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<DATE>2011-02-11</DATE>
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<NAME>Judith Siefring</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON Preached before the RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES, IN St. <HI>MICHAEL</HI>'s CHURCH DUBLIN.
<HI>September</HI> the <HI>25th.</HI> 1698.</P>
<P>By <HI>Thomas Pollard,</HI> Mini&s;ter of St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s <HI>Dublin.</HI></P>
<P>DUBLIN: Printed, by and for <HI>Jo&s;eph Ray,</HI> Book&s;eller in <HI>Skinner-row</HI> over
again&s;t the <HI>Thol&s;el,</HI> MDCXCVIII.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO THE Religious Societies IN DUBLIN.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>BRETHREN,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>TH&ocirc; I was ready, at your Reque&s;t, to Preach this <HI>Sermon,</HI> yet I (mu&s;t
confe&s;s I was not &s;o <HI>willing</HI> to make it <HI>Publick;</HI> as con&s;cious to my &s;elf
how much &s;o great and u&s;eful a <HI>Subject</HI> mu&s;t &s;uffer through the Weakne&s;s of the
Manager: But when your de&s;ires came back't with his Grace's Commands, it was no longer fit for me
to di&s;pute the matter.</P>
<P>I am very &s;en&s;ible that be&s;ides the Exceptions that may be ju&s;tly taken again&s;t the
Imperfections of this Di&s;cour&s;e, many <HI>Objections</HI> will be rais'd, again&s;t the
<HI>Argument</HI> it &s;elf, which is likely to find the &s;ame ill <HI>U&s;age</HI> for
<HI>Encourag|ing,</HI> that you have allready met with for <HI>Endeavouring</HI> a Reformation: But
if the <HI>Publi&s;hing</HI> this <HI>Sermon</HI> may prove either u&s;eful to <HI>You</HI> or
Beneficial to <HI>others,</HI> I &s;hall, very little Regard the Cen&s;ures of ill Men; who as they
are <HI>Enemies</HI> to <HI>Virtue,</HI> &s;o they will be &s;ure to be to all that &s;hall
<HI>abett</HI> it.</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>To Direct and Encourage the <HI>Good Work</HI> you have &s;o &s;ucce&s;sfully begun,
<HI>viz.</HI> The beating down the <HI>Body of Sin,</HI> and putting &s;ome &s;top to that <HI>I
orrent</HI> of open <HI>Lewdne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Prophanene&s;s,</HI> which for &s;ome time pa&s;t
has been breaking in upon us, was the great de&s;ign of this Di&s;cour&s;e; and if it may Influence
and In&s;pirit any of us in &s;o Generous an <HI>Undertaking,</HI> I &s;hall think my Time and my
Labour well laid out. And that GOD's Ble&s;&s;ing may allways accompany your Endeavours and mine in
this Charitable Attempt is the hearty Prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>You Affectionate humble Servant</HI> Thomas Pollard.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>A SERMON Preach'd before the Societies in St. <HI>Michael</HI>'s Church, <HI>Dublin,
September</HI> the <HI>25th.</HI> 1698.</HEAD>
<P>The <HI>19th.</HI> of <HI>Leviticus</HI> in the latter part of the <HI>17th.</HI> ver&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Thou &s;halt in any wi&s;e rebuke thy Neighbour, and not &s;uffer Sin upon him.</HI></P>
<P>The whole Ver&s;e runs thus, <HI>Thou &s;halt not hate thy Brother in thine heart: thou &s;halt
in any wi&s;e rebuke thy Neighbour, and not &s;uffer Sin upon him.</HI></P>
<P>THe&s;e words recommend a duty as difficult to the Performer, as unwelcom to the Receiver; and
that is <HI>Brotherly Admonition</HI> and <HI>Reproof:</HI> for who&s;oever &s;hall attempt it
(tho' in the greate&s;t kindne&s;s to Mens Souls) is in danger not only of being accounted, but of
being treated as their Enemy, becau&s;e he tells them the truth.</P>
<P>'Twas a work difficult enough for a Prophet, and we find God him&s;elf intimating, as if there
were but few qualified for &s;o generous an undertaking: <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 6.8. <HI>And I heard the
Voice of the Lord &s;aying whom &s;hall I &s;end, and who will go for Us?</HI> Implying that it was
no ea&s;ie matter to find a well qualified and willing Per&s;on; and tho' the Prophet
<HI>I&s;aiah</HI> was prepared and ready at that time to undertake the Imploy|ment,
