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<DATE>2011-05-11</DATE>
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<NAME>Holly (Beeman) Smith</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON Preached on the 27^t^h. of <HI>January,</HI> 1673/4.</P>
<P>BEFORE SEVERAL PERSONS Who Formerly have had their EDUCATION IN St. Paul's School, LONDON.</P>
<P>By <HI>R. P.</HI> Member of that SOCIETY.</P>
<Q><HI>Wi&s;dome is ju&s;tified of her Children.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed, Anno Dom. 1674.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>_THe Contrariant Principles, and Di&s;&s;en|ting Intere&s;ts of the Men of this Age and Nation, have prevailed to hin|der the Cen&s;ures which &s;ome Mens Devi&s;es and Practices have too well De&s;erved: By meanes of which they have taken the confidence to Di&s;cover tho&s;e Latent Inclinations, which they &s;ometime concealed for fear of the <HI>Areopagites.</HI></P>
<P>Two Notable Factions have lift up their Heads to the apparent Danger of Government, Virtue, and true Religion. The one of the&s;e call all Matters into Que&s;tion, and &s;o Di&s;card the Duty of Man-kind; <HI>Pyrrhon</HI> is their old Ma&s;ter, who&s;e Creed they pro|fe&s;s in his own termes. He<NOTE PLACE="marg"><Q><GAP DESC="foreign">, <BIBL>Diogen. Laert. <HI>in vita</HI> Pyrrhonis.</BIBL></Q></NOTE> gave out that there was nei|ther Good, nor Evill, Ju&s;t, or unju&s;t; nothing was re|ally &s;o, only by law and cu|&s;tome &s;omewhat was approved, and &s;omewhat di|&s;tasted, or Decryed; The&s;e are, and needs mu&s;t be
<PB REF="3">
open Athei&s;ts, impudently Profane, and Gro~&s;s Bla|&s;phemers of God, and all Virtue.</P>
<P>To the&s;e I &s;ay, that they Degrade their own Na|tures, and if they &s;ay true, are not Men, to whom con&s;cience doth as centainly belong as any other power of Rea&s;on; and they are only Serpents, the &s;ubiile&s;t of all the Bea&s;ts of the Field, though in Mans like|ne&s;s. The Fabrick of Heaven and Earth is the great &s;tanding Miracle which mu&s;t convince them of an Eternal Power and God-head. But if this have no Effect, Divine Mercy will have no further trou|ble with them; they are <HI>Anathema Marenatha</HI> al|ready, and &s;hall &s;oon feel the Fury of that God whom they will not know: In the mean time it may be he will bring down &s;ome of the&s;e <HI>Nebucadnezars</HI> to the Ba&s;ene&s;s of all Ignominy, and to Graze with the <HI>Head</HI> till they know that the mo&s;t High Reignes, and doth what&s;oever he plea&s;eth. <HI>The Lord Reigns.</HI></P>
<P>The other &s;ort are of tho&s;e who boast of the &s;harp|ne&s;s of their Wit, and their ab&s;olute liberty of Will, hoth which make them in their own Opinions at lea&s;t, <HI>Ethereal Genii,</HI> and in the Dialect of the <HI>Stoicks,</HI> &s;uch as may compare with <HI>Jupiter</HI> him&s;elf; for they tell us, that they are &s;o Intirely at their own conduct, and choice, that God cannot Interpo&s;e, or alter them, but by that very act, he violates the Right of their Natures, and overthrows the Order of Humanity, &s;o that they are neither prai&s;e-worthy for well-doing, nor yet puni&s;hable for Mi&s;demeanors.</P>
<P><PB REF="3">Many of this &s;ort bid Defyance to the others, and would be thought like <HI>Atlas,</HI> to hold up Heaven with their &s;houlders; they lay the Foundations of Nature, Society, Equity, Purity, and Piety, and challenge their Adver&s;aries to Duel them therein. But while they go not forth to Battle in the &s;trength of the Lord of Hosts, they have not I think, been &s;uccesful in their Encounters, as the huge increa&s;e of Infidelity ever &s;ince this Conte&s;t began, will bear Witne&s;s. Let me &s;ay &s;omewhat of the pre&s;umption of the&s;e Men, and &s;omewhat of their Principles.</P>
<P>I acknowledg it is a Worthy Endeavour, and De|&s;erves all the learning of this, or any other Age, to Di&s;cover the &s;tability and rectitude of Moral and Chri&s;tian Principles: But as it fares in Naturals, that no man knows the Work of God to Perfection, &s;o is it undoubtedly in Spirituals: It is nece&s;&s;ary then that they which undertake this Work be heartily humble, that they &s;eek the illumination of the Glorious God, and have well-believed, and learned them&s;elves what they would teach to others; Otherwi&s;e their own mi&s;conceptions of the things they would Evi|dence, their imperfect <HI>Ratiocinations</HI> concerning them, will as they have done, Embolden their Ad|ver&s;aries to conclude, that their probable A&s;&s;ertions have derived their Reputation, as it were wholly from the Politick Councels of Princes, and the Craft of Prie&s;ts. Thus we &s;hall make &s;hort Work, and at once burn our <HI>Ethicks,</HI> and our <HI>Bibles.</HI></P>
