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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>Family Devotions FOR SUNDAY-EVENINGS; THE Third and Fourth Volumes. Each Containing Thirteen Practical Di&s;cour&s;es, With Suitable Prayers: AND Compleating an Entire Cour&s;e for the whole Year.</P>
<P>By <HI>Theophilus Dorrington.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Wyat,</HI> at the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard, 1695.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="imprimatur">
<PB REF="2">
<P>IMPRIMATUR,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Carolus Al&s;ton,</HI> R.P.D. <HI>Hen.</HI> Epi&s;c. <HI>Lond.</HI> &agrave; Sacris.</SIGNED>
<DATE>Martij 4. 1694/5.</DATE></CLOSER>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<P>FAMILY DEVOTIONS FOR SUNDAY-EVENINGS, Throughout the YEAR. BEING Practical Di&s;cour&s;es, WITH Suitable Prayers.</P>
<P>Volume III.</P>
<P>By <HI>Theophilus Dorrington.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Wyat,</HI> at the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard, 1695.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="4">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>The Subjects of the following Di&s;cour&s;es of this Third Volume.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Sermon I. THE Mi&s;eries of this Life Repre&s;ented, and Improv'd. Pag. 1</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. II. The Character and Means of Patience Re|pre&s;ented. p. 23</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. III. The Character and Remedies of Voluptu|ou&s;ne&s;s. p. 46</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. IV. The Character and Remedies of Covetou&s;|ne&s;s. p. 69</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. V. The Character of Pride. p. 93</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. VI. The Remedies of Pride propos'd. p. 116</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. VII. The Character and Cure of a Worldly Mind. p. 140</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. VIII. Contrition or God|ly-&s;orrow Repre&s;ented. p. 163
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>For the fir&s;t Sunday in Lent.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<PB REF="5">
<ITEM>Serm. IX. Contrition or God|ly-&s;orrow Urg'd. p. 186 <HI>For the &s;econd Sunday in Lent.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. X. General Remedies a|gain&s;t Sin offer'd, and our own Endeavour urg'd. p. 210</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XI. Involuntary Sins &s;ta|ted, and our Care to avoid them urg'd. p. 233</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XII. The Incarnation of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour ex|plain'd and improv'd. p. 255
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Proper for the Sunday next after the Annun|ciation.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XIII. Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour's Pa&s;&s;ion Repre&s;ented and Improv'd. p. 279
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Proper for Good-Friday, or the Sunday before Ea&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 7. line 17. for <HI>di&s;tate</HI> read <HI>di&s;ta&s;te.</HI> P. 84. l. 22. for <HI>to expo&s;e</HI> r. <HI>expo&s;e.</HI> P. 114. l. 3. dele <HI>that withal.</HI> P. 231. l. 18. r. <HI>Lives.</HI> P. 246. l. 4. r. <HI>by it.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>THE MISERIES OF THIS LIFE, <HI>Repre&s;ented and Improv'd.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Job 5.7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Man is born to Trouble as the Sparks fly upwards.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IF our fir&s;t Parents had retain'd their Original Innocency, neither they nor their Po&s;terity had ever known Sorrow or Affliction. The wi&s;e and good Creatour made nothing to make it mi&s;erable; he does not hate the works of his own
<PB N="2" REF="6">hands: And in particular of Man, 'tis &s;aid, <HI>He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the Children of Men&punc;</HI> But our fir&s;t Parents fell into Sin, and with them&s;elves involv'd us in Guilt, and this has expo&s;ed us all to Mi&s;ery. Therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.5. <HI>Death pa&s;t upon all Men, for that all have &s;inned.</HI> Now as we are <HI>by Nature Chil|dren of Wrath,</HI> we come crying into this World: and <HI>Man is born to Trouble as the Sparks fly up|wards.</HI> That is, The trouble and affliction of this Life is as natural, as common to Mankind as is the property in Sparks to fly upwards. Affli|ction and Mi&s;ery are the common Lot, and all of us &s;hall have a &s;hare in them at one time, and in one way or other. Indeed innumerable Evils do con|tinually compa&s;s us about, and we can &s;eldom if ever be free from all of them. And &s;o many things are nece&s;&s;ary to make us perfectly at Ea&s;e and Happy, that &s;ome or other of them are likely to be always Ab&s;ent. And be&s;ides, every good is li|able to &s;ome Defect and Imperfection, or to the mixture, and allay of &s;ome very &s;en&s;ible Inconve|nience. If we will liberally enjoy our Plea&s;ures we mu&s;t abandon Wealth; if we will gather great Wealth, we mu&s;t be &s;paring in Plea&s;ure: Our Honours are attended with Danger, Envy, and Toil; our re&s;t and peace with U&s;ele&s;sne&s;s, Ob&s;cu|rity, and Contempt.</P>
<P>But altho' this Truth proves it &s;elf to e|very Mans ob&s;ervation or experience: Yet we are &s;o hard to be convinced of what we would not have to be true; that there are but few among Men who will believe, or be &s;en&s;ible of this. We are all po&s;&s;e&s;t with too good an Opinion of
<PB N="3" REF="6">this Life, and do think it po&s;&s;ible to make our &s;elves very happy here. If in one Condition we are not &s;o happy as we would be, yet we think this may be attain'd in another. And tho' a perfect Re&s;t and Happine&s;s here could never yet be attain'd, yet we will think it may be. We think if it were not for this, or that particular thing that trou|bles us we &s;hould be happy enough; or if we had but &s;uch and &s;uch things more that we de&s;ire, we &s;hould have nothing more to de&s;ire: But we for|get that if the pre&s;ent Evils which encomber us were removed, we &s;hould &s;till be liable to &s;ome others; and if we had tho&s;e other good things we de&s;ire they might bring &s;ome Inconveniences with them which we do not fore&s;ee, and might e|ven them&s;elves occa&s;ion new Nece&s;&s;ities and De&s;ires.</P>
<P>Thus we are generally unconvinced and un&s;en|&s;ible of this Truth, and that we are &s;o, is many ways an evil and a mi&s;chief to us. We continu|ally expect to be happy here, and flatter our &s;elves with hopes of good and plea&s;ant Circum&s;tances; and we meet with bitter and evil ones; and they are the more evil and bitter as they come unexpe|cted. Many men when they fall into Affliction are &s;urprized and amazed, becau&s;e they never thought that any &s;uch thing would ever have hap|pened to them. Hence too we are always re&s;t|le&s;s and moving, <HI>or given to Change:</HI> and &s;oon longing for alteration in every Condition. We can never acquie&s;ce in what the Providence of God orders for us: Be&s;ides, while we promi&s;e our &s;elves Ea&s;e and Happine&s;s here, we apply our &s;elves wholly to the Cares and Enjoyments of this Life. We make it our greate&s;t Concern to re|move
<PB N="4" REF="7">or avoid pre&s;ent Inconveniences, and to fur|ni&s;h and accommodate our &s;elves with the good things here. This takes up all our thoughts and care, and our Hearts are the mean while &s;toln a|way from God, and Heavenly things, and we are diverted from our chief Concern and Bu&s;ine&s;s.</P>
<P>It is very u&s;eful then as well as nece&s;&s;ary to in|&s;i&s;t a little upon this matter, to &s;hew how very liable this Life is to Mi&s;ery and Affliction; after which I &s;hall &s;ugge&s;t the due u&s;e and Improvement of the &s;ad Truth.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place I &s;hall &s;hew, that this Life is exceedingly expo&s;ed to Affliction, or that, <HI>Man is born to trouble as the Sparks fly upwards.</HI> And this will be mo&s;t evidently prov'd by producing the many Cau&s;es or fruitful Springs of vexation and trouble which attend our Condition in this World. And they are all the&s;e following.</P>
<P N="1">1. The weak and mutable Nature of all our Enjoyments in this World. All things here are in continual Motion, they are like the Sea, either ebbing or flowing, either ri&s;ing by degrees to their highe&s;t Perfection and Goodne&s;s; or decay|ing and ebbing from it. Our great Affection for them is not attended with power to bring them to their Perfection when we plea&s;e, nor to &s;tay them there. The Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>The fa&s;hion of this World pa&s;&s;es away.</HI> They are all tran&s;itory and mu|table things, that make up our Portion in this Life; and it is pain and grief to us to think of or expect, and to find the Change of what we love and expected our Happine&s;s from. All things in their natural Cour&s;e are &s;ubject to
<PB N="5" REF="7">Change, and are be&s;ides expos'd to many mi&s;chie|vous Accidents which may &s;uddenly alter and de|prive us of them.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Frailty and Weakne&s;s of our mortal Bodies, is another Cau&s;e and Spring of much af|fliction and trouble to this Life. Our Bodies &s;ince the fir&s;t &s;in are doom'd to Du&s;t and Di&s;&s;olu|tion from their Birth. And this incurable Di|&s;ea&s;e of mortality is an Inlet to a thou&s;and others. I might &s;ay perhaps, that the Di&s;ea&s;es of the Humane Body are innumerable. If all that are or have been felt &s;hould be mention'd upon this Occa&s;ion, yet we could not be &s;ecure that there would be no more: For new Di&s;tempers often invade us, and &s;uch as were not known before. Every part of us may be affected with various Maladies, every part harbours the Seeds of mor|tality and Di&s;temper. We are very ea&s;ily di&s;order'd and very often &s;o. <HI>All Fle&s;h is as Gra&s;s, and the Glory thereof as the Flower of the Field,</HI> &s;ays the Prophet, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 40.6. Intimating that 'tis ea|&s;ily wither'd and de&s;troy'd. An infected Air, a Sun-beam a little hotter than ordinary, a draught of cold water, a little too much Exerci&s;e di&s;tem|pers and hurts our weak Con&s;titution and Frame. Too much Plea&s;ure and Joy, or too much Grief: A &s;udden Di&s;appointment and Lo&s;s, or an un|expected good Fortune can di&s;order and hurt us. If Labour and Care do not wa&s;te and weaken, yet meer re&s;t and &s;loth may impair us. If we are not expos'd to the Injuries and Inconveniences of Want we may be di&s;temper'd with our Abundance. We may find many ways of being Sick and of Dy|ing. The mo&s;t curious piece of Clock-work, that
<PB N="6" REF="8">has the greate&s;t variety of Motions, and Wheels is the &s;oone&s;t put out of order. And &s;uch variety of Parts, and Humours, and Pa&s;&s;ages, and Opera|tions there are in our Bodies, that they can hard|ly be long without feeling &s;ome Inconvenience. But our Di&s;ea&s;es are u&s;ually attended with very unea&s;ie and afflicting Circum&s;tances. They &s;ome|times render us a Burden to our Friends, &s;ome|times a prey to our Enemies: They take away our Liberty in confining us to a Retirement; they torment us with Pain; and deprive us of the Sen&s;e and Enjoyment of Plea&s;ure; they deface our Beauty, and weaken our Strength. Nor have we any Remedies again&s;t the&s;e Evils, but what are al|&s;o them&s;elves very afflicting and unea&s;ie. The te|dious Methods, and loath&s;ome Pre&s;criptions of Phy&s;ick, are almo&s;t as irk&s;ome and grievous as the Di&s;ea&s;e. And how weak and poor is all the Art of Phy&s;ick! how uncertain a Help to us! Mor|tality at la&s;t certainly prevails again&s;t it, and the greate&s;t Arti&s;ts them&s;elves are forced to yield to that.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Weakne&s;s and Folly, the Vices and Pa&s;|&s;ions of our own Minds are another plentiful Spring and Source of affliction and trouble. How often are mens Pa&s;&s;ions and Lu&s;ts their own Tormen|tors? Here we are gnawn with Envy at another mans Pro&s;perity; there we pine and fret our &s;elves at another mans incurable Mi&s;ery. How many doubts and Anxieties, how many Jealou&s;ies and Griefs, and fears and de&s;ires wrack and di&s;tract us! We often <HI>fear where no fear is,</HI> that is, where we have no cau&s;e to Fear, and grieve where we have no cau&s;e of Grief. When we are not encumbred
<PB N="7" REF="8">with any real Evils, we torment our &s;elves with Imaginary ones. Tho&s;e whom other People think do want nothing to make them very happy, are made truly mi&s;erable and unea&s;ie, by their per|ver&s;e Opinions of things. Very often do we vex our &s;elves with our Advantages, and account our good Circum&s;tances evil ones. One Man thinks him&s;elf poor in that Condition, which another man would account him&s;elf very rich in if he could attain to it. A di&s;contented Mind is it &s;elf a very great Burden, and able to imbit|ter and afflict our greate&s;t Pro&s;perity. The great incon&s;tancy of our Minds gives us a great deal of trouble. Now we vehemently and earne&s;tly love, and mo&s;t impatiently de&s;ire what we have not, and after a little while we di&s;dain and loath, and as eagerly di&s;like and di&s;tate. We change and then think our Condition does, and &s;o afflict our &s;elves with this Conceit. We think the good we enjoy is alter'd and grown le&s;s good, when 'tis only our pall'd Fancy that deprives us of the true reli&s;h of it: We commonly much value none but ab&s;ent Goods, or &s;uch as we have but newly ob|tain'd. And perhaps our wanton and fickle Minds have entertain'd &s;ome new de&s;ire, and then no|thing can plea&s;e us till that be gratified. That puts an ungovern'd Mind upon a continual rack, and makes all its pre&s;ent Enjoyments ta&s;tele&s;s and in|&s;ipid. It is the natural and common effect of ma|ny Vices to afflict and trouble tho&s;e that harbour them. Covetou&s;ne&s;s is always tormented with the de&s;ire of having, 'tis like an Hunger never &s;a|tisfied: It makes a Man run into a thou&s;and dan|gers perhaps of lo&s;ing what he already po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es,
<PB N="8" REF="9">perhaps of his Life it &s;elf, that he may encrea&s;e his Portion, and have more than enough. Am|bition is always re&s;tle&s;s and a&s;piring, climbing af|ter an envied and dangerous Height, and &s;o ex|po&s;ing a Man to &s;torms and mi&s;chiefs. A Prodi|gal humour that is never plea&s;ed but when 'tis &s;pending, wa&s;tes a great E&s;tate, and puts a Man under the Straits and Difficulties of Poverty, e|ven in the mid&s;t of a plentiful Fortune. Intem|perance, and the ungovern'd love and de&s;ire of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure di&s;tract the mind, wa&s;te the E&s;tate, impair the Health, and bring upon a Man be|times the decays and infirmities of old Age. Thus does our own Folly often and many ways afflict us.</P>
<P N="4">4. The Wickedne&s;s of mankind is the cau&s;e of a great deal of mi&s;chief and affliction to one an|other, as well as to them&s;elves. The wickedne&s;s of the World produces more Calamity and Affli|ction, than all other Cau&s;es of evil be&s;ides. Man is the wor&s;t Enemy to Man that is in all this World, &s;o far as he is wicked. Religion teaches the Love, Wickedne&s;s the hatred of every one be&s;ides our &s;elves. If mankind were agreed and would combine, as it were rea&s;onable they &s;hould do to make this wretched Life as comfortable to each other as they could, this would be &s;ome al|lay to the other Evils that a&s;&s;ault us, but in&s;tead of this we are &s;et one again&s;t another. If one be pro&s;perous, others envy and undermine him; if a Man be afflicted others rejoyce at it, and trample upon him and di&s;dain him. No Creature upon Earth does per&s;ecute Man with greater fury than Man does, when he is in&s;tigated by lawle&s;s and
<PB N="9" REF="9">exorbitant Lu&s;ts, and he has more Wit and Sub|tlety likewi&s;e to do mi&s;chief with than any other. Hence are the terrible mi&s;chiefs of Lu&s;t and Rage, of Envy and Ambition, of Covetou&s;ne&s;s, and jealous Su&s;picion. Hence are Frauds and Oppre&s;&s;ions, the violent perverting of Judgment and Ju&s;tice in a Province, by the Tyranny of Ru|lers, or the Rebellions of the People: Hence pro|ceed very often the Widows tears, the Orphans &s;ighs, and the Groans of the oppre&s;&s;ed. Hence are Slanders and Backbitings, bitter Revilings, fal&s;e Witne&s;&s;ings, Detractions, and all the Inju|ries of a malicious Tongue, all which are very &s;en&s;ible in them&s;elves, and often draw more evil with them in their Effects. Hence too come publick Wars and Commotions, and with them a va&s;t Inundation of Woes and Calamities. In War as one &s;ays (in <HI>Whitl. Mem.</HI>) mankind mu&s;t &s;urren|der up Laws, Liberties, Properties, and Lives in|to the hands of in&s;olent Soldiers; who&s;e rage and violence will Command all that we have, and Rea&s;on, Honour and Ju&s;tice for&s;ake the World The ignoble then rule the Noble, and ba&s;ene&s;s is preferr'd before worth; Licentious wickedne&s;s before Pie|ty and Vertue. In War a potent People become weak, and the rich poor, and mankind are the In&s;truments of their own ruine; we burn our own Hou&s;es, lay wa&s;te our own Fields, pillage our own Goods, open our own Veins, and eat out the Bowels of our own kind. In War men wa|ter the ground with the Blood of men, and give their <HI>Carka&s;&s;es for a Portion to Foxes,</HI> and Birds of Prey. The &s;um of War (as the &s;ame per&s;on &s;ays) is the rage of Fire and Sword, or, which is
<PB N="10" REF="10">wor&s;e, of bruti&s;h Men. How much rea&s;on have all mankind then to &s;ay after the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>&s;catter</HI> O Lord, <HI>the People that delight in War.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Another frequent Cau&s;e of Mi&s;ery and Af|fliction, is the di&s;order of Nature and the Ele|ments. Sometimes the Air infects us with mor|tal, noi&s;ome, painful Di&s;ea&s;es, or the Sea over|whelms us in a mighty Inundation, or the Earth opens and &s;wallows us up, or buries us in the Ruines of our Habitations. Sometimes the <HI>Heavens above are as Bra&s;s, and the Earth under us as Iron:</HI> Or the Clouds pour down exce&s;&s;ive and continual Showers, and by both the&s;e ways may <HI>a fruitful Land he turn'd into Barrenne&s;s.</HI> Some|times un&s;ea&s;onable Weather makes Nature fail, and the Fruit-Trees forget to bring forth after their kind: Sometimes it &s;poils what is brought forth, and takes away our Corn, and Wine, and Oyl, in the time of gathering them. Sometimes we are parched with long, exce&s;&s;ive Heats, at other times chill'd and greatly Incommoded with long exce&s;&s;ive Colds. All Climates are liable to incon|venient and afflicting Sea&s;ons. Sometimes we become a Prey to wild Bea&s;ts; &s;ometimes the tame ones Rebel and mi&s;chief us. All things in Nature at times &s;hew their Enmity to Man, their readine&s;s to revenge upon us the Affronts which we carele&s;sly offer the common Sovereign of the World, and &s;eem to have con&s;pir'd our Ruin. All things at times plague and hurt us; even the mo&s;t innocent things, and the mo&s;t weak, and the mo&s;t u&s;eful ones. We often meet with Calamity and Affliction from tho&s;e things which were Ori|ginally made and intended for our Comfort and Support.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="10">
<P N="6">6. There is yet another frequent Cau&s;e of Mi&s;ery and Affliction, and that is our Adver&s;ary the De|vil: <HI>He,</HI> as the Scripture &s;peaks, <HI>like a roaring Lion goes about daily, &s;eeking whom he may devour.</HI> A malicious, &s;ubtle, unwearied and indu&s;trious Ad|ver&s;ary this is: And he &s;ometimes brings Calami|ty upon us by our own Wickedne&s;s and Folly, which he tempts and deludes us into: Sometimes he &s;ets the Wickedne&s;s of other Men again&s;t us, excites their Rage, and provokes their Lu&s;ts and Vices to do us mi&s;chief: Sometimes the Elements are his In&s;truments to hurt us; and the Bea&s;ts, which &s;hould be &s;erviceable and comfortable, by his in&s;tigation and impul&s;e, prove vexatius and mi&s;chievous. He often u&s;es all the other Cau&s;es of Evil and Calamity, is always ready to do mi&s;|chief, and &s;eeks opportunity and permi&s;&s;ion to vex and trouble wretched Mankind. This we may &s;ee confirm'd in the Hi&s;tories of <HI>Job</HI> and <HI>Ahab.</HI> If a Good Man is to be tried by Afflictions, like <HI>Job,</HI> for the greater Encrea&s;e and greater Glory of his Vertues, the Devil is ready to be the In&s;trument of his pre&s;ent Smart and Trouble. If a wicked Man, like <HI>Ahab,</HI> is abandon'd to his de&s;erved Ruin, and is to be de&s;troy'd, the Devil is al&s;o ready to be the In&s;trument of his Mi&s;chief and Execution. And there are perhaps many Legions of the&s;e wicked and malicious Spirits hovering about in the Air, and di&s;pers'd upon the face of the Earth, &s;eeking opportunity to do mi&s;chief to Mankind, and ob&s;erving where they can find any per&s;on in any mea&s;ure committed to their Malice by the Providence of God, that they may afflict and hurt him.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="11">
<P>Thus is our wretched Life on Earth be&s;et with Enemies; thus is it &s;urrounded with Mi&s;ery and Trouble. And &s;ince this is the Condition of it; &s;ince 'tis thus expo&s;ed, well may it be &s;aid, as in the Text, <HI>Man is born to Trouble as the &s;parks fly upward.</HI></P>
<P>I am now to proceed to the Application of this Truth, to direct the due U&s;e and Improvement of it; that &s;o we may derive Good from this Evil, bring Light out of the Darkne&s;s, and receive the happy Fruits of Joy and Comfort from the&s;e Sor|rows and Mi&s;eries. And this may be if we will help and &s;uffer this Truth to have its due Influ|ence upon us in the following Particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. This &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s us with a ju&s;t Di&s;dain and Contempt of the pre&s;ent Life, and make us follicitous to &s;ecure the Enjoyment of a better hereafter. We &s;hould look upon this Life as a State accur&s;ed, as incurably liable to Mi&s;ery and Affliction; and therefore &s;hould de&s;pair to be ever perfectly Happy here, and not &s;eek our Re&s;t where 'tis not to be found, but where it is. We may ju&s;tly account it very unrea&s;onable and fooli&s;h to pur&s;ue with immoderate Labour and Application the Things that are &s;o mixed with Evil, which we cannot enjoy pure, but they will be attended with &s;ome Inconvenience do what we can: Things which we cannot have a &s;ure or &s;afe po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of, which are &s;o liable to fade and change. Such things can|not be worthy to detain our Minds here below, to confine our Thoughts and Care to &s;uch a Life as this: But &s;ince we cannot have a better Life on Earth, it &s;hould engage us with the more Ear|ne&s;tne&s;s
<PB N="13" REF="11">to endeavour the &s;ecuring a better here|after. Since we can have here no enduring City, we &s;hould &s;eek one to come. Since we can have here no perfect Happine&s;s, we &s;hould make &s;ure that hereafter we may. The Mi&s;eries of this Life &s;hould rai&s;e our E&s;teem and De&s;ire of the Felici|ties of the next: They may rea&s;onably make us indifferent towards all things here, and onely much concern'd to &s;ecure the Happine&s;s that is to come. They may ju&s;tly reconcile us to the Thoughts of our own Death, and mitigate our Grief for the Departure of tho&s;e that are dear to us: And we may certainly &s;ay with great Rea&s;on upon this ac|count, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the Dead that die in the Lord.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. This Truth &s;hould help us to be patient un|der the Evils and Inconveniences which at any time encomber us. It &s;hould teach us to &s;ay, If I &s;hould throw off the&s;e Evils, I &s;hall be expos'd to others: And if I cannot bear the&s;e in truth I can bear none. I may think other Inconveni|ences lighter than the&s;e till I feel them, but then perhaps they will appear much heavier. What portion and &s;hare of Evil it plea&s;es the Supream Governour of the World to di&s;pence to us, &s;hould be humbly &s;ubmitted to, le&s;t by undue Endea|vours to throw it off, we &s;hould encrea&s;e our Bur|den. This &s;hould correct that very fooli&s;h and mi&s;chievous Incon&s;tancy, which is, after a little while, &s;ick of the things we have, and the Condi|tion we are in, fancying we &s;ee in them mighty Inconveniences, and then impatient for Alterati|ons. It is a common and a mi&s;chievous Folly of Mankind that we can bear no Inconveniences; that we are apt to think there are none but tho&s;e we
<PB N="14" REF="12">feel, or none &s;o intolerable as they: And that we are hereupon always re&s;tle&s;s, and <HI>given to change,</HI> both the publick and the particular State of our Affairs. We are di&s;contented at one &s;ort of Go|vernment, and think all our Inconveniences would be remov'd, if the Con&s;titution were but alter'd according to the Model of our own Inventions. We are di&s;contented at &s;uch and &s;uch Governours, and conclude all would be well with us if they were remov'd, and others were in their places. And we forget that there is Imperfection in all Men, that all are liable to Errour and Mi&s;take; that however well they <HI>de&s;ign,</HI> no Government can always <HI>do</HI> &s;o well as they would; that the Provi|dence of God over-rules all things, and &s;ometimes he thinks fit to infatuate the wi&s;e&s;t Coun&s;els, and to weaken and fru&s;trate the mo&s;t vigorous Endea|vours. This very unquiet Humour will add to our Evils: Nothing can be more mi&s;chievous to the Welfare of States, or the Pro&s;perity of a Man's private Fortune, than the Humour of altering up|on every Inconvenience we meet with. By con|tinual Altering to mend, we &s;poil our Fortune; To be always &s;eeking Grievances, and redre&s;&s;ing them, would encrea&s;e their Number, and be it &s;elf the greate&s;t Grievance of all; as he that is always taking Phy&s;ick may &s;oon kill him&s;elf, and may be &s;ure he &s;hall never be well. Let us con&s;ider, then, that we cannot be perfectly Happy in this Life; there is Imperfection in all things, and mixture of Evil with all; and it is wi&s;er and &s;afer for us to bear the Evils which are tolerable, than by impa|tient Endeavours and undue Means to &s;eek our Deliverance from them. And he that has a Ha|bit
<PB N="15" REF="12">of Contentment and Patience, will thereby make every Condition tolerable; but he that has not this, will be plagued in every Condition with his own di&s;contented Humour, if there were no|thing el&s;e in it to trouble him, and that Humour encrea&s;es the Load of every Inconvenience; and will be apt to hurt a Man more by putting him upon frequent Alterations, than the Inconvenien|ces which he would not bear would hurt him.</P>
<P N="3">3. This expo&s;ed and mi&s;erable Condition of the pre&s;ent Life &s;hould per&s;wade all Men to the &s;tea|dy Practice of Religion and Vertue. There is a great deal of Argument for this in it. Nothing can po&s;&s;ibly render us &s;o well provided again&s;t the Mi|&s;eries of this Life, as to Live well, to keep a Good Con&s;cience, and to plea&s;e God. Tho' Affliction is the Common Lot, and Religion and Vertue cannot always exempt any Man from Suffering; yet the Religious and Good Man has much the Advantage of all others in the &s;ame common lia|blene&s;s to this: Which will abundantly appear in the following Particulars, as they will al&s;o &s;how this our &s;ad Ca&s;e to be a very con&s;iderable Argu|ment for a Good Life.</P>
<P N="1">(1.) To Live well and Religiou&s;ly, frees a Man from the Terrours and Threatnings of an Evil Con&s;cience; a very nece&s;&s;ary and advantageous Be|nefit in &s;o &s;ad a Ca&s;e. It were &s;ad indeed to be afflicted without and within too; to have Vexa|tion from the things about us, and to la&s;h our &s;elves at the &s;ame time. To have a Man's Mind telling him, he owes his Mi&s;eries to him&s;elf, to his own Ra&s;hne&s;s and Folly; They are the Fruits and Effects of his extravagant Pa&s;&s;ions or enor|mous
<PB N="16" REF="13">Vices. It is a very &s;ad Condition that a Man is in, who lives continually expo&s;ed to Mi|&s;ery in this Life, and can expect no cure of it in Death: Who&s;e guilty Con&s;cience tells him, that in Death he mu&s;t onely exchange his Mi&s;ery; and go from lighter to heavier, and wor&s;e; from the Vexations of this Life, to the Torments of Hell; That he &s;hall be committed from Tempo|ral, to Eternal Evils. But the Good Man is free from all the&s;e Fears, and &s;o has much the more tolerable Condition.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) A Religious and Good Life gives a Man an Intere&s;t in the Favour of God; and this is a mighty Support and Advantage in &s;o dangerous and expos'd a Condition. The Great God is Lord and Governour of the World, and di&s;po&s;es of all things as he plea&s;es; nothing can come to pa&s;s but by his Order or Permi&s;&s;ion. An intere&s;t in his Favour then a&s;&s;ures a Man of two Things which are very nece&s;&s;ary to our Comfort in &s;uch a Ca&s;e, and are very full of Comfort.</P>
<P>It a&s;&s;ures him of the Divine Protection: That the Almighty and All-knowing God takes care of him; that he is not naked and utterly expo&s;ed, while many Evils &s;urround him: That none of the&s;e Evils &s;hall fall upon him but by God's Per|mi&s;&s;ion: by the Permi&s;&s;ion of a faithful Friend and a tender Father: Nothing &s;hall happen to him but what Infinite Wi&s;dom and Never-failing Love does permit to happen. And &s;uch a Man mu&s;t have the be&s;t-grounded Hope, that he may avoid Afflictions; but if he does fall under any, the&s;e Con&s;iderations will afford him great Satis|faction and Ea&s;e of Mind.</P>
<PB N="17" REF="13">
<P>Further; an Intere&s;t in the Divine Favour a&s;|&s;ures a Man, that all things &s;hall work together for his good. This is promi&s;ed to &s;uch, and &s;hall certainly be fulfill'd if their own Folly, and the for&s;aking of their Goodne&s;s does not prevent it. As Wi&s;dom and Love order their Afflictions, they will not fail to turn the&s;e to their Ad|vantage. Sometimes God has brought their tem|poral Advantage, and &s;ometimes their &s;piritual from the Afflictions which they have endured. The&s;e perhaps have by unlikely ways brought a|bout the greate&s;t Comfort of their Lives. They have &s;ometimes given a man an entire Victory o|ver &s;ome importunate Follies and Pa&s;&s;ions which he could not conquer before; and &s;ometimes gi|ven him &s;uch &s;trength of Grace and Vertue, as without them he could never attain: So that ma|ny Good men find rea&s;on to &s;ay with <HI>David, it was good for me that I was Afflicted.</HI> Thus is an Intere&s;t in the Divine Favour, a very great Ad|vantage to us in our pre&s;ent Mi&s;ery; and this &s;hould move us to live well, that we may be in his Favour.</P>
<P N="3">3. A Vertuous and Religious Life affords a Man the comfortable Expectations of everla&s;ting Happine&s;s hereafter, and &s;uch Expectations are very nece&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful to us in our &s;o dangerous a Condition. How will the&s;e inable us to triumph over all our pre&s;ent Danger or Affliction. When a Man can think I &s;hall not long fear the&s;e Evils that threaten, or feel the&s;e that incumber me. I &s;hall not long be vexed with the mutable and tran|&s;itory Nature of the good things I enjoy. Tho' this World is not my Re&s;ting-place becau&s;e 'tis
<PB N="18" REF="14">defiled, yet there remains a Re&s;t for the Servants of God, which I &s;hall &s;oon partake of; and that &s;hall never be di&s;turb'd with Grief or Fear, be|cau&s;e it &s;hall never be defiled with Sin. There I &s;hall enjoy &s;table and durable good things, an In|heritance which &s;hall never fade away, immortal Honours and ever flowing Plea&s;ure. There I &s;hall have full Satisfaction, perfect Happine&s;s, and un|mixed Joy. I am going towards that bright and &s;erene World which knows no Clouds or Storms: I am ha&s;ting to it and very near it. I &s;hall in a little while exchange my Sorrow for Joy, my Po|verty for Riches, my Pain for Plea&s;ure, my Mean|ne&s;s and Contempt for the highe&s;t Dignity and Honour, my ragged and poor Garments for a bright Robe, and Crown of immortal Glory. Thus may a good Man upon good Grounds com|fort him&s;elf under the Dangers and Evils of this Life: the never-failing promi&s;e of God gives him leave to entertain him&s;elf with &s;uch Ex|pectations. And &s;ure 'tis a very de&s;ireable thing to be able to entertain ones &s;elf with &s;uch, when Afflictions threaten or fall upon us: And this is certainly the very be&s;t Amendment that we can make of our mi&s;erable and expo&s;ed Condi|tion, to be furni&s;ht with the joyful Hopes of be|ing Happy hereafter. This &s;hould per&s;wade us, then, to a Life of Vertue and Religion which will allow us &s;uch Hopes. And if the Mi&s;ery and Danger of this Life has &s;uch an effect upon us: If it does influence to the making us Good and Vertuous; as we &s;hall thereby be the better able to bear whatever Evils may befall us: &s;o the&s;e Mi|&s;eries will <HI>promote</HI> our Attainment of everla&s;ting
<PB N="19" REF="14">Happine&s;s. And this would be, to very great Purpo&s;e indeed the deriving Light from the Dark|ne&s;s of this World, Good from its Evil, and Joy from its innumerable Sorrows; <HI>Which, that we may all do, God of his infinite Mercy Grant through the Merits of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="20" REF="15">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ETernal and Infinite God! In Thee is all Excellen|cy and Perfection; a never-failing Sufficiency to thy &s;elf without dependance on any other, and in the Enjoyment of thy &s;elf, art Thou God Ble&s;&s;ed for evermore.</P>
<P>But it has not plea&s;ed Thee to remain Happy alone; Thy Goodne&s;s has made the World, and communica|ted Being, and Happine&s;s to many other Creatures; Thou Lord art good, and doe&s;t good. This we mu&s;t a&s;cribe to Thee, tho' we find our &s;elves encom|pa&s;t with &s;o many Sorrows and Mi&s;chiefs. We are born to Trouble as the Sparks fly upwards; yet is it true, that Thou delighte&s;t not to afflict nor grieve the Children of Men. We fooli&s;h Creatures mu&s;t ac|knowledge that we pull all our Mi&s;ery upon our &s;elves. There is nothing Thou do&s;t inflict but we de|&s;erve it. And we mu&s;t always acknowledge, that whatever we &s;uffer while it falls &s;hort of the De&s;pair and Torments of Hell, it is far le&s;s than we have de|&s;erved: It is of the Lord's mercy, that we are not utterly con&s;umed. Oh Father of Mercies, and God of all Con&s;olation, we fly to Thee for all our Help and Comfort, again&s;t all the Evils we are expo&s;ed to; for to Thee belong Mercies, and Forgivene&s;&s;es tho' we have rebelled again&s;t thee: As we have experienced thy Patience and Forbearance in afflicting us le&s;s than we de&s;erve, let us experience thy Forgivene&s;s too. Give us we pray Thee an unfeigned Repentance of all Sins; and Grant that the Evils and Vexations of this Life may encrea&s;e our Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t them: Make the Di&s;ea&s;es of our Bodies work to the Health of our Souls; the Mi&s;eries of this Life &s;et us earne&s;tly on work, to &s;ecure our everla&s;ting Happine&s;s in the
<PB N="21" REF="15">next. It is thy wonderful Goodne&s;s and Favour to us, O Lord in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that we may have Hopes to be everla&s;tingly Happy; encrea&s;e our Faith in him, kin|dle in us an ardent Love to him: And make us de|vote our &s;elves to Live to his Glory and Service. And &s;ince we are born to Trouble teach us patiently and contentedly to bear his Cro&s;s, and Suffering for Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake if we are call'd to it. Lord of thine infinite Mercy, proportion all our Sufferings and Ex|erci&s;es to our Strength, and lay no more upon us than thou wilt inable us to bear. Help us to keep in all Circum&s;tances, a Con&s;cience void of Offence, both towards God, and towards Men; that &s;o we may be &s;upported under all with a Sen&s;e of thy Favour, and with the hopes of Re&s;t and Happine&s;s hereafter.</P>
<P>We humbly implore thy Mercy for all Mankind; let them from thy Judgments learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and do thou ble&s;s the mi&s;erable World with abundance of Health, Peace, and Plenty. Pro&s;per we pray Thee thy Church, redeem <HI>I&s;rael</HI> O God out of all its Troubles. Pardon the Sins of thy People, and purge out from among them what&s;oever is di&s;plea&s;ing to Thee. Make thy Church fruitful in all good Works to thy Glory. We pray Thee ble&s;s the Land of our Nativity; turn us from all Iniquities; let Piety towards Thee; Reve|rence and Obedience towards our Governours; Ju|&s;tice and Charity towards one another abound among us; and produce a great Tranquility and Peace at home, and be Thou we pray Thee our Defence again&s;t all foreign Enemies. We pray for thy Favour, and the Light of thy Countenance upon our Gracious King; give him a long and a pro&s;perous Reign among us, abundantly do him good, and make him an In|&s;trument of ours; continue we pray Thee and en|crea&s;e the Royal Family, that it may always make the&s;e Nations Happy, in a Per&s;on qualified to rule over us to thy Glory and our Happine&s;s. We recommend to thy Mercies, all our Friends and Relations; give them of this World what Thou &s;ee&s;t mo&s;t expedient for
<PB N="22" REF="16">them; if thou plea&s;e&s;t to afflict them, let it always be in mea&s;ure, and never do thou take thy Loving Kindne&s;s away from them. We heartily thank Thee O Lord for all the Mercies of our Lives, e&s;pecially for tho&s;e which are Spiritual, and tend to advance us to a better Life; Grant we be&s;eech Thee, that the means of Grace we have this day enjoy'd, may by thy Ble&s;&s;ing promote our everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. We devote the remainder of our Lives to thy Ser|vice, we commit our &s;elves this Night to thy Gra|cious Protection; and do all in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this Day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, and lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="23" REF="16">
<HEAD>THE Character and Means OF PATIENCE <HI>Repre&s;ented.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Rom. 12.12.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Patient in Tribulation.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Wi&s;e man &s;ays, that which is very often verified in the World; (Prov. 19.3.) <HI>The Fooli&s;hne&s;s of Man perverteth his way, and his Heart fretteth again&s;t the Lord.</HI> That is; our own Folly or Sin (which is all one with
<PB N="24" REF="17">him) brings us into Calamity and Trouble, and yet when we are &s;o we fall out with God for it. All the Calamities of the World are what our Sins have de&s;erv'd from Him; and for the mo&s;t part they are the very natural Fruits and Effects of them: Yet when &s;uch things come upon us we are not vexed at our &s;elves, but at the Providence of God: We account him our Enemy for harms, which we do to our &s;elves, and call his Wi&s;dom in que&s;tion for the Effects of our own Folly. This Carriage <HI>Solomon</HI> mu&s;t be under&s;tood to condemn, and we may ea&s;ily apprehend it to be very di&s;inge|nuous and unrea&s;onable; and highly Offen&s;ive to Almighty God.</P>
<P>Upon the&s;e Accounts it is nece&s;&s;ary to in&s;i&s;t up|on this excellent Precept in our Text, which bids us to be <HI>Patient in Tribulation.</HI> This is certainly the due Behaviour in our Afflictions, tho' it be that which very few know how, or are willing to Pra|ctice. In &s;peaking to this, that I may the better promote it, I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e Three Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To give the Character of this Vertue, or to &s;hew what it does require, and how it will expre&s;s and Exerci&s;e it &s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">2. To urge the Exerci&s;e of it by &s;uch Argu|ments as &s;hall &s;eem mo&s;t fit for that Purpo&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. To pre&s;cribe &s;ome u&s;eful means for po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing our &s;elves with it.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;hall repre&s;ent the Character of this Vertue, and &s;hew what is a Patient Beha|viour under Afflictions in the following Parti|culars.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="17">
<P N="1">1. This requires, and will exerci&s;e an humble Re&s;ignation, and Submi&s;&s;ion to the Will of God in all that befalls us. Patience a&s;cribes all that we &s;uffer to Him, as the chief Cau&s;e and Orde|rer of it. This we &s;ee in tho&s;e that have exerci&s;ed this Vertue. When <HI>Job</HI> had lo&s;t all his E&s;tate, partly by injurious Neighbours, he takes no no|tice of them, but a&s;cribes his Lo&s;&s;es to God's Providence, and &s;ays, <HI>The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.</HI> So when <HI>Shimei</HI> took the advantage of <HI>Davids</HI> Affliction, and in&s;ulted over and revil'd him, the good Man calmly bore his Affronts with this thought, <HI>The Lord hath bid Shimei to cur&s;e David,</HI> 2 Sam. 15. If Men are un|ju&s;t, or ungrateful, if they are Arrogant and Proud in what they do to afflict us, all this mu&s;t be overlookt, and we mu&s;t con&s;ider they are but In&s;truments.</P>
<P>And as we mu&s;t a&s;cribe all that we &s;uffer to God's Providence; &s;o we mu&s;t &s;ubmit to it as his Will. We mu&s;t not for it entertain any hard thoughts of God, not call in Que&s;tion any of his Glorious Attributes, nor allow any indecent mur|murings, or Expo&s;tulations again&s;t Him. It were impatience to think or &s;ay thus: I cannot plea&s;e God; I cannot find any Favour with him: It is in vain for me to endeavour to do always that which is good; &s;ince I am &s;o often plagued and cha&s;tened. He blames him&s;elf for &s;uch thoughts who Penn'd the 73. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> as very unfit and impati|ent ones. It were great Impatience &s;hould we think or &s;ay, that God deals unju&s;tly with us, or more hardly than he needs to do. We mu&s;t yield to be afflicted in what way he plea&s;es, by what|ever
<PB N="26" REF="18">Iu&s;truments, to what degree, and for as long time as he plea&s;es. It were therefore Impatience to &s;ay, I could be contented to endure any other Affliction, than that which is upon me: Or I am not &s;o much concern'd at this &s;ort of Affliction, as at this or that particular Circum&s;tance of it, which I am loath to bear. It were al&s;o Impati|ence to think I could &s;uffer from any other Per|&s;ons, but I cannot bear that the&s;e by whom I do &s;uffer &s;hould thus deal with me. To &s;ay I am ti|red with the length of my Afflictions, I could bear them, if I could have any Pro&s;pect of the end of them, and to be Peremptory, and in ha&s;te for Deliverance, to fix times to him, and not leave him to chu&s;e his own time to &s;ave us. We de|ceive our &s;elves in &s;uch Imaginations, and could no more be Patient under other Circum&s;tances, than we are under tho&s;e that are allotted us. The true Vertue is entirely re&s;ign'd to the Will and di&s;po&s;al of God, without murmuring or di&s;pu|ting. This we &s;ee al&s;o in the be&s;t Patterns of it. When <HI>David</HI> was flying in great Di&s;tre&s;s from a formidable Rebellion of his Son, he &s;uppo&s;es the very wor&s;t that his Condition could come to, and &s;peaks his Submi&s;&s;ion to it in the&s;e words, <HI>If God &s;hall &s;ay thus, I have no delight in Thee, be|hold here I am, let him do to me as &s;eemeth good un|to Him,</HI> 2 Sam. 15.26. And we have a greater Pattern of this Re&s;ignation and Submi&s;&s;ion, whom as we bear the Name of Chri&s;tians, we are bound to follow even our Ma&s;ter Je&s;us. Who tho' con|cern'd to avoid if it might be the bitter Suffer|ings which he was about to undergo, yet he re|&s;igns him&s;elf to the Father's di&s;po&s;al thus; <HI>Never|thele&s;s not my Will but thine be done.</HI></P>
<PB N="27" REF="18">
<P N="2">2. This Vertue requires, that we do continue our Tru&s;t and Hope in the Divine mercy; and expre&s;s this by continued Addre&s;&s;es and Prayers to God. Tho' this requires that our Wills be re|&s;ign'd to the Will of God, yet it does not for|bid us praying with Submi&s;&s;ion for Deliverance from our Afflictions. The Scripture it &s;elf tea|ches us that Prayer again&s;t our Afflictions is not contrary to the Precept of Patience, in that it &s;ays, <HI>Is any afflicted let him Pray, Jam.</HI> 5.3. And that we may u&s;e it with an unwearied per&s;everance &s;o long as the occa&s;ion for it remains; the Apo|&s;tle plainly intimates in this Ver&s;e which is our Text, where he joyns together the&s;e two Directi|ons, be <HI>Patient in Tribulation, and continuing in|&s;tant in Prayer.</HI> This al&s;o we find practiced by our Saviour, and allow'd by his Practice: For we find that he pray'd again&s;t the bitter Cup that was allotted him, even whil&s;t he &s;ubmitted to take it. Our Prayers may be Peremptory and ha&s;ty, and Quarrel&s;ome, and then they are impatient: But it is al&s;o an In&s;tance of impatience to give over Praying. To think or &s;ay, <HI>This evil is of the Lord, why &s;hould I wait on the Lord any longer?</HI> Why &s;hould I &s;eek or expect any help and relief from him that afflicts me? To think this Evil admits of no Cure, I am utterly undone: God him&s;elf can hardly retrieve my Condition, or if he can he will not: If there were any Favour in Heaven for me, I had never come to this Extremity. This is a Temptation we are exceedingly apt to yield to, when Afflictions lie long upon us, or a long Series of them &s;ucceed one another, in which Ca&s;es we mu&s;t e&s;pecially be aware of it. Our Saviour 'tis &s;aid,
<PB N="28" REF="19"><HI>Luk.</HI> 18.1. put forth a Parable, <HI>to teach that Men ought always to pray and not to faint.</HI> And he applies the Parable him&s;elf in <HI>v.</HI> 7. to the long Sufferings of good Men. It is perhaps partly for this end that God &s;ends affliction: To awaken us to a due Sen&s;e of our dependance upon him, to cure our neglect of his Providence, and to teach us to pray when we have been negligent of it, or too care|le&s;s in the performance of this Duty. This is therefore what we mu&s;t look upon as expected by God in our Affliction: And accordingly he bids Men <HI>call upon him in the time of Trouble;</HI> and to encourage it he Promi&s;es, that if they do &s;o, he <HI>will deliver</HI> them, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.15. We may hope in his Mercy even while he afflicts us; and may pray to be ea&s;ed or deliver'd, provided we keep our Prayers within the bounds of that Sub|mi&s;&s;ion to his Will which was mention'd before.</P>
<P N="3">3. This Vertue requires of us the continued u&s;e of &s;uch ju&s;t and lawful Endeavours to help our &s;elves, as the Providence of God affords us. Even this is allow'd, and this is requir'd by the Laws of Patience. To tru&s;t in God, and expect he &s;hould help us without the u&s;e of means, and endeavour where we may lawfully do this, is, to tempt God rather than to tru&s;t in him: We mu&s;t u&s;e our en|deavour as long as we can, and wait on him for the Succe&s;s of it. The People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> are a good Pattern of this: When they thought them|&s;elves oblig'd to puni&s;h that wickedne&s;s which the Tribe of <HI>Benjamin</HI> would needs defend; tho' they had in &s;everal Battels been defeated in &s;ome mea|&s;ure by the <HI>Benjamites,</HI> yet they continued &s;till their Addre&s;&s;es to God, and repeated their ut|mo&s;t
<PB N="29" REF="19">Endeavour, and at length it plea&s;ed God to give them a great Victory and Succe&s;s. It is an in&s;tance of Impatience to fly to unlawful means and endeavours to help our &s;elves: And it is al&s;o from De&s;pair, and the lo&s;s of Patience, when Men give over their Endeavours, while there is yet room to apply them: To be a-weary of u&s;ing means while we yet have them, becau&s;e they have not &s;ucceeded &s;o &s;oon as we could wi&s;h. It is Im|patience to think that God makes us pay too dear for his Favours, when he requires a long atten|dance on him in Prayer to obtain them, or a long and great Application of our own Endeavour: To grow hereupon &s;ullen and di&s;contented, and aban|don our &s;elves to our Calamities. We mu&s;t be willing to obtain his Mercy upon as difficult and co&s;tly Terms as he is plea&s;ed to impo&s;e, as well as we ought to &s;ubmit, that our Affliction &s;hall con|tinue as long as he plea&s;es.</P>
<P N="4">4. Patience requires that we be thankful to God for any In&s;tances of his Favour and Mercy, which he Grants us while our Afflictions are con|tinued Whatever our Condition is we may find in it &s;ome Ground to think, that it might be wor&s;e than it is, and &s;hould be thankful to God for that it is not &s;o. E&s;pecially &s;hould we help our &s;elves to under&s;tand this, and be thankful for it, by taking Notice of others, when we may &s;ee &s;ome under the &s;ame common Calamity, yet in far wor&s;e de|grees and circum&s;tances of it than our &s;elves. Every Man if he rightly under&s;tands his ca&s;e may &s;ee &s;ome allays of Mercy and Favour in it; no Man &s;uffers a pure and perfect Mi&s;ery in this Life. Therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>In every thing by Prayer
<PB N="30" REF="20">and Supplication with Thank&s;giving, let your reque&s;ts bemade known unto God.</HI> Intimating that in this Life we &s;hall have as continual occa&s;ion, and rea|&s;on to give Thanks as to Pray. We mu&s;t not &s;uffer our Thoughts &s;o to fix upon what is affli|ctive in our Ca&s;e, and to aggravate our Condition as to take no notice of God's Mercies to us, and to lo&s;e the Sen&s;e and Reli&s;h of them. We &s;hould thus be both ungrateful to God for the&s;e mix|tures of Favour, and more unmerciful to our &s;elves than he is to us: We &s;hould make our Con|dition wor&s;e to us in our own Imaginations than it is in its &s;elf, by not ob&s;erving, or by de&s;pi&s;ing the&s;e Favours which qualifie it. If the Provi|dence of God has formerly &s;hewn us Favour in affliction, we ought to be mindful of and thank|ful for this. If he has begun our Deliverance from any pre&s;ent Trouble, and it plea&s;es him to delay a little the compleating of it, we mu&s;t yet be thankful for the good beginning. The Holy <HI>David</HI> affords us a good Pattern of this in the 40th. <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> We may ob&s;erve through the whole <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> a very grateful Sen&s;e of &s;omewhat God had done for him, altho' in the latter end of it he expre&s;&s;es, that he was not perfectly out of Dan|ger. If we are not thankful to God for the Fa|vour which he does, or has &s;hewn us, we may be rea&s;onably thought not &s;o well di&s;pos'd as we &s;hould be to be thankful for more, if all that we de&s;ire were granted us.</P>
<P N="5">5. In all Afflictions from Men, we mu&s;t take care that we do not tran&s;gre&s;s the Laws of Ju|&s;tice or Charity in our Behaviour towards them. We fall into Impatience when Affliction makes us
<PB N="31" REF="20">jealous, and froward, apt to take every thing a|mi&s;s, and to re&s;ent every little oppo&s;ition to our Will: When we impute that to wickedne&s;s, or a perver&s;e Will in our Neighbour which proceeded from Ignorance, or was an unwilling mi&s;carriage. We mu&s;t not envy the pro&s;perous Sinner that in|jures us, nor hate him that di&s;dains, or in&s;ults over us in Adver&s;ity. We mu&s;t not oppo&s;e Evil with Evil. If we can make a ju&s;t defence again&s;t an Enemy, we may and ought to do it; but we mu&s;t not repel Injury with Injury, which the Apo&s;tle &s;ugge&s;ts in this Chapter, in &s;aying, <HI>Be not over|come of evil, but overcome evil with good.</HI> Nei|ther may we &s;eek or de&s;ire to revenge our &s;elves, which he forbids al&s;o in ver. 19th. Our Sa|viour teaches us to forgive, as we would de&s;ire to be forgiven; to <HI>love our Enemies, to ble&s;s them that cur&s;e us, to Pray for them that de&s;pightfully u&s;e and per&s;ecute us,</HI> Matt. 5.44. We are bound to a meek, inoffen&s;ive Behaviour towards tho&s;e that afflict us, not only by the Laws of Charity, but by the Laws of Patience too. For we are to con&s;ider them as the In&s;truments of God's Will and Plea&s;ure in afflicting us, and mu&s;t reckon that any froward or unju&s;t Behaviour towards them, &s;hews an undue and impatient Re&s;entment of God's dealing with us, an unwillingne&s;s to bear what he lays upon us. This weakne&s;s of Behaviour to|wards Men, we al&s;o find practi&s;ed by the great Patterns of this Vertue. So <HI>David</HI> refrain'd him|&s;elf from all wrath and revenge, when <HI>Shimei</HI> re|vil'd and in&s;ulted over him in his Adver&s;ity. And our ble&s;&s;ed Ma&s;ter, <HI>When he was revil'd revil'd not again, when he &s;uffer'd he did not threaten, but com|mitted
<PB N="32" REF="21">him&s;elf to him that judgeth righteou&s;ly,</HI> 1 Pet 2.23. and when his cruel and unju&s;t Enemies had Cru|ci&s;ied him, even while he was hanging upon the Cro&s;s, and they were in&s;ulting over him, he pray|ed for them &s;aying, <HI>Father forgive them, they know not what they do,</HI> Luk. 33.34.</P>
<P>So much may &s;uffice for the Character of this Vertue, and that we may know what it requires of us. I proceed to the Second thing intended, which is to urge our Patience in Tribulation by &s;ome fit Arguments and Motives for it. I &s;hall Select a few of tho&s;e many that are commonly in&s;i&s;ted upon.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is this Di&s;po&s;ition and Behaviour which will find Favour with God, and be mo&s;t likely to obtain our Deliverance from Afflictions. Till he favours us, who is the &s;upream Di&s;po&s;er of all things, we cannot be deliver'd. But this is the be&s;t and likelie&s;t Cour&s;e to gain his help, and is ne|ce&s;&s;ary to it. He requires this Behaviour, and will perhaps afflict us till we learn it. The things that have been mention'd as belonging to a Pa|tient Behaviour in our Afflictions, are all of them &s;uch as he has promi&s;ed his Favour to; and there|fore we may on good grounds expect it in the Exerci&s;e of this Vertue. This has prov'd a good effectual cour&s;e with them that have tried it. We may therefore ob&s;erve the P&s;almi&s;t commend|ing it in the 40th. P&s;alm, not only by his Example, but al&s;o from his Experience. <HI>I waited Patiently for the Lord</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and he enclin'd unto me, and heard my Cry.</HI> 1&s;t. v. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI>
<PB N="33" REF="21">when he is per&s;wading the Chri&s;tians to the Exer|ci&s;e of this Vertue. He propo&s;es to their Con|&s;ideration the good I&s;&s;ue and Succe&s;s it had with the patient <HI>Job, Ye have heard of the patience of</HI> Job (&s;ays he) <HI>and have &s;een the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mer|cy,</HI> James 5.11. Impatience makes our Ca&s;e de&s;perate, but this allows us to hope: That certainly tends to hinder; this to procure our re|lief. In that we &s;in more and further provoke God again&s;t us, and therefore we may expect it will continue or encrea&s;e his Di&s;plea&s;ure, but by this we &s;hall certainly find Favour with him.</P>
<P N="2">2. A Patient Behaviour under our Sufferings from Men tends to deliver us from tho&s;e Sufferings too. This the Scripture teaches, and Experience very commonly proves: And more frequently would Mens experience prove it, if they would more fre|quently, and more &s;teadily try the force of it. It is the common Maxim of the World, that to be Pati|ent invites Injuries, and encourages Affronts, but 'tis very unrea&s;onable to lay &s;uch blame upon it, as we do, without a &s;teady Practice to try, whether it be thus or not. The Holy Scripture a&s;&s;ures us, that <HI>the meek &s;hall inherit the Earth, and delight them&s;elves in the Abundance of Peace,</HI> P&s;al. 37.11. And to this purpo&s;e is what the Wi&s;e man &s;ays, <HI>Prov.</HI> 15.1. <HI>A &s;oft An&s;wer turns away wrath.</HI> A &s;teady Meekne&s;s and Inoffen&s;ivene&s;s, Ju&s;tice and Charity, will mightily promote our Peace with Men. But he that is often injurious will provoke frequent Injuries again&s;t him&s;elf. He that is proud and di&s;dainful will meet with much Contempt. He that is ea&s;ily angry will often provoke Anger.
<PB N="34" REF="22">He that is of a revengeful Spirit, that cannot forgive, will continue his Enemies hatred, and endeavour to do him mi&s;chief without end. If a Man returns Evil for Evil, he helps his Enemy to ju&s;tifie the Injuries he has done him. The common pretence for doing mi&s;chief, if a Man has not &s;uffer'd any, is becau&s;e he fears or does pre|tend to fear, that mi&s;chief was de&s;ign'd again&s;t him, and when evil is return'd he will plau&s;ibly in&s;i&s;t that it was before intended. But he who is Patient under injuries, and &s;o makes it appear that he will not even upon Provocation do Evil, he utterly baffles that Pretence: He then turns his Enemies hatred from him upon his Enemies own &s;elf, &s;ets his own Con&s;cience again&s;t him, and makes him la&s;h and rebuke him&s;elf, for wronging &s;o ju&s;t and innocent a Per&s;on. There are few Men &s;o hardy and cruel, as to per&s;i&s;t long in the per&s;ecution of tho&s;e who are &s;teadily Patient and Innocent. The Holy Scripture a&s;&s;ures us, that Evil may be over|come with Good in that it bids us do &s;o. And certainly, he that is not conquer'd with Good, will never be conquer'd with Evil, unle&s;s we could utterly de&s;troy him. If we overcome Evil with Good, we take away from our Enemy the Will to hurt us, which is much a &s;urer Cour&s;e to be &s;afe from his Injuries than only to endeavour, by doing him mi&s;chief, to take away his Power; and that Cour&s;e is altogether as ea&s;ie, and as cheap to us as this.</P>
<P N="3">3. By the &s;teady Exerci&s;e of Patience it comes to pa&s;s commonly, that the Deliverance and Mer|cy which we wait for, is the more compleat and &s;ure when it does come. When by an impatient
<PB N="35" REF="22">endeavour, and undue means we ha&s;ten the Mer|cy we de&s;ire, and as it were &s;natch it out of the hands of Providence; it proves like Fruit unripe, which in&s;tead of plea&s;ing the Pallate, will be apt to &s;et the Teeth on edge, or to break them: It will be mingled with trouble and affliction, or the fear and danger of lo&s;ing it again. <HI>Jacob</HI> got his Fathers Ble&s;&s;ing by a Lie, but he had much trouble and &s;orrow with it for a great while. It is worth ob&s;erving what the Wi&s;e Man &s;ays to this Purpo&s;e. <HI>The Ble&s;&s;ing of God</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>makes rich, and he adds no &s;orrow with it,</HI> Prov. 10.22. That is, the Wealth procur'd by the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon ju&s;t and lawful Endeavours, proves a &s;weet and com|fortable Portion; but he intimates that what is gotten by ill means will be encombred with Affli|ction: So that he who makes ha&s;t to be rich &s;hall not be happy in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing his Riches, as he is not Innocent in the getting them. To the &s;ame Purpo&s;e he al&s;o &s;ays, <HI>Bread of deceit is &s;weet to a Man, but afterwards his Mouth &s;hall be filled with Gravel:</HI> and, <HI>An Inheritance may be gotten ha&s;tily at the beginning, but the end thereof &s;hall not be Ble&s;|&s;ed.</HI> Prov. 20.17.21. He means that if Men gain what they de&s;ire by an undue Cour&s;e, they &s;hall not have it &s;o good or plea&s;ant to them as it might have been, if they could have had &s;o much Patience as to u&s;e none but lawful means, and to have waited God's time for obtaining it. God does often for very wi&s;e and kind Rea&s;ons, delay a while to be&s;tow that Favour which yet he does intend to be&s;tow. But Men are apt to think if they do not pre&s;ently obtain it, it is not to be expected from him, but they mu&s;t by any
<PB N="36" REF="23">means help them&s;elves to it. He will be&s;tow what we de&s;ire, if it be good for us, in the be&s;t time, if we can but patiently wait for it. Very often is our unfitne&s;s for his Mercy the cau&s;e of its delay: He &s;ees in us &s;uch Di&s;po&s;itions, as that we &s;hould not be at all the Happier, if it were granted till tho&s;e Di&s;po&s;itions are cur'd. He does not immedi|ately remove a &s;ick Man's illne&s;s, becau&s;e he knows him yet &s;ubject to ungovern'd Appetites, unruly Pa&s;&s;ions, and &s;uch a Di&s;po&s;ition as would &s;oon throw him back into it again. He does not &s;oon make a poor Man rich with his greate&s;t endeavours to help him&s;elf; becau&s;e he &s;ees that he who is di&s;|contented in his Poverty, would grow proud and di&s;dainful if he were rich; or he &s;ees a Prodigal, or lazy Humour in him, that he is not yet habituated to Frugality or Diligence, tho' for the pre&s;ent he is nece&s;&s;itated to it, and that for want of the&s;e he would &s;oon relap&s;e again into Poverty if he were made rich. He afflicts a Nation with a long and tedious foreign War, perhaps to keep them at Peace among them&s;elves: And he does not &s;oon deliver them from &s;uch an Affliction, becau&s;e he &s;ees among them &s;uch endle&s;s Jealou&s;ies, and &s;uch fierce Animo&s;ities as would be in danger to in|volve them in a mad War again&s;t them&s;elves, if they had no other to divert them. And till a common danger has made them unite their Af|fections and Intere&s;ts, they would not be the hap|pier for Deliverance. Heaven knows and under|&s;tands us better than we do our &s;elves, and is often contriving our Advantage and Happine&s;s, when we think he grudges it. He &s;ees us not fit for the Mercies which we are in ha&s;te to obtain,
<PB N="37" REF="23">and he delays them only to gain time to make us &s;o, that we may have the more Happy, and the more &s;afe Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them when he gives them. We &s;hould therefore never Quarrel with God, if we are not &s;peedily deliver'd out of Adver&s;ity, but only blame our &s;elves for this, and reckon that our own ill State and Condition, is that which continues our Afflictions.</P>
<P N="4">4. Another Argument for the Exerci&s;e of this Vertue may be, that it keeps the Mind compos'd and ea&s;ie while our Afflictions do continue. This tends to alleviate them, but Impatience to make them heavier than in them&s;elves they would be. Our Saviour &s;ays to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>In Patience po&s;|&s;e&s;s ye your Souls,</HI> Luk. 21.19. intimating, that this Vertue keeps the Soul in order, and has its Appetites and Pa&s;&s;ions under command: and thus there will be Tranquility and Peace within, when things are in Confu&s;ion without; the Mind will be at ea&s;e, when the Body is in pain, and will be rich in the command of it &s;elf when it can com|mand nothing el&s;e. And this is much towards the making an Affliction tolerable and ea&s;ie. But the impatient Man that has no Command of him&s;elf, is continually ruffled and di&s;turb'd in his Mind by his own violent and impetuous Pa&s;&s;i|ons. His too fierce and peremptory De&s;ires, his ve|ry moveable Anger, his Envy at the better Fortune of his Neighbours, keep his Mind always re&s;tle&s;s and unea&s;ie. There is nothing can &s;o compo&s;e the Mind, and keep it in perpetual Peace, as to be entirely re&s;ign'd to the Will and Di&s;po&s;al of God. But there is yet &s;omething more in this Vertue towards the making our Afflictions ea&s;ie
<PB N="38" REF="24">and tolerable and that is, the Property it has to con&s;ider, and be thankful for the Favour and Mer|cy which is mingled with our Afflictions. It takes notice of whatever is good and comfortable in our Condition, and inables us to reli&s;h it, and take Comfort in it. Whereas an impatient Spirit does only pore and mu&s;e upon what is grievous and afflicting, and lo&s;es us the Sen&s;e of the re&s;t. If &s;uch an one lo&s;es one good, it throws away all that is left, in Effect, while it refu&s;es to take any Comfort in it. So Impatience makes the wor&s;t of our Condition, and Patience makes the be&s;t of it. Patience too is full of Cheering and Comfor|ting hope for the mo&s;t part, but Impatience brings with it a &s;ad Load of De&s;pair.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, Our Patience in Adver&s;ity does in|title us to the reward of everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. We mu&s;t under&s;tand that our Saviour and his Apo&s;tle do both &s;uppo&s;e, and require the Exerci&s;e of this Vertue in our Afflictions, when they pro|mi&s;e the reward of future Happine&s;s to our pre|&s;ent Sufferings. Our Saviour &s;ays, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that are per&s;ecuted for Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,</HI> Matt. 5.10. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays, <HI>The&s;e light Afflictions which are but for a moment &s;hall work for us an exceeding and eternal weight of Glory.</HI> But this reward of Suffering cannot be expected unle&s;s we &s;uffer Pa|tiently. This then is <HI>Nece&s;&s;ary</HI> to gain the future Happine&s;s, as the Apo&s;tle further intimates in &s;aying, <HI>Ye have need of Patience, that after ye have done the Will of God, ye may enter into re&s;t.</HI> And this <HI>will</HI> obtain it. It is not only <HI>doing well,</HI> and great Fruitfulne&s;s in good Works that will
<PB N="39" REF="24">be rewarded hereafter, but al&s;o <HI>Suffering well</HI> too. God beholds and is plea&s;ed with the one, as well as the other. There is as much of the Spirit of Obedience to God, in &s;ubmitting to the Di&s;pen|&s;ations of his Providence, as there is in keeping his Commands. That which the &s;upream Gover|nour of the World calls us to we mu&s;t do it, and &s;hall be ble&s;t in the doing it: And we mu&s;t not in|&s;i&s;t upon chu&s;ing our own Station and Work. But if our Patience will bring us to Heaven, it will abundantly cure all the hurt our Afflictions can do us, and bring much more of Good of Joy and Satisfaction, than they can bring of Inconve|nience and Harm. Well therefore might the A|po&s;tle &s;ay, <HI>We count them happy who endure.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall add no more Arguments to per&s;wade to this Vertue. E&s;pecially becau&s;e I may hope to do yet &s;omething more towards the promoting it by what remains of the Di&s;cour&s;e. Which is to &s;ugge&s;t &s;ome things which may be u&s;eful means to po&s;&s;e&s;s our &s;elves with it. And they are the&s;e fol|lowing.</P>
<P N="1">1. We &s;hould live in a con&s;tant Expectation of meeting with &s;omething or other Inconvenient in every Condition. We mu&s;t not think that Incon|veniences are onely tied to that we are in, but that all other are encumbred with them: Every Condition has its peculiar Inconveniences be&s;ides the common ones that 'tis liable to with other Conditions: And, <HI>Man is born to Trouble as the Sparks fly upwards.</HI> This &s;hould deliver us from an impatient De&s;ire of change, when any thing
<PB N="40" REF="25">afflicts us, &s;ince we &s;hall perhaps only change our Inconveniences, and may leave better for wor&s;e. But in our greate&s;t Pro&s;perity too, we &s;hould live in Expectation of Afflictions, becau&s;e we are al|ways liable to them. This will prepare us to en|dure them well if they do come; and make us the more cautious and careful to prevent them. We &s;hould harden our Minds to endure the wor&s;t that may befall us, by often &s;uppo&s;ing it, and &s;et|ting our &s;elves in a readine&s;s to &s;ubmit to the Will of God. A Wi&s;e Man makes Evils familiar to him, and ea&s;ie at their fir&s;t coming, by thinking on them before-hand, as others become accu&s;tom|ed to them, after a long time of enduring them. A fore&s;een and expected Evil does not di&s;turb nor di&s;compo&s;e us by far &s;o much as that which Surpri&s;es. He bore the lo&s;s of an onely Son without any Di&s;turbance, who when he heard it, had it ready to &s;ay, as he had often con&s;idered it before, <HI>I knew that I had begotten but a Mortal thing.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Another nece&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful means of Pa|tience is to learn a ju&s;t and mean Opinion of the things of this World. We &s;hould con|&s;ider they have very little worth or goodne&s;s in them, that they could never yet afford the Con|tent and Satisfaction which Men are wont to ex|pect from them: We cannot &s;ee tho&s;e that po&s;|&s;e&s;s them, taking a delight in their Enjoyment, for any con&s;iderable time, that is &s;uitable to the eager De&s;ire they had to them before. We &s;hould con&s;ider too their Tran&s;itory and mutable Nature, that, <HI>The Fa&s;hion of this World pa&s;&s;es away,</HI> all things here are liable to change. And that, <HI>The
<PB N="41" REF="25">time is &s;hort;</HI> It is but for a little while that we &s;hall need, or that we could u&s;e and take delight in the&s;e things. And &s;uch Con&s;iderations would help to beget that Indifferency, which the Apo&s;tle advi&s;es in the &s;ame place, which is, <HI>to weep as if we wept not,</HI> for Adver&s;ity and Lo&s;&s;es, <HI>to rejoyce as if we rejoyced not</HI> in our Enjoyments; to u&s;e our Pro&s;perity moderately, and not be too much Ele|vated with that, and to <HI>po&s;&s;e&s;s as if we po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed not:</HI> He that highly values any thing of this World, that thinks he cannot be happy without it, he mu&s;t needs be very impatient and unea&s;ie in the want or lo&s;s of &s;uch a thing. But if a Man be &s;o wi&s;e as to account all things here to be of little worth and &s;mall Importance, then he will account the lo&s;s of any thing but a very &s;mall incon&s;ide|rable Lo&s;s, not worthy to di&s;compo&s;e or di&s;turb him.</P>
<P N="3">3. To be Patient in Affliction, we mu&s;t learn a mean and humble Opinion of our &s;elves. Humi|lity is Patient, but Pride is Contentious: And we have always a Conceit that we have de&s;erved better things from God than he allots us, when we murmur and quarrel at our Afflictions. We mu&s;t con&s;ider, then, how mean and poor things we are; that we derive all we have from his free and unde&s;erved Gift, that we are nothing but what he has made us, and therefore can never be too great and excellent to be at his Di&s;po&s;al. We &s;hould con&s;ider our &s;elves vile and dete&s;table Sinners: that we have as &s;uch, forfeited all good, and de|&s;erved far wor&s;e things than we can &s;uffer in this World. And when the Injuries and Affronts of Men are apt to provoke us highly, we &s;hould
<PB N="42" REF="26">con&s;ider how much greater we our &s;elves are guil|ty of, again&s;t the Great Lord of the World. That while a fellow Servant owes us perhaps a few Pence, we are indebted to him a great many Talents; a Debt which we could never pay if it &s;hould be required of us, but we mu&s;t needs lie for it in everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P N="4">4. To learn Patience in Adver&s;ity, we &s;hould learn and accu&s;tom our &s;elves to Self-denials. An in|dulg'd and gratified Will and Humour will be im|patient when Circum&s;tances cro&s;s them; but if a Man be wont &s;ometimes to curb and re&s;train them and cro&s;s him&s;elf, he will be &s;o u&s;ed to this as to bear it Patiently. Ab&s;tinence and Temperance in Pro&s;perity, lead and prepare a Man to Patience in Adver&s;ity. He that by voluntary Self-denials and Ab&s;tinence will &s;ometimes want what he has, and u&s;e him&s;elf to cour&s;e Fare, hard Labour, mean Garments, unea&s;ie Lodging, he would learn to bear the&s;e things with a compo&s;ed Mind if ne|ce&s;&s;ity &s;hould lay them upon him.</P>
<P>To conclude, We mu&s;t earne&s;tly Pray for this Grace; and &s;hould often meditate on the Life of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour: Who was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Griefs, and was meek and pa|tient under all: Who in this way went to Bli&s;s, and has Commanded us to follow him: And has given us the great Encouragement of his Promi&s;e, That, <HI>To him that overcomes, he will give to &s;it with him on his Throne, even as he al&s;o overcame, and is &s;et down with the Father on his Throne.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="43" REF="26">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed God! Thou art a God of Truth, and without Iniquity; righteous in all Thy Ways, and Holy in all Thy Works. Tho' Clouds and Dark|ne&s;s are round about Thee, yet Ju&s;tice and Judgment are Thy eternal Habitation. We reverence, and adore, and Prai&s;e Thee O God, for all Thy Works. We owe an entire Re&s;ignation and Submi&s;&s;ion to all Thy Di&s;|pen&s;ations. If thou in any thing afflict us it is in Faith|fulne&s;s, in Equity, and hitherto thou ha&s;t always done it in Mercy; O Lord, we owe Thee mo&s;t hearty Thanks and Prai&s;e, for that thou ha&s;t only afflicted tho&s;e whom thou mighte&s;t ju&s;tly have de&s;troy'd. We humble our &s;elves before Thee O Lord, and do con|fe&s;s there is nothing we have &s;uffer'd, but is le&s;s than our Iniquities have de&s;erv'd: After all we are won|derful Monuments of Thy Patience: Oh teach us we pray Thee, to exerci&s;e a due Patience under all the Evils and Afflictions that we may meet with in this Life. Our Sin has brought &s;orrow and trouble into the World, and we cannot blame any one for it but our &s;elves. Let this make us &s;ilent, and free from all Murmurings, and indecent Expo&s;tulations when we &s;uffer. Give us O Lord we be&s;eech Thee, a great mea|&s;ure of Patience to attend us in our Pilgrimage on Earth, where Man is born to trouble as the Sparks fly upward. Let not our Afflictions ever cool our Love to Thee, or make us a weary or negligent of our Duty. Let no Wrongs or Vexations that we receive from Men, ever make us uncharitable or un|ju&s;t to them. In Patience let us po&s;&s;e&s;s our own Souls, and enjoy &s;uch a Peace as the World can nei|ther give nor take away. We pray Thee O Lord, for
<PB N="44" REF="27">the Sacrifice and Attonement of the Death of Chri&s;t, forgive us all our Sins, which we do earne&s;tly repent of, and purpo&s;e to for&s;ake: And let us &s;o be free from the Terrors of a Guilty Con&s;cience under our out|ward Afflictions: And of Thy great Mercy ble&s;s and &s;anctifie to us all that we endure. Grant that it may wean us from this vain uncertain World; and make us remove our Affections from hence, where there is no perfect Re&s;t and Happine&s;s, no &s;olid Satisfaction, to that better World where true Joy, and eternal Re&s;t and Peace are found. Let Thy Mercy order, that we may never be afflicted above what we are able to bear; and let the Fruit of it be to take away our Sins, to make us partakers of Thy Holine&s;s, that &s;o it may promote our future Happine&s;s and Glory. Make us always to remember our time on Earth is &s;hort; we have here no enduring abode; e're long we mu&s;t be call'd away for ever, and leave all that we ever had in this World: we came naked into it, and naked we mu&s;t go away from it; and let this by thy Grace give us a wi&s;e and ju&s;t Indifferency about our Condition here; and make us weep as if we wept not, or rejoyce as if we rejoyced not, and buy as if we po&s;&s;e&s;t not, and to u&s;e this World as not a|bu&s;ing it. Grant us Grace &s;o to bear all the Evils of this Life, that the light Afflictions which are but for a moment, may work for us a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory. Of thy abundant Mer|cy O Lord, favour and pity Mankind; let thy Judg|ments which are abroad in the Earth, make the In|habitants of the World to learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s. Par|don and remove the wickedne&s;s, and cure the Mi&s;e|ries of Mankind. We pray for &s;uch a mea&s;ure of out|ward Peace and Pro&s;perity to thy Church, as thou &s;ee&s;t mo&s;t conducing to thy Glory, and the flouri&s;h|ing of all Piety and Vertue in that. Lord if it plea&s;e Thee, let there be no hurting nor de&s;troying in all Thy Holy Mountain: Give any of thy Servants Patience under their Afflictions, and redeem <HI>I&s;rael</HI> O God out
<PB N="45" REF="27">of all his Troubles. Ble&s;s the Land of our Nativity with Plenty and Peace, and make us to love and fear Thee, and diligently to live after Thy Commands. We thank Thee for the Mercy thou &s;hewe&s;t us after the time wherein we were plagued. We heartily pray Thee, to Ble&s;s and pre&s;erve our mo&s;t Gracious King, who&s;e Wi&s;dom, and Courage, and Goodne&s;s, thou ha&s;t made the happy In&s;trument of our pre&s;ent Tranquility. Lord teach us all our Duties towards him, and Grant him a long and happy Reign among&s;t us to Thy Glory, His own Comfort, and our Welfare. Do good we be&s;eech Thee, to all our Relations, and let their pre&s;ent Welfare and eternal Happine&s;s be always Thy Gracious Care. We give Thee hearty Thanks, for the Mercies of this day Spiritual, and Temporal. Pity tho&s;e that want what we enjoy. Vouch&s;afe to keep us this Night in Safety, and evermore Ble&s;s and De|fend us, for the Sake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Mediator and Advocate. In who&s;e own words we further call up|on Thee &s;aying.