<PB N="2" REF="4">yet we find the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;omething backward, bewailing
him&s;elf and complaining of the hard&s;hip of the Du|ty. Saying, <HI>Wo is me, my Mother that thou
ha&s;t born me a Man of &s;trife, and a Man of Contention to the whole Earth,</HI> Jer. 15.10.</P>
<P>And therefore to arm him again&s;t all dangers and difficulty of the undertaking, God does not
only chear him up, but threaten him too, <HI>Thou therefore gird up thy Loins,</HI> i. e. rouze up
thy Spirits and thy Courage, <HI>and ari&s;e, &s;peak to them all that I commanded thee, be not
di&s;mayed at their Faces, le&s;t I Confound thee before them.</HI> Jer. <HI>1&s;t.</HI> 17. And
whether they would hear, or whether they would forbear, God oblig'd him to di&s;charge this
nece&s;&s;ary, tho' unwelcome office towards them.</P>
<P>And with the &s;ame caution God arms <HI>Ezekiel</HI> upon the like occa&s;ion, <HI>And thou
&s;on of man be not afraid of their words, tho' Briers and Thorns be with thee,</HI> i. e. tho'
this people be as Briers and Thorns, which &s;hall prick and wound thy Soul, <HI>And tho' thou
do&s;t dwell among Scorpions, be not afraid of their words, nor be di&s;mayed at their looks,</HI>
Ezek. 2.6.</P>
<P>And if a Commi&s;&s;ion'd Prophet was to expect &s;uch Treatment, when he was &s;ent by God to
rebuke a wicked Nation, how much rougher u&s;age mu&s;t a private Per&s;on look for when he
undertakes to Reprove a wicked and licentious People? and to reform tho&s;e Vices which by a long
and general Prac|tice and Indulgence, are not only grown fa&s;hionable, but have gotten Credit and
Power in the World? in&s;omuch that he that dares attempt a Reformation, mu&s;t look for nothing
le&s;s than to be torn with <HI>Briers</HI> and <HI>Thorns,</HI> and to be the object of all the
Venom, that the Tongues of the&s;e wicked <HI>Scorpions</HI> can &s;pit again&s;t him; but God that
knew the danger does not excu&s;e from the duty, but lays his commands pe|remptorily thus, <HI>Thou
&s;halt in any wi&s;e Rebuke thy Neighbour,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And tho' this Precept was given under the Law, yet it is of that <HI>Moral Obligation,</HI> that
it is not <HI>&s;uper&s;eded,</HI> but rather reinforced by the Go&s;pel Di&s;pen&s;ation.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="4">
<P>I &s;hall not at pre&s;ent confine the&s;e words (as &s;ome under|&s;tand them) in Relation only
to the former part of the Ver&s;e. <HI>Thou &s;halt not hate thy Brother, in thine heart,</HI> i.
e. Thou &s;halt not bear any private Malice or Grudge again&s;t him, and &s;mother it in thy
brea&s;t, as <HI>Ab&s;olom</HI> did again&s;t his Brother <HI>Amnon,</HI> for the Text &s;ays,
<HI>He &s;pake unto him neither good nor bad,</HI> and gives this as the rea&s;on, <HI>For
Ab&s;olom hated Amnon,</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 13.22. But thou &s;halt make known the cau&s;e of the
Difference and Di&s;plea&s;ure, and &s;halt in any wi&s;e plainly <HI>re|buke</HI> him for it. Tho'
this be an excellent duty, and may prove the prevention of many great and grievous Evils, yet I
&s;hall at this time treat of the&s;e words in a greater Latitude, e|ven as they re&s;pect Sin in
general and not only &s;ome tre&s;pa&s;s committed again&s;t our &s;elves.</P>
<P>And in handling of them in this larger &s;en&s;e, I &s;hall follow this method.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. I will endeavour to make it appear that it is the Duty of a private Chri&s;tian, as much
as in him lies, to Reprove and Reform Sin in his Neighbour.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. I &s;hall &s;hew you the manner how this duty is to be perform'd.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The Motives and Rea&s;ons that may encourage him in &s;o difficult a performance.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall endeavour to make it appear, that it is the duty of a private Chri&s;tian, as
much as in him lies, to Reprove and Reform Sin in his Neighbour.</P>
<P>To prevent Sin, and de&s;troy the works of the Devil, is &s;o Noble and generous a de&s;ign,