<P><PB REF="4">As to their Principles: I affirm that to the be&s;t of my &V;nder&s;tanding, they which A&s;&s;ert an &V;ngover|nable and Incontroulable Liberty, are as Dangerous, though more &s;lye Enemies of God, and true Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s: The Difference is not &s;o great as may &s;eem, for one part deny's the power of God, the other his Grace. One Affronts the Article of <HI>Credo in Deum Patrem, &amp;c. Creatorem Caeli &amp; Terrae,</HI> the other Di&s;avow's <HI>Credo in Spiritum Sanctum.</HI> Yea I prote&s;t it to be Di&s;honourable to God, unbecoming his Wi&s;dom, to be&s;tow his Grace upon tho&s;e that Declare they need it not; Yea it is Hypocri&s;ie for them to ask it, and contrary to the Tenor and <HI>Oeconomy</HI> of the Go&s;pel. The Athei&s;t will be Wi&s;er than Chri&s;tiani|ty; the Libertine will not be beholden to Christ: both the&s;e I hold equally fal&s;e, perilous, and impu|dent.</P>
<P>I leave them then to con&s;ider, 1. If it were not in|di&s;cretion and weakne&s;s in God mo&s;t Holy (I &s;peak as a Man) to make &s;uch Creatures as Angels or Men, if according to the&s;e Mens &s;uppo&s;als, he could not Govern them, incline, alter them, and have his Ends upon them. It is below the Wi&s;dom of &s;uch Men as you, or my &s;elf, to make any thing, if we had power, and give it &s;uch excellent Liberty as &s;hould &s;et it out of our Reach, Dominion, or Controle; Wherefore it is impo&s;&s;ible with me to Believe that God hath done &s;o.</P>
<P N="2"><PB REF="4">2. If Man have &s;uch power and liberty as God cannot touch or intermeddle with, then is all Religi|on and Righteou&s;ne&s;s the proper fruit and product of our Sole Endeavours, which he that &s;aith, mu&s;t needs forget, or never have under&s;tood what he &s;peaks of; For he that hath attained to pure and undefiled Re|ligion, behaves him&s;elf Really and Honestly, though not perfectly &s;o as the &V;n&s;earchable Wi&s;dom of God hath nothing to find fault with, hath arrived to the Life, Goodne&s;s, and Holine&s;s of God, hath &s;o Re|conciled him&s;elf to his Maje&s;ty, that he hath no Of|fence or Enmity again&s;t him: He that Believes that he can perform all this without Heavenly help, is nei|ther acquainted with God or Man; He Abandons his Creator to keep Hogs and Sheep, to u&s;e his Provi|dence about Bea&s;ts, Birds, and Fi&s;hes; But as for the great Man him&s;elf, he is <GAP DESC="foreign"></P>
<P N="3">3 If God doth not concern him&s;elf with the free in|ward Actions of Men, all the Mini&s;ters of Religion mu&s;t forthwith ceas, for then they are but Vain and Hypocritical: If no Virtue De&s;cend from the Almigh|ty by them, what do they pretend to? I know not, and leave the con&s;ideration of it to them that do.</P>
<P>Both the&s;e grand Mi&s;carriages which I have now &s;poken of proceed not from Phlegmatick and Pleboian Souls; they are the deadly Weeds that grow in bu&s;ie and a&s;cending minds; this Poy&s;on is not Expre&s;&s;ed
<PB REF="5">
from the &s;tupifying Hemlock, but from piercing, en|terpri&s;ing, &s;ublimate, and is mo&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ing to that high God, who mo&s;t of all hateth Spiritual Wicked|ne&s;s. Some might happily &s;uppo&s;e that when I was to &s;peak to a Society of &s;uch Learned Men, I &s;hould have Courted them with a Panegyric of Arts and Knowledge, that it became me <GAP DESC="foreign"> with the Fellow in <HI>Athenaeus:</HI> But I thought it my Wi&s;dom and Duty rather to profit, than plea&s;e you, to &s;how the u&s;e and danger of abu&s;ing what you have, or might have, than puff you up with a Vain Opinion of it.</P>
<P>For this end and purpo&s;e, being de&s;ired to Allow Copies of what I &s;pake to you, I was content to &s;uf|fer all to be made Publick. I Be&s;eech therefore the Father of Lights, and God of all <HI>Grace</HI> to make it a Ble&s;&s;ing to tho&s;e that &s;hall peru&s;e it.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Horton, <DATE>Feb. 2.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<PB N="1" REF="5">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PHILIP. 37.</BIBL>
<P>But what things were Gain to me, tho&s;e I counted Lo&s;s for Chri&s;t.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_ST. <HI>Paul</HI> (who&s;e Name our Foun|der of Happy Memory would have us bear, profe&s;&s;es him&s;elf a great Lingui&s;t (1 <HI>Cor. 14. 8. v) I thank my God I &s;peak with Tongues more then you all;</HI> and &s;ince the Wi&s;|dom of the Prince is well di&s;cerned in cho&s;ing a|ble Mini&s;ters and In&s;truments for his Bu&s;ine&s;s, Chri&s;t the King of Kings, and the wi&s;dom of all the Wi&s;e, gives us to under&s;tand that for Intel|lectuals, Morals, Spirituals, and Fidelity in the u&s;e of them all, never any exceeded or equalled this Man, for for to him he committed that tru&s;t, which was formidable even to Angels; he &s;ent of them to joy a righteous, but &s;orrowful Soul, to