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="46" REF="28">
<HEAD>THE Character and Remedies OF Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Tim. 3.4. latter part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Lovers of Plea&s;ures more than Lovers of God.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE infinitely Good and Almighty Crea|tour of the World, made &s;ufficient pro|vi&s;ion in it for the Happine&s;s and Satis|faction of every Creature that he made. His Favour to Mankind in Particular, has furni&s;ht
<PB N="47" REF="28">the World with a great Variety of things to &s;a|tisfie and plea&s;e every natural Appetite which he made in us. And his Goodne&s;s affords a liberal u&s;e of all that we can rea&s;onably de&s;ire. He has not provided for us with a &s;paring and niggardly hand, nor does he &s;o tantalize us as to &s;et before us a bounteous and plentiful Provi&s;ion, and then confine us to enjoy only within the Bounds of meer nece&s;&s;ity. This is evident in that large and free Donation, which he made to Man as &s;oon as he was Created; <HI>Have Dominion</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>over the Fi&s;hes of the Sea, over the Fowls of the Air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth.</HI> And, <HI>Behold I have given you every Herb bearing Seed which is upon the Face of the Earth, and every Tree in which is the Fruit of a Tree yield|ing Seed; to you it &s;hall be for Meat,</HI> Gen. 1.28, 29. Herein there is plainly an allowance made even for delight and plea&s;ure, and beyond what meer ne|ce&s;&s;ity requir'd. And herein it appears, that he does not envy us any Happine&s;s; we mu&s;t, to be ju&s;t to him, conclude from hence, that it is not any Ill-will in him, which bounds us by Laws, and confines us to Rules in the Enjoyment of the&s;e things but rather that 'tis further kindne&s;s. It is rea&s;onable hereupon to believe, that he allows all that is becoming and good for us, and forbids nothing, but what would di&s;parage and hurt us. And if his Goodne&s;s allows all the Plea&s;ure that we can rea&s;onably and naturally de&s;ire, it mu&s;t be unrea&s;onable to de&s;ire, or u&s;e more than he al|lows.</P>
<P>But herein lies the Folly and Ingratitude of Mankind: We di&s;tru&s;t and deny the Kindne&s;s of
<PB N="48" REF="29">his Laws, tho' he has in other ways &s;hown us &s;o much Kindne&s;s: And the Plea&s;ures which he al|lows, in&s;tead of leading us to the Fountain and chief Good, as they &s;hould do, divert us from him; and in&s;tead of engaging us to Love and Obey, do make us hate and affront him. All mankind, like our fir&s;t Parents, are too apt to be drawn by the Allurements of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure, to an unworthy Contempt of God and his Laws. We are all, in the Corruption of our depraved Nature, &s;unk under that &s;ad Character in the Text, and are <HI>Lovers of Plea&s;ures more than Lovers of God.</HI> By this way of Expre&s;&s;ing, the Apo&s;tle means and condemns an inordinate and &s;inful Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, and gives us a good Direction, by which to judge what is &s;o.</P>
<P>It is the De&s;ign of this Di&s;cour&s;e from the&s;e words, to endeavour to cure and remove this Fault.</P>
<P>To which purpo&s;e it is nece&s;&s;ary, that the&s;e two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e be in&s;i&s;ted on.</P>
<P N="1">1. To &s;hew what is an inordinate and &s;inful Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures.</P>
<P N="2">2. To urge &s;uch Motives and Arguments, as are fit to induce Men to &s;trive again&s;t this, and to free them&s;elves from it.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;hall endeavour to &s;hew &s;omewhat particularly, what is an inordinate Love of Sen&s;ual Plea&s;ures. And &s;ince the Apo&s;tles words, will have us account that &s;uch, when we Love them more than we love God, I think I may ju&s;tly and &s;ufficiently repre&s;ent this Sin under the Three following Heads.</P>
<PB N="49" REF="29">
<P N="1">1. It is an inordinate Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, when any allow them&s;elves to &s;eek and enjoy tho&s;e In&s;tances of them, which are in the kind forbid|den by the Laws of God. For if to love God be to keep his Commandments, as the Holy Scri|pture teaches us, then any Contradiction to his Commands contradicts the Love of him; and by Con&s;equence, he that allows him&s;elf in any in&s;tances of Plea&s;ures, which are in the kind of them forbidden, he loves his own Plea&s;ure more than God. I &s;hall not &s;tay to mention any par|ticular In&s;tances under this Head, as containing &s;uch things as are not fit to be nam'd among Chri|&s;tians.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is an inordinate Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure, when Men will pur&s;ue and &s;eek what is Lawful and allow'd, in the kind of it, but by unlawful and wicked means to gain it. And he who truly loves God, and has a due reverence and regard for his Laws, will be contented to want all that which he cannot, by very ju&s;t and innocent ways and means attain. It were endle&s;s and impo&s;&s;ible, to trace all the various wandrings of the wicked|ne&s;s of Man, and to mention all the Particulars contain'd under this Head. I &s;hall therefore pa&s;s to another, where it will be mo&s;t u&s;eful and mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary to in&s;i&s;t and &s;tay.</P>
<P N="3">3. They al&s;o run into this Guilt, who allow them&s;elves to u&s;e and enjoy tho&s;e Plea&s;ures, which are lawful in their kind, and are allow'd, but in &s;uch a <HI>Way</HI> and <HI>Manner</HI> as is forbidden. We may tran&s;gre&s;s in the u&s;e of Lawful things, and Indeed herein lies our greate&s;t Danger, and our mo&s;t frequent Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion. We are to con&s;ider,
<PB N="50" REF="30">that there is not a Boundle&s;s and unlimited u&s;e, even of Lawful things allow'd, but there may be Circum&s;tances attending our Actions, which may turn what is lawful in it &s;elf into Sin, when &s;o Circum&s;tantiated. And in General it mu&s;t be &s;aid, that &s;o far as we are found to do what God forbids in his Laws, or to omit what he requires of us, in the Enjoyment and u&s;e of tho&s;e Plea&s;ures which he allows, &s;o far as we are inordinate and &s;in|ful in them, we mu&s;t be &s;aid to Love them more than him; becau&s;e the mea&s;ure of our Love and Obedience to his Commands, is the mea&s;ure of our Love to him&s;elf. But I think it fit to in&s;i&s;t upon this Head more di&s;tinctly: And therefore, I &s;hall endeavour to repre&s;ent to you fully, what it contains in the following Particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t not allow a great Application of Mind and Endeaovur about &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures. The&s;e things mu&s;t not be applied to with a very great value and e&s;teem for them, nor be accounted the chiefe&s;t Goods of our Lives: We mu&s;t not let our Minds dwell much upon them, or our De&s;ires and Appetites be very fierce and eager. The wi&s;e Rule and Law of the Go&s;pel is, that we practice a great Indifferency towards earthly Enjoyments, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.29, 30. that we <HI>rejoyce</HI> in them, as <HI>if we rejoyced not,</HI> and <HI>buy as if we po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed not.</HI> We love them too much, and u&s;e them with too great Application, when we let them &s;teal away and de|tain our Minds from God, and Heavenly things; and this is contrary to another Advice of Holy Scripture, <HI>Col.</HI> 3.2. where we are bid to <HI>&s;et our Affections on things above, not on things on the
<PB N="51" REF="30">Earth;</HI> that is, to mind and employ the &s;everal Powers of our Souls, rather about the things a|bove, than things here below. And the exce&s;&s;ive Application of Mind to the&s;e things is u&s;ually at|tended with inordinate Endeavour about them. Such it is when any endeavour to habituate and accu&s;tom them&s;elves to an extravagant and need|le&s;s Enjoyment of the&s;e: Which is that, in one kind of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure, that is Condemned in <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 5.22. where he &s;ays, <HI>Woe to them that are mighty to drink Wine, and Men of &s;trength to min|gle &s;trong drink:</HI> That is, them who have by endea|vour and much Exerci&s;e brought them&s;elves to be able to bear exce&s;&s;ive and immoderate Drinking. Further, there is too much endeavour about &s;en|&s;ual Plea&s;ures, when Men labour much to pam|per and indulge their Appetites, without any Care or Concern to moderate and govern them. And e&s;pecially if Men needle&s;ly provoke and ir|ritate the&s;e, which ought rather for the mo&s;t part to be mortified and re&s;i&s;ted. I think it mu&s;t not be &s;aid, that all endeavour to heighten, and en|crea&s;e the Plea&s;ures we enjoy, is inordinate and exce&s;&s;ive; but certainly it is &s;o, when a Man &s;ets him&s;elf con&s;tantly to do this, or with much ap|plication and care endeavours it, when he cannot ordinarily content him&s;elf with what is Simple, Natural, and unforced in his Plea&s;ures, but is al|ways contriving and endeavouring what is Curious, and Artificial, and Superfluous. It is &s;afe&s;t to keep our &s;elves as near to Nece&s;&s;ity and Nature commonly as we can, for all our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion in this Mat|ter lies in our Departure from them. And tho' perhaps we are not bound never to go beyond Ne|ce&s;&s;ity
<PB N="52" REF="31">in our Plea&s;ures, yet we cannot go far be|yond this, without falling into Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) We mu&s;t not allow &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures to &s;pend very much of our time. We &s;hould ordi|narily but ta&s;te the&s;e things not &s;tay long at them. Our Plea&s;ures &s;hould be contented with hours, ra|ther than be &s;uffer'd to &s;pend days, and be &s;a|tisfied with tho&s;e we can be&s;t &s;pare, from more noble and u&s;eful Employments; much le&s;s may we make the Enjoyment of the&s;e the main end and bu&s;ine&s;s of Life. The Holy Scripture ex|pre&s;ly Cen&s;ures the &s;pending much time in them under the in&s;tance of Drinking, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 5.11. <HI>Woe unto them</HI> (&s;ays the Prophet there) <HI>that ri&s;e up early in the Morning, that they may follow &s;trong drink, that continue till night till the Wine inflame them.</HI> And it &s;ays, they that live in Plea&s;ure are <HI>dead while they live,</HI> 1 Tim. 5.6. That is, in the account of God, they live be&s;ide the end they were made for, and are of as little u&s;e in the World as tho&s;e that are dead. Plea&s;ures &s;hould be u&s;ed on the By, and by way of Diver&s;ion, rather than as a &s;et and pro|po&s;ed Bu&s;ine&s;s for the mo&s;t part. Tho' &s;ome|times without doubt we may propo&s;e to our &s;elves, and &s;et apart a time for Mirth and Rejoycing. There is as the wi&s;e Man &s;ays, <HI>a Sea&s;on for every thing, and a Time to every purpo&s;e un|der Heaven: There is a time to Weep, and a time to Laugh, a time to Mourn, and a time to Dance,</HI> Eccle&s; 3.1.4. When we commemorate any private Favour and Mercy of God to our &s;elves, or any publick Favour and Deliverance gi|ven to our Nation; e&s;pecially when we commemo|rate any &s;o publick Favour to Mankind, as the
<PB N="53" REF="31">Birth, Re&s;urrection, and A&s;cen&s;ion of our Lord and Saviour: Or the Holy and u&s;eful Lives of the Apo&s;tles, by whom the Knowledge of Salva|tion was &s;pread over the Heathen world: The&s;e are very fit Sea&s;ons of &s;et and purpo&s;ed Rejoycing. But we mu&s;t take care that neither at the&s;e times nor any other, our Plea&s;ures be &s;uffer'd to de|prive us of all opportunity to wor&s;hip God. When we rejoyce for his Mercies, we &s;hould <HI>rejoyce be|fore him,</HI> as the Scripture &s;peaks; that is, we mu&s;t &s;pend &s;ome of that time in religious Wor&s;hip and Joy; <HI>We mu&s;t come before his Pre&s;ence with Thanks|giving, and &s;hew our &s;elves glad in him with P&s;alms.</HI> We mu&s;t not &s;uffer the Enjoyment of &s;en&s;ual Plea|&s;ures to deprive us of opportunity to wor&s;hip God on common Days, nor to take away any time from publick or private Wor&s;hip on his own Day. Further, We mu&s;t not &s;uffer our Plea&s;ures to en|croach upon the Sea&s;ons of Humiliation and Ab|&s;tinence. When God calls for the&s;e, either by his Judgments and Afflictions, which he lays up|on us, or by the Laws of the Church and State. He who will not then intermit or at all abate his Plea&s;ures, mu&s;t be reckoned a Lover of them more than of God: And this Errour is particu|larly and &s;everely condem'd, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 22.12, 13, 14. Our joy for &s;ome of his Mercies &s;hould at lea&s;t be allay'd, and we &s;hould rejoyce with trembling, when we are under God's cha&s;ti&s;ing Di&s;pen&s;ations: It is the Madne&s;s of Men, and that which commonly makes their Condition much wor&s;e, when under the Afflictions God lays upon them, in&s;tead of humbling them&s;elves under his hand, they &s;trive to divert their Sorrow, and to drown their Care.
<PB N="54" REF="32">as they call it, in riotous and exce&s;&s;ive Plea&s;ures. All this is un&s;ea&s;onable, and the&s;e are undue times of Mirth and Plea&s;ure.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) We mu&s;t not &s;uffer Plea&s;ures to engage too much Expence and Charge to maintain and enjoy them. As tho&s;e which are enjoy'd with lea&s;t endea|vour are u&s;ually the mo&s;t innocent, &s;o are tho&s;e al|&s;o commonly which are enjoy'd with lea&s;t Charge. To indulge and gratifie wanton Appetites ordi|narily with great Expence and Charge is inordi|nate and &s;inful. 'Tis too much a Man &s;pends up|on his Plea&s;ures, when he out-runs his Allowance, and contracts Debts which he cannot pay, and &s;o entertains and plea&s;es him&s;elf at the co&s;t and the wrong of his Neighbour. He is too expen|&s;ive in the&s;e, who by the Charge of them di&s;ables him&s;elf from making a competent Provi&s;ion for his Family and Dependants, who Prodigally wa&s;tes that in needle&s;s Enjoyment, which &s;hould &s;upply them with Nece&s;&s;aries. There is a &s;evere Con|demnation of this expre&s;t, 1. <HI>Tim.</HI> 5.8. He al&s;o &s;pends too much upon the&s;e, who thereby di&s;ables him&s;elf for Acts of Charity: Who to be liberal upon his Lu&s;ts, will be &s;tingy to the Poor. Tho' it is not to be &s;aid, that we ought con&s;tantly to give all that the Supply of our own nece&s;&s;ity can &s;pare to the relief of the Poor; yet certainly we mu&s;t reckon there are &s;ome Ca&s;es, wherein the nece&s;&s;ity of our Neighbour ought to be &s;erv'd be|fore our own meer Plea&s;ure: And our own meer Plea&s;ure &s;hould not ordinarily and con&s;tantly be more co&s;tly than this Chri&s;tian Duty of Charity: And when we do liberally Fea&s;t and plea&s;e our &s;elves, we &s;hould in Proportion at &s;uch times libe|rally
<PB N="55" REF="32">relieve and comfort the Poor. And in his expence upon Plea&s;ures, every Man &s;hould regard the State of the Times. When publick Occa&s;ions require more expence than ordinary upon them, for the Defence of our Religion, and Country, and Allies. When any particular Circum&s;tances of the time occa&s;ion more Objects of Charity than ordinary, and more di&s;tre&s;s among the Poor, then ought rich Men in &s;ome mea&s;ure to re|trench and dimini&s;h their Expences upon their Plea&s;ures, that they may be able to &s;pare the more to tho&s;e more nece&s;&s;ary purpo&s;es.</P>
<P N="4">(4.) We mu&s;t not gratifie our Appetites, or enjoy &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures to the Prejudice of our Health and Strength. When Nature which &s;hould be refre&s;h'd and &s;upported by the&s;e is op|pre&s;s'd and hurt by them, this is inordinate and exce&s;&s;ive. When men will do tho&s;e things con|&s;tantly and frequently, in compliance with their Appetites, which in time mu&s;t needs impair their Health, tho' this be not &s;en&s;ibly done at pre&s;ent: When they will gratifie their Appetites, either in the quantity or in the quality, and kind of Plea|&s;ure, which they have found by experience has been prejudicial to their Health, and have rea|&s;on to think will prove &s;o &s;till, in the&s;e Ca&s;es they are exce&s;&s;ive, and inordinate in their Love of Plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>And yet further it mu&s;t be &s;aid, that if a Man has by an exce&s;&s;ive Indulgence of his Appetites, brought him&s;elf to &s;ome kind of Nece&s;&s;ity to con|tinue &s;uch Indulgence, &s;o as that it would in|duce &s;ome pre&s;ent Di&s;order in his Health, if he &s;hould leave it off, yet he ought not to continue
<PB N="56" REF="33">it. His Body may in a little time be brought to agree well, and certainly be&s;t, with Temperance and Moderation: And an unnatural Nece&s;&s;ity brought upon a Man by ill Practice, will not ju|&s;tifie or allow the Continuance of that ill Pra|ctice.</P>
<P N="5">(5.) La&s;tly, we mu&s;t not allow our &s;elves the full Liberty in our Plea&s;ures, which at other times we might take, when this would be an Offence to our Neighbour, and occa&s;ion his Sin, and the Hurt of his Soul. When I know or &s;u&s;pect that my doing what is innocent and lawful, will ex|po&s;e or betray him to the doing what is &s;infull, I mu&s;t for that time, and in tho&s;e Circum&s;tances, forbear the plea&s;ing of my &s;elf. The Love of God requires, that as I take care not to commit &s;in my &s;elf, &s;o I &s;hould take all the care I can, that I do not any ways occa&s;ion the &s;in of ano|ther: And the Love of God requires &s;uch Love to my Neighbour, as that I mu&s;t not willingly, or needle&s;ly do him any harm. Therefore if I will not in &s;uch a Ca&s;e as this ab&s;tain from law|ful Plea&s;ure, I &s;in in the manner of enjoying it, and am a <HI>lover of plea&s;ure more than a lover of God.</HI></P>
<P>Thus much, I think, may &s;uffice to &s;how, what is an inordinate Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure. Now the next Head of Di&s;cour&s;e, which I promi&s;ed to in&s;i&s;t upon, is to propo&s;e &s;uch Arguments a|gain&s;t this &s;ort of wickedne&s;s, as ought to pre|vail with us, to re&s;i&s;t and &s;trive again&s;t it, and keep our &s;elves as free as po&s;&s;ible we can from it. And, I think, the&s;e two Heads of Arguments may afford Con&s;iderations both for weight and number &s;ufficient in rea&s;on to this purpo&s;e.</P>
<PB N="57" REF="33">
<P N="1">1. The mean and contemptible Nature of the&s;e Plea&s;ures.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Mi&s;chiefs which an inordinate Love of the&s;e commonly brings with it.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Let us deliberately con&s;ider the mean and contemptible Nature of the&s;e Plea&s;ures, and we cannot chu&s;e but &s;ee they are not worth our great E&s;teem, or an exce&s;&s;ive Love of them. Let us con&s;ider this when our Thoughts are at lei|&s;ure, and when the Objects and Temptations of them are remov'd: at which time we &s;hall mo&s;t rightly under&s;tand them. The&s;e are not the be&s;t of the good things which Mankind were intended and made capable to enjoy, but of the meanne&s;t Rank, and lowe&s;t &s;ort of them.</P>
<P>Sen&s;ual Plea&s;ures have very little Worth or Goodne&s;s in them; are never able to afford us that &s;atisfaction which our fond Imagination pro|mi&s;es us from them. We expect abundant Fe|licity in their Enjoyment, and find little, for they are but empty and poor things: What we thought before we po&s;&s;e&s;s'd it, would make us wondrous happy a long time, within a little while we look upon as a Burden if we cannot get rid of it. The common practice of the greate&s;t Lo|vers of Plea&s;ures di&s;covers this: For how greedy &s;oever they appeared of any Plea&s;ures before they had them, we may &s;oon after &s;ee them hunting for, and contriving new ones: They di&s;reli&s;h what they have, and want diver&s;ion even from that which was &s;o eagerly pro&s;ecuted.</P>
<P>And the di&s;appointment of our va&s;t Expecta|tions helps to encrea&s;e our di&s;dain of the empty Trifle, and makes us afflict and rebuke our &s;elves
<PB N="58" REF="34">for our own great E&s;teem and eager De&s;ire of it: We cannot forbear to call our &s;elves Fools, for admiring &s;o much a thing of &s;o little worth. Hence it is, that <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays of &s;uch things, they are both <HI>Vanity and Vexation of Spirit:</HI> That is, they have but very little Goodne&s;s in them, and it greatly vexes us to find this through our great Expectations from them.</P>
<P>Again, let us con&s;ider how very frail and weak the&s;e things are, as well as empty and poor. They are the tendere&s;t and feeble&s;t things in this World, and are mo&s;t ea&s;ily of all things corrupted and &s;poiled. A Drop of Affliction is able to imbit|ter even an Ocean of them. Let but a Finger ach, let the Humour be but in any &s;mall matter cro&s;s'd, and the Wretch lo&s;es all &s;en&s;e and reli&s;h of his Plea&s;ures: A new De&s;ire &s;poils the grateful and plea&s;ing Reli&s;h of what we enjoy. The&s;e are things very ea&s;ily &s;poil'd, and therefore mu&s;t be very frequently &s;o, in a Life &s;o expo&s;ed to Mi&s;ery and Affliction as this is. The Evils which Man|kind are born to endure are &s;o numerous, and at|tend us &s;o clo&s;ely, that we can hardly ever enjoy a pure and undi&s;turbed Plea&s;ure. How unrea|&s;onable is it then, that a Man &s;hould give up him&s;elf wholly to the&s;e?</P>
<P>Again, we &s;hould con&s;ider, of how fading and tran&s;itory a Nature the&s;e things are. That they do as it were go as they come, they ha&s;ten to their End as they grow to their Height, and <HI>pe|ri&s;h in the u&s;ing,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.22. Every thing in this World is in a continual flux and change, and then our Plea&s;ures in the u&s;ing them mu&s;t needs be very tran&s;itory too. And be|&s;ides,
<PB N="59" REF="34">the meer weakne&s;s of the faculty makes it &s;oon a weary even of Plea&s;ure, and then 'tis no longer Plea&s;ure. If our Plea&s;ure be very &s;trong and brisk 'tis &s;oon at an end, if it la&s;t long 'tis dull and le&s;s plea&s;ing. It is truly &s;aid of the <HI>Plea|&s;ures of &s;in they are but for a &s;ea&s;on:</HI> They have but their times to plea&s;e; they can do this but in a Fit, they are but for a few moments Entertain|ment: But then how fooli&s;h and unrea&s;onable is it, to &s;et our Hearts on &s;uch things! to engage and employ a Soul capable of far higher Delights, wholly about &s;uch low and poor things! an im|mortal Soul about things of &s;o weak and uncer|tain, and &s;o tran&s;itory and &s;hort a Duration. This is nece&s;&s;arily to deceive it, and to expo&s;e it to Sorrow and Vexation, in&s;tead of making it hap|py. Which leads me to the &s;econd ju&s;t Preju|dice, mention'd again&s;t an inordinate Love of &s;en|&s;ual Plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>Which was the great mi&s;chief that this does con&s;tantly bring with it. The&s;e are things that can|not po&s;&s;ibly make us happy; and the inordinate Love of them, certainly brings a great deal of Vexation and Mi&s;ery. I &s;hall repre&s;ent this mat|ter &s;omewhat particularly, that we may be the more &s;en&s;ible of it.</P>
<P N="1">1. Such an inordinate Love of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures as hath been de&s;cribed, will prove extreamly pre|judicial to our outward Condition, and Pro&s;pe|rity in this World. This will appear in &s;everal re&s;pects upon a little con&s;ideration. It tends to Poverty, Contempt and Sickne&s;s, and &s;o to de|prive Men of the means, or of the reli&s;h of their Plea&s;ures, and all this may de&s;ervedly be accoun|ted a great deal of Mi&s;chief.</P>
<PB N="60" REF="35">
<P>A Voluptuous humour is carele&s;s too, 'tis &s;oft and lazy, uncapable of Indu&s;try and Labour, 'tis giddy and uncon&s;tant. Thus it makes a Man neg|lect his Intere&s;ts, and he either mi&s;&s;es the Op|portunities of Advantage, or makes but little ad|vantage of them; and 'tis u&s;ually a very prodigal and expen&s;ive Humour too: Nature and moderate Plea&s;ure are &s;atisfied with little Expence, but un|govern'd Lu&s;t and exce&s;&s;ive Appetite, require and &s;quander away a great deal: but in the&s;e ways a Man mu&s;t needs be expo&s;ed to Poverty, the&s;e ways will hinder a Man nece&s;&s;arily from gaining much, and will wa&s;te the large&s;t Revenues. Ac|cordingly the wi&s;e Man &s;ays, <HI>He that loveth Plea&s;ure &s;hall be a poor Man,</HI> Prov. 21.17. And <HI>the Drunkard and Glutton &s;hall come to poverty,</HI> Prov. 23.2. And by another vicious Sen&s;uality, he &s;ays, <HI>a Man &s;hall be brought to a Mor&s;el of Bread,</HI> Prov. 6.26.</P>
<P>And he that follows his Plea&s;ures to his own Ruine and the Hurt of his Neighbour, &s;hall lo&s;e all Reputation and E&s;teem in the World. He &s;hall be utterly de&s;pi&s;ed who comes thus to be poor. He may be flatter'd and attended while his E&s;tate la&s;ts, but when that is gone, tho&s;e that &s;eem'd Friends will for&s;ake, and tho&s;e that pre|tended re&s;pect will de&s;pi&s;e him.</P>
<P>In a little time too of following exce&s;&s;ive Plea|&s;ures, the &s;tronge&s;t Con&s;titution will be crazed; and then every little Impo&s;ition puts it out of Order; then the remainder of Life is encombred with Pains and Di&s;ea&s;es, and perhaps the merry Sinner makes ha&s;t into the Du&s;t, and drops by an untimely Death.</P>
<PB N="61" REF="35">
<P>Further, with the&s;e mi&s;chievous Effects it is ea&s;ie to &s;ee, that the inordinate and exce&s;&s;ive Pro|&s;ecution of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, is very pernicious to our Plea&s;ures them&s;elves. Does not the &s;quan|dring away an E&s;tate, deprive a Man too of the means to maintain the&s;e? And does not the De&s;tru|ction of Health nece&s;&s;arily &s;poil the reli&s;h of them? with a moderate and regular U&s;e of the&s;e, we &s;hall enjoy them longe&s;t, and ta&s;te them be&s;t. They are certainly receiv'd with greate&s;t Gu&s;t and Delight, while the Nece&s;&s;ities and Conveniences of Nature are &s;erv'd, and all that follows after the &s;atisfaction of the&s;e, is but Drudgery and Wearine&s;s. If there be any Plea&s;ure at all 'tis ve|ry faint, unnatural and forced. With a moderate Enjoyment of Plea&s;ures, the Appetite is main|tain'd, and kept vigorous, and lively; but with exce&s;s it is pall'd and overthrown. The diligent and vertuous Per&s;on who intermixes fervent De|votion, moderate Labour, and prudent Care with his &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, He has certainly the plea|&s;ante&s;t Life of any Man in the World. The&s;e things are them&s;elves very plea&s;ant to him in their Turns and Sea&s;ons, and they make his Plea&s;ures reli&s;h the better too. No man can with any true or great Delight, follow long an uninterrupted Cour&s;e of Plea&s;ure: This it &s;elf becomes an un|ea&s;ie, as well as it is a vile and ba&s;e Drudgery to him, that follows it alone. But what an unrea|&s;onable Folly is it then, to give up our &s;elves in|ordinately, and intirely to this! To de&s;troy what we love, and &s;poil and deprive our &s;elves of that which we mo&s;t value and admire! Thus we &s;ee an inordinate Love of the&s;e, is highly pre|judicial
<PB N="62" REF="36">to our outward Pro&s;perity, and well-being.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is yet further extreamly mi&s;chievous and prejudicial to the Soul of Man: And that in the&s;e three re&s;pects following, which I &s;hall briefly evi|dence and conclude.</P>
<P N="1">(1.) It di&s;turbs the Peace and Tranquility of the Mind. A Man under the power of this un|happy Di&s;ea&s;e, is always like a troubled Sea, is never at re&s;t. His Pa&s;&s;ions are ea&s;ily &s;tirr'd, they are moved with every Object; and they are vio|lent and unruly, and continually hurry him to Exce&s;s and Folly: So that between the Violence of his Lu&s;ts, and the remor&s;e of his Con&s;cience, he is never quiet or at ea&s;e: Now he is pining and langui&s;hing after that which he vehemently de|&s;ires, wrack'd with the Impatience and Violence of his De&s;ire: When he has obtain'd he plays the fool with his Enjoyment, hurts and wounds him|&s;elf with his Plea&s;ures; and as the Tran&s;port of Delight is &s;oon over, &s;o it ends with a tormen|ting Sting. The Moments of the Enjoyment and Plea&s;ure are very few, and &s;hort, but the Tor|ments of De&s;ire are perhaps long before he ob|tains, and tho&s;e of Remor&s;e longer after it, for the Exce&s;&s;es and Guilt of his Enjoyment. The voluptuous Sinner lives but a very unhappy Life. When his tran&s;itory and &s;hort Fit of Delight is over, his Con&s;cience calls him to a &s;ad reckoning for what he has done: And the&s;e are very painful Thoughts, which follow his Sins clo&s;e at the Heels. I have been ungrateful, offen&s;ive, and injurious to a good and gracious God, my kind and bounte|ous Friend. I have needle&s;&s;y provok'd again&s;t
<PB N="63" REF="36">my &s;elf an Almighty an Eternal wrath: I have de&s;erv'd his Vengeance, who has the di&s;po&s;al of me for ever: I have then for a trifle, for that which was gone by that time I knew I had it, expo&s;ed my &s;elf to everla&s;ting Pain and Mi&s;ery. The&s;e are grievous Thoughts; thus does guilty Plea&s;ure <HI>in the end bite as a Serpent, and &s;ting like an Adder,</HI> as the wi&s;e Man &s;ays, <HI>Prov.</HI> 20.17. Since 'tis impo&s;&s;ible, that a Man &s;hould always keep him&s;elf intoxicated with his Plea&s;ures, &s;uch Thoughts as the&s;e will often find times to invade and afflict him. Now how much better and hap|pier is it for one to have but moderate well-go|vern'd and ea&s;ie De&s;ires and Appetites, and to en|joy and u&s;e this World as not abu&s;ing it: That he might &s;o have a calm and compo&s;ed Mind, and never have occa&s;ion to fall out with him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) A further Mi&s;chief this does the Mind, is, that it commonly hinders a Man from all wor|thy and honourable Improvement. It certainly bla&s;ts this, to let the Love of Plea&s;ures rule and govern us in our Youth. He that gives him&s;elf up to his Plea&s;ures, will not be at lei&s;ure enough for Improvement: He cannot be diligent or in|du&s;trious enough to gain a good or uncommon degree of any honourable or u&s;eful Accompli&s;h|ment. The Soul capable of the bright Ornaments of Knowledge, Piety and Vertue is in &s;uch a Man condemn'd to vulgar Ignorance, to vile Pro|fanene&s;s, and many di&s;paraging Vices. The&s;e will grow apace in it, and to a mon&s;trous Size, but no one becoming or u&s;eful Vertue will grow there. This &s;ays the wi&s;e and learned Heathen <HI>(Cic. de Senect)</HI> <Q><HI>Cum Homini &s;ive Nature &s;ive
<PB N="64" REF="37">quis Deus,</HI> &amp;c. when Nature, or &s;ome bountiful God has given to Man a Soul, which is the No|ble&s;t and mo&s;t Excellent thing of all that he po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;es; there is nothing &s;o much an Enemy and a Bane to this as &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure;</Q> and he gives this rea&s;on for &s;aying &s;o: <Q>Becau&s;e under the Reign of Plea&s;ure no one Vertue can po&s;&s;ibly thrive or live.</Q> The voluptuous Man is u&s;ually the mo&s;t u&s;ele&s;s and in&s;ignificant Per&s;on in the World. He is commonly good for nothing; if he be put at any time with much ado upon any thing that is great, he &s;poils it in the doing. He can neither be good Magi&s;trate, nor good Subject; good Ma&s;ter, nor good Servant; good Patriot, nor good Friend. He is only fit to be the Scorn of Fools too as he is of all that are Wi&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) To conclude; the Inordinate Love and Pro|&s;ecution of &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures does the Soul of Man this further and mo&s;t fatal Mi&s;chief, that it both forfeits, and renders him unfit for his everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. The Spirit in Man is capable to en|joy and delight in the Father of Spirits: The im|mortal Soul might enjoy the eternal Felicities of Heaven: But when po&s;&s;e&s;t and govern'd by this &s;ordid and mi&s;chievous Di&s;po&s;ition, 'tis both un|fit and unworthy to enjoy that Happine&s;s. A &s;en&s;ual Soul that reli&s;hes nothing but &s;en&s;ual Plea|&s;ures, that has no delight in God, or in Exerci|&s;es of Piety and Vertue is not fit for Heaven; if it were admitted there, it would not be happy there. Therefore it mu&s;t lo&s;e eternal Happine&s;s. With|in a little while its abode, and conver&s;e in this World will be at an end, and it mu&s;t be for ever &s;epa|rated from all that it can delight in, and therefore
<PB N="65" REF="37">mu&s;t be mi&s;erable for ever. Be&s;ides, the Sins that attend this Di&s;po&s;ition of Soul do continually for|feit the heavenly Happine&s;s: It is expre&s;ly &s;aid of tho&s;e that practice them, they have <HI>no Inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven,</HI> Eph. 5.5. But how great a Folly is it to lo&s;e the rich and &s;ub&s;tantial Joys of Heaven, the everla&s;ting Plea&s;ures there, for a few &s;hort fits of the poor and empty Plea|&s;ures of this World! How unhappily and ill does the &s;en&s;ual Sinner govern him&s;elf! Who mo&s;t ea|gerly pur&s;ues Plea&s;ure indeed, but &s;o madly, that he every way mi&s;&s;es of it. He corrupts and &s;poils the Plea&s;ures of this World, ruins and allays them with remor&s;e and Guilt; and he forfeits and lo&s;es the everla&s;ting Plea&s;ures which &s;hall reward Reli|gion and Vertue. The&s;e are indeed very dange|gerous things, and mightily apt to betray us into the greate&s;t Follies; and there is no Man can be &s;ecure again&s;t their fatal Charms, but he who is con&s;tantly fortified by the Grace of God. This, then, let us now and at all times very earne&s;tly Im|plore.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="66" REF="38">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed God! Thou art Good and doe&s;t good; and thou delighte&s;t in the Happine&s;s of thy Crea|tures. Oh that Men would Prai&s;e the Lord for his Goodne&s;s, and for his wonderful Works to the Chil|dren of Men. To Mankind thou ha&s;t been exceeding Bountiful; in the noble Endowments of our Nature, and in the large Provi&s;ion thou ha&s;t made in the World for our Support and Comfort; we mu&s;t &s;ay O Lord, the Earth is full of thy Goodne&s;s; Oh that we had a due Sen&s;e of all thy Mercies; that they might engage us to love Thee, the Fountain of good: Grant that all the good, and comfortable things we enjoy here may rai&s;e our E&s;teem and Love of Thee, who art the Giver of them, and the Author of their Good|ne&s;s. Give us the Grace we be&s;eech Thee, &s;o to u&s;e this World as not abu&s;ing it: Make us to behave our &s;elves Piou&s;ly, Righteou&s;ly, and Soberly in the u&s;e of all that thou give&s;t us. Leave us not we be&s;eech Thee to our &s;elves among the Allurements of this World, le&s;t we be drawn to Sin again&s;t Thee, by what &s;hould engage us to Love and Obey; and le&s;t we hurt our &s;elves with the things thou ha&s;t given for our Com|fort and Support. Sanctifie we pray Thee our Na|ture, and make us to take delight in thy Law; let that be our plea&s;ing Entertainment Day and Night; let that be &s;weeter to us than Honey from the Comb; that &s;o we may keep thy Commandments, and be &s;o &s;teady and diligent herein, as to find that there is in it great Reward. Make us to &s;ee the Goodne&s;s thou ha&s;t exerci&s;ed in the Commandments thou ha&s;t gi|ven us, as well as in the Provi&s;ion thou ha&s;t made for us, and teach us thy Statutes. Grant that we may
<PB N="67" REF="38">&s;o Love and keep thy Commandments, as that we may con&s;tantly enjoy the Plea&s;ure and Happine&s;s of a Good Con&s;cience; &s;o as that the Light of thy Coun|tenance may be lifted up upon us; which will give us more joy and &s;atisfaction than the greate&s;t encrea&s;e of worldly Goods could do. Give us we pray Thee, a great Sen&s;e of tho&s;e excellent Joys and Plea&s;ures which are at thy right hand for evermore; and let the hope of the&s;e excite us to the greate&s;t Labours, and encourage us to perform the mo&s;t difficult Duties, that we &s;hall be call'd to now: Let the Thoughts and Expectations of them wean our Hearts from things below, and make us &s;et our Affections chiefly on things above; and influence us &s;o to pur&s;ue, and u&s;e the good things of this World, as that we may not forfeit and lo&s;e tho&s;e better things that are to come. We be&s;eech Thee for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, O Lord, to pardon all our pa&s;t Folly and Sin, in the pur&s;uit or Enjoyment of any thing in this World: Let us never be given up to any vile Affections, or worldly Lu&s;ts; but keep thou us we be&s;eech Thee, by the Power of thy Grace, through Faith unto Sal|vation.</P>
<P>We pray unto Thee for all Mankind, that they may know, and love, and prai&s;e Thee, and partake of thy abundant Goodne&s;s. Let thy Favour be ex|erci&s;ed to thy Church in a plentiful Effu&s;ion of the Gifts and Graces of thy Holy Spirit; bring into the way of Truth all &s;uch as have err'd and are deceived, and purge thy Church from all fal&s;e Doctrine, Here&s;ie, and Schi&s;m, from whatever is di&s;plea&s;ing to Thee, and contrary to its Pro&s;perity and Peace. Ble&s;s the Na|tions to which we belong, Crown our Year with thy Goodne&s;s, and let the Clouds drop Fatne&s;s upon us; and give us the Grace to u&s;e the Provi&s;ion thou af|forde&s;t Soberly and Thankfully; di&s;po&s;e them whom thou ha&s;t made Rich in this Worlds Goods, to do good with their abundance, and to Communicate to the relief of &s;uch as are in Want. We pray Thee Ble&s;s our
<PB N="68" REF="39">King with all per&s;onal Ble&s;&s;ings, direct him in his Ad|mini&s;trations, that he may plea&s;e and honour Thee, and promote our Happine&s;s and Welfare; teach us all that are Subjects our Duty towards Thee, and to|wards him and one another; that Piety, Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, Obedience, and Peace may abound among us. Ble&s;s and Defend the Royal Family, Cloath all their Enemies with Shame, and in their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion let the Crown of the&s;e Kingdoms ever flouri&s;h. We recom|mend to thy Mercy all that are related to us, all our Friends and Benefactors, and even our Enemies, and them that hate us; do them all Good according to thy bounteous Goodne&s;s and their Nece&s;&s;ities. We render Thee humble and hearty Thanks, for all the Mercies of our Lives, for tho&s;e of this Day in parti|cular, e&s;pecially for the Plea&s;ures of thy Hou&s;e, and the Benefit of thine Ordinances. Be thou we pray Thee, our Protection this Night, and guide and a&s;&s;i&s;t us by thy Grace, through all the remainder of our Days. Make us fruitful in all good Works to thy Glory, and accept us in Je&s;us Chri&s;t the righteous: In who&s;e Name we pre&s;ent all our Prayers; and in who&s;e own Words we &s;um up our De&s;ires, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="69" REF="39">
<HEAD>THE Character and Remedies OF Covetou&s;ne&s;s.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Heb. 13.5.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Let your Conver&s;ation be without Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s; and be content with &s;uch things as ye have: For he hath &s;aid, I will never leave thee, nor for&s;ake thee.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THERE are &s;ome Sins which have been anciently call'd deadly ones, as being pe|culiarly &s;o; by rea&s;on that they contain greater Guilt, and are of more dangerous and mortal con&s;equence to the Soul than many others.
<PB N="70" REF="40">Among&s;t that number this may ju&s;tly be reckon'd one which the Apo&s;tle in this Text forbids, in &s;ay|ing, <HI>Let your Conver&s;ation be without Covetou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> This Sin involves a world of Guilt in it &s;elf, as will appear in a true Repre&s;entation of it: And be&s;ides, it is commonly a very fruitful Spring, and cau&s;e of many other Sins. The Holy Scripture &s;ufficiently warns us of this, and tells us, <HI>Who&s;o maketh ha&s;te to be rich &s;hall not be Innocent.</HI> Prov. 28.20. and, <HI>They that will be rich fall into Tem|ptation, and a &s;nare, and into many fooli&s;h and hurt|ful Lu&s;ts, which drown Men in De&s;truction and Per|dition.</HI> 1 Tim. 6.9, 10.</P>
<P>And as this Sin is very guilty and hurtful, &s;o 'tis that which Mankind are generally very liable to. The weakne&s;s, and many Nece&s;&s;ities of this Life, the Suitablene&s;s of the things of this World to our pre&s;ent Condition, and the power which Money has to procure them, or at lea&s;t is thought to have, are things mightily apt to betray Men in|to this Sin: And further, we are &s;trongly temp|ted to it, by the common great E&s;teem of Wealth among Men: When we &s;ee nothing valued almo&s;t in the World but this, or at lea&s;t nothing with|out it: That Wealth is nece&s;&s;ary to maintain in a corrupt and degenerate Age, the Reverence of Per&s;ons Sacred, to protect the mo&s;t innocent and harmle&s;s Per&s;ons; and to procure E&s;teem and Regard, for the mo&s;t Glorious and u&s;e|ful Vertues and Accompli&s;hments. The&s;e things &s;hew the E&s;teem of Wealth to be Exorbitantly great among Men, and that Covetou&s;ne&s;s does com|monly prevail; and the&s;e render the Sin the more likely to infect others, and to prevail further. It
<PB N="71" REF="40">is of u&s;e then at all times to caution Men again&s;t this Sin, but is e&s;pecially nece&s;&s;ary in &s;uch as ours.</P>
<P>In &s;peaking to this Subject, I &s;hall confine my &s;elf to the&s;e two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To give the Character or De&s;cription of this Sin of Covetou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. To propo&s;e &s;uch Arguments and Con&s;ide|rations as are proper to remedy and cure it.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;hall give the Character or De&s;cription of this Sin of Covetou&s;ne&s;s. And there will be a double Advantage in the having that repre&s;ented to us: For hereby we &s;hall know when we are guilty of it; and this is nece&s;&s;ary to be told us; for the heart of Man is deceitful, as well as wicked, and often hides from him&s;elf the Faults he is guilty of. Be&s;ides, we &s;hall &s;ee, in the true Character, the ugly Features of this Sin (as we may &s;peak); and &s;o it may be hoped, that the very de&s;cribing it truly may be of &s;ome u&s;e towards di&s;&s;wading Men from it, in giving its Character. I &s;hall not be much concern'd, if I do not particularly mention every line and &s;troke of its Features, provided I do but mention the mo&s;t of the&s;e, and enough to know this Sin, and its deformity by; and thus much I hope I &s;hall do.</P>
<P N="1">1. Covetou&s;ne&s;s is attended with, and con&s;i&s;ts partly in an eager and impatient De&s;ire of ha|ving the Wealth of this World. The Apo&s;tle tea|ches us to make this a part of its Character by our Text, where he &s;ets it in oppo&s;ition to a Content|ment
<PB N="72" REF="41">with the Portion which it plea&s;es God to give us: <HI>Let your Conver&s;ation be without Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s;</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and be Content with &s;uch things as ye have.</HI> He that does calmly acquie&s;ce in the di&s;po&s;al of God in all Conditions is contented in all: But he who cannot do this, but di&s;orderly and impatiently de&s;ires the increa&s;e of his Porti|on is Covetous. A Mind dejected and troubled with a &s;trait and mean Fortune, or which is di&s;|&s;pirited thereby, and grows indifferent and li&s;tle&s;s in the Service of God is not free from this Sin; 'tis very Su&s;picious and likely &s;uch a Man &s;erves God only for Gain, and &s;o grows carele&s;s and a weary of his Work and Duty, when he &s;ees him&s;elf di&s;|appointed of this. He that murmurs again&s;t God for his Wants, and accu&s;es his Providence of inju&s;tice or unkindne&s;s, becau&s;e he lies under &s;ome nece&s;&s;ity is guilty of Covetou&s;ne&s;s: And &s;o the Poor may be guilty of it, as well as the Rich; and he that hardly has enough to &s;upply his Ne|ce&s;&s;ities, as well as he that de&s;ires to have more than enough. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> could &s;ay, He had <HI>learnt both to be full, and to be hungry, both to abound, and to &s;uffer need, and in what&s;oever State he was to be therewith Content.</HI> Phil. 4.11, 12. This was a State of mind altogether free from any &s;tain of this Sin. We mu&s;t &s;ubmit even to Want, when it plea&s;es God to afflict us with it. Which does not forbid all de&s;ire of Supply, nor re&s;train us from Prayer to God for it: but it requires that our De&s;ires be mode&s;t, not exce&s;&s;ive, patient, not ha&s;ty; and that our Prayers be always &s;ea&s;on'd with Submi&s;&s;ion and Re&s;ignation to the good Plea&s;ure of God.