that for the accompli&s;hment thereof our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour thought it worth while to leave all
the Glorious Man&s;ions of Heaven, to de&s;cend into a wicked World, and to &s;ubmit him&s;elf to
the mo&s;t barbarous Treatment it could give him; and his great bu&s;ine&s;s here was to &s;ave his
People from their Sins, that they being deliver'd from their Spiritual Enemies, might become a
peculiar Peo|ple zealous of good works, and might &s;erve God without fear, in Holine&s;s and
Righteou&s;ne&s;s before him all the days of their life.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="5">
<P>And if it be our Duty to learn of Him, and endeavour to be like him, we are certainly oblig'd to
promote the good of Souls, as much as in us lies, and to be willing to run &s;ome hazzard, to be at
&s;ome co&s;t and pains for the re&s;cue of a poor Soul, which was &s;o precious in the eyes of
Chri&s;t, that he thought it worth dying for; he came into the world on pur|po&s;e to do
Kindne&s;&s;es to the Souls of Men, even to turn us from the Errors of our ways to the living
God.</P>
<P>The very fir&s;t act that a Chri&s;tian does in behalf of him&s;elf, is &s;olemnly to engage in
a war again&s;t the Devil and all his Works, again&s;t all the deceitful and wicked Pomps and
Vani|ties of the World, and all the &s;inful lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h; and that &s;acred Vow does
oblige us by all lawful ways and means to prevent and de&s;troy all the&s;e, as well in others as
our &s;elves: and if we neglect it, we make our &s;elves partakers of their &s;ins.</P>
<P>Even under the Law they were enjoyn'd to Rebuke Sin in their Neighbour, and not to &s;uffer
&s;in upon him: Some tran|&s;late it, Thou &s;halt not bear Sin for him, by which is &s;ometimes
under&s;tood the Sin it &s;elf, and &s;ometimes the Puni&s;hment thereof. And truly he that
neglects this Duty among his Friends and Equals, when 'tis fit to perform it, makes him|&s;elf
liable to both.</P>
<P>And this neglect in the former part of the ver&s;e, is called <HI>A hating our Brother in our
heart;</HI> for &s;o &s;ome apply that part of the Ver&s;e, and not without rea&s;on; for what
hatred &s;o deadly as that which tends to the utter ruin and de&s;truction of a Soul?</P>
<P>What was &s;poken by the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel</HI> of the Watchman, to whom the charge of the
People was committed, and was by virtue of his Office oblig'd to give the People warning of their
Danger, is in &s;ome mea&s;ure applicable to every Chri&s;tian, who is &s;o far a Prophet, as to be
oblig'd to prevent Sin, as far as lawfully he may, and in any wi&s;e to warn and rebuke his
Neighbours, when an opportunity and fit Circum|&s;tances do offer. And in this re&s;pect why
&s;hould we grudge any one the honour of re&s;cuing a Soul from Death? ought
<PB N="5" REF="5">we not all much rather, to joyn in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>'s pa&s;&s;ionate Prayer;
<HI>Would to God that all the Lords People were Prophets, and that he would put his holy Spirit
upon them.</HI></P>
<P>The puni&s;hment that God threatned the Prophet with, in ca&s;e of neglect is very dreadful;
<HI>His blood will I require at thine hand.</HI> Now th&ocirc; this be more particularly the duty
of a Mini&s;ter, who is intru&s;ted with the cure of Souls, and de|&s;ign'd here by the name of a
Prophet, yet private Chri&s;tians are not altogether free from the Obligation, but even a meer
Laick may draw the blood of his Brother upon his own head, and by a &s;ilent approbation of his Sin
make him&s;elf liable both to the guilt and puni&s;hment; and every Man is &s;o far ingag'd
again&s;t the common Enemy, as to take his Brothers part, and re&s;cue him out of his hands, as
well as he is bound to defend him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour enjoyns this private Admonition in the&s;e words, <HI>If thy brother
tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone, if he &s;hall
hear thee, thou ha&s;t gained thy brother.</HI> And th&ocirc; the&s;e words &s;peak only of a
tre&s;pa&s;s committed again&s;t our &s;elves, yet if we love God as we ought, we &s;hould &s;ure