<PB N="2" REF="6">
encourage a fearful minded Man, to &s;trengthen a &s;taggering Faith; they had but one particular, lit|tle Work to do, mu&s;t &s;ay no more then the per|&s;on, and pre&s;ent Ca&s;e required, and flee up a|gain to their Heavenly Habitations. But our Apo|&s;tle was to lay the foundations of eternal truth and holine&s;s for all Generations, to give an Ex|ample in him&s;elf, a repenting &s;inner, of doing and &s;uffering according to the perfect Will of God, and to tran&s;act the Affairs of the Kingdome of Heaven with all the World.</P>
<P>I cannot &s;urmi&s;e then Reverend and Learned Fathers and Brethren, that any of us&s;hould be &s;o &s;ick of an evil <GAP DESC="foreign">, a windy conceit, or haugh|ty pre&s;umption of our &s;elves, as to de&s;pi&s;e the coun&s;el, or practice of &s;o great a Ma&s;ter in things both Humane and Divine. He did not mount up aloft, and &s;ing to him&s;elf, he did not plea&s;e him|&s;elf with the Mu&s;ick of his own Notes; he did not &s;o far forget him&s;elf as to think his own things were for his own U&s;e and Admiration, but pro|&s;trated all at the feet of the Lord Je&s;us <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>I thought them all,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>lo&s;s for Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>If you look back upon the <GAP DESC="foreign"> what things they were he made &s;o light of, they &s;eem no way contemptible: as (1.) He was Circumci&s;ed the Eighth day; he was early and duly Con&s;ecrated to
<PB N="3" REF="6">
God like <HI>I&s;aac</HI> the Son of the Promi&s;e; he was taken into the Covenant, and &s;o under the Co|verture of Gods mercy, and under the influence of his Grace. (2.) He was of the &s;tock of <HI>I&s;ra|el,</HI> a Legitimate Son of the Holy Seed, born in the Hou&s;e of God, had right to all the Ordinances &amp; Promi&s;es of God. Of this the Antient Jew boa|&s;ted more Warrantably, then any one now can of his Family, or Honourable Ance&s;tors, (<HI>Rom. 9. 4.) Who&s;e are the Fathers, and of whom as concer|ning the fle&s;h Chri&s;t came, who is over all God ble&s;&s;ed for ever.</HI> (3.) Of the Tribe of <HI>Benjamin,</HI> that is one of the mo&s;t innocent and beloved Families of the Patriarchal Race; not by the Concubine, or Bond-Woman, but by the lawfull Wife, and Free.</P>
<P>Not by the de&s;pi&s;ed and &s;uborned <HI>Leah,</HI> but by the cho&s;en and beloved <HI>Rachel;</HI> of a Country which lay not far from the Holy City, and the Hou&s;e of its God, and &s;o fit to enjoy the Society of Holy Prophets, Prie&s;ts, and Peers, and hear the Wi&s;dom and determinations of their Oracles. For the &s;hire-line of its Divi&s;ion run through the &s;treets of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> though the Temple was in <HI>Judah.</HI></P>
<P>&mdash;<HI>Divi&s;a erat &V;rbs</HI> (Hier&s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ym.) <HI>inter Tribum</HI> Judae <HI>&amp;</HI> Benjaminis. <HI>Proce&s;&s;it&abque; linea di&s;terminans per ip&s;um atrium Templi.</HI> Glo&s;s. in Sanhedr.</P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="7">(4,) He was an <HI>Hebrew</HI> of the <HI>Hebrews;</HI> of Holy <HI>Parent's</HI> on both Sides: no pro&s;yte, nor of later In&s;titution, but bred up from his Infancy in the knowledge of the Law by tho&s;e that had Learned it them&s;elves, with the fir&s;t Rudiments of things.</P>
<P>If you ask hw it could be? when as he profe&s;|&s;es him&s;elf a free <HI>Roman</HI> by birth, 22 <HI>Acts 28. Photius</HI> the Learned Patriarch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> re&s;olves you well;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><Q><GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. <BIBL><HI>Phot,</HI> in Epi&s;t. <HI>Eu&s;chaem, Cae&s;ar,</HI> Archiopi&s;c.</BIBL></Q></NOTE> His Father was born in <HI>Gi&s;chala,</HI> a petty Town of <HI>Benjamin,</HI> but carried Captive with his Wife into <HI>Cilicia,</HI> where he Seated him|&s;elf in <HI>Tar&s;us,</HI> and obtained the priviledge of a <HI>Roman.</HI> Soon after this (it is like) he had this Son, who hath been a Glorions ble&s;&s;ing to all &s;ucceeding Ages. If you &s;ay, <HI>Sed genus &amp; proavos &amp; quae non fecinius ip&s;i, Vix eo no&s;tra voco,</HI> Mark <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> our Apo&s;tle was by Election and Inherent Virtue.</P>
<P>5. As to the Law he was a <HI>Phari&s;ee;</HI> he cho&s;e the &s;traite&s;t Sect of profe&s;&s;ion, <HI>Act.</HI> 26. 5. his Ma|&s;ter was <HI>Gamaliel</HI> of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> one of the Ho|ne&s;te&s;t Men, and profounde&s;t Scribes of the <HI>Sanhe|drim.</HI></P>