<PB N="73" REF="41">Under this impatient De&s;ire of worldly Goods, which will denominate a Man covetous, mu&s;t be al&s;o reckon'd that di&s;po&s;ition of Mind, which is apt to quarrel with our Neighbour for every lit|tle <HI>Punctilio</HI> of Right: When every hairs-breadth of Property is more dear to a Man, than Obedi|ence and Charity, and even the lea&s;t Encroach|ment upon it from the Magi&s;trate by nece&s;&s;ity of State, or from a private Neighbour by mi&s;take, can inflame a Man into a violent Rage, and an end|le&s;s Contention to retrieve or avenge it. This is that very thing which our Saviour checks and forbids, when he &s;ays, <HI>Re&s;i&s;t not evil,</HI> and explains him&s;elf, by the In&s;tances he mentions, to mean light and tolerable Evils; in <HI>Matt.</HI> 5.38, 39, 40, 41. Ver&s;es. In which parcel of his Di&s;cour&s;e, as a very learned and pious Divine of our Church un|der&s;tands it; Our Saviour de&s;igns to teach, and oblige his Di&s;ciples, altogether to remit and take patiently any tolerable and &s;mall Injuries that may be done to them as private Per&s;ons whether in their Body and Reputation; or in their E&s;tate and Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; or in their Privileges and Immuni|ties. He &s;peaks of private Injuries, and &s;uch as are light, and may be born by a wi&s;e Man without any con&s;iderable Prejudice. And he forbids any di&s;turbance of publick Peace, by promoting Sedi|tions, Factions and Rebellions again&s;t the Magi|&s;trate, for any &s;uch &s;mall Encroachment: And the going to Law with a Neighbour for every &s;mall matter not, only when the Right is uncer|tain, but even al&s;o when 'tis certain on our Side. And the&s;e things he forbids, not only when there is no danger of inviting another like Injury by &s;uch
<PB N="74" REF="42">patience, but al&s;o even when there is &s;uch a like|lihood; which things, I think, are mo&s;t undeni|ably clear'd and prov'd to belong to that Text, by that Excellent Authour, (Dr. <HI>Clagett</HI> Serm. on the place in 2d. Vol.) It is, as I &s;aid, a De|gree of Covetou&s;ne&s;s, to be impatient under our real Nece&s;&s;ities; but, I think, it mu&s;t be reckon'd the lowe&s;t Degree of this Sin, while it does not break out in any &s;uitable Actions: It &s;peaks a Heart too much &s;et on this World, not duely re|&s;ign'd to the di&s;po&s;al of God, and di&s;tru&s;tful of his Providence and Promi&s;es.</P>
<P>And tho' it may be the lowe&s;t Degree of this Sin, yet, as it is with all the le&s;&s;er Degrees of Sin in any other Ca&s;es, it does greatly di&s;po&s;e and pre|pare a Man for the gro&s;&s;er and more guilty De|grees of it. And from hence, 'tis e&s;pecially ea&s;ie and common, to proceed to that which I &s;hall men|tion, as the next Character of this Sin; which is this.</P>
<P N="2">2. Covetou&s;ne&s;s will make a Man pur&s;ue his Gain by any manner of Ill ways and Methods of getting. It will break through all the Commands of God, either in Omi&s;&s;ion of Duty, or the Com|mi&s;&s;ion of what is forbid, to get or keep his be|loved Gain: It will make a Man break his Pro|mi&s;es to Men, betray his Tru&s;t, cheat and impo&s;e upon the Ignorant, oppre&s;s the Weak, extort from the Nece&s;&s;itous, and deny even his Faith in God for the &s;ake of getting: This produces fal&s;e Oaths, Monopolies, and fraudulent Bargains for gain: Is the Parent and Inventour of all tho&s;e guilty Arts and Methods too commonly practi&s;ed in Trade, and which are too many to be particu|larly
<PB N="75" REF="42">mention'd. Hence our Saviour &s;ays, <HI>No man can &s;erve God and Mammon,</HI> and the Apo&s;tle tells us, <HI>If any man love the World, the love of the Fa|ther is not in him.</HI> Men may endeavour to help them&s;elves out of Nece&s;&s;ity and Straits, and every one ought to endeavour this with all fitting Dili|gence: but we mu&s;t not u&s;e unlawful means to &s;upply even our wants; As that good Man plainly intimates, in praying that he might not be poor, le&s;t he &s;hould thereby be tempted to <HI>&s;teal, and take the Name of God in vain,</HI> Prov. 30.9. The being poor, he knew, would not ju&s;tifie any ill Arts to provide for him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is the common Property and Character of this Vice, that it makes a Man un&s;atiable in his de&s;ire of Gain. It will not &s;atisfie this to have enough, but it <HI>will be Rich;</HI> and when a Man is in|deed Rich, it will not let him &s;ee or account that he is &s;o, but makes him greedy of getting more &s;till. From the &s;upply of Nece&s;&s;ity, it puts him on to provide for Plenty, and when he is gotten thither it drives him on &s;till to pur&s;ue Superfluity. The Holy Scripture directs us, That <HI>having food and raiment we &s;hould be therewith content.</HI> 1 Tim. 6.8. When the Providence of God hath given a Man a &s;ufficient portion to &s;erve in a good mea&s;ure all the real Exigencies of his Condition and Station, and enough to make a competent Provi&s;ion for his Dependants; he &s;hould know when he has e|nough and be thankful, and contented not to en|crea&s;e any further: Or, if his Wealth does &s;till encrea&s;e by God's Ble&s;&s;ing upon his Bu&s;ine&s;s and Labour, then he &s;hould &s;eparate and employ the more to &s;erve the Glory of God, and the Nece&s;&s;i|ties
<PB N="76" REF="43">of poor Neighbours. But the covetous Man is for endle&s;s encrea&s;ing, and proves what <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays of &s;uch, <HI>He that loveth Silver &s;hall not be &s;a|tisfied with Silver, nor he that loveth Abundance with Encrea&s;e,</HI> Eccle&s;. 5.10. And tho', as that wi&s;e Man &s;ays, <HI>He has neither Child nor Brother, yet is there no end of his Labour, neither is his gree|dy Eye ever &s;atisfied with Riches,</HI> Eccle&s;. 4.8.</P>
<P N="4">4. The covetous Man, e&s;pecially as &s;uch, makes the getting of Wealth the main end and de&s;ign of his Life. A Man's ultimate and chief End gives him his chief Denomination: And as the End of a voluptuous Man, as &s;uch, is Plea&s;ure; the End of an ambitious Man is Authority, and Honour; &s;o the End of a covetous Man is Gain, and Encrea&s;e of Wealth. All his Thoughts and Care are engag'd about this: Early and late it is his main Bu&s;ine&s;s, when alone to contrive, when in Company to pur&s;ue his Gain. He values and e&s;teems nothing el&s;e; accounts it the one thing ne|ce&s;&s;ary to be rich; and values him&s;elf and his Neighbour only according to the mea&s;ure of his Wealth. The pur&s;uit of this often &s;ets by the Wor&s;hip of God, makes him &s;ometimes neglect a due Attendance on the Publick, and more often the performance of private and Family-Wor&s;hip. Or el&s;e the Love and Care of Wealth &s;o engages his Heart, and devours his Soul, that all his De|votions are cold and formal, and he <HI>draws nigh to God with his Lips, and wor&s;hips him with his Mouth, while his Heart is after his Covetou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> This &s;hows it &s;elf too in making him &s;oon a weary of a Holy-day, and longing for the End of it, that he might return to his worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s: Like
<PB N="77" REF="43">them the Prophet &s;peaks of, who &s;aid, <HI>When will the new Moon be gone that we may &s;ell Corn, and the Sabbath that we may &s;et forth Wheat,</HI> Amos 8.5. The covetous Man's benefits are mere Bargains: And if ever he does a kindne&s;s, he thereby de&s;igns and hopes to receive a greater; and as <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>If a Man eats his Mor&s;els, he &s;hall be forced to vomit them up again,</HI> Prov. 23.8. He puts a mighty Value upon any kindne&s;s he does, and ne|ver thinks it enough requited. If he employs the Poor, 'tis not for their Benefit &s;o much as his own; and he would not help them to work for Food, but that they might help him by their Labour to be rich. And that he employs them with this Humour and De&s;ign, commonly appears in this, that he does it with &s;evere Extortion; he exacts hard Labour, is never &s;atisfied with what they do; and will have it done too for as &s;mall Wages and Reward as he can po&s;&s;ibly put them off with; and he never thinks they are paid little enough for their Labour. If he &s;erves his Country in any publick Office, 'tis only to &s;erve him&s;elf more; and you &s;hall commonly &s;ee him take more care to di&s;charge his Office, &s;o as may mo&s;t promote his own Gain, than &s;o as he may be&s;t promote the publick Good. If he is not in Office, or not in &s;o gainful an one as he would be, nothing is done to plea&s;e him, and e&s;pecially, if the Provi|dence of God cro&s;&s;es Affairs with ill Succe&s;s, all is Treachery and Wickedne&s;s: Thus by clamour|ing again&s;t others he would recommend him&s;elf into their places, but all this while 'tis the Pro|fit and Wages that allure him, and for the&s;e he would have them. When you &s;ee him deny him|&s;elf
<PB N="78" REF="44">for the good of his Country, or give his &s;er|vice to the publick Benefit, without Reward or Advantage to him&s;elf; then you may believe him not covetous, but really concern'd for the Ad|vantage of the Publick. Thus the covetous Man lives in the World, as if he came into it for no|thing el&s;e but to gather Wealth. And &s;eeks to have Wealth that he may have it, not for any good U&s;e that he ever intends to make of it.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, This Vice where it dwells makes a Man always unwilling to u&s;e and employ his Riches in tho&s;e things which are the right Ends of having them. Sometimes indeed, while a Man is in the pur&s;uit of Wealth, he may think what good he would do if he could get a great Portion of it; but 'tis very common, even for the &s;ame Man when he is grown rich, to do no good at all with his Riches. The covetous Man either hoards them up in a dead Bank, or &s;ends them out, and employs them only to get more. He either ut|terly neglects, or at lea&s;t is very niggardly and &s;pa|ring in any right or good u&s;e of what he has. It is not only he, then, who covets his Neighbours Goods, or comes unju&s;tly by them, that is covetous, but he al&s;o that will not u&s;e what he has as he ought, but <HI>with-holds more than is meet,</HI> as <HI>Solo|mon</HI> &s;peaks, Prov. 11.24.</P>
<P>The right u&s;e of Wealth is three-fold, re&s;pect|ing either God, our Neighbour, or our Selves. It ought to be u&s;ed, in the fir&s;t place, Religiou&s;ly, for the Honour and Glory of God, as far as it may &s;erve to this End. Some may, and &s;hould be &s;eparated to the direct Service of Religion, to en|courage, to promote the Practice of it by others,
<PB N="79" REF="44">and di&s;po&s;e and help them to glorifie and &s;erve God: Some may be employ'd to &s;upport, main|tain, and furni&s;h the Service of the Sanctuary: and Nece&s;&s;ity may &s;ometimes require a Charge to defend true Religion again&s;t the violent and un|ju&s;t A&s;&s;aults of its Enemies, or to propagate it a|mong them that are Strangers and Infidels.</P>
<P>For the &s;ake of our Neighbour, a man's Riches &s;hould be employ'd to promote Ju&s;tice, and Peace, and Quietne&s;s in the World: to a&s;&s;i&s;t the Prote|ction of the Weak, the relief of the oppre&s;&s;ed, and the righting of the injur'd. Charity requires the feeding of the Hungry, the comforting of the Sick, the teaching of the Ignorant, the correcting of the Vicious. And the Honour of God, and the Nece&s;&s;ities of our Country in general, or of a pri|vate Neighbour, may &s;ometimes require that we part with more to &s;erve them, than we can com|monly well &s;pare in an uncommon Ca&s;e and an ex|traordinary Exigence. We may be bound at &s;ome|times to retrench our ordinary Cour&s;e of Expence, tho' it be but moderate, and ju&s;t, and to put our &s;elves to a little inconvenience and want, to pre|vent a greater damage and prejudice to them. But the covetous Man is &s;o far from ever contri|buting to &s;uch things what he can well &s;pare, that he never willingly allows that: 'tis only by force if he allows any thing to them, and all manner of Arts he will u&s;e to get off as cheap as he can. If he prevails with him&s;elf &s;o far as to give any thing voluntarily to &s;uch purpo&s;es, 'tis always much le&s;s in proportion than he is able to al|low.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="45">
<P>Further, as the U&s;e of Wealth re&s;pects our &s;elves &s;o it may, and ought to be employ'd to furni&s;h our &s;elves with things nece&s;&s;ary and con|venient for us, and becoming our Office and Sta|tion in the World: And this is to reach to all our ju&s;t Dependants, tho&s;e whom we are bound to take care of, and provide for, who are to be rec|kon'd as parts of our &s;elves; as Wife, Children, and Servants. But the covetous Man is negligent or too &s;paring in the&s;e matters. He will perhaps hardly allow him&s;elf the Food, Cloaths and Con|veniences that his Per&s;on requires, or the Expen|ces which become his Station; will hardly allow Children what is nece&s;&s;ary to their Health, and good Education, and mi&s;erably pinches his Ser|vants in the Provi&s;ion he ought to make for them. It is often &s;een, that a Man &s;hall pretend, to cloak and ju&s;tifie his Covetou&s;ne&s;s, that all his care and &s;aving is to provide for tho&s;e that depend upon him: when yet he will allow them no comfort in what he has, he does not as he &s;hould provide for them, but &s;aves it from them too as long as he can.</P>
<P>Thus I have, as I think, &s;ufficiently de&s;crib'd this Vice: Only thus much more I de&s;ire may be ob&s;erv'd to this purpo&s;e; That as all the&s;e Chara|cters together, do certainly &s;peak a Man covetous, &s;o if they can be &s;eparated, each of them alone may do it.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the &s;econd Part of the Di&s;|cour&s;e, which is to propo&s;e tho&s;e Arguments that are fit to remedy this &s;in. And, I may &s;ay, there are as many Arguments again&s;t it, as there be Ar|ticles in our Holy Religion; for every one of the&s;e
<PB N="81" REF="45">do condemn it. He therefore that lives in the Practice of this Sin, lives in an utter Defiance of his Religion, and plainly contradicts the Faith of a Chri&s;tian. But I mu&s;t content my &s;elf to urge but a few Arguments here, and therefore I &s;hall chu&s;e &s;ome of tho&s;e, which I &s;uppo&s;e may be mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible to the covetous Per&s;on, and &s;o mo&s;t apt to prevail with him.</P>
<P N="1">1. Let us con&s;ider, again&s;t this Vice, the Va|nity of Wealth, and the little worth or u&s;efulne&s;s of it, even whil&s;t a Man yet has it in Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. It is a very high Conceit of the Sufficiency of this, which is one of the Cau&s;es that Men do &s;o gree|dily, and &s;o di&s;orderly covet it: They think in|deed, that <HI>Money an&s;wers all things,</HI> they a&s;cribe an Almightine&s;s to it, and <HI>the Rich Mans wealth is his &s;trong City, and as an high Wall in his own Conceit.</HI> Prov. 18.11. And upon the account of the Covetous Man's tru&s;t in his Riches, is this Sin call'd Idolatry. <HI>Col.</HI> 3.5. But alas how many very im|portant Nece&s;&s;ities have we attending us, even in this pre&s;ent Life, which this can afford us no help again&s;t!</P>
<P>They judge rightly, &s;aid the wi&s;e Morali&s;t <HI>(Plut.)</HI> who greatly e&s;teem and admire a va&s;t E&s;tate, if indeed Happine&s;s were a thing to be bought and &s;old. But (&s;ays he) Freedom from Grief is not a thing to be bought with Money, nor Magnani|mity, nor Con&s;tancy of Mind, nor a well order|ed vertuous Cour&s;e of Actions. He wi&s;ely men|tions the&s;e things as nece&s;&s;ary to our Happine&s;s, which things it is certain a Man's greate&s;t wealth
<PB N="82" REF="46">cannot purcha&s;e. Money in truth cannot pur|cha&s;e the calming of any violent Pa&s;&s;ions, the Peace and Tranquility of the Mind, nor the heal|ing of any of its unea&s;ie and &s;hameful Di&s;tempers. But if it makes a Man proud, as it frequently does, then it makes him the more liable to violent Pa&s;|&s;ions; and as it Admini&s;ters plentiful fuel to his Appetites, &s;o it commonly enflames them, and en|crea&s;es the Di&s;tempers of his Mind. Again, that excellent Authour ju&s;tly mentions it, as a great Di&s;paragement of Riches, that they cannot po&s;|&s;e&s;s a Man with a right E&s;timation, nor a mode|rate de&s;ire of them&s;elves: Nor can the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing even more of them than we need cure us of de|&s;iring &s;till more. Drink (&s;ays he) can allay and quench the Thir&s;t of Drink, and our Hunger will be &s;atisfied with a convenient and &s;mall Meal, but Riches gain'd in the greate&s;t abundance, cannot cure the de&s;ire of Riches; what is a Man the better then in that Ca&s;e for the having an abun|dance of them?</P>
<P>Riches cannot give a Man either the Mind and Will to u&s;e them, or the Wi&s;dom and Di&s;cretion to u&s;e them well. And many are &s;een not u&s;ing their wealth at all, nor doing them&s;elves any good with it, and others u&s;ing it it ill, and &s;o doing them&s;elves a great deal of harm. A Man thinks to make his Po&s;terity mighty happy in leaving them an abundance of Wealth, but without Wi&s;dom and Vertue, which all his E&s;tate cannot purcha&s;e; they &s;hall perhaps &s;oon &s;quander away the greate&s;t Revenues, they &s;hall not be at all the farther from Poverty for them: Or they &s;hall u&s;e their For|tunes,
<PB N="83" REF="46">but &s;o as to make their Follies and Vi|ces the more notorious and enormous, and them|&s;elves many ways the more unea&s;ie and un|happy.</P>
<P>The greate&s;t wealth cannot give the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;our Content or Tranquility of Mind: This is as &s;el|dom found in a great Fortune as a mean one, and perhaps more &s;eldom. Content does not en|crea&s;e in Proportion to the encrea&s;e of the E&s;tate; as Men commonly expect indeed it will do, but as commonly they experience the contrary. It is u&s;ual with the &s;hort and limited Goods of this World, that what provides for, and &s;upplies one Nece&s;&s;ity often begets another, and perhaps a great many more. But if we Fancy further Nece&s;&s;ities yet un&s;upplied, as we may do with the greate&s;t Acqui&s;itions, we &s;hall be little the better, or the more contented for all that we have gain'd. In vain certainly, do Men with endle&s;s Toil and Care pur&s;ue a &s;uperfluous Encrea&s;e: What is &s;uperflu|ous is not nece&s;&s;ary, and that which is not of u&s;e and nece&s;&s;ity to us commonly proves an Encum|brance.</P>
<P>Further, the greate&s;t wealth cannot &s;trengthen a feeble Body, nor make a crooked and deform'd one &s;trait or beautiful; it cannot add one lea&s;t part of a Cubit to a dwarfi&s;h Stature. And how helple&s;s is it commonly in the &s;aid Circum&s;tances of Sickne&s;s and Dying: When it cannot recover the lo&s;t Appetite, nor repair the decay'd Strength, nor ea&s;e wracking Pain, nor defer the approach|ing Period of Life: When it cannot recal time pa&s;t, nor purcha&s;e another Life to give us time to
<PB N="84" REF="47">&s;eek what would be more help and comfort to us in &s;uch an hour. Now the wretch is &s;en&s;ible of the Deceitfulne&s;s and Vanity of his wealth; he &s;ees he has lo&s;t all his Labour, he has labour'd for that which will not profit him in his greate&s;t Extre|mities. Of what u&s;e is it to him now to be va&s;tly rich, when he mu&s;t leave it all? Does he leave it the more willingly becau&s;e it is an abundance, or not rather the more unwillingly. Now he finds what he might have believ'd before, that Piety and Vertue, a good and religious u&s;e of Riches, and the well grounded hope of future Happine&s;s, are of more worth and u&s;e to a Man than the greate&s;t Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions. A Man's greate&s;t wealth cannot deliver one he loves, or him&s;elf from Dying, nor ever re|deem from the Grave the deare&s;t Relation depar|ted. It cannot then keep off nor repair the greate&s;t and the mo&s;t afflicting Lo&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Neither does wealth &s;o often defend a Man from the Injuries of other Men as to expo&s;e him to them. He that has mo&s;t to lo&s;e, like the fatte&s;t Deer &s;hall be hunted down fir&s;t; he &s;hall be &s;oon|e&s;t per&s;ecuted by the Envy and Covetou&s;ne&s;s of other Men. And many a one has been made mi|&s;erable by his wealth, or brought to an untimely end, who might have liv'd in quiet, and lived much longer if he had but been poorer. Thus vain and u&s;ele&s;s is that which the Covetous Man admires and tru&s;ts in even to an Idolatry.</P>
<P N="2">2. For another Argument, or rather another Head and Fountain of Arguments, we may con|&s;ider the great Unhappine&s;s of this Vice of Co|vetou&s;ne&s;s. What it pur&s;ues if gain'd in the
<PB N="85" REF="47">mo&s;t abundant Mea&s;ure cannot make a Man happy, becau&s;e 'tis vain, and of little worth or u&s;e, and be&s;ides, this Vice does of it &s;elf tend many ways to make a Man mi&s;erable.</P>
<P>It is this is the Cau&s;e why he that loveth Sil|ver cannot be &s;atisfied with it, this is it that gives a Man an un&s;atiable de&s;ire of wealth. But this is a very unhappy Ca&s;e. Thus does it plague a Man as it were with the torments of an Hunger, ever craving, and of a Thir&s;t that can never be quenched. The de&s;ire of more will not let a Man enjoy the Plea&s;ure of being contented with what he has, even when he has enough to make him &s;o. Perhaps it &s;ends out and employs, and &s;o hazards all he has to gain more, and &s;o keeps him upon the wracks of Cares and Fears, and it may be his Greedine&s;s makes him lo&s;e all. In his younger years a Man promi&s;es him&s;elf he will, while be&s;t able, toil for wealth, and when he comes to be old then he will re&s;t and enjoy it, and there is &s;ome Wi&s;dom in &s;uch a re&s;olution. But if this Di&s;|temper comes upon him, he &s;hall never know when he has made a competent Provi&s;ion for old Age: And when that comes the fear of want &s;hall &s;till afflict him, and condemn him to re&s;tle&s;s Cares, even with his gray Hairs, to labour with feeble and decay'd Limbs, and to hurry on his Death, by a hard u&s;age of him&s;elf to provide for a much longer Life. Unhappy Man! he vainly wears out him&s;elf to provide for the time to come, when he has almo&s;t no more to come, and &s;trives to lay up Goods for yet many more years, when he has but a few days remaining.</P>
<PB N="86" REF="48">
<P>It is, further, a great unhappine&s;s of this Vice that it hinders a Man from the comfortable en|joyment and u&s;e of what he has. He is a Thief to him&s;elf and robs him&s;elf of his own Trea&s;ure. He &s;aves it, as he thinks, for his own u&s;e, but he truely keeps it from him&s;elf under Locks and Seals. This is peculiar to Covetou&s;ne&s;s &s;ays one <HI>(Plut. Ib.)</HI> that the de&s;ire refu&s;es its own Satisfaction. No Man de&s;irous of Food (&s;ays he) will therefore ab&s;tain from Food, nor he that loves Wine, does he therefore &s;atisfie him&s;elf to look on it without ever drinking any; but the covetous Wretch loves his Money, and dares not meddle with it; becau&s;e he accounts it a mighty u&s;eful thing, he will never u&s;e it. But how mi&s;erable and mad a Di&s;temper of Mind, &s;ays he, is this! It is indeed like a cruel and tyrannous Lord, that forces his Va&s;&s;als to undergo hard Toil and Labour, to pro|vide good things which they mu&s;t never ta&s;te of.</P>
<P>The Covetous Man is not kind to him&s;elf, nor to any one el&s;e. By his Greedine&s;s and ill ways of getting, he procures him&s;elf many Enemies; and by his &s;ordid and penurious &s;paring, he lo&s;es or wants Friends. Even tho&s;e whom he pretends to &s;ave for, will be apt to wi&s;h him dead, becau&s;e they cannot have their Portion till he can keep it no longer. The mi&s;erable Man provokes Envy and Malice again&s;t him a great deal, and can gain no hearty or &s;incere Love from any one. He will be regarded by all Men as a mi&s;chievous bea&s;t of Prey, and as one of the mo&s;t ravenous and mi&s;|chievous &s;ort of all, becau&s;e he can never be &s;a|tisfied.</P>
<PB N="87" REF="48">
<P>Further, as this Vice makes a Man an Enemy to him&s;elf, and procures him nothing but Enmi|ty from other Men; &s;o it certainly offends and provokes Almighty God too. There is a great deal of guilt in it, as we have &s;een in its Chara|cter, and therefore it mu&s;t produce a great deal of Di&s;plea&s;ure. But how dangerous a thing is the Di&s;plea&s;ure of the Almighty, and what Pro|vi&s;ion is it po&s;&s;ible a Man can make again&s;t that? Can any Man be rich again&s;t the Will of Heaven? if not, all his covetous Arts &s;hall never make him &s;o. If God plea&s;es to bla&s;t him, he &s;hall &s;ee his greate&s;t wealth all &s;catter'd and lo&s;t before he dies; or it may be, he &s;hall have the grievous Vexation to &s;ee it likely to be &s;oon &s;catter'd after he has left it. The di&s;plea&s;ure of God often mingles Woes and Mi&s;eries and Vexations with his Riches. And very commonly is the E&s;tate which &s;uch a Man gets utterly di&s;per&s;t and gone in the time of his near Po&s;terity; he gets the Cur&s;e of God with his wealth, and entails the one as well as the o|ther on his Family. And thus it is, that <HI>he who is greedy of Grain troubles his own Hou&s;e,</HI> as <HI>Solo|mon</HI> &s;ays, Prov. 15.27. And, <HI>there is that with|holdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth,</HI> by God's ju&s;t Judgment, <HI>to Poverty.</HI> Thus does this un|happy Vice bring upon a Man's &s;elf, or upon his Po&s;terity, the very want which he endeavours to avoid: And in taking as he thinks the be&s;t cour&s;e to prevent this, he truly takes the likelie&s;t cour&s;e in the World to bring it.</P>
<P N="3">3. La&s;tly, let us then con&s;ider the Apo&s;tles Ar|gument in the Text, which will be fit to con|clude
<PB N="88" REF="49">with. <HI>Let your Conver&s;ation be without Co|vetou&s;ne&s;s</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and be content with &s;uch things as ye have; for he hath &s;aid, I will never leave thee nor for&s;ake thee.</HI> The&s;e words promi&s;e the Care of God's Providence over Godly and good Men. He that will &s;ubmit him&s;elf to God's di&s;|po&s;al, &s;hall certainly be well provided for: He that tru&s;ts in him God will protect him: He that does not take an inordinate Care for him&s;elf God will take Care for him. This then is the &s;ure&s;t way to be well provided and fortified again&s;t the Fear or likelihood of Want; to be diligent, but innocent in the pur&s;uit of wealth, and to u&s;e it as God requires in the Services of Religion, Ju|&s;tice and Charity. Our greate&s;t Care and bu&s;ie&s;t Endeavour cannot certainly provide for us with|out his Ble&s;&s;ing: It is he that di&s;po&s;es of all our Fortunes, we mu&s;t therefore &s;ecure his Favour, if we would be certainly po&s;&s;e&s;t of a &s;ufficient Portion. They that fear the Lord &s;hall be &s;ure to want no manner of thing that is good. And further it &s;hould be con&s;idered, that 'tis the Ble&s;|&s;ing of God only that makes a Man rich with what he has; as well as 'tis God that gives it him: And &s;o <HI>a little that a righteous Man has, is better than the riches of many wicked,</HI> as is &s;aid, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37.16. With God's Ble&s;&s;ing upon a Man, a moderate and &s;mall Portion &s;hall be more Servicea|ble to him, more &s;ufficient and proportionable to his Nece&s;&s;ities, than an unble&s;t abundance &s;hall be to another. A good Man being &s;ecur'd by the faithful Promi&s;es of God, may ju&s;tly think his Provi&s;ion and Maintenance, as ready for his u&s;e
<PB N="89" REF="49">in God's hands as in his own, if it does not plea&s;e God to tru&s;t him with it. And he may rea&s;ona|bly believe it as &s;afe there as under his own Care: For it could not be &s;afe in his own keeping with|out the protection of God. The good Man then, who lives innocently and religiou&s;ly, and puts his Tru&s;t in Almighty God, gains that Security from want, which the Covetous wretch pur&s;ues with wracking Cares and endle&s;s Toil, and always mi&s;&s;es of. For to the good Man God has &s;aid, <HI>I will never leave thee, nor for&s;ake thee.</HI> Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Glory world without End. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="90" REF="50">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Lord, the mo&s;t merciful and Gracious God, in|finite in Power, and abundant in Goodne&s;s and Truth; Thy Power O Lord has made, and does up|hold all things; Thy Wi&s;e Providence di&s;po&s;es, and Thy Kingdom ruleth over all. The Heavens are thine, and the Earth al&s;o is thine, the whole World and they that dwell therein. And thou delighte&s;t in the Happine&s;s and Welfare of thy Creatures; Thou give&s;t Food to all living Creatures, thou feede&s;t the young Ravens when they Cry, and the wild Bea&s;ts &s;eek their meat from God. Thou Crowne&s;t the Year with thy Goodne&s;s, and cau&s;e&s;t the Sun to &s;hine, the Rain to fall, and the Earth to afford good things for the Sons of Men: Thou art good even to the Unthankful, and the Evil among them. Oh! how rich is thy Bounty, how free thy Mercy, how patient thy Goodne&s;s; who provide&s;t for &s;o many Creatures, who &s;hewe&s;t Fa|vour, and do&s;t heap Kindne&s;&s;es upon the Rebellious, the ungrateful and unworthy. Oh! how happy a thing is it to have an Intere&s;t in thy peculiar Favour, who art &s;o able, &s;o willing to do good!</P>
<P>O Lord of Ho&s;ts, Ble&s;&s;ed is the Man that tru&s;teth in thee, and that walks in the way of thy Command|ments. Happy is he that feareth thee, for they that fear the Lord &s;hall be &s;ure to want no manner of thing that is good; thou art e&s;pecially good to the Soul that &s;eeks thee, and wilt abundantly reward all thy faithful Servants: Lord help us we humbly be&s;eech thee, firmly to believe the&s;e things: And learn us to tru&s;t in thee, rather than to lean on our own Under&s;tanding, or relie upon our own Indu&s;try and Endeavour: Make us duely thankful to thee for
<PB N="91" REF="50">all our Portion in this World, and careful to u&s;e it to thy Glory. Deliver us O Lord, from too great an E&s;teem of worldly Wealth, from &s;etting our Hearts on &s;o empty a Vanity, on &s;o tran&s;itory and uncer|tain a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. Let us not think that our Happi|ne&s;s lies in the abundance of our Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, but ac|count thy Favour, and the light of thy Countenance more nece&s;&s;ary to us, and more u&s;eful, and able to afford us more Joy and Satisfaction: And make us &s;eek that with our greate&s;t Concern and Endeavour. Teach us the happy Duty of tru&s;ting in thee, in the way of well-doing, and let us be a&s;&s;ured, that thou wilt never leave us nor for&s;ake us, deal with us accord|ing to thy Mercy, and whatever our Condition is, let us be contented and in every thing give Thanks. Give us Patience in all Adver&s;ity, and make us rich in good works when we are pro&s;perous; ready to di&s;tribute and communicate of thy Gifts to us according to our Ability.</P>
<P>We become humble Petitioners to thee for all Mankind: Let tho&s;e that &s;it in Darkne&s;s, &s;ee the Glo|rious and &s;aving Light of thy Go&s;pel; and let tho&s;e that enjoy it live an&s;werably, and walk as Children of the Light, putting away from them the evil Deeds of Darkne&s;s. We implore thy Mercy and Favour in particular to the Nations to which we belong. As thou ha&s;t Graciou&s;ly afforded us thy true and pure Re|ligion, and E&s;tabli&s;hed it among&s;t us, we pray thee to be our defence again&s;t all the Enemies of it. And teach us O Lord we be&s;eech thee, not only to profe&s;s, but to practice it: Let our Lives expre&s;s and exerci&s;e the Wi&s;dom which is from above, which is pure and peaceable, and gentle, ea&s;ie to be intreared, full of Mercy, and good Fruits; without Partiality, and with|out Hypocri&s;ie. Ble&s;s tho&s;e whom thou ha&s;t &s;et over us in Church and State; give them a great Zeal for thy Glory, Wi&s;dom in the &s;eeking it, and good Suc|ce&s;s in their endeavours to promote it; Pro&s;per them with all Happine&s;s in this World, and grant them to
<PB N="92" REF="51">inherit thy everla&s;ting Kingdom in the next. We be&s;eech thee to pre&s;erve our Royal Family, and pro&s;|per them with all Happine&s;s; let their ways always plea&s;e thee, and do thou make their Enemies to be at Peace with them. We heartily pray unto thee, for all that are nearly related to us; Oh Lord, have Mercy upon their Souls, lead them in the ways of Truth, of Peace and of Righteou&s;ne&s;s; guide them by thy Coun&s;el, furni&s;h them with all things needful of this World, that they may cheerfully and eminently &s;erve thee in the Work and Calling thou give&s;t, and be thou for ever their Portion, and exceeding great Reward: We give thee Thanks for this Day, for the means of Grace we have enjoy'd, and pray they may accompli&s;h in us tho&s;e good Effects for which thou ha&s;t appoin|ted them. The Day is thine O Lord, and the Night al&s;o is thine, the Darkne&s;s and Light are both alike to thee. We commit our &s;elves to thy Gracious Care this Night, and entreat thee that we may re&s;t in Safety. All we ask in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son our Lord, with who&s;e words we conclude our poor Addre&s;&s;es, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="93" REF="51">
<HEAD>THE CHARACTER OF PRIDE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 John 2.16.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For all that is in the World, the lu&s;t of the Fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life, is not of the Father, but is of the World.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Apo&s;tle had in the Ver&s;e next be|fore this, forbidden the love of the World, as that which is oppo&s;ite to true Religion. In the&s;e words he repre&s;ents particu|larly, what are tho&s;e three main Branches of it,
<PB N="94" REF="52">in which it is wont to exert its Vigour, and pro|duce its Fruits. And when he calls the&s;e, <HI>All that is in the World,</HI> he means the&s;e are the com|mon reigning Vices among Men; in &s;erving one or other of which, the Men who&s;e hearts are &s;et on this pre&s;ent Life, do entirely employ and &s;pend them&s;elves. The&s;e are <HI>the lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h,</HI> by which he means the inordinate Love and Af|fection for &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures: <HI>The lu&s;t of the Eyes,</HI> that is, the greedy covetous Love of wealth: <HI>The Pride of Life,</HI> which means an exce&s;&s;ive Affecta|tion, and de&s;ire of Honour and E&s;teem among Men. All the&s;e, he &s;ays, <HI>are not of the Father, but are of the World;</HI> meaning the&s;e are not Di&s;|po&s;itions wrought into our Nature by him that made us, but they ari&s;e from the Corruption and Pravity, which we have contracted, and &s;o come to be cheri&s;ht and propagated among Men, by corrupt Education and bad Examples.</P>
<P>I have already Di&s;cours'd upon the two former of the Sins mention'd here, and &s;hall now confine my &s;elf to the la&s;t of them, <HI>The Pride of Life.</HI> A Sin which is perhaps the mo&s;t common of all Sins, and therefore there are none but may ju&s;tly reckon them&s;elves concern'd in a Di&s;cour&s;e about it. The Extravagancies of <HI>Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s</HI> do mo&s;t u&s;ually di&s;parage our Youth, and as our Judgment ripens, and as we experience the Folly, and Emptine&s;s of Plea&s;ures, we come to de&s;pi&s;e and for&s;ake them. When we grow old it is chiefly that we are overcome with <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> After a long Ob&s;er|vation of the great E&s;teem which wealth has a|mong Men, and when we find the regard of the World leaving us, and fixing upon younger Per|&s;ons,
<PB N="95" REF="52">who are growing to their Noon while we are declining to our Night; then we become ex|treamly tenacious of what we have, and de&s;irous to encrea&s;e in wealth, that we may retain the regard of Men by this when we cannot do it by any thing el&s;e; or may be able to provide &s;ufficiently for our &s;elves without it, and &s;o be in a Condition not to need it: Thus are we betray'd into Covetou&s;ne&s;s in old Age. But in every Age Pride obtains a mighty force and power upon us, this we may &s;ee budding and bringing forth early Fruit in Infants, and not at all abating its natural force in our de|caying Age. This Vice we may &s;ee di&s;paraging all Ranks and Conditions of Men. This Sin is indeed a great ingredient in every other Sin, and therefore mu&s;t be as common as all other toge|ther: And this is truely a very great part of the Sinfulne&s;s of every other Sin; &s;o that if this could be cur'd and remov'd out of the World, a great part of the Wickedne&s;s of the World would be cured and remov'd too. God grant this Di&s;cour&s;e may be of &s;ome u&s;e towards this</P>
<P>To which purpo&s;e I &s;hall largely in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e two parts of it. 1. To give the Chara|cter of this Sin of Pride. 2. To urge &s;uch Ar|guments and Con&s;iderations, as are proper to re|medy and cure it.</P>
<P>At pre&s;ent I &s;hall endeavour to give the true Character and De&s;cription of this Sin of Pride: To &s;hew wherein it does con&s;i&s;t, and in what &s;ort of Actions it is wont to exerci&s;e and betray it &s;elf. To repre&s;ent wherein it does con|&s;i&s;t, I think it may be &s;ufficient to &s;ay, that it is properly an exce&s;&s;ive and inordinate Love and
<PB N="96" REF="53">De&s;ire of Honour and E&s;teem. As the <HI>Voluptuous Man</HI> places his greate&s;t Felicity in the Enjoyment of his &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, and the chief concern and de&s;ire of the <HI>Covetous Man,</HI> is to heap up wealth; So the <HI>Proud Man</HI> as &s;uch is exce&s;&s;ively and un|&s;atiably de&s;irous of Honour and E&s;teem. The Ver|tue of Humility moderates and re&s;trains this de|&s;ire, and keeps it within due Bounds and Limits; but Pride lets it grow, and only indulges, and &s;eeks to gratifie, not to govern it, and lets it exerci&s;e it &s;elf without controul or limit. This may &s;uffice for a general Account of this Sin, but is not enough to di&s;cover it to us &s;o throughly as it needs to be and we &s;hall be&s;t know it by its Fruits: I &s;hall therefore repre&s;ent how this inordinate Love and De&s;ire of E&s;teem and Honour does u&s;ually exerci&s;e, and &s;o di&s;cover it &s;elf. And I think the guilty Exerci&s;es of it may all be reduced under the&s;e three Heads, under which I &s;hall particu|larly mention a great many of them.</P>
<P N="1">1. It does exerci&s;e it &s;elf in an exce&s;&s;ive Opini|on and Value of a Mans own &s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">2. It does inordinately &s;eek and de&s;ire to re|ceive re&s;pect and e&s;teem from others.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is defective and negligent in giving to o|thers the Re&s;pect and Honour which is due to them. I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t a little upon each of the&s;e in Order.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, this Sin po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es a Man with an exce&s;&s;ive Opinion and E&s;teem of him&s;elf; it makes him give him&s;elf too much Honour. This is that part and exerci&s;e of it, which the Apo&s;tle forbids,
<PB N="97" REF="53"><HI>Rom.</HI> 12.3. in exhorting Men, <HI>Not to think more highly of them&s;elves than they ought to think, but to think &s;oberly according as God has dealt to every Man</HI> the mea&s;ure of his Gifts. A ju&s;t E&s;teem of our &s;elves Humility allows, but it requires, that it be a mean one too, or el&s;e it cannot be a ju&s;t one. We are not bound to over-look the Gifts and Graces of God in us, nor to de&s;pi&s;e all that he has done for us. And we are allow'd to enjoy the Applau&s;e and Encouragement of a good Con|&s;cience, to believe we have done well, and rejoice in it when we have done &s;o: But this Vice makes a Man's opinion of him&s;elf guilty of the&s;e follow|ing Errours.</P>
<P>The proud Man attributes to him&s;elf much more Excellency and Worth than he really has. He very much entertains his Thoughts in admi|ring and magnifying him&s;elf, and is e&s;pecially de|lighted with &s;uch Thoughts. He either conceits him&s;elf po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with tho&s;e excellent Qualificati|ons, and good Properties, which he has nothing of; or, if he has any &s;mall Degrees of &s;uch, he ac|counts them very great and eminent ones. Such Per&s;ons are like the wretched Church of <HI>Loadicea,</HI> which &s;aid, &s;he was <HI>rich and encreas'd</HI> in &s;piritual Goods, <HI>and had need of nothing,</HI> when &s;he was in|deed <HI>wretched, and mi&s;erable, and poor, and blind, and naked,</HI> Rev. 3.17. The proud Man cannot &s;ee his own Faults him&s;elf, nor will endure to have them &s;hown him; he is altogether impatient, and di&s;dainful of Reproof; he will never be brought to acknowledge a real di&s;paragement. It &s;hall go hard but he will ju&s;tifie all his Faults, and find out &s;pecious Names to put upon them. Covetou&s;|ne&s;s,
<PB N="98" REF="54">he will have to be Thrift and Frugality; and when he is truly Prodigal, he will commend him|&s;elf as only Generous, or Charitable; Fal&s;ene&s;s and Perfidiou&s;ne&s;s he accounts Di&s;cretion and Wi&s;|dom; and when he tells a lye, and deceives his Neighbour, he applauds him&s;elf and thinks he has outwitted him. The proud Man either thinks he has no Faults at all, or that they are all very &s;mall and pardonable ones; he accounts his gro&s;&s;e&s;t Sins but light Infirmities, and common Mi&s;carriages.</P>
<P>Another Errour Pride is guilty of in the Opi|nion which it gives a Man of him&s;elf is, That it makes him exce&s;&s;ively and unrea&s;onably prefer him&s;elf before others. He is mightily apt to com|pare him&s;elf with others, and always prefers him|&s;elf to his Equals, or equals him&s;elf to tho&s;e that are much his Superiours. If he mu&s;t acknowledge that another Man excels him in one thing, yet he flatters him&s;elf that he excels that Man in &s;ome|what el&s;e, and will de&s;pi&s;e the other Man's excel|lency in compari&s;on to his own. This Pride the Phari&s;ee mingled with his Devotion, and made it odious to God thereby: <HI>God I thank thee</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>that I am not as other Men are, Extortioners, Unju&s;t, Adulterers, or even as this Publican,</HI> Luke 18.11. And from this preference of him&s;elf, a Man is always very &s;tiff and tenacious of his own Opinions and Practices: He thinks him&s;elf fit and capable to dictate, and be a Rule to others, but does utterly di&s;dain to receive direction from any others. Humility is mode&s;t and teachable, but Pride conceited, and thinks it has no need to be in&s;tructed and learn. It refu&s;es In&s;truction, tho' never &s;o nece&s;&s;ary or u&s;eful, becau&s;e 'tis &s;ugge&s;ted
<PB N="99" REF="54">by another; and will not let a Man follow the be&s;t Advice that can be given, becau&s;e it is not his own Advice. This humour affects to talk much, and is more ready to &s;peak than to hear; and much of that Talk is al&s;o of the Man's own &s;elf. Very commonly does this exce&s;&s;ive Opinion of a Man's &s;elf make him affect &s;ome Singularity or other. Either he will have &s;ome &s;ingular Notion and Be|lief; or he will explain common Points of Belief in &s;ome uncommon and peculiar way: he is migh|tily addicted to invent and take up &s;ome new un|common Practice in Religion; is &s;o far from li|king a Cu&s;tom, becau&s;e 'tis Catholick, and has been u&s;ed by the pious and devout Wor&s;hippers of all Ages, that he therefore di&s;likes it. And if he can, by any device, make him&s;elf different from others, he thereupon immediately concludes, that he is wi&s;er and better than they. And tho' 'tis natural and common to Pride, for a Man to be very earne&s;t to impo&s;e his Opinions and Practices on others, yet is this con&s;i&s;tent with the Affecta|tion of Singularity: For if the proud Man can prevail with any others to conform to him in what he is now, then, that he may &s;till prefer him&s;elf, he &s;eeks &s;ome new Singularity: And thus he will be always altering and changing, and proceeds as he thinks in Reformation and Improvement; but is truly not at all the better for all his Inventions. Like a Door on the Hinges, he &s;till moves about the Center of his Pride and Vanity, and <HI>is ever learning,</HI> as he thinks, <HI>but never comes to the Know|ledge of the Truth.</HI></P>
<P>Thus much may &s;uffice for the fir&s;t part of the Character of this Vice: And this we may ob&s;erve
<PB N="100" REF="55">is the Spring from whence all the re&s;t of its Ex|erci&s;es flow; they all originally proceed from too great an Opinion of our &s;elves. We require and exact too much Honour from others, and we give too little to them, and all this becau&s;e we too much value and honour our &s;elves.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the &s;econd part of its Chara|cter mention'd, which was this: Pride inordinate|ly &s;eeks, and de&s;ires to receive Honour and Re&s;pect from others. It cannot be contented with a Man's high Opinion and Valuation of him&s;elf, but re|quires that others &s;hould have &s;uch an one too; and if he does not meet with this, then he utter|ly falls out with the World, and exclaims mo&s;t bitterly again&s;t the Age, as having no regard to Men of Worth: A good Name and Repute a|mong Men, and an E&s;teem in the World, is in|deed a thing very de&s;irable: And the wi&s;e Man ju&s;tly prefers it before the Wealth of this World, as more profitable than that, <HI>Prov.</HI> 22.1. And in <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 7.1. he prefers it before the gratefulle&s;t &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure. To be well e&s;teem'd of in the World, and to be &s;poken of for good and vertu|ous Actions, if we are &s;poken of at all, is what we may value; and indeed is what we ought to take all po&s;&s;ible care to de&s;erve: But the proud Man would have this whether he de&s;erves it or not; and values the re&s;pect more than the true Worth that de&s;erves it. And he tran&s;gre&s;&s;es in the De&s;ire, and &s;eeking re&s;pect and honour to be gi|ven to him by others in the following In&s;tances.</P>
<P N="1">1. He de&s;ires to receive more Honour and Re&s;pect from others than is due to him. As he values him&s;elf above his own Worth, he would
<PB N="101" REF="55">have others value him &s;o too. A good Name will not content him, but he mu&s;t have a great one; he mu&s;t be e&s;teem'd and honour'd by many, be cried up by the general Vogue: And it is not e|nough to him to be well reputed of, and in good E&s;teem, but the preference of the World mu&s;t be paid him; he would have more Honour than his Equals, or would be reckon'd equal or &s;uperiour to his Superiours, and is never &s;atisfied with the Re&s;pect and Honour which is given him: One degree of Advancement does but mount his Wi&s;hes to a&s;pire to more: He will &s;till think he de&s;erves more than he has gain'd. Ambition like Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s has a &s;ickly Thir&s;t, which the more it is gratified &s;till craves the more.</P>
<P N="2">2. He &s;eeks the Honour and Re&s;pect of others in undue Ways. He is, as was &s;aid, more fond of the Re&s;pect than the De&s;ert of it, and more earne&s;tly &s;eeks that than the De&s;ert. He would have Men honour him, whether he de&s;erves it or not; becau&s;e, to be &s;ure he thinks he de&s;erves it. He &s;eeks to be e&s;teem'd by others by profe&s;&s;ing, tho' fal&s;ly, the E&s;teem of them, and flatters others, that he may be flatter'd him&s;elf. He will &s;et him|&s;elf to ju&s;tifie, and comply with all the Madne&s;s and Wickedne&s;s of the Multitude, or the Great, according as he &s;eeks to be e&s;teem'd by the one or the other. Thus will he do when he &s;eeks to ri&s;e by them. But if he has any Competitours for the Honour he &s;eeks, he is u&s;ually very prodigal of his Detractions or Slanders again&s;t them. And as this Vice always makes a Man envy tho&s;e that are a|bove him: So if there be any hopes to advance him&s;elf upon their Ruine, he will endeavour by
<PB N="102" REF="56">any means to undermine and overthrow them. He that is greedy of Honour, as well as he that is greedy of Gain, will commonly be guilty of a|ny manner of ill Arts, that are likely to obtain the Dignity and Preferment he covets. He values <HI>the Prai&s;e of Men more than the Prai&s;e,</HI> or Favour <HI>of God,</HI> John 12.43. and therefore will di&s;own a de&s;pi&s;ed Truth, comply with common Errours, or for&s;ake his Duty, as they did whom that Text &s;peaks of, that he may avoid the Contempt and Condemnation of Men. Pride &s;eeks the Re&s;pect and Honour of others in O&s;tentation and Vain-glo|rious boa&s;ting of a Man's own worth; and com|monly boa&s;ts and affects to make &s;how of more than he has; and this is done either in Words or Actions: It will be endle&s;s and extravagant in prai&s;ing ones &s;elf. Can never hear any one el&s;e prais'd, but it will impertinently put in our own Commendation, either to equal or exceed them. The wi&s;e Man delivers this Precept of Humility: <HI>Let another Man prai&s;e thee, and not thine own Mouth; a Stranger, and not thine own Lips,</HI> Prov. 27.2. A man may prai&s;e him&s;elf for the &s;ake of repelling Calumny and fal&s;e Accu&s;ation, that is, he may do this in a ju&s;t Vindication of him&s;elf, by repre&s;enting his Life and Actions quite con|trary to what Malice and Ignorance repre&s;ents them to be; this is a ju&s;t and nece&s;&s;ary occa&s;ion, but the proud Man prai&s;es him&s;elf, as without ground and rea&s;on &s;ometime, &s;o al&s;o without oc|ca&s;ion. If he does any thing good, he will take care it &s;hall be known, as the Phari&s;ees, who when they be&s;towed their Alms, blew a Trumpet for all Men to take notice of it. It is the Practice of
<PB N="103" REF="56">O&s;tentation to affect Pomp and Magnificence in all things about us; which is done to &s;how the Riches we have, or to boa&s;t of more than we have: This is practi&s;ed in the Affectation of finery in Cloaths, richne&s;s in the Furniture of our Hou|&s;es, &s;plendour in Equipage and Attendants, and Co&s;t in Entertainments. And thus is Prodigality exerci&s;ed to the Service of Pride.</P>
<P N="3">3. The proud Man's De&s;ire of Honour and E|&s;teem from others &s;eeks it for its own &s;ake, and out of Love to the thing it &s;elf, not for any good u&s;e he de&s;igns to make of it. As he does good, if at all, for the Honour of it, &s;o he &s;eeks this for it &s;elf. Our Saviour forbids the doing good Works <HI>to be &s;een of Men,</HI> and for the &s;ake of their Prai&s;e and E&s;teem, <HI>Matt.</HI> 23.5. 'Tis true, he al&s;o &s;ays, <HI>Let your light &s;o &s;hine before Men, that they may &s;ee your good Works, and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven,</HI> Matt. 5.16. And the&s;e two Scriptures are very evidently agreeing one with a|nother. We may do our good Works to be &s;een for the Glory of God, but not for our own Ho|nour: We need not be a&s;ham'd of doing well, nor are bound to &s;tudy to conceal all our good Works from Men; but as we mu&s;t not do them for the &s;ake of Prai&s;e, &s;o neither may we &s;how them for the &s;ake of that. A man may prai&s;e him&s;elf, by repre&s;enting to his Neighbour any good Practice of his own, which his Neighbour is not acquain|ted with, to encourage him thereby again&s;t the Difficulties of Vertue, or the Temptations he meets with, to excite another by his good Example; and for the&s;e rea&s;ons he may &s;how the good he does, tho' it were po&s;&s;ible to conceal it. We may
<PB N="104" REF="57">let others &s;ee, that we our &s;elves do carefully ab|&s;tain from the things we condemn, and that we diligently practice what we recommend to others, in order to give our Reproofs and Exhortations the more force upon the World: And &s;uch a good Example we ought to give for the Glory of God, and the good of our Neighbour. But the&s;e are not ends in the proud Man's thoughts. His chief and ultimate End is his own Honour: He cannot &s;ay as the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the Prai&s;e:</HI> If our poor Endeavours may be &s;erviceable to thy Glory, we care not whether our own be advanced by them or not. But this is that Humility requires us to think and &s;ay. And then, as his own Honour is that which the proud Man chiefly &s;eeks in what he does, &s;o if he obtains this it is his chiefe&s;t De|light; this is that tran&s;ports and plea&s;es him mo&s;t, even more than any good Fruit of his Actions.</P>
<P>Thus I have al&s;o fini&s;h'd the &s;econd part of the Character of this Vice.</P>
<P>I proceed to the third, and the la&s;t mention'd, which was this; Pride makes a Man neglect and refu&s;e to pay the Honour and Re&s;pect which is due to others. It requires much of this, but will give little: It is in this, like Covetou&s;ne&s;s, that it is greedy of having Honour as that is of Gain, but cares not to part with, or be&s;tow any; and if it does be&s;tow any Honour upon another, 'tis only to encrea&s;e his own Honour, and that he may re|ceive again with U&s;ury. This part of Pride is ex|erci&s;ed, both in our Carriage towards God, and towards Men: This mon&s;trous Vice makes men negligent and defective in paying the Honour
<PB N="105" REF="57">which is due to the great God, as well as that which is due to their Fellow Creatures. To make this part of its Character the more evident, I &s;hall produce &s;ome In&s;tances of the Errors of its Carriage in this re&s;pect, both towards God, and towards Man.</P>
<P>It is fir&s;t negligent and defective in paying the Honour due to Almighty God, in the&s;e fol|lowing Re&s;pects.</P>
<P N="1">1. It de&s;troys, or mightily le&s;&s;ens in us the Re|verence and Fear of him: It will not let a Man &s;tand in awe of him as we &s;hould do Reverence is a thing directly contrary to Pride; this Vice is rea|dy to treat the great God at all times, as if he were &s;uch a one as our &s;elves: As it is very full of &s;elf-admiring Thoughts, it does not take time to con&s;ider enough the Infinite and Glorious Greatne&s;s of God, that we might be po&s;&s;e&s;t with Reverence and Admiration of him. And for want of this it thinks and talks boldly of his Na|ture and his Works, it freely cen&s;ures his Actions, and calls them to an account at the Bar of weak and humane Rea&s;on. It will not allow the infi|nite God to be incomprehen&s;ible to our finite Minds, nor that <HI>his thoughts are not as our thoughts, or his ways as our ways,</HI> but va&s;tly above them. It Cavils at Truths that ought to be adored, and will not receive them tho' they be never &s;o plain|ly reveal'd, unle&s;s his own &s;hallow Rea&s;on could comprehend them: He treats My&s;teries in his Thoughts and Di&s;cour&s;e as vulgar Mi&s;takes, and the great God as a common Being. Want of Re|verence to God makes this Vice de&s;pi&s;e all that is Sacred, and treat Per&s;ons, Times, or Things that
<PB N="106" REF="58">belong to him, but as common ones: It comes to the wor&s;hip of God carele&s;ly and unprepar'd; and behaves it &s;elf there after a common irreve|rent manner. From this Vice it is, that Men &s;o familiarly mention the Name of God in their common Di&s;cour&s;e, and do &s;o frequently &s;wear by him. Tho' every Man that is guilty of Pride does not commonly &s;wear, yet is every common Swearer exce&s;&s;ively proud: He &s;eeks to honour him&s;elf at the co&s;t of God's Honour by his Oaths, when he calls God to avouch every thing that he tho' never &s;o carele&s;ly utters. This is a pre|tence to be as true, and as infallible in all he &s;ays, as God is, and makes the Holy Glorious God as it were a Partner and Abettor to all the Fal&s;hoods and Follies of our Di&s;cour&s;e. If a Man &s;wears only in his Pa&s;&s;ion, this does not alter the Ca&s;e but for the wor&s;e, in that he appeals to him to ju&s;tifie what he &s;ays and does, when he &s;peaks and acts mo&s;t ra&s;hly, and perhaps hardly knows him&s;elf what he &s;ays and does. All this is rude and familiar and irreverent Behaviour to|wards God.</P>
<P N="2">2. This Vice neglects or refu&s;es to pay a due Thankfulne&s;s to God for the Benefits receiv'd from him. Pride will not &s;uffer a Man to ac|knowledge he has receiv'd the good things which he has from God: He a&s;cribes what he has ac|quired to his own Wit, or Indu&s;try; admires him&s;elf for what he is proud of as due to him&s;elf: So the haughty <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> applauded him&s;elf for his Greatne&s;s, <HI>Is not this great Babylon</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>that I have built for the Hou&s;e of the Kingdom by the might of my Power, and for the Honour of my
<PB N="107" REF="58">Maje&s;ty?</HI> Dan. 4.30. If he does own that he has receiv'd any thing from God, he thinks 'tis due to his great Merit and De&s;erts; and in both the&s;e Ca&s;es is defective in Thankfulne&s;s to Almigh|ty God. If he has any mea&s;ure of any good Qua|lifications he forgets that the&s;e are the Gifts of God; he values him&s;elf highly for them, and thinks that God &s;hould value him highly too; he reckons he ought to be the Darling of Provi|dence, and that all things &s;houl'd be order'd to &s;uit his Intere&s;t or Humour. The better he thinks him&s;elf, the greater are his Expectations &s;till from God: And he does not con&s;ider his Gifts and Abilities as Obligations upon him&s;elf; he forgets that the more he has of the&s;e, the more he is in debt to the Giver of them, and that, not God owes the more to him, but, he owes &s;o much the more to God. Again, if he does any good or commendable Actions, he forgets that he does but his Duty, that he has but in &s;ome part di&s;charg'd his Debts and Obligations to God; that he has rea&s;on to be thankful to him, for giving him the Honour of &s;uch Service, for the Will to endea|vour, the Power to perform, and the lucky Sea|&s;on and Opportunity that gave Beauty to his Acti|ons. A humble Man will acknowledge the Pro|vidence of God in all the good and laudable Ser|vice he does, but the proud Man leaves God out of his thoughts to applaud and admire him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3. Pride in our Carriage towards God refu&s;es that Submi&s;&s;ion and Re&s;ignation to his Laws, and the Di&s;pen&s;ations of his Providence, which we ought to pay. It is as loath to &s;ubmit our Wills to what he has commanded us to do, as our
<PB N="108" REF="59">Under&s;tandings to what he has reveal'd of him&s;elf, and requires us to believe. This puts Men upon cavilling again&s;t their Duty too, and makes them di&s;pute when they &s;hould obey, and hard to be convinced, becau&s;e they are unwilling to &s;ubmit. The proud Man if he does obey the Commands of God, does it not from a Principle of Obedience and Submi&s;&s;ion, but that he may gain the Honour of being religious and good: And in the Practice of Religion he chu&s;es and values chiefly tho&s;e Duties which are mo&s;t plau&s;ible and mo&s;t honour'd a|mong Men. Very often &s;hall Pride make a Man neglect the Duties of his own proper Sphere and Calling, to be bu&s;ie in tho&s;e which he thinks more honourable and of greater repute among Men: And &s;o in truth he does his own Will, not the Will of God; in chu&s;ing his Work and Employment he does not do his Duty, nor does he &s;erve God &s;o much as his own Pride. And further; if any &s;ort of Duty be de&s;pi&s;ed and cry|ed down by the World, that he will keep him|&s;elf far from; and will not be brought to hazard his own E&s;teem in the World, or to aba&s;e and humble him&s;elf, either for the Glory of God, or the good of his Neighbour.</P>
<P>Further, the Pride of Man makes him al&s;o im|patient under the Divine Cha&s;ti&s;ements and Af|flictions; as he has high Conceits of his own Me|rits, he can hardly ever think them fully an&s;wer'd: And thinks &s;o well of him&s;elf, that he is ready to quarrel and murmur again&s;t the Providence of God, if he be not humour'd and gratified in all things. As he can &s;ee none of his Faults, he can never think he de&s;erves his Afflictions. He ac|counts
<PB N="109" REF="59">him&s;elf too good to meet with &s;uch Affli|ctions as are common to Men, and thinks he he &s;hould be exempted from the common lot, who is &s;o much better than others. His cour&s;e under Affliction is rather to expo&s;tulate with God than to examine him&s;elf; and he will rather condemn God as dealing hardly with him, than him&s;elf as having de&s;erv'd what he &s;uffers. And thus is Pride defective in paying the Honours due to God.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place I am to repre&s;ent it in its Car|riage towards Men, and &s;how how it di&s;covers it &s;elf in the matter of giving Honour and E&s;teem to them. In this al&s;o it is mightily defective, and mu&s;t needs be &s;o. He that values and honours him|&s;elf too much, will be apt perhaps to &s;et him&s;elf above his Superiours, to be &s;ure he will lift him|&s;elf above his Equals, and account there is more di&s;tance than really there is between him and his In|feriours. But to &s;peak of this in &s;ome method too, we may &s;ay the proud Man tran&s;gre&s;&s;es in the mat|ter of giving Re&s;pect in the&s;e following In&s;tances.</P>
<P N="1">1. He is always unwilling that another Man &s;hould receive his due Prai&s;e, and that Acknow|ledgment of Worth which belongs to him. He never cares to give this, and when he hears any Man prai&s;ed he is &s;ilent; or if he joyns in his Commendation 'tis very coldly; or if he Prai&s;es another for any thing, 'tis becau&s;e he thinks the &s;ame Excellency is much greater in him&s;elf, and he &s;hall thereby procure the greater Prai&s;e and E&s;teem to him&s;elf: If he Prai&s;es another, he will mingle with his Prai&s;e &s;ome &s;piteful Detraction and Di&s;paragement if he can po&s;&s;ibly do it: And &s;ometimes he doth treacherou&s;ly make &s;hew of a
<PB N="110" REF="60">willingne&s;s to Prai&s;e a Man, that he may be thought the more &s;incere in what he &s;ays, and may the more fatally and effectually &s;lander and di&s;pa|rage him. Pride is mightily delighted in Slander, and Detraction, is plea&s;ed with whatever le&s;&s;ens his Neighbour, it rejoyces to &s;ee what may do &s;o; it Enviou&s;ly and Maliciou&s;ly pries into his Actions, and puts the wor&s;t Interpretations upon them that they can bear, that he may have a pretence to di&s;parage him. It earne&s;tly hearkens and &s;eeks af|ter ill Reports, and ea&s;ily receives them: And whatever ill the proud Man knows of his Neigh|bour, all the World &s;hall know too: The&s;e things are e&s;pecially done again&s;t tho&s;e that &s;tand in any Competition with him.</P>
<P N="2">2. Pride is commonly unruly, and di&s;obedient to tho&s;e who have Authority over us. The proud Man loves to have his own Will, affects much to be without controul, and is commonly very un|ruly and unquiet in every inferiour Relation. This Vice is the common Cau&s;e of Schi&s;ms in the Church, of Factions and Seditions in the State, and of Confu&s;ion and Unquietne&s;s in Families. Pride makes Inferiours di&s;pute and contend when they &s;hould obey, and cavil at Laws and Com|mands of their Superiours that they may find out Pretences not to obey them. It is Pride that makes <HI>Liberty</HI> &s;o darling a thing with Mankind, and which cries up that as the mo&s;t valuable and precious Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion: Whereas a ju&s;t Humility would teach them that Government is the greater Ble&s;|&s;ing of the two, and that from which much more Happine&s;s and Advantage may be expected: ac|cording to what the unerring Wi&s;dom of Holy
<PB N="111" REF="60">Scripture &s;ays of it, that 'tis <HI>an Ordinance of God for good.</HI> Rom. 13.4. The proud Man had ra|ther rule than be rul'd, and therefore never likes the Con&s;titution and Government till he can ad|vance him&s;elf into Authority. He would not have all the Authority lodg'd in the Hands of one, only for this Rea&s;on, that being divided among many he may catch a &s;hare of it. And if he can accompli&s;h that, then he will never think the Governing part has too much Power: But he who before was unruly and knew not how to o|bey, will now be the mo&s;t unrea&s;onable and ty|rannous when he Rules; he will think fit to lay Burdens on others, which &s;hall be abundantly heavier than tho&s;e which he would not bear him|&s;elf. Pride does not love to be Inferiour or Obey, but &s;trives fir&s;t to &s;hare in Government: And when that is gain'd 'tis not yet contented, but &s;trives next to govern alone. And thus <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">it comes to pa&s;s, that Factions can agree to Act again&s;t what is uppermo&s;t, till they have thrown that down; and then they fall out with one another, and contend &s;till for Superiority among&s;t them|&s;elves.</P>
<P N="3">3. This Vice is exerci&s;ed in the Di&s;dain and Contempt of Inferiours. It makes a Man apt to de&s;pi&s;e others, and to give them mean and villifying Names when we de&s;pi&s;e them. To advance him|&s;elf by the Vote of the Multitude, a proud Man will Cringe to the meane&s;t of them, and counter|feit Humility while he hates it, and &s;eem to re|&s;pect them in his Carriage, while in his heart he di&s;dains them. This Vice di&s;dains to do Offices of Kindne&s;s to tho&s;e that are Inferiour: Or needs
<PB N="112" REF="61">a great deal of Importunity, waiting, and humble Addre&s;s to be mov'd to it. And if it does a &s;mall Kindne&s;s it expects a va&s;t return; is apt to up|braid the oblig'd Per&s;on with what has been done for him; requires abundance of Acknowledgment, and thinks to have him entirely at our own di&s;|po&s;al. He &s;hall be accounted ungrateful and di&s;|ingenuous, if he ever regards any thing, even to the keeping of a good Con&s;cience, before the Will of his Patron and Benefactour.</P>
<P>It is now time to conclude this part of the Di&s;|cour&s;e: I have &s;o largely and particularly repre|&s;ented this Vice, that Men might the better know when they are Guilty of it; and there is the more need &s;o to do, becau&s;e 'tis the peculiar Pro|perty of this Vice, that the more a Man has of it, the le&s;s he perceives or knows him&s;elf to have. It will not let a Man &s;ee or acknowledge any thing that &s;hall imply a Di&s;paragement: And Pride is as commonly accounted a Di&s;paragement, and di&s;own'd, as it is commonly entertain'd and practi&s;ed. To di&s;cover therefore, and convince a Man that he is proud, is to give him &s;ome|what to humble him: This is all that can be done towards the cure of this Sin, till an op|portunity &s;hall-&s;erve to in&s;i&s;t upon tho&s;e Argu|ments which are u&s;eful to that Purpo&s;e. Let us con&s;ider what has been &s;aid at pre&s;ent, and exa|mine our &s;elves by that the while; and God Grant we may have a right under&s;tanding in all things conducing to our Salvation.</P>
<P>Now to God the Father, Son and Holy Gho&s;t be all Honour and Glory World without end. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="113" REF="61">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Great and Glorious God! Thou inhabite&s;t E|ternity; and art cloathed with Light as with a Garment. In Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Goodne&s;s, in Wi&s;|dom and Power ha&s;t Thou made the World, therefore are all Thy Works perfect, and they all prai&s;e Thee. Thou did'&s;t make Man upright, an excellent and no|ble Being; but alas, we have deprav'd, deba&s;ed, and cor|rupted our &s;elves with our own Inventions; we are be|come exceeding vile by our &s;ins, more vile than the Bea&s;ts that peri&s;h. We have all that we have and are from Thy free Gift, and ought to have liv'd to Thy Glory; and to do thus had been our Honour; but we have liv'd to our &s;elves, we have &s;erv'd divers Lu&s;ts, and &s;o have made our &s;elves Slaves to abject Devils, to whom we have given up our &s;elves to be led captive by them at their Will; and thus we have to the ba&s;e&s;t and lowe&s;t Degree vilified our &s;elves. O Lord, we lament the Dignity and Honour we are fallen from; we abhor the Ingratitude and Rebellion of our &s;ins again&s;t Thee; we aba&s;e, we humble our &s;elves before Thee: Lord, have Mercy upon us mi&s;erable Sinners. Give us an unfeigned Repentance, and an humble Sen&s;e of our Vilene&s;s. Make us duly &s;olicitous to recover the Dig|nity and Honour of our Nature, to recover Thy Image in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s; and grant us we be&s;eech Thee, the Favour to obtain it. O Lord, forgive us our pa&s;t Sins, and clean&s;e us from all Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. Make us always to walk humbly with Thee our God; to reverence and honour Thee, to obey Thy Laws with all readine&s;s, and contentedly to &s;ubmit to Thy di&s;pen|&s;ations. Make us to ask all things of Thee, with the Mode&s;ty and Submi&s;&s;ion which becomes them who have
<PB N="114" REF="62">de&s;erved to receive no good thing. Give us a mean O|pinion of our &s;elves, let us know that we have no|thing but what we have receiv'd, and that withal, that we are as nothing in re&s;pect of Thee. Teach us to give to all Men their due Honour. Let us not en|vy our Neighbour his ju&s;t Prai&s;e, nor endeavour to de|prive him of it by Slander or Detraction. From Pride, Vain-glory and Hypocri&s;ie, good Lord deliver us: from whatever is di&s;plea&s;ing unto Thee, and would make us odious in Thy &s;ight. We pre&s;ume not, O Lord, to ask the&s;e or any other good things of Thee, relying on any Worth or Merit of our own; we are utterly a&s;ham'd to think, how imperfect and defil'd our be&s;t Works are; and we have all our Tru&s;t and Confidence in the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. He alone is righteous, He only is worthy to find Fa|vour with Thee.</P>
<P>In his Name we implore Thy Mercy for our &s;elves, and for all Mankind. Pardon, O Lord, and cure the Wickedne&s;s of the World; compa&s;&s;ionate, and mer|cifully remove the Mi&s;eries of it. Let all the People obey and prai&s;e Thee, O God, and do Thou abun|dantly ble&s;s them with Temporal and Spiritual Ble&s;|&s;ings. Grant Thy Church to flouri&s;h in all true Piety and Vertue: Let them that name the Name of Chri&s;t depart from all Iniquity: And have their Conver&s;ations, &s;uch as become the Go&s;pel: Pro&s;per tho&s;e that &s;eek the Peace of Thy Church, and let Thy Enemies be &s;cat|ter'd; let them that hate Thee flee before Thee. Lord, be merciful to the Land of our Nativity; root out from among us all Pride, Malice, Di&s;obedience, and Schi&s;m, and what&s;oever is contrary to true Godli|ne&s;s, and our common Peace and Welfare. Continue long to us the good, ju&s;t, and wi&s;e Government Thou ha&s;t &s;et over us; ble&s;s the De&s;igns and Undertakings of our Rulers for the promoting Thy Glory, and our Welfare with great Succe&s;s. And we pray for their per&s;onal Welfare and Pro&s;perity, while they &s;eek ours. Ble&s;s and continue the Royal Family, and grant that
<PB N="115" REF="62">it may never want a fit Per&s;on to be the Center of our Union, the Bond of our Peace, and the In&s;trument of our Happine&s;s. We recommend to Thy Mercies all our Relations; in&s;truct tho&s;e that are ignorant, re|duce tho&s;e that are wandering, into the right way of Truth, and Peace, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s; &s;upply we pray Thee tho&s;e that want, and do for them all beyond what we can ask or think. We give Thee mo&s;t hum|ble and hearty Thanks for all Thy Favour and Kind|ne&s;s to us; particularly, for thy Care of our immortal Souls, for the Means of Salvation which we have this Day enjoy'd; grant us we be&s;eech Thee everla&s;ting Benefit from them. We commit our &s;elves to Thy Care and Protection for this Night, and for the Re|mainder of our Lives, keep us, O Lord, by Thy Migh|ty Power through Faith unto Salvation, for the Sake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="116" REF="63">
<HEAD>THE REMEDIES OF Pride Propos'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 John 2.16.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For all that is in the World, the lu&s;t of the Fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the Eye, and the Pride of Life, is not of the Father, but is of the World.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the&s;e words the Apo&s;tle, by direction of the Holy Spirit, ju&s;tly divides the Lovers of this World into three Sorts: They inordi|nately love and follow either &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ures, or worldly Wealth, or Honour and E&s;teem: The&s;e
<PB N="117" REF="63">he al&s;o condemns in &s;aying, That &s;uch Di&s;po&s;iti|ons <HI>are not of the Father, but are of the World;</HI> they proceed from the Corruption and Depravation of Humane Nature. That they do &s;o, will evident|ly appear, if we fairly and impartially confider them; for then we &s;hall &s;oon &s;ee how ab&s;urd and unrea&s;onable the&s;e Vices are in their true Cha|racters, and proper Actings: And we may not doubt to conclude, that what is contrary to right Rea&s;on, if yet it proceeds from our &s;elves, mu&s;t needs proceed from a Depravation and Corrupti|on of our Nature. The&s;e things then we ought to avoid as the Defects, the Di&s;ea&s;es, and Di&s;parage|ments of our Nature; and we &s;hould &s;uffer our &s;elves to be cur'd of them by the wi&s;e Rules and important Arguments again&s;t them, which our Religion affords us.</P>
<P>That which I am at pre&s;ent to Di&s;cour&s;e upon, is the la&s;t of the Three. The inordinate Love and Pur&s;uit of Honour and E&s;teem, which the Apo|&s;tle calls <HI>the Pride of Life.</HI> And having already repre&s;ented the Character of this Sin, that which remains of the Di&s;cour&s;e, is to propo&s;e &s;uch Ar|guments and Con&s;iderations, as are fit to remedy and cure it. Indeed, Men do commonly condemn this Sin, it is odious to every one, yet it is not a needle&s;s task to urge Arguments again&s;t it; Be|cau&s;e, tho' they commonly condemn, yet they commonly practice it too; and the rea&s;on of this is, becau&s;e 'tis out of Pride, that Men condemn Pride, even the proud Man hates to &s;ee another proud. Men condemn it in others, but entertain and practice it in them&s;elves.</P>
<PB N="118" REF="64">
<P>I &s;hall repeat the Summ of what has been &s;aid, in giving the Character of this Vice, becau&s;e it will direct and help us in the Application of the Arguments that &s;hall be urg'd again&s;t it: And you may remember it has been &s;aid, Pride con&s;i&s;ts in an inordinate Love and De&s;ire of Honour and E&s;teem: And it exerci&s;es and di&s;covers it &s;elf chiefly in the&s;e three things: 1. In an exce&s;&s;ive Va|luation and E&s;teem of our own &s;elves. 2. In ex|acting and requiring to receive Honour and E|&s;teem from others unduly. 3. In neglecting and refu&s;ing to give that Re&s;pect and Honour to o|thers, which is due to them: And this Exerci&s;e of it regards both God and Man; for this Vice denies to both that Honour and Re&s;pect which we ought to pay.</P>
<P>Now to put the Arguments again&s;t this Vice into &s;ome Method, and to urge them with the more Advantage, I &s;hall fir&s;t propo&s;e &s;uch Con&s;i|derations as do e&s;pecially &s;erve to make us humble in our Behaviour towards God. Secondly, I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon tho&s;e which are e&s;pecially proper to check and cure the Exerci&s;es of Pride towards Men. Thirdly, I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon a general Ar|gument, which will be applicable again&s;t the Ex|erci&s;es of this Vice, both in a high Opinion of our &s;elves, and al&s;o in our Behaviour towards God and Man; and &s;hall particularly apply and urge it again&s;t each of them.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, let us &s;ee what Con&s;ierations may be propo&s;ed to prevent all Pride in our Beha|viour towards God: And to that purpo&s;e the&s;e things will be of u&s;e, if they be well con&s;ider'd.</P>
<PB N="119" REF="64">
