corruption of man|ners in the World; &s;o much pretence to Ho|nour and Con&s;cience, and &s;o little regard to either; &s;uch a general Infection, and &s;uch a de|cay of Piety in all &s;orts of Men, that I cannot indeed &s;ay, That tho&s;e of our Communion are the wor&s;t, becau&s;e all Parties are &s;o extremely
<PB N="29" REF="17">bad among&s;t us: But however, do not we lie too much open to cen&s;ure; and have not many of us given the World too great rea&s;on to think that &s;ome of us are arri|ved to that degree of hardne&s;s and Impiety, that we can now go on and Sin without either fear or &s;hame. Do we con&s;ider therefore what Reproaches we bring upon Religion and our &s;elves, what di&s;honour to God, and what par|ticular di&s;&s;ervice to this Church, by thus ex|po&s;ing it to the laughter and obloquy of its Enemies on all &s;ides, who can never get any advantage over it, but what &s;prings from our own Indi&s;cretion and Follies?</P>
<P>This is a thing, which as it is apt to beget in one very melancholy thoughts, &s;o it would now furni&s;h me with va&s;t variety of Di&s;cour&s;e; but in&s;tead of asking any more &s;earching Que|&s;tions (which may look like &s;o many Re|proaches on our Lives and Practices) I &s;hall conclude all with my hearty Prayers to God; That it would plea&s;e him to give us his Grace for the good Conduct and Government of our &s;elves, both as we are Chri&s;tians, and Members of this particular Church.</P>
<P>That it would plea&s;e him, that as we <HI>live in the Spirit, we may al&s;o all of us walk in the Spirit;</HI> And that having &s;o many helps and
<PB N="30" REF="18">a&s;&s;i&s;tances for the performance of our Duties, we may ever make &s;uch returns of Vertue and Godline&s;s as become us; &s;o that they who are bad may grow better, and that tho&s;e who are already Good, may go on to that Perfection to which they a&s;pire. La&s;tly, that all of us being <HI>made perfect by the Spirit</HI> here, may reign with God eternally in Heaven hereafter.</P>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Jude</HI> 24, 25.</BIBL>
<P><HI>Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to pre&s;ent you faultle&s;s before the Pre&s;ence of his Glory with exceeding Joy.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To the only Wi&s;e God our Saviour, be Glory and Maje&s;ty, Dominion and Power, both now and ever.</HI> Amen.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