be as much concerned for him as we are for our &s;elves. And 'tis a &s;ign that we have little zeal
for the Glory of his Name, when we can patiently hear it bla&s;phem'd, and &s;ee his honour
trampled upon by wicked and prophane wretches, and &s;it contentedly by, and neither &s;ay nor do
any thing to retrieve and vindicate it; &s;ure we could not think him our Friend, that could
&s;ilently and con|tentedly &s;tand by, and &s;ee any of our &s;elves thus rudely treated and
abu&s;ed.</P>
<P>'Tis the &s;ame private reproof that St. <HI>Paul</HI> means by his fir&s;t and &s;econd
Admonition; <HI>Titus,</HI> 3.10.</P>
<P>And the end of all this is in the expre&s;&s;ion of my Text. <HI>Not to &s;uffer Sin upon our
Brother;</HI> or as St. <HI>James</HI> expre&s;&s;es it, <HI>The converting of a Sinner from the
error of his ways.</HI></P>
<P>And were our love to our Brother, of the &s;ame kind with Chri&s;t's love to us, we &s;hould not
need many arguments to
<PB N="6" REF="6">convince us of our obligation to this Duty; that Love alone would &s;oon put us
upon the di&s;charge of it; 'Tis a very pow|erful Pa&s;&s;ion, where it is &s;incere; it will not
&s;tick at Niceties, or be di&s;couraged with every &s;eeming Difficulty. And we know 'tis our duty
to love one another, as he loved us. And if his love was &s;o great to the Souls of Men, as to
think the Redemption of them worth the infinite value of his own Blood, &s;ure, to render our love,
in any degree like his, we are certainly oblig'd to lay out our mo&s;t vigorous endeavours towards
the conver&s;ion of one another, and be as &s;olicitous for the prevention or removal of Sin, as of
the Plague, for indeed the former is as catching, and more fatally mortal than the latter.</P>
<P>Who could &s;tand patiently by, and &s;ee his Friend about to take deadly Poy&s;on, or throw
him&s;elf off a dangerous Preci|pi&s;e, and not u&s;e his utmo&s;t endeavours to prevent &s;uch a
mi&s;|chief? And is it not much more barbarous and inhumane to &s;tand uconcernedly by, and &s;ee
my Brother Sin a Sin unto Death, and &s;o ruin Him&s;elf, Soul, and Body, to all Eternity? And yet
never make one &s;tep towards his re&s;cue and delive|rance. Sure did we know the worth of a Soul,
or had any Bowels and Compa&s;&s;ion for our Brother, we &s;hould with the &s;ame earne&s;tne&s;s
endeavour his pre&s;ervation, that the Angel did <HI>Lots,</HI> even by calling upon him, and
leading him by the hand, and forcing him out of <HI>Sodom,</HI> warning him of his danger, and with
the &s;ame zealous concern bidding him e&s;cape, <HI>Neither &s;tay thou in all the plain, lea&s;t
thou be con&s;umed:</HI> And in|deed he that can't find in his Heart, to do &s;omething towards the
conver&s;ion of a Sinner, nay to run &s;ome hazard, and be thus importunate, when he &s;ees his
Brother ready to tumble in Hell, has &s;ure very little of this heavenly Angelical Temper in him,
very little value for a Soul, which Chri&s;t thought &s;o precious, and le&s;s of Chri&s;tian Love
and Re&s;olution in him, he falls far below the Character of the more generous Hea|thens, who
look'd upon the preventing of Sin and Error in their Friend, as the mo&s;t &s;acred Office of their
Love and
<PB N="7" REF="6">Friend&s;hip, and upon this account look'd upon their Friend as their Guardian
Angel, or rather as their own Con&s;cience, who&s;e bu&s;ine&s;s it was, not only to direct them in
their Du|ty, and forewarn them of their danger, but al&s;o to check and reprove them when they did
amits, and wandred out of the ways of Truth and right Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>And &s;ure Chri&s;tianity does not &s;uper&s;ede, but improve and exalt this excellent and
nece&s;&s;ary duty. And by how much we have more noble motives for the performance of it, by &s;o
much are we the more &s;trictly oblig'd to the Con&s;cientious di&s;charge of it.</P>
<P>And thus having proved that it is the Duty of a private Chri&s;tian, as much as in him lies, to
reprove and reform Sin in his Neighbour; I come in the &s;econd place to &s;hew you how this Duty
is to be performed.</P>
<P>And that is fir&s;t of all by in&s;tructing the Ignorant, and that both as to the
<HI>Credenda</HI> and <HI>Agenda</HI> of their Religion: For as many Sin again&s;t light, &s;o