<P>(6.) As to his Zeale, indeed he per&s;ecuted the Church; which mi&s;take of his had like to have
<PB N="5" REF="7">
co&s;t him the favour of God; but before Men, hath this Excu&s;e and Mitigation that he meant to up|hold and &s;ecure that Religion which he knew was Originally from God him&s;elf.</P>
<P>(7.) As to the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law, he was blamele&s;s: No Religion can &s;ave that Man who doth not live by the Rule and Direction of it; he doth but weakly receive his own Faith, who doth not Addre&s;s and Conform his Life ac|cordingly; We &s;hall be found vaine boa&s;ters, if we magnifie the rea&s;onablene&s;s of our Religion, when we di&s;avow it in our practice. <HI>Clemens</HI> of <HI>Alexandria</HI> hath Taught us well, <NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Clem. Stro|mat. l. 2.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">: the Office and Bu&s;i|ne&s;s of Faith is to beget a new heart and life. <GAP DESC="foreign">. He is a believer that ob&s;erves the things which God hath delivered to him.</P>
<P>And what hath he delivered us, but (<GAP DESC="foreign">) his holy Comman|dements, which if we keep not, we as certainly believe, that God will refu&s;e our Souls.</P>
<P>You &s;ee then what Advantages our Apo&s;tle had, natural, and rational, civil, and religious; the pa|rallels of which, mo&s;t of us, I tru&s;t, have had by the glorious Grace and Donation of God, <HI>viz.</HI> an Early Bapti&s;m, were born Children of the Church, had our Education where Learning and
<PB N="6" REF="8">
virtue is profe&s;&s;ed, had the lively Oracles of God, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Citizens, at lea&s;t for a time, of no meane City. I wi&s;h from my Soul now, that there be no profane per&s;on among us as <HI>E&s;au,</HI> who by a naugh|ty life and behaviour blemi&s;hes this Gifts of God, his worthy Ma&s;ters, and his own Education.</P>
<Q><GAP DESC="foreign">. <BIBL><HI>Origen. lib. 1. Contra Cel&s;um.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P>But if there be, and the&s;e Favours of God are be&s;towed on him in vain, and his Pearls are tram|pled under foot, let &s;uch a one bear his own bur|then, and his Iniquity will be heavy upon his head. Yet doth not his Abu&s;e detract any thng from the things them&s;elves, but they remain not <GAP DESC="foreign">, not in appearance only, but verily, and in truth great Gains. Is it a mean Advantage to be able to conver&s;e with all the Worthy Souls in all parts and Ages of the World? Nothing to enjoy Conference with the <HI>Hero's</HI> pa&s;t, and dead, and yet without Necroman|cy? To be in the <HI>Roman</HI> Senate, and hear the Ma&s;culine Eloquence af <HI>Cicero,</HI> who made them yield to him, to whom all the World &s;ubmitted it &s;elf, is this of no value? You may Accompa|ny <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> in all his Expeditions and victories, and know the Caball and Intrigues of &s;o wi&s;e a Com|mander; but above all, to be privy to the Wi&s;|dom
<PB N="7" REF="8">
of God, to under&s;tand the Re&s;entments and holy affections of tho&s;e who had his mo&s;t familiar In&s;pirations, how Glorious is this? What a rai|&s;ing Education! Is it a mean Opportunity to &s;tand next to Heaven Gate, to hear the Son of God call, come ye and Inherit Eternal life, to have him reach forth his hand to pu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> us up to him, if we do not wickedly &s;corn and refu&s;e &s;o &s;tupendi|ous a Grace? If I &s;hould &s;ay more, which is not hard to do, we would be rather puffed up then Edified; for the&s;e External priviledges do ea&s;ily beget <GAP DESC="foreign">, a confidence in our &s;elves, and in our God wot what! Let me rather &s;ay, what kind of Gains the&s;e things are, that we may under&s;tand our &s;elves and them, with their Nature and U&s;e:</P>
<P N="1">And 1. They are <GAP DESC="foreign"> rather Capacities then perfections, rather foundations then &s;uper|&s;tructures; they are excellent In&s;truments if held by a Wi&s;e and provident hand.</P>
<P N="2">2. They are <GAP DESC="foreign">, things of a vari|able and middle nature, which may be u&s;ed well or ill, according to the di&s;po&s;ition and prepara|tion of him that hath them; they are like the Sword which may Kill our Enemy, or Wound our Friend; not like the <GAP DESC="foreign"> which you read of <HI>Hebr:</HI> 6. 9. the things that contain Salva|tion, which include it, which will ble&s;s and &s;ancti|fie
<PB N="8" REF="9">
tho&s;e that have them, and bring them a&s;&s;uredly unto God.</P>