<P N="1">1. We &s;hould &s;eriou&s;ly meditate and con&s;ider the wonderful and glorious Greatne&s;s of God com|par'd with our Littlene&s;s or Meanne&s;s. It is the common Errour of Pride, that it never cares to con&s;ider any thing, that is above a Man; but loves to be looking rather on what is, or is thought to be below him. To con&s;ider, then, the infinite and glorious Greatne&s;s of God, will be a very proper Means to check and abate it. When we delibe|rately view his amazing Glories, they cannot chu&s;e but dazle and confound us, &s;o as we mu&s;t needs look upon our &s;elves with Shame and Contempt; &s;o as that we cannot po&s;&s;ibly fancy there is any thing great or con&s;iderable in our &s;elves: And this too will di&s;po&s;e us to reverence the Great God as we ought to do.</P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider then, that God is from Everla|&s;ting to Everla&s;ting; His Duration is without Be|ginning or End. In a boundle&s;s Eternity has he ever enjoy'd him&s;elf &s;ufficient to him&s;elf and his own Happine&s;s: And he continues always with|out variablene&s;s or &s;hadow of Change. But on the other &s;ide, we mu&s;t own our &s;elves to be of a very late Original: which is elegantly and very fitly expre&s;s'd by <HI>Job,</HI> when he &s;ays, <HI>We are but of Ye|&s;terday,</HI> Job 8.9. And our Duration is tran&s;ito|ry, our Being is mutable, as he al&s;o confe&s;&s;es in &s;aying there, <HI>Our days on Earth are a &s;hadow:</HI> What proportion is there between Eternity, and all the time that this World has la&s;ted: This Earth has endur'd, and this Sun has &s;hone almo&s;t &s;ix Thou&s;and years, but this is nothing to the Dura|tion of the Eternal God, who had his Being E|ternally, before the Mountains were brought forth,
<PB N="120" REF="65">or ever the Earth and the World were form'd: Well may we &s;ay then of our &s;hort Duration, <HI>Our Age is as nothing in re&s;pect of him,</HI> as the P&s;almi&s;t humbly confe&s;&s;es, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 39.5.</P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider, the Great God an Infinite Be|ing, that in Him all Fulne&s;s of Excellency and Perfection dwells. All that which is divided a|mong the Creatures is united in him; and he has infinitely more than all they together. We in|deed, do in the whole excell perhaps the other Creatures of this vi&s;ible World, but yet in &s;ome particulars many of them excell us: Our Worth and Excellency, we plainly &s;ee, is confin'd within very narrow Limits, but his has no Limits at all.</P>
<P>We find our &s;elves confin'd to a particular Place and Sphere; when we are here, we cannot be in another Place; and tho' we may have &s;ome kind of influence where we are not pre&s;ent, yet our Sphere of Activity, and the reach of our Influence is very narrow and &s;mall: Not fit to be compar'd, certainly, with the Divine Immen&s;ity; with Him who fills Heaven and Earth, who&s;e Influence up|holds and works in all things, and whom the Hea|ven of Heavens cannot contain.</P>
<P>What is any Man's Dignity and Authority com|par'd with that of the Great God, who is Sove|reign of all things, Lord of Heaven and Earth! whom innumerable Ho&s;ts of mighty Angels obey: At who&s;e direction the Stars keep their Cour&s;es, the Winds blow, the Clouds drop their Showers, and the Sea lifts up or depre&s;&s;es its boi&s;terous Waves. He has the hearts of all Men in his Hand, and turns them which way &s;oever he plea&s;es; he
<PB N="121" REF="65">di&s;po&s;es and bends their &s;tubborn Wills and In|clinations, and over-rules all their Actions as He will; He is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and reigns over all the Nations of the Earth, and di&s;po&s;es of Thrones and Kingdoms at his Plea|&s;ure.</P>
<P>What Wealth can be compar'd to his who is Univer&s;al Proprietour, and Owner of all things! who &s;ays of him&s;elf, <HI>The World is mine, and the fulne&s;s thereof.</HI></P>
<P>What is our Wi&s;dom and Knowledge, but mere Ignorance and Folly, if compar'd with his: He knows all things, we know nothing, as <HI>Job</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Job</HI> 8.9. And how often do we find our Wi&s;dom at a lo&s;s, and committing fatal Errours, fool'd and fru&s;trated by his Infinite Wi&s;dom; but his can never be overcome, and is never mi&s;ta|ken.</P>
<P>How great is his Power which made all things of nothing! which moves the va&s;t Lights in the Heavens! and probably the heavy Earth we dwell upon! which upholds all things, and governs the Actions of all Creatures, to the producing &s;uch Events at all times as he plea&s;es!</P>
<P>It were to undertake an endle&s;s Task, to attempt a full Repre&s;entation of the Excellency of an Infi|nite Being. Here is room for the Eternal Exer|ci&s;e of our Meditations; and we &s;hould often &s;eri|ou&s;ly meditate on the Incomprehen&s;ible and Un|mea&s;urable Greatne&s;s of God, to make us behave our &s;elves with all Humility towards him.</P>
<P N="2">2. To this purpo&s;e al&s;o we may con&s;ider, that we have all that we are, and that we have from him. We are, in all that is natural to us, and
<PB N="122" REF="66">in all that we have acquired and gotten, derived from Him. Our Excellency then is all borrow'd, and we are beholden to him for it: &s;hould we then lift up our &s;elves again&s;t him, upon the Account of any thing we have, when we have it from him? Can we think it due that he &s;hould mightily value us for what we are, when he gave it us all? Can we oblige him, or merit any thing from him, who act with the Powers and Accompli&s;hments which he has given us? If we have receiv'd all that we have from God, we mu&s;t u&s;e all as he plea&s;es to direct, and mu&s;t be accountable to him how we u&s;e it all. Certainly, nothing we have can render us above his di&s;po&s;al. How little account &s;hould we make of our &s;elves, who can ju&s;tly a&s;cribe to our &s;elves nothing that we have? Who appear to de|rive all from another Being, in that we cannot get what we would, nor keep what we have at our own Plea&s;ure? E&s;pecially then is it unrea&s;onable that we &s;hould &s;et up our &s;elves again&s;t him on whom we depend. <HI>Shall the Clay &s;ay to him that fa&s;hioneth it, what make&s;t thou,</HI> &s;ays the Prophet <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.9. Intimating the unfitne&s;s of all our Con|tention, and Expo&s;tulation with our Maker.</P>
<P N="3">3. We ought to con&s;ider further, that we are all Sinners in the &s;ight of God. If we will duly con&s;ider the import and meaning of this, it mu&s;t needs humble and aba&s;e us before him. As &s;inners we have no good but what we are unworthy of, we have nothing but what we have abu&s;ed, and &s;o have forfeited. We have, then, no right to any good, we cannot claim as due to us, that God &s;hould maintain and continue to us any thing we have, or be&s;tow ought that we de&s;ire. We are
<PB N="123" REF="66">never wrong'd in any Affliction, we &s;uffer le&s;s evil than we have de&s;erv'd while we live, while we are cha&s;tened and not de&s;troy'd. We can have no ground then to murmur again&s;t God, for any of his Di&s;pen&s;ations. We &s;hould con&s;ider that to be &s;inners, is to be under the vile&s;t Di&s;paragement that can befall us; is to be among the wor&s;t of Beings, to be Rebells again&s;t the common Sove|reign of the World, to be ungrateful to our grea|te&s;t Benefactour; It &s;peaks us unju&s;t, and unlike to God in the wor&s;t manner that can be. This defiles and di&s;parages all that we would be proud of, and value our &s;elves for: And may ju&s;tly co|ver us with Shame and Confu&s;ion, when ever we think on the Great, the Pure, and the Holy God. Let us con&s;ider, that to be &s;inners is to be vile, but to be proud together with this, is to be more vile, and will &s;ink us to the lowe&s;t Degree of Ba&s;ene&s;s. He then that mo&s;t values him&s;elf under &s;uch a Di&s;paragement as this, has of all Men the lea&s;t rea&s;on to value him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Thus we may &s;ee, &s;urely, that we have no rea|&s;on to be proud, and exalt our &s;elves again&s;t Al|mighty God. But when we are convinced of this &s;till we are apt to think there is &s;ome ground for Pride towards Men: And if we mu&s;t acknow|ledge we have no worth in re&s;pect of him, yet we will think we have a great deal in compari&s;on to mo&s;t Men; and tho' we cannot pretend to much Merit from him, yet we think in many Ca&s;es we de&s;erve much from them. Now to take down this part of our Pride too, we may con&s;ider the&s;e fol|lowing things.</P>
<PB N="124" REF="67">
<P N="1">1. The common and mean Original of us all. That we have all one, and that one but a very contemptible Beginning. The Apo&s;tle truly &s;ays, <HI>God hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men for to dwell on all the Face of the Earth,</HI> Acts 17.26. Let us remember that the Creatour formed the fir&s;t of us from the Du&s;t of the Ground. If the Great God may be call'd our common Father, yet may the Earth be reckon'd as it were the Mother of us all. Let the Rich, the Beautiful, the Wi&s;e, the Noble con&s;ider they were formed from the poor, ignorant, homely and contemptible Du&s;t, as well as others. We are all nearly related to the Earth we tread upon. And as we were rai|&s;ed from thence, we do depend upon it &s;till for our Food and Su&s;tenance: As Children we hang all of us upon the Brea&s;ts of our common Mother, and <HI>the King him&s;elf</HI> (&s;ays the Wi&s;e-man) <HI>is &s;er|ved from the Field,</HI> Eccle&s;. 5.9. According to our mean Original, we have a very mean and poor Dependance; We are beholden to the Earth for our Food, and dig from thence our brighte&s;t Or|naments; we have many mean Nece&s;&s;ities which &s;end us a begging to poor and contemptible things for our comfort and &s;upport; and then &s;ure we have no ground to account our &s;elves very great. But let us con&s;ider further, the common Parents whom we all &s;pring from, and it cannot chu&s;e but aba&s;e us. We are all the Off-&s;pring of that wretched Pair, who &s;uffer'd them&s;elves to be ea&s;ily cheated out of all their Happine&s;s; who drew up|on them&s;elves and all their Po&s;terity the ju&s;t Wrath of Almighty God, for the &s;ake of a momentary and needle&s;s Gratification: who wanted no happi|ne&s;s,
<PB N="125" REF="67">and yet fooli&s;hly de&s;ir'd more than they had; and to gain more than they had need of, lo&s;t all they had. We are all of us the polluted mi&s;era|ble Off-&s;pring of &s;uch Parents; and derive from them Pollution and a Cur&s;e: We are <HI>Children of Wrath by Nature,</HI> and born to Woe and Sorrow: To live a few complaining Days on Earth, and then be di&s;&s;olv'd into Original Du&s;t. The&s;e things may ju&s;tly humble us.</P>
<P>But Pride will be apt to &s;ay, tho' in the&s;e things all Men are equal, yet in others they may differ: And we all indeed &s;prung from the Earth, but tho' that bears all Trees alike, yet they mightily differ from one another, and &s;ome are tall and &s;tately Cedars, &s;ome but very &s;orry Shrubs: and &s;ome are but a &s;ort of unprofitable Burdens to the Earth, but others bear much Fruit. Let us con|&s;ider, then, the differences which Men attain from one another: And if the&s;e are rightly under|&s;tood, we &s;hall &s;till &s;ee there is no rea&s;on for Pride, or a great preference of our &s;elves upon any Ac|count above our Neighbours.</P>
<P N="2">2. Again&s;t this then we &s;hould con&s;ider in the next place, that &s;ome of the things wherein Men differ from one another, are &s;uch as add no real or per&s;onal Worth to him that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es them: And then if one Man has never &s;o much more than another of &s;uch things, he may not be at all advanced above the other in real Excellency and Worth; and notwith&s;tanding this, he that has lea&s;t of &s;uch things, may be by far the Worthier Per&s;on. The things of this &s;ort are the&s;e two, <HI>Authority</HI> and <HI>Riches:</HI> Both the&s;e are external things to the Man that has them: They are not
<PB N="126" REF="68">re&s;ident in our Nature, but like our Cloaths, may be put on or off. A man has little rea&s;on, then, to prefer him&s;elf above his Neighbour for the&s;e alone.</P>
<P><HI>Authority</HI> to govern and rule, or to in&s;truct and ble&s;s, are awful, &s;acred and venerable things, be|cau&s;e they are God's Ordinances, and repre&s;ent him in the World: Yet the&s;e add no inward per|&s;onal Worth to him that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es either of them. The Prophet therefore &s;ays of one of them, that God in di&s;po&s;ing the Authorities of the World, does &s;ometimes give them to the <HI>ba&s;e&s;t of Men.</HI> And in &s;uch a Ca&s;e, tho' his Authority it &s;elf de|&s;erves Reverence and Honour, yet his Per&s;on may de&s;erve none: And as the per&s;onal Faults of either King or Prie&s;t, do not really le&s;&s;en the true Worth of their Authority, &s;o neither will their Authority give worth to their per&s;onal Faults; but he who wants the Authority, and has the Wi&s;dom, Piety and Vertue which they may want, is the better and the worthier Man: This <HI>Solomon</HI> expre&s;ly &s;ays, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 4.13. <HI>Better is a poor and a wi&s;e Child, than an old and fooli&s;h King who will no more be admoni&s;hed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Wealth</HI> is another thing wherein one Man may exceed another, and yet (as we may &s;ay) with|out excelling him. A man may be va&s;tly rich, and make a great &s;how with his Wealth; he may cloath him&s;elf very fine, have a &s;tately Hou&s;e, a large Retinue, and &s;plendid Equipage: but in the mid&s;t of all this, he may have a vain giddy Mind too, uncapable of any con&s;i&s;tent Thoughts, and empty of all worthy Accompli&s;hments, and he may be good for nothing. Perhaps he is en&s;lav'd
<PB N="127" REF="68">to Vice, and is mi&s;chievous to others, or to him|&s;elf thereby. And what rea&s;on then has a Man to prefer him&s;elf before his Neighbours for his Wealth alone? The vertuous and good Man &s;hall be more u&s;eful and profitable to the World, more acceptable with God, more happy in the Govern|ment of him&s;elf than He. Piety, Wi&s;dom and Vertue are the greate&s;t Excellencies of humane Nature; and then he is mo&s;t excellent among Men, that has mo&s;t of them, whatever his outward Condition is; therefore the P&s;almi&s;t calls the <HI>Righteous the excellent of the Earth,</HI> and <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>the Righteous is more excellent than his Neigh|bour,</HI> Prov. 12.26. It was therefore well &s;aid by another Wi&s;e-man (<HI>Ecclus.</HI> 10.22.) whether Rich, Noble or Poor, their Glory is the Fear of the Lord. And if the Vanity of Riches be con&s;i|der'd, and the little U&s;e they are of to us in many important Nece&s;&s;ities, it will appear a Man has little rea&s;on to be proud of them, and that it is very ju&s;t Advice which the Prophet gives concer|ning them, <HI>Jer.</HI> 9.23. <HI>Let not the rich Man glory in his Riches.</HI></P>
<P>It is per&s;onal and inward Worth which is mo&s;t valuable; but yet in this we can have no good rea&s;on to be proud neither, or highly to value our &s;elves above our Neighbours, becau&s;e of what may be added, in the third place again&s;t &s;uch Pride, and that is,</P>
<P N="3">3. That in the things which do give us per&s;o|nal and inward Worth, there are no very great Differences among Men: We cannot in the&s;e things va&s;tly differ from one another, as we &s;hall be for|ced to confe&s;s upon an impartial Con&s;ideration of
<PB N="128" REF="69">the Particulars. The things that &s;peak a per&s;onal and real Worth in him that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es them, are ei|ther the Goods of the Body, or the Goods of the Mind.</P>
<P>The Goods of the Body are Beauty and Strength; let us con&s;ider the differences among&s;t us in the&s;e, and we &s;hall find they cannot be great. The greate&s;t <HI>Beauty</HI> any one has needs the Sun to &s;hine upon it, and is but a dark thing unle&s;s the Light gives it Lu&s;tre. The be&s;t Shape and Proportion needs &s;ome Art and Endeavour to make the be&s;t of it. And as there is not perhaps a perfect Beau|ty to be found, which has no defect, &s;o it may be there is none &s;o deform'd, but has or may have &s;omething hand&s;ome: ob&s;tinate Endeavour and Care may acquire a graceful Motion, which is a very powerful Part of Beauty; and all may put on Mode&s;ty, which has Charms where-ever it is. As for <HI>Strength,</HI> the greate&s;t any of us have is but lit|tle, and then there can be no great difference in this between us. How much more than we have &s;ome Bea&s;ts, who can run with that Load which would cru&s;h one of us to Death? If Meer Bodily &s;trength, then, could make a great difference, the &s;tronger Bea&s;t &s;hould be the more excellent Crea|ture. Be&s;ides, how ea&s;ily, how &s;oon is the grea|te&s;t Strength overthrown! A Days &s;ickne&s;s makes the &s;trong Man a Burden to him&s;elf, and reduces him to &s;uch Weakne&s;s, that even a Child can af|flict him. Or &s;uppo&s;e a Fly or an Hair in his Throat, a few drops of Drink gone the wrong way, or a thin Breath of Infectious Air &s;uck'd in at his No&s;trils; and what then will his greate&s;t Strength avail him? with &s;o weak and contempti|ble
<PB N="129" REF="69">an In&s;trument can Death overcome the &s;trong|e&s;t of us. It was very rea&s;onable and ju&s;t advice therefore, that of the Prophet, <HI>Let not the &s;trong Man Glory in his &s;trength,</HI> Jer. 9.23.</P>
<P>The Goods of the Mind which al&s;o &s;peak an inward and per&s;onal Worth, are either Ingehuity and Wit; or Wi&s;dom and Learning; or Piety and Vertue: But neither in the&s;e can there be any great Differences among Men. There are &s;ome Differences of <HI>Ingenuity and Wit,</HI> or natural Abi|lities and Capacity of the Mind in Men. Some have the Eye of the Mind clearer than others; but the cleare&s;t Eye of the Mind as well as of the Body, and the &s;harpe&s;t &s;ight of both is mo&s;t ten|der too, and mo&s;t ea&s;ily dazled with a very light and bright Object; and we &s;ee none more con|founded in their thoughts, than tho&s;e that have the cleare&s;t Under&s;tandings many times are; when they will venture to be familiar with the Divine Imcomprehen&s;ible Glory. Often do we &s;ee an Accident rou&s;e the dulle&s;t Wit to an in&s;tande of great Sagacity, &s;o as to equal even the mo&s;t ingenuous Per&s;on, and often is the Wit foil'd e|ven by the Fool. Some have their thoughts nim|bler, and &s;ome &s;tronger than others: And they who have them very nimble and ready, have them u&s;ually &s;ubject to this di&s;advantage, that they are uncon&s;tant and un&s;teady too, not patient or capa|ble of much Labour or Care: And tho&s;e who have their thoughts &s;tronge&s;t and mo&s;t &s;teady and capable of Diligence have them al&s;o flowe&s;t, and mo&s;t unready, and needing frequent exciting and rouzing. And the&s;e defects in every &s;ort of Wit, keep Men u&s;ually much about a common level,
<PB N="130" REF="70">and near an equality with one another; &s;o that there are but very few if any, perhaps one or two in an Age, and in &s;ome Ages none that can ri&s;e to any great or con&s;iderable degree of Wit and Abilities of Mind beyond others. In <HI>Wi&s;dom and Learning,</HI> tho&s;e that have mo&s;t cannot far exceed others. As for our greate&s;t Wi&s;dom how little, how &s;hort-&s;ighted is it! How often has it occa&s;i|on to &s;ay, alas, this I did not fore&s;ee! How of|ten is it puzled and knows not what direction 'tis be&s;t to give us! How liable to err and mi&s;take is the be&s;t of it! When there have never been greater Follies committed by Men, than tho&s;e that have been committed by the wi&s;e&s;t of Men! And 'tis the common Di&s;paragement of our Wi&s;dom, that we mu&s;t be taught it by co&s;tly Experience: We u&s;ually &s;mart for our Follies before we will be wi&s;e, and then &s;ure have we little Rea&s;on to be proud of our Wi&s;dom. As for our <HI>Learning,</HI> alas, how &s;hort and limited is that too! With much Toil and Labour we can gain but little Know|ledge; it is indeed a very precious thing, but we have not the Wit to value it till many years are over our Heads, and we have &s;quander'd away a great part of our time. And when we have got the mo&s;t of it we can, yet is the va&s;t exten&s;ive object of Knowledge &s;till &s;tretch'd out far beyond our reach, and there is much more to be known than we do know. Our knowledge too like our &s;ight, commonly confines it &s;elf on the out&s;ides of things, and does not pierce or enter into the Na|ture and Sub&s;tance of them. The un&s;tudied Per|&s;on, bred to Labour, and not at lei&s;ure for Lear|ning, may yet know enough to lead him to the
<PB N="131" REF="70">everla&s;ting Happine&s;s: And what knowledge be|&s;ides this can the mo&s;t learned Man be acquainted with, that will be of any great value or u&s;e to him. Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s is the one thing ne|ce&s;&s;ary, the only truly important Concern of Man|kind, and he that knows how to gain that knows enough: La&s;tly, in <HI>Piety and Vertue</HI> too; How defective are the be&s;t of us. To be &s;ure the be&s;t will think them&s;elves very much &s;o. If we would deliberately compare our &s;elves to the Rule, we &s;hould all &s;ee great Defects in our &s;elves. We perhaps compare our &s;elves with tho&s;e who noto|riou&s;ly neglect all Religion; or we put &s;piteful and envious Interpretations upon the Actions of our Neighbours, and call their good evil; and by a partial Fondne&s;s for our &s;elves we call our own evil Good: And thus we make a &s;hift to account our &s;elves better than they. But if we are fairly compar'd to the exten&s;ive and holy Rule, the Law of God, it will appear that <HI>in many things we all offend,</HI> and fall far &s;hort of what we ought to be: So that none have any rea&s;on to be conceit|ed of their Godline&s;s, or to de&s;pi&s;e their Neigh|bour as le&s;s Holy than them&s;elves. Certainly he that grows proud of either Wi&s;dom or Goodne&s;s lo&s;es both: As the Pride of them encrea&s;es they decay, and he that has mo&s;t Pride has lea&s;t to be proud of. Our Saviour teaches us that the <HI>Pub|lican,</HI> who had no good Actions or Vertues to boa&s;t of, and therefore humbly confe&s;t his Vilene&s;s and &s;aid, <HI>Lord have mercy upon me a Sinner,</HI> was ju&s;tified in the &s;ight of God before the haughty <HI>Phari&s;ee,</HI> who had been punctually ju&s;t to God and Man, and Cha&s;te, Ab&s;temious and Sober in his
<PB N="132" REF="71">Plea&s;ures and Enjoyments; but boa&s;ted and was proud of the&s;e things, and valued him&s;elf highly, and di&s;dain'd the <HI>Publican</HI> for want of them.</P>
<P>Thus I have fini&s;ht the Second &s;ort of Argu|ments again&s;t Pride which I propo&s;ed to in&s;i&s;t upon. I &s;hall now add another Argument which will be very &s;en&s;ible to that Self-Love, from whence our Pride ari&s;es. The general Argument is that which the wi&s;e Man urges for the Cure of this Vice, when he &s;ays, <HI>Before Honour is Humility,</HI> Prov. 16.15.33. And <HI>a haughty Spirit before a fall,</HI> Prov. 18. De&s;igning to teach us, that Humility is the &s;ure&s;t way to obtain Honour and E&s;teem; and Pride certainly in its own Nature, tends to Di&s;grace and Shame. It is the Nature of all Vice, and therefore al&s;o of Pride to fight even again&s;t it &s;elf, and to lo&s;e and &s;poil the thing it is mo&s;t de&s;irous of; &s;o the Voluptuous Man makes a very Drudgery, and even a Wearine&s;s of his Plea&s;ures; the Covetous Man has no u&s;e of his Riches; and the Proud Man &s;o pur&s;ues Honour and E&s;teem, as rather to drive it &s;till from him than to overtake it. Now this general Argu|ment is applicable again&s;t the Exerci&s;es of this Vice, both in our high Conceits of our &s;elves, and in our Carriage towards God and towards Men: And I &s;hall &s;o apply and u&s;e it in the following par|ticulars or branches of it, which will &s;hew that Hu|mility &s;ets us in the be&s;t way, both to de&s;erve and receive Honour and E&s;teem from our &s;elves from God and from Men.</P>
<P N="1">1. An humble and mode&s;t Opinion of our &s;elves is of great advantage and u&s;e towards the encrea&s;ing and promoting our inward real Worth;
<PB N="133" REF="71">but Pride is di&s;advantageous to this: In a mean Opinion of our &s;elves, we are in the likelie&s;t way to be worthy of a good one: And the le&s;s Ho|nour we give our &s;elves, 'tis likely the more we &s;hall de&s;erve. The humble Man has but a &s;mall opinion of the Degrees of his Vertue and Im|provement, and therefore does, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>forget tho&s;e things which are behind,</HI> or al|ready attain'd, and pre&s;&s;es forwards to what he &s;till wants, and will be con&s;tantly and diligently en|deavouring to encrea&s;e; and this cour&s;e is ble&s;t with encrea&s;e of Vertue. But the proud Man being mightily conceited of what he has already attain'd, does not concern him&s;elf to Improve, and perhaps he &s;o neglects him&s;elf as to decline and fall from what he had attain'd. Humility lets a Man &s;ee his Errors and Defects him&s;elf, or ren|ders him capable of having them &s;hown to him by another, and &s;o is he di&s;po&s;ed to amend the&s;e: But Pride conceals &s;uch things from a Man's &s;elf, and will not endure the In&s;truction, and de&s;pi&s;es the reproof of others; &s;o it hardens a Man in his Faults and Di&s;paragements, and makes him retain, and it may be encrea&s;e in them.</P>
<P N="2">2. An humble and mode&s;t Opinion of our &s;elves and Behaviour towards Men tends to en|crea&s;e our Favour and E&s;teem with them; but Pride oppo&s;es and de&s;troys it. A mode&s;t Opinion of our &s;elves is very u&s;eful and &s;erviceable towards a good and laudable Performance of what we un|dertake: For this will make a Man &s;it down and con&s;ider, Fir&s;t, whether he is &s;ufficient to accom|pli&s;h, and &s;o gives him a ju&s;t E&s;timate of his Abi|lity, and hinders him from undertaking what is
<PB N="134" REF="72">beyond his Power; but Pride is ra&s;h and forward, and from too great a Conceit of Ability makes a Man undertake what he is not able to perform, and &s;o expo&s;es him to Shame for his Folly. Again, in the pro&s;ecuting a de&s;ign, Humility makes a Man careful, and diligent; becau&s;e he has but a mean Opinion of his Abilities, he reckons to make up the defects of them with circum&s;pect Care, and ob&s;tinate Labour and Diligence; &s;o he makes the be&s;t of his Ability by his indu&s;trious Application, and &s;o he performs the better: But on the contrary a proud Man being highly con|ceited of his Ability takes le&s;s Care, is &s;light in his Endeavour and Application to what he does, and &s;o he performs but meanly, and comes off with di&s;grace. The proud Man carries him&s;elf boldly and confidently in his Bu&s;ine&s;s, and this impo&s;es upon the weak and ignorant awhile, and they it may be think he performs well. But &s;uch a confident Behaviour is like <HI>a lying tongue,</HI> which <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>is but for a moment;</HI> it makes a great blaze, but a &s;hort one: The mo&s;t Judicious &s;ee emptine&s;s and little worth through it at fir&s;t, and the multitude will &s;ee it after a little time. But that Mode&s;ty which more endeavours to have worth than to make &s;hew of it, and to perform well more than to be thought to do &s;o, &s;hall give a Man in time the be&s;t and mo&s;t la&s;ting Reputation.</P>
<P>Further 'tis evident, that an humble Behaviour towards Men, does altogether tend to procure their Re&s;pect and E&s;teem. He that always ap|pears ready to give Re&s;pect to all, obliges them to give him Re&s;pect: Honour is &s;o dear a thing to us, that nothing can oblige us more than to give
<PB N="135" REF="72">us that. And humility will conde&s;cend, will oblige and pay due Re&s;pects, and had rather pay more than le&s;s than is due; and the&s;e are very charming Properties in the Eyes of Men. But Pride on the other &s;ide, is full of Di&s;dain and Contempt, and &s;o provokes Di&s;dain. It requires a great deal of Re&s;pect, but cares not to give a|ny; and while it gives Honour and E&s;teem to none but a Man's own &s;elf, it &s;hall find that none will Honour or E&s;teem him but him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3. To have an humble Opinion of our &s;elves, and walk humbly with God, tends to advance us in Favour and E&s;teem with him; but Pride on the contrary provokes and procures his great Di&s;plea|&s;ure and Contempt. The&s;e things are &s;o often both of them repre&s;ented in Holy Scripture, that if we con&s;ult it but a little we cannot mi&s;s of &s;eeing them there. We are told a proud Look is among the things abominable to God, Prov. 6.17. That <HI>an high Look and a proud Heart is &s;in,</HI> that is, odious and di&s;plea&s;ing to God, <HI>Prov.</HI> 21.4. And he di&s;covers him&s;elf as well plea&s;ed with Hu|mility in the many gracious Promi&s;es he has made to it. We may conclude very ea&s;ily from the Nature of the&s;e, that the one mu&s;t extreamly plea&s;e, and the other offend him. We mu&s;t expect then what is &s;aid, 1 Sam. 2.30. <HI>Them that honour him he will honour, but they that de&s;pi&s;e him &s;hall be lightly e&s;teemed;</HI> this was made good by his Providence upon the Hou&s;e of <HI>Eli,</HI> even at, and from the very time when it was &s;aid, as we may &s;ee by the Hi|&s;tory, we mu&s;t expect as our Saviour &s;ays, That <HI>who&s;oever exalts him&s;elf &s;hall be aba&s;ed, but he that humbles him&s;elf &s;hall be exalted.</HI> Matt. 23.12. In
<PB N="136" REF="73">that threatning again&s;t Pride, &s;ays a devout Au|thor <HI>(Lud. de Ponte)</HI> are Three grievous Puni&s;h|ments included: Fir&s;t, the proud Man &s;hall not receive the Honour and E&s;teem of his worth which he de&s;ires. 2. He &s;hall lo&s;e that worth which he valued him&s;elf for. 3. He &s;hall fall into Con|tempt and Di&s;grace. But the humble Man &s;hall continue and encrea&s;e in the worth he has, and re|ceive the Honour due to it. Saint <HI>James</HI> &s;ays, God <HI>re&s;i&s;ts the Proud, but gives Grace to the hum|ble,</HI> James 4.6. If we are &s;en&s;ible of our Defects, he will Pardon and heal them: As the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>If we confe&s;s our &s;ins he is faithful and ju&s;t to forgive us our &s;ins, and to clean&s;e us from all un|righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> But the proud Man that covers his Sins, that will not humbly own his Defects re|tains them, and the Guilt of them. Therefore 'tis &s;aid, <HI>He that covereth his &s;ins &s;hall not pro&s;per, but who&s;o confe&s;&s;es, and for&s;akes them &s;hall find Mercy.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we may &s;ee that to exerci&s;e Humility is the true&s;t and &s;ure&s;t way to obtain Honour from God and Man. If we &s;eek Honour and E&s;teem ju&s;tly and regularly, we &s;hall obtain it: Religion cro&s;&s;es none of our natural De&s;ires, but rather helps to obtain the ju&s;t and due Gratifications of them. But if we &s;eek this inordinately in the Exerci&s;es of Pride we &s;hall mi&s;s of it. So true it is what the wi&s;e Man &s;ays, Prov. 11.2. <HI>When Pride com|eth then cometh Shame, but with the Lowly is Wi&s;|dom.</HI> Pride &s;eeks Honour and E&s;teem, and &s;eeks &s;o as to mi&s;s of it; Humility by a ju&s;t Temper, between &s;eeking and declining it governs a Man &s;o as to gain it; and this is the Wi&s;dom of the
<PB N="137" REF="73">one, and the Folly of the other. God grant we may all be &s;o Wi&s;e, as to approve our &s;elves to him, and to gain at la&s;t the Salvation of our Souls through Je&s;us Chri&s;t: To whom with the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Prai&s;e world without end. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>INfinite and Incomprehen&s;ible God! Thy Greatne&s;s is un&s;earchable, we can never find Thee out unto Perfection. We adore, we reverence Thee as we ought to do; we fall down before Thee as unworthy to ap|pear in thy Pre&s;ence. All Nations of the Earth are as nothing, and meer Vanity in Compari&s;on to Thee. But O Lord, we have further rea&s;on to humble and aba&s;e our &s;elves before Thee, as we are become vile, filthy, and polluted Sinners. We are e&s;pecially upon this account unworthy to approach Thee; we mu&s;t ac|knowledge our &s;elves le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all thy Mercies. O Lord, we will endeavour that our Hu|mility may be equal to our Vilene&s;s; we will judge and condemn our &s;elves before Thee; for thou ha&s;t regard unto the lowly; and a broken and contrite Heart O God thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e. O enter not in|to Judgment with us; deal not with us after our Sins, neither reward us according to our Iniquities: If thou Lord mark again&s;t us what we do ami&s;s who may abide it? our be&s;t Actions are polluted, and even our Righteou&s;ne&s;s is as filthy Rags. We humbly fly to thy Mercy, and to the Merits and Sacrifice of
<PB N="138" REF="74">Je&s;us Chri&s;t. In him is all our hope, who died for our Sins and ro&s;e again for our Ju&s;tication, and ever lives to make Interce&s;&s;ion for us. We do in his Name pre|&s;ent our &s;elves before Thee, and entreat Thee for his &s;ake to Pardon all our Sins that are pa&s;t; to convert us from all Evil for the time to come. Deliver us from Pride, and Ob&s;tinacy in Sin; give us Meekne&s;s and Humility; make us to have always mean thoughts of our &s;elves; let us not be wi&s;e in our own Eyes; plant in our Hearts a ju&s;t Fear of Thee, which is the beginning of Wi&s;dom. Let us always know O Lord, that we are not &s;ufficient of our &s;elves for &s;o much as a good thought; that we can do no good thing with|out Thee, that we are utter Darkne&s;s without thy Light communicated to us; Folly without thy Wi&s;|dom, and Weakne&s;s without thy Strength. Make us to acknowledge our &s;elves Favour'd by Thee, in all the good that is in us, and oblig'd by Thee, even for the good we do: As it is from Thee that we have the Power, the Will, and the Opportunity to do it. Make us diligent in all good Works, and exerci&s;e and u&s;e the Gifts thou ha&s;t given us in ways agreeable to thy Will, and for thy Glory; that &s;o we may en|crea&s;e in all that is Excellent according to thy Pro|mi&s;e, that to him that hath &s;hall be given, and he &s;hall have abundance. A&s;&s;i&s;t us Mercifully in all our Duties, pro&s;per all our good Undertakings, make us Ve&s;&s;els of Honour fit for thy u&s;e and &s;ervice in the World, accept our poor Services, and let us finally by thy Mercy obtain everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</P>
<P>In his Name we make our further Addre&s;&s;es to Thee for all Mankind. Grant that all may know and Love and obey Thee; and that all may be happy in thy Favour and Love. Let Love and Humility, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s abound among Men, and promote the Peace and Tranquility of the World. Lord look down in Mercy upon thy Church, &s;anctifie all its Af|flictions, and let the Fruit of them be to take away
<PB N="139" REF="74">Sins; and in thy due time redeem <HI>I&s;rael</HI> O God out of all his troubles. Let the Pa&s;tors feed the Flock with &s;ound Doctrine diligently, and go before them in Innocence, and Holine&s;s of Life. Let the People know &s;uch as are over them in the Lord, and admoni&s;h them, and e&s;teem them very highly in Love for their Works &s;ake. Ble&s;s we pray Thee the Nations to which we belong; let us know and chu&s;e the things that belong to our Peace; let our ways plea&s;e Thee, and do thou make our Enemies to be at peace with us. Ble&s;s our mo&s;t Gracious King, with all &s;piritual and temporal Ble&s;&s;ngs; grant that he knowing who&s;e Mini&s;ter he is, may above all things &s;eek thy Honour and Glory, and do thou long continue and abundant|ly encrea&s;e His. Let our Royal Family be ever pre|cious in thy &s;ight, and Glorious in the World, and happy in the Government of the&s;e Nations. Teach us who are &s;ubject quietly to obey them in Thee and for Thee, according to thy Ble&s;&s;ed word and Ordi|nance, that &s;o we may enjoy the Benefits of Settle|ment and Peace. Let all that are related to us be dear to Thee; deal with them O Lord according to thy Mercy, and teach them thy Statutes. Let all thy Di&s;pen&s;ations towards them in this Life, fit them for a better hereafter. We give Thee thanks for thy In|e&s;timable Love, in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and for the means of Grace, and the hopes of Glory which we have by him. We pray that the means we have this day enjoy'd, may abundantly encrea&s;e thy Grace in us, and our ju&s;t and comfortable hopes of immortal Glory. We commit our &s;elves to our Re&s;t, and to thy Protection this Night: And &s;um up all our Reque&s;ts in our Saviours words, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="140" REF="75">
<HEAD>THE CHARACTER AND CURE OF A Worldly Mind.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Phil. 3.19. latter part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Who mind Earthly things.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT was an occa&s;ion of great Grief to this good Apo&s;tle, as he &s;ays, that there were &s;ome in the Church who govern'd them&s;elves &s;o, as to di&s;parage their Holy Profe&s;&s;ion by the Wicked|ne&s;s of their Lives, and to incurr their own De|&s;truction, even under that excellent In&s;titution which was admirably fitted, and intended to pro|crue
<PB N="141" REF="75">their Salvation: And this mu&s;t needs be a very &s;en&s;ible and grievous thing to one &s;o much concern'd, as he always was, for the Glory of God, and the Salvation of Men. He takes no|tice of &s;uch Per&s;ons as the&s;e, and mentions their ill Carriage, and the fatal Con&s;equences of it, that others might be aware of, and avoid the &s;ame Errour and Mi&s;chief. The Summ of their ill Cha|racter, which is given in &s;everal Particulars, in the 18th and 19th Ver&s;es, is contain'd in the words which I have read for our pre&s;ent Text. They were &s;uch as did <HI>mind Earthly things.</HI> One Tran|&s;lation renders the word thus: They have no Thoughts or Affections, but what are concern'd and engag'd about the Earth. The things of this World had po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Minds, the prefe|rence of their Judgments; and they were gover|ned by the De&s;ire and Love of them. A great and exce&s;&s;ive Value and regard to the&s;e things, was their fundamental Errour. And this, where-ever it is, will utterly de&s;troy the Sub&s;tance and Life of Religion, and will leave a Man, if any thing at all of that, no more than the meer &s;how and appea|rance. To which purpo&s;e the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> &s;ays, <HI>If any Man loves the World the Love of the Father is not in him,</HI> 1 John 2.15. And then he who profe&s;&s;es and believes well, but lives thus, is a Chri&s;tian not to his Salvation, as he might be, but only to his heavier Condemnation, and &s;orer De&s;truction.</P>
<P>This Di&s;cour&s;e, then, &s;hall endeavour the cu|ring this Di&s;ea&s;e of the Mind, which does thus di&s;parage our Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ion, and is fatal to our Souls: To which End, I think it requi&s;ite to
<PB N="142" REF="76">in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e. 1. To expo&s;e this Ill &s;tate of Mind, and &s;how by what Characters and Symptoms it is wont to betray it &s;elf: that we may know what it is to <HI>Mind Earthly Things,</HI> and what we are to avoid in this Matter. 2. To urge tho&s;e Arguments again&s;t it, which are proper to make us willing and de&s;irous to avoid it. And this will be the whole Bu&s;ine&s;s of the pre&s;ent Di&s;cour&s;e. Which that you may be per&s;waded the better to attend to, I think fit to premi&s;e that I am now about to di&s;cour&s;e of that which is the mo&s;t general and common Fault a|mong Men; which is the Root and Spring of mo&s;t of the Evils of our Lives; which is the great de|&s;troyer of Souls, and the chief In&s;trument of the Devil, by which he brings Men to everla&s;ting Per|dition; which if it be not cured and removed out of our Minds, we can never practice any true Ver|tue or Religion, and it will be impo&s;&s;ible for us ever to be &s;av'd.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;ay, I &s;hall endeavour to &s;how this Ill-&s;tate and Temper of Mind by its chief Characters, that Men may know by what Marks to avoid it: Tho' I &s;hall not in&s;i&s;t &s;o long on this Head as the other; becau&s;e, I think 'tis ea&s;ier to di&s;cover this than to cure it. Now to <HI>Mind Earthly Things,</HI> &s;o as it mu&s;t be condemn'd, con|tains in it, and &s;hows it &s;elf by the&s;e three things following.</P>
<P N="1">1. When a Man lets him&s;elf be wholly or chiefly taken up, and employ'd by Worldly Cares and Pur&s;uits. This State of Mind values nothing greatly, but the things of this World; either Wealth or Honour, or &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure is its
<PB N="143" REF="76">chiefe&s;t Good. And accordingly all the thoughts are employ'd about them, either in care and con|trivance to gain, or el&s;e in the plea&s;ing Reflecti|ons that he has them. And from one degree and mea&s;ure to another, it does continually follow the&s;e things; 'tis the main Bu&s;ine&s;s of Life to rai&s;e a Fortune in this World, and gain the grea|te&s;t Mea&s;ure he can of tho&s;e good things of it, which he chiefly admires. If he has any concern for the Church of God, it is the outward world|ly Greatne&s;s and the Wealth of it that he is mo&s;t concern'd for, and that for the &s;ake of his own worldly Advantage together with it. If he &s;eeks and undertakes any Office or Service which is in the De&s;ign of it intended for the Glory of God and the Benefit of Men's Souls to promote their Religion and Salvation, his End is the Profit that attends &s;uch a Service, or the Honour and Re|&s;pect which u&s;ually belongs to it. Even the Pra|ctice of Hone&s;ty and Ju&s;tice, or Charity towards Men, and the &s;how of Piety towards God, and Zeal for true Religion, are all de&s;ign'd and dire|cted to worldly Advantage. Religion indeed al|lows, that we may value a good Name and E&s;teem among Men; that we may &s;eek after a competent Portion of Wealth and Provi&s;ion for our &s;elves; and that we may enjoy and u&s;e the plea&s;ing and good things, which the kind Creatour has fur|ni&s;h'd this World with: But then it forbids that we &s;et our Hearts entirely upon the&s;e things; it does not permit us to mind nothing el&s;e; it con|demns us if we take the&s;e things for our chiefe&s;t Goods; when we neglect all other things for the&s;e, and &s;light and de&s;pi&s;e Religion and Vertue, and
<PB N="144" REF="77">the Laws and Rewards of them in compari&s;on to the&s;e things.</P>
<P N="2">2. This temper of mind &s;eeks the things of this World for their own &s;akes only, and to gra|tifie by them tho&s;e Lu&s;ts and Appetites which de&s;ire them. A man may, and &s;hould &s;eek the Honours and Wealth of this World, that he may be thereby in the greater Capacity to honour God, and do good Offices to his Neighbours: And he may &s;eek and enjoy the plea&s;ant things of it to chear and refre&s;h his Spirits, to maintain him in Health and Vigour for the Services of his Office and Station. And thus he may be in|nocent and religious in the &s;eeking of the&s;e: But the worldly Mind &s;eeks them without any regard to a good or religious End. It de&s;ires Riches for the &s;ake of having them, if Covetou&s;ne&s;s be the mo&s;t predominant Vice; It de&s;ires them for the &s;ake of that Honour and Re&s;pect which they have among Men; or that they may maintain him in Ea&s;e and Plea&s;ure, if there be a Mixture of Pride, or of Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s with his Covetou&s;ne&s;s: And it de&s;ires and &s;eeks Honour and Plea&s;ure for their own &s;akes, and to gratifie thereby his Pride or Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s. The worldly Mind &s;eeks only the gratifying a Man's own Lu&s;ts and De&s;ires; and has no concern at all for the Glory of God, or the Good of Mankind. It therefore makes a Man manage him&s;elf in all manner of Bu&s;ine&s;s, with Relation chiefly to him&s;elf. If one &s;ort of Car|riage would honour God more, or more advan|tage the World, but bring le&s;s Honour or Profit to him&s;elf, he will be &s;ure to decline that way of governing him&s;elf in his Bu&s;ine&s;s. If his Pride or
<PB N="145" REF="77">Covetou&s;ne&s;s be &s;erv'd by his Office and Bu&s;ine&s;s he is plea&s;ed with it; but if he is di&s;appointed in the&s;e things, he is di&s;contented and unea&s;ie, however u&s;eful he is, or might be in it to the Glory of God, or the good of his Neighbour. More Gain, or more Honour, or more Plea&s;ure, and Ea&s;e &s;hall effectually invite him, from what would be more u&s;eful to Men, more for the Cre|dit of Religion, or for the Honour of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is the Property of this Temper of Mind, to &s;eek the things of this World by any manner of ways, which &s;eem likely to obtain them. If it can but gain the&s;e things, it matters not how it gains them: Tho' the Laws of Men be broken for them, the Intere&s;t of the Publick &s;lighted, the Laws of God affronted, or his own Word or Oath violated to gain or &s;ave them. By com|mon worldly ways, he &s;eeks the&s;e worldly things, that is, by ways tending to gain them, whether they be good or bad; and he very boldly, and readily falls in with tho&s;e ways, which are commonly u&s;ed by the World, whether they be innocent and becoming a Chri&s;tian, or not. As the Rewards and Offers of Chri&s;tian Religion are not the chief things he de&s;ires, &s;o neither will he confine him&s;elf to the Rules of Religion in pro&s;ecuting what he does chiefly de&s;ire. The things of this world are always to a worldly Mind, very &s;trong and powerful Temptations to any wickedne&s;s. As he is not concern'd to plea&s;e or honour God, or do any good to Man, but only to plea&s;e, and ho|nour, and advance him&s;elf; &s;o it mu&s;t needs be, that he will not &s;tick to &s;light and for&s;ake the Laws of God and Religion, when they contradict
<PB N="146" REF="78">his worldly De&s;igns. If it &s;eems to him nece&s;&s;ary to do ill things to make the be&s;t Improvement of his calling and Bu&s;ine&s;s that he can, he will ea&s;ily &s;uffer him&s;elf to do them. He values his worldly Advantages more than his Religion, and will rea|dily renounce that in any particular In&s;tance and Duty of it, or perhaps in the whole rather than hazard or lo&s;e them.</P>
<P>Thus I have briefly, but &s;ufficiently de&s;cribed the Worldly Mind. This is that Spirit of the World which Chri&s;tianity condemns, which we are bound by it not to follow, nor be led by: But this we may too ea&s;ily &s;ee is the common Cour&s;e and Practi&s;e of Men; and we mu&s;t needs ju&s;tifie St. <HI>John,</HI> when he &s;ays, all that is in the World is the Lu&s;t of the Fle&s;h, the Lu&s;t of the Eye, and the Pride of Life. The pur&s;uit and Enjoyment of this World, do entirely take up the mo&s;t of Men; if ever they think on any thing el&s;e, 'tis but by way of Diver&s;ion; and the plea&s;ing of God and the Salvation of their Souls, are very lit|tle minded in Compari&s;on to the&s;e things. I have not been &s;peaking then, of that which is never, or but &s;eldom Practi&s;ed, and which there|fore few have need to fear, or be careful to avoid; but of that which is very frequent in the World, which Mankind are very liable to, and which therefore all Men ought, with much care and en|deavour to avoid. To provoke us to which is the De&s;ign of the &s;econd part of the Di&s;cour&s;e, to which I now proceed,</P>
<P>To urge tho&s;e Arguments that are fit to reme|dy and cure this our minding of Earthly things. I have indeed already di&s;cour&s;t again&s;t this Di&s;|temper
<PB N="147" REF="78">of our Minds, as it exerci&s;es it &s;elf in tho&s;e three main Branches of it; Voluptuou&s;|ne&s;s, Covetuou&s;ne&s;s and Pride: And I have urg'd again&s;t the&s;e &s;everally the particular Arguments which are fit to remedy them. But becau&s;e there are &s;ome general Arguments u&s;eful again&s;t them all, which the time would not allow to apply to each of them &s;everally, when I di&s;cour&s;t again&s;t that, I have therefore thought fit to urge them la&s;t of all in a general Di&s;cour&s;e again&s;t the World|ly Mind. And they are the&s;e following.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is the con&s;tant Precept, and Command of our Religion, that we &s;hould not greatly value nor &s;et our Hearts upon the things of this World. He that contrived the Rules of our Religion knows the Hearts of Men, and our true intere&s;t; knows us greatly addicted to this Folly, and that 'tis incon&s;i&s;tent with our Happine&s;s; and has therefore often forbid it, and caution'd us again&s;t it, and has required expre&s;ly what is directly con|trary to it. In <HI>Deut.</HI> 6.5. The People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were commanded to <HI>Love the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their &s;oul, and with all their might,</HI> which mu&s;t needs exclude &s;uch a Love of the World as hath been de&s;crib'd. And this Precept our Lord Je&s;us repeats and enforces again. By the P&s;almi&s;t is that direction given. P&s;al. 62.10. <HI>If Riches encrea&s;e &s;et not your heart upon them.</HI> To take Men off from the fond E&s;teem of the things of this World, he in&s;i&s;ts upon the nece&s;&s;ity of our parting with them all at our Death, and upon their inability to prevent, or recover any one from it; in P&s;alm 49. <HI>They that tru&s;t in their wealth</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and boa&s;t them|&s;elves
<PB N="148" REF="79">in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his Brother, nor give to God a ran&s;ome for him, that he &s;hould &s;till live for ever and not &s;ee Corruption,</HI> Ver. 6, 7, 9. And Men mu&s;t <HI>leave their wealth to others,</HI> he &s;ays ver. 10. And <HI>Man being in honour, abides not: He is like the bea&s;ts that peri&s;h,</HI> ver. 12. <HI>When a Man dies he &s;hall carry nothing away; his Glory &s;hall not de&s;cend after him,</HI> ver. 17. It is condemn'd by <HI>Solomon,</HI> as well as ob&s;erv'd, <HI>That the rich Man's wealth is his &s;trong City, and as an high Wall in his own conceit,</HI> Prov. 10.15. And again&s;t a great E&s;teem of Wealth, he &s;ays, <HI>Wilt thou &s;et thine Eyes upon that which is not? for Riches make them&s;elves wings and fly a|way,</HI> Prov. 25.8. Again&s;t this the Prophet <HI>Je|remy</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Let not the rich Man glory in his Riches.</HI> Jer. 9.23. There are many other like In&s;tructions and Precepts in the Old Te&s;tament, but let us take notice al&s;o of &s;ome &s;uch in the New one. A great deal to this Purpo&s;e our Lord Je&s;us &s;ays, in Matt. 6. <HI>Lay not up for your &s;elves Trea&s;ures on earth,</HI> &s;ays he ver. 19. which he enforces and per&s;wades in the following words; and adds in ver. 21. <HI>For where your Trea&s;ure is, there will your heart be al&s;o:</HI> Which makes it evident to be his meaning by this Command, that he would not have us &s;et our heart on this World; that we ought not to regard the&s;e things as our chiefe&s;t Goods, nor &s;uffer an entire or chief Application of our &s;elves to them. Again, he &s;ays, <HI>Take no thought for your Life, what ye &s;hall eat or what ye &s;hall drink, nor yet for your Body what ye &s;hall put on,</HI> ver. 25. That is, take no anxious thought a|bout the&s;e matters; let not this be all or the main Bu&s;ine&s;s of your thoughts; nor do you imagine
<PB N="149" REF="79">that you may, or mu&s;t depend upon your own thought and care for the&s;e things. This he en|forces by a&s;&s;uring us of God's particular Provi|dence, and by his Care of good Men e&s;pecially. This Prohibition he repeats again in <HI>ver.</HI> 31. to make us the more ob&s;erve it. He condemns it as the Practice of the ignorant Heathen, <HI>ver.</HI> 32. who had no clear or &s;ure knowledge of tho&s;e things, fit to cure this Folly, which our Religi|on teaches us. And he adds a contrary Com|mand in <HI>ver.</HI> 33. with a &s;ufficient Encourage|ment to ob&s;erve that, <HI>But &s;eek ye fir&s;t the Kingdom of God, and the Righteou&s;ne&s;s thereof, and all the&s;e things &s;hall be added to you.</HI> Let it be your main Concern to &s;ecure your everla&s;ting Happine&s;s, and, in order thereto, to furni&s;h your &s;elves with the nece&s;&s;ary Qualification for it: And then God's Providence will take Care that you &s;hall not want what is nece&s;&s;ary for you of this World. Let us proceed to the Writings of the Apo&s;tles, and we &s;hall there find the &s;ame thing frequently required. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> exhorts to a great Indifferency towards the things of this World, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.29, 30, 31. ver&s;es, He bids Men with the be&s;t of their Enjoyments, to carry them&s;elves as if they had them not; and <HI>they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoyce, as though they rejoyced not; and they that buy, as tho' they po&s;&s;e&s;t not:</HI> and he urges this with the&s;e important Rea&s;ons; <HI>The time is &s;hort, and the Fa&s;hion of this World pa&s;&s;eth away.</HI> Intimating it is fooli&s;h, and mu&s;t needs expo&s;e us to a great deal of needle&s;s, and very &s;en&s;ible Vexation to &s;et our Hearts on tho&s;e things, which are &s;o variable and uncertain a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,
<PB N="150" REF="80">and which we can &s;o little a while enjoy. He would have us con&s;ider, that every living thing is mortal, that what is hard to get, is hard to keep, that what does not belong to our Nature &s;its loo&s;e about us, and is liable to be lo&s;t, and that the time of our conver&s;e with the&s;e things is very &s;hort, and for the&s;e Rea&s;ons we &s;hould Practice all the Indifferency towards them that we can, that &s;o we may be ea&s;ie and compo&s;ed when they alter or leave us. Again, he &s;ays, <HI>Set your Affections on things above, not on things on the Earth.</HI> Collo&s;&s;. 3.2. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> urges the &s;ame thing, &s;aying, <HI>Love not the World, neither the things that are in the World,</HI> 1 Joh. 2.15. Thus it appears to be the con&s;tant Precept of our Religion, that we &s;hould not mind Earthly things.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us al&s;o ob&s;erve and con&s;ider further, that it has been always the Character and Pro|perty of all good and religious Men to have lit|tle value or regard for the things of this World. It is intimated to be this that inabled <HI>Abraham</HI> to leave his Country and Kindred at the Com|mand of God, and to dwell in Tabernacles in a &s;trange Country: And 'tis &s;aid, that he and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> did herein confe&s;s, <HI>That they were Pil|grims and Strangers on Earth; that they &s;ought a better Country</HI> than that which they left, <HI>even an heavenly one,</HI> in Heb. 11. Tho' it had plea&s;ed God to make <HI>Job</HI> va&s;tly rich, yet he denies that he had &s;et his Heart upon his wealth; that he had ever <HI>made Gold his hope, or the fine Gold his confidence;</HI> or <HI>had rejoyced,</HI> that is, in Pride and Vanity, <HI>For that his wealth was great, and becau&s;e his hand had gotten much,</HI> Job 31.24, 25. In like manner we
<PB N="151" REF="80">find that the excellent <HI>Mo&s;es when he was come to years refu&s;ed to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daugh|ter;</HI> and for&s;ook the Plea&s;ures which he had there|in, and the worldly Honours which he might ex|pect to have to own him&s;elf related to the poor, oppre&s;t, and en&s;lav'd People of <HI>I&s;rael: Chu&s;ing rather,</HI> as 'tis &s;aid, <HI>to &s;uffer Affliction with the Peo|ple of God, than to enjoy the Plea&s;ures of &s;in for a Sea&s;on:</HI> And <HI>e&s;teeming the reproach of Chri&s;t grea|ter Riches, than the Trea&s;ures of Egypt.</HI> Heb. 11.24, 25, 26. And as he de&s;pi&s;ed the Advantages of the World in <HI>Egypt,</HI> &s;o he &s;ought them not among his own People. He was in a manner forced by God to bear that Authority which he had among them: He, as directed, &s;et the Family of his Brother in the highe&s;t Dignity in the Jewi&s;h Church, and left his own in the Condition of common <HI>Levites:</HI> And &s;o little Provi&s;ion had he made for their future Greatne&s;s, that we find his Grand-child, the Son of <HI>Ger&s;hom</HI> wandering from his Habitation to &s;eek a Maintenance in <HI>Judg.</HI> 17.7. The Per&s;on there mention'd is named in the 18. Chapter at <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 31. and call'd <HI>Jonathan</HI> the Son of <HI>Ger&s;hom,</HI> which <HI>Ger&s;hom</HI> is in our Tran|&s;lation call'd the Son of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eth,</HI> but it &s;hould be the Son of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as many learned Men think according to the be&s;t Copies of the Original, <HI>(Lightf. Grot. Vat. M. de Sacy)</HI> If we proceed to <HI>David</HI> we &s;hall &s;ee, that tho' he was a King, he de&s;pi&s;ed all his Wealth and Greatne&s;s in Compa|ri&s;on to the Laws of Vertue and Religion, and the Ob&s;ervance of them. In P&s;al. 19.10. he &s;ays of them, <HI>More to be de&s;ir'd are they than Gold, ye then much fine Gold, &s;weeter al&s;o then Honey, and
<PB N="152" REF="81">the Honey Comb.</HI> Again, in P&s;al. 119.72. he &s;ays to God, <HI>The Law of thy Mouth is better unto me than Thou&s;ands of Gold and Silver.</HI> And in the mid&s;t of all the Plea&s;ures and Entertainments of his elevated Condition, could he find more Plea|&s;ure in meditating on the Word and Law of God. <HI>Oh how I love thy Law,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>it is my Medita|tion all the Day,</HI> P&s;al. 119.7. His heart was not tran&s;ported; his thoughts could not be detain'd by his worldly Advantages. Of many of the Saints in the Jewi&s;h Church, it is &s;aid, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.9. <HI>They had Tryals of cruel Mockings and Scourgings, of Bonds and Impri&s;onments, they were &s;toned, &s;awn a&s;under, &s;lain with the Sword, wander'd in De&s;arts and Mountains, in Dens and Caves of the Earth were de&s;titute, afflicted, tormented:</HI> Which things they expo&s;ed them&s;elves too in Contempt of this World, and in hopes of obtaining better things by being &s;tedfa&s;t to their Religion under their cruel Per&s;ecutions. If we come to the fir&s;t Profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;tianity, we &s;hall find the things of this World always very little in their account, and much de&s;pi&s;ed. St. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;ays to Chri&s;t of him|&s;elf, and the re&s;t of his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Lo, we have left all, and followed thee;</HI> and our Saviour owns it, <HI>Mark</HI> 10.28. When our Saviour gave them Power to heal Di&s;ea&s;es and work Miracles, for Confirma|tion of their Doctrine, he commanded them to do the&s;e things freely, and not for gain; and we find them following his Command exactly; none of them ever made them&s;elves rich by that Power, tho' they might have done it. St. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;ays to the Cripple, that lookt on him expecting Alms, <HI>Silver and Gold have I none, but &s;uch as I have
<PB N="153" REF="81">give I thee;</HI> and he gave him the be&s;t Alms, even &s;ound and &s;trong Limbs: <HI>In the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t of Nazareth</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>ri&s;e up and walk,</HI> Acts 3.6. and he did &s;o, as we &s;ee <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 8. And the Honour of this the Apo&s;tles would by no means take to them&s;elves, as we &s;ee 12^t^h and following Ver&s;es. Tho&s;e Divine Honours which a proud Roman Emperour would have been extremely fond of, the Apo&s;tles <HI>Barnabas</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> earne&s;tly refu&s;ed, <HI>Acts</HI> 14. when a whole City went about to offer Sacrifice to them, as Gods, upon the working of an evident Miracle. St. <HI>Paul,</HI> &s;ays he, had <HI>&s;uffer'd the Lo&s;s of all things, and counted them but dung, that he might win Chri&s;t,</HI> Phil. 3.8. Of him&s;elf and other Chri&s;tians, he &s;ays, that they <HI>look'd not at tho&s;e things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.18. That is, the Spiritual and Heavenly good things were the Ob|jects of their chief Aim and De&s;ire, not the things of this World. Thus we &s;ee an Indifferency to|wards this World, and in &s;ome ca&s;es a Contempt of it practi&s;ed by Men like our &s;elves, Men en|cumbred with common Humane Nece&s;&s;ities and Infirmities; and from thence we may conclude, that we al&s;o may, if we will do the &s;ame thing. We &s;ee this not only required in the Laws, but al&s;o exemplified in the Profe&s;&s;ours of Religion.</P>
<P N="3">3. Let us con&s;ider al&s;o the Pattern and Pra|ctice of our Ma&s;ter <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and we &s;hall therein &s;ee that the Founder of our Religion has led us in an Indifferency and Contempt to the things of this World. When he had it in his choice whether he would be born of High or Low, Rich or Poor, in a Palace, or a Cottage, He cho&s;e to be born of a poor Virgin, and in a Stable. His Mother
<PB N="154" REF="82">indeed was de&s;cended of the Royal Family of <HI>Da|vid,</HI> but &s;he was &s;unk &s;o low in Poverty, that her own Relations were even a&s;ham'd to own her. And when &s;he came among them to <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> we find none of them had that re&s;pect for her, or indeed that Humanity and Charity, as to quit the Lodg|ings they had taken up to accommodate a Wo|man in her Condition. Our Saviour liv'd by hard Labour, as 'tis rea&s;onably believ'd, till he made his publick Appearance to the World; and then appear'd to have no Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions. <HI>The Son of Man</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>hath not where to lay his head,</HI> and we find he was maintain'd by charitable Contributi|ons. He was always contented with enough to &s;erve his Nece&s;&s;ities, and never &s;ought any worldly Greatne&s;s. Now, do we think he did not know what was good for him? that it was want of Wi&s;|dom to govern him&s;elf thus? If for our &s;akes he did this then, 'tis plain, he accounted it more our Intere&s;t to de&s;pi&s;e this World than to enjoy it; and more conducing to our Happine&s;s to be contented with little, than to po&s;&s;e&s;s much: O|therwi&s;e he would have put him&s;elf into a Condi|tion to make his Followers rich and great in the World, and would not have call'd them to a Contempt of this by his Precepts and Example. He knew, and has herein taught us, that this is not the chief Good of Man, it is not our Happi|ne&s;s nor nece&s;&s;ary to it. Our Salvation is not to be purcha&s;ed with corruptible things, &s;uch as Sil|ver and Gold. He govern'd him&s;elf thus, to teach us by his Example to do &s;o. And appears to have laid upon us no other Laws, than what him|&s;elf was willing to bear. And if he has thus re|garded
<PB N="155" REF="82">the World, it is what we ought to do as Chri&s;tians. This we may &s;ee by all the&s;e things is the true Spirit, the genuine Temper of Chri|&s;tianity, and they altogether vary from that who <HI>Mind Earthly Things.</HI> It is indeed the De&s;ign of our Religion in all the parts of it, in all that it re|veals to us, to take our fooli&s;h Hearts off from this empty World, and to make us &s;eek our true Happine&s;s which lies el&s;ewhere. I &s;hall therefore add &s;ome further Arguments, which it affords us.</P>
<P N="4">4. Let us, then, con&s;ider further, how much better things than the&s;e the Go&s;pel reveals to us, that we may &s;eek, and offers that we may embrace them. Things better in them&s;elves and more &s;ui|table to us, which will afford us more Happine&s;s than the&s;e. Our Religion, if we will be rul'd by it, will make us Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ours of Spiritual and Ever|la&s;ting Delights; of &s;uch as will &s;atisfie the va&s;t De&s;ires of our Souls, &s;uch as will improve in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing, &s;uch as will never &s;atiate or tire us, will never fade or decay, but make us happy for ever. The Rewards of Religion have tho&s;e excel|lent Properties, which an&s;wer all the Defects of worldly Enjoyments. The&s;e things reach only to the Body, and entertain that, but leave the neg|lected Soul in want and craving: but tho&s;e Re|wards reach the Soul, and plea&s;e, and make that happy. The things of this World are empty and vain, deluding Shadows of Good, in compari&s;on to them which are the mo&s;t &s;olid and &s;ub&s;tantial Goods. The&s;e things are tran&s;itory, mutable, and peri&s;h in the u&s;ing: They are not &s;ubject to change, are of an immortal Nature, as is the great Object that affords, and the Faculty that enjoys them. The&s;e
<PB N="156" REF="83">earthly things are but of &s;hort Duration, and all the Felicity they afford will pre&s;ently be at an End; but the Happine&s;s of Religion and Vertue is Eternal: As the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>The things which are &s;een are Temporal, but the things which are not &s;een are Eternal.</HI> The&s;e Rewards we are &s;peaking of are nothing el&s;e but the Love of God, and what that affords, and that is enough to &s;ay all the&s;e things of it: The Rich, Bounteous, and E|ternal Love of God. He that has an Intere&s;t in this, has a Fountain of &s;trong, pure and eternal Joy. This is the plea&s;ure and &s;atisfaction of a good Con&s;cience, which will attend a &s;teady Cour&s;e of Piety and Vertue. We &s;hall know that God approves our Cour&s;e, that he loves us, we are Favourites with the King of Heaven, who will never forget us, who always has it in his Power to ble&s;s and comfort us; who is not liable to change, nor will be forward to ca&s;t us out of his Favour: From who&s;e Almighty Favour we may expect all that is nece&s;&s;ary and good for us, and that is conducing to our Everla&s;ting Salvation. And this is a Happine&s;s that will ble&s;s us in this Life, that will not all be deferr'd to the next. A Happine&s;s that will make it &s;elf more plea&s;ant and &s;en&s;ible to our Souls, than all that this World can afford: As that good Man &s;eems to intimate, in a&s;cribing it to the Light of God's Countenance, to have made his Heart more glad than the En|crea&s;e of Corn or Wine could make other Men. This he owns too, when he &s;ays, <HI>Thy Loving-kind|ne&s;s is better than Life.</HI> And this is repre&s;ented as the Sen&s;e of all good and devout Souls in the Song of <HI>Solomon,</HI> when he makes them &s;ay, <HI>Thy Love is
<PB N="157" REF="83">better than Wine,</HI> Chap. 1.2. <HI>And we will remem|ber thy Love more than VVine,</HI> Ver&s;e 4. This af|fords that Peace which the World cannot give, which pa&s;&s;es all Under&s;tanding. This then is the greate&s;t Happine&s;s that can be enjoy'd in this World. And it is un&s;peakable Plea&s;ure and Joy to think, we &s;hall not leave this in our Death, tho' we mu&s;t then leave all our worldly Enjoy|ments This will be our Portion for ever, and an exceeding great Reward. And in the other World it will communicate beyond what Eye has &s;een, or Ear hath heard, or the Heart of Man can now conceive. If we &s;tretch our Faculties to imagine or de&s;ire to the very utmo&s;t they can reach to, yet &s;hall we fall &s;hort of the Happine&s;s of Heaven. There is Fulne&s;s of Joy, and Rivers of Plea&s;ure; there is Re&s;t and Peace, and Light, and Love for ever; there is all that we can wi&s;h, and more than we can now conceive. All this we are invited to by our Religion; we are invited to the Happine&s;s of Heaven, the Felicities and Fellow&s;hip of An|gels, and the bli&s;sful Pre&s;ence and Enjoyments of God. The&s;e things we &s;hall obtain, if we will but ju&s;tly value them; if we will but diligently &s;eek them; if we will but prefer them before the mean Trifles of this World, and &s;eek them, as we have rea&s;on to do, before all things el&s;e. And if we will but &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider the Nature and Ca|pacity of our Souls, and re&s;olve to act as becomes us, we mu&s;t needs re&s;olve to do &s;o. E&s;pecially if we con&s;ider too, that by minding Earthly things, we forfeit, as we do neglect, all this Happine&s;s; and if we will not for&s;ake that Folly, we &s;hall ne|ver enjoy it. And thus we may &s;ee that our Reli|gion
<PB N="158" REF="84">does not call us off from this World, be|cau&s;e it envies our Happine&s;s, but indeed to make us happy; it would wean us from wor&s;e to make us po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ours of better things; and rai&s;e us from Earth to advance us to Heaven.</P>
<P N="5">5. We mu&s;t not omit to con&s;ider, by what way and means it comes to pa&s;s, that all this Happine&s;s is propos'd and offer'd to us in the Go|&s;pel: For this affords a con&s;iderable Argument a|gain&s;t our thus minding Earthly things. This our true Happine&s;s was alas a forfeited thing: Mankind had undone them&s;elves by Guilt, and were be|come obnoxious to, and de&s;erving of Everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment and Mi&s;ery. But the Son of God took Compa&s;&s;ion on us in this our &s;ad Condition, and freely became our Mediatour and Saviour: And he undertook to do all that was nece&s;&s;ary, to render it honourable and fitting for the Great God to pardon us, and to receive us to Favour and Happine&s;s. And to this purpo&s;e the Son of God took humane Nature, and dwelt in this mi|&s;erable contemptible World: He who is the ex|pre&s;s Image of the Father, and the Brightne&s;s of his Glory, became like one of us. He whom An|gels adore became &s;ubject to Men; and the God over all to the Condition of a very mean Creature. More-over, he conde&s;cended to die for us to bear our Guilt, and to die a Sacrifice for our Sins, to be wounded for our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, that by his Stripes we might be healed. He was de&s;pi&s;ed and rejected of Men, and afflicted of God: All this did this great and glorious Per&s;on &s;ubmit and conde&s;cend to, that he might redeem us from Hell, and purcha&s;e for us the Favour of God, and
<PB N="159" REF="84">the Happine&s;s of Heaven! And after all this, can it be fit for us to <HI>Mind Earthly Things?</HI> Does our Happine&s;s lie in the&s;e, notwith&s;tanding he has done &s;o much to procure us better? &s;hall we &s;ay we de&s;ire not any better things when they have co&s;t him &s;o dear? &s;hould we not put a high Value up|on them, when we &s;ee he thought them worth his precious Blood? do we not de&s;pi&s;e and af|front his Love, when we &s;uffer our &s;elves to be detain'd and diverted from pur&s;uit of them, by the vain low things of this World? what greater Ingratitude could we be guilty of again&s;t him, who loved us &s;o as to give him&s;elf for us? It may be expected indeed that if Love to our &s;elves and our Intere&s;t will not cure our Worldline&s;s, it is not likely that Gratitude or Love to the Redeemer will be able to do it. But yet is this a Con&s;ideration worth in&s;i&s;ting upon, as it may &s;erve to convince us, that it is indeed our true Intere&s;t to de&s;pi&s;e this World, and &s;eek the things above. As Je&s;us did thus conde&s;cend not to make us rich and great in this World, but to procure for us the Favour of God, and the Happine&s;s of Heaven; &s;o 'tis certain that what he has &s;o dearly purchas'd for us mu&s;t needs be be&s;t, and mo&s;t worthy of our Care and Pur&s;uit. God grant we may under&s;tand our true Happine&s;s, and know the things that make for our Peace before they are hid from our Eyes: And that we may &s;o pa&s;s through things Temporal, as not finally to lo&s;e the things Eter|nal; for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="160" REF="85">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed God! Great and Glorious is thy Good|ne&s;s towards the Children of Men: Thou ha&s;t made us little lower than the Angels, capable of &s;ome Knowledge, and Enjoyment of thy &s;elf; a Noble, and Excellent, and Eternal Happine&s;s; we were in our Na|ture fitted and intended for by thee. But, Oh Lord, with &s;hame we mu&s;t own, that we have lo&s;t all Right to this Happine&s;s; by our Sins we have utterly forfei|ted it. And, alas, like Wretches condemn'd to be de|priv'd of it; we have lo&s;t all Sence wherein our true Happine&s;s lies: We for&s;ake thee the Fountain of Living Waters, and &s;eek to broken Ci&s;terns that can hold no Water. Our Souls are bowed down to this Earth, and we pur&s;ue the things of this World with &s;uch Appli|cation and Care, as if the&s;e were the be&s;t things, and our Happine&s;s lay only in them; while we neglect thy Favour and Love, and all the Eternal Joys of Heaven: We prefer Earth before Heaven, Creatures before the Creatour; and &s;uffer our &s;elves to be drawn into Sin by the Allurements of this World, and &s;o for|feit and lo&s;e the Eternal and much better things of Heaven, that we may get or keep the things of Earth. This Cour&s;e, O Lord, is our Sin, and our Folly, and our Mi&s;ery. We humble, we condemn our &s;elves be|fore thee for the Sin of it; for that we have not loved thee with all our Heart, with all our Soul, with all our Might, and with all our Strength, as we ought to have done. We judge, we condemn our &s;elves for all the Evil which the Love of this World has drawn us into. Oh Lord, we be&s;eech thee, pardon our Sins; do
<PB N="161" REF="85">not thou enter into Judgment with us: Do not thou condemn us as we have de&s;erv'd, to have all our Por|tion in this Life. Oh, let thy infinite Mercy be glori|fied in pardoning the Iniquity, and recovering us out of the Mi&s;ery of our Propen&s;ity to this World. Con|vince us that our Happine&s;s is not here, that thou art our chief Good; that we can never find re&s;t till our Souls are fixed on thee. Oh, put an end to the wan|dring of our De&s;ires after many things, and do thou engage, do thou determine our De&s;ires: that we may be able to &s;ay, whom have we in Heaven but thee, and there is none on Earth that we can de&s;ire in com|pari&s;on to thee. Make us to &s;et our Affections on things above, not on things on the Earth: to live, like thy former Saints, as Pilgrims and Strangers on Earth, &s;eeking a better Country, even an Heavenly. Make us to &s;eek fir&s;t the Kingdom of God, and the Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s thereof; and then we pray that thy boun|teous Goodne&s;s will be plea&s;ed to be&s;tow upon us, of other things, what thou &s;ee&s;t to be mo&s;t needful and convenient for us. O Lord, do thou lift up upon us the Light of thy Countenance, which is able to afford us more Joy and Satisfaction, than all things that this World can afford.</P>
<P>We recommend all Mankind to thy Mercy; praying that they may all be acquainted with their true Hap|pine&s;s, and the way to attain it; that they may know thee, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent, whom to know is Life Eternal. Oh, let it be the Character of all Chri&s;tians, that they look not at the things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een; that they make Heaven and its Eternal Joys their chief Aim and De&s;ire. Purge out of thy Church all Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s, and inordinate Love of this World, which is incon&s;i&s;tent with the Love of thee; and let hum|ble Piety, exact Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Charity and Tempe|rance abound in it. We pray for thy Ble&s;&s;ings upon the Land of our Nativity; grant that we may be a
<PB N="162" REF="86">peculiar People, zealous of all good Works; and bring forth Fruit an&s;werable to the means of Grace afforded us: And purge out from among&s;t us tho&s;e Wicked|ne&s;&s;es, which either di&s;parage our Holy Religion, or di&s;turb our Peace. Ble&s;s our gracious King with great Encrea&s;e of all Divine and Spiritual Ble&s;&s;ings; give him Pro&s;perity in this Life, and a better Kingdom in the next. Let the Light of thy Countenance ever a|bide upon the Royal Family, and ble&s;s them with all Temporal and Spiritual Ble&s;&s;ings. Ble&s;s all that are related to us, and let all thy Di&s;pen&s;ations towards them do them good, and promote their Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. Let their Pro&s;perity make them love thee, and be fruitful in good Works; their Adver&s;ity teach them Patience, and Contempt of this World: Teach them either to want, or to abound, and in every State to be thankful and contented. We give thee Thanks for thy ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances this Day enjoy'd; cau&s;e us to account thy Law, as more to be de&s;ired than Gold, and as &s;weeter than Honey from the Comb; that we may daily meditate on it, may obey its dictates, and obtain at fa&s;t thy glorious Promi&s;es. Give us we pray thee a &s;afe and comfortable Re&s;t this Night, and let thy Goodne&s;s make the Out-goings of the Morning to be joyful. We put up all our Reque&s;ts in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son, our Lord, and &s;umm up our De&s;ires in his Words, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="163" REF="86">