&s;ome Sin for want of it; and it is noble charity, to give Eyes to the Blind, to give Light to
them that &s;it in Darkne&s;s and the Shadow of Death, and to guide their Feet into the way of
Peace. But th&ocirc; this may tend very much to the Reformation of our Brother, yet it is properly
rather to Direct than Reprove.</P>
<P N="2">2dly. There is a way of reproving Sin-by the contrary ex|ample of Holine&s;s and Vertue,
and when Sin has not taken too deep a root, this may prove an excellent method for the reclaiming
of Sinners. For the exemplary Piety and Holi|ne&s;s of a good Man, is &s;uch a Check and Reproach
to the Ungodly, that like the <HI>Ark</HI> and <HI>Dagon,</HI> one cannot &s;tand be|fore the
other.</P>
<P>But if the Contagion of Sin be &s;pread and grown &s;o inve|terate, that Example alone cannot
Shame and Ma&s;ter it, yet it will &s;till have the Advantage of giving the more Force and Efficacy
to our Reproofs; it will convince them that we are &s;incere and in earne&s;t, when they &s;ee us
&s;o Zealous in the Practi&s;e of that our &s;elves, which we would &s;o earne&s;tly re|commend
<PB N="8" REF="7">unto them. But it will be a hard matter to per|&s;wade any man to believe and
practice that, which, by my own Actions, that by mo&s;t People are look'd upon as the mo&s;t
&s;en&s;ible and convincing Arguments, I do plainly de|mon&s;trate, I neither believe nor practice
my &s;elf. How apt will every one be to retort my Rebukes, with a <HI>Phy&s;itian heal thy
&s;elf;</HI> or rather with a <HI>Thou Hypocrite, fir&s;t ca&s;t the Beam out of thine own Eye, and
then &s;halt thou &s;ee clearly to pull the Mote out of thy Brothers Eye.</HI> He that is guilty
him&s;elf is not fit to &s;tone Sin in another.</P>
<P N="3">3dly. Our Rebukes and Reproofs of our Brother, ought to be in&s;inuated with all
Tenderne&s;s and Brotherly love, that they may plainly perceive our de&s;ign is to &s;ave their
Souls, and not to Grati&s;ie our own, or others Spleen, in expo&s;ing their Per&s;ons and
Reputations.</P>
<P>And that we may the better in&s;inuate our kind concern for them, we mu&s;t ob&s;erve, as near
as we can, the <HI>Mollia Tempo|ra fandi,</HI> the &s;ea&s;on and circum&s;tances that are mo&s;t
likely to render our endeavours &s;ucce&s;sful; lea&s;t otherwi&s;e it &s;hould ap|pear that we
de&s;ign rather to Upbraid, than Reform them. And then 'tis likely they will rather grow wor&s;e
than better under our Admonitions, as 'tis thought the Phy&s;ick that does not Ma&s;ter, does
irritate and ferment the evil Humour. And therefore we ought to u&s;e the greate&s;t caution and
pru|dence, that our Reproofs, (according to the ob&s;ervation of a great Divine) may come as the
Fathers thought Grace did to the Elect, <HI>Tempore congruo,</HI> in a fit &s;ea&s;on, not when
they are in the heat and Career of their Sins, but as God did to <HI>Adam,</HI> in the cool of the
day, when the temper of the Wax may make it more capable of an impre&s;&s;ion, le&s;t &s;triving to
&s;top the Ra|pid Stream in 'its force we make it &s;well and overwhelm all before it.</P>
<P>Reproofs ill placed look more like the Attacks of an Ene|my, than the Rebukes of a Friend, and
they will &s;ooner Ex|a&s;perate than Reform the Delinquent. And therefore, when there is any hopes
of doing good this way, this gentle me|thod
<PB N="9" REF="7">&s;hould be always u&s;ed, before we proceed to rougher treatment; we &s;hould
try if the pouring in the precious Balm of Reproof will do the work, before we proceed to break
their Heads by the &s;everity and Penalty of the Laws.</P>
<P>But 4. &s;ometimes the wound is more dangerous, and will perhaps need Inci&s;ions and rougher
Applications; &s;ometimes the Sin is deeply rooted by a long Cu&s;tom, and is become not only
fa&s;hionable, but has gotten Credit as well as Ground in the World, and then People Sin on with a
&s;tiff Neck, and a high Hand, and a Cre&s;t lifted up; and when the Man becomes &s;o exceeding
Sinful, then Reproof will be lo&s;t upon &s;uch ob&s;tinate Sinners, all this precious Balm will
like Oyl to the Fire, make it flame the more. Tho&s;e are the People the wi&s;e man &s;peaks of,