<P N="3">3. They are <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uch gifts of God as flow from his Bouncy and good Will to us; though they are not the peculiar Inheritances of the children of the Kingdom, yet are they faire Legacies which any one would be glad to have. Shame then mu&s;t cover their faces who have had the Key of Knowledge, and the In&s;titution of the Wi&s;e, and yet have not profited thereby. May I not &s;ay to &s;ome of you, What hath the Church or Nation, your company or Relations been the better for you, Or what you have been Learn|ing with &s;o much paines and patience? May I not take up that of <HI>St: Augustin</HI> again&s;t you? <HI>Sur|gunt Indocti &amp; rapiunt Caelum, &s;ed nos cum Doctri|na in Gehennam detrudimur:</HI> The unlearned take Heaven by violence, and you and all your Learn|ing are thru&s;t into the Dungeon of utter Dark|ne&s;s. Verily the&s;e things were Gains, a great and fair E&s;tate; but if We have mi&s;pent them, We &s;hall give an Account to God, who knoweth the Worth and Weight of his own Talents.</P>
<P>I come now to the maine A&s;&s;ertion of the Apo|&s;tle, and the Text, That as great as all the&s;e things are, He, and &s;o We mu&s;t count them all lo&s;s for Chri&s;t Je&s;us. He doth not require us to loo&s;e them; for Chri&s;t A&s;cended up on High, and be|&s;towed
<PB N="9" REF="9">
the&s;e and &s;uch like Gifts on Men, for the Edification of his body, which is the Church; and he doth not now mean that we &s;hould throw them all away, as &s;ome in this Malevolent and per|ver&s;e Age under&s;tand it: the Scholia&s;t hath well attained the meaning of the Apo&s;tle, <GAP DESC="foreign">. He &s;peaks not &s;imply, when he directs us to to count all lo&s;s for Chri&s;t; as if he meant to revile the Law of God, his Gifts and Favours, as the <HI>Marcionites</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Occumen. in loc.</NOTE> of old Con&s;trued him. <GAP DESC="foreign">, either in compari&s;on with Chri&s;t they are lo&s;s, or el&s;e in Oppo&s;ition they are not Worthy to appear.</P>
<P N="1">1. In compari&s;on of him; though the&s;e things have their Worth, yet if you re&s;pect <GAP DESC="foreign">, the far more excelling and tran&s;cendent Knowledg of the Lord Je&s;us, they are meer dro&s;s and dung. And now Brethren, I wi&s;h we may all appear to be true Scholars of <HI>St. Paul</HI> herein, Ye have heard his <GAP DESC="foreign"> his pa&s;t, and pre&s;ent thoughts, and what he ever re&s;olved to think, that all the&s;e things, yea, if they were a thou&s;and times more Worth, are not yet Worthy to be Named with him, to be had or held if Chri&s;t be in the Counterpoi&s;e: <HI>Sequimurne patrem non pa&s;|&s;ibus aequis?</HI> Do we follow this Father and In|&s;tructer in Je&s;us, though with little <HI>Iulus</HI> we take
<PB N="10" REF="10" MS="y">
&s;horter &s;trides, and prove &s;omewhat behind? In Chri&s;tian &s;implicity and verity, if you do not look upon Chri&s;t as the Sun in the Firmament, as one that infinitely out&s;hines all other glittering Excel|lencies, you are unworthy of him; let me add, &s;o unworthy you are, that your Ingratitude will con&s;traine him to With-hold the ble&s;&s;ing of all from you, and the reproach you ca&s;t upon him will kindle his righteous Indignation again&s;t your Souls; yea your Parts and Ornaments of Wit Art, Learning are Cur&s;ed to you, and Cur&s;ed be they all, if you exalt them above and again&s;t the Lord Je&s;us our precious Saviour.</P>
<P>The grand Importance and Con&s;equence of this Argument hath con&s;trained me to urge and pro|voke you a little for your good with the&s;e hone&s;t Interrogatories. 1. Is Chri&s;t the end of all your Accompli&s;hments? He is indeed the <HI>Alpha</HI> and <HI>Omega,</HI> the fir&s;t and the la&s;t, the beginning and end of all things, but do you intend him? do you aime at him? do you count that all things are impertinent and vain that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> do not Mini|&s;ter to him? do you reckon that you are fru&s;tra|ted in all your labours, if you have indeed the Reputation of Eminent, Learned, and Eloquent, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not &s;ancti&s;ied, nor &s;atis&s;ied in the Salvation of his Redeemed ones? if the Lord Chri&s;t be principall, and all lo&s;s in compari|&s;on
<PB N="11" REF="10" MS="y">
of him, he mu&s;t thus be the end of all. <HI>2ly.</HI> Do <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> look upon all your Ornaments and Acqui|&s;itions but as meanes to this our end? In heart and con&s;cience do we thus apprehend? do We thus Operate? do we promote with the grea|te&s;t Zeal and Diligence tho&s;e things that lye nea|re&s;t to the heart of the Lord Je&s;us, and are more precious to him than his blood? do we labour in our places and degrees that the people which he hath purcha&s;ed may be redeemed from under the power of Satan? do we delight in &s;ealing to them the love of God, and the con&s;olation of the Spirit?</P>