<HEAD>CONTRITION, OR <HI>Godly-Sorrow Repre&s;ented.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 7.10.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For Godly-Sorrow worketh Repentance to Salvation not to be repented of.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>TO go about the per&s;wading Men to grief and trouble of Mind, is I confe&s;s but an ungrateful Task, and, if it might be, one would rather let it alone: This is that un|plea&s;ant thing which every one de&s;ires, and &s;trives to put far from him. But we make it nece&s;&s;ary
<PB N="164" REF="87">to our &s;elves to endure much Sorrow and Trou|ble when we run into Sin. Religion then re|quires this, and it is the only Remedy we have a|gain&s;t the mi&s;chiefs which our Sin has done us. And a very u&s;eful and effectual Remedy this is, and as &s;uch the Apo&s;tle recommends it in our Text, when he &s;ays, <HI>Godly-Sorrow worketh Repen|tance to Salvation not to be repented of.</HI></P>
<P>Where we may ob&s;erve he a&s;cribes to a Reli|gious or Godly-Sorrow, two very happy Effects: It <HI>works Repentance</HI> (he &s;ays) and this Repentance is <HI>to Salvation;</HI> this brings a Man into a State of Salvation. This Sorrow, then, produces a hap|py joyful Change, both in our &s;elves, and in our &s;piritual State or Condition. In our &s;elves as it works Repentance, it turns us from Wickedne&s;s to Goodne&s;s; from Folly to Wi&s;dom; and from di&s;turbance and di&s;order of Mind to Peace and Compo&s;ure. In our Condition by con&s;equence it produces a happy Alteration too; and of Heirs of wrath it makes us Objects of the Divine Favour; from being obnoxious to the everla&s;ting Puni&s;h|ments of Hell, it gives us a Title to the Happi|ne&s;s of Heaven. Thus as all the natural effects of Sin are vexatious and trouble&s;ome, &s;o all the effects of Religion upon us are happy and com|fortable: Even the Sorrow which this re|quires of us tends to joy, and according to our Saviours Sentence they are <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed who</HI> thus <HI>Mourn, for they &s;hall be comforted.</HI></P>
<P>It is worth our while therefore, to under&s;tand the true Nature of Godly-Sorrow; and that we be per&s;waded to entertain and practice it: Which two things &s;hall (by God's A&s;&s;i&s;tance) be the en|deavour
<PB N="165" REF="87">of this Di&s;cour&s;e concerning it.</P>
<P>I begin with the Fir&s;t of the&s;e things at pre&s;ent; to explain and &s;tate the true Nature of Godly-&s;or|row or Contrition; That which the Go&s;pel re|quires us to entertain and practice, upon our ha|ving been guilty of Sin, in order to our Salvation; and that which will afford us Salvation. That we may the better and the more u&s;efully remem|ber the &s;everal particulars which mu&s;t be in&s;i&s;ted on to this Purpo&s;e, I think it proper to compre|hend them in this general and &s;ummary De&s;crip|tion of the Grace I &s;peak of: Contrition is a hearty and earne&s;t Grief for Sin, with an Indig|nation again&s;t our &s;elves for it, and Hatred again&s;t it; ari&s;ing from a deep Sen&s;e of the great Evil of Sin, and hope in the Divine Favour and Mercy; and cau&s;ing a Man to ab&s;tain from the Practice and Commi&s;&s;ion of it for ever.</P>
<P>In this general De&s;cription of Godly Sorrow, there are the&s;e things which will require to be par|ticularly repre&s;ented. 1. The Acts or Exerci&s;es of it. 2. The Principles from whence it mu&s;t proceed. 3. The Effects which it ought to pro|duce.</P>
<P>In the Fir&s;t place, let us take notice what are the proper Acts or Exerci&s;es of this Godly and Religious Sorrow: The&s;e I conceive may be con|tain'd under the&s;e three Heads.</P>
<P N="1">1. It includes and exerci&s;es it &s;elf in a hearty Grief and trouble of Mind for our Sins. The Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> exhorts to the exerci&s;e of it in the&s;e terms. Be Afflicted, Mourn and Weep: Let your Laughter be turned into Mourning, and your Joy into Heavine&s;s; humble your &s;elves in
<PB N="166" REF="88">the &s;ight of God. We mu&s;t have great di&s;con|tent and vexation in our Minds upon the account of our Sins; &s;uch as to <HI>Afflict the Soul,</HI> as the Scri|pture &s;peaks, <HI>Levit.</HI> 16.29. And a true Penitent repre&s;ents him&s;elf under a Sen&s;e of his Guilt, as if he were loaded with a heavy Burden, P&s;al. 38.4. <HI>Mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy Burden, they are too heavy for me.</HI> This grief and trouble of Mind for Sin, has been for|merly expre&s;t very fitly by &s;prinkling A&s;hes upon the head, by lying on the ground, wearing Sack|cloth: The ancient Saints on their days of Hu|miliation ab&s;tain'd from all &s;orts of Plea&s;ure, even from what was lawful at other times, would not wa&s;h the Face, nor anoint the Head with their perfum'd Oyls; they would not allow them&s;elves any thing that &s;hould make them chearful or mer|ry; but gave up them&s;elves to Sadne&s;s and Affli|ction. If the temper of any Per&s;ons be &s;uch, as that Tears are apt to flow from them upon other Occa&s;ions, then ought the&s;e to be &s;hed in great abundance, e&s;pecially for their Sins.</P>
<P N="2">2. This Godly Sorrow which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of in our Text Exerci&s;es it &s;elf in Hatred and Dete&s;tation of Sin, and in a great Indignation a|gain&s;t our &s;elves for it. It looks upon this as the vile&s;t and mo&s;t odious thing that is; as the great|e&s;t Evil: It &s;ees all the Characters of it to be ug|ly and deform'd; and loaths whatever &s;in was mo&s;t delighted in, and condemns what the Sinner be|fore had a good Opinion of. The true Penitent <HI>abhors that which is evil,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle advi&s;es, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.6. and <HI>hates every fal&s;e way,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks of him&s;elf, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. And having a great
<PB N="167" REF="88">Dete&s;tation of Sin, he cannot chu&s;e but fall out with him&s;elf for the Commi&s;&s;ion of it; and a great Di&s;plea&s;ure he will conceive again&s;t him&s;elf. This we &s;ee in <HI>Job,</HI> who when he con&s;ider'd that his Behaviour towards God in his Affliction had been &s;omewhat ami&s;s, he &s;ays, <HI>I abhor my &s;elf.</HI> And the Author of the 73d. <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> in his Repentance, &s;peaks his Indignation again&s;t him&s;elf in the&s;e ve|ry pa&s;&s;ionate Terms, 21, 22. Ver&s;es, <HI>My heart was grieved, I was pricked in my reins; &s;o fooli&s;h was I and Ignorant, I was even as a Bea&s;t before thee.</HI> The true Penitent looks upon him&s;elf as under the greate&s;t and vile&s;t Di&s;paragement in that he is a Sinner. Is ready to account that the vile&s;t and mo&s;t contemptible of the Brute Creatures is not &s;o vile nor &s;o contemptible as him&s;elf. He is now even amazed at him&s;elf, that he &s;hould ever love what is &s;o hateful, that he &s;hould ever boa&s;t of what is &s;o &s;hameful; that he &s;hould ever take up|on him to ju&s;tifie and plead for a thing &s;o ab&s;ur'd, enormous, and unrea&s;onable as this appears to him. This Di&s;po&s;ition of Mind freely accu&s;es a Man's &s;elf, is very ready at the Confe&s;&s;ion of Sin: Seeks no extenuating excu&s;es for it; does not endeavour to put away from him&s;elf the blame of it, but ju&s;tly imputes it only to his own perver&s;e Will and Inclination: He accu&s;es, judges and con|demns him&s;elf: Therefore our Saviour repre&s;ents a Penitent in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, as re&s;olving in the fir&s;t place upon his return, to go and acknowledge his Faults, and condemn him|&s;elf for them, <HI>Luk.</HI> 15.18.21. <HI>I will ari&s;e and go to my Father,</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and &s;ay, Father I have &s;in|ned again&s;t Heaven and before thee, and am no more
<PB N="168" REF="89">worthy to be call'd thy Son.</HI> He will own the very wor&s;t De&s;erts of Sin, and the mo&s;t terrible Ex|pre&s;&s;ions of divine Wrath to be due to him. This Indignation again&s;t them&s;elves the Penitents of former times have been wont to expre&s;s, in a hard and rigorous u&s;age of them&s;elves, in &s;evere Fa&s;t|ings, long Watchings, and hard Labour; in cro&s;&s;ing and contradicting their lawful Appetites. As angry with tho&s;e fooli&s;h De&s;ires which had plung'd them into Sin, they would but &s;paringly allow them even lawful Gratifications.</P>
<P N="3">3. This Goly-Sorrow is exerci&s;ed in earne&s;t Re&s;olutions, and endeavours to for&s;ake Sin. There|fore our Saviour repre&s;ents the Prodigal, as re|&s;olving to for&s;ake his wicked Cour&s;e of living, in that he makes him &s;ay, <HI>I will ari&s;e and go to my Father.</HI> He that is truly griev'd, that is, hearti|ly angry with him&s;elf for what he has done, mu&s;t needs re&s;olve and take great care to do it no more. We mu&s;t bid adieu to Sin for ever; make &s;olemn Vows and Re&s;olutions again&s;t it, and endeavour carefully to keep them. A &s;incere Penitent will be able to &s;ay, I had rather undergo the greate&s;t Inconvenience, I had rather want the mo&s;t nece&s;|&s;ary and de&s;irable things of this World, than do any thing wicked to obtain the&s;e, or avoid the o|ther: I had rather bear any Burden than a Load of Guilt, and lo&s;e any thing than the Peace and Tranquility of my Mind; and that all the World &s;hould condemn and de&s;pi&s;e me, rather than be forced to condemn and de&s;pi&s;e my &s;elf. And therefore at any rate, and whatever it co&s;ts him, he will endeavour to avoid all that he knows to be &s;inful: He will indu&s;triou&s;ly &s;hun all occa&s;ions
<PB N="169" REF="89">and opportunities, all Temptations and Appearan|ces of evil. He will not ea&s;ily come near any thing which he has &s;o great a Loathing and Ab|horrency to. With great care of him&s;elf, he looks out and endeavours to fore&s;ee what things are likely to be occa&s;ions of Sin to him: He ob|&s;erves what are &s;uch to other Men, and takes warning from thence: Such places, &s;uch Conver|&s;ations, &s;uch Recreations, &s;uch Objects as he ob|&s;erves are apt to prove Snares, by &s;eeing them be|come &s;uch to other Men, he will avoid if he can, or very cautiou&s;ly u&s;e them. And more e&s;peci|ally will he if it be po&s;&s;ible avoid what he has found to be mi&s;chievous to him&s;elf. Where he has fallen before, he will not needle&s;ly venture a|gain. He will not of choice engage him&s;elf in tho&s;e Circum&s;tances which have been wont to draw him into Sin. And if he is by &s;urprize, or through the nece&s;&s;ity of his Condition and Duty engag'd in &s;uch, he then watches over him&s;elf very diligently while he is in them, and carries a very jealous and careful Eye upon all his Thoughts, Words, and Actions, and lives &s;o long e&s;pecially in great fear of offending. The&s;e are the Exerci&s;es and Expre&s;&s;ions of a Godly, and Religious Sor|row for Sin.</P>
<P>I proceed further, to di&s;cover this Contrition by repre&s;enting the Principles from whence it ought to proceed. There is a great deal of Sor|row in the World which &s;eems to be for Sin, and yet it falls very &s;hort of a true Contrition. Men are troubled and angry with them&s;elves for the ill they have done when &s;ome very &s;en&s;ible Inconve|niences attend it; when they have hurt their
<PB N="170" REF="90">Body, have wa&s;ted their E&s;tate, or wounded their Reputation thereby; but in this Ca&s;e it is with ma|ny the Inconvenience rather than the Sin which troubles them. The Afflictions which they have pull'd upon them&s;elves by it, may be the in&s;tru|ment and means which God may u&s;e to bring them to a true Contrition and Repentance, as is repre&s;ented by our Saviour in the Parable of the Prodigal; for he makes him then think of retur|ning to his Father and for&s;aking his evil Cour&s;es, when he had brought him&s;elf to ruin and mi&s;ery by his Wickedne&s;s. But our Contrition to be true mu&s;t have &s;ome better Motive and Principle than the&s;e outward Afflictions. It mu&s;t ari&s;e from the force of the&s;e two Principles upon us.</P>
<P N="1">1. From a Sen&s;e of the exceeding great Evil of Sin in its &s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">2. From hope and expectation of the Divine Favour, and Pardon upon our Repentance and for&s;aking it.</P>
<P>It mu&s;t ari&s;e from a very lively and effectual Sen&s;e of the exceeding great evil and vilene&s;s of Sin. To have this right and well-grounded, then, we mu&s;t be &s;en&s;ible of tho&s;e things which enhance and magnifie the evil of Sin; we mu&s;t be &s;en&s;ible in particular of the&s;e three things.</P>
<P N="1">1. The great Excellency, and Dignity of the Per&s;on again&s;t whom all Sin is Committed. It is without doubt, that by how much the more no|ble and excellent any Per&s;on is, by &s;o much the more hainous and wicked is the Offence to be reckon'd, which is committed again&s;t him. And Sin is upon this account commonly judg'd to have in a &s;ort an infinite Guilt, becau&s;e 'tis committed
<PB N="171" REF="90">again&s;t the infinite Maje&s;ty of God. The Excel|lency of this Per&s;on, then, our godly Sorrow &s;hould be very &s;en&s;ible of; and in him it &s;hould e&s;pecially con&s;ider, and be affected with his infinite Great|ne&s;s and Goodne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>The Lord is great</HI> (&s;ays the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 145.3.) <HI>His greatne&s;s is un&s;earchable;</HI> We cannot reach it with the utmo&s;t extent of our Thoughts: We ought therefore to behave our &s;elves towards him with greate&s;t Humility and Reverence, but the Sins of Men affront and de&s;pi&s;e him. He is infi|nite in Wi&s;dom, infinite in Power, but the Sins of Men deny his Wi&s;dom, and &s;light the Terrours of his Almighty Wrath. He is every where pre|&s;ent, and &s;o the Sinner does as it were affront him to his Face. He is the rightful Sovereign and Lord of all things, but the Sins of Men are a bold Rebellion again&s;t his &s;upream and unque&s;tionable Authority, and do in effect &s;ay, we will not have him to reign over us. He is Univer&s;al Proprie|tour, and the Owner of all things, and ju&s;tly &s;ays, <HI>the World is mine and the Fulne&s;s thereof.</HI> He has therefore right to di&s;po&s;e of all things, and to re|quire that according to their Capacity, they do &s;erve his Honour and Glory: But the Sinner neglects God and lives entirely to him&s;elf, &s;eeks only his own Gratification and Plea&s;ure, and makes Gods of the &s;everal Lu&s;ts that dwell in him, and which he is &s;ubject and en&s;lav'd to.</P>
<P>And it further magnifies the Evil of Sin, that it is committed again&s;t infinite Goodne&s;s. <HI>The Lord is good and does good</HI> (as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaks.) He is a kind and gracious Being, de&s;irous of the Happine&s;s of all his Creatures, and ready to af|ford
<PB N="172" REF="91">them all whatever is nece&s;&s;ary to it. He has gloriou&s;ly exerci&s;ed his Goodne&s;s in the Creation of the World: he does &s;o &s;till in upholding of all things; he is daily <HI>good to the &V;nthankful and Evil,</HI> we have much rea&s;on to admire the Freene&s;s, the Bounty of his Goodne&s;s, and no ground at all to que&s;tion it. Yet do the Sins of Men impute ill-will to this God; they &s;uppo&s;e him an Enemy to our Happine&s;s, and do in effect &s;ay his Laws are again&s;t us, they have forbid what were good for us to do, and require what is mi&s;chievous and hurt|ful to us. In all Sin there is Ingratitude again&s;t the kinde&s;t Being, and Enmity again&s;t infinite Love. God de&s;erves, as he requires, to be lov'd <HI>with all the Heart and Soul,</HI> that is, above all things be&s;ides, but the Sinner prefers and loves the things of this World above the chiefe&s;t good; he is a lover of Plea&s;ure, or perhaps of Wealth or world|ly Honours more than of God. The&s;e things a well-grounded Contrition will be &s;en&s;ible of in Sin, and will ari&s;e from them.</P>
<P N="2">2. It mu&s;t be &s;en&s;ible al&s;o of the ba&s;ene&s;s of the Per&s;on, who commits &s;in again&s;t this excellent and glorious Being, for the more ba&s;e and vile he is, the greater will the Guilt and Vilene&s;s of the Sin be. In Man, then, who is the Sinner, there are the&s;e two things con&s;iderable, which do greatly magnifie the heinou&s;ne&s;s of Sin. That he is a ve|ry mean and low Being, in compari&s;on, e&s;pecial|ly, to the great God whom he affronts; and he has been highly favour'd and oblig'd by Almighty God. Mankind are to be con&s;ider'd infinitely be|low the great Creatour of all things: All Nations of the Earth are as nothing in compari&s;on to him;
<PB N="173" REF="91">yet does every &s;ingle Sinner &s;et him&s;elf again&s;t him, yea, and above him too as well as he can. When we oppo&s;e his Will and de&s;pi&s;e his Laws, this is to &s;et Folly again&s;t infinite Wi&s;dom, Weakne&s;s a|gain&s;t Power, poor depending Creatures again&s;t the All-&s;ufficient God. It is like &s;etting up a Sub|ject above his Sovereign; or dry Stubble to con|tend with devouring Flames.</P>
<P>And further, Mankind are to be con&s;ider'd as highly oblig'd to God; he that is infinitely good in him&s;elf has been mo&s;t wonderfully kind, and good to us. We have our Being and all that we enjoy from him, and we affront him with his own Gifts when we u&s;e them in Sin and Wickedne&s;s. Innumerable are the Benefits he be&s;tows upon us, and they are as important to us as our Life and Happine&s;s which they &s;erve and promote; but in our Sins we return him neglect for his gracious mindfulne&s;s of us, hatred for his kindne&s;s, and in|juries for his Benefits. We are poor depending Creatures, and we depend upon <HI>Him</HI> every Mo|ment, and while we do &s;o it is that we rebel a|gain&s;t him. We u&s;e as it were again&s;t him&s;elf the Power, the Wi&s;dom, the Goodne&s;s that he ex|erci&s;es in upholding us, and doing us good while we live in Wickedne&s;s. Oh how vile, how hei|nous does this make our Sins! and how much does this encrea&s;e the Vilene&s;s and Ba&s;ene&s;s of the Sin|ner. In this is Man more unrea&s;onable than the brute Bea&s;ts; <HI>For the Ox knows his Owner, and the A&s;s his Ma&s;ters Crib, but the Sinner does not know,</HI> does not acknowledge his great, his boun|teous Benefactour.</P>
<PB N="174" REF="92">
<P N="3">3. Our &s;orrow for Sin &s;hould be &s;en&s;ible of, and ari&s;e from this Con&s;ideration, that they are all very trivial and worthle&s;s Inducements which draw us into Wickedne&s;s. This too exceedingly heigh|tens the Evil of Sin: We are ea&s;ily mov'd to &s;uch Rebellion again&s;t the Sovereign of the World, to &s;uch Ingratitude again&s;t our great and be&s;t Friend; we do this almo&s;t for nothing; vain are all the Allurements that draw us to it. The Plea&s;ures of Sin are but for a &s;hort Sea&s;on; the Wealth it gains makes it &s;elf Wings and flies away; the Ho|nours it procures are poor, tran&s;itory, uncertain things. We are to con&s;ider there is no provoca|tion, no cau&s;e in the lea&s;t on God's part for our Sins again&s;t him. The infinite Greatne&s;s and Goodne&s;s has never de&s;pi&s;ed or hated us, tho' very mean and poor Beings. To be &s;ure as Crea|tures he does not do it: and if he may be &s;aid to do it at all, we mu&s;t under&s;tand that it is only &s;ince we became Sinners, and as &s;uch, that he does de|&s;pi&s;e or hate us. Before Man rebell'd again&s;t his Maker, he met with nothing but Honour and Favour from him. We are to con&s;ider al&s;o, that we have no need of our Sins. Whatever Men imagine, the&s;e are never truly nece&s;&s;ary, or profi|table to them. The Laws of Piety and Vertue are &s;uited to our Nature and our Intere&s;ts: and we might be much more happy in a &s;teady Cour&s;e of practi&s;ing the&s;e, than we can po&s;&s;ibly be by the mo&s;t profitable Wickedne&s;s. When we are &s;o ea|&s;ily drawn into Sin, it appears that we have a ve|ry good Will and a &s;trong Inclination to it. When the things of this World can draw us to it, we regard and value them more than God
<PB N="175" REF="92">Him&s;elf, we prefer the Creature before the Crea|tour, &s;hallow flying Streams before the unexhau|&s;tible abiding Fountain of Good; we prefer Emp|tine&s;s before Fulne&s;s, Darkne&s;s before Light, and &s;hort Time before Eternity. How ju&s;tly might the Prophet in the Per&s;on of God call the Hea|vens to be a&s;toni&s;h'd at this, that Men &s;hould for|&s;ake the Fountain of living Waters, and hew out to them&s;elves broken or crack'd Ci&s;terns that can hold no Water: That we &s;hould &s;in again&s;t God for the &s;ake of any worldly Enjoyment, and &s;o for a poor and peri&s;hing Trifle &s;hould forfeit and a|bandon all the Riches, all the Sufficiency, and Bounty of his infinite Love.</P>
<P>Thus I have repre&s;ented one Principle of a true Contrition: It mu&s;t ari&s;e from a lively Sence of the great Evil and Vilene&s;s of Sin. And, I think, in what has been &s;aid of this, we may &s;ee a great deal of rea&s;on for all that Trouble and Grief, for all that Hatred and Indignation, and for all that Re&s;olution and Care to for&s;ake it, which I &s;aid does belong to &s;uch a Contrition.</P>
<P>But this mu&s;t al&s;o have another Principle, as I &s;aid: It mu&s;t ari&s;e from a Hope and Expectation of the Divine Favour and the Pardon of our Sins upon our Repentance, and for&s;aking them. The Holy Scripture teaches us, that &s;uch a Hope and Expectation may be a Principle of Sorrow for Sin, and for&s;aking it, in that it &s;o often makes the Offer of Mercy and Pardon an Argument for Re|pentance, according to what the Prophet &s;ays, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 55.7. <HI>Let the wicked for&s;ake his Way, and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord for he will have mercy, and to our
<PB N="176" REF="93">God for he will abundantly pardon.</HI> And this is a thing certainly fit in its own Nature to pro|duce this Contrition; for how much force and inducement to it is there in this thought, that God is ready to be reconcil'd! God is willing to forgive if we will but lay a&s;ide our Enmity a|gain&s;t him! How proper is this to melt and &s;ub|due the hard and ob&s;tinate Heart! And then how much encouragement is there in it too! As this a&s;&s;ures the Sinner that he &s;hall turn to God to his own great advantage; that he &s;hall find the poor Rewards of Sin abundantly out-weigh'd by the rich Communications and Gifts of God's infinite Favour and Love. And as this is certainly a con|&s;ideration fit to have &s;uch an Effect; &s;o 'tis al&s;o evident by the u&s;e of this Argument for our Re|pentance, that our Repentance upon &s;uch a Prin|ciple will be acceptable to God: He is plea&s;ed when we believe him ready to be reconcil'd, and willing to forgive us upon our return to him, if we do thereupon return. We therefore find all true Penitents po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with this Hope and Ex|pectation. This <HI>David</HI> expre&s;&s;es in his deepe&s;t Humiliation, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.1. by his &s;eeking Mercy and Pardon: <HI>Have mercy upon me, O Lord, accor|ding to thy Loving-kindne&s;s, according to the Mul|titude of thy tender Compa&s;&s;ions, blot out my Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions.</HI> This too the Prodigal expre&s;s'd in his Re&s;olutions to return to his Father. He would never have had a thought of returning, unle&s;s he had expected &s;ome Degree of Favour. He that thinks God does irreconcileably hate him, he will ob&s;tinately per&s;i&s;t in his Enmity again&s;t God. Without this Hope a man may la&s;h and torment
<PB N="177" REF="93">him&s;elf like <HI>Judas,</HI> but he cannot return to his Duty as St. <HI>Peter</HI> did. If a Man does &s;omewhat condemn his Sins, yet he will not leave them; we have his Character in the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> as the Prophet repre&s;ents them, Jer. 2.25. <HI>Thou &s;uid&s;t I have no hope, no, for I have loved &s;trangers and after them I will go.</HI> The true Godly-Sorrow proceeds in part from the Love of God, and con|&s;i&s;ts with that, and therefore it cannot be a deje|cted, or de&s;pairing grief, it mu&s;t have therefore joyn'd with it a hope in the Divine Mercy, and it may acceptably proceed in part from thence. And thus I have given I think a &s;ufficient account from what Principles this ought to proceed.</P>
<P>The la&s;t Head I am to &s;peak to, is to &s;hew what ought to be the effects of our Contrition upon us, that it may be prov'd a true and &s;incere one. And it is not po&s;&s;ible that a Man &s;hould be very much griev'd and angry with him&s;elf for his Sins, and be earne&s;tly and &s;eriou&s;ly re&s;olv'd to for&s;ake them, but this concern of Mind mu&s;t needs have &s;ome con&s;iderable Influence upon him. In particular the&s;e two things may be rea&s;onably expected from it. 1. That it &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s a Man with a great mea&s;ure of Humility. 2. That it &s;hould produce a good degree of Reformation in his Life and Manners. The former mu&s;t be the effect of his Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t him&s;elf; the latter of his Re&s;olutions and Endeavours to amend him&s;elf.</P>
<P>In the Fir&s;t place, it cannot be but a truly contrite Per&s;on will be very humble: As this Godly-Sorrow prevails, Pride mu&s;t needs be pro|portionably mortified, and &s;ubdued.</P>
<PB N="178" REF="94">
<P>A true Penitent looks back upon his pa&s;t Sins, with &s;uch a Sen&s;e of the folly, the ra&s;hne&s;s and the unrea&s;onablene&s;s of them, that he cannot chu&s;e but be very mean and contemptible in his own Eyes for ever after. He that is heartily a&s;ham'd of what he has done, and is angry with him|&s;elf for it, cannot have a high e&s;teem and va|lue for him&s;elf any more. And if he is now be|come a wi&s;er and better Man, and has for&s;aken his Sins, he will a&s;cribe this entirely to the Grace of God, and therefore his pre&s;ent Goodne&s;s and Vertue will not elevate him in his Opinion of him&s;elf.</P>
<P>And then, &s;ince he is le&s;&s;en'd in his Opinion of him&s;elf by a Sen&s;e of his Sins, he will be di&s;po&s;ed al&s;o to behave him&s;elf with great Humility, both towards God and towards Man.</P>
<P>He that is truly Penitent will behave him&s;elf with great Humility towards God: Certainly it becomes a Sinner to do &s;o, and he that well con|&s;iders how much he has affronted and injur'd the great God, will be very humble in his Behaviour towards him. He mu&s;t needs be ready to &s;ay to him with <HI>Jacob, I am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all thy Mercies;</HI> and with the Prodigal, <HI>I am no more worthy to be call'd thy Son.</HI> He will be very thank|ful for every Exerci&s;e of the Divine Favour to him: He will not be forward to murmur if he wants any good thing, when he acknowledges he has forfeited all: He will patiently &s;ubmit to the Divine Cha&s;ti&s;ements in his Afflictions, as know|ing that his Sins have de&s;erv'd far wor&s;e things of God: As <HI>David,</HI> when he was forced to leave <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> and the Ark of God, &s;ubmitted and
<PB N="179" REF="94">&s;aid, if he will &s;ay he has no Plea&s;ure in me, let him do unto me as &s;eemeth good unto him. This will po&s;&s;e&s;s a Man with a very tractable obedient Temper. He will be ea&s;ily taught his Duty, ea&s;ily convinced of his Faults, and ready to &s;ubmit to the Commands of God: He will no more di&s;pute, or cavil again&s;t his Duty, but will readily obey. This will make a Man very mo|de&s;t in his Expectations from God; as the Prodigal Son &s;aid, <HI>make me as one of thy hired Ser|vants:</HI> He will be glad if he may be admitted to any the lea&s;t degree of Favour: Will re&s;ign him|&s;elf to the Divine di&s;po&s;al; will account the meane&s;t Service of him an Honour that he does not de&s;erve; and when he has done his be&s;t in the Service of God, he will account it a Favour if it plea&s;es God to te&s;tifie any Acceptance of it. He will expect to find Acceptance, and to receive the Reward of his well-doing, only through the Merits and Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>This Contrition will al&s;o Sea&s;on with Humili|ty our Behaviour towards other Men. A Man will not be greedy of having much Honour and Re&s;pect paid him by others, when he has but a low Opinion of him&s;elf. It is therefore ob&s;erv'd of <HI>Saul,</HI> that he was not duely touched with a Sen&s;e of his Sin, when he was &s;o concern'd for his own Honour at the &s;ame time that the Pro|phet had brought him a rebuke from God; as we may &s;ee, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 15.30. <HI>I have &s;inned</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>yet honour me now I pray thee, before the Elders of my People.</HI> A true Penitent will not be enrag'd at every little Indignity and Affront; will not return railing for railing, nor give vilifying Language to
<PB N="180" REF="95">tho&s;e that do not mightily re&s;pect and honour him: He can bear Reproofs, and even Reproaches and Slanders, becau&s;e no Man can &s;ay wor&s;e things of him than he is ready to &s;ay of him&s;elf: Like Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> who having &s;aid, <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t came in|to the World to &s;ave Sinners,</HI> adds, <HI>Of whom I am chief.</HI> A true Penitent will not be &s;tubborn and di&s;obedient to Superiours and Governours: He will not &s;eek &s;piteful Interpretations of their Commands, that &s;o he may find out Pretences to di&s;obey them. Again, this Di&s;po&s;ition will not let a Man di&s;dain any one: He will not think &s;o many his Inferiours as he did formerly reckon &s;uch; and tho&s;e that are unque&s;tionably his Infe|riours he will not de&s;pi&s;e them. He has ready in his thoughts that Que&s;tion to check his Pride, <HI>who made thee to differ?</HI> This will make us pa|tient and gentle towards the Infirmities of our Neighbours; full of Forbearance, and ready to forgive, as knowing how much our own Imper|fection, and frequent Faults, will make us need the Forbearance and Forgivene&s;s of God and of our Neighbour.</P>
<P>Secondly, another Effect of true Contrition will be a good degree of Reformation in a Man's Life and Manners. This mu&s;t needs be the Effect of a &s;incere Re&s;olution, and earne&s;t Endeavour to for&s;ake our Sins. As we &s;hall, like the Prodigal, immediately apply our &s;elves to the Endeavour, and make no delay to put our Re&s;olutions in pra|ctice, &s;o the Grace of God is ready to help us in &s;o doing: For 'tis &s;aid, <HI>He gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.</HI> If we earne&s;tly de&s;ire his A&s;&s;i&s;tance to this purpo&s;e, if we wait for it in a diligent
<PB N="181" REF="95">u&s;e of the means of Grace we &s;hall obtain it, and thereby we &s;hall get the Victory over our Sins. So that this mu&s;t needs be the Effect of a true Contrition, that we &s;hall in &s;ome good mea&s;ure re|form and amend what was ami&s;s in us. It mu&s;t make the unclean per&s;on Cha&s;te, the intemperate Sober, the prophane Religious, the proud Humble, and the froward and pa&s;&s;ionate Patient and Gentle. If an habitual Sinner cannot all at once for&s;ake his ill cour&s;e of living, he mu&s;t learn to do it by de|grees, and he is never to be reckon'd a true Con|vert till he has got the Victory, and has for&s;aken his habitual Sin. All wilful, pre&s;umptuous and habitual Sins, liv'd in, are incon&s;i&s;tent with a true Repentance: That which will find acceptance with God, and be to Salvation as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, mu&s;t cau&s;e us to for&s;ake our Sins. There|fore the wi&s;e Man &s;ays, who&s;o confe&s;&s;eth and for|&s;aketh his Sins &s;hall find Mercy; and the Prophet in urging the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to Repentance &s;peaks thus from God, <HI>Wa&s;h ye, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine Eyes, cea&s;e to do evil, learn to do well,</HI> I&s;a. 1.16, 17. It is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, that we do not live in the Habit or Cu&s;tome of any known Sin; as we may conclude from 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.9. and <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.5, 6. And in the Reformation of our &s;elves we mu&s;t not only for&s;ake Sin, but al&s;o &s;et our &s;elves to do all the good we can; we mu&s;t endeavour particularly as we have opportunity and power, to practice the Vertues which are contrary to the Sins that we leave. We mu&s;t not only turn from our Sins, but al&s;o <HI>do that which is lawful and right,</HI> as the Prophet exhorts <HI>Ezek.</HI> 18.27.</P>
<PB N="182" REF="96">
<P>Thus I have as I think &s;ufficiently repre&s;ented that Godly-Sorrow which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of in our Text; which he &s;ays works Repentance to Salvation not to be repented of. And it was ne|ce&s;&s;ary that I &s;hould &s;o particularly de&s;cribe it, that many may be thereby convinced how much they cheat them&s;elves in this important Matter. It is a common thing for Men to take a little regret and trouble after the Sin with &s;ome Supplications to God for Pardon to be a true Repentance. It is nece&s;&s;ary therefore to undeceive them; that they &s;hould be made to know Repentance, when true, is a more &s;olid and &s;erious thing. It is not a tran&s;ient fit of Sorrow, but the &s;etled and abiding Di&s;po&s;ition of the Mind, and requires that we do fall out with Sin and hate it in our hearts, and that we for&s;ake it in our Lives. If we thus Sorrow for our Sins we &s;hall repent to Salvation, and find Favour with God; which that we may do God of his infinite Mercy grant through the Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Glory World without end. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="183" REF="96">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed and Glorious God, who inhabite&s;t Eternity; infinite and incomprehen&s;ible in Great|ne&s;s and Goodne&s;s: To Thee is all our Homage and Adoration due, to Thee we owe the performing what|ever Service and Obedience it &s;hall plea&s;e Thee to re|quire of us; and it is but due, that we &s;hould Love Thee with all our Soul, with all our Mind, and with all our Strength: But alas, we thy wretched &s;inful Creatures have neglected and affronted Thee; we have hated in&s;tead of loving Thee; and de&s;pi&s;ed in|&s;tead of reverencing Thee; we have mo&s;t unrea&s;ona|bly, and needle&s;ly Rebell'd again&s;t thy rightful Sove|reignty. Oh! how vile and ba&s;e have we made our &s;elves; we are become O Lord &s;ome of the vile&s;t of thy Creatures; we are a&s;ham'd of, we utterly abhor our &s;elves. O Lord, we mu&s;t acknowledge no Grief and Indignation can be too great for our exceeding Folly and Wickedne&s;s: No Puni&s;hment can be be|yond our De&s;erts. O Lord, we heartily lament and mourn for that our Sins have forfeited thy Favour, and expo&s;ed us to thy ju&s;t eternal Vengeance: Thou mighte&s;t ju&s;tly appoint us to have our Portion in the Lake that burns for ever among the Damned Spirits. Ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name that thou ha&s;t &s;pared us, that thou give&s;t us yet &s;pace to repent and &s;ave our &s;elves from the wrath that is to come. O Lord, this En|courages us to return unto Thee; this leads us to Re|pentance: Behold O Lord, we profe&s;s before Thee an eternal Hatred of every fal&s;e way; we declare it is our de&s;ire, our purpo&s;e to for&s;ake for the future all tho&s;e Sins whereby we have formerly offended Thee. We be&s;eech Thee let thy wonderful forbearance end in
<PB N="184" REF="97">a Gracious Forgivene&s;s. We come to Thee with bro|ken and Contrite Hearts, O Lord, revive as thou ha&s;t Promi&s;ed the Spirit of the Humble, and the Hearts that are Contrite; receive and Comfort us, who are griev'd and wearied with the Burden of our Sins; forgive us all that is pa&s;t, and clean&s;e us from all un|righteou&s;ne&s;s; grant that we may walk before Thee, in Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s all the remainder of our days: Oh! give thy Holy Spirit to them that ask him; and let us be inabled by his Almighty Grace, to keep a Con&s;cience void of Offence both towards God, and towards Men. Let our ways plea&s;e Thee, and be ea&s;ie and comfortable to our &s;elves. Lift up upon us we pray Thee, the light of thy Coun|tenance; grant us the Happy a&s;&s;urance of thy Recon|cilement to us, that we may rejoyce in thy Favour, and be encourag'd to run the way of thy Command|ments. Let a Sen&s;e of our Vilene&s;s by rea&s;on of Sin, Cure in us all Pride and Arrogancy of Mind or Be|haviour; make us to walk humbly with Thee our God, and meek and lowly in our Carriage towards Men. Make us very watchful over our &s;elves for the time to come, and Indu&s;trious in u&s;ing the means of Grace; that &s;o we may clean&s;e our &s;elves from all Fil|thine&s;s of Fle&s;h and Spirit, and perfect Holine&s;s in the Fear of God. We implore thy Mercy upon all Mankind: That tho&s;e who &s;it in Darkne&s;s, may &s;ee the marvellous and &s;aving Light of thy Go&s;pel, and be turned from the Power of Satan unto God. We pray Thee purge thy Church from all Impiety and Prophanene&s;s, from all fal&s;e Doctrine, Here&s;ie and Schi&s;m, from all Hatred and Malice, Envy and Con|tention. Make it fruitful in all good Works, and be Thou we pray Thee, its defence again&s;t all its Ene|mies. Ble&s;s that part of it abundantly, to which we belong; give us unfeigned Repentance for all our Sins, and thy Free and Gracious Pardon; and grant that we may all in our &s;everal Stations &s;erve to thy
<PB N="185" REF="97">Glory, and the common Happine&s;s and Welfare. Ble&s;s our Gracious King with long Life and Health, and a pro&s;perous and happy Reign among us; &s;trengthen him, that he may vanqui&s;h and overcome all his Enemies. We recommend to thy Mercy all that are related to us: O Let not any of them be held in the Bonds of Iniquity; &s;et them at Liberty to run the way of thy Commandments; let their Cir|cum&s;tances in this Life be &s;o order'd, as to promote their everla&s;ting Happine&s;s in the next. We give thanks for the means of Grace we have this day en|joy'd, and we pray that thy Ble&s;&s;ing may make them effectual, to the bringing forth in us the Fruit of good Living. Be Thou we we pray Thee our Defender and Keeper this Night, grant us quiet and refre&s;hing Re&s;t, and let us readily return the next day to our Duties, and perform them to thy Glory, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="186" REF="98">
<HEAD>CONTRITION, OR <HI>Godly-Sorrow Urg'd.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 7.10.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For Godly-Sorrow worketh Repentance to Salvation not to be repented of.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THere is naturally in all Men &s;o good an Opinion of them&s;elves, and &s;o much Self-love, that no one cares (if he can help it) to endure any Grief or Trouble of Mind, or can be ea&s;ily brought to rebuke and condemn him|&s;elf.
<PB N="187" REF="98">But when we have been &s;o fooli&s;h as to &s;in again&s;t God, we have made the&s;e things ab&s;olute|ly nece&s;&s;ary to us: They are nece&s;&s;ary to prevent far wor&s;e things which we mu&s;t inevitably endure if we refu&s;e the&s;e. We mu&s;t judge, condemn, and afflict our &s;elves for our Sins under the Sorrows of a true Repentance, or be judg'd, condemn'd and puni&s;h'd by Almighty God: And it will be but a &s;hort Trouble to endure the Griefs of Repentance; they will &s;oon end in joy, and he who thus mourns &s;hall be comforted: But the wrath of God once kindled upon us will burn for ever, and puni&s;h us with Eternal Torment. Be&s;ides, the Sorrows of Repentance being attended with hope in the Divine Mercy, and allay'd with the gracious Pro|mi&s;e of Pardon, will be incomparably more tole|rable and ea&s;ie than that heavy De&s;pair we mu&s;t lie under for ever, and the gnawings of the never dying Worm which we mu&s;t feel under the Eternal Puni&s;hments of Sin. This is according to the Account which the Apo&s;tle gives of our penitent and religious Sorrow for &s;in in the Text, when he &s;ays, <HI>Godly &s;orrow works Repentance unto &s;alvati|on,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>I have therefore thought it a good and u&s;eful Office to endeavour to promote this among Men; and to that purpo&s;e I propo&s;ed to in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e concerning it.</P>
<P N="1">1. To repre&s;ent or de&s;cribe the true godly Sor|row or Contrition, to which the Apo&s;tle in the Text a&s;cribes &s;o happy Effects.</P>
<P N="2">2. To endeavour the per&s;uading Men to enter|tain and practice it.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t of the&s;e was &s;poken to, and fini&s;h'd in
<PB N="188" REF="99">the former Di&s;cour&s;e: This latter will be the Sub|ject of this. And that I may the better bring the unwilling Minds of Men to this unplea&s;ant, but nece&s;&s;ary remedy of their &s;ins, I &s;hall propo&s;e &s;e|veral Con&s;iderations which are apt in their own Nature to produce it in us, and which by the Ble&s;&s;ing of God will do it, if we will allow them our &s;erious Meditation: After which I &s;hall add &s;ome other Con&s;iderations, which will be fit to make us willing to entertain, and meditate on the former till they may have their due Effect upon us.</P>
<P N="1">1. In the fir&s;t place, then, to beget in us this god|ly Sorrow, let us &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider the Multitude of the Offences which we commit again&s;t Almigh|ty God. When we have a Nature prone to do Evil, when we conver&s;e in a &s;inful carele&s;s World, when we are continually haunted by a &s;ubtle indu&s;trious Adver&s;ary, who&s;e great bu&s;ine&s;s it is to draw us into &s;in: How exceedingly mu&s;t we needs multi|ply Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions if we do not take any care at all to avoid them, or if we do not take a great deal of care for that purpo&s;e. And if it be con&s;ider'd how many ra&s;h and unpremeditated Actions we do in the Cour&s;e of our Lives, how many other Cares we have about our Actions, and how &s;eldom we concern our &s;elves whether they be good or evil: If we con&s;ider the multitude of words that flow from us; and how ea&s;ily we multiply thoughts, that the mo&s;t if not all of the&s;e are good or evil, and we too commonly are carele&s;s what they are; e&s;pecially, it may be, of our thoughts which we conceal: If we con&s;ider too the va&s;t Latitude and Extent of the Law of God, how it reaches to
<PB N="189" REF="99">every Relation we are in, and to every Circum|&s;tance of our Lives, and in how many ways we may tran&s;gre&s;s it: The&s;e things will make us think we have rea&s;on to &s;ay with <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 40.12. <HI>My &s;ins are more in Number than the Hairs of my Head.</HI> And if &s;uch a Per&s;on as he could &s;ay this of him&s;elf, he who early addicted him&s;elf to Piety and Vertue; he who &s;aid <HI>I will take heed to my ways:</HI> How much more rea&s;on may any one of us think he has to &s;ay it of him&s;elf? We may upon Examination find our known and evident Sins to be a great and amazing Number, and after that we mu&s;t believe our unknown Sins to be many more; tho&s;e which we took no notice of which we ignorantly committed, or have forgotten. Our be&s;t days need that reque&s;t which our Saviour has taught us daily to u&s;e, <HI>Forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es;</HI> and our be&s;t Actions need forgivene&s;s for the Evil which we commonly mingle with them. To what a va&s;t Summ then mu&s;t our Iniquities a|mount! But now, if there be vilene&s;s and evil in one act of &s;in, how much more mu&s;t there be in &s;o many! If we have cau&s;e to hate one &s;in for it &s;elf, how odious and di&s;plea&s;ing to us &s;hould a life of wickedne&s;s be, and how much &s;hame and trouble may it ju&s;tly give us to think that we have &s;o multiplied the mo&s;t vile and &s;hameful Actions! To think that it has not been an accidental thing, that which has but now and then happen'd to us to do &s;uch things but a cour&s;e of living: That we have often repeated the &s;ame &s;ins, even &s;o as to turn them into habits, and to become accu&s;to|med to do evil. What a hearty indignation, what a &s;en&s;ible di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t our &s;elves might
<PB N="190" REF="100">this ju&s;tly create in us! A man may think there is &s;ome parallel between the numberle&s;s Sands of the Sea and his too numerous &s;ins; and might &s;ay it were but fitting if it were po&s;&s;ible, that my Tears &s;hould therefore equal the Waves of it. He might rea&s;onably wi&s;h with the &s;ad Prophet; <HI>Oh that my Head were Waters, and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears, that I might weep Day and Night</HI> for &s;o ma|ny Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us con&s;ider how di&s;plea&s;ing and offen|&s;ive to God the &s;ins of his Creatures are. Men think their Actions as indifferent to Almighty God as they are to them&s;elves, and that becau&s;e they take little care whether they be good or bad, he does &s;o too. But they forget that there is in &s;in the greate&s;t inju&s;tice and wrong to him, the greate&s;t unkindne&s;s and ingratitude, and the high|e&s;t indignity and affront: That this is the mo&s;t unlike thing, the mo&s;t contrary to his glorious perfections that can be. It is very fitly &s;aid, that in all the Works of God there is &s;omething good; even the meane&s;t of them has &s;omething that he can approve; but in &s;in, which is indeed no work of his but the Product of the perver&s;e Will of his Creatures, there is nothing of goodne&s;s, nothing but what is offen&s;ive and di&s;plea&s;ing to the pure Eyes of his Glory. There is an immen&s;e guilt and vilene&s;s in &s;in, and he re&s;ents and loaths it accordingly. As with an infinite Love he takes complacency in him&s;elf, &s;o with an infinite Ha|tred he mu&s;t needs regard and abhor our &s;ins. Now let us think &s;eriou&s;ly of this matter. What an enormous thing mu&s;t it be for his Creatures without any Nece&s;&s;ity or ju&s;t Inducement, to &s;et
<PB N="191" REF="100">before him that which is &s;o extreamly offen&s;ive and di&s;plea&s;ing. That they who are beholden to him for their Being, who live and breath by him every moment, &s;hould &s;o frequently, &s;o greatly di&s;plea&s;e him! yea, and account it but a &s;mall, a light matter to return for all the good he does us, that which is the mo&s;t odious and di&s;ta&s;tful of all things to him! If we are apt to imagine that &s;in is not &s;o very odious and offen&s;ive to him, we may upon a little Ob&s;ervation furni&s;h our &s;elves with abundant Evidence of this. He has prov'd it &s;everely in bani&s;hing the &s;inning Angels for ever from his Pre&s;ence, &s;poiling them of all their Hap|pine&s;s, and dooming them to everla&s;ting Puni&s;h|ment and Mi&s;ery. He has prov'd it in condem|ning us to death and di&s;&s;olution, in cur&s;ing and marring this beautiful and orderly Creation for the &s;ins of Men, and in ordaining them to the &s;ame &s;ad Puni&s;hments with the fallen Angels. The&s;e things we mu&s;t look upon as being all of them contrary to the Original de&s;ign of Creation. The good Creatour originally intended nothing but the Happine&s;s of all his Creatures when he made them, he hated nothing that he had made, and does not delight in their De&s;truction or Mi&s;e|ry. The&s;e &s;everities then, we are to conclude, are in a manner drawn from him, by the ba&s;e and unworthy Behaviour of his obliged Creatures. Herein then we may &s;ee his great and deep Re|&s;entment and Hatred of their &s;ins; and &s;ince his hatred mu&s;t needs be ju&s;t our &s;ins do de&s;erve it all; and from his hatred we may learn that they de&s;erve ours too, and this if it be well con&s;ider'd will be a likely means to rai&s;e it again&s;t them.</P>
<PB N="192" REF="101">
<P N="3">3. I may mention a Con&s;equence of this for a|nother Con&s;ideration to this purpo&s;e; and that is the many and terrible Mi&s;chiefs which our &s;ins tend to bring upon us. By them we alienate God from us who is the only Fountain of Good, and by con&s;equence mu&s;t be in want of a great deal of Good. And &s;ince there is in them a mighty Pro|vocation of his Di&s;plea&s;ure, we mu&s;t reckon they expo&s;e us to &s;uffer all that Evil and Puni&s;hment which he has threatned, and has ever infliced for the &s;ins of his Creatures. The con&s;ideration of this may &s;erve to make us enquire into the Rea|&s;ons, why our &s;ins &s;hould be &s;o extreamly mi&s;chie|vous to us, and &s;o help us to apprehend the Evil that is in the Nature of &s;in, and po&s;&s;e&s;s us with the right Principle of godly Sorrow.</P>
<P>Let us then con&s;ider, that as by our &s;ins we provoke God to withdraw from us, and do de|&s;erve that he &s;hould account us unworthy of his Benefits: So by them we expo&s;e our &s;elves to want the light and guidance of his good Spirit, the Fountain of all our Wi&s;dom and Vertue; without whom we can do nothing that becomes us, nothing that will be comfortable to us. So by &s;ome &s;in we are expo&s;ed to more; and when the holy Spirit is griev'd and departs from us, we &s;hall be liable to <HI>fall from one wickedne&s;s to another;</HI> when the holy Spirit leaves us the evil one takes po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and will rule and lead us captive at his Will. We forfeit al&s;o by our &s;ins the Care and Favour of God's Providence, de&s;erve to be left to our &s;elves in the management of our mo&s;t impor|tant Affairs, which cannot but &s;ucceed very ill to us. We have not Skill enough to evade the un|lucky
<PB N="193" REF="101">Accidents that will cro&s;s us, nor Power to overcome them: Without his A&s;&s;i&s;tance and Ble&s;|&s;ing we can pro&s;per in nothing. We &s;hall be left to &s;uch Folly, or meet with &s;uch Misfortunes as &s;hall bla&s;t all our projects and endeavours to help our &s;elves. And further, our &s;ins mu&s;t needs for|feit and lo&s;e al&s;o the everla&s;ting Happine&s;s of Hea|ven: No unclean thing can enter there. and with|out Holine&s;s no Man can &s;ee GOd. The&s;e make us unfit as well as unworthy to come into his Pre&s;ence. They tend to loo&s;e us, then, everla&s;ting Felicities, un&s;peakable Joys, the mo&s;t &s;weet, and ravi&s;hing, and eternal Plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider again, As our &s;ins expo&s;e us to the&s;e irrepairable Lo&s;&s;es of good things, &s;o al&s;o they expo&s;e us to the &s;ad bearing an Abundance of afflicting Evil. The &s;inner may look about him in the World, and &s;ee all the Mi&s;ery and Calamity which afflicts Mankind, and &s;ay of every &s;ort of it this is due to me, this have I de&s;erv'd, and expo|&s;ed my &s;elf to &s;uffer by my &s;ins. The wretched and contemptible Poverty of &s;ome, the noi&s;om and wracking Di&s;ea&s;es of others, the oppre&s;&s;ion and cruelty of Men which others are vexed with is due to me. When he hears of many &s;wallow'd alive by an Earthquake, or &s;natch'd away &s;udden|ly by a devouring Pe&s;tilence, or of many Thou|&s;ands kill'd in War; he may &s;ay, any one of the&s;e Fates might have been order'd to me. Yea, we may &s;end our Thoughts down into the di&s;mal Caverns of Hell, and con&s;ider what wretched Souls endure there in Puni&s;hment of their &s;ins, and &s;ay all this have I de&s;erv'd by mine; all this am I obnoxious and expo&s;ed to Let us con&s;ider a while
<PB N="194" REF="102">the gloomy Horrours of that eternal Pri&s;on, the Blackne&s;s of Darkne&s;s, the painful Fires, the La&s;hes of Con&s;cience, the heavy De&s;pair, the Rage and Malice of Devils, the want of all things com|fortable there, and the Exce&s;s and Perfection of Mi&s;ery, and &s;ay all this is due to me: All this is due to every one of my &s;ins! How much more, then, with great Aggravation mu&s;t it be due to &s;uch a multitude of &s;ins as I have been guilty of! We might &s;ee there perhaps many condemn'd to tho&s;e Mi&s;eries for the &s;ame &s;ins that we have been guilty of; many that were cut down young and thrown into Hell at the fir&s;t buddings of &s;in, who had not &s;o many years of guilt and wickedne&s;s to an&s;wer for as we have? Thus we may &s;ee rea&s;on to fall out with &s;in from our own Intere&s;t: We may &s;ee 'tis the mo&s;t hurtful thing to us in the whole World, a Fountain of un&s;peakable Eternal woes and mi&s;eries. And this makes it the wilde&s;t and mo&s;t unrea&s;onable Folly, to let our &s;elves be ea&s;ily induced and drawn to wickedne&s;s. This may ju&s;tly antidote us again&s;t all the allurements of &s;in, and inable us to reject them and &s;ay, It flatters to vex, and plea&s;es to puni&s;h, and promi&s;es to &s;erve and advantage us, but intends only to ruin and de&s;troy.</P>
<P N="4">4. When we con&s;ider the de&s;erts of &s;in, the mighty provocation that we have given God to inflict them, and the multitude of our &s;ins, it will be an amazing Con&s;ideration; and very fit to beget in us this Godly-&s;orrow, to con&s;ider fur|ther God's great Forbearance and Long-&s;ufferings towards us. This as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays (<HI>Rom.</HI> 2.) <HI>Leads us to Repentance;</HI> that is, it is a mo&s;t obli|ging,
<PB N="195" REF="102">a mo&s;t ju&s;t and rea&s;onable argument and motive to Repentance. Oh how fit is it to conquer all our Enmity again&s;t God! To con&s;ider what advantages we have given him again&s;t us, what provocations to de&s;troy us, yet he has not done it! How much evil we have de&s;erv'd, and how little we have &s;uffer'd! To con&s;ider that he has upheld us while we forgot him, he has done us good while we injur'd him, has protected us while we have rebell'd again&s;t him. The&s;e things &s;urely &s;hould oblige us to love him, and to for&s;ake whatever is di&s;plea&s;ing to &s;o good, &s;o kind a Being. We may each of us &s;ay, it was not, O Lord, becau&s;e thou could'&s;t not de&s;troy, it was not becau&s;e it had been unju&s;t to de&s;troy me that I am &s;till &s;par'd! It was not becau&s;e thou had&s;t any need of me, nor for any Obligations I have laid upon thee to ballance the provocations of my &s;ins: But it is meer goodne&s;s which has &s;par'd me; it is only of the Lord's Mercy that I am not con&s;umed, and becau&s;e thy Compa&s;&s;ions fail not! Becau&s;e thou art &s;low to ANger and of great Mercy, and de|lighte&s;t not in the Death of a &s;inner, but had ra|ther that he &s;hould turn from his wickedne&s;s and live. By this thy wondrous Patience is the Day of Grace lengthned out to me, and I have time to u&s;e the means of Grace yet longer; to &s;ue for my Pardon, and to work out my Salvation: Thou did&s;t not &s;ecure my Ruine by preventing my Re|pentance, becau&s;e thou did&s;t not de&s;ire my Ruine. Oh, amazing Goodne&s;s! I have given thee provo|cation enough to de&s;ire my Ruine, and &s;till thou de&s;ire&s;t my Happine&s;s and Salvation, thou &s;pare&s;t that thou mighte&s;t find me fit to be forgiven, and
<PB N="196" REF="103">to oblige me to be fit to be forgiven. Thou ha&s;t not born with only one Act of &s;in, but with a multitude of &s;inful Acts; not only with one &s;in but with many. Thou ha&s;t &s;een me wallowing in &s;in, without any care or thought to for&s;ake my Filthine&s;s: Thou ha&s;t &s;een me convinced of the unrea&s;onablene&s;s of &s;in, and in obedience to &s;uch a Conviction for&s;aking it for a-while, and yet re|turning and relap&s;ing to it again, like the Dog to his Vomit, and the filthy Swine to the Mire, yet thou ha&s;t &s;pared me. Thou ha&s;t &s;een me abufing all thy Gifts, yet ha&s;t added one Mercy after another to me, ha&s;t &s;een me &s;inning under Afflictions, yet ha&s;t gently afflicted, in the mid&s;t of wrath remem|bring Mercy, and ha&s;t done me good by Afflicti|ons! I mu&s;t acknowledge thy Patience and For|bearance, O Lord, to be as infinite as my Guilt and Wickedne&s;s.</P>
<P>It is fit to a&s;toni&s;h me to think, that all thy Creatures have by thy Order and Command &s;u|&s;tain'd and &s;erv'd me, while I have rebell'd again&s;t thee: It is a wonder they have not avenged their Creatour's quarrel; and if they had &s;et about it the weake&s;t and the meane&s;t of them could have done it: One breath of Air, one &s;mall Fly, one hot Sun-heam might have ea&s;ed thee of thine Ad|ver&s;ary, and avenged thee of thine Enemy, yet I live! And the foul Fiend whom I have follow'd and conform'd to in defiance of thee; whom I have tru&s;ted and believ'd before the God of Truth and Goodne&s;s; who&s;e Temptations have been dea|rer to me than thy Commands would have been, as ready to puni&s;h as he has been to tempt, would have been glad to have kill'd me upon thy Com|mi&s;&s;ion,
<PB N="197" REF="103">and to have dragg'd me, e'er this, into his eternal Pri&s;on; but thou ha&s;t defended me from him. Thou ha&s;t commanded my Food to nouri&s;h. Cloaths to warm me, the Sun to &s;hine, Showers to fall, the Earth to bring forth Fruits; thou ha&s;t continued Summer and Winter, Seed|time and Harve&s;t partly for me, and for a multi|tude of &s;uch provoking Wretches as me: For thou Lord art &s;trong and patient, tho' thou art provoked every Day! Can we think &s;uch thoughts without being heartily a&s;hamed, that we have thus exerci&s;ed the Divine Patience, and without re&s;olving we will no more do it? Ought not &s;uch things to beget in us &s;uch a re&s;olution? Can we &s;ay it is not mo&s;t highly rea&s;onable and ju&s;t, that &s;uch Forbearance &s;hould &s;often our hard Hearts, melt us into the mo&s;t pa&s;&s;ionate Re&s;entments of our Ba&s;ene&s;s and the Divine Goodne&s;s, and make us &s;eriou&s;ly intend, and endeavour utterly to for|&s;ake our &s;ins? The perver&s;ene&s;s of Men indeed, is wont too often to make the pre&s;ent Impunity of Sinners, and God's Patience an Encouragement to continue in &s;in; But is it not the mo&s;t mon&s;trous Perver&s;ene&s;s, that this &s;hould have &s;uch an Effect? that we &s;hould carry our &s;elves ill, and provoking to God, becau&s;e he is gentle and loth to be angry with us: That we &s;hould encourage our &s;elves to continue in Enmity and Rebellion again&s;t him by his Obligations of us to the contrary! We &s;hall the better under&s;tand what the Nature of &s;uch a Carriage is, and what Re&s;entments we may &s;up|po&s;e the great God to have of it, if we con&s;ider how great a Crime &s;uch a thing is reckon'd among Men, and how ungovernable a Rage and Di&s;plea|&s;ure
<PB N="198" REF="104">it u&s;ually provokes in our &s;elves again&s;t any that u&s;e us after &s;uch a manner.</P>
<P N="5">5. Let us con&s;ider further the Pa&s;&s;ion and Death of our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which he endur'd to atone for our Sins, and to reconcile our offended God to us. In this we mu&s;t needs &s;ee a mo&s;t ter|rible proof of God's di&s;plea&s;ure and offence again&s;t the &s;ins of Men: In that his well-beloved Son be|coming a Mediator on our behalf, could not ob|tain the Pardon of them without &s;ome &s;uffering and Penalty. God did not think it for his Honour to grant this to him upon ea&s;ier terms, than to bear the Cur&s;e of the Law, to &s;hed his mo&s;t pre|cious Blood, and lay down his Life in our &s;tead. And certainly we cannot conceive an in&s;tance of Love Parallel to his doing this for us. <HI>Herein is Love!</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle (1 <HI>John</HI> 1.16.) This is that wherein it does &s;hine with its brighte&s;t Glo|ry! This is the greate&s;t, the mo&s;t amazing in|&s;tance of Love that ever was, <HI>That God hath laid down his Life for us.</HI> Let us con&s;ider the Son of God taking our Nature, that he might de&s;troy the Works of the Devil; conde&s;cending to become one of us, that he might by an excellent Example lead and draw us from Evil: That it was for this he dwelt on Earth, he went about here do|ing good; he preach'd his excellent In&s;tructions which he has left behind him. Let us con&s;ider him laying down his Life, and making his Soul an offering for Sin. And doing all this with a De&s;ign to win us from our Sins to oblige us to for&s;ake them. Let us con&s;ider we de&s;pi&s;e his Love, if we do not de&s;pi&s;e them; we hate him who has thus lov'd us, if we do not fall out with
<PB N="199" REF="104">them; we reject him and all the Benefits of his Pa&s;&s;ion, all the offers of his wonderful Love if we entertain them. The Love of Je&s;us, then, and the love of Sin cannot con&s;i&s;t together. This we may rec|kon is the Enemy that has wounded, that has revil'd, has &s;courg'd, and crucified him. All this has it done to our Saviour and Friend to him that has lov'd us to the Death, and died for Love of us; ought it not then to be a mo&s;t hateful thing to us? And can we pretend to any Love, to any Gratitude to the Redeemer, if we &s;till cheri&s;h and retain that which has co&s;t him for our Sakes &s;o very dear: We might &s;uppo&s;e him from his tormenting Cro&s;s hanging there on great Nails, with the Blood flowing from his Head, and from his Hands, and from his Feet, and from his Side, be&s;peaking a Sin|ner thus, and &s;aying, Sinner all this I endure for thy &s;ake, and my inward Sufferings be&s;ides what thou &s;ee&s;t are more than thou art able to conceive, &s;uch a Sacrifice thy vile Sins need to attone for them; and I am loath to with-hold any in&s;tance of Love that is nece&s;&s;ary to thee; I account not my Life, my Blood too dear to part with, to ran|&s;ome thee from everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery. It is I that de&s;ire, I intreat thee to part with thy Sins; tho&s;e vile, tho&s;e needle&s;s things which I hate above all things, I hang here in vain, and do all this to no purpo&s;e if thou wilt not repent of and for&s;ake thy Sins; my Blood will not attone for thee, my Death will not &s;ave thee if thou do&s;t not this. It is then to trample upon my precious Blood, to de&s;pi&s;e all my Love if thou wilt &s;till retain thy Sins. But wilt thou thus require him that &s;o exceedingly loves thee! Surely I may be taken for a Friend,
<PB N="200" REF="105">being &s;o much concern'd for thy Happine&s;s and Welfare; if thou doubte&s;t of this, <HI>Reach hither thy &s;inger and behold my hands; reach hither thy hand and thru&s;t it into my &s;ide, and be not Faithle&s;s but believing.</HI> Believe me that I de&s;ire nothing but thy Happine&s;s; I do not grudge thee any advantage thy Sins would bring: But I pity thee for that un&s;peakable Mi&s;ery, that lamentable De|&s;truction which they will bring thee to, if thou do&s;t not for&s;ake them. Wilt thou not then grati|fie me in &s;uch a reque&s;t, which I am &s;o much &s;et upon, and which 'tis &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, &s;o u&s;eful to thy &s;elf to comply with? Do I take &s;uch a co&s;tly me|thod as this to reconcile God to thee, and art thou re&s;olved not to be reconciled? The&s;e &s;urely are thoughts very fit to make us fall out with our Sins, to grieve that we have co&s;t our kind Savi|our &s;o much grief; to hate what has wounded and tormented him, and abandon what is &s;o di&s;|plea&s;ing to him: That which is &s;o contrary as our &s;ins are, to all the Obligations of Love and Gra|titude to him. All the&s;e Con&s;iderations are un|doubtedly very fit in their own Nature to produce and excite in us this Godly-Sorrow: But that they may do &s;o, we mu&s;t entertain them in our Minds; we mu&s;t &s;uffer them to abide and dwell there; and &s;ometimes &s;eriou&s;ly meditate upon them: But this is that Men do not care for; tho' the&s;e are things of great Importance, and fit to influence us, and de&s;erve to do &s;o, yet the proper influence of them being for the pre&s;ent mortifying and unea&s;ie, we &s;eek to divert and keep them off when they offer them&s;elves; &s;o far are we from &s;eeking and giving our &s;elves up to them, as we &s;hould do
<PB N="201" REF="105">at &s;ome &s;olemn times. To obtain this therefore of our &s;elves, let us con&s;ider the&s;e two Argu|ments more for this Contrition.</P>
<P N="1">1. The very happy Fruits and Advantages of a true Contrition. It is indeed bitter but very whole&s;ome; it is unea&s;ie in its Operation, but mo&s;t happy and plea&s;ant in its Effects. The Apo&s;tle recommends it by the&s;e in the Text, when he &s;ays, that it <HI>works Repentance,</HI> it divorces between us and our Sins and gives us <HI>Salvation:</HI> Well might he add therefore, as he does, that this will <HI>never be repented of.</HI> Great things may be expected from this upon the gracious and encouraging Pro|mi&s;es which the Scriptures make to it. The P&s;al|mi&s;t &s;ays, P&s;al. 51.17. <HI>The Sacrifices of God are abro|ken Spirit;</HI> this is that which he values mo&s;t in Sinners, and had rather meet with this than re|ceive <HI>thou&s;ands of Rams, or ten thou&s;ands of Rivers of Oyl,</HI> if they could be offer'd in Sacrifice to him: And this he will accept as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ignifies in the following words, <HI>A broken and a contrite heart O God, thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e.</HI> Again, the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;peaks of this temper of Spirit, in the mo&s;t obliging and encouraging terms (I&s;a. 57.15.) <HI>Thus &s;aith the high and lofty one, who inhabiteth Eternity, who&s;e Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy Place; with him al&s;o that is of a contrite and humble Spirit, to revive the Spirit of the hum|ble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones:</HI> If our &s;ins e&s;trange God fromus, our Contrition will bring him nigh to us again in Favour and Mercy. This happy Di&s;po&s;ition &s;hall certainly repair all the Lo&s;&s;es, and cure all the mi&s;chiefs of our Sins. But it may be u&s;eful to mention more
<PB N="202" REF="106">particularly the happy Fruits and Benefits of this which are the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. It &s;hall be ble&s;t and rewarded with the full Pardon of all our Sins, this is expre&s;ly promi&s;ed, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 1.9. For the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>if we confe&s;s our &s;ins,</HI> that is with Godly-Sorrow, he will <HI>forgive us our &s;ins.</HI> And to make this unque&s;tionable he &s;ays, <HI>We have an Advocate with the Father Je&s;us Chri&s;t the righteous, who al&s;o is the Propitiation for our &s;ins:</HI> This all true Penitents may apply to them&s;elves: They may be a&s;&s;ur'd, that the &s;ame kind Je&s;us who died a Sacrifice for &s;in as he ro&s;e again from the Dead, &s;o he ever lives to make Interce&s;&s;ion for Sinners. Our Saviour de&s;ign'd to repre&s;ent the readine&s;s of a Pardon for all true Penitents, in his Parable of the Prodigal, as well as to give the Character of a true Penitent: Therefore he makes his Father meet him with Fa|vour when he was returning, and ready to be&s;tow more than the poor humbled Sinner could have Confidence to ask. But how great an Induce|ment to Repentance is this, how worthy and fit to prevail with us? God is ready to lay a&s;ide all his ju&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t us, and &s;hould not we then be ready to lay a&s;ide our unrea&s;onable En|mity again&s;t him. Is there not a great deal of Argument in this, that we &s;hall avoid his eternal Wrath and Vengeance; and &s;hall be receiv'd in|to Favour with him, and be treated as his dear Children? All our pa&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions tho' never &s;o many, our iniquities tho' never &s;o great, &s;hall be no more remembred again&s;t us than as if they had never been Committed. Oh, how &s;hould it tran&s;port us, how &s;hould it draw us to God to hear
<PB N="203" REF="106">that there is Forgivene&s;s with him! How great a force &s;hould the Cords of &s;uch a wondrous love have with us!</P>
<P N="2">2. Yet further another happy Fruit and Benefit of this will be our Sanctification This the Apo|&s;tle Promi&s;es al&s;o in &s;aying, he will <HI>clean&s;e us from all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> as well as forgive: And this may an&s;wer that fooli&s;h Plea of &s;ome lazy Souls, that they cannot di&s;mi&s;s and put away their Sins: If any are heartily griev'd and troubled for their Sins, if they earne&s;tly de&s;ire to for&s;ake them, and &s;eri|ou&s;ly endeavour this, the good Spirit of God will be ready to a&s;&s;i&s;t them. The true Penitent who hates what he before loved, and loaths now the Sins he delighted in; and therefore makes his earne&s;t Addre&s;&s;es to the great Phy&s;ician, and com|pa&s;&s;ionate Lover of Souls; he is that Per&s;on <HI>wea|ry and heavy laden,</HI> who <HI>&s;hall find re&s;t to his Soul,</HI> as our Saviour promi&s;es, <HI>Matt.</HI> 11.28. But how great and de&s;ireable a Benefit is this happy Opera|tion? It is like ea&s;e to broken bones, like the re|&s;toring of Health and Vigour to him that was fainting and pineing in Sickne&s;s. It mu&s;t needs plea&s;e a Man exceedingly to find that he is reco|vering out of a great and vile Di&s;paragement, that he &s;hall regain the great Glory of the hu|mane Nature in the Divine Image, and become again like his Cele&s;tial Kindred, &s;uch as God and Holy Angels can take &s;ome Complacency in. That now he is in hopes to have no more or but very little rea&s;on to fall out with him&s;elf: He &s;hall en|joy the &s;weet applau&s;es of a good Con&s;cience. <HI>There is joy in heaven,</HI> our Saviour &s;ays <HI>over one &s;inner that repenteth;</HI> and mu&s;t it not be then a very joyful thing e&s;pecially to him&s;elf.</P>
<PB N="204" REF="107">
<P N="3">3. The&s;e two foremention'd Benefits will afford a third which is the hope of future Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s and Glory. The happy Man &s;o far as he is &s;anctified is fitted for Heaven; and being Pardon'd he is be|come a Child of God and an Heir of Heaven. Thus greatly is he exalted who humbles him&s;elf in a lowly Repentance: And he may by the Promi&s;e of God, and through the merits of Je&s;us Chri&s;t expect that he &s;hall at length be taken from this World to a better, to dwell with Angels and en|joy God him&s;elf for ever. Oh wondrous and hap|py Change! He that ju&s;tly accounted him&s;elf le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all Mercies &s;hall be advanced to the greate&s;t! He who was an Heir of Hell and obnoxious to everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery, who might be|fore have been in Fear every moment le&s;t he &s;hould be thrown into that, may now &s;ay to him&s;elf the joyful Period con&s;tantly approaches which &s;hall tran&s;late me to eternal Bli&s;s, and may come for ought I know the next moment. Now &s;ince the&s;e are effects of Godly-Sorrow, we may conclude this Sorrow has more true Joy and Plea&s;ure atten|ding it than all the mad Mirth and Jollity of &s;in|ners. And we may readily &s;ub&s;cribe to what our Saviour &s;ays of it, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that mourn</HI> &s;ince <HI>they &s;hall be</HI> thus <HI>Comforted.</HI> But to enforce this Con&s;ideration the more, I de&s;ire,</P>
<P N="2">2. In the next place that we may &s;eriou&s;ly be|think our &s;elves of our Death, and the impor|tant things that follow it, and con&s;ider what are likely to be our thoughts of the&s;e Matters in tho&s;e Circum&s;tances. Let every one of us &s;oberly think with him&s;elf, what if it were ju&s;t now that I were &s;ummon'd to depart hence; &s;uppo&s;e this moment
<PB N="205" REF="107">were to be the la&s;t of my Life, and I may the more rea&s;onably &s;uppo&s;e this becau&s;e I know not but it may be &s;o. But if I knew it to be &s;o what &s;hould I then think of all my pa&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions! What e&s;teem or value &s;hould I have for all the Profits, Plea&s;ures, or Honours which my Sins had gain'd for me! Alas, how poor and u&s;ele&s;s things would they appear when none could help me out of the greate&s;t Di&s;tre&s;s, none of them could de|fer the fatal Period! &s;hould I not conclude I had even lo&s;t a Life irrecoverably, and &s;pent it in vain in the Service of &s;in? As we &s;hall then cer|tainly think the Favour of God, and the a&s;&s;ur'd hopes of Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s the greate&s;t Advantages that a poor Mortal wretch could &s;ecure to him&s;elf; let us think the &s;ame thing now, which is now as true as it will be then, tho' we cannot now &s;o well apprehend the nece&s;&s;ity and u&s;efulne&s;s of tho&s;e Advantages as we &s;hall do then: And let us therefore take care to &s;ecure them by lamen|ting and for&s;aking our &s;ins.</P>
<P>But we may do well to carry our thoughts further and con&s;ider what will follow our Death: That if this overtakes us before we have aban|don'd our &s;ins and made our Peace with God, we mu&s;t &s;traightway make our appearance be|fore our righteous offended Judge, and by him be committed to enrag'd and &s;pightful Devils, and be doom'd to have our Portion among them in Darkne&s;s and Mi&s;ery for ever. And let us con&s;ider what we &s;hould think of our Sins if they had brought us already to this as they will do it if we per&s;i&s;t in them. When we &s;ee our &s;elves irrecoverably lo&s;t, condemn'd to eternal
<PB N="206" REF="108">Pain and Mi&s;ery and cut off from all Hope of Mer|cy, &s;hould we not be amazed at our Folly to call to mind what vain and trifling Allurements could draw us to incur the everla&s;ting Perdition of our Souls? Should we not then hate our &s;elves for de&s;pi&s;ing the offer'd Favour of God, and &s;everely la&s;h and condemn our &s;elves for &s;lighting and re|fu&s;ing his Pardon? Should we not then believe the Sorrow and Bitterne&s;s of Repentance infinite|ly below tho&s;e terrible Woes and Griefs, and wi&s;h mo&s;t earne&s;tly, but in vain, that we had pre|vented tho&s;e Sorrows by a religious Grief? If it be likely, if it be credible that &s;uch things may come to pa&s;s, let us &s;ecure our &s;elves as well as we can again&s;t them by a &s;erious and &s;peedy Re|pentance. Let us mourn for &s;in while our Mour|ning will do us &s;ome good, while it will obtain the Pardon of our &s;ins and a right to everla&s;ting Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s. Let us judge and condemn our &s;elves and &s;o prevent the terrible Condemnation of God. This happy advantage the Go&s;pel offers us, and the Patience of God yet gives us &s;pace and op|portunity to &s;ecure it. Oh let it make us, to &s;e|cure it, ha&s;ten to leave our &s;ins, and &s;pend the remainder of our days in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s: So &s;hall we upon our departure hence be carried by kind Angels to that happy Place where <HI>all tears &s;hall be wiped from our Eyes, where &s;orrow and &s;ighing &s;hall flee away,</HI> and at la&s;t we &s;hall <HI>enter into our Ma&s;ters</HI> un&s;peakable eternal <HI>joy. Which God of his infinite Mercy Grant we may do thro' the Merits of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; to whom with the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t be all Honour and Glory world without end.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="207" REF="108">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Eternal and Ever Ble&s;&s;ed God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and the Great Judge and Governour of the World: Thou art the Holy and Righteous God who love&s;t Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and hate&s;t Iniquity; to Thee, O Lord, are known all our Thoughts, and Words, and Actions, and all things are open and na|ked before Thee. When we con&s;ider the&s;e things we are a&s;hamed and confounded to think how frequently, how heinou&s;ly we have &s;inn'd again&s;t Thee. O Lord, we mu&s;t needs abhor our &s;elves for our Unrighteou&s;|ne&s;s, our Ingratitude, our Rebellions again&s;t Thee. We cannot conceal our &s;ins, and therefore we hum|bly confe&s;s them, and we will aba&s;e our &s;elves before Thee. We do acknowledge, O Lord, we are not worthy to breath in thy Air, to &s;ee the cheerful Light of thy Sun, to enjoy the Fruits of thy Earth; we are unworthy to live, and have de&s;erv'd an Eternal Death. We freely condemn our &s;elves, but oh, do not Thou condemn us! We fly from the Tribunal of thy Ju&s;tice to the Throne of thy Grace; and Thou ha&s;t told us that Thou art a God forgiving Iniquity, Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion and Sin: We know al&s;o that we have an Advocate with the Father Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous, and He is the Propitiation for our Sins. We rely upon the Sacrifice of his Death, the Abundance of his Me|rit, and the Power of his Interce&s;&s;ion; and in his Name, O Father of Mercies, we humbly crave the Pardon of all our Sins. We be&s;eech Thee to deliver us from the Power of Sin; Oh let no Iniquity have Dominion over us. We are weary of the Tyranny of Sin, and de&s;ire to be admitted to the happy Freedom