<HI>Reprove not a Scorner le&s;t he hate thee.</HI> Prov. 9.8. He means &s;uch as are
Incorri|gible, have a&s;cended the Chair of the Scornful, and are become pre&s;umptuous, open and
daring Sinners; &s;uch, as the Hereticks of old, are to be rejected, and the precious Pearl of
Reproof are not to be ca&s;t before &s;uch Swine, le&s;t, like the evil Spirit, they turn upon thee
and tear thee. But here we are to call in the help of the Civil Magi&s;trate, who &s;hould be as
the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, the Mini&s;ter of God, <HI>a Re|venger to execute wrath upon him that doth
evil,</HI> Rom. 13.4. And let him look to it, if he bears this Sword in vain, he makes him&s;elf
partaker of other mens Sins, draws a va&s;t guilt upon his own head, and his Doom will be &s;o much
&s;harper, as his Tru&s;t was greater than other Mens.</P>
<P>But thanks be to God, who has not only given us good Laws, for the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of Vice and
Reformation of Manners; but has al&s;o in&s;pired &s;ome of our Magi&s;trates with &s;o much
Courage and Zeal for God and Religion, as re&s;olutely to put the&s;e whole&s;om Laws in Execution,
maugre all the Intere&s;t and Malice of a wicked, Prophane and Licentious Faction.</P>
<PB N="10" REF="8">
<P>And &s;ince we have not only good Laws but good Magi&s;trates, who do &s;o Zealou&s;ly abett the
cau&s;e of GOD and Practical Holine&s;s, we ought not to be faint|hearted, in &s;o good a cau&s;e,
but where Brotherly Admo|nition will not, or is not likely to take place, there to ap|peal to the
Civil Magi&s;trate, and to pray the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Sword of Ju&s;tice, for the cutting
down tho&s;e Sins, which were too &s;trong and powerful for any private Reproof.</P>
<P>I told you before, that by our Bapti&s;mal Vow, we are all engag'd to re&s;i&s;t and prevent
Sin, as far as lawfully we may; and when 'tis not probable that the be&s;t Arts of Per&s;wa&s;ion
and Reproof will take place, but men are become &s;o ob&s;tinate, and de&s;perately wicked, that
they are not to be awakened by all the terrors of the LORD, then 'tis high time to try if the Sword
of Ju&s;tice will deter them, or have any better influence upon them; and to this end we may
ju&s;tly and fairly complain to the Civil Magi&s;trate, and de&s;ire the execution of the Laws
again&s;t &s;uch &s;candalous Offenders.</P>
<P>And the reproach of being call'd an Informer, ought not to di&s;courage us, or to quench our
zeal for GOD's Glory and the good of Souls; and th&ocirc; a &s;ort of men a|mong us are reviled and
hated for no other rea&s;on but di&s;charging a good Con&s;cience in this matter, yet they do no
more than what the Law it &s;elf as well as Con|&s;cience does allow of and encourage. Or el&s;e
how &s;hould Convictions be made, or Offenders brought to condign Puni&s;hment? What would Laws
&s;ignify, when no man had care or zeal enough to &s;ee them executed and take effect? How &s;hould
the Magi&s;trate take Cognizance of Delinquents when each connives at the others wickedne&s;s?</P>
<P>What if &s;ome people reproach you as too bu&s;y and for|ward; if we will be Chri&s;t's
Di&s;ciples, we mu&s;t exerci&s;e more &s;elf denyal than that amounts to.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="8">
<P>The word In&s;ormer, may be taken in a good as well as in a bad Sen&s;e, according as it is
apply'd. The Odium that was fir&s;t derived upon the name, was in the early per&s;ecutions of the
Church, when the Chri&s;tians lo&s;t both their Lives and E&s;tates by the Heatheni&s;h In|formers;
but as it was an Enemy to Virtue then, &s;o it may be to Vice now; and if it be really &s;o, if it
tends to the Promotion of Piety and Reformation, it can be no inglorious name, unle&s;s it be a
crime to &s;uppre&s;s Sin, and to root out the Lewdne&s;s and Prophane&s;s which will bring a
Cur&s;e and De&s;truction upon a Nation. Would he de&s;erve to be Branded with an Infamous
Cha|racter, that &s;hould di&s;cover to the Magi&s;trate &s;uch Trea|&s;onable Practi&s;es as
tended to the utter Subvertion of the State and Government? Ought he not rather to be Encourag'd
and Rewarded? Or is it le&s;s meritorious to Inform in the cau&s;e of GOD than of the King? And is