<P>Do we Intend with Zeal and Heartine&s;s <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Men <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> would turn to Chri&s;t, and give him the glory which belongs to him? do We Intercede for them with God when they &s;in, as tho&s;e that are truly toucht with the di&s;honour and lo&s;s of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> him&s;elf? Is it our care in all our di&s;cour&s;e, private, or publick, to &s;hew forth the un&s;earchable Riches of his Maje&s;ty? If <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> be not the next end of our callings, yet is he the real and ultimate end of our conver&s;ation? If ye &s;tudy the knowledge of the Laws, is it your principal aime that judgement and ju&s;tice may be imparti|ally Admini&s;tred, that the Oppre&s;&s;ed may be de|livered, that we may all live in Godline&s;s and Ho|ne&s;ty to the prai&s;e of <HI>Chri&s;t?</HI> Is it not rather that
<PB N="13" REF="11">
you may get Wealth, Reputation, and victory, while <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and his Members bleed and peri&s;h? If you be&s;tow your &s;elves upon Nature, is it your bu&s;ine&s;s to Advance the publick Good of Man|kind, and like Compa&s;&s;ionate <HI>Samaritans</HI> to &s;et free tho&s;e whom Satan hath bound in manifold Infirmities? If ye be Gentlemen of E&s;tate, do you imploy your Authority, Intere&s;t, Wealth, and Power to Incourage the Profe&s;&s;ion, Ordinances, and People of <HI>Chri&s;t?</HI> If Citizens, and Traders, Is it your care that Faithfulne&s;s, Ju&s;t dealing, Equi|ty and Love may appear in all your Matters, and this for <HI>Christ</HI> his &s;ake, who hath called us to be Brethren? If not Sirs, we pervert the Text, we di&s;avow the Apo&s;tle, we loo&s;e our right in <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> we count that he is but lo&s;s to us while the World is our Gain. If we do not thus aime at the Lord Je&s;us, he is but light with us in the Scales of com|pari&s;on.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the <HI>2d.</HI> Particular from the <GAP DESC="foreign"> to the <GAP DESC="foreign"> to &s;ee if we reckon all but lo&s;s for the Lord, when he is &s;et in Oppo&s;ition with other things: When Chri&s;t is &s;et before us on this Hand, and the World with all its Glories on that, what do we choos? whom do we fol|low? what do we hold to? We &s;hall de&s;pi&s;e one to give content to the other; and I pray Brethren, Where are our Hearts? God hath as I may &s;ay,
<PB N="12" REF="11">
Furni&s;hed us Tables with Royal Daintyes; He &s;ets before us his own blood, and the fle&s;h of his Son, a Fea&s;t which the Arch-Angels of Heaven are not Invited to in like &s;ort: But there are Acorns al&s;o to be picked up, and the &s;oure Fruits of the Hedge, As We feed, as we choo&s;e, &s;o We di&s;cover our Nature and Appetite. Do we then, <HI>Christian Brethren,</HI> as the children of the Kingdom, as tho&s;e that are of a Cele&s;tial and Divine Race, (do We I &s;ay) fea&s;t our Souls with Gods precious <HI>Manna,</HI> the things of life Eternal? Do we not rather with Kites and Vultures fly upon the Carrion? do we not hunt as the Swine that we may glut our &s;elves with the tra&s;h and offal of this World? do we not glory in our hearts how much Wi&s;er we are than our Religion? do we not look down from our high contemplations, and de&s;pi&s;e the poor people who &s;erve the Lord Je&s;us in Humility, Sim|plicity, and the lo&s;s of all things? do We not re|joyce in a <HI>Critici&s;m</HI> more than in a Sacrament? have We not more Inward Satisfaction in little Expe|riment about matter, and motion, than in the Sanctification of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> and having our Names Written in the Book of Life? What is our Ele|ment my Friends? Where are we mo&s;t our &s;elves? Had we rather be in the company of the Holy Je|&s;us, and doing his Work, than vending our &s;elves as Acute and Learned? I be&s;eech you by the Mer|cies
<PB N="14" REF="12">
of God, let us lay our hands upon our hearts, and ask within doors if the&s;e things be not too true with many of us; <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> ought to have had the preference, he is the Altar that mu&s;t Sanctifie our Gold, our Gifts, and Parts, I meane, or they will never find acceptance before the Throne of God.</P>