<PB N="208" REF="109">of thy Service. Pour upon us an Abundance of thy Grace, and make us fruitful in all good Works. Grant us to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance. To live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly and godly in this pre&s;ent World: Teach us to deny our &s;elves, and to live to thy Honour and Glory. Make us to take heed to our ways that we &s;in not again&s;t Thee; to &s;hun the Ap|pearance of Evil, and carefully avoid all Temptations to wickedne&s;s. Po&s;&s;e&s;s us we pray Thee with a deep Sen&s;e of thy wondrous obliging Love to Mankind; of thy Goodne&s;s exerci&s;ed in creating us, of thy ine&s;tima|ble Love in redeeming us; that a mighty Love to Thee may po&s;&s;e&s;s our Hearts, and con&s;train us to keep thy Commandments; and give us a due Love to our Neighbour. Make us concern'd out of Love to Thee, and our Neighbour, to promote thy Glory, and the Love and Fear of Thee in the World. Grant that our Light may &s;o &s;hine before Men, that they &s;eeing our good Works may glorifie Thee our Father which art in Heaven.</P>
<P>Look down in Mercy we pray Thee upon the wretched World which lies in wickedne&s;s: And let thy Go&s;pel run and be glorified in the Conver&s;ion and Salvation of many Souls. Grant that all that name the Name of Chri&s;t may depart from Iniquity, and may live &s;o as to adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Give thy Church we pray Thee Pro&s;pe|rity and Peace. Be favourable we humbly be&s;eech Thee to the Land of our Nativity; Deal not with us, O Lord, after our Sins, neither reward us according to our Iniquities: Pardon us we be&s;eech Thee, and clean&s;e and deliver us from all that is contrary to thy Glory, and to our Peace and Welfare; advance and promote among&s;t us all true Piety and Vertue; and be our Defence again&s;t all foreign Enemies. Ble&s;s our King with all Spiritual and Temporal Ble&s;&s;ings; make him the glorious In&s;trument of our Reformation, Peace, and Happine&s;s; and make us ready to yield to
<PB N="209" REF="109">him all due Honour and Obedience. Be favourable to the Royal Family, pre&s;erve and defend it, and ble&s;s it we pray Thee with an abundant Effu&s;ion of Divine Graces, and pro&s;per it with all Happine&s;s. Ble&s;s we pray Thee our Relations according to their &s;everal Nece&s;&s;ities; do good to all our Benefactours and Friends, forgive our Enemies, Per&s;ecutours and Slan|derers, and turn their Hearts. We give Thee thanks for all the Mercies of our Lives, particularly for tho&s;e of this Day, e&s;pecially for the means of Grace, and the hope of Glory. Let thy good Providence watch over us this Night, and give us comfortable and refre&s;hing re&s;t; and grant that all our remaining Days may be &s;pent in thy Service, that we may at la&s;t come to the re&s;t which remains for the Servants of God. All our reque&s;ts we pre&s;ent in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and we &s;umm up our De&s;ires in his own words, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="210" REF="110">
<HEAD>General Remedies again&s;t Sin <HI>offer'd,</HI> and our own Endeavour <HI>urg'd.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>P&s;alm 119.106.</HI></BIBL>
<P>I have &s;worn, and I will perform it; that I will keep thy Righteous Judgments.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THere are many more Sinners brought to promi&s;e and re&s;olve that they will for&s;ake their Sins and lead good Lives, than there are that keep and practice &s;uch Re&s;o|lutions. And with &s;ome Men it is a common thing both to make good Re&s;olutions and to break
<PB N="211" REF="110">them. The rea&s;on of this is; Becau&s;e it is much ea&s;ier and cheaper to us to purpo&s;e and intend well, than to follow our good purpo&s;es with &s;ui|table practice. The one is done in a &s;hort fit the other mu&s;t be a work of time. We mu&s;t take pains with our &s;elves, and that perhaps in a long cour&s;e of &s;tedfa&s;t Endeavour to conquer vicious Habits, and to introduce good and vertuous ones in the room of them. 'Tis true, the Grace of God mu&s;t be owned to work in us both to will and to do all that is good: But tho' he works in us to will without our &s;elves preventing us by his Grace, yet he works in us to do by our &s;elves: We mu&s;t come to this by our own Indu&s;try and Labour, as well as by his Grace. And herein it is that Men commonly de&s;ert them&s;elves. When they have made their vows and promi&s;es to reform and live well they never mind them: They &s;uffer them|&s;elves to be diverted from the nece&s;&s;ary care and endeavour to perform them by the cares and en|tertainments of this World and &s;o they come to nothing.</P>
<P>I &s;hall at this time, then, propo&s;e the P&s;almi&s;t's Example as it is repre&s;ented in the&s;e words, and urge the Imitation of it. He &s;ays to God <HI>I have &s;worn, and I will perform it; that I will keep thy Righteous Judgments.</HI> We do otherwi&s;e render this Ver&s;e, in that Tran&s;lation of the P&s;alms which is u&s;ed in our Liturgy, thus; I have <HI>&s;worn and am &s;tedfa&s;tly purpo&s;ed,</HI> &amp;c. which is more exactly according to the Septuagint, and to the Letter of the Hebrew <HI>(Muis in loc.)</HI> But yet both the&s;e ways of expre&s;&s;ing it come to this &s;ame &s;ence and meaning, that the P&s;almi&s;t did not forget his good
<PB N="212" REF="111">Re&s;olutions as &s;oon as he had made them, he did not neglect them afterwards, but applied him&s;elf, with a diligent endeavour and care, to do what he had &s;worn and re&s;olv'd. I may, then, from the&s;e words in&s;i&s;t upon and urge this nece&s;&s;ary Endeavour: Which that I may the more u&s;efully do I &s;hall employ the following Di&s;cour&s;e in the&s;e two things.</P>
<P N="1">1. To repre&s;ent what endeavour and care mu&s;t be u&s;ed towards the reforming our &s;elves, and living well, when we have re&s;olv'd and promi&s;ed this: What cour&s;e a Man mu&s;t take to perform his good Re&s;olutions.</P>
<P N="2">2. To urge the indu&s;trious Application of our own endeavour to this purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place I &s;hall repre&s;ent what endea|vour and care of our own mu&s;t be exerci&s;ed to|wards the reforming our &s;elves, and that we may become good and religious: And to that purpo&s;e the&s;e things following are to be ob&s;erv'd.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t carefully maintain a Sen&s;e of God's continual Pre&s;ence with us. We mu&s;t know and con&s;ider that the great Judge and Governour of the World always ob&s;erves us: We are in the continual View of a Righteous and Holy God who loves Righteou&s;ne&s;s and hates Iniquity: <HI>Solo|mon</HI> propo&s;es this as fit to re&s;train Men from wic|kedne&s;s, <HI>Prov.</HI> 5.21. Where after he had been cautioning Men again&s;t a vile &s;ort of wickedne&s;s commonly committed in fecret, he joyns the&s;e words to his Di&s;cour&s;e, <HI>For the ways of Man are before the Eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings:</HI> We mu&s;t remember that his Eyes behold and his Eye-lids try the Children of Men, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 11.4. He
<PB N="213" REF="111">&s;ees and cen&s;ures all our Actions. The wi&s;e Mo|rali&s;t (<HI>Seneca</HI> Ep. 11.) per&s;waded him&s;elf that a great part of our Faults would be prevented, if we had always at hand a witne&s;s to our Actions. We &s;hould therefore (&s;ays he) fix upon &s;ome very good Man whom we and all the World e&s;teem and reverence, and &s;uppo&s;e our &s;elves always in his &s;ight and pre&s;ence, and do all things as if he be|held us. We &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e him either as having Authority to cen&s;ure and re&s;train us from Evil, or as a Pattern of Vertue to be imitated. And that Man (&s;ays he) that &s;hall thus reverence and con&s;ider &s;uch an excellent Per&s;on, &s;hall &s;oon come him&s;elf to de&s;erve &s;uch Reverence from others. But if this be &s;o u&s;eful an In&s;trument of Refor|mation and Vertue, how much rather mu&s;t it be &s;o to &s;et God always before us? whom we may not only &s;uppo&s;e to &s;ee us, but may be a&s;&s;ur'd that he does &s;ees us: who is the mo&s;t glorious and perfect Pattern of all moral Excellency; and a &s;trict and ju&s;t Cen&s;urer of our Actions. To con&s;ider that he &s;ees them and concerns him&s;elf what they are; he beholds them with approbation or di&s;like, and with intention to reward or puni&s;h them. He &s;ees in &s;ecret and will reward them openly. The influence of this towards a good Life the P&s;almi&s;t expre&s;&s;es from his own Experience, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.168. <HI>I have kept thy Precepts and thy Te&s;timonies for all my ways are before thee.</HI> Which is as much as to &s;ay this was to me a great incouragement to my Duty, to think, I &s;hould be ob&s;erv'd by thee in the doing it, and this has re&s;train'd me from do|ing Evil that I could not conceal my &s;elf from thee. Let us then con&s;ider God's pre&s;ence and ob|&s;ervance
<PB N="214" REF="112">of us as he does in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 139. and of|ten tell our &s;elves; God <HI>knows my down-&s;itting and my up-ri&s;ing; he under&s;tands my thought afar off; he is acquainted with all my ways; there is not a word in my tongue but he knows it altogether.</HI> When we are alone we &s;hould think I am here in the pre&s;ence of God: When in the dark, that the Darkne&s;s and Light are both alike to him: I am always &s;urrounded by his Maje&s;ty and Glory, by his Power and Greatne&s;s, by his Purity and Ho|line&s;s. Tho' we &s;ee him not yet <HI>is he nigh to every one of us.</HI> Faith and Rea&s;on &s;hould repre&s;ent what our Eyes cannot, and we &s;hould always govern our &s;elves, like <HI>Mo&s;es, as &s;eeing him that is invi&s;i|ble,</HI> Heb. 11.27.</P>
<P N="2">2. That we may ab&s;tain from Evil and live well, we mu&s;t have a con&s;tant care and concern upon us what it is that we do, with re&s;pect to the Good or Evil of our Actions. It mu&s;t be the chief part of our Care about our Cour&s;e of Life that it be Religious and Vertuous, and be kept free from all Sin and Wickedne&s;s. If we are carele&s;s of our &s;elves in this matter it is not po&s;&s;i|ble we &s;hould live well: We mu&s;t <HI>walk circum|&s;pectly</HI> as the Apo&s;tle advi&s;es, that is, take good notice whether the Cour&s;e of Life we lead be good or bad, and take great care that it be good. So <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> urges this twice in one Chapter as a nece&s;&s;ary means of doing well, <HI>Deut.</HI> 4.9.23. <HI>Take heed to thy &s;elf</HI> (&s;ays he to <HI>I&s;rael</HI>) <HI>and keep thy Soul diligently le&s;t thou forget the Covenant of the Lord thy God.</HI> Now this concern and care a|bout the Nature of our Actions includes the&s;e two things. A con&s;tant watchfulne&s;s and ob&s;ervance
<PB N="215" REF="112">of our &s;elves; and a frequent deliberate and pur|po&s;ed Examination of our &s;elves.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t be as con&s;tantly watchful over our &s;elves as we can; be wont to take notice of all that moves within us or pa&s;&s;es from us; to reflect upon our own Actions. <HI>Solomon</HI> means and recommends this when he &s;ays, <HI>A prudent Man looketh well to his going,</HI> Prov. 14.15. Our way is every where be&s;et with Snares and Temptations and therefore we had need to ob&s;erve our Steps. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> bids us <HI>be &s;ober, and vigilant; becau&s;e our Adver|&s;ary the Devil goes about like a roaring Lion &s;eeking whom he may devour.</HI> And as it is the De&s;ign of a &s;ubtle indu&s;trious Adver&s;ary to draw us into Sin, &s;o our own deprav'd and vicious Nature is very liable and enclin'd to it; and then between both as our danger mu&s;t be exceeding great, we cannot po&s;&s;ibly be &s;afe unle&s;s our care be great too. The gro&s;s Faults which are recorded of &s;ome good Men loudly proclaim the common Nece&s;&s;ity of this ob&s;ervance of our &s;elves. Our Saviour therefore pronounces his Direction to it thus to his Di&s;ci|ples, <HI>What I &s;ay unto you I &s;ay unto all watch.</HI></P>
<P>But notwith&s;tanding the Nece&s;&s;ity and Im|portance of thus ob&s;erving our &s;elves, it is that which we too frequently intermit; and therefore it is nece&s;&s;ary that we often &s;et apart &s;ome Times for a &s;erious and deliberate Examination of our &s;elves. We &s;hould examine our Actions imparti|ally and &s;everely; and take notice of the &s;everal Circum&s;tances which aggravate the Evil or dimi|ni&s;h the Good of them. This is an excellent Means of Reformation and Vertue; therefore the Prophet exhorts to it as &s;uch, <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.40. &s;ay|ing,
<PB N="216" REF="113"><HI>Let us &s;earch and try our ways and turn again to the Lord:</HI> Intimating that this Cour&s;e would both induce us to and direct us in our Conver&s;ion. And indeed how can we amend our Errours if we do not know wherein we have err'd? Or how can we fall out with our Sins if we do not well con&s;i|der the Circum&s;tances that aggravate them? Which things require a &s;trict and &s;erious Exami|nation. <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks the U&s;efulne&s;s of this al&s;o from his own Experience, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.59. <HI>I thought on my ways</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and turned my Feet unto thy Te&s;timonies.</HI> But this is an Exerci&s;e which &s;hould be often repeated that we might receive much Benefit from it. And certainly the doing it but once in a Month in preparation for the Lord's Supper cannot be enough almo&s;t for any of us. Tho' it were to be wi&s;h'd that all Per&s;ons who are come to the years of di&s;cretion would con|&s;tantly do that, and if that were duely done we might hope to &s;ee a great deal of Reformation. But we &s;hould be&s;ides have &s;ome Examination of our &s;elves every Evening. It was the Precept of a famous Philo&s;opher among the Heathens <HI>(Pythag.)</HI> do not admit &s;leep (&s;aid he) into your Eyes till you have thrice recollected every &s;ingle Action of the Day; And &s;ay what have I done? Wherein have I tran&s;gre&s;s'd? What Duty have I omitted? The Apo&s;tle certainly urges this practice with a very great and cogent Motive, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.21. If we would <HI>Judge our &s;elves we &s;hould not be judged:</HI> His meaning is; this Cour&s;e would be likely to deliver us from the Judgment of God to our Con|demnation and Puni&s;hment as we may learn from the following Ver&s;e. This Examination when &s;e|riou&s;ly
<PB N="217" REF="113">perform'd will renew and revive a Man's Repentance for his faults, and his Re&s;olutions a|gain&s;t them: It will mightily cheri&s;h and main|tain <HI>the Fear of God</HI> in us which <HI>is the Beginning of Wi&s;dom.</HI> It gives Authority and Power to a Man's Con&s;cience and teaches him (as that Phi|lo&s;opher very &s;ignificantly &s;peaks) to reverence and &s;tand in awe of him&s;elf: And it will in a lit|tle time make a Man much the more careful to avoid all manner of Evil, when he knows before|hand that the letting him&s;elf do it will bring him in the End of the Day to remor&s;e and &s;hame, and an unea&s;ie Indignation again&s;t him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3. Another good means of living well and ab|&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary is, that we do carefully avoid all Temptations to wickedne&s;s. Some Men, tho' they pretend to be fallen out with their Sins, yet they take a &s;ecret Plea&s;ure to be tempted to them &s;till: But there is a &s;ecret Iniquity in that Plea|&s;ure, and it &s;peaks too much Inclination to the Sin. It is well &s;aid by a very wi&s;e Authour (Ex|cellent Woman) <Q>She that plea&s;es her &s;elf to be in the Mid&s;t of her Enemies may be ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pe|cted to have a De&s;ire to be overcome.</Q> Another &s;ays 'tis impo&s;&s;ible a Man &s;hould willingly abide by a Temptation for a good End. And indeed 'tis &s;eldom this can be without an ill Effect. Men fooli&s;hly dally with the plea&s;ing Allurement till they are overthrown and conquer'd. Temptati|on excites and provokes the Appetite, and in|flames Concupi&s;cence to an ungovernable Rage. And we help this to prevail upon us when we let it come near: and do needle&s;ly and frequently conver&s;e with it. It is a dangerous pre&s;umption
<PB N="218" REF="114">to do thus upon the account of our own weak|ne&s;s and pronene&s;s to do Evil: And be&s;ides it of|fends and provokes the Spirit of God to abandon us. He, we may expect, will defend us in Temp|tations which we cannot avoid; which the Cour&s;e of God's Providence and our Duty nece&s;&s;arily bring us into; but we cannot with any good rea&s;on ex|pect he &s;hould defend us in tho&s;e which we do needle&s;ly and perhaps from a bad Inclination ex|po&s;e our &s;elves to. Tho' we &s;how the <HI>&s;trength</HI> of our Vertue well, when we &s;tand unmov'd in a very importunate Temptation, which we did not fore&s;ee and could not avoid, yet we render the <HI>&s;in|cerity</HI> of our Vertue very &s;u&s;picious when we love to be tempted to wickedne&s;s. And every Man &s;hall meet with unavoidable Temptations enough in every State and Condition of Life; &s;o that no one needs to &s;eek Temptations that he may try and &s;how the &s;trength of his Vertue by them.</P>
<P>Under this direction to avoid Temptations is included that we &s;hould take a great deal of care what the Company is which we much conver&s;e with: that we avoid as much as may be the Con|ver&s;ation of &s;uch as are given up to any &s;ort of Wickedne&s;s. In the Society of vicious and profane Per&s;ons there will u&s;ually be &s;uch <HI>Evil Communi|cation</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays <HI>does corrupt good Man|ners,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.33. Their allurements to do Evil, their boa&s;ting of their Sins, their profane Di&s;|cour&s;e, and perhaps witty deriding of Religion will greatly endanger the corrupting of an inno|cent and pure Mind. Much rather will &s;uch Conver&s;ation be likely to throw him back into &s;in who has yet but young and weak Re&s;olutions
<PB N="219" REF="114">to be vertuous; who is but beginning to reform him&s;elf from ill Practices which formerly he was accu&s;tom'd to.</P>
<P>Among the Temptations to wickedne&s;s mu&s;t al&s;o be reckon'd the alluring plea&s;ant Repre&s;entations of it, which are made in &s;ome &s;orts of Books, and &s;ome other ways: the idle Labours of wanton vicious Wits, and very often of Fools. Such things the weak in Vertue e&s;pecially, and the Ignorant, and the Penitent; tho&s;e that need and de&s;ire to be re|form'd mu&s;t wholly ab&s;tain from. As the great delight which &s;ome young unexperienced Per&s;ons take in this &s;ort of Entertainment proceeds but from ill Inclination it &s;hews the great Danger of allowing it; and it is commonly, if much allow'd, attended with very mi&s;chievous Effects. The Im|provement which we &s;ee &s;uch Per&s;ons make in this way commonly lies in their learning to ridicule all that is &s;erious and venerable; to argue &s;ubtilly a|gain&s;t truth till them&s;elves come to believe lies; to de&s;pi&s;e the true Ornaments of humane Nature, Piety and Vertue; and to laugh them&s;elves into Mi&s;ery and Ruin.</P>
<P N="4">4. In order to the reforming of evil, and pra|cticing of Vertue, a Man mu&s;t exerci&s;e him&s;elf much in Self-denials. Without doubt our Savi|our &s;ugge&s;ts to us the nece&s;&s;ity and importance of this, in making it one of the fir&s;t Le&s;&s;ons to be learnt by tho&s;e that will become his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Matt.</HI> 16.24. we mu&s;t practice, and accu&s;tome our &s;elves to the contradicting our own Appe|tites and Pa&s;&s;ions, our Wills and Humours. In denying our &s;elves &s;ometimes what we may de&s;ire and do, we &s;hall learn, and get Power, to govern
<PB N="220" REF="115">and contradict our &s;elves when tempted to de&s;ire what we may not do.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t mortifie and &s;ubdue the Appetites and De&s;ires of the Fle&s;h by frequent Ab&s;tinences from lawful Gratifications. We mu&s;t not only &s;eldom excite and awaken the &s;leeping De&s;ire, but often check and refu&s;e when it calls to be gratified. The de&s;ires of the Fle&s;h mu&s;t be often &s;paringly gra|tified and put off with what is lea&s;t Plea&s;ant in its kind, rather than indulg'd and honour'd with what is mo&s;t &s;o. This Cour&s;e would tend to make them ea&s;ie and governable: Whereas a liberal Gratification and Indulgence will be apt to give them more &s;trength than we can well manage. The &s;trong and vigorous Penitents, and tho&s;e who have &s;trong and habitual Vices to overcome, mu&s;t u&s;e frequent Fa&s;tings, or &s;pare Diet, and upon coar&s;e Fare: And add to the&s;e hard Labour, un|ea&s;ie Garments, or Lodgings, much watching, and all &s;uch things as tend, without prejudice of Health, to humble the Body: <HI>That they may keep it under and bring it into Subjection</HI> as S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays he endeavour'd to do, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.27. It is good and ne|ce&s;&s;ary advice, that a Man who would reform him&s;elf from an habitual Sin he mu&s;t u&s;e very &s;en&s;ible and unea&s;ie Mortifications for every &s;ingle Act that he returns to, and that &s;teadily, in a continued Cour&s;e. This would make him at length di&s;tate and de&s;pi&s;e that which comes always en|combred with much Pain and inconvenience: Thus mu&s;t we <HI>mortifie the Deeds of the Body that we may live,</HI> Rom. 8.13.</P>
<P>But moreover; there is an interiour Mortifica|tion to be practi&s;ed as well as an exteriour; and
<PB N="221" REF="115">we mu&s;t deny and &s;ubdue our own Wills and Hu|mours. There are &s;piritual Vices and Wicked|ne&s;&s;es to be rooted up and de&s;troy'd, if we would make a thorough Reformation in our &s;elves, as well as &s;en&s;ual: And the&s;e are the wor&s;t &s;ort of Sins of the two. Sen&s;ual &s;ins indeed are bruti&s;h and make the Sinner &s;o, but the&s;e are Devili&s;h; &s;uch are Pride, Anger, Malice, Envy, Contention, Covetou&s;ne&s;s, Here&s;ie, Di&s;obedience and the like; and we mu&s;t know that without a particular Care the&s;e may and often do grow and flouri&s;h amid&s;t many exteriour Mortifications, and are often che|ri&s;ht and maintain'd even by them. Now we mu&s;t often deny our own Will and Humour to morti|fie and root up the&s;e. We mu&s;t then accu&s;tom our &s;elves to de&s;ire nothing of God but with an intire Re&s;ignation and Submi&s;&s;ion to his Will. We mu&s;t carefully purifie all our Intentions, and endeavour to have no Self-intere&s;t, no private De|&s;ign of Honour, Wealth, or Worldly advantage to our &s;elves in any thing we do; but &s;hould de|&s;ign all for the Glory of God and the good of our Neighbour. We mu&s;t al&s;o (as our Saviour directs) take up our Cro&s;s daily: That is, we mu&s;t &s;et our &s;elves to bear with Patience, the Di&s;ap|pointments and Contradictions to our own Will and Humour which we meet with in the World. A multitude of the&s;e we &s;hall commonly meet with, and they may be made effectual In&s;truments of Vertue and Reformation, if Men will accu&s;tom them&s;elves to bear and u&s;e them rightly. We mu&s;t not, then, &s;uffer our &s;elves to make fierce Oppo|&s;itions to every thing that Cro&s;&s;es us. If there be nece&s;&s;ity to oppo&s;e any thing in the ju&s;t de|fence
<PB N="222" REF="116">of our Intere&s;ts, or of the Honour of our Station and Relations, yet we &s;hould endeavour to do this always with a Compo&s;ure and Calm|ne&s;s of mind. And when there are not very ill Con&s;equences of the things which thus exerci&s;e us, we &s;hould not let our &s;elves re|&s;ent them perhaps at all. We mu&s;t not be pe|remptory or impatient to throw off every tolera|ble Inconvenience, nor fly from our Station and Circum&s;tances, or neglect the Duties of them for every little Adver&s;ity and Contradiction that we meet with. It is a good means to learn obedience to the Laws of God, to practice and accu&s;tom our &s;elves to a quiet Submi&s;&s;ion to his Providence. This latter indeed is part of our Duty, but it is al&s;o a very u&s;eful means to di&s;po&s;e us to every other Duty. Therefore is it u&s;ual with God to teach Men obedience by Affliction and Trouble, and per|haps there are few of us that will be brought in|to good order without it. To accu&s;tom our &s;elves to this Submi&s;&s;ion tames the proud will of Man, and makes it governable and obedient. It learns us to have no will of our own, but to be re&s;ign'd to the Will of God, which is the grand Princi|ple of all Obedience. A devout Author there|fore wi&s;ely &s;aid, <HI>Ce&s;&s;et Voluntas propria &amp; infernus not erit. (Bernard</HI> 3 <HI>Serm. de Re&s;urrect. Dom.</HI>) If the Affectation of having our own Will were per|fectly bani&s;ht from the World, Hell might be ex|tingui&s;ht too.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, it is an excellent means to root up Vice and form our &s;elves to Vertue and Goodne&s;s, to make our &s;elves diligent in &s;ome good and in|nocent Imployment. Idlene&s;s cheri&s;hes all man|ner
<PB N="223" REF="116">of Vice, and lawful Bu&s;ine&s;s well follow'd bla&s;ts it: 'tis true, &s;ome Men find them&s;elves un|lawful Bu&s;ine&s;s, and &s;ome Sin in the exce&s;s of their Application to that which is lawful, and in the&s;e Ca&s;es the more diligent Men are the more, wick|ed they are: But if the&s;e Ca&s;es be excepted and Men keep them&s;elves within the Bounds of what is lawful in this Matter, then will even worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s prove an excellent means of Vertue. This keeps the thoughts within compa&s;s, accu&s;tomes them to Command, tames the Animal Spirits, and keeps them governable, occa&s;ions the frequent de|nial and contradiction of our Appetites, helps us in this, and &s;o keeps them regular. Bu&s;ine&s;s is a very good preventive of exce&s;&s;ive Plea&s;ure; a good remedy again&s;t Pride, and Profanene&s;s. And Bu&s;ine&s;s of our own well attended will keep us from the impertinent and trouble&s;ome &s;ins of med|ling with the concerns and Actions of our Neigh|bours, of cen&s;uring our Superiours, and of trou|bling the State with noi&s;e and clamour; of Slan|dering and Backbiting and reproaching of others. Many a Man wants this to keep him from Prodi|gality, who, having nothing el&s;e to do, Studies nothing but how to &s;pend his Money, and wa&s;te his Patrimony. Something to do tho' it were of little u&s;e in its &s;elf, yet would be of great u&s;e to this purpo&s;e, to keep us from the common Fol|lies and Mi&s;chiefs of Idlene&s;s. The mo&s;t &s;lothful and lazy Soul that is has commonly &s;o much Acti|vity in its Nature, that it will rather chu&s;e to be doing ill than doing nothing. Bad de&s;ires &s;ays one (Excellent Woman) are con&s;tantly forming them|&s;elves in that Soul which has no Employment.
<PB N="224" REF="117">Such a Soul, too, is at lei&s;ure, is di&s;po&s;ed to re|ceive the evil Sugge&s;tions of our Adver&s;ary the Devil: And when he &s;ees the lucky opportunity of finding us doing nothing, it even tempts him to tempt us to Wickedne&s;s. A Man might be &s;o wi&s;e as to make one Bu&s;ine&s;s a diver&s;ion to another to keep him&s;elf always in &s;ome good and inno|cent Employment. He that has no Trade to follow, may keep him&s;elf much employ'd in the nece&s;&s;ary Care of managing his E&s;tate, &s;o as that he may either improve, or maintain and u&s;e it for the benefit and comfort of tho&s;e that depend upon him. And it may divert him from the&s;e and employ him &s;till to &s;et him&s;elf to &s;eek and u&s;e all opportunities of doing good Offices to his Neigh|bours. And &s;ome time he may and ought to &s;pend daily in exerci&s;es of Piety and Devotion: And &s;ome time would be &s;pent in retir'd &s;tudy and Meditation for the Improvement of him&s;elf in Learning and Vertue, that he may the better adorn and become his elevated Condition. Cer|tainly none can think they want Imployment to keep them from the Dangers and Mi&s;chiefs of Idlene&s;s, who will but &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider that they have immortal Souls, who&s;e Happine&s;s for ever they mu&s;t &s;ecure and provide for in this &s;hort tran&s;itory Life: Who will but con&s;ider the many Dangers the&s;e are in while they remain in this World: What Defilements and unfitne&s;s for Hap|pine&s;s they have contracted which mu&s;t be purg'd away: And what divine Qualifications they want which mu&s;t be gain'd; upon the account of which things we are bid by the Apo&s;tle to <HI>work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling.</HI> The&s;e are
<PB N="225" REF="117">the endeavours ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to tho&s;e e&s;pe|cially, who from habitually vicious would become vertuous and good.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides the&s;e endeavours we mu&s;t diligently u&s;e the publick appointed means of Grace, &s;uch as hea|ring the Word of God preacht, publick Prayers, the Holy Sacraments: And mu&s;t add to all the re&s;t private and deliberate Meditation on Divine things, but the&s;e things require to be in&s;i&s;ted on &s;everally.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now proceed to the &s;econd part of the Di&s;cour&s;e, which is to exhort and urge Man to u&s;e their own Endeavours towards the forming them&s;elves to Religion and Vertue. To which purpo&s;e I would propo&s;e the following particulars to their &s;erious Con&s;ideration.</P>
<P N="1">1. The end we labour for in this Ca&s;e is high|ly worth our utmo&s;t Labour and Care. It is not an unnece&s;&s;ary, it is not an unprofitable thing to be Vertuous and Religious. He that had tried it &s;aid, <HI>In keeping the Commands</HI> of God <HI>there is great reward.</HI> Our endeavour to be Vertuous and Religious is an endeavour to be Wife and Happy, and which tends to make us &s;o: To have a good Command over our &s;elves; to keep our own Ap|petites and Pa&s;&s;ions from being trouble&s;ome, from being hurtful to us; to pre&s;erve and enjoy a &s;tea|dy Peace and Tranquility of Mind. In this we endeavour to lead &s;uch a Cour&s;e of Life as &s;hall always be attended with the be&s;t Reli&s;h and Sen&s;e of the Plea&s;ures of this World; which they only enjoy who u&s;e the&s;e Plea&s;ures with Temperance and Sobriety: We endeavour to live &s;o as will be&s;t maintain and improve the Portion of good which
<PB N="226" REF="118">God has given us in this World; &s;o as to de&s;erve the love and e&s;teem of Men; to pre&s;erve our Health, and give a Man a long and ea&s;ie Life. Such a Cour&s;e we endeavour as will be ble&s;t with the plea&s;ing Applau&s;es of a good Con&s;cience; with a lively Sen&s;e of the Favour of Almighty God; and with the joyful Hopes of eternal Happine&s;s in the World to come. We endeavour &s;o to live, as, if we per&s;evere in it, we &s;hall not fail to come to perfect Happine&s;s and eternal Glory at la&s;t. This is that we endeavour for, when we endeavour to be Religious; and certainly all this advantage of being &s;o makes the utmo&s;t endeavour for it well be&s;tow'd.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is evident that our own Endeavour to do well is requir'd of us in Holy Scripture. We mu&s;t not think that the Grace of God is to do all for us, and we are to do nothing, or that the Di|vine Image is to be formed in us ju&s;t as a Statuary would form that of a Man out of a po&s;t or &s;tone. Our Saviour bids Men <HI>Strive to enter in at the &s;trait gate,</HI> that is, endeavour to be Religious, and the Apo&s;tle directs to <HI>give all Diligence to make our Calling and Election</HI> &s;ure, and to <HI>work out our Sal|vation with fear and trembling.</HI> And in particular I have &s;hewn that the forementioned In&s;tances of our endeavour are nece&s;&s;ary and requir'd: And &s;ince God has appointed Preaching and Sacra|ments the means of Grace, 'tis without doubt he requires the diligent u&s;e of them. It is then a groundle&s;s Pre&s;umption to expect the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of God's Grace without the Application of our own Endeavour. And when he directs us to u&s;e this we may be &s;ure it offends, it provokes him to
<PB N="227" REF="118">leave us in our Sins, if we neglect to do &s;o. We have no good ground then to hope for Salvation without this when we are arriv'd to the years of a Capacity to u&s;e it, and have opportunity to do it.</P>
<P N="3">3. It may urge this Endeavour, that whatever we are required to do towards our Salvation is all of it that which we have a natural Power to do. For in&s;tance; does any Man find upon Tryal that he cannot often bethink him&s;elf that he is always in the &s;ight and under the ob&s;ervance of the great Lord and Judge of the World? Is it impo&s;&s;ible al&s;o for a Man to concern him&s;elf what his Acti|ons are, to exerci&s;e his own rea&s;on about them? Cannot a rational Creature reflect upon his own Actions, and con&s;ider whether they be good or bad? And further; 'tis indeed impo&s;&s;ible to avoid all Temptations in this World; but the mo&s;t Men may avoid more than they do avoid. And every Man can avoid as many as he can; and the Di|vine Compa&s;&s;ion will take care of him in the re&s;t who thus far takes care of him&s;elf. Further; that which is certainly the harde&s;t part of all our Task is yet very po&s;&s;ible to be done, that is, the exerci&s;e of much Self-denial. The common pra|ctice of the World abundantly proves this a thing po&s;&s;ible to Mankind. There is nothing more common than the Exerci&s;e of a great deal of Self-denial for other purpo&s;es. What hard&s;hips of Labour, and Toil? What ab&s;temious Living? What Cares? What Fa&s;tings? What Watchings will Men rea|dily undergo to make them&s;elves rich, to ri&s;e to Dignity and Honour, and promote their worldly De&s;igns? And even the Impotent and &s;oft Volup|tuary
<PB N="228" REF="119">can deny him&s;elf many things to compa&s;s and enjoy his de&s;ired Plea&s;ures. Men <HI>can</HI> deny them|&s;elves, then, and if &s;o, why can they not do it to mortifie hurtful Vices, to &s;ubdue &s;hameful Pa&s;&s;ions, and to acquire noble and Divine Vertues as well as for other and meaner Ends? Thus the things we are required to do in order to our Salvati|on are things which we have a natural Power to do. But then if we neglect to do the&s;e things we fall under the Guilt and Folly of neglecting our &s;elves, of <HI>neglecting our own Salvation,</HI> and this will be the eternal rebuke we &s;hall expo&s;e our &s;elves to, that we might have been vertuous and happy if we would.</P>
<P N="4">4. Our own Re&s;olutions and Promi&s;es to do well, if they are not follow'd with a &s;teady En|deavour to perform them, will ri&s;e up in Judg|ment again&s;t us and condemn us. We &s;hall be condemn'd out of our own Mouths: In the&s;e we confe&s;s we ought to for&s;ake our Sins and to be|come Religious, and then in the&s;e we condemn our &s;elves if we do not endeavour it. We add the Guilt of Fal&s;ene&s;s, and breach of Vows and Promi&s;es to the Rebellion and ingratitude of our Sins, &s;o that we do both the more &s;ecure, and the more aggravate and heighten our Condem|nation by Vows and Promi&s;es which we take no care to keep and perform.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, if we do follow our good Re&s;olu|tions with earne&s;t and continual Endeavours we &s;hall be able to perform them. The Holy Spirit of God will certainly give our &s;erious Endeavours good Succe&s;s: And he that has brought us to will, &s;hall certainly work in us to do, for this is
<PB N="229" REF="119">his good Plea&s;ure. God does not bid us u&s;e means to mock and deceive us; but if we do u&s;e the means he appoints he will in due time give a Ble&s;&s;ing to them. His directing us to u&s;e &s;uch things as means of Grace and Salvation does im|ply a Conditional Promi&s;e that if we do u&s;e them we &s;hall &s;ucceed well in it, and when he bids us <HI>&s;trive to enter in at the &s;trait gate,</HI> he therein gives us &s;ufficient a&s;&s;urance that we &s;hall not &s;trive alone, nor in vain. In time, and by degrees, and with Con&s;tant and Patient endeavour, we &s;hall conquer the mo&s;t ob&s;tinate Sins and &s;ettle in our &s;elves the mo&s;t di&s;agreeing Vertues. If then the de&s;ired Succe&s;s does not &s;peedily come, as indeed it is not to be expected that an habitual Sinner &s;hould ordinarily be all at once reform'd: Nor that a new beginner in Vertue &s;hould immediately be|come &s;trong and perfect, yet let us continue our Endeavour, never admit a thought of giving it over, and &s;tedfa&s;tly wait on God in the u&s;e of ap|pointed means, and when our Re&s;olution is &s;uffi|ciently tried, our Endeavours &s;hall be abundantly ble&s;t and rewarded: <HI>Through the Merits and In|terce&s;&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t be all Honour and Glory world without end.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="230" REF="120">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ETernal God! Thou art Merciful and Gracious, Long &s;uffering, and abundant in Goodne&s;s and Truth. Thanks be to thy Glorious Goodne&s;s O Lord, for that Thou de&s;ire&s;t not the Death of a Sinner but had rather that he &s;hould turn from his Wickedne&s;s and live. We that are here before Thee mu&s;t own our &s;elves wondrous Monuments of thy Patience and Goodne&s;s; Thou ha&s;t &s;pared us whom Thou mighte&s;t mo&s;t ju&s;tly long ago have de&s;troy'd. And Thou mag|nifie&s;t thy Mercy in &s;paring us, in that Thou ha&s;t all this while afforded us means of Grace and Salvation; Thou invite&s;t us to be happy in thy Favour; offere&s;t us thy forfeited Love, and do&s;t frequently and ear|ne&s;tly admoni&s;h us to work out our Salvation and di|rect us how to do it. Oh Lord we are a&s;ham'd and confounded when we con&s;ider thy abundant Mercy to us and our negligent and ungrateful Behaviour to|wards Thee! When we con&s;ider thy great and our own little Concern for our everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. Oh we have been bu&s;ied and taken up with many things, and have neglected the one thing nece&s;&s;ary. Lord let thy mercy Pardon our Sin and Folly, and thy good Spirit awaken and excite us to a due Care of our &s;elves for the future, and a&s;&s;i&s;t and &s;ucceed that our Care. O Lord make us to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, and do Thou work in us to Will and to do according to thy Good Plea|&s;ure. Make us hereafter to &s;et Thee before our Eyes, that we may &s;tand in awe of thy Maje&s;ty and Great|ne&s;s, of thy Purity and Holine&s;s, and may be thereby withheld from doing Evil: And let a con&s;tant Sen&s;e of thy ob&s;erving us encourage the perfor|mance
<PB N="231" REF="120">of all our Duty, however difficult or dange|rous it may be. Make us O Lord to take heed to our ways, to be always watchful over our &s;elves, and very loath to di&s;plea&s;e Thee, loth to defile and di&s;|parage our &s;elves with that which is &s;o ba&s;e and vile as all &s;in is. Make us careful to avoid all the Temp|tations to it that we can, and Grant us we humbly be&s;eech Thee the Support and A&s;&s;i&s;tance of thy Grace again&s;t tho&s;e which thy Providence and our Duty ex|po&s;es us to. Make us diligent and indu&s;trious in the work Thou give&s;t us to do that we may not be at lei&s;ure to entertain the Temptations of our Adver&s;ary. Oh Lord forgive all our pa&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and &s;o ble&s;s and &s;ucceed our Endeavour and Care for the time to come, that we may cea&s;e to do evil, and learn to do well: That we may mortifie every corrupt Affection, and live Godly, Righteous, and So|ber in this pre&s;ent World. Oh hold up our goings in thy Paths that our Foot&s;teps &s;lip not. Teach Thou us the way of thy Statutes and we &s;hall keep it unto the end. We have &s;worn O Lord, we have &s;tedfa&s;tly purpo&s;ed, and do earne&s;tly de&s;ire to keep thy Com|mands. Oh let thy mighty Grace prevent and fol|low us continually, that we may be able to keep and perform &s;o ju&s;t and rea&s;onable, and &s;o happy Vows and Re&s;olutions.</P>
<P>We heartily implore thy Mercy for all Mankind, that all may be led into the ways of Truth, Peace and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and all may know, love, fear, and prai&s;e Thee, and be happy. Ble&s;s thy Church with an abundant Effu&s;ion of thy Spirit upon it: That tho&s;e who name the Name of Chri&s;t may depart from ini|quity, and live &s;o as to adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Let thy Mercy and Good|ne&s;s watch over the&s;e Nations for Good; Lord purge out from among&s;t us whatever is di&s;plea&s;ing to Thee, and let not our &s;ins &s;eparate between Thee and us; but be Thou, the Almighty God, always our Safety
<PB N="232" REF="121">and our Honour. We pray Thee ble&s;s abundantly thy cho&s;en Servant King <HI>William;</HI> endue him plenteou&s;ly with all Divine Graces; &s;atisfie him with thy Loving Kindne&s;s: Direct and pro&s;per his Undertakings to the promoting thy Glory, his own Honour and our Wel|fare. Ble&s;s and maintain the Royal Family, and let it flouri&s;h in all Happine&s;s as long as the Sun and Moon &s;hall endure. Let all that are related to us know in this their day the things that belong to their Peace; and make them wi&s;e to the Salvation of their Souls. Ble&s;s to our &s;piritual and everla&s;ting advantage the means of Grace which we have this day by thy great Favour enjoy'd. Lord make us duely thankful for &s;o great Favours, and abundantly fruitful under the&s;e Dews of Heaven. Be Thou, we pray, our Protection this Night; our Guide all the days of our Life, and our Portion for ever, for the Sake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</P>
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="233" REF="121">
<HEAD>Involuntary Sins Stated, AND Our Care to avoid them <HI>&V;rg'd.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Rom. 7.19. latter part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But the Evil which I would not that I do.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE &s;ettled habitual Choice, and Deter|mination of the Will, being fixed either upon God and Holine&s;s, or upon the things of this World and Wickedne&s;s, is that which gives a Man his Character, and makes him
<PB N="234" REF="122">de&s;erve the Denomination of a good or a bad Man. And this is the Bya&s;s of the Soul, and does for the mo&s;t part finally &s;way and prevail in him. Yet there may be &s;ome contrary Motions to this habitual Choice of the Will, &s;tirring, and making them&s;elves obey'd by &s;ome of the other Powers in every Man; which however, the State and Condition of his mind is not to be judg'd of by. A good Man may have &s;ome &s;tirrings of Evil in him; and the&s;e may carry him along to &s;ome very tran&s;ient, and le&s;&s;er in&s;tances of &s;in; yet he may remain, and may de&s;erve the Denomination of a good Man, notwith&s;tanding them. And a Man who&s;e Mind is habitually deprav'd, and his Will bent to wickedne&s;s, may have frequent Con|victions of the Evil of his Cour&s;e, may often re|buke him&s;elf for his Sins; he may have &s;ome faint Wi&s;hes &s;tirring in him towards Piety and Ver|tue, in&s;omuch as to think that he would be good if he could: Yet all this while the corrupt Bya&s;s of his mind prevails; he is finally and u&s;ually carried to the Commi&s;&s;ion of Evil, and the Omi&s;|&s;ion of his Duty: He therefore remains, and mu&s;t rightly be accounted a wicked Man &s;till.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle may be under&s;tood in this Chap|ter as &s;peaking of a regenerate and good Man, and the &s;tirrings and efforts of Corruption which may be found in &s;uch an one. Thus many lear|ned Men have under&s;tood this Chapter, and this &s;eems to be the faire&s;t and ea&s;ie&s;t Interpretation of what is &s;aid here, and agreeable enough to what in Holy Scripture is el&s;ewhere &s;poken of the &s;ame matter. The&s;e words therefore which I have read for our pre&s;ent Text may be under&s;tood of
<PB N="235" REF="122">&s;uch a Per&s;on too: And we may reckon that they &s;ignifie thus much. I cannot indeed pretend to be perfectly vertuous and holy, and free from all manner of Sin: I find a Law in my Members warring again&s;t the Law of my Mind, which too often leads me captive to the Laws of Sin and Death: There is &s;ome Evil &s;tirring at &s;ometimes in me, and &s;ome will proceed from me. But this, whenever I perceive it, is a hearty Grief to me; 'tis the Burden of my Life: This is con|trary to the &s;etled habitual purpo&s;e and choice of my Will, and to the &s;tream of my con&s;tant ear|ne&s;t Endeavour; and the Evil which I at any time do is that which I would not do.</P>
<P>From the words thus explain'd I might ob&s;erve the&s;e two things:</P>
<P N="1">1. That there is no Man in this Life perfectly free from all Sin.</P>
<P N="2">2. That, yet, the Evil which is to be found in the Cour&s;e of a good Man's Life is involuntary; or that which he would not be guilty of.</P>
<P>I de&s;ign to employ this Di&s;cour&s;e entirely upon the latter of the&s;e; and I &s;hall &s;peak to it in this Method.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall endeavour to &s;how di&s;tinctly and fully what may de&s;erve to be accounted involuntary Sins; &s;uch as even a good Man may be &s;ometimes betray'd into.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall enforce &s;ome important Con&s;iderati|ons which are proper to excite and quicken the good Man's Care, and Endeavour, to avoid as many, even, of the&s;e as he can.</P>
<P>It is very requi&s;ite to in&s;i&s;t upon the fir&s;t of the&s;e Heads, becau&s;e Men are exceeding apt to deceive
<PB N="236" REF="123">them&s;elves in this matter. Many men who live in habitual Sins, having &s;ome checks and rebukes for this in their own minds, do, thereupon, think their Ca&s;e the &s;ame with that &s;poken of in the Text: They think the Evil which they do is that which they would not do; they excu&s;e them&s;elves in it to their own minds, and &s;ay they cannot help do|ing it. And if it be allow'd, as they e&s;pecially are willing it &s;hould be allow'd, that even a good Man may have occa&s;ion to &s;ay the words of the Text concerning him&s;elf; they will from thence take occa&s;ion, by the help of &s;elf-love, to think they may be good Men notwith&s;tanding that they live in &s;uch Sins. A great and a fatal Deceit this is, and yet is, I doubt, &s;o common as to de&s;erve a particular Endeavour to remove it. That I may di&s;tinctly repre&s;ent what are to be accounted Invo|luntary Sins, and what are not &s;o, I mu&s;t pro|po&s;e this matter under the&s;e two Heads: And it mu&s;t be &s;aid,</P>
<P N="1">1. Tho&s;e &s;ins only which we commit not know|ing or not con&s;idering that we do Evil are Invo|luntary Sins.</P>
<P N="2">2. That ignorance or incon&s;ideratene&s;s which betrays us into any &s;uch Sin mu&s;t be involuntary too, or el&s;e the Sin which we become thereby guilty of will not de&s;erve that Denomination.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I &s;ay tho&s;e Sins only which we commit not knowing or not con&s;idering that we do Evil are involuntary Sins. When a Man is ignorant of his Duty in the Ca&s;e; or is &s;urprized, and engag'd into the breach of a known Command before he is aware, his Sin then may be accounted involun|tary. In the&s;e ca&s;es a Man may do that which is
<PB N="237" REF="123">contrary to the &s;etled Di&s;po&s;ition, and Choice of his Will. When tho' a man's Will does concur to and chu&s;e the Action which he does, yet, if he knew or con&s;ider'd the Action to be evil he would not chu&s;e nor allow it, that Action, tho' a Sin, may be an involuntary one. But when a man knows an Action to be &s;inful, and deliberately con|&s;iders this at the time of his doing it, and yet af|ter all this commits it, this is a voluntary wilful Sin notwith&s;tanding any Reluctances which may attend the Commi&s;&s;ion of it. Our Will mu&s;t be alienated and turn'd from all &s;in and wickedne&s;s to God and our Duty; &s;o as that it mu&s;t re&s;train us from what-ever Evil, which we do know, and con&s;ider to be Evil at the time when it offers it &s;elf to us, or el&s;e the Evil which we do is not in|voluntary. This is very evident and needs not to be in&s;i&s;ted on: I proceed then to</P>
<P>The &s;econd Head where I mu&s;t &s;tay longer which was this; that this ignorance or incon&s;ide|ratene&s;s which betrays a Man into &s;in mu&s;t be invo|luntary too, or el&s;e the &s;in which he thereby be|comes guilty of will not be of that Character. If we are guilty in the Cau&s;e, we are reckon'd in the &s;ight of God guilty in the Effect al&s;o: And if we are liable to blame for our ignorance or incon&s;i|deratene&s;s we &s;hall be proportionably blameable for the Sin which we are thereby guilty of: If we chu&s;e them we chu&s;e al&s;o that Sin. Here then I mu&s;t carefully &s;hew you what Ignorance of our Duty may ju&s;tly be reckon'd involuntary; And then what incon&s;ideratene&s;s is &s;o.</P>
<P>That our Ignorance of our Duty may be invo|luntary, it mu&s;t proceed from one or both the&s;e &s;orts of Cau&s;es:</P>
<PB N="238" REF="124">
<P>Fir&s;t from the Difficulties that attend the Ob|ject, or what is to be known; Secondly from &s;ome incurable Di&s;advantages of the Subject, or which do attend him who is to know his Duty: From &s;uch hindrances of this as he cannot re|move.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Ignorance of our Duty that mu&s;t ren|der a Sin involuntary mu&s;t, in part at lea&s;t, proceed from the Difficulties of knowing what is good or what is evil. Some Difficulties there are in this matter; &s;uch as do require time, and labour to conquer them. And this the wi&s;e Man intimates when he &s;ugge&s;ts, that to furni&s;h our &s;elves well with Divine Knowledge, we mu&s;t <HI>encline the Ear to Wi&s;dom and apply the Heart to &V;nder&s;tanding;</HI> we mu&s;t earne&s;tly de&s;ire this as a mo&s;t valuable good, and a mo&s;t important Ble&s;&s;ing; we mu&s;t very diligently u&s;e and improve the means of knowledge. Again he directs that we <HI>cry after Knowledge and lift up the Voice for Under&s;tanding:</HI> that is, it mu&s;t be the matter of our frequent, and very earne&s;t Reque&s;t to Almighty God, that he would teach us by his good Spirit; &s;uch Re|que&s;ts we find <HI>David</HI> frequently making. <HI>Teach thou me</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>the way of thy Statutes and I &s;hall keep it unto the End: Give me under&s;tanding that I may keep thy Precepts.</HI> Moreover he directs that we <HI>&s;eek for this Wi&s;dom as for Silver, and &s;earch for her as for hid Trea&s;ure.</HI> Which &s;ugge&s;ts to us the Nece&s;&s;ity of diligent Study, and delibe|rate indu&s;trious Meditation on Divine Subjects in private. If we will take this laborious cour&s;e, he pro|mi&s;es we &s;hall then <HI>under&s;tand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.</HI> The&s;e things we
<PB N="239" REF="124">have in <HI>Prov.</HI> 2.5. fir&s;t Ver&s;es: But in the&s;e things he evidently intimates, that &s;uch Knowledge in any good degree is not to be attain'd without &s;uch La|bour. Now the Difficulty of knowing our Duty lies chiefly in the&s;e two things following.</P>
<P N="1">1. In the large and va&s;t extent of the Law of God: This is &s;uch that it reaches to all our Thoughts, Words, and Actions; It has Rules for every Circum&s;tance and Condition of Life, and for all the &s;everal Relations that we can fall into towards Men. <HI>Thy Commandment</HI> (&s;ays <HI>David) is exceeding broad.</HI> Now from hence it mu&s;t needs be a work of time to know our Duty in any good proportion to the Extent of it; and it mu&s;t re|quire a great deal of Application and Labour. And, in this our mutable and altering State of Life on Earth, it often comes to pa&s;s, that when we have gain'd perhaps a good mea&s;ure of Know|ledge of the Duties and Sins that belong to the Circum&s;tances we are in, our Condition &s;uddenly changes, we are brought into new Circum&s;tances and Relations, and &s;o become bound to new Du|ties and obnoxious to new Sins: And we may not be pre&s;ently aware of what we have to do, and what to avoid in our new Condition. Be&s;ides; in this encombred, and very &s;hort Life, wherein we have many other nece&s;&s;ary Cares and Labours to be attended be&s;ides this; and wherein our frail Bodies and clogg'd Minds do need &s;o frequent re|laxation, and refre&s;hment, it mu&s;t needs be that we can proceed but &s;lowly in this improvement, and that we can by con&s;equence attain but to &s;mall degrees. The Apo&s;tle rebukes &s;ome who had a great Conceit of their Knowledge, and &s;ays <HI>They
<PB N="240" REF="125">knew nothing yet as they ought to know,</HI> 1 Cor. 8.2. We may perhaps in &s;ome Ca&s;es, from hence, not know that there is any Law forbidding &s;uch things as we allow our &s;elves in, or requiring &s;ome other things which we commonly neglect: Or when we know that there is &s;uch a Rule as does truly con|demn our Actions we may not know that tho&s;e Actions are within the reach of that Rule, or are condemn'd by it. We may often &s;ee Men boldly and zealou&s;ly doing tho&s;e things which the Law of God mo&s;t certainly condemns, and yet the mean while they have a good opinion of them|&s;elves; becau&s;e they do not apprehend that what they do is condemned.</P>
<P>But here we mu&s;t take notice that if our Igno|rance be involuntary from this Cau&s;e, then 'tis certainly attended with an hone&s;t and indu&s;trious Endeavour to know our Duty. And as we &s;hall apprehend this va&s;t Extent of the Divine Law, &s;o this Apprehen&s;ion will excite, and quicken our Diligence in the pur&s;uit of Knowledge. We &s;hall the more earne&s;tly &s;trive and &s;tudy for it, and u&s;e the means of getting it, and pray to God for it. And he who con&s;idering the largene&s;s of the Task, lazily &s;its down and neglects his Endeavour; and becau&s;e he de&s;pairs of knowing all his Duty does, therefore, not &s;trive to know as much as he can; that Man is voluntary and wilful in his Ig|norance, and by con&s;equence in the Sins which it betrays him into.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another difficulty which attends the Object, in this matter, very often, is this: That the &s;in|fulne&s;s of our Action does not con&s;i&s;t in the Kind but in the Degree of it. For in&s;tance, to eat and
<PB N="241" REF="125">drink are natural and innocent Actions: In one mea&s;ure and degree lawful enough, but in another they degenerate into Gluttony, and Drunkenne&s;s. The pur&s;uit of Riches in one Degree is lawful, but in another it may be the Sin of Covetou&s;ne&s;s. A man may be angry and not &s;in, and yet, as 'tis too well known, he may be &s;inful in his Anger; &s;o it is with his Love, his Hatred, his Joy, and his Sorrow; in all the&s;e he may be innocent or he may be guilty. Now in &s;uch Ca&s;es as the&s;e 'tis hard to know where the exact point lies at which Innocence ends and Sin begins: And a man may exceed the Bounds of Innocence becau&s;e he does not know them, and &s;o may do &s;ometimes that which is Evil while he thinks his Action very lawful, and allowable.</P>
<P>But, then, in &s;uch Ca&s;es; It is the certain Character of a Man who&s;e Ignorance and Sin is involuntary, That he will take care and will en|deavour not to come near the Borders of what he apprehends to be &s;inful: He will not ordinarily at lea&s;t come near tho&s;e Degrees which he thinks are &s;inful: That he may be &s;afe from falling into &s;in he will not give him&s;elf all the Liberty which he thinks he might. And together with a due Care to avoid the contrary Extream he will al|ways keep as great a di&s;tance as he can from what appears to him to be &s;inful: He will, as the Apo|&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>&s;hun the Appearance of Evil.</HI> If a man takes this Care &s;teadily, tho' he may for all this fall into &s;ome Degrees of Sin, yet his Sin may be accounted involuntary.</P>
<P>This is the fir&s;t Head of the Cau&s;es of involun|tary Ignorance. The difficulties attending the Ob|ject
<PB N="242" REF="126">or thing to be known. The &s;econd I men|tion'd is this; the Di&s;advantages which the Per|&s;on may lie under for the getting a true and com|petent Knowledge of good and evil. And there are the&s;e three Things following which may be &s;ome hindrance of a Man in this Matter.</P>
<P N="1">1. Some Men are much hinder'd in this Bu&s;i|ne&s;s by the unhappy incapacity of their own Minds. They have it may be very dull and &s;low Appre|hen&s;ions; they cannot ea&s;ily under&s;tand Things, nor readily receive them. Or they are not able to contain much knowledge; their Minds are not capable of many Things; but one thing is wont to drive out and make them forget another.</P>
<P>But then we mu&s;t know; that when a Man is ignorant of his Duty in any great mea&s;ure by this hindrance, that Man mu&s;t not be of a very quick and lively apprehen&s;ion in Affairs of the World; he mu&s;t not be very ready at &s;pying his Intere&s;ts, and capable to pur&s;ue them in a long Train and Series of Contrivance; he mu&s;t not have a Mind capable of managing well a va&s;t Bu&s;ine&s;s and Trade. For &s;uch an one if he is very igno|rant of his Duty, is &s;o not by Incapacity but by Negligence. If it &s;eems to him&s;elf upon Tryal, that he cannot, to &s;o good Purpo&s;e, apply his Mind to the Knowledge of divine Things as he does to his Trade, he may yet certainly conclude that this comes to pa&s;s not by Incapacity, but by &s;ome more guilty Cau&s;e. He is, it may be, aver&s;e to Divine Knowledge, and has &s;o much of Enmi|ty to God as that he truly cares not for the Know|ledge of his Ways; and his Heart is po&s;&s;e&s;t and govern'd by an inordinate Love of the World.
<PB N="243" REF="126">Or el&s;e this mu&s;t proceed from his con&s;tant cu|&s;tom, and practice of Living. He is unapt for the getting of Knowledge, becau&s;e he has not long, and diligently applied him&s;elf to this; he has not minded it &s;o much as he &s;hould do, nor had his thoughts well exerci&s;ed in Divine Things: And he is &s;o much more apt and capable in the Bu&s;i|ne&s;s of his Calling and Trade, becau&s;e 'tis in this that he has been chiefly exerci&s;ed and employ'd for the greate&s;t part of his Life. And if a Man's ignorance does proceed from &s;uch Cau&s;es as the&s;e it is Willful Ignorance, and makes the &s;ins which it betrays him into Wilful likewi&s;e.</P>
<P N="2">2. Some may be unhappily confin'd to very &s;mall and defective means of Knowledge, and from hence may not be able to attain much; and in that Ca&s;e their Ignorance will be judged Involun|tary, as al&s;o the &s;ins which it cau&s;es. Some fol|low Teachers that are negligent and do not endea|vour as they &s;hould to furni&s;h them with this Knowledge; or they follow &s;uch as are Ignorant them&s;elves, and therefore not able to in&s;truct them: Or their Teachers perhaps are Erroneous and mi|&s;taken; blind Leaders of the blind, and through their mi&s;takes Clamour again&s;t, and condemn that which is good, and Zealou&s;ly urge and per|&s;wade to that which is evil. Or perhaps they are Men of a crafty worldly Spirit; that will have a popular applau&s;e at any rate, and that &s;eek more to promote their own worldly Gain and Advan|tages by their Preaching than the Salvation of Mens Souls; and they will &s;tudy to Prophecy &s;mooth and acceptable things rather than &s;uch as are right: The things that are very grateful to
<PB N="244" REF="127">worldly Minds, becau&s;e they &s;eem to &s;ecure and promote their worldly Intere&s;t; rather than the Obligations which they are under to renounce the World, and live above it, and &s;uffer patiently.</P>
<P>But that our Ignorance may be Involuntary from the defective means of knowing our Duty, we mu&s;t ob&s;erve that this is, when we are confin'd to &s;uch means: When the place we live in does not afford us better; or when Obedience to order and Government does not give us leave to attend on that which is better: And we mu&s;t know that if we de&s;pi&s;e a good and &s;etled order in the Church, appointed by our Governours for our In&s;truction, and in defiance of that wander after Teachers of our own chu&s;ing as thinking to find greater Edi|fication from them; as we &s;hall be likely to mi&s;s of true Edification in &s;ound knowledge and Godli|ne&s;s through God's ju&s;t puni&s;hment of our di&s;|orderly walking and Di&s;obedience; &s;o if in this Cour&s;e we fall into any mi&s;takes that betray us in|to &s;in; our mi&s;takes will be judg'd wilful by Al|mighty God, as will al&s;o the &s;ins which they oc|ca&s;ion: And in the Language of Scripture, our Blood &s;hall be upon our own Heads, we &s;hall be reckon'd to have de&s;troy'd and ca&s;t away our &s;elves. If through an humble deference to God's Ordi|nance of Magi&s;tracy and Government, and by our Obedience we be confin'd to defective means of Knowledge, God who is merciful and ju&s;t and re|quires no more of us than he gives us means to do, will pardon our mi&s;takes and defects as not volun|tary: But if in the neglect of Order and Con|tempt of Government, Men will chu&s;e to them|&s;elves &s;uch means of Knowledge as by which they
<PB N="245" REF="127">are not well in&s;tructed, this lays upon them a great Guilt in all their ignorance and mi&s;take; and makes the con&s;equent Sins, which they are Guilty of to be wilful Sins.</P>
<P N="3">3. Some Men want lei&s;ure or opportunity to &s;pend much time and labour in the pur&s;uit of Knowledge. Their worldly Calling and Bu&s;ine&s;s requires their attendance early and late; and this tires their Bodies, and Minds, &s;o that when they leave this they have need to refre&s;h them&s;elves: And between nece&s;&s;ary Relaxation and Bu&s;ine&s;s they have very little time to &s;pare for the getting of Divine Knowledge.</P>
<P>But then we mu&s;t know that when our Igno|rance is Involuntary upon this Account; it mu&s;t be Nece&s;&s;ity, not Pride or Covetou&s;ne&s;s, that mu&s;t engage us in &s;o great an Application to worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s. It mu&s;t be becau&s;e a Man is poor that he &s;pends &s;o much time thus, becau&s;e he has a great Charge to maintain, and is &s;et by the Providence of God to a Calling that does not afford him great Gains, &s;o that he can but hardly provide a frugal and mean Maintenance for him&s;elf and tho&s;e that depend upon him. And if a Man hinders him|&s;elf from getting a good Knowledge of his Duty, by pulling upon him&s;elf a needle&s;s multitude of Affairs, through his de&s;ire to make him&s;elf or his Family va&s;tly rich, and to rai&s;e a great Fortune in the World, that Man's ignorance tho' occa|&s;ion'd by his Bu&s;ine&s;s mu&s;t be accounted wilful, and &s;o mu&s;t al&s;o the Sins be which it occa&s;ions him to be Guilty of.</P>
<P>Thus I have &s;hewn what Ignorance of our Duty may be accounted Involuntary; I am now in the
<PB N="246" REF="128">Second place to &s;hew what Incon&s;ideratene&s;s at|tending our Actions may be reckon'd &s;o too, and therefore may be allow'd to give the Sins we are Guilty of it by that Character likewi&s;e. And when we do a thing that is &s;inful, but do not con&s;ider or bethink our &s;elves of the Sinfulne&s;s of it, this mu&s;t be done with &s;uch Circum&s;tances as the&s;e fol|lowing, or el&s;e it will not de&s;erve to be accounted an Involuntary Incon&s;ideratene&s;s.</P>
<P N="1">1. It mu&s;t be when a Temptation to a &s;in, which we could not fore&s;ee, does &s;urprize us, and in that &s;urprize and hurry makes us Guilty of it: When we are overtaken with Sin on a &s;udden, and had not time to con&s;ider what we were going to do: When a Man's Mind is much engag'd in &s;ome very nece&s;&s;ary and important Duty and Concern, the Adver&s;ary, who every where &s;eeks to lay &s;nares for us, may find an opportunity to &s;urprize him, before he is aware into &s;ome fault, and in &s;uch a Ca&s;e his &s;in may be Involuntary. It &s;eems to have been &s;uch a Circum&s;tance of Incon&s;ideration which betray'd St. <HI>Paul</HI> into that &s;evere, and undutiful reflection upon the High Prie&s;t which we have mention'd in <HI>Acts</HI> 23.3. Of which he him&s;elf &s;ays in the 9th. ver&s;e, <HI>I wi&s;t not that he was the High Prie&s;t;</HI> I confe&s;s I did not con&s;ider it; I for|got my &s;elf, and do acknowledge my Error, <HI>For 'tis written thou &s;halt not &s;peak evil of the Ruler of thy People.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Another Circum&s;tance which may render our incon&s;iderate acting Involuntary is, when our think|ing Powers are under &s;ome great Di&s;turbance from &s;ome innocent Cau&s;e, as when this comes to pa&s;s by Di&s;temper of the Head, or by &s;ome very vio|lent
<PB N="247" REF="128">and &s;udden Pain; by the fir&s;t A&s;&s;ault of &s;ome terrible Danger apprehended, or of &s;ome very great Lo&s;s and Affliction. In &s;uch Ca&s;es as the&s;e the Mind even of a good and well compo&s;ed Man may be for the pre&s;ent ruffled to &s;uch a Degree as that he has no command of his own Thoughts, he can hardly in any thing know what he does: In &s;uch a &s;ad Ca&s;e the Adver&s;ary may draw a Man unawares into Sin, and his Sin may be unob&s;erv'd and involuntary.</P>
<P N="3">3. But then in both the&s;e Circum&s;tances that the Sin we commit may de&s;erve that Character, it mu&s;t be only &s;ome very &s;mall and very tran&s;ient In&s;tance of Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion. It mu&s;t be what pa&s;&s;es &s;uddenly over, not a thing which is long a doing; it mu&s;t be done immediately, not upon a deliberate Contrivance, or a long Endeavour to do it. There|fore it mu&s;t con&s;i&s;t in &s;ome undue &s;tart of Thought, or &s;lip of the Tongue, or &s;ome very &s;hort and tran|&s;ient Action which is not of a very heinous Nature. Any Action which is a very gro&s;s and apparent Sin a man mu&s;t needs apprehend to be a Sin at the fir&s;t Offer of it, or el&s;e be very carele&s;s of him&s;elf, and therefore &s;uch a Sin cannot be incon&s;iderately committed without too much Voluntarine&s;s. A Mote may not pre&s;ently be &s;een by him that looks well to him&s;elf; but a Beam cannot be unob&s;erv'd without a wilful blindne&s;s. A Man may be &s;ur|prized into a covetous Thought or Wi&s;h, but he cannot be &s;o to the committing of an apparent and contriv'd Cheat or violence upon his Neigh|bour. We &s;ee the in&s;tance of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Incon&s;i|deration was in a thing &s;oon over, and was but a &s;lip of his Tongue; his Re&s;entment of the Inju|&s;tice
<PB N="248" REF="129">and Injury which he thought the High-Prie&s;t had done him, did not engage him in a long Cour&s;e of reviling that Magi&s;trate, in an En|deavour to di&s;parage his Per&s;on and his Govern|ment among the People, to weaken his Authori|ty, and form a Faction or rai&s;e a Sedition again&s;t him; to do thus had been to be guilty of a deli|berate Di&s;obedience, and a wilful Rebellion.</P>
<P N="4">4. In the la&s;t place, The&s;e uncon&s;ider'd Slips mu&s;t be very &s;incerely and heartily repented of when a Man comes to apprehend them. Thus it was with the very good Apo&s;tle in the Ca&s;e fore|mention'd: No &s;ooner was he awaken'd to ob&s;erve his Errour, but he very mode&s;tly and humbly ac|knowledg'd and amended it. If a man per&s;i&s;ts in his Fault which was incon&s;iderately committed, and will afterwards ju&s;tifie it, he <HI>then</HI> makes it volun|tary, and brings upon him&s;elf the Guilt of wil|ful Sin.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the Ca&s;es which will allow our In|con&s;ideratene&s;s, and our Ignorance to be involun|tary; and &s;o the&s;e are the Circum&s;tances in which if we are guilty of any Sin, that Sin may be judg'd involuntary too.</P>
<P>Now becau&s;e I have intimated, and it mu&s;t be allow'd, that &s;uch involuntary Sins are not incon|&s;i&s;tent with a State of Grace and Salvation, nor do put a Man utterly out of Favour with God: That this may not do any harm, or make any Men at all the le&s;s careful to avoid &s;uch Sins as much as may be, I think &s;it to add, as I promi&s;ed to do, &s;ome important Con&s;iderations which may be pro|per to make the good Man very careful to avoid as many as he can even of the&s;e Sins. And this is
<PB N="249" REF="129">the &s;econd Head of Di&s;cour&s;e which I am to in|&s;i&s;t upon. It &s;eems indeed impo&s;&s;ible for any Man wholly to avoid all &s;uch Faults as the&s;e: But doubtle&s;s with great watchfulne&s;s and care a Man &s;hall avoid &s;omewhat the more of them. And that there is a great deal of Rea&s;on for &s;uch a con|&s;tant watchfulne&s;s and care I think will &s;ufficiently appear in the following particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. This great concern and care to avoid, as much as may be, even, &s;uch Sins is nece&s;&s;ary to their being involuntary, when ever we do com|mit any of them. The Commi&s;&s;ion of Sin to give it that Character mu&s;t come to pa&s;s again&s;t the Stream of our diligent Endeavour and Care. If a man lives negligently, the Faults he &s;lides into by rea&s;on of his Negligence mu&s;t be accounted wilful Faults. That we are &s;o liable to &s;lip into Sin unawares by Ignorance, mi&s;take and &s;urprize will make a good and hone&s;t Mind, which &s;in|cerely de&s;ires to avoid all that is &s;inful, to take the more heed to his ways: And if this has not &s;uch an Effect upon a man it appears he is very wil|ling to be drawn into the Sins he is gulity of.</P>
<P N="2">2. It &s;hould excite this Care in a good Man, and will certainly do it in one who is truly &s;uch, that even the&s;e involuntary Sins of good Men are apt to be a Scandal to the re&s;t of the World: They will be likely to lead others into voluntary Sins, or to harden and encourage them in their evil Cour&s;es: They certainly dimini&s;h the Beauty of Religion, and di&s;parage its Appearance to the World: They &s;ometimes make that look ridicu|lous, or odious, and contemptible to the World, which in its true Colours and proper Beauty
<PB N="250" REF="130">would appear wi&s;e, and lovely, and venerable. It is our Saviour's Command to the Profe&s;&s;ours of his Religion, that they &s;hould endeavour to be|have them&s;elves &s;o as to recommend their Religi|on to other Men: This he means in &s;aying <HI>Let your Light &s;o &s;hine before Men, that they &s;eeing your good Works may glorifie your Father which is in Heaven.</HI> And we &s;hould con&s;ider that the &s;mal|le&s;t Faults of a good Man are more con&s;picuous and more ob&s;erv'd than the greater Faults of an|other; that the Envy and Malice of the World always fixes upon the Blot; and will take more no|tice of a little Evil than of a great deal of Good: And a little Evil in a good Man &s;hall be improv'd by the ungodly World to the Di&s;paragement of his Religion, and the Encouragement of their own Wickedne&s;s.</P>
<P N="3">3. By the&s;e involuntary Sins a good Man may bring upon him&s;elf the nece&s;&s;ary, and &s;harp Cha|&s;ti&s;ements of Almighty God. The&s;e are the Sins which do make the&s;e Branches in Chri&s;t that bear &s;ome Fruit, yet to need this way of pruning and purging that they may bring forth more Fruit. When &s;uch Men do evil and know it not, it plea|&s;es God to lay upon them &s;ome &s;mart Affliction to make them renew their &s;earch into them&s;elves, and perform it with more care than they were wont to do: And &s;o under the Bonds of their Af|fliction he &s;hows them the Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions which they had not ob&s;erv'd. <HI>David</HI> acknowledges that he had been afflicted by God's Providence with this De&s;ign and to this effect: In that he &s;ays, <HI>It was good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn thy Statutes,</HI> and <HI>before I was afflicted I went
<PB N="251" REF="130">a&s;tray but now have I kept thy word.</HI> That we may not need &s;o &s;harp Medicines, then, let us take care to be as free from the&s;e Sins as we can.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, The&s;e involuntary Sins we may ju&s;t|ly believe will proportionably le&s;&s;en the Glory and Honour which we &s;hall receive hereafter. If there will, as is very likely, be different Rewards and Honours di&s;tributed at the la&s;t, then mu&s;t the be&s;t Men receive the greate&s;t Rewards, and the mo&s;t perfect, the lea&s;t &s;ullied Piety and Vertue will meet the greate&s;t Applau&s;e and Honour. It is &s;aid the Righteous Judge will <HI>give to every Man according to his Works:</HI> And then, he who has the greate&s;t mixture of the&s;e Sins in his Life, mu&s;t have the le&s;s Reward and Honour to receive at la&s;t; and by this means, partly, it will come to pa&s;s, as the Apo&s;tle tells us, that as <HI>one Star differs from another Star in Glory, &s;o will the Re&s;urrection be.</HI> The&s;e Sins tho' they do not utterly ca&s;t a Man out of the Divine Favour, yet they do in &s;ome mea&s;ure &s;ully and di&s;parage his Vertues in the &s;ight of God, as well as of Men: and God may be rea&s;onably expected to have the lea&s;t E&s;teem for him that has the mo&s;t of the&s;e about him. Tho' he may be a good Man that &s;ometimes falls into &s;uch Faults, yet he that has the fewe&s;t of them mu&s;t be reckon'd the be&s;t good Man, and will be accordingly dignified and di&s;tingui&s;h'd at the Great Day of Retribution. If we would be willing, then, to partake in &s;ome of the brighte&s;t Honours of that Day, if we would gain the riche&s;t Rewards, and receive &s;ome of the highe&s;t Applau&s;es from the glorious and righteous Judge of all the World; we mu&s;t endeavour to keep our &s;elves as free from
<PB N="252" REF="131">the&s;e Sins as we can, and to practice the mo&s;t perfect, and the mo&s;t eminent Piety and Vertue that we can reach to. Which that we may do, and with great &s;ucce&s;s; God of his infinite Mer|cy grant through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Lord mo&s;t High! Mo&s;t Glorious and Eternal God! Before Thee all the Nations of the Earth are as nothing and vanity. We owe Thee the Homage of our Reverence, Love, and Obedience. And it is our Honour to honour Thee; it is that which becomes us be&s;t to give Thee reverence; and our greate&s;t Gain and Advantage to give and devote our &s;elves to Thee to &s;erve and obey Thee. We heartily lament it O Lord, as the Shame and Mi&s;ery of our deprav'd and fallen State, that we are prone to do evil and back|ward to do good; that even when we would do Good Evil is often pre&s;ent with us. And the Good which we would we do not, but the Evil which we would not that we do. And &s;o unhappy we are that in ma|ny ca&s;es we do not know our Duty, and we do foo|li&s;hly call Evil good, and Good evil. Many &s;ins we do know our &s;elves to be guilty of, but there are we fear an innumerable Number which we do not know. We have rea&s;on to cry out, Lord who can under&s;tand his Errours! Clean&s;e Thou us we pray Thee from our &s;ecret Sins. Oh pardon we be&s;eech Thee our mani|fold Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions: Our Negligences and our Igno|rances.