there a greater Enemy to any Nation than the Vices thereof? Does any thing tend more to the Ruin of
a People, than Debauchery and Prophane&s;s, and the Con|tempt of GOD and Religion? Did we ever
&s;ee a Kingdom brought to Mi&s;ery and De&s;olation, where the wickedne&s;s and unre&s;train'd
Lu&s;ts of the People had not the chiefe&s;t hand in it? And does he de&s;erve ill of the Common
Wealth, or any name of Di&s;tinction, that is not kind and creditable, that does all that lies in
his Power to &s;uppre&s;s tho&s;e Vices, that would ruin a Nation, and have a natural as well as
moral tendency to draw down the &s;evere&s;t Judgments of GOD upon a Land? The be&s;t actions are
likely to be mi&s;repre&s;ented by ill men, e&s;pecially if they create any unquiet to them, and
di&s;turb them in the enjoyment of their Lu&s;ts and Sen&s;ualities; he that attacks them here,
touches the apple of their Eye, and mu&s;t expect all the ill u&s;age that their Rage and Malice
can &s;ugge&s;t.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="9">
<P>This is the Root of all, and the true rea&s;on why &s;ome men are &s;o inrag'd at Informers, and
if they would lay their hands upon their Hearts, and impartially examine them; I &s;uppo&s;e their
own Con&s;cience would hardly give them leave to deny it.</P>
<P>But th&ocirc; tho&s;e people rage and &s;well, and con&s;pire to|gether again&s;t the LORD, and
all that are Enemies to their Lewdne&s;s and Prophane&s;s, yet all this ought not to quench your
zeal for the Advancement of Holine&s;s and GOD's Glory. But go on re&s;olutely in this good work,
comforting and encouraging your &s;elves with St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s words, <HI>If ye &s;uffer for
Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake happy are ye:</HI> For as our Saviour &s;ays, <HI>great is your Reward in
Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>And the mo&s;t effectual way to conquer their Malice, and di&s;prove their Calumnies is, as the
&s;ame Apo&s;tle advi&s;es, <HI>Re&s;olutely to maintain a good Con&s;cience, that where as they
&s;peak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be a&s;ham'd that fal&s;ly accu&s;e your good
Conver&s;ation in Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.16.</P>
<P>The Informer that is &s;o odious among&s;t Men is one that does Vexatiou&s;ly pro&s;ecute his
Neighbours, meerly out of Lucre or Malice, without any regard to the Ser|vice of the State, or the
Reformation of Offenders. But this is far different from his ca&s;e, who out of a due re|gard to
Virtue and the Glory of GOD, cannot pati|ently bear the trampling upon either, without
interpo|&s;ing his endeavours for the pre&s;ervation of both, whe|ther it be by friendly Reproof
and Admonition, or when that won't, or is it not likely to prevail, by applying to the
Magi&s;trate, who bears the Sword of GOD, and is bound to wield it for the &s;upport of Virtue and
Re|ligion, and for the Puni&s;hment and &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of evil doers. And when neither Malice
nor Lucre comes in
<PB N="13" REF="9">for a &s;hare, but the Glory of GOD, the eternal wellfart of Souls, and the good
of the Kingdom are the &s;ole motives of &s;uch Information, the name of Informer is &s;o far from
being a Reproach, that it ought to be had in ho|nour with every man that loves GOD or his Country,
or has any kind regards to Virtue and Religion.</P>
<P>And &s;o I proceed to the la&s;t Particular, <HI>viz.</HI> To &s;hew the motives and rea&s;ons
that may encourage you in &s;o difficult an undertaking.</P>
<P>I have already told you, that &s;ome by this Phra&s;e of not &s;uffering Sin upon him, do mean
thou &s;halt not bear Sin for him, or make thy &s;elf partaker of his Sin: And if &s;o, then the
neglect of rebuking a Sinner when my kind Reproof may tend to the reclaiming of him, is to make me
partaker of his Sins, and I am oblig'd to di&s;|charge this Charitable office to my Brother, as I
love my own Soul, and would not bring my &s;elf under his Condemnation.</P>
<P N="2">2dly. If men would be &s;o kind to them&s;elves or others, as to &s;uffer them&s;elves to