<P>That this may be more effectual, let me pre|&s;ent you with a few <HI>Con&s;iderations</HI> Relating here|to, and I have done. 1 Know that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is Wor|thy of all the Intere&s;t that he claimes in your Hearts and Study's, Con&s;ider the Dignity of his Per&s;on. We venture for him, We yield all to him, <HI>by whom all things were made in Heaven and Earth, vi&s;ible or invi&s;ible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, Principalities, or Powers, and he is before all things, and by him all things con&s;i&s;t, 1 Coll.</HI> 16, 17. Think upon the Endearments of his Grace, the Zeal of his Love and Sufferings, that he might bring us into Friend&s;hip and Favour with God. Oh how nearly doth it concern us to get into his love, that we may live with God! Whether fall we if <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> be not our Friend? how do the&s;e things touch us to the quick, to the fle&s;h, and to the bone, yea to the marrow, and the Spi|rit? One day &s;ure the Acceptance and Favour of <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us</HI> will be &s;omewhat Worth. What is there then of all the Worldly Gauds and Glories
<PB N="15" REF="12">
that you can &s;et up as a Rival again&s;t his Glorious Maje&s;ty? For what things will ye part with your Immortal Hopes in him? How ea&s;ie, me thinks, it is to the believing &s;erious Soul to &s;corn and tram|ple upon all tho&s;e things which we have &s;ometimes called Temptations? How rea&s;onable is it to boa&s;t in the Lord, and &s;ay, What &s;hall &s;eparate us from the Love of God in his dear and ble&s;&s;ed Son? 2. If <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> have not the Head&s;hip and Dominion, he will bla&s;t the glory of all our Ex|cellencies, and tarni&s;h the beauty of them.</P>
<P>If we provoke him to jealou&s;ie with our parts, wit, learning, his Indignation like a Canker will quickly Eat up our &s;pringing Hopes and Glories. It hath been Ob&s;erved always that the mo&s;t preg|nant Wits in our Schools of Language, have not pro|ved the mo&s;t Sub&s;tantial in our Univer&s;ities, &amp; the forwarde&s;t there al&s;o have not been the mo&s;t &s;er|viceable in the Church, or Nation; they have been as Trees Tran&s;planted out of our Nur&s;eries which do not pro&s;per accordingly in the Orchard where they &s;hould bear Fruit: When as in the Interim many Ob&s;cure and Unob&s;erved Souls have come forth from their Privacies like the Great <HI>Gregory</HI> from <HI>Nazianzum,</HI> a poor Country <HI>Village</HI> in <HI>Cap|padocia,</HI> who have been the Wonders of the Age, and the Glory of the <HI>Church.</HI> This comes to pa&s;s not only from the divers Natures of the Wit, Ca|pacity,
<PB N="16" REF="13" MS="y">
and Abilities which are proper to the &s;e|veral Studies, Imployments, and Excellencies; nor meerly that certain Intellects arrive to Ripe|ne&s;s in their proper periods, before which they are har&s;h and un&s;avory; but chiefly and mo&s;tly by the ble&s;&s;ing of God upon their humility, pati|ence, and Integrity: When as the others have boa&s;ted too much of the <HI>Ignis lambens</HI> that Envi|roned their Temples, and have Adored too much the brightne&s;s of their Intellectuals. <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> was not, could not be plea&s;ed that his Servants &s;hould count them&s;elves his Betters, that they &s;hould Be|live they knew what was Wi&s;dom better than him&s;elf; they have it may be with <HI>Herod</HI> re|ceived the Applau&s;e of them that cryed out, <HI>Nec vox hominem &s;onat! the voice of God, and not of man!</HI> Thus the Angel of the Lord had &s;mitten them with di&s;honor; they bring to <HI>God</HI> the Sa|crifice of <HI>Cain,</HI> who&s;e Error was of Old thought to be, that when he &s;eemed to bring &s;omewhat to <HI>God,</HI> yet too much too him&s;elf; for ye Read, (<HI>Gen.</HI> 4. 7.) after the <HI>Septuagint</HI> thus: <GAP DESC="foreign">; If thou ha&s;t brought a right and worthy Offering to God, but ha&s;t not divided Right (between him and thy &s;elf) ha&s;t thou not &s;inned? To this Reading agree both the <HI>Samaritan</HI> Text, and the <HI>Targum</HI> of <HI>Hie|ru&s;alem,</HI> though the <HI>Hebrew</HI> Bibles, and tho&s;e that
<PB N="17" REF="13" MS="y">
are derived thence have not the Words, The belief or Tradition of Antient times &s;eems to have been, that in the <HI>Mincha,</HI> or Meat-Offering which <HI>Cain</HI> brought to the Lord, he took too much for his own Portion; wherefore God that hath no plea&s;ure in the Illibera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">le Sacrifices of Churls, who think that all is too much which is be&s;towed upon him, had no Re&s;pect to him, and refu&s;ed to te&s;tifie his Acceptance by &s;ending down fire upon the Altar. But is not this our own ca&s;e? have we not counted that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> in Humility, Simplicity, Self-denial, Meekne&s;s, and Holine&s;s is but lo&s;s, while the Reputation of Men, the prai&s;e and profit of the World have been thought all the Gaine? What do we then but &s;et the Cele|&s;tial and Royal Diadem of God upon our own Heads? &s;hall he Incourage us in &s;o Horrible a Sacriledge? &s;hall he contribute to his own Di&s;ho|nour?</P>