<PB N="253" REF="131">Enter not into Judgment with thy Servants for in Thy &s;ight &s;hall no Man living be ju&s;tified. We humbly &s;ue to Thee for Mercy in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous, who is our Advocate with the Father, and the Propitiation for our Sins, through Faith in his Blood: Lord we believe, help Thou our Unbelief. Endue us we be&s;eech Thee with Thy Hea|venly Grace that we may amend our Lives accor|ding to Thy Holy Word: Look mercifully upon our Infirmities and heal them. Thou art the Authour and giver of every good and every perfect Gift. And, ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name, Thou ha&s;t encourag'd us to &s;eek to Thee in that Thou ha&s;t &s;aid; If any Man lack Wi&s;dom let him ask it of Thee; and that Thou give&s;t to all &s;uch liberally and upbraide&s;t not. To Thee O Father of Lights do we dark Sinners cry for Know|ledge, to Thee we lift our Voice for Under&s;tanding. Lighten our Darkne&s;s we be&s;eech Thee O Lord. Thy Hands have made and fa&s;hioned us, O give us Under|&s;tanding that we may learn thy Te&s;timonies: Teach Thou us, we pray, the way of thy Statutes and we &s;hall keep it unto the End. Write thy Law in our Hearts that we may never depart from it. Becau&s;e through the Weakne&s;s of our mortal Nature we can|not always &s;tand upright, we pray Thee grant us by thy good Spirit &s;uch Strength and Protection as may &s;upport us in all Dangers and carry us through all Temptations, and &s;o bring us &s;afe to Thy Heavenly Kingdom.</P>
<P>We humbly implore thy Mercy for all Mankind: That they may be turn'd from Darkne&s;s to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God. Ble&s;s thy Church with a plentiful Effu&s;ion of the Gifts and Graces of thy good Spirit, bring into the way of Truth all &s;uch as have err'd, and are deceived, purge out of it whatever is a Scandal to thy Holy Religion, and grant that our Conver&s;ations may be &s;uch as become the Go&s;pel. We pray Thee ble&s;s the Land of our Nativity, favour us with Health, Peace and Plenty, but e&s;pecially en|crea&s;e
<PB N="254" REF="132">among us all true Piety and Vertue. Let thy abundant Goodne&s;s &s;hower down many Ble&s;&s;ings up|on thy Servant and our Sovereign Lord King <HI>William;</HI> pro&s;per His Sacred Per&s;on, and his Government, and let his Reign be long and glorious among&s;t us. We pray Thee &s;hine with continual Favour upon the Royal Family. Grant it may ever afford us a fit Per|&s;on to govern us well, to thy Glory and our Honour and Peace. Do good to all our Relations and Friends, requite all our Benefactours and if we have any Ene|mies Father forgive them. We yield Thee hearty Thanks for all thy Goodne&s;s and Loving-kindne&s;s to us and to all Men, particularly we thank Thee for the means of Grace which we have this Day enjoy'd. Grant we be&s;eech Thee that we may bring forth an|&s;werable Fruit in the whole Cour&s;e of our Lives. De|fend us we pray Thee from all the Perils and Dangers of this Night. Accept all our poor Services in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and hear us in his own Words, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="255" REF="132">
<HEAD>THE INCARNATION OF Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour Explain'd and Improv'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>John 1.14. former part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And the Word was made Fle&s;h, and dwelt among us.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>TO have a due and &s;uitable Apprehen&s;ion of the Greatne&s;s of the Redeemer's Love to Mankind, we mu&s;t endeavour to know, and mu&s;t con&s;ider well what he has done to re|deem us. And it is the part of due Thankfulne&s;s
<PB N="256" REF="133">to take notice of this and to meditate often upon it. But in doing &s;o a truly thankful Mind will not be apt to dimini&s;h and le&s;&s;en, but rather to magnifie what he has done for us: I &s;hall be ex|cu&s;able therefore if in giving an account of this I do endeavour to repre&s;ent it as great and glori|ous as I can: And tho' I ought to keep clo&s;e to what the Holy Scripture reveals concerning it, and &s;hall I think do &s;o, yet I mu&s;t needs declare that I &s;hall avoid all tho&s;e Interpretations of Holy Scripture which do dimini&s;h and le&s;&s;en the Per&s;on of the Redeemer, and by con&s;equence his Love and Kindne&s;s in what he has done for us; e&s;peci|ally when tho&s;e Interpretations are not ea&s;ie and natural, but forced and con&s;train'd. And while we do, with an humble and thankful Di&s;po&s;ition of Mind, diligently enquire into, and meditate on the&s;e things, we may hope that the kind Spirit who <HI>&s;earches the deep things of God,</HI> will give us a right Under&s;tanding of them &s;o far as is nece&s;&s;ary to his Glory and our Salvation.</P>
<P>Now this is that which upon the be&s;t Enquiry into this great and glorious Work of Redemption, that Divine Spirit, I doubt not, has taught the devout Enquirers together as the Summ and Sub|&s;tance of all Divine Revelation; that the &s;econd Per&s;on of that glorious Trinity in God, which is repre&s;ented to us under the Names of Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t, is he that hath taken upon him the kind Office of becoming a Saviour and Re|deemer to lo&s;t Mankind. And that he, to redeem and &s;ave us, has exceedingly magnified his Love while he has exceedingly humbled and aba&s;ed him&s;elf. And this he has done particularly in
<PB N="257" REF="133">the&s;e two very mean Conde&s;cen&s;ions in order there|to; The Fir&s;t, his taking upon him our Nature: The Second, his &s;ubmitting to die a Sacrifice and Propitiation for our Sins. The fir&s;t of the&s;e we &s;hall con&s;ider at pre&s;ent, the &s;econd in another Di&s;cour&s;e. The fir&s;t is that which the Evangeli&s;t &s;peaks of in our pre&s;ent Text in &s;aying, <HI>The word was made Fle&s;h, and dwelt among us.</HI></P>
<P>The pre&s;ent Di&s;cour&s;e on the&s;e words &s;hall be comprehended under the&s;e following Heads.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall as far as is nece&s;&s;ary explain the words of the Text; and &s;how what we are to under&s;tand according to them and other Scriptures concer|ning this Incarnation of our Saviour.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall &s;how that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> who was pro|mi&s;ed to the World and expected by the Jews, was to be &s;uch a Per&s;on as the Text &s;peaks of.</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;hall repre&s;ent for what rea&s;ons the Holy Scripture teaches us the Son of God was made Man to redeem us.</P>
<P N="4">4. I &s;hall &s;ugge&s;t the due U&s;e and Improvement of this wonderful Truth.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place I &s;hall explain the Text, and &s;how what we are to learn from thence and from other Scriptures concerning the Incarnation of our Redeemer. For Explication of the Text there are but the&s;e two things that we need to enquire into. 1. Who is meant by <HI>the Word.</HI> 2. What is to be under&s;tood by his being &s;aid to be <HI>made Fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>To know who is meant by <HI>the Word</HI> we mu&s;t look back to the foregoing Ver&s;es of this Chapter, where 'tis &s;aid of him <HI>In the Beginning was the Word:</HI> that is, at the Creation of the World <HI>the
<PB N="258" REF="134">Word</HI> was; and it is not at all &s;aid that he ever was made: His Being is mention'd, but not his beginning then; therefore the Evangeli&s;t teaches us plainly, that <HI>the Word</HI> was before the World began to be, and does therein intimate that <HI>the Word</HI> never began to be. The Evangeli&s;t &s;ays fur|ther of him, <HI>The Word was with God, and the Word was God:</HI> Where the Title or Name <HI>God</HI> mu&s;t needs be taken in two different Sen&s;es as it is twice expre&s;s'd: When 'tis &s;aid he was <HI>with God,</HI> it means God the Father, the fir&s;t Per&s;on in the Trinity, who is eminently call'd God in Holy Scripture: and when 'tis &s;aid <HI>he was God,</HI> it means that he him&s;elf had a Divine Nature, which al&s;o the Scripture does very frequently attribute to him. Thus the Evangeli&s;t intimates concerning <HI>the Word</HI> what the Ancient Creed &s;peaks of the &s;econd Per&s;on in the &s;acred Trinity, that he is ve|ry God, of very God: He is God the Son, of God the Father. Further the Evangeli&s;t &s;ays of him in the 3d. Ver&s;e, <HI>All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.</HI> A&s;cribing to him that Divine Work which none but Omnipotence could effect; the making this World out of nothing. This is the glorious Per&s;on here &s;ignified and meant under this Title <HI>the Word.</HI></P>
<P>The next thing we are to enquire into in the Text is, what may be meant by this that <HI>he was made Fle&s;h:</HI> which in &s;hort is this, that he was made Man. He did after a wonderful manner take into Union with him&s;elf that human Nature which was conceiv'd in the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> by an immediate Operation of the Holy Gho&s;t, and
<PB N="259" REF="134">which was born of her. So that the full mean|ing of the Text mu&s;t be repre&s;ented in the fol|lowing particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. He took a true and compleat human Na|ture. He became &s;uch a Man as all other Men are in the E&s;&s;entials of our Nature. He therefore had both the Body and the Soul of a Man. That he had a true and real human Body appears by &s;everal things &s;aid of him in Scripture. As that he was conceiv'd in the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin; that &s;he bore him the u&s;ual time of Childbearing; and <HI>when the Days were accompli&s;h'd that &s;he &s;hould be deliver'd &s;he brought him forth,</HI> Luke 2.6, 7. That he was fir&s;t an Infant <HI>wrapt in Swadling-cloaths,</HI> and <HI>grew</HI> by degrees to the <HI>Stature</HI> of a Man 12. and 57. Ver&s;es. And he proves this abundantly him&s;elf when he &s;ays to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Behold my Hands and my Feet, handle and &s;ee me, for a Spirit hath not Fle&s;h and Bones as ye &s;ee me have,</HI> Luke 24.39, 40.</P>
<P>And as he had truly the Body &s;o he had the Soul of a Man. It could only with Relation to that be &s;aid of him, that <HI>He grew in Wi&s;dom,</HI> as in <HI>Luke</HI> 2.57. And when he was &s;peaking of the Day of Judgment he &s;aid that <HI>neither the Angels of Heaven</HI> knew when this would be, <HI>nor the Son,</HI> meaning him&s;elf, <HI>but the Father only,</HI> Mark 13. which plainly &s;peaks and a&s;cribes to him the Fi|nite Knowledge of an human Soul. We might al&s;o produce &s;everal Scriptures which &s;how that he had the common Affections of a human Soul &s;o far as they are innocent; that he rejoyced, that he was angry, was griev'd. In <HI>Matt.</HI> 26.38. he &s;ays of him&s;elf, <HI>My Soul is exceeding &s;orrowful even
<PB N="260" REF="135">even unto Death.</HI> And when he died 'tis &s;aid of him, according to the Phra&s;e of &s;peaking of other Men, <HI>He gave up the Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. But we mu&s;t al&s;o under&s;tand that he took this Human Nature to him&s;elf, without any Change or Alteration of his Divine Nature. When he was made Fle&s;h he did not cea&s;e to be God. The Divine Nature is as the Scripture &s;peaks without variablene&s;s or &s;hadow of Change: Therefore as he had a Divine Nature before, he has &s;uch an one &s;till.</P>
<P N="3">3. We mu&s;t therefore under&s;tand al&s;o, that he has in him from the time of his Incarnation two di&s;tinct Natures in one Per&s;on. He is as the An|cient Creed &s;peaks perfect God and perfect Man. The Holy Scripture every where &s;peaks of him &s;o as to teach us this: It a&s;cribes to the &s;ame Per&s;on tho&s;e things which can belong only to God, and al&s;o tho&s;e things which belong only to Man. The &s;ame Per&s;on is &s;aid to have come of the Fathers according to the Fle&s;h, that is, to have de&s;cended of the Jewi&s;h Nation, and yet is call'd God ble&s;&s;ed for evermore. He him&s;elf &s;ays, Before <HI>Abraham</HI> was I am, and yet he was born of the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> in the Days of <HI>Herod,</HI> &s;everal hundred Years after <HI>Abraham</HI>'s Death: In this Chapter he is called God and &s;aid to have made the World, and yet is &s;aid in the Text to be made Fle&s;h, which relates to his being concei|ved and born of the Virgin <HI>Mary.</HI> But we mu&s;t under&s;tand that altho' he has in him two di&s;tinct Natures yet is he but one Per&s;on, therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ays there is but one Mediatour between God and Men, the Man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.5.
<PB N="261" REF="135">That Creed therefore which we have mention'd before commonly call'd the <HI>Athana&s;ian</HI> Creed &s;peaks very fitly of him thus: <HI>Tho' he be God and Man yet is he not two but one Chri&s;t: One, not by Con|ver&s;ion of the Godhead into Fle&s;h, but by taking the Manhood into God; one altogether not by Confu&s;ion of Sub&s;tance, but by &V;nity of Per&s;on.</HI> The&s;e are the things intimated in the Text, and to be under&s;tood of the Incarnation of our Redeemer.</P>
<P>I come now in the &s;econd place to &s;how, that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> who was promi&s;ed to the Jews and expected by them was to be &s;uch a Per&s;on as the Text here repre&s;ents him, according to the Pro|phecies concerning him. As for their Expectati|on, it is very evident it was this, that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> or Chri&s;t &s;hould be the Word, and the Son of God. That remarkable Quotation which our late learned Primate produces (A.B. <HI>Tillot&s;on</HI>'s Ser|mon on the Divinity of Chri&s;t) evidently proves this: Tho&s;e words of the P&s;almi&s;t (&s;ays he) <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110.1. the Jews acknowledged to be &s;poken of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah. The Lord &s;aid unto my Lord &s;it thou on my Right-hand,</HI> &amp;c. And one of their Ancient Authours renders them thus, <HI>The Lord &s;aid unto the Word &s;it,</HI> &amp;c. And that they under&s;tood a Di|vine Per&s;on by this Title appears in what he men|tions from another Authour of theirs: That he calls him by whom God made the World <HI>the Word</HI> and <HI>the Son of God,</HI> to which may be added for further Evidence of this an Ancient Interpre|tation of that Scripture, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.12. among them: The Text there &s;ays, in the Per&s;on of God, <HI>I made the Earth;</HI> and that Interpretation renders it, <HI>I by my Word made the Earth:</HI> That the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI>
<PB N="262" REF="136">was to be the Son of God according to the Ex|pectation of the Jews, appears abundantly in the New Te&s;tament from the Confe&s;&s;ions of tho&s;e that did not believe on Je&s;us, and of tho&s;e that did. The High-Prie&s;t who condemn'd him to die, that he might provoke him to expre&s;s to them who he was, &s;peaks to him thus, <HI>I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Chri&s;t, the Son of God,</HI> Matt. 26.63. which evi|dently &s;hows they expected that the Chri&s;t would be the Son of God. This <HI>Nathaniel</HI> confe&s;&s;es him to be in the 49th Ver&s;e of this Chapter. And <HI>Martha</HI> &s;ays to him <HI>John</HI> 11.27. She <HI>believed he was the Chri&s;t or Me&s;&s;iah and the Son of God which &s;hould come into the World.</HI> Thus it appears that the Jews expected their <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> &s;hould be &s;uch a Per&s;on as our Text &s;peaks of. And then without doubt they had &s;ome good ground in the Ancient Prophecies concerning him for &s;uch an Expecta|tion: I might produce many places of the Old Te&s;tament where this is intimated, but to be &s;hort I &s;hall content my &s;elf to produce only two where we may &s;ee this evidently expre&s;s'd. The fir&s;t &s;hall be that in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 7.14. Ver&s;e, where the Prophet &s;ays, <HI>A Virgin &s;hall conceive and bear a Son and &s;hall call his Name</HI> Immanuel. It is very u&s;ual with this Prophet to &s;ay a thing &s;hall be <HI>call'd</HI> &s;o and &s;o, when he means it <HI>&s;hall be &s;uch:</HI> which was accounted an elegant way of &s;peaking in the Hebrew Tongue: He therefore means here that this Child born of a Virgin &s;hould be <HI>Imma|nuel.</HI> Now what this &s;ignifies St. <HI>Matthew</HI> truly tells us, <HI>Matt.</HI> 1.23. where he &s;ays <HI>it is being in|terpreted God with us,</HI> and applies the Prophecy
<PB N="263" REF="136">to the Birth of Je&s;us, of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> as therein fulfill'd. Another as con&s;iderable a place as this we have in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 9.6. where the Prophet is reckon'd to &s;peak again of the &s;ame Son, and Child, and of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> and he &s;ays, <HI>To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the Govern|ment &s;hall be upon his Shoulder, and his Name &s;hall be called,</HI> that is, he &s;hall be, <HI>Wonderful Coun&s;ellour, the Mighty God,</HI> &amp;c. Thus I think we may &s;ee there was good Ground in the Ancient Prophe|cies for the Jews to expect that the Chri&s;t would be &s;uch a Per&s;on as our pre&s;ent Text &s;peaks of, even according to the Interpretation of it now gi|ven: And when &s;uch Expre&s;&s;ions as the&s;e are in the Prophecies concerning him we have very good Ground to interpret our Text, and the other like places of the New Te&s;tament to that meaning; and to reject any other Interpretation which any &s;hall force upon them.</P>
<P>In the third place, I &s;hall as I promi&s;ed repre|&s;ent to you the Rea&s;ons why the Son of God, &s;o great and glorious a Per&s;on, was plea&s;ed to take this cour&s;e, and to conde&s;cend &s;o exceedingly to redeem us. In doing which I &s;hall very carefully confine my &s;elf to the Intimations of Holy Scrip|ture concerning this matter, and &s;o I &s;hall not &s;eek for any other Rea&s;ons of it than what God him&s;elf hath given: For as he be&s;t knows, &s;o he can be&s;t give the Rea&s;ons of his Actions. And if we will go beyond what he has &s;aid in any &s;uch matter, as we can &s;ay nothing certain, &s;o we mu&s;t needs run into Errour. Now the Rea&s;ons which the Holy Scripture &s;ugge&s;ts and allows us to give of this wondrous Conde&s;cen&s;ion of the Son of God are the&s;e.</P>
<PB N="264" REF="137">
<P N="1">1. He was made a Man to honour the Autho|rity of God, and obey his Laws in our Nature, that his doing &s;o might fitly redound to our Ad|vantage. This was due from Mankind but had never been well pay'd, therefore he came to do it, and he did it perfectly. Hence he &s;ays of his own perfect and holy Life on Earth when he was near his End, that <HI>He had glorified the Father on Earth, and had fini&s;h'd the Work which was given him to do,</HI> John 17.4. And his glorifying of God by an holy Life was to redound to our Advantage, that we might be &s;av'd in the &s;ame way in which we were lo&s;t. It was the Sin and Rebellion of our fir&s;t Parents which had render'd us all guilty, and had alienated God from us: Therefore he took our Nature upon him, that he might by his Holi|ne&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s reconcile God again to us. It was not thought fitting by the Ju&s;tice of God that the Honour and Obedience paid to him in any other Nature &s;hould redound to the Advantage of Men. It is the evident Doctrine of Holy Scripture, that as the Wickedne&s;s of <HI>Adam</HI> involv'd all Mankind under Guilt and Con|demnation, &s;o the Holine&s;s and Obedience of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t may redound to the Ju&s;tification of all. This appears in many places but that one expre&s;s Text &s;hall &s;uffice at pre&s;ent, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.19. <HI>As by one Man's Di&s;obedience many were made Sinners, &s;o by the Obedience of one &s;hall many be made Righteous.</HI> It is very apparent that from the 12, Ver&s;e of that Chapter to the End of it, the Apo&s;tle makes a Parallel between <HI>Adam</HI> the fir&s;t Parent of Man|kind and Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and repre&s;ents an Univer|&s;al Mi&s;chief done to us by the former, and re|pair'd
<PB N="265" REF="137">by the latter: That from the former, and his Sin, we derive Guilt, and Condemnation, and Death; and from the latter we may derive Ju&s;ti|fication and Life. Now if this be the effect and con&s;equent of his Holy Life on Earth we cannot doubt but it was one rea&s;on and end of it: If his Glorifying God in our Nature may redound to our Ju&s;tification and advantage, we may conclude that he took our Nature to glorifie God in it for that rea&s;on and purpo&s;e.</P>
<P N="2">2. It was partly al&s;o the Rea&s;on of his coming thus into the World that he might give us a per|fect Example of good and vertuous Living. It is impo&s;&s;ible that without Holine&s;s we &s;hould &s;ee God; and it is as nece&s;&s;ary to our Happine&s;s that we be &s;anctified and reconcil'd to God, as we may &s;ay, as it is that we be ju&s;tified, or that God be reconcil'd to us: Therefore the Wi&s;dom and Fa|vour of the Redeemer would u&s;e the be&s;t and fit|te&s;t means to make us Holy. And knowing our Nature to be &s;uch that we are apt to be much more influenced by Examples than by Laws and Precepts, or by Promi&s;es and Threatnings, he therefore to them added this means of Ho|line&s;s moreover; to unite him&s;elf to an humane Nature, to dwell among Men for &s;ome time that he might &s;how them the practice of perfect Piety and Vertue. That this was part of his de&s;ign we may ju&s;tly gather from his expre&s;s propo&s;ing him|&s;elf for a Pattern. We find him requiring his Di&s;ciples to ob&s;erve and learn not only what they heard from him, but al&s;o to be and do like him: <HI>Learn of me</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>for I am meek and lowly in heart,</HI> Matt. 11.29. again he urges them to Love from
<PB N="266" REF="138">the Example, and according to the Pattern of his Love, Joh. 13.34. <HI>A new Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you.</HI> Again he &s;ays, <HI>If any Man will be my Di&s;ciple let him deny him&s;elf, and take up his Cro&s;s daily and follow me,</HI> Luk. 9.23. The &s;ame thing is urg'd by his Apo&s;tle after him, <HI>Eph.</HI> 5.1. <HI>Be ye followers of God as dear Children.</HI> And he propo&s;es him|&s;elf a Pattern in this matter and declares him&s;elf a follower of Chri&s;t, 1 Cor 11.1. <HI>Be ye followers of me even as I al&s;o am of Chri&s;t.</HI> He therein owns our general Obligation to imitate and con|form to our Ma&s;ter Je&s;us. Now &s;ince this is &s;o often and &s;o expre&s;ly requir'd we may ju&s;tly reckon that it was partly the rea&s;on of his being made Man that we might have &s;uch a good Example to follow. Since mankind had but a very bad Ex|ample in their common fir&s;t Parent, he thought it requi&s;ite and u&s;eful that they &s;hould have a good one in him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3. He took our Nature that he might &s;uffer in it in our &s;tead, and die a Sacrifice and Propitiation for our Sins. And this al&s;o was extreamly ne|ce&s;&s;ary to our Ca&s;e. It appears through the whole Scripture, that there could be no Pardon of &s;in without &s;ome &s;uffering for it, &s;ome Sacrifice for &s;in. I &s;hall not at pre&s;ent in&s;i&s;t upon this, becau&s;e it mu&s;t be more largely &s;poken to in another Di&s;|cour&s;e. It may &s;uffice at pre&s;ent to take notice, that <HI>the Word</HI> as God was not capable to &s;uffer and die; therefore in order to this it was nece&s;|&s;ary that he &s;hould take upon him the Nature of a Creature. And to atone for the Sins of mankind, no other Nature was &s;o fit as that in which they
<PB N="267" REF="138">had been committed. The Apo&s;tle therefore &s;ays, <HI>It behoved him in all things to be made like unto us to make Reconciliation for our &s;ins,</HI> Heb. 2.17.</P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, he was made Man in Conde&s;cen&s;ion to our Weakne&s;s, that we might have a Media|tor, whom we might with Boldne&s;s and Freedom apply our &s;elves to. It was requi&s;ite he &s;hould be God, that he might be fit to approach the Father in our behalf, and manage our Cau&s;e with good Succe&s;s; that he might be able to &s;ave to the ut|termo&s;t all that come unto God by him. And it was requi&s;ite he &s;hould be Man, to encourage us to apply our &s;elves to him. If he had been alto|gether equal to us, he had not been great enough to help us; and if he had been altogether God, infinitely above us, we &s;hould never have had Con|fidence enough to addre&s;s our &s;elves to him: We &s;hould then have wanted another Mediator or Me|diators to bring us nigh unto him; that we need|ed &s;uch an Encouragement as this to inable us to apply our &s;elves to him the Apo&s;tle intimates, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.17, 18. where he in&s;i&s;ts on his being <HI>made like unto his Brethren,</HI> and his having &s;uffer'd, and been tempted as that from which we may con|clude he will help us. The Argument is a Con|de&s;cen&s;ion to our Apprehen&s;ions, and repre&s;ents him &s;uch as that we &s;hall be the more able to be|lieve him ready to help us, that we might be the more ready to apply to him for his help. Tho' this does not give him more Goodne&s;s and Com|pa&s;&s;ion than he has as God, nor a greater Sen&s;e of our Nece&s;&s;ities and Infirmities than he has as &s;uch by his Omni&s;cience: Yet this helps our weakne&s;s to believe, and expect that he will be
<PB N="268" REF="139">the more likely to Sympathize with our Afflicti|ons, and to compa&s;&s;ionate our Infirmities, in that he has felt the &s;ame things. And that this is a great Encouragement to us to &s;eek his help, the Apo&s;tle evidently intimates, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.16. where after he had repre&s;ented our Mediator, in all the weakne&s;s of humane Nature he gathers this Ex|hortation and Encouragement from thence; <HI>let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of Need.</HI> In becoming Man the Mediator has given us &s;ufficient Encouragement to addre&s;s to him. We may plainly &s;ee he does not de&s;pi&s;e our Nature, in that he has taken it into a per&s;onal Union with him&s;elf: And may ea&s;ily per&s;wade our &s;elves that he will readily help tho&s;e whom he reckons his Brethren and Kindred.</P>
<P>Now if we needed &s;uch an Encouragement as this to u&s;e and acknowledge him for our Mediator, and this is an Encouragement to that, then we may rea&s;onably account it was one cau&s;e and end of his taking our Nature to give us &s;uch a nece&s;&s;ary En|couragement.</P>
<P>Thus I have al&s;o fini&s;ht this part of the Di&s;|cour&s;e. Now I mu&s;t profe&s;s I have not in&s;i&s;ted upon it to &s;atisfie a nice and impertinent Curio&s;i|ty, but that I might thereby promote the due u&s;e and improvement of this great Truth, in &s;ome good and &s;uitable practice; to which purpo&s;e, I &s;uppo&s;e, the Con&s;ideration of the Rea&s;ons of our Saviour's Incarnation may be &s;erviceable. And we ought to account all our Knowledge in Di|vine Things vain and u&s;ele&s;s to us, and to believe that it will &s;erve only to aggravate our Sin, and
<PB N="269" REF="139">encrea&s;e our Condemnation, if it be not effectual upon us to turn us from Sin and Wickedne&s;s, and to make us lead Holy and Vertuous Lives. The Apo&s;tle calls this Point in particular, which we are now treating on, a My&s;tery of Godline&s;s. <HI>Great is the My&s;tery of Godline&s;s,</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>God manife&s;ted in the Fle&s;h.</HI> That is, this My&s;terious and wonderful Truth requires that we apply our &s;elves to all Holine&s;s of Life and Conver&s;ation. This is that then which I might urge from hence: But I judge it more u&s;eful to in&s;i&s;t upon &s;ome particular things which this Truth requires of us.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Incarnation of the Son of God for our Salvation &s;hould teach us to put a high value up|on our immortal Souls, and make us much con|cern'd to obtain that Salvation. The Creatour has formed a noble Spirit in Man, which he has made capable of &s;ublime and &s;piritual Joys, of delight|ing it &s;elf in his Favour and Love, and of en|joying him&s;elf: And as he made us capable of this Happine&s;s, he de&s;ign'd and intended us for it, and is loath to &s;ee us lo&s;e it. He has therefore &s;ent his Son to reveal it to us, when it was un|known and forgotten among Men: And the Son came to purcha&s;e it for us when we had forfeited all Right to it; and the Holy Spirit concerns him|&s;elf to move us to &s;eek it, and to make us Parta|kers of it. Thus the whole Trinity is concern'd to advance us to a Cele&s;tial and &s;piritual Happine&s;s. He that made our Souls, and be&s;ts knows the worth of them, has done much to &s;ave them. It was he that conde&s;cended to take our Nature for this purpo&s;e. And this &s;urely &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s us with &s;ome thoughts about the Dignity of our Natures,
<PB N="270" REF="140">and our noble Capacities. After this we may rea&s;onably account the Things of this World ut|terly below us; we might rea&s;onably de&s;pi&s;e them in compari&s;on to tho&s;e greater things which we were made for, and which the Redeemer has purcha&s;ed for us. Let us con&s;ider, the Son of God came down from Heaven not to advance us to the Dig|nities and Honours of this World, but to advance us to Heaven; not to make us rich in outward Po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ions but in inward Worth, in Piety and Vertue and good Works. It were mo&s;t unrea&s;onable, then, if we &s;hould think, that there is nothing impor|tant to us, but to gratifie and indulge our Sen&s;es, or to make our &s;elves as great and rich in this World as we can; or &s;hould make the&s;e things our chief or only Care. This were to neglect our own Dignity; to deba&s;e and degrade our &s;elves; to de&s;pi&s;e and &s;light a great Salvation; and to undervalue the great Redeemer's undertaking and Love. If we would live &s;uitable to this, and &s;hew our &s;elves duely thankful for what he has done to &s;ave us: That which has been &s;o valuable and dear to him &s;hould be highly &s;o to us. We &s;hould &s;eek chiefly the things above, and de&s;pi&s;e all things in compari&s;on to the Salvation of our Souls; we &s;hould account this the one thing nece&s;&s;ary, and make every other concern either &s;ub&s;erve and pro|mote this, or el&s;e give way to it.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us ob&s;erve in our Saviour's Incarnation his wonderful Conde&s;cen&s;ion; and from thence learn humility and the denial of our &s;elves. The excellent Hymn which our Church u&s;es at our Morning Prayers very ju&s;tly takes notice of this; and &s;ays to him, <HI>When thou tooke&s;t upon thee to
<PB N="271" REF="140">deliver Man thou did&s;t not abhor the Virgins Womb.</HI> This is worthy to be particularly ob&s;erv'd, and greatly admired. It was a wonder even equal to his own infinite Greatne&s;s, that he did not abhor and di&s;dain &s;o mean a Conde&s;cen&s;ion, and Aba&s;e|ment. But nothing was too mean and low, in his account, to be &s;ubmitted to, which was nece&s;&s;ary to the Glory of God and the good of Mankind. Let us con&s;ider this matter a little. What an amazing thing is it, that the Infinite and Glorious God &s;hould become a Creature! That he who is the Brightne&s;s of the Fathers Glory, the expre&s;s Image of his Per&s;on, the Lord and the joy of Angels, the Creatour of all things, &s;hould veil him&s;elf with humane Fle&s;h and Blood, &s;ubmit to the weakne&s;s of an Infant, take upon him the form of a Servant, and become &s;ubject to Men. That he who &s;u|&s;tains and upholds all things by his Almighty Power; who gives Food to all Fle&s;h, &s;hould take his own Food and Nouri&s;hment from the Brea&s;ts of a feeble Woman! That he who is infinite Pu|rity and Holine&s;s, and to whom nothing is &s;o odi|ous and di&s;plea&s;ing as Wickedne&s;s and Sin, &s;hould come into this vile and &s;inful World, conver&s;e and dwell among Sinners, to be exerci&s;ed and per&s;ecuted by their Sin and Wickedne&s;s! All this he &s;ubmit|ted to for the Glory of God, and the good of Man|kind. And this is &s;urely to the Honour of Hu|mility and Self-denial: Of aba&s;ing ones &s;elf to Honour God, and of denying our &s;elves and our own Intere&s;t and Convenience &s;ometimes for the benefit of our Neighbour. Are not the&s;e things now the brighte&s;t Ornaments we can put on after the Son of God has worn them, and &s;hewn him&s;elf in
<PB N="272" REF="141">them! Should not the&s;e things of right become the Fa&s;hion of the World after this? And e&s;peci|ally be the con&s;tant Dre&s;s and Habit of Chri&s;ti|ans? Should Chri&s;tians ever appear in any other Gui&s;e or Mode than mode&s;t and humble, and rea|dy to deny them&s;elves to do good to others? Should Chri&s;tians ever appear proud, di&s;dainful of their Inferiours, and Lovers of none but them|&s;elves, when he who&s;e Name they bear, and whom they therein profe&s;s to own for their Lord and Ma&s;ter has given them &s;o contrary an Example? How Glorious and great a Thing is it now for a great Prince to abandon the &s;oft Plea&s;ures of his Court, to deny him&s;elf his own ea&s;e and &s;afety, and take upon him the weighty Cares, the toil|&s;ome Labour and Fatigue, and expo&s;e him&s;elf to the Hazards and Dangers of War, that his Sub|jects may live in Peace and Safety, and quietly po&s;|&s;e&s;s their own, and &s;olace them&s;elves in the En|joyment of all that is dear to them! This is like the Glorious Son of God him&s;elf; like the kind and conde&s;cending Saviour of the World. And cretainly 'tis the mo&s;t honourable thing that can be to re&s;emble him, to conform to the Son of God. And &s;o Humility is honourable in its &s;elf, and to conde&s;cend is to de&s;erve to be exalted: But Pride is vile and ba&s;e in it &s;elf, and de&s;erves the Con|tempt and Di&s;grace which it is &s;o much afraid of. And he that loves none but him&s;elf, that cares for no Man's welfare but his own, is worthy to be lov'd by none but him&s;elf, and that no Man &s;hould concern him&s;elf for his welfare.</P>
<P N="3">3. We may ea&s;ily ob&s;erve in the Incarnation of our Saviour a glorious and wonderful Love;
<PB N="273" REF="141">and this &s;hould in&s;pire us with Love to him, and teach us love to Mankind too. This was a won|derful in&s;tance of Love as well as of Conde&s;cen|&s;ion. For he did all this for our Sakes: It was for us Men and for our Salvation that he came down from Heaven. He humbled him&s;elf thus to exalt us. All the Motive he had on our part to this Undertaking was our Mi&s;ery: And this pre|vail'd with him notwith&s;tanding our Guilt. We had thereby render'd our &s;elves as much unwor|thy of his help as we were in want of it, yet he would not de&s;ert us: And he has herein appeared to account nothing too much, or too dear to be done for us, if our Nece&s;&s;ity requires it. Oh! how generous! How obliging is this Love! What can we return &s;uitable to &s;o great Kindne&s;s! What can we think fit to do le&s;s than give up our &s;elves intirely to him, who has thus given him&s;elf as it were to us. And make his Honour and Glory our great Concern and Bu&s;ine&s;s, &s;ince our Happi|ne&s;s has been &s;o much his Concern!</P>
<P>And &s;ince he has had &s;o much Love for Mankind we &s;hould be great Lovers of Mankind too: He has recommended Love in practi&s;ing it; and from him we may take Directions how to pra|ctice the mo&s;t noble and honourable Love. From him we may learn that we ought to be lovers of Mankind in general, that we ought to bear an U|niver&s;al Good-will towards Men: From him we may learn to love and do good to tho&s;e from whom we have not receiv'd any Kindne&s;s or Obli|gation: To do good readily and freely when it is in our Power, and not to want importunate En|treaty and long Attendance for it. We may learn
<PB N="274" REF="142">to do good to tho&s;e that are mo&s;t unprofitable to us; from whom we cannot expect any return of Advantage: To do good to them who hate and injure us, who affront and de&s;pi&s;e us. The&s;e are the glorious Characters of his Love; and if we ought to imitate him they &s;hould be as far as we can the Characters of ours too. Can we imagine we &s;hall be acceptable to him who has &s;o much Love if we have little or none? Or can. God who is Love be well-pleas'd with tho&s;e that are only full of Envy and Hatred, of Malice and Unchari|tablene&s;s? Without doubt the more Love we en|tertain and practice the more acceptable we &s;hall be to this great Lover, and the more favour we &s;hall be likely to find with him.</P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, This Incarnation of the Son of God &s;hould, as it was intended, rai&s;e and encou|rage our Faith in him, and Applications to him as a Mediatour. Let us take notice how he has lov'd us! That his Love has made him become one of us, that &s;o we might not be afraid to ad|dre&s;s our &s;elves to him for his help. We may be &s;ure he is di&s;po&s;ed rather to favour than de&s;pi&s;e us &s;ince he has taken our Nature. He expects it as an Honour due to him that we account him an acce&s;&s;ible, an ea&s;ie Mediatour; that we believe him as much ready to help us as we can be de&s;i|rous of his help: Yea he is more ready to be our Advocate with the Father than we are to make our Supplications to him. Let us not then &s;o di&s;parage his Love as to think that we need any other Mediatours to bring us nigh to him. No kind Angel, no good Saint has &s;o much Compa&s;|&s;ion as he. And we need not fear that now he is
<PB N="275" REF="142">a&s;cended to his Glory, he is too high and too di|&s;tant to regard us. No, he has carried our Na|ture with him to the Right-hand of God: He has not thrown off his Relation to us even there, he does not de&s;pi&s;e it in all his Glory. Let us not doubt then, but he who has exalted our Na|ture to Heaven is willing to bring us al&s;o thither. He who came down from Heaven to &s;ave us, will readily do it now that it is in his Power to &s;ave us. Let not any weight of Guilt then oppre&s;s us: Let not any pre&s;ent Strength of Temptation or Cor|ruption give us de&s;pair: Let us not doubt but if we earne&s;tly &s;eek the Pardon of our Sins in his Name, and the Grace to inable us to work out our Salvation we &s;hall obtain all that we need. <HI>Let us therefore</HI> as the Apo&s;tle directs <HI>Come with Boldne&s;s to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find Grace to help in time of Need.</HI></P>
<Q>Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t; be all Honour and Glory, World without End. <HI>Amen.</HI></Q>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="276" REF="143">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>GReat and Glorious God! Thou art exalted infi|nitely above all thy Creatures; yet &s;uch is thy Conde&s;cending Goodne&s;s, Thou do&s;t not di&s;dain to take Care of the meane&s;t Thing which Thou ha&s;t made: And there is not a Sparrow falls to the Ground without Thee. But thy Goodne&s;s to the Children of Men &s;eems to be far beyond all other Exerci&s;es of it. O Lord we cannot con&s;ider what Thou ha&s;t done for us without the highe&s;t Admiration. Quicken and ex|cite us Lord to offer Thee the mo&s;t hearty and thank|ful Prai&s;es for thine ine&s;timable Love, in the Redemp|tion of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. After we had wilfully and needle&s;ly &s;inn'd again&s;t Thee, de&s;|pi&s;ed thy Goodne&s;s and Authority, and de&s;erv'd ever|la&s;ting Death; it might have been accounted a won|derful Favour if thou had&s;t only exerci&s;ed thy Pati|ence towards us for a while, and given us the Reprieve of a few years in this World before we had been thrown into everla&s;ting Flames: But thy Glorious Goodne&s;s was not &s;atisfied with that, but has wi&s;ely contriv'd a way to pardon and &s;ave us; and to excu&s;e us for ever from &s;uffering the un&s;peaka|ble Mi&s;eries we had de&s;erved. We were beholden to Thee for the greate&s;t Gift when we had forfeited the lea&s;t; and when we had render'd our &s;elves unworthy of thy Creatures to &s;erve our Happine&s;s and Comfort, Thou gave&s;t us thy Son, to redeem us from Mi&s;ery, and to advance us to everla&s;ting Glory and Happi|ne&s;s. And this ha&s;t Thou done, O God of Love, for Creatures that cannot be profitable to Thee; yea for Sinners that have ba&s;ely and unju&s;tly hated and af|fronted Thee. O that this thy wondrous Love, and infi|nite
<PB N="277" REF="143">Conde&s;cen&s;ion may have a mighty Influence and Power upon us. Lord grant it may utterly conquer all our unrea&s;onable Enmity again&s;t Thee, and may reconcile our hearts to our Duty: Since the Love and Obligation of a Redeemer is joyn'd to that of a Crea|tor, let it make us readily and &s;incerely devote our &s;elves to thy Service; re&s;olving to live to him that died for us; that no other Lords &s;hall have Dominion over us. Since the Son of God came down from Hea|ven, the Word was made Fle&s;h and dwe&s;t among us to give us an excellent Example of Piety and Vertue: Make us to account it our Honour to be religious; make us Ambitious to imitate &s;o great a Pattern. Make us O Lord earne&s;tly de&s;irous to par|take of the great Salvation which he has wrought for us, that we may be ready to comply with the ju&s;t and rea&s;onable Terms and Conditions of obtaining it. Ready to for&s;ake all our &s;ins and to do any good Work, to bear any Burden which our Lord and Ma|&s;ter &s;hall be plea&s;ed to call us to. O Lord let thy great Love to us kindle in us an ardent Love to Thee, and then that will make all our Duty grateful and plea&s;ant to us. Pardon we be&s;eech Thee all the pa&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of our Lives for the Sake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son our Saviour.</P>
<P>We humbly implore thy Mercy for all Mankind. O let thy abundant Goodne&s;s be &s;hewn in pitying the dark Corners of the World, and &s;ending thither the &s;aving Light of thy Go&s;pel: That they may be turn'd from the Power of Satan unto God. O let thy Gra|cious Mercy clean&s;e thy Church from all that is evil and unworthy of thy Go&s;pel; and be thou plea&s;ed to maintain and encrea&s;e in it all that is good. Be Fa|vourable O Lord, to the Nations to which we belong: Advance among us all that is plea&s;ing to Thee, and that is nece&s;&s;ary and conducing to our Peace and Hap|pine&s;s; teach us all, we pray Thee, our &s;everal Du|ties towards Thee, and towards one another, and be
<PB N="278" REF="144">Thou our mighty defence again&s;t all our Enemies. Ble&s;s abundantly our mo&s;t Gracious King; protect his Per&s;on, pro&s;per his Government, and let him con|tinue long to make us happy thereby. Continue we pray Thee, and encrea&s;e our Royal Family, and let them ever be In&s;truments of thy Glory among us, and of our Happine&s;s. We recommend to thy Fatherly Goodne&s;s all tho&s;e who are related to us, vi&s;it and ble&s;s them O Lord, according to their &s;everal Nece&s;|&s;ities; e&s;pecially with a &s;aving Knowledge of Thee, and of Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom Thou ha&s;t &s;ent. We hear|tily thank Thee for the glad Tidings of the Go&s;pel which we have this day heard, and for all thy Ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances; O continue to us we be&s;eech Thee, the happy Liberty of the&s;e Enjoyments all our days; and that we may not forfeit &s;uch Favour, make us to bring forth fruit accordingly. Let us lie down this Night under thy Protection, and be kept in &s;afety by Thee; and &s;o long as Thou continue&s;t our Lives let us live to thy Prai&s;e and Glory. All we humbly ask in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son our Lord: In who&s;e own words we conclude our Prayers &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="279" REF="144">
<HEAD>OUR B. Saviour's Pa&s;&s;ion <HI>Repre&s;ented</HI> and <HI>Improv'd.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy mo&s;t gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Phil. 2.8.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And being found in Fa&s;hion as a Man, he humbled him&s;elf, and became obe|dient unto Death, even the Death of the Cro&s;s.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Holy Scriptures repre&s;ent the Re|demption of the World by our Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, as the greate&s;t in&s;tance of Fa|vour that ever was afforded to Mankind. Ju&s;tly therefore do they a&s;cribe this entirely to God:
<PB N="280" REF="145">And as there cannot be &s;o great Good-will in any Creature as in the infinite Goodne&s;s, nor &s;o much Wi&s;dom to help in a de&s;perate Ca&s;e as in the All-wi&s;e God; &s;o neither was it fit, if it could have been, that the greate&s;t and mo&s;t glorious Work &s;hould be committed to a Creature, or that we &s;hould receive our greate&s;t Obligations from a Creature. This in&s;tance of Favour therefore is &s;poken of thus in the Sacred Writings. <HI>God &s;o lo|ved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, that who&s;oever believes in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but have everla&s;ting Life,</HI> Joh. 3.16. where this is men|tion'd without a Parallel in&s;tance to intimate that it has not &s;uch a one; and that we are more be|holden to God for this than for any thing el&s;e. Again 'tis &s;aid, <HI>Hereby perceive we the Love of God, becau&s;e he laid down his Life for us,</HI> 1 Joh. 3.16. In this the Love of God has eminently appear'd, this in&s;tance of it out-&s;hines all the re&s;t. And the&s;e two Scriptures let us know what it is which &s;o mightily enhances this: The former in repre|&s;enting the Excellency and Dignity of the Per|&s;on who became our Redeemer, that it was <HI>the only begotten Son of God:</HI> The latter in men|tioning the very low and wonderful Conde&s;cen&s;ion of this glorious Per&s;on, whom it calls God, that he might accompli&s;h our Redemption; that is, his <HI>laying down his Life for us.</HI> The&s;e are the Things which advance the Work of Redemption &s;o high, and make it &s;o great and glorious an Obligation.</P>
<P>As the Holy Scripture frequently mentions tho&s;e two Things, &s;o they are what the Apo&s;tle in&s;i&s;ts on in this Di&s;cour&s;e of which our Text is
<PB N="281" REF="145">a Part. Of Je&s;us Chri&s;t mention'd in the 5th. ver&s;e, He &s;ays in the 6th, <HI>He being in the form of God thought it not Robbery to be equal with God;</HI> He is &s;o the Son of God as to have deriv'd from the Fa|ther all the Excellency and Glory of the Divine Nature to a perfect Equality herein with the Fa|ther. This Per&s;on he &s;ays in the 7th ver&s;e, <HI>Made him&s;elf of no Reputation, and took upon him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likene&s;s of a Man.</HI> He veil'd all this Glory, as it were, and conde&s;cended &s;o low as to unite him&s;elf into one Per&s;on with the humane Nature which he took of the Virgin <HI>Mary.</HI> And then in our Text he men|tions this other, and lowe&s;t, degree of his Conde&s;|cen&s;ion to &s;ave us, <HI>His laying down his Life for us,</HI> and &s;ays, <HI>Being found in Fa&s;hion as a Man, he hum|bled him&s;elf, and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cro&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>This lowe&s;t degree of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour's A|ba&s;ement and Conde&s;cen&s;ion to &s;ave us; I &s;hall de&s;ire may at this time employ our Meditations, and Wonder, and Prai&s;e. The Apo&s;tle in the Text expre&s;&s;es his Death, and the &s;ort of Death which he died, which adds much to the Aba&s;e|ment of it: <HI>He was obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cro&s;s:</HI> And this de&s;erves to be very particularly ob&s;erv'd. I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t therefore upon the&s;e following Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e on this Sub|ject.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall repre&s;ent the &s;ad Circum&s;tances of our Saviour's Death, or the very grievous Suffer|ings which attended it, which the Apo&s;tle in|cludes in &s;aying, he &s;uffer'd the Death of the Cro&s;s.</P>
<PB N="282" REF="146">
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall make it appear, that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> or <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> was to &s;uffer and die according to the Pro|phecies concerning him in the Old Te&s;tament.</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;hall &s;hew what are the Rea&s;ons and Ends of his Sufferings and Death.</P>
<P N="4">4. Sugge&s;t the due U&s;e and Improvement of the&s;e things.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t Place, let us ob&s;erve and repre&s;ent to our &s;elves at this time the &s;ad Circum&s;tances of our Saviour's Death, or the grievous Sufferings which attended it, in a brief Summary of what the Four Evangeli&s;ts have told us concerning it.</P>
<P>The&s;e Sufferings of his la&s;t and dying Pa&s;&s;ion, we may reckon had their beginning in the Garden of <HI>Geth&s;emane.</HI> There we find him complaining, and &s;aying, <HI>My Soul is exceeding &s;orrowful even un|to Death.</HI> An exce&s;&s;ive Load of Anxiety and Trou|ble came upon him which &s;unk his Spirits, and almo&s;t broke his Heart, as we &s;peak, and brought him even to the Point of Death. In this Condi|tion he needed an Angel to Comfort him, or el&s;e perhaps he had fail'd under it, and his Pa&s;&s;ion with his Life had ended here. And &s;o &s;harp and violent was this Agony, that it forced from his Body, in great drops, a Sweat of Blood. The cau&s;e of all this was inward and be&s;t known to him&s;elf: Only we may perhaps gue&s;s at it by tho&s;e Words which fell from him, <HI>Father if it be po&s;&s;ible let this Cup pa&s;s from me:</HI> From whence we may &s;up|po&s;e it was only a lively Apprehen&s;ion of the Death which he was going to die, that made &s;o mighty an Impre&s;&s;ion upon him. There was to be &s;omething &s;o terrible in that Death, that the Fears of it almo&s;t kill'd him; humane Nature was
<PB N="283" REF="146">not able to bear them without a Supernatural A&s;&s;i&s;tance. It mu&s;t be &s;omething more than Death which he &s;o feared; and that could be no|thing el&s;e but the heavy Terrors of Almighty Wrath, which he mu&s;t undergo in dying, while he made his Soul, or Life, an Offering and Sa|crifice for Sin. But from the Fear of this he went to the Feeling of it, and let us follow him in this Dolorous Progre&s;s with our admiring and pa&s;&s;io|nate Meditations.</P>
<P>The next Grief he met with we may ju&s;tly reckon to be that he &s;aw <HI>Judas</HI> the Leader, and Guide to tho&s;e who came to apprehend him. One whom he had made his Companion, and u&s;ed him as a Friend. One whom he had favour'd with his Divine In&s;tructions; had &s;ometime fed and main|tain'd as a Member of his Family; and whom he had perhaps honour'd with the Power to work Miracles in his Name, to be betray'd by a Per&s;on &s;o much oblig'd into the hands of his Enemies mu&s;t needs be a very &s;en&s;ible Grief to him. <HI>David,</HI> a Type of Chri&s;t in many things, and perhaps in this al&s;o, &s;adly complains of &s;uch a thing when he &s;uffer'd &s;omewhat like it, in P&s;al. 55.12, 13, 14. Ver&s;es, <HI>It was even thou my Companion, my Guide, and mine own familiar Friend,</HI> as one Tran|&s;lation very fitly renders the 13th. Ver&s;e. Next to this it was another Grief to him, who had lived in perfect Innocence, and &s;pent his whole Life in doing good to be now reckon'd a Malefactor, and dealt with as a mi&s;chievous and dangerous Per&s;on; and this he takes notice of to tho&s;e who came to apprehend him. <HI>Are ye come out as again&s;t a Thief</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>with Swords and Staves to take me?</HI></P>
<PB N="284" REF="147">
<P>Then we mu&s;t believe it was another Grief to him, to &s;ee that &s;oon after he was Apprehended all his Di&s;ciples for&s;ook him and fled. He was left alone in the hands of his Enemies, and had no Friend by, to Pity and Comfort him: None of tho&s;e who had been the Witne&s;&s;es of his harmle&s;s and Beneficent Life had now the Courage and Kind|ne&s;s to appear for him and te&s;tifie this; but all the re&s;t of his Di&s;ciples in a manner follow'd <HI>Judas,</HI> and betray'd him too. He was all Night in the hands of the rude Soldiers and the Officious Servants of the Chief Prie&s;ts: who doubtle&s;s u&s;ed him ill enough; having the Temptation to do &s;o, of think|ing they approv'd them&s;elves therein to their envi|ous and malicious Ma&s;ters, and plea&s;ed them &s;o much the more by how much the wor&s;e they treated him.</P>
<P>When it was day the Chief Prie&s;ts and Scribes a&s;&s;embled their Bloody Council, and brought the innocent Je&s;us before them. And here the Guilty accu&s;e the Innocent; the ba&s;e &s;et them&s;elves above the Honourable, and Subjects &s;it in Judgment on their King. They &s;eek for Witne&s;&s;es and Accu&s;a|tions again&s;t him, that they might have a Pretence to murder him; and he &s;ilently hears him&s;elf revil'd and fal&s;ely accus'd of many things which could not be legally prov'd; and here they &s;uffer their Servants in their &s;ight, to abu&s;e and affront him before he could be convicted of any Crime, this was very hard mea&s;ure, but he mu&s;t &s;uffer yet much wor&s;e than this. They at length drew from him a plain Confe&s;&s;ion who he was, and upon that condemn him as a Bla&s;phemer. And now they treat him with the utmo&s;t rage and di&s;dain; and
<PB N="285" REF="147">but that they dur&s;t not, 'tis likely they would have beat him to Death: They &s;pit in his Face, they blindfold, and then buffet him from one to the other, and in contempt call him Chri&s;t, and bid him gue&s;s who it was that &s;mote him. Here we might have &s;een the good and the meek Je&s;us as a &s;ilent harmle&s;s Lamb in the mid&s;t of many Ra|venous Wolves.</P>
<P>While their Rage was thus burning again&s;t him, they hurry him away to <HI>Pontius Pilate</HI> the <HI>Roman</HI> Governour, and to him they fiercely ac|cu&s;e him of Crimes he abhorr'd. The Gover|nour upon a &s;trict Examination of his Ca&s;e, &s;aw indeed very plainly the Envy and Malice of his Enemies, but not any Guilt in him, and there|fore offer'd to relea&s;e him as Innocent. This im|prov'd their Rage yet further. Then he would have releas'd him according to the Cu&s;tom of re|lea&s;ing a Pri&s;oner at the Fea&s;t of the Pa&s;&s;over, but they would not hear of this, but preferr'd <HI>Ba|rabbas,</HI> who had been guilty of Sedition and Mur|der, before the excellent Je&s;us. When <HI>Pilate</HI> asked them what he &s;hould do with Je&s;us they Cry out Crucifie him, Crucifie him. Death alone could not &s;atisfie their Rage, but they in&s;i&s;t upon the bittere&s;t and the vile&s;t Death which they could think of. It could not chu&s;e but be very griev|ous to the Loving Je&s;us to &s;ee his own People, tho&s;e whom he chiefly came to &s;ave, thus pulling upon them&s;elves the weighty Guilt, and terrible Vengeance of his unju&s;t Death. The fore&s;ight of this had drawn tears from his Eyes before, when <HI>he beheld Jeru&s;alem and wept over it</HI> upon this ac|count.</P>
<PB N="286" REF="148">
<P>At length with their importunate Clamours <HI>Pi|late</HI> is overcome and delivers him up to be crucifi|ed. And, as was u&s;ually done to tho&s;e who &s;uf|fer'd this kind of Death, he is fir&s;t tied to a Pillar and there ba&s;ely and &s;everely whipt upon his na|ked Back. After this the Souldiers would needs have &s;ome &s;port in abu&s;ing him. And they find &s;ome dirty and contemptible purple Garment and put that upon him; they plat a Crown of Thorns and force it upon his Head, and the Thorns we may believe then were purple too, even the precious Purple of his Blood: They put then a Reed in his Hand, and in mockery bow the Knee before him, and cry Hail King of the Jews. But in the doing of this they &s;pat upon him too, to &s;how how little in earne&s;t they were while they pretended to do him Homage. When this &s;port was no longer plea&s;ant to them&s;elves, they put his own Cloaths on again and led him away to cruci|fie him. At fir&s;t, as the manner was, they forced him to bear his own Cro&s;s towards the Place of Execution. But they had u&s;ed him too ill before to leave him able to do this; and he &s;tagger'd with the Burden a-while but at length fainted under it: Then they were forced to lay that on other Shoul|ders, and almo&s;t to carry him, which without doubt they did not very mercifully or civilly do. When he was come to the Place of Execution, without the City, they &s;tript him of his Cloaths, and in &s;o doing renew'd the Smart of tho&s;e raw Wounds which the rude Scourge had given him, when the <HI>Plowers plowed upon his Back and made long their Furrows.</HI> Then they laid him naked upon his Cro&s;s, and &s;tretching out his Arms with
<PB N="287" REF="148">&s;ome force drove two great Nails through his two Hands, and therewith fa&s;tened them to the tran&s;|ver&s;e Beam of his Cro&s;s. Then they drove an|other great Nail or two through his Feet, and &s;o fa&s;tened them to the upright Beam of the Cro&s;s. When this was done they &s;et the Cro&s;s upright, letting the lower End a little into the Ground that it might &s;tand &s;o and expo&s;e the crucified Per&s;on the better to the View and Scorn of the Spectatours: And &s;o the whole weight of his Body 'tis likely hung upon tho&s;e Nails. Here he hung three long Hours in exqui&s;ite Torments. And &s;till his Enemies would not &s;pare him: They pierce and crucifie his Soul too as well as they could with bitter Scoffs and Revilings, and, what was doubtle&s;s mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible to him, they upbraid him with a vain Tru&s;t in God. Certainly had he had but the Love of a Creature, as they bid him in Defiance and Scorn &s;ave him&s;elf and come down from the Cro&s;s, he would have &s;av'd him&s;elf and have left us to peri&s;h.</P>
<P>The&s;e were very heavy Sufferings; but he &s;uf|fer'd yet wor&s;e than all this! For in the height of all his outward Sufferings he was inwardly afflict|ed of God too, and u&s;ed by him as a Sinner. The con&s;tant Beams of Divine Favour which had been his great Con&s;olation through his innocent Life were now withdrawn, and left a &s;ad Dark|ne&s;s in his Soul; he &s;aw no light but from the di&s;|mal Fla&s;hes of Divine Anger and Wrath: There appear'd &s;ome very horrid and terrible Expre&s;&s;i|ons of this to him while he made his Soul an Of|fering for Sin. And this was what he could not bear. He was &s;ilent before under the wor&s;t In|dignities
<PB N="288" REF="149">he &s;uffer'd, but now cries out <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> And as the fears of this had almo&s;t kill'd him in the Garden, the feeling of it now quite does it on the Cro&s;s, and he &s;oon bows his Head, gives up the Gho&s;t, and dies.</P>
<P>The&s;e were the &s;ad Sufferings which attended the Death of our Redeemer! Such as no Tongue can fully expre&s;s. The&s;e things let us &s;eriou&s;ly repre&s;ent to our &s;elves now; things which few of us think of at all and none of us enough!</P>
<P>I proceed to the &s;econd thing propo&s;ed, which is to &s;how that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> or <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> promi&s;ed to the World was to &s;uffer &s;uch things, and to die according to the Prophecies concerning him. It is very evident in the Prophecies concerning the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> that he was not to be &s;uch a glorious tem|poral Prince as the Blind Jews, at the time of his coming, expected he &s;hould be: but they plainly repre&s;ent him to be a &s;uffering Per&s;on when he &s;hould come into the World. The 53 <HI>d.</HI> Chapter of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> which the Ancient Writers of the Jewi&s;h Nation did acknowledge was a Prophecy of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> does plainly repre&s;ent him a &s;uffering Per&s;on. It &s;ays he &s;hould be <HI>de&s;pi&s;ed and rejected of Men,</HI> and <HI>afflicted of God.</HI> It &s;peaks of him as <HI>wounded,</HI> as &s;uffering <HI>&s;tripes,</HI> and <HI>&s;courgings.</HI> Ma|ny of the Particulars of our Saviour's la&s;t Pa&s;&s;ion are foretold concerning the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> as what he &s;hould &s;uffer. The P&s;almi&s;t repre&s;ented him more than him&s;elf, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 22. When he went about to make a complaining Prayer for his own Sufferings and Griefs, the Spirit of God came upon him and carried his Thoughts beyond him&s;elf to the fore|telling
<PB N="289" REF="149">and de&s;cribing rather, the Sufferings of the Me&s;&s;iah. He begins it with tho&s;e very words which Je&s;us u&s;ed upon the Cro&s;s, <HI>My God, my God,</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> He &s;peaks of his Enemies deriding his Tru&s;t in God in the 8th Ver. as our Saviour's Enemies did to him, while he hung on the Cro&s;s, &s;aying, <HI>He tru&s;ted in God let him deliver him if he will have him,</HI> Matt. 27.43. He &s;ays his Enemies <HI>pierced his Hands and his Feet,</HI> 16th. Ver. which was never literally fulfill'd in <HI>David,</HI> but was in Je&s;us after a terrible manner when he was nail'd to the Cro&s;s. He &s;ays, <HI>I may tell all my Bones:</HI> which is &s;aid to be a Circum&s;tance more peculiarly attending that &s;ort of Death which Je&s;us &s;uffer'd than any other. He &s;ays, <HI>They part my Garments among them, and ca&s;t lots upon my Ve&s;ture,</HI> 18th. Ver&s;e, as the Soul|diers did with the Garments of Je&s;us Again; the Prophet <HI>Zachary</HI> al&s;o foretells this cruel kind of Death for the Me&s;&s;iah, when he &s;ays the <HI>Jews,</HI> in their Repentance, &s;hould <HI>look on him whom they had pierced and mourn, Zach.</HI> 12.10. which the ancient <HI>Jews</HI> interpreted of the Me&s;&s;iah. And this was fulfill'd upon a great many of them at once as we are told in <HI>Acts</HI> 3. where 'tis &s;aid, that many of them were <HI>pricked in their Hearts,</HI> when St. <HI>Peter</HI> told them they had Crucified the Chri&s;t; and the event of this was that Three thou&s;and of them were then converted to Chri&s;t. Further it was Prophe&s;ied of the Me&s;&s;iah, that he &s;hould die as well as &s;uffer, tho' this too the <HI>Jews</HI> did not under&s;tand, but thought that when he came he &s;hould abide for ever. The Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> &s;ays expre&s;ly; <HI>Dan.</HI> 9.26. That the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah &s;hould be
<PB N="290" REF="150">cut off.</HI> So the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;ays, Chap. 53. <HI>He &s;hould be brought as a Lamb to the &s;laughter,</HI> 7th. Ver&s;e, <HI>He &s;hould be cut off out of the Land of the Living,</HI> 8th. Ver&s;e, and in 9th. Ver&s;e his Bu|rial is &s;poken of. <HI>He made his Grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his Death.</HI> Thus much may &s;uffice to this Head.</P>
<P>I go on, in the third Place, to &s;hew what were the Ends and Rea&s;ons of the Death of Je&s;us the Chri&s;t: Which we &s;hall find by the Holy Scrip|tures to have been chiefly the&s;e two.</P>
<P N="1">1. To teach us, by an excellent and perfect Pat|tern, how we &s;hould &s;uffer Trouble and Affli|ction.</P>
<P N="2">2. To make his Soul or Life an Offering for Sin.</P>
<P N="1">1. This grievous and long Pa&s;&s;ion he endured, to teach us by his Example, how we ought to &s;uffer the Afflictions and Troubles which we may meet with in the World. As he came down from Heaven and dwelt in our Nature among us to give us an Example of doing Well, &s;o he bore all the&s;e Griefs to teach us how to &s;uffer well. Tho' he came into the World to die, yet it does not &s;eem to have been nece&s;&s;ary to any other end of his Death that &s;o many cruel Sufferings &s;hould at|tend it; and he &s;hould be &s;o barbarou&s;ly u&s;ed: This then we may reckon he endur'd to teach us to endure. And indeed the Holy Scripture it &s;elf &s;ugge&s;ts this to us. This is intimated in that he is &s;o often propo&s;ed to us for a Pattern in &s;uf|fering. <HI>Let us look unto Je&s;us</HI> (&s;ays the Apo&s;tle) <HI>who for the Joy which was &s;et before him endur'd the Cro&s;s, de&s;pi&s;ing the Shame,</HI> Heb. 12.2. And
<PB N="291" REF="150"><HI>Con&s;ider him that endur'd &s;uch Contradiction of Sin|ners le&s;t ye be wearied and faint in your Minds,</HI> Ver&s;e 2d. We may &s;ee plainly by the following Di&s;cour&s;e, that he Encourages Chri&s;tians to en|dure Afflictions by the Sufferings of Je&s;us. Again in <HI>Chap.</HI> 13. having &s;poken of his Suffering with|out the City in his Death, as the Offerings for Sin among the <HI>Jews</HI> had been burnt without the Camp in the Wilderne&s;s: To let us know that we are not to look upon his Death as only a Sacrifice for Sin, as if there were nothing el&s;e to be minded in it he adds Ver&s;e 13th. <HI>Let us go forth therefore unto him without the Camp bearing his re|proach.</HI> That is; let us wean and withdraw our &s;elves from the World in heart and affection, and be ready, when he calls us, to part with, or to want any thing of it; to abandon all for his &s;ake, and &s;o go forth to him: And that, though we &s;hould expo&s;e our &s;elves thereby to the Contempt and Neglect of Men, as he was, who will u&s;ually value and re&s;pect none but tho&s;e, or tho&s;e mo&s;t, who get to them&s;elves much of the Honours and Dignities or Wealth of this World. But to prove this &s;ufficiently and fully by one Scripture I &s;hall direct you to 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.21. Where we may &s;ee the Apo&s;tle giving this as the main Rea&s;on of his Suf|ferings, and at the &s;ame time applying them to promote the Patience and Meekne&s;s of Chri&s;tians under their Sufferings. <HI>Chri&s;t al&s;o &s;uffer'd for us</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>leaving us an example that we &s;hould follow his &s;teps.</HI> And it is not any more a Wonder that he &s;hould &s;uffer &s;o much to teach us to &s;uffer, than it is that he &s;hould love us &s;o much as he did. He &s;aw our learning this to be as nece&s;&s;ary to our
<PB N="292" REF="151">Salvation as any thing el&s;e; that our Sin and Fol|ly had brought Mi&s;ery and Affliction into the World, and we could not fail to meet with a great deal of it; that Man is born to trouble, and therefore, as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.36. <HI>We have need of Patience that after we have done the Will of God we might receive the Promi&s;e.</HI> And this, too, like every other in&s;tance of Duty, he knows we are better taught by an Example than any other way: He knows al&s;o how backward and aver&s;e we are to bear Affliction even when we have pull'd it upon our &s;elves, and that there is nothing we are more unwilling and awkward to learn than the Suffering Vertues. In great Kind|ne&s;s to us therefore has he given us a mo&s;t Glori|ous example of vertuous and Patient Suffering.</P>
<P N="2">2. But it mu&s;t be al&s;o &s;aid, as the Scripture teaches us, that the Death of Je&s;us was a Sacri|fice and Propitiation for the Sins of Men. This is the great Propitiatory Sacrifice for our Sins whereby God is reconcil'd to Men, and way is made that the Pardon of our Sins might be con|&s;i&s;tent with the Honour of God. To produce the greater Evidence of this in Scripture I &s;hall &s;hew, this is what was Prophe&s;ied concerning the Death of the Me&s;&s;iah in the Old Te&s;tament, and this is &s;aid of the Death of Je&s;us in the New one.</P>