be per&s;waded into a Con&s;ci|entious di&s;charge of this Duty, what a happy Change and
Reformation might we &s;oon expect in our little World! E&s;pecially did the more Holy, Wi&s;e, and
Pious, faith|fully and zealou&s;ly ingage in it. How would Sinners be a&s;hamed and blu&s;h at
their Villanies! We &s;hould have no more bare-fac'd wickedne&s;s, but Sin would &s;culk into the
Corners of darkne&s;s, and what a ble&s;&s;ed Reformation would en&s;ue! This precious Balm of
Reproof is the mo&s;t likely medicine to heal up our breaches, and to cure the wounds and putrified
&s;ores of GOD's People</P>
<P><HI>David</HI> calls it an excellent Oyl: <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 141.5. an Oyl that has two
&s;overaign qualities, tho&s;e of Clean&s;ing
<PB N="14" REF="10">and Healing: this Reproof &s;earches the ground of the Heart, and when that is
well prob'd and made clean, it &s;oon heals the breaches thereof. 'Tis an excellent means to awaken
the con&s;cience of the Sinner, and to &s;et it upon the di&s;charge of her office; even to check
us for our mi&s;carriages, and forewarn us of the dread|full expectation of the ju&s;t Judgments of
GOD, and con&s;equently puts us upon a diligent enquiry, which way we &s;hall e&s;cape, and
&s;ecure our &s;elves from the wrath to come?</P>
<P>Hence it is that the Wi&s;e Man tells us, that <HI>The Rod and Reproof give wi&s;dom, and that
he that hateth Reproof is bruti&s;h.</HI> And &s;o highly did he e&s;teem of this method of
reducing a Sinner, that if this repeated could not reform him, he &s;eems utterly to di&s;pair of
his con|ver&s;ion, <HI>He that being often reproved hardneth his Neck, &s;hall &s;uddenly be
de&s;troyed, and that without Remedy.</HI> Prov. 29.1. Intimating that if this method fail'd,
nothing would be effectual.</P>
<P>But thirdly whether Sinners will hear or whether they will forbear, whether they will take
warning and be converted or not, the faithful di&s;chargers of this Duty will have this remaining
comfort, They will be &s;ure to &s;ave their own Souls, while&s;t the Ob&s;tinate and In|corrigible
&s;hall peri&s;h in their Iniquities: Thus St. <HI>James</HI> a&s;&s;ures us, that <HI>he that
converteth a Sinner from the er|ror of his way, &s;hall &s;ave a Soul a live, and &s;hall cover a
multitude of Sins.</HI> James, 5.20. <HI>i.e.</HI> of his own Sins; For as the former part of the
Ver&s;e contains a motive taken from the advantage that accrews to the Convert|ed, &s;o the latter
is an argument drawn from the bene|fit that redounds to the Convertor, <HI>viz.</HI> He &s;hall
hide a multitude of his own Sins. <HI>i. e.</HI> GOD will the ea|&s;ier be per&s;waded to be
propitious to him, and upon his
<PB N="15" REF="10">repentance. (which mu&s;t always be &s;uppos'd) forgive him tho&s;e Sins he had
formerly been guilty of, and I the rather take this to be the &s;en&s;e of the words, be|cau&s;e it
is exactly agreeable to that of <HI>Daniel. They that be wi&s;e &s;hall &s;hine as the brightne&s;s
of the Firmament, and they that turn many to Righteou&s;ne&s;s as the Stars for ever and ever.</HI>
Dan. 12. This is &s;uch an exceeding and an eternal weight of Glory, that I can &s;ay nothing
great|er; and therefore &s;hall leave off here; de&s;iring you to con&s;ider the weight and
efficacy of this Motive; and &s;hall only remind you, that &s;ince the effects of this Duty are
&s;o ble&s;&s;ed, and the Reward &s;o Glorious we ought not to be di&s;courg'd in it, either
thr&ocirc; the fear of &s;ingularity, cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;s, or any dirt that a malicious people can
be&s;patter us with: Remembring that it is commonly the fate of Chri&s;t's Di&s;ciples, <HI>That if
in him they have peace, in the World they &s;hall have Tribulation.</HI> And our Saviour him&s;elf
does a&s;&s;ure us, <HI>That narrow is the Way, and &s;treight is the Gate that leads to Life, and
few there be that find it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Now to GOD the Father, GOD the Son, and GOD the Holy Gho&s;t be a&s;cribed all Honour, Power
and Glory, for ever and ever.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="11" MS="y">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