<P><HI>3ly.</HI> If all be not lo&s;s for <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> with us, he may ju&s;tly leave all our Parts and Ornaments to be our Infelicity, and the Bane and Mi&s;chief of tho&s;e that conver&s;e with us. If unbred Souls com|monly prove bruti&s;h, incon&s;iderate, &s;tubborn, and profane; no le&s;&s;er or lighter Di&s;ea&s;es attend tho&s;e that have been quickned by Study, Exerci&s;e, and Education. The mo&s;t &s;pritely and vivacious Wits have alwayes proved mo&s;t Ungovernable, the mo&s;t
<PB N="10" REF="14" MS="y">
Turbulent Subjects in the State, the mo&s;t Pe&s;ti|lent Heriticks in the Church, the wor&s;t Friends, the wor&s;t Neighbours, the wor&s;t Husbands or Ma&s;ters to their Relations and Families. The Men of middle capacity and &s;tature of mind have in the <HI>interim</HI> been &s;ucce&s;sful in their Affairs, peacable in their Deportment, treatable by their Allyes, and more truly profitable to the World. In Ten years there have been more Frayes and Seditions of one in City <HI>Florence,</HI> than in five hundred among the <HI>Switzers</HI> and <HI>Gri&s;ons,</HI> people of a &s;lower <HI>Genius,</HI> and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Mettle. But what need we go &s;o far for Examples? See we not a|mong our &s;elves, what the Audacious Wits of Men are daily endeavouring and practi&s;ing? do we not &s;ee how our <HI>Capitones,</HI> Men of great and bu&s;ie Heads, cannot be at re&s;t, but they enterpri&s;e and examine every thing, and can &s;uffer nothing to &s;ettle? how do they as with battering <HI>Rammes</HI> &s;hake, undermine, demoli&s;h the very fences and foundations of Nature. Policy, Piety, and Socie|ty? They cen&s;ure and judge of every matter; and what they have not ability to comprehend, or humility to &s;ubmit to, they de&s;pi&s;e as weak and imperfect, or will not Reverence as Holy.</P>
<P><PB N="11" REF="14">Ill Work we make for our Governors Ec|cle&s;ia&s;tical or Civil, while we mole&s;t and vex them with our unruly practi|ces. when We &s;hould help them to bear their Bur|thens.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><Q><GAP DESC="foreign">.<BIBL><HI>Origines</HI> libr. 1 <HI>Contra Cel&s;um.</HI></BIBL></Q></NOTE></P>
<P>While &s;ome be Wi&s;er than Chri&s;tianity, o|thers wi&s;er than the Laws, and all the re&s;t wi&s;er than their Teachers and Governors, we for|get our &s;elves, and become Reprobate in our Manners and Conver&s;ations, <HI>Nobis ob&s;equii glo|ria relicta e&s;t, Corn. Tacit.</HI> The glory of yeilding Obedience to tho&s;e that are over us in our proper Virtue and Eminence. What now is the cau&s;e of all this Di&s;order? Learning? Knowledge? Wi&s;dome? God forbid that we &s;hould have &s;uch a Thought in our Hearts! God never gave Under&s;tanding to Men to do them Mi&s;|chief, no more than day-light to Blear our Eyes: But the Mi&s;chief is, that we Eate more freely of the Tree of Knowledge, than of Life,
<PB N="20" REF="15">
that we have knowledge in Superproportion to our Humility, &s;elf-denyal, Mode&s;ty, and San|ctity, and &s;o that Sun which &s;hould Enlighten our Earth, by our Ill conduct &s;ets it all on fire, and then in&s;tead of counting all our Wi&s;dome lo&s;s for <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> we are left to the tyranny and &s;edi|tion of our Thoughts.</P>
<P>4. If we give not Chri&s;t the preeminence, our Rebellious Affections will pollute and de|prave our Judgements: This Honourable City which Traines up &s;o many Youths to Learning, hath not in my Opinion been &s;uitably Happy in them. The rea&s;on of which (be&s;ides the fore|a&s;&s;igned) is like to be, that the Luxury and ma|ny vices of the place like Ill Weeds grow up with the Corn, and choak it that nothing comes to Perfection. By their Meanes they who &s;hould have by their Studies made them&s;elves &s;erviceable to the Lord Je&s;us, become but more Ingenu|ou&s;ly wicked. Ah! &s;ad conclu&s;ion of &s;o much Goodne&s;s of God! To conclude, Learning is both Profitable and Honourable, it is the light of our Eyes, the Guide of our Lives, the proper Ex|cellency of Humane Nature: But if it claime precedence of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> though We were Angels of Heaven, it would bring us down to Hell: Take therefore the good Coun&s;el of the ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle</P>
<PB N="21" REF="15">
<Q><BIBL>1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 30. 31.</BIBL> <HI>Let Chri&s;t</HI> be <HI>made unto us of God, Wi&s;dom, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and Sanctifi|cation, and Redemption, and let him that Glories glory in the Lord.</HI></Q>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