<P>The Prophecies I &s;hall mention are tho&s;e of <HI>Daniel</HI> and <HI>I&s;aiah:</HI> The Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> &s;ays in <HI>Chap.</HI> 9th. Ver. 26. <HI>The Me&s;&s;iah &s;hould be cut off but not for him&s;elf,</HI> and in 24th. he &s;ays the end of his coming &s;hould be <HI>to make Reconciliation for Iniqui|ty, and bring in everla&s;ting Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> To attone
<PB N="293" REF="151">for the Sins of Men, and to be a Head and Spring of Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Holine&s;s, as a Second <HI>Adam,</HI> which &s;hould never fail as that of the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI> had done. Again, the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> in <HI>Chap.</HI> 53. &s;peaking of the Death of the Me&s;&s;iah &s;ays in a Prophetick way, <HI>He bore our Griefs, he carried our &s;orrows,</HI> and in doing this we &s;hould e&s;teem <HI>him &s;tricken, &s;mitten of God and afflicted:</HI> Which &s;hews that he was to take away our Griefs by Suffering them him&s;elf. Again he &s;ays, <HI>He was wounded for our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was brui&s;ed for our Iniqui|ties, the Cha&s;ti&s;ement of our Peace was upon him, and by his &s;tripes we are healed: All we like Sheep have gone a&s;tray, and God hath laid on him the Ini|quity of us all:</HI> And that he &s;hould <HI>make his Soul, or Life, an Offering for Sin.</HI> Thus we may &s;ee that the Old Te&s;tament foretells the Death of the Me&s;|&s;iah as a Sacrifice for Sin.</P>
<P>In the New Te&s;tament al&s;o we may &s;ee this gi|ven, as the Rea&s;on and De&s;ign of the Death of Je&s;us. In <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.26. the Apo&s;tle &s;ays of him, <HI>He hath ap|pear'd once in the end of the World, to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of him&s;elf:</HI> And what a &s;ort of Sacrifice he was, appears by St. <HI>John,</HI> 1 Joh. 2.2. <HI>He is the Propitiation for our Sins.</HI> The Scripture &s;ays, <HI>He was made Sin for us who knew no Sin,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.21. which can mean no le&s;s than that he became an Offering and Sacrifice for Sin. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> &s;ays, <HI>He bore our Sins in his own Body on the Tree,</HI> that is, on the Cro&s;s, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.24. Which without doubt is an Expre&s;&s;ion taken from the Old Te&s;tament, and mu&s;t be under&s;tood as it is there u&s;ed. And we &s;hall find every where there, that when 'tis &s;aid a Man &s;hall <HI>bear his Ini|quity,</HI>
<PB N="294" REF="152">it is meant he &s;hould &s;uffer for his Iniquity, particularly, <HI>Levit.</HI> 20. Therefore when 'tis &s;aid of Je&s;us, <HI>He bore our &s;ins,</HI> it mu&s;t mean he &s;uffer'd for our &s;ins. I might add a multitude of places more to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, but I hope it is need|le&s;s.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now in the la&s;t Place &s;ugge&s;t the u&s;e and Improvement which we ought to make of this important Truth. In doing which I &s;hall confine my &s;elf to mention briefly tho&s;e things which are nece&s;&s;ary to us, to make us Partakers of that Hap|pine&s;s which the Pa&s;&s;ion and Death of our Savi|our are de&s;ign'd to bring us to.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Con&s;ideration of the&s;e Things &s;hould move us to a hearty and unfeigned Repentance for all our Sins. Herein we may &s;ee there is &s;o great Affront and Indignity offer'd the great God by the Sins of Men, that he did not think it for his Honour to grant the Pardon of them to his only begotton Son without his undergoing &s;ome Penalty and Suffering for them: Therefore when he had taken our Nature, he was forced to die a Sacrifice for our Sins, that he might make an At|tonement for us. And from the great hatred and di&s;plea&s;ure of Almighty God again&s;t them, &s;o re|markably di&s;cover'd herein, we may ju&s;tly learn to hate them too. And &s;ince the Me&s;&s;iah was cut off not for him&s;elf but for us; every Sinner may ju&s;t|ly &s;ay to him&s;elf hereupon: It was not the bar|barous <HI>Jews</HI> alone that Crucified the Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us, but my more barbarous Sins were helpers in the Mi&s;chief. I crown'd, then, that Sacred Head with &s;harp Thorns; I pierced his Ble&s;&s;ed Hands and Feet, and fa&s;tned them to the Cro&s;s. It was my
<PB N="295" REF="152">Sins which tore the Fle&s;h, which poured out the Blood, and tormented the Soul of Je&s;us my Saviour. And &s;urely this &s;hould co&s;t us a great deal of Grief for our Sins. E&s;pecially &s;ince we may con&s;ider too, that it was not our Sins without his Love that brought him to all this! He could not be forced to endure thus much, but he willingly un|dertook it. His mighty Love con&s;trained him: So that we mu&s;t look upon all this as having been &s;uf|fer'd by our be&s;t Friend, and as befalling him for our Sake, and while he was &s;eeking our Welfare; which &s;urely ought to melt us into the mo&s;t pa&s;&s;ionate Grief.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t being con&s;ider'd as a Sacrifice for Sin may ju&s;tly encourage our Faith to hope and &s;eek for all Nece&s;&s;ary Favour and Mercy from God. As we ought not approach the great God, whom we have &s;o heinou&s;ly of|fended by our Sins, without a great Sen&s;e of our Guilt and unworthine&s;s of the lea&s;t of his Mer|cies; &s;o we ought to believe the Sufficiency of this Sacrifice to attone for our Sins, and accordingly to relie upon it. A more valuable and honoura|ble Satisfaction for the &s;ins of Men is made to the Divine Ju&s;tice and Government by the Death of Chri&s;t in our &s;tead, than if all Mankind had died for their own Sins. Hereupon God has promi&s;ed the Pardon of &s;in to all, that with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn unto him. And now the Scripture &s;peaks of it as a ju&s;t thing with God to ju&s;tifie them that believe in Je&s;us: And the Apo|&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>If we confe&s;s our Sins,</HI> that is in true Re|pentance for them, <HI>he is faithful and ju&s;t to forgive us our Sins, and to clean&s;e us from all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI>
<PB N="296" REF="153">We may conclude from his giving him&s;elf to die for us that the Son of God is willing that all who &s;eek them &s;hould be partakers in the Merits of his Death: And &s;ince he has &s;o dearly purchas'd he mu&s;t needs be ready to be&s;tow them. And &s;ince God the Father gave his only begotten Son to die for us, we cannot doubt but <HI>who&s;oever believes in him &s;hall not peri&s;h but have Everla&s;ting Life.</HI> And we may draw from thence the Conclu&s;ion which the Apo&s;tle makes <HI>having given us his Son, how &s;hall he not with him al&s;o freely give us all things.</HI> Let us honour, then, the &s;ufficiency of our Savi|our's Merits and Death by &s;eeking and expecting to be receiv'd into Favour with God upon our Re|pentance. And let us a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves that if we &s;eek the Pardon of our greate&s;t Sins for his &s;ake we &s;hall obtain it. If we hunger and thir&s;t after Righteou&s;ne&s;s we &s;hall be filled. If we &s;eek fir&s;t the Kingdom of God and the Righteou&s;ne&s;s there|of, all other things &s;hall be added to us. And if by patient Continuance in well-doing we &s;eek for Glory, Honour, and Immortality, we &s;hall ob|tain Eternal Life.</P>
<P N="3">3. We ought to con&s;ider the Vertues which were exerci&s;ed by our Saviour in his Sufferings and Death, and to imitate them as well as we can in all our Sufferings and Afflictions. We may ob&s;erve that the Apo&s;tle takes notice of two in the Text, which are Humility and Obedience. <HI>He humbled him&s;elf</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and became obedient un|to Death:</HI> To the&s;e we may add two more, name|ly, Patience and Charity. Let us ob&s;erve how gloriou&s;ly the&s;e were exerci&s;ed by him, and al|ways endeavour to exerci&s;e them too in our Suf|ferings.</P>
<PB N="297" REF="153">
<P>We may ea&s;ily ob&s;erve in his Sufferings and Death a mo&s;t wonderful Humility, and Conde&s;|cen&s;ion. We &s;hall &s;ee and cannot chu&s;e but ad|mire this, if we con&s;ider the great Dignity and Excellency of his Per&s;on. Of whom we may, af|ter the Holy Scripture, &s;peak thus; He to whom all Honour and Glory is due, humbled him&s;elf to be of no Reputation. He who is really a mighty King &s;uffer'd him&s;elf to be called &s;uch in Con|tempt and Scorn, and to have the Homage paid him in Mockery. From the Adoration of Angels he humbled him&s;elf to &s;uffer the Contempt of Men. He who is Judge of all the World might have been &s;een &s;tanding at the Tribunal of his Sub|jects: The Lord of Life and Glory was crucified, and he who only hath Immortality laid down his Life. What an Example of Humility and Con|de&s;cen&s;ion was here! He neglected as it were all his Greatne&s;s to honour the Father, and &s;ave us. After this how &s;hameful and ba&s;e a thing is all our Pride! Should we be loath to aba&s;e and humble our &s;elves a little for the Glory of God and the good of Men, when he has done &s;o much of this? What Affliction, what Aba&s;ement can we ju&s;tly think our &s;elves too great or too good to bear!</P>
<P>Again, Let us ob&s;erve our Saviour's Excellent <HI>Obedience</HI> in his Sufferings, and imitate this in our Afflictions. This appears in his yieiding to endure whatever it plea&s;ed the Father to lay upon him: It was again&s;t his Nature to endure what he was call'd to as much as any thing we &s;uffer can be again&s;t ours: And this he di&s;cover'd in &s;aying <HI>Father if it be po&s;&s;ible let this Cup pa&s;s from me.</HI> Yet he &s;ubmitted to it and &s;aid, <HI>Neverthe|le&s;s
<PB N="298" REF="154">not my Will but thine be done.</HI> It was the Fa|ther's Will he &s;hould die and &s;hould die an igno|minious and accur&s;ed Death, yet he &s;ubmits to it. The Apo&s;tle &s;eems to put the Glory of his Obe|dience chiefly in this, that he died <HI>Even the Death of the Cro&s;s.</HI> Let us con&s;ider the&s;e things then: And when we would rather obey God in eminent Service than in &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to &s;uffering, Let us &s;ay to him, <HI>Neverthele&s;s not my Will but thine be done.</HI> When we would rather have any Affliction than this which God chu&s;es for us, let us check our &s;elves and &s;ay, his Will be done. When our Du|ty is made more than ordinary difficult or incon|venient to us by any adver&s;e Circum&s;tances, we &s;hould con&s;ider his &s;teady Obedience, and neither murmur at this nor decline our Duty. Nothing can be made more unea&s;ie to us than his Death was to him by &s;uch a long Train of Abu&s;es and Afflictions as attended it; yet was he <HI>obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cro&s;s.</HI> It becomes me, then, &s;hould every Chri&s;tian &s;ay to per&s;evere in my Duty whatever it may co&s;t me.</P>
<P>We may further ob&s;erve in our Saviour's Suf|ferings and Death an invincible <HI>Patience,</HI> and &s;hould endeavour to imitate this in our Sufferings. We hear no murmurings again&s;t God; we &s;ee no Frowardne&s;s in his Carriage towards Men; he was not found in any unfit Endeavours to decline, or &s;hake off his Sufferings. Tho' he &s;uffer'd too the &s;harpe&s;t things, tho' he &s;uffer'd from Men un|ju&s;tly and unworthily. We &s;hall &s;ee his Patience if we con&s;ider what a Multitude of Afflictions in|vaded him together! How tedious a thing his Ene|mies made it to him to die! There is hardly any
<PB N="299" REF="154">&s;ort of Affliction we can endure but attended this his la&s;t Pa&s;&s;ion in the &s;harpe&s;t and highe&s;t Degrees of it. We may &s;ay then to our &s;elves to charm our Impatience; Am I poor? Je&s;us had but a few Garments to leave behind him, and tho&s;e were taken from him too. Am I de&s;erted by tho&s;e I have oblig'd? Am I ungratefully u&s;ed? So was he. Is Reproach and fal&s;e Accu&s;ation grievous to me? The mo&s;t innocent Je&s;us was revil'd and num|ber'd among the vile&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ours. Is bodily Pain the thing I cannot bear? This he endur'd in a very &s;evere Mea&s;ure. Is it grievous to &s;ee an Inferiour preferr'd to any Favour or Dignity be|fore me? I may &s;ee the vile <HI>Barabbas,</HI> an Incendi|ary and a Murtherer preferr'd before the Excellent Je&s;us. Is it a very hard thing to be in&s;ulted over in my Affliction? To be &s;corn'd in my Mi&s;ery? This al&s;o Je&s;us endur'd. With &s;uch Thoughts we may arm our &s;elves with Patience under all Ad|ver&s;ity.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, in our Saviour's Sufferings and Death we may ob&s;erve a glorious <HI>Charity,</HI> and we &s;hould learn to practi&s;e this al&s;o in our Afflictions. He endur'd the greate&s;t Affronts and Abu&s;es without returning any: <HI>When he was revil'd he revil'd not again; when he &s;uffer'd he did not threaten;</HI> He heal'd the Ear of one that came to apprehend him, and wrought a Miracle to do him Kindne&s;s, who was an In&s;trument of his Death. When he was on the Cro&s;s, with &s;ome of his la&s;t Breath, he pray'd for them who crucified him, <HI>Father for|give them they know not what they do.</HI> This Behavi|&s;hould teach us never to lo&s;e our Charity, how|ever we may be abu&s;ed: To return Good for Evil,
<PB N="300" REF="155">to ble&s;s them that cur&s;e us, and to pray for them that de&s;pitefully u&s;e and per&s;ecute us. But the great Glory of our Saviour's Charity lies in this, that he &s;uffer'd for tho&s;e by whom he &s;uffer'd! That he endur'd all the&s;e bitter things for us Men and for our Salvation. He was bound that the Bonds of our iniquity might be loo&s;ed! He was &s;courged that by his Stripes we might be healed: He was crown'd with Thorns and cloath'd with a contemp|tible Purple to cloath us with Robes of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, and crown us with Diadems of Glory. He became a Sacrifice for Sin to merit our Par|don, and died to give us an immortal Life. This &s;ure will be thought an amazing Charity! How &s;hould &s;uch a Love even transform us into Love! Should we, after this, love none but our &s;elves? Such a Pattern &s;hould make us ready if need be to &s;uffer much Inconvenience for the great Advan|tage of the Community we live in, or of a pri|vate Neighbour. Such a Pattern &s;hould make us ready to die for his &s;ake, if we are call'd to it, &s;ince he died for us.</P>
<P>The&s;e things &s;hould we ob&s;erve, and in the&s;e we ought to imitate the Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us. Let us con&s;i|der that he requires our Imitation of him in the&s;e things. He &s;ays to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart:</HI> And again, <HI>he that will be my Di&s;ciple let him deny him&s;elf, and take up his Cro&s;s and follow me.</HI> It is not, then, an indif|ferent thing whether we conform to him in the Practice of the&s;e Vertues or no; but we may rec|kon it a nece&s;&s;ary Condition of our Salvation; and that we &s;hall have no Intere&s;t in the Merits of his Cro&s;s if we will not bear our own.</P>
<PB N="301" REF="155">
<P>Let us con&s;ider it is not to be imagin'd, he can love tho&s;e who are not like him; or that we can ever approve our &s;elves to him and yet not re&s;em|ble him. We mu&s;t expect in that Ca&s;e he will one day &s;ay to us, <HI>Depart from me I know you not ye Workers of Iniquity.</HI> In the &s;teady Exerci&s;e of the&s;e Vertues we &s;hall plea&s;e him, and &s;ure we &s;hould &s;trive to plea&s;e him who has &s;o much Love to us.</P>
<P>Let us then, as the Apo&s;tle advi&s;es, <HI>Look unto Je&s;us the Authour and Fini&s;her of our Faith, who for the Joy that was &s;et before him endur'd the Cro&s;s and de&s;pi&s;ed the Shame, and is now &s;et down at the Right-hand of God.</HI> Let us con&s;ider the Pattern he has &s;et us and imitate him in our Sufferings, and if we &s;o &s;uffer with him now, we &s;hall here|after Reign with him.</P>
<Q>Which <HI>God of his Infinite Mercy grant us to do, through the Merits of his mo&s;t Precious Blood. Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Glory world without End,</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="302" REF="156">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t Great and Incomprehen&s;ible Lord our God. Who art glorious in Holine&s;s, fearful in thy Prai&s;es, doing Wonders. Thou art worthy to be fear'd and had in Reverence by all that draw nigh unto Thee. We thy poor and mi&s;erable Creatures have great occa&s;ion for Acce&s;s unto Thee, for Thou art the only Fountain of all our Happine&s;s; in thy Favour is Life and thy Loving-kindne&s;s is better than Life. But we mu&s;t own, O Lord, and we do it with great &s;hame and grief that we have render'd our &s;elves utterly unworthy to draw nigh to Thee, and to ask or expect any Favour from Thee. For we have broken thy Laws, de&s;pi&s;ed thy Authority, abu|&s;ed thy Goodne&s;s, denied thy Right and Propriety in us, and affected, tho' we are Thine, to di&s;po&s;e of our &s;elves. Lord we have been guilty of great Inju&s;tice and great Ingratitude again&s;t Thee. The&s;e things we mu&s;t confe&s;s, and for them we humble and aba&s;e our &s;elves before Thee. We cannot expect to find favour with Thee, nor do we expect it but by the Vertue and Merits of &s;uch a Sacrifice for Sin, as may fully compen&s;are for the Affront and Injury which our Sins have offer'd Thee. And &s;uch a Sacrifice, ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name, we have in the precious Death of thy dear Son, and our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t. We hope there|fore, O Lord, upon the Account of this to find favour with Thee. We give mo&s;t humble and hearty Thanks to God the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t for the Re|demption of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And we pray Thee, O Father, to accept of thy Son's mo&s;t precious Death as a Propitiation for our Sins; that they
<PB N="303" REF="156">may all be pardon'd, that we may be clean&s;ed from all Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;anctified throughout in Bo|dy, Soul, and Spirit. Oh grant that the Evidence we have of thy Hatred of Sin in the Death of our Re|deemer may make us hate every fal&s;e Way; let the Evidence we have in it of his wondrous Love to us make us love him and keep his Commands. Let us know that we are highly oblig'd to deny our &s;elves any thing for his &s;ake, to take up our Cro&s;s and follow him. Lord make us ob&s;erve, and inable us in &s;ome Mea&s;ure to imitate the Example of his Patience, that we may be &s;tedfa&s;t, and per&s;evere in our Duty not|with&s;tanding any Difficulties or Inconveniences that may attend it; and &s;o having done the Will of God may at la&s;t enter into Re&s;t. Guide us we pray Thee by thy Coun&s;el till Thou ha&s;t brought us to thy Glo|ry: Hold Thou up our goings in thy Word that our Foot&s;teps &s;lip not: Teach Thou us the Way of thy Statutes that we may keep it unto the End. Let the Fruit of all our Afflictions in this Life be to take away Sin, and make us more conform'd to thy Will, and more fit for our Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s.</P>
<P>Let all the World, O God, know Thee and Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom Thou ha&s;t &s;ent, and knowing let them prai&s;e Thee for thy wonderful Goodne&s;s, and be ble&s;s'd with Plenty, Health and Peace. Make thy Church glorious by an abundant Effu&s;ion of thy Spirit upon it to the Encrea&s;e of all Piety and Vertue, and the pur|ging it from whatever is di&s;plea&s;ing to Thee and un|becoming the Go&s;pel. We pray Thee ble&s;s that part of it which Thou ha&s;t planted among&s;t us. Oh Lord watch over it for good; let not the Gates of Hell pre|vail again&s;t it; let no Weapon form'd again&s;t it pro&s;per. Make it abundantly fruitful in all good Works to thy Glory. Be gracious we pray Thee to our King, de|fend Thou the Defender of our Faith, pro&s;per his Per&s;on with all Happine&s;s, and all his Endeavours for thy Glory and our Welfare, with great and glorious Succe&s;s. Let our Royal Family never want a fit Per&s;on
<PB N="304" REF="157">to fill the Throne of the&s;e Kingdoms and make us hap|py. We humbly beg thy peculiar Favours and Ble&s;|&s;ings for all that are related to us: O Lord, let them receive Remi&s;&s;ion of their Sins, and all other Benefits of our Saviour's Pa&s;&s;ion, to the Eternal Salvation of their Souls. Give them &s;uch a Proportion of the good things of this World as Thou &s;ee&s;t to be mo&s;t expedient for them. Comfort all that are in any Trouble, Sorrow, Need, Sickne&s;s, or any other Ad|ver&s;ity; give them Patience under all their Sufferings, and in thy due time a happy Deliverance from them. We give Thee mo&s;t hearty Thanks, O Lord, for thy Ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances which we have this Day enjoy'd; O grant that we may live according to them; let them have an abiding good Influence upon us and be thy Power to our Salvation. Permit us we pray Thee to tru&s;t our &s;elves under thy gracious Protection this Night; give us comfortable Re&s;t, and rai&s;e us the next Morning with Health and Strength, and di&s;po&s;ed to prai&s;e and love and &s;erve Thee. Accept all our Re|que&s;ts in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, with who&s;e Words we conclude them, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that Tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us, lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="157">
<P>FAMILY DEVOTIONS FOR SUNDAY-EVENINGS, Throughout the YEAR. BEING Practical Di&s;cour&s;es, WITH Suitable Prayers.</P>
<P>Volume IV.</P>
<P>By <HI>Theophilus Dorrington.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Wyat,</HI> at the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard, 1695.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="158">
<PB REF="158">
<HEAD>The Subjects of the following Di&s;cour&s;es contain'd in this Fourth and La&s;t Vo|lume.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Sermon I. THE Re&s;urrection of our Ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour prov'd and ap|plied. <HI>Proper for Ea|&s;ter-Day.</HI> Pag. 1</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. II. The Religious Ob|&s;ervation of Sabbaths &s;tated and urg'd. p. 27</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. III. The Bapti&s;mal Co|venant repre&s;ented, with the Means to ob&s;erve it. p. 52</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. IV. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper explain'd, and the Attendance up|on it directed and urg'd. p. 78</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. V. The Right Hearing of the Word of God for our profit &s;tated and urg'd. p. 102</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. VI. Publick or Common Prayer recommended and urg'd. p. 126</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. VII. The A&s;cen&s;ion of our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour repre|&s;ented and improv'd. <HI>Proper for the Sunday next after A&s;cen&s;ion-day.</HI> p. 150</ITEM>
<PB REF="159">
<ITEM>Serm. VIII. The Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t ex|plain'd; and the Means to obtain it repre&s;ented. <HI>Proper for Whit-&s;unday.</HI> p. 175</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. IX. The Future Puni&s;h|ments repre&s;ented. p. 200</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. X. The Eternity of the Future Puni&s;hments il|lu&s;trated, and prov'd. p. 224</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XI. The Separate State of good Souls repre&s;ented and improv'd. p. 250</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XII. The final and com|pleat Happine&s;s of good Men repre&s;ented. <HI>The fir&s;t Part.</HI> p. 276</ITEM>
<ITEM>Serm. XIII. The final and com|pleat Happine&s;s of good Men repre&s;ented. <HI>The &s;econd Part.</HI> p. 301</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAg. 15. line 2. for <HI>in</HI> read <HI>to.</HI> P. 44. l. 1. for <HI>&s;hall</HI> r. <HI>&s;till.</HI> P. 135. l. 2. r. <HI>Places.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="159">
<HEAD>THE RESURRECTION OF OUR Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, Proved and Applied.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Tim. 2.8.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Remember, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t of the Seed of <HI>David,</HI> was rai&s;ed from the Dead according to my Go&s;pel.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT is, without doubt, a matter of very great Importance, to the Confirmation of the whole Doctrine of Chri&s;tianity, that the World &s;hould be convinced of the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us from the Dead. This indeed was that which was de&s;ign'd and was
<PB N="2" REF="160">was very fit to take off the Scandal and Offence of the Cro&s;s, and to recommend Him to Men as a Mighty Saviour who had him&s;elf died un|der the hands of his Enemies.</P>
<P>This was very fit to convince the Unbeliev|ing Jews, that he was the True Me&s;&s;iah not|with&s;tanding his Death: They had learnt from the Sacred Writings, which they had, that the Me&s;&s;iah was to endure for ever; and by this they might &s;ee that he intended to do &s;o: They had &s;aid to him as he hung on the Cro&s;s, that if he could &s;ave him&s;elf, and come down from thence they would believe on him; But this was a greater thing to &s;ave him&s;elf from the Grave on the Third Day after he had been dead and buried, then to have come down from the the Cro&s;s while he was yet alive.</P>
<P>The in&s;i&s;ting upon this among the Gentiles too was very nece&s;&s;ary, and very proper, to recommend Je&s;us Chir&s;t and his Salvation to them. For they had learnt by Tradition from the Fathers of the World, who had been taught this by Divine In&s;piration, That Mankind &s;hould be mightily beholden to &s;ome Divine and Excellent Per&s;on, who &s;hould dwell for a time on Earth and do abundance of Good there; and &s;hould after his Death be tran&s;lated to Heaven, and remain there an Advocate and Protector to them. This Noti|on generally po&s;&s;e&s;t the Heathen World; and from hence we may believe it was that they &s;o ea&s;ily and unanimou&s;ly fell into their Demon Wor&s;hip. All Nations had their Demons whom they Wor&s;hiped: Who were &s;uch as,
<PB N="3" REF="160">they &s;uppo&s;ed, had been &s;ome time Men and Women on Earth, and had been great Bene|factors to their Nation: And whom they al|&s;o &s;uppo&s;ed to have been at their Death Tran|&s;lated into Heaven, and to retain &s;till the Kindne&s;s which they had for the Nation they had belonged to; and to have an Intere&s;t with the Supream Deity which they made u&s;e of to help and favour them. From hence it was, that when St. <HI>Paul</HI> at <HI>Athens</HI> Preach'd to them of <HI>Je&s;us</HI> and his Re&s;urrection; the wi&s;er and more Learned among them apprehended him to &s;peak of Things &s;omewhat agreeable to the Divinity which they had long been po&s;&s;e&s;t with; and to them <HI>He &s;eem'd,</HI> 'tis &s;aid, <HI>to be a &s;etter forth of &s;trange Gods.</HI> That is to have told them of a New Demon or Deified Man, whom they had not heard of before: They had indeed corrupted their Notion of a Me|diatour with the&s;e two Errours, which were great hindrances of their receiving Je&s;us Chri&s;t; One was, that as they had multiplied the Superiour Gods, &s;o they had multiplied al|&s;o the Mediators between God and Men; whereas Truth tells us, <HI>There is but One God, and One Mediator between God and Men, the Man Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> Another was, That they &s;uppo&s;ed the&s;e Demons or Mediators to be but National Deities, or favourers of &s;ome particular Nations alone; whereas, the true Mediator is an Univer&s;al one, and favours all Mankind. And we may ob&s;erve, that this part of the Corruption of the Doctrine of a Mediator the Jews them&s;elves were fallen in|to;
<PB N="4" REF="161">to; who thought, that the Me&s;&s;iah when he &s;hould come would be a Friend and Favourer of their Nation alone.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee the Importance of Convincing the World of the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us: And we may ju&s;tly believe this was the great rea&s;on, why Je&s;us him&s;elf &s;taid &s;o long on Earth after his Re&s;urrection before he A&s;cended to Hea|ven; why he &s;o often appear'd to his Di&s;ciples in that time, and &s;et Him&s;elf to convince them, by &s;o many ways of the truth of this whom he had cho&s;en to be the Witne&s;&s;es of it to the World. Upon this Account al&s;o it was, that the Apo&s;tles &s;o often in&s;i&s;ted upon this in their Preachings both to Jews and Gentiles: And for this rea&s;on did St. <HI>Paul</HI> give <HI>Timothy,</HI> who was at this time Bi&s;hop of the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> the Charge in our Text, to <HI>Remember that Je&s;us Chri&s;t of the &s;eed of</HI> David <HI>was rai&s;ed from the Dead according to the Go&s;pel.</HI></P>
<P>The word which we Tran&s;late, <HI>Remember,</HI> &s;ignifies al&s;o to commemorate or make mention of a Thing; and may be under&s;tood to re|quire, that <HI>Timothy</HI> &s;hould put others in Mind of this, as well as remember it him&s;elf. E&s;pe|cially we may &s;uppo&s;e it to have that Lati|tude of &s;ignificancy here; becau&s;e we find the Apo&s;tle &s;aying again to him in the 14th. Ver&s;e after he had joyn'd &s;ome other Articles of Faith with this, <HI>Of the&s;e things put them in re|membrance.</HI> And it is very probable from the fir&s;t Accounts of the Chri&s;tian Church, that the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves did begin, and E&s;ta|bli&s;h this Fe&s;tival for the yearly Commemora|tion
<PB N="5" REF="161">of the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us: For we find the Ob&s;ervation of it mention'd and in|&s;i&s;ted on by tho&s;e early Bi&s;hops who liv'd and convers'd with the Apo&s;tles. And they might with great rea&s;on E&s;tabli&s;h a particular &s;et time whereon to make a &s;olemn Commemo|ration of this, lea&s;t, as is u&s;ual in &s;uch Ca&s;es, it might come pa&s;s, that if a particular time had not been fixed for the doing this, no time would have been found to do it on: Be&s;ides, the particular and &s;olemn Remembrance of this at one time, was known to be of u&s;e to make &s;uch an Impre&s;&s;ion upon the Minds of Men, as would make them remember it, and give it influence at other times. Let us, then, in compliance with the Apo&s;tles Charge in the Text, and with the Primitive Practice of the Church, and with our own Churches &s;uitable Rule and Command call to mind and make mention of this, <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t of the Seed of</HI> David, <HI>was rai&s;ed from the Dead accord|ing to what the Go&s;pel</HI> teaches us of this. Let us now &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider what we are taught concerning it; meditate upon the proofs and a&s;&s;urances which we have of it; and improve the&s;e things to the promoting of a Good Life and Practice.</P>
<P>I &s;hall as briefly as I can in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e following Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e concerning it.</P>
<P N="1">1. To &s;hew that the Me&s;&s;iah or Chri&s;t was to ri&s;e again very &s;oon from the Dead accor|ding to the Prophe&s;ies concerning him in the Old Te&s;tament.</P>
<P N="2">2. To prove that Je&s;us did indeed ri&s;e again from the Dead.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="162">
<P N="3">3. To give &s;uch an Account as the Holy Scripture affords us, of the Rea&s;on and Ends of this his Ri&s;ing again.</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>La&s;tly,</HI> I &s;hall improve this Point to the urging a Good and Religious Life.</P>
<P>In the Fir&s;t place, I think fit to &s;hew, That the Chri&s;t or Me&s;&s;iah promi&s;ed to the Jews was to ri&s;e again from the Dead, and that &s;oon after he &s;hould die, according to the Prophe&s;ies concerning him in the Old Te&s;ta|ment. For the Apo&s;tle in calling Je&s;us the Chri&s;t in our Text, intimates that the things Prophe&s;ied of the Chri&s;t are fulfill'd in Je&s;us, and &s;o gives us Occa&s;ion to enquire whether or no this be one of them: And be&s;ides, this is that which the Go&s;pel of St. <HI>Paul</HI> a&s;&s;erts con|cerning the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us, That it was <HI>according to the Scriptures,</HI> as we may &s;ee, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.4.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Then, we may account this foretold in all tho&s;e Places which &s;peak of the Me&s;&s;iah as enduring for ever: As 'tis &s;aid in the 110th. <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> he &s;hould be <HI>A Prie&s;t for ever, after the Order of</HI> Melchizedek: and in <HI>Dan.</HI> 2.44. and 7.14. His Kingdom is &s;poken of, as that which &s;hould <HI>Endure for ever.</HI> But &s;ince the Prophets do al&s;o plainly foretel his dying: And this Prophet in particular expre&s;ly &s;ays, the Me&s;&s;iah &s;hould <HI>be cut off, Dan.</HI> 9.26. It mu&s;t needs be, that when they &s;peak of his Enduring for ever, they mu&s;t mean he &s;hould ri&s;e again to do &s;o. The Jews them&s;elves appear to have expected, that the Chri&s;t &s;hould endure for ever in <HI>John</HI> 12.34. And for this rea&s;on
<PB N="7" REF="162">they thought our Saviour contradicted his pretences to be the true Chri&s;t when he &s;pake of Dying, becau&s;e they did not under&s;tand, that he would &s;oon ri&s;e again from the Dead.</P>
<P>Again we may reckon this evidently fore|told in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16.10. in the&s;e words of the P&s;al|mi&s;t there, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in Hell, nor &s;uffer thine Holy one to &s;ee Corruption.</HI> In which words he &s;peaks that which was not ful|fill'd in him, and therefore was not in the full meaning of it to be limited to him. The Pro|phet indeed &s;peaks of him&s;elf here, and men|tions his hope, that God would at length de|liver him from the great di&s;tre&s;&s;es which he was now under, and would not &s;uffer him utterly to peri&s;h under them: But he was car|ried by the Spirit of Prophe&s;ie to expre&s;s this in terms which &s;ignifie more than would be true of him&s;elf in Per&s;on; even a Re&s;urrecti|on from Death it &s;elf, and that &s;o &s;peedy an one, as that the Body &s;hould not putrifie. But as for <HI>David,</HI> he died and <HI>was laid to his Fathers,</HI> or Buried, <HI>and &s;aw Corruption,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>Acts</HI> 13.36. This mu&s;t be therefore a Prophe&s;ie of the Me&s;&s;iah, who was to come of <HI>David's</HI> Race, and to be fulfill'd in Him: And this Interpretation we may find the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> puts upon this place in <HI>Act.</HI> 2. and St. <HI>Paul</HI> in that foremention'd 13th. Chap|ter, who both &s;ay this Scripture was fulfill'd in Je&s;us, as it did intend the Me&s;&s;iah, in that Je&s;us ro&s;e again from the Dead on the Third Day, which was &s;o &s;oon as that he did not &s;ee Corruption.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="163">
<P>I &s;hall produce but one place more to this purpo&s;e, and that is <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.10. The Pro|phet is under&s;tood by the Jews them&s;elves, to have Prophe&s;ied of the Me&s;&s;iah in this Chap|ter. Now he plainly &s;ays here, that he &s;hould be cut off out of the Land of the Living; and &s;hould <HI>make his Soul</HI> or Life <HI>an Offering of Sin,</HI> meaning in his Death; and yet he adds in the Tenth Ver&s;e, That <HI>He &s;hould &s;ee his Seed and prolong his days, and the Plea&s;ure of the Lord &s;hould pro&s;per in his hand.</HI> But how could he &s;ee his &s;eed after his Death, the Spiritual Off|&s;pring that &s;hould be new born by the Power of his Word and Sacraments? Or how could he be &s;aid to prolong his days, but by &s;oon ri&s;ing again from the Dead? And in &s;aying the Plea&s;ure of the Lord &s;hould pro&s;per in his hand, the Prophet plainly foretells, that the Redemption of Mankind would be committed to him, that he would have &s;omething to do towards promoting it after his Death; and therefore plainly intimates, that for the do|ing of that, he mu&s;t needs ri&s;e again quickly from the Dead. Thus we may &s;ee 'tis &s;uffici|ently evident in the Prophe&s;ies concerning the Me&s;&s;iah, that he &s;hould &s;oon ri&s;e again from the Death which he was to fall under.</P>
<P>The next thing I propos'd to do, is to prove, That Je&s;us did ri&s;e again from the Dead: And as it is a matter of great importance to us, that this be true, &s;ince all our Joy and Com|fort, and all our hopes depend upon it, &s;o, thanks be to God, we have abundant evi|dence and confirmation of the Truth of it.
<PB N="9" REF="163">The time will not allow me to produce all the proof of this that I might: I &s;hall there|fore &s;uffice to mention enough to &s;atisfie us. And I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t a little upon the&s;e Three Sub|&s;tantial Arguments.</P>
<P N="1">1. His Di&s;ciples and Followers had &s;uffici|ent Evidence and A&s;&s;urance of this, if they had all that which they declare they had.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is a great deal of Rea&s;on to be|lieve, That they were them&s;elves fully con|vinced of this, and &s;o were &s;incere in the Declarations which they made concerning their Evidences of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. God him&s;elf was plea&s;ed mo&s;t remarka|bly to own and confirm their Te&s;timony, in the many Miracles which he enabled them to Work.</P>
<P>In the Fir&s;t place let us con&s;ider, That his Di&s;ciples and Followers had &s;ufficient Evi|dence and A&s;&s;urance, That Je&s;us ro&s;e again from the Dead on the Third Day; if they indeed had all that which they declare they had:</P>
<P>For they tell us. That on the Fir&s;t Day of their Week, which was the Third Day after Je&s;us had been Dead and Buried, early in the Morning, tho&s;e who were &s;et to watch the Sepulchre of Je&s;us, under pretence that his Di&s;ciples might not &s;teal him away, were put into a terrible fright by an Earthquake which they felt in the place; and by the glorious appearance of an Angel de&s;cending from Hea|ven, who roll'd away the weighty Stone from the Mouth of the Sepulchre, and &s;at upon it:
<PB N="10" REF="164">The&s;e Circum&s;tances the Di&s;ciples knew from the Confe&s;&s;ion of the&s;e Men, and &s;o we may reckon they had the Te&s;timony of Enemies to the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides this, &s;ome of the Di&s;ciples coming that Morning to the Sepulchre &s;aw it was open; they look'd in and &s;aw the Linnen Cloaths lie there in which he had been Buri|ed, and the Napkin by it &s;elf, which had been about his Head; which were a certain &s;ign, that he had not been carried away dead; for they who had done that, would not have &s;taid to &s;trip him of his Grave Cloaths there. And &s;ome Devout Women &s;taying about the Sepulchre &s;aw &s;ome Angels there, who told them Je&s;us was not there but was Ri&s;en; and mildly rebuk'd them, for &s;eeking the Living in a place prepar'd only for the Dead to abide in: And thus they had the Te&s;timony of Angels al&s;o to this matter.</P>
<P>Yet further; They &s;ay that after the&s;e things they &s;aw him; They handled and felt on him; They convers'd with him often; They &s;aw him eat and drink before them; That he appear'd to them by Night, and by Day: That he appear'd to them not only &s;ingly but in Company; He walk'd with two of them as they were going to <HI>Emmaus,</HI> and di&s;cours'd with them for many Hours toge|ther: Yea, he was once &s;een of Five Hun|dred of them together. They tell us that he &s;taid Forty Days among them; and many times appear'd in&s;tructing them in things re|lating to the Propagating of his Go&s;pel; And
<PB N="11" REF="164">that at la&s;t he went with a good Number of them as far as from <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> to <HI>Bethany;</HI> and there in their &s;ight A&s;cended into Heaven. Thus they had al&s;o &s;ufficiently the Te&s;timony of their &s;en&s;es to this Matter.</P>
<P><HI>La&s;tly,</HI> They tell us, That when they A&s;|&s;embled at the next time of <HI>Penteco&s;t;</HI> As they were Praying the Hou&s;e was &s;haken; and there was a &s;udden &s;ound as of a mighty Wind, and immediately there appear'd over the Heads of the Apo&s;tles, the &s;hape of Cloven Tongues in a Flame; upon which they were In&s;pired im|mediately, and inabled to utter their In&s;pira|tions in Languages, which before that minute they had never learnt nor under&s;tood: And this they A&s;crib'd to Je&s;us as what he had promi&s;ed he would &s;end upon his A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven; and they look'd upon it, and &s;pake of it as a proof of his Re&s;urrection from the Dead, and A&s;cen&s;ion thither. St. <HI>Pe|ter</HI> &s;peaks thus of this thing to the wondering Multitudes, <HI>Acts</HI> 2.32, 33. <HI>This Je&s;us</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>hath God rai&s;ed up whereof we are all Wit|ne&s;&s;es: Therefore he, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having receiv'd of the Father the promi&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t, hath &s;hed forth this which ye now &s;ee and hear.</HI> And thus we may al&s;o account, that they Declare they had the Te&s;timony of the Holy Gho&s;t him&s;elf to the Truth of the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us.</P>
<P>It may not be ami&s;s to take notice here of the Objection of <HI>Cel&s;us</HI> again&s;t this Truth: Why (&s;aid that Infidel) did not Je&s;us, if He ro&s;e again, &s;hew him&s;elf to others be|&s;ides
<PB N="12" REF="165">his Di&s;ciples? By which he would in|timate, that the matter is very &s;u&s;picious up|on this account; becau&s;e none but profe&s;t Di&s;|ciples and Followers of Je&s;us did declare his Re&s;urrection. But it cannot be &s;trange, that none but &s;uch &s;hould declare this if it were true; becau&s;e we may very rea&s;onably &s;up|po&s;e, that if Je&s;us did appear to any that had not been his Di&s;ciples before, he might there|by convince them, and make them become his Di&s;ciples now; and therefore al&s;o Wit|ne&s;&s;es of the Truth of his Re&s;urrection. I &s;ay, we may well &s;uppo&s;e this, becau&s;e we have one remarkable In&s;tance of it: He did appear to a fierce and bitter Enemy of this Truth, and a mo&s;t indu&s;trious Per&s;ecutor of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es of it; and thereby turn'd him to be a Di&s;|ciple, and a Zealous Witne&s;s of it him&s;elf. <HI>La&s;t of all he was &s;een of me al&s;o</HI> (&s;ays St. <HI>Paul) as of one born out of due time,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.8. He adds the la&s;t Words, becau&s;e of his late Conver|&s;ion.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the things &s;aid by the Followers of Je&s;us, and tho&s;e who took upon them to be Witne&s;&s;es of his Re&s;urrection:</P>
<P>In the Second place, If we con&s;ider the mat|ter we &s;hall &s;ee, there is abundant Rea&s;on to believe they were them&s;elves fully convinced of the Truth of this; and &s;o were &s;incere in the Declarations which they made concerning their Evidences of it. For they confe&s;s, that &s;ome of them&s;elves had been at fir&s;t very back|ward, and loth to believe this: That Je&s;us had Occa&s;ion to upbraid and blame them for their Unbelief.</P>
<PB N="13" REF="165">
<P>And what other account can be given of their Boldne&s;s and Courage, in owning him after he was crucified and dead, who appear'd all &s;o full of fear, at the apprehending of Je|&s;us, as to fly and leave him alone in the hands of his Enemies. The timerous <HI>Peter,</HI> who had di&s;own'd him with an Oath, at the challenge of a Maid-&s;ervant, tells the Rulers of the Jews to their Faces, That <HI>God had rais'd him up, whom they had crucified, Acts</HI> 4.10.</P>
<P>What could make them &s;o indu&s;trious to propagate the belief of this, if they had not believ'd it them&s;elves? If there be a plea&s;ure in impo&s;ing upon the World, 'tis certainly a very ill natur'd one: But how could they ima|gin they &s;hould ever be able to make the World believe &s;o &s;trange a thing? That they &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s the Jews, God had rai&s;ed him from the Dead, whom they had hanged on a Cro&s;s till he died, and challenged him if he could, to &s;ave him&s;elf from thence? Or, that they &s;hould ever be able to make the Gentiles believe on him, whom the People of his own Nation had rejected and de&s;pi&s;ed, and deli|ver'd him up to the vile&s;t and mo&s;t ignomi|nious Death? They could not, with any rea|&s;on, hope to &s;ucceed in this undertaking, un|le&s;s they had the encouragement of being a&s;|&s;ur'd of his Re&s;urrection; which might give them ground to expect, that as he had power to ri&s;e from the dead, &s;o he was able to give them &s;ucce&s;s in declaring this.</P>
<P>But if they could be &s;o vain and wild, as to believe at fir&s;t, that they might be able to po&s;|&s;e&s;s
<PB N="14" REF="166">the World with this, tho' they knew it to be a fal&s;hood; yet it is not to be imagin'd they would have per&s;i&s;ted in this endeavour, when they found the World loth to believe it; and found them&s;elves eagerly per&s;ecuted by them who had put Je&s;us to death: When one of the Apo&s;tles (St. <HI>James</HI>) was &s;oon af|ter him put to death for te&s;tifying this; when they &s;aw St. <HI>Stephen</HI> furiou&s;ly &s;ton'd by the Jews for it; St. <HI>Peter</HI> impri&s;on'd and de&s;ign'd al&s;o for the &s;laughter; and others &s;hamefully beaten and &s;courged for declaring it. The&s;e things mu&s;t needs have made them de&s;i&s;t, if they had not believ'd what they &s;aid.</P>
<P>It is not to be imagin'd, but they believ'd this them&s;elves, when they did &s;o zealou&s;ly and indu&s;triou&s;ly propagate the belief of it; a|mid&s;t <HI>Stripes above mea&s;ure,</HI> (as St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.23, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>) with <HI>frequent Impri&s;on|ments, in Perils of Waters, in Perils of Robbers, in Perils from Jews, in Perils from the Heathens, in wearine&s;s and painfulne&s;s, in watchings often, in hunger and thir&s;t, in cold and nakedne&s;s.</HI> Cer|tainly we may believe the&s;e Men would have lov'd their &s;afety and ea&s;e and pro&s;perity in the World, as much as other Men find them|&s;elves to do; if they had not thought them|&s;elves oblig'd to abandon the&s;e, that they might perform this their Duty: And if they had not upon the ground of this Re&s;urrection, expected to be made partakers of better things than this World can afford; and hoped for a glorious Reward of the&s;e their Labours and Sufferings: Which things &s;peak them fully
<PB N="15" REF="166">convinced of the Truth of what they deliver'd, and &s;incere in the Declarations they made of it.</P>
<P>Yet, in the third place, we may al&s;o con&s;i|der, that God him&s;elf was plea&s;ed mo&s;t re|markably to own and confirm their Te&s;timo|ny in the many Miracles which he inabled them to work. <HI>For many Wonders and Signs were done by the Apo&s;tles,</HI> we are told, <HI>Acts</HI> 2.43. And the Evangeli&s;t &s;ays, <HI>The Lord was working with them, and confirming the Word with &s;igns fol|lowing,</HI> Mark 16.20. The&s;e things were cer|tainly the Works of the Lord, and were the unque&s;tionable Te&s;timony of God him&s;elf, to the Me&s;&s;age which they brought. The&s;e Mi|racles were wrought among the People: (<HI>Acts</HI> 5.12.) Not done in &s;ecret, but openly; not only before a few, but before multitudes; not only in the &s;ight of a &s;elect number of friends, but &s;o as that even enemies were forced to ac|knowledge the matters of fact, (<HI>Acts</HI> 4.16.) They did not &s;eek darkne&s;s for their Miracles, which gives advantage for trick and juggle, but did them in the open day-light. It was great cre|dit to their Miracles, that they con&s;tantly ap|pear'd to decline, that the honor of them &s;hould be given to them&s;elves, and to give it wholly in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, (as in <HI>Acts</HI> 3.12. and el&s;ewhere.) It was great credit to their Miracles, that they pretended to confirm by them no other Do|ctrins than what were agreeable to the Law and the Prophets; nor any matters of fact con|cerning the Me&s;&s;iah, but what had been fore|told in them. If they had advanced any thing
<PB N="16" REF="167">contrary to what had been recommended and confirm'd by undoubted Miracles before, they might ju&s;tly have been rejected as Impo&s;tors by the direction of the Jewi&s;h Law. It was great credit to their Miracles, that they prevail'd over the tricks of Magick, and over the Per|&s;ons them&s;elves who u&s;ed that guilty and dia|bolical Art. <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> by his conjuring tricks, had &s;o far deluded the Citizens of <HI>Sa|maria,</HI> that they believ'd him to be the great Power of God; but when <HI>Philip</HI> came among&s;t them to preach the Go&s;pel, he was &s;o far out|done, that the People left off admiring him, and attended to <HI>Philip;</HI> in&s;omuch, that <HI>Simon</HI> him&s;elf became a pretended Pro&s;elyte to the Chri&s;tian Religion, and was baptized, (<HI>Acts</HI> 8.) Again, We find St. <HI>Paul</HI> encountering a|nother Sorcerer in <HI>Cyprus,</HI> and, being ju&s;t|ly provok'd, by his oppo&s;ition to the Go|&s;pel, he threatens him from God with imme|diate Blindne&s;s, which fell upon him in the very in&s;tant, (<HI>Acts</HI> 13.11.) Yea, &s;o far did their Doctrin and Miracles prevail again&s;t the&s;e Delu&s;ions of the Devil, that many, who had been Practitioners of this guilty Art, brought forth their Books and publickly burnt them, (<HI>Acts</HI> 19.19.) Be&s;ides, the great Ho|line&s;s of their Doctrin, the excellent Rules of Vertue, which it brought to the World, the Exemplary Cour&s;e of their own Lives, while they carefully practi&s;ed what they taught, gave great credit to their Miracles too. And in all things did their Miracles, their Lives, and their Doctrin, credit and recommend one another.
<PB N="17" REF="167">But now we cannot imagin, that ever God would thus apply his Divine Power to te&s;tifie a Lie, and recommend a Cheat and Impo&s;ture to the World. It is contrary to the in&s;eparable Properties of the Divine Nature to do &s;o, and cannot po&s;&s;ibly be done by him, who is a <HI>God of truth and without iniquity.</HI> And thus, I think, it is &s;ufficiently prov'd, That Je&s;us did indeed ri&s;e again on the Third Day from the Dead.</P>
<P>Let us now, in the third place, ob&s;erve what Account the Holy Scripture gives us of the Rea&s;ons or Ends of this Re&s;urrection. And from thence we may learn,</P>
<P N="1">1. That this was due to the Merit and Va|lue of the Sacrifice of his Death. The Scripture every where a&s;cribes it to the Death of Je&s;us, to have made a perfect attonement for the Sins of Men: It &s;ays, <HI>He hath put away Sin, by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elf:</HI> And, <HI>We are &s;anctified, through the Offering of the Body of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, once for all,</HI> (<HI>Heb.</HI> 10.10.) When the Son of God took our Nature, and made him&s;elf un|der the Law, and &s;o liable to the Cur&s;e and Death which it threaten'd again&s;t our Sin, he, by meer dying, &s;atisfied the Law; the dig|nity of his Per&s;on gave &s;ufficient value to his Death for this purpo&s;e; as indeed a Puni&s;h|ment may ju&s;tly receive its e&s;timate from the quality of the Per&s;on that &s;uffers it: And we may find this efficacy of his Death a&s;crib'd to the dignity of his Per&s;on, in <HI>Col.</HI> 1.14. where the Apo&s;tle, &s;peaking of him, &s;ays, <HI>In whom we have redemption, through his Blood, even the
<PB N="18" REF="168">remi&s;&s;ion of Sins, who is the Image of the invi&s;ible God.</HI> We may put the words in this order: In whom we have redemption, even the re|mi&s;&s;ion of Sins, through his Blood, who is the Image of the invi&s;ible God. This he intimates, is that to which the vertue of his Blood is due, That he is the Image of the invi&s;ible God, even the Son, equal in his Nature to the Fa|ther. Indeed the Death of this glorious Per|&s;on in our Nature, for the Sins of Men, was more to the honour of God's Authority and Ju&s;tice, which had been violated thereby, than if all the whole guilty Race of Mankind had &s;uffer'd Eternal Puni&s;hment for them: But then, the Ca&s;e being thus with the Death of Chri&s;t, it was due to him to be &s;oon rais'd to life again. He could not ju&s;tly abide under Death, the Penalty of Sin, when, by dying, he had made a full attonement for Sin. The Apo&s;tle therefore &s;ays, <HI>It was not po&s;&s;ible he &s;hould be holden by the Bonds of Death,</HI> Acts 2.24. That is, it was not ju&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. His Re&s;urrection was allow'd and de|&s;ign'd, to declare and &s;hew, that he had made a full and &s;ufficient &s;atisfaction for Sin, by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elf, that Men might know they have in him a &s;ufficient Saviour. He is, by the tenor of the New Covenant, to &s;ave tho&s;e that believe on him; that rely upon the Sacrifice of his Death: And therefore is it &s;aid, <HI>God hath &s;et him forth to be a Propitiation, through Faith, in his Blood.</HI> But if he were &s;till lying under Death, the Penalty of Sin, it could not appear to us, that he had made an
<PB N="19" REF="168">attonement for it: This we mu&s;t needs have doubted of, according to what the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>If Chri&s;t be not ri&s;en again, our Faith is vain, we are yet in our Sins,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.17. That we might therefore believe on him with full a&s;&s;urance, it was &s;o evidently and noto|riou&s;ly granted, that he &s;hould ri&s;e again from the dead. In this was he di&s;charg'd, who had undertaken to &s;atisfie for our Sins, and &s;o are we di&s;charg'd too, and it is declar'd, that we may hope for the Pardon of our Sins. The Apo&s;tle &s;hews, that his full &s;atisfaction is ra|ther to be concluded from his Re&s;urrection, than his Death, when he &s;ays, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.34. <HI>Who is he that &s;hall condemn? It is Chri&s;t that died, yea, rather, that is ri&s;en again.</HI> Thus is it made ea&s;ie to us, to believe in him: And this may afford us a firm Peace and a mighty Joy in Believing.</P>
<P N="3">3. His Re&s;urrection was nece&s;&s;ary, and was granted, in order to his A&s;cen&s;ion into Hea|ven, for the &s;ake of tho&s;e great things, which, by the Divine Coun&s;el and Decree, were or|der'd to depend thereupon. In the vertue of his Death, he was to be our Mediator and Ad|vocate with the Father: And it was intended, as was ju&s;t, that he &s;hould always have the honour of di&s;tributing to Mankind the Purcha|&s;es of his Precious Death; to which end he mu&s;t needs ri&s;e again from the Dead; his Hu|miliation mu&s;t have an end, and he mu&s;t re|turn to his former Dignity and Glory, and mu&s;t <HI>ever live to make Interce&s;&s;ion for us,</HI> as the Scripture &s;peaks. But a farther Account of
<PB N="20" REF="169">the&s;e things mu&s;t be given in the Di&s;cour&s;e on our Lord's A&s;cen&s;ion; therefore it may be &s;pa|red here.</P>
<P>And I ha&s;ten now, in the la&s;t place, to im|prove the things which have been &s;aid for the urging a good and religious Life.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place then, This may ju&s;tly wean our Hearts from the pre&s;ent Life, and po&s;&s;e&s;s us with a further Care for our &s;elves, as it gives us a&s;&s;urance of a future State, and an immortal Duration: How &s;trangely apt we are to forget, that there is a future State and another Life to come after this, every Man may find by his own experience. And from hence we confine all our Thoughts and Care to the pre&s;ent Life, to make this as happy as we can, and do the mean while neglect to pro|vide for the Happine&s;s of our Eternal Dura|tion; yea, we let our &s;elves be drawn into &s;uch Cour&s;es as tend to forfeit and de&s;troy all our Eternal Happine&s;s. Let us well ob&s;erve, then, and con&s;ider, how great A&s;&s;urance we have, in the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us, of our own Eternal Duration: In this we may &s;ee, 'tis po&s;&s;ible for a Soul, once &s;eparated, to be uni|ted again to its Body; and for a mortal Crea|ture to become immortal. Be&s;ides, the Scrip|ture &s;ays, Je&s;us Chri&s;t in his Re&s;urrection was <HI>the Fir&s;t-fruits of them that &s;lept,</HI> (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.) His Re&s;urrection is as it were a Pledge and Earne&s;t of ours. By his Death, he has pur|chas'd a right of rai&s;ing all Mankind from Death: And he has &s;aid he will do it, <HI>John</HI> 5. <HI>All that are in the Graves, &s;hall hear his Voice,
<PB N="21" REF="169">and &s;hall come forth.</HI> A future Being then, we mu&s;t have, and we may believe the Scripture, that it will be an Eternal One. Our Bodies &s;hall be rai&s;ed Incorruptible and Immortal; and what can that be for, but an Eternal Du|ration? But what Anxious Thoughts, what a Serious Care &s;hould this po&s;&s;e&s;s us with, to be Happy for Ever! This &s;hould be the grand Enquiry and Concern of every one of the Sons of Men, What &s;hall I do to be Happy for Ever? And we &s;hould chiefly apply our &s;elves to &s;pend this &s;hort Life &s;o, if we can, as to gain there|by an eternally happy one hereafter. This then we ought to &s;ettle in our Minds, as a fixed Principle: It is impo&s;&s;ible I &s;hould be e|ternally happy, if I can love none but tran&s;i|tory and temporary things: And to be &s;o, I mu&s;t mind and love, and I mu&s;t take the cour&s;e to gain the Favour of God, which alone will be Everla&s;ting Bli&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. We may ju&s;tly be mov'd hereby to for|&s;ake our Sins, as we have herein a&s;&s;urance, that upon our doing &s;o they &s;hall be pardon'd. The great God has herein made it appear, that he is fully attoned and &s;atisfied for the Sins of Men. And we may now believe he can be ju&s;t, and the ju&s;tifier of &s;inners too. And then we have herein both encouragement and obligation to repent of and for&s;ake our Sins. What a forcible Encouragement &s;hould it be to us, to con&s;ider we may yet have the great God, a reconcil'd, a kind, and a loving Father, after all our Affronts and Provocations of him. We &s;hall get infinitely more by our repen|tance
<PB N="22" REF="170">and reconcilement with God, than we could by our mo&s;t advantageous Sins. And the obligation to for&s;ake our Sins, in the a&s;&s;urance of pardon, is very great too. When God him|&s;elf has found out a way to pardon us con|&s;i&s;tently with his Honour and Ju&s;tice; when the Son of God has purchas'd this for us at the co&s;tly rate of his Blood and Death; when God &s;eeks to be reconcil'd to us, he, whom we have offended, ought not this great kindne&s;s to conquer us! &s;hould it not make us imme|diately lay a&s;ide all enmity again&s;t &s;o loving and gracious a God! &s;hould we not readily for&s;ake all that is di&s;plea&s;ing, all that might be reckon'd an affront to him! Certainly, to continue in our Sins, after the knowledge of this, is the ba&s;e&s;t Di&s;ingenuity and Ingratitude that we can be guilty of.</P>
<P N="3">3. In the la&s;t place, It may ju&s;tly allure us to a good and religious Life. That we have herein the hopes of attaining the Reward of Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s hereafter, Je&s;us has ta|ken po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of Eternal Life, not only for him&s;elf, but al&s;o for all that love and believe on him. Therefore, when he &s;poke of lea|ving this World, he &s;aid he was going to prepare a Place for them. The Re&s;urrection of good Men is e&s;pecially a&s;&s;ur'd herein; they are, as it were, Members of his Body, and therefore &s;hall certainly partake in the Privi|ledges of their Head; therefore he has &s;aid, That where he is, they &s;hall be: And, That he will give them Eternal Life, and rai&s;e them up at the La&s;t Day. They &s;hall ri&s;e then; and
<PB N="23" REF="170">he &s;hall fa&s;hion the&s;e their vile Bodies, that they may be like unto his glorious Body: They &s;hall ri&s;e to po&s;&s;e&s;s Perfect and Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s both of Soul and Body. Oh, what joyful Hopes are the&s;e! And the&s;e are the pre|&s;ent Rewards of a Good and Vertuous Life. Let us then &s;uffer our &s;elves to be allur'd to it by them. The&s;e joyful Hopes will invincibly comfort us under all the Labours and Difficul|ties of our Duty: The&s;e will &s;upport us un|der the inevitable pains, weakne&s;s, and decays of our pre&s;ent Mortal Body. The&s;e will re|lieve us under all the contempt, neglect, and ill u&s;age of the unkind, injurious World: They will make the Thoughts of Dying ea&s;ie and tolerable: They are then a mighty Allay to every Evil which we can be now encumbred with. And, Oh, how valuable, to wretched mortal Men, &s;hould the&s;e things be, which are a Remedy again&s;t every Grief, and able to &s;often and alleviate every Affliction! Let us then mo&s;t &s;teadily apply our &s;elves to a Cour&s;e of Religion and Vertue, that we may con|&s;tantly entertain and plea&s;e our &s;elves with the&s;e joyful Hopes of a Glorious Re&s;urrection, and Eternal Life and Happine&s;s. Which God, of his infinite Mercy, grant us all, for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="24" REF="171">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>EVer Ble&s;&s;ed God! Who Live&s;t and Reigne&s;t for evermore. Thou art the common Fountain of Life, and it is in Thee that we live, move, and have our Being. We humbly thank thee O Lord, as we are bound to do, for the Being and Nature which thou ha&s;t given us. We acknowledge our &s;elves bound to live to thy Glory, and to &s;hew forth thy prai&s;e both with our Lips, and in our Lives, But alas, we wretched Creatures are fallen from our greate&s;t Ex|cellency, we have polluted our Nature, we are prone to do Evil, and to live &s;o as to di&s;honour Thee and our &s;elves. We are alas dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins. We humble, we abhor our &s;elves before Thee; We have incurr'd thy Wrath, and have de&s;erved ever|la&s;ting Puni&s;hment. And we can lay the blame of this our mi&s;erable Condition, on none but our &s;elves. Our De&s;truction is of our &s;elves. But, Ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name, it is not a helple&s;s hopele&s;s de&s;truction, which we have thrown our &s;elves into. In thee O Lord is our help; and thou ha&s;t laid help for us up|on one that is mighty, and able to &s;ave to the utter|mo&s;t, all that come unto God by Him. We ble&s;s Thee for Je&s;us Chri&s;t thine ine&s;timable Gift, our only Hope and Saviour. The one &s;ufficient and Powerful Mediator between God and Men. We ble&s;s thee for his humble Incarnation, and putting him&s;elf under the Law, that he might an&s;wer, and fulfill the demands of it to our Advantage. We thank thee for the in|&s;tructing and encouraging Example of his mo&s;t Holy Life on Earth: We prai&s;e thee for his Meritorious Death, and for that he was allow'd to be therein a Propitiation for our &s;ins. We give thee thanks for his
<PB N="25" REF="171">glorious and a&s;&s;ur'd Re&s;urrection from the Dead, which encourages our Faith, which revives our hopes: While we con&s;ider, that he died for our Sins, and ro&s;e again for our Ju&s;tification. Oh Lord! we earne&s;tly long for, we humbly &s;eek an Intere&s;t in the Propitia|tion of his Death, and in the Ju&s;tification procur'd for us by his Re&s;urrection: Oh! Ju&s;tifie us freely by thy Grace, through the Redemption that is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us. Pardon all our pa&s;t &s;ins, and let them never be remembred again&s;t us. And we be&s;eech thee rai&s;e us from the Death of Sin to a Life of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s. Let old things pa&s;s away and all things be|come new in us; Awaken our &s;tupid minds to the Knowledge and Love of thee; Strengthen our feeble Powers to run the way of thy Commands; Teach thou us, O Lord, the way of thy Statutes, that we may keep it unto the End. And as our Lord and Ma|&s;ter ro&s;e from the Dead, to a&s;cend into Heaven, &s;o let us upon our Re&s;urrection to a New and Divine Life, &s;eek tho&s;e things which are above. Make us to &s;et our Affections on things above, and not on things on the Earth: To lay up our Trea&s;ure there, and to have our hearts there al&s;o. Grant us the direction and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of thy Grace &s;o to &s;pend this Life, that when we &s;hall be rais'd to Life again, at the la&s;t day we may ri&s;e to Immortal Life and Happine&s;s in the pre&s;ence of the Glorified Je&s;us: Who Liveth and Reigneth with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, one God World without End.</P>
<P>We humbly pray for the whole Race of Mankind: That thy Go&s;pel may run, and be Glorified from the ri&s;ing of the Sun, to the going down of the &s;ame, and many may every where be Partakers of the great Sal|vation. Send down upon thy Church an abundant mea&s;ure of thy good Spirit: That his Gifts and Gra|ces may make it Glorious in the Eyes of the World, and it may bring forth much good Fruit to thy Glory. Let the&s;e Nations Live in thy &s;ight, and plentifully receive many marks of thy Favour in Temporal and
<PB N="26" REF="172">Spiritual Mercies. Ble&s;s in particular, we pray thee, our Gracious King, give him a long Health of Body, encrea&s;e of all Noble and Excellent Endowments of Mind, Per&s;everance in all Vertue and Goodne&s;s, and great pro&s;perity in His Affairs and Undertakings; and make Him very happy in a Dutiful and Loving People. We pray thee do good to all that are rela|ted to us according to their &s;everal nece&s;&s;ities. Give a Ble&s;&s;ing to the means of Grace, which we have this day enjoy'd, and let them have a la&s;ting influence to|wards the promoting our Holine&s;s and Salvation. Protect us this Night we pray thee from all Evil, and rai&s;e us the next Morning fit for, and di&s;po&s;ed to do all our Duty, and be thou O Lord for ever our Por|tion and Reward, through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever.</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="27" REF="172">
<HEAD>THE Religious Ob&s;ervation OF SABBATHS, Stated and Urg'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Exodus 20.8.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Great God, that made us, requires the Homage of our Adoration and Wor|&s;hip: And this is due to his Excellent Ma|je&s;ty and Greatne&s;s, This becomes our Depen|dance upon Him, and the Obligations which we lie under both to his Greatne&s;s and his
<PB N="28" REF="173">Goodne&s;s. Be&s;ides, It is the greate&s;t Honour that we can do our &s;elves, to be employ'd thus, it is the highe&s;t End that we were made for, and is the Noble Employment of the Glorious Seraphim. And this work mu&s;t needs be more than any thing el&s;e to our Profit and Advan|tage: For in this we have Communion with the chief Good, and we hold a happy con|ver&s;e with Him who is mo&s;t ready, and mo&s;t highly plea&s;ed to exerci&s;e his Goodne&s;s. In this Command our Gracious God has done us the Honour and the Favour to require, That we &s;hould &s;et apart one Day in Seven, from all other Imployments, to be &s;pent in his peculi|ar Pre&s;ence, and, as it were, in his Company; to acquaint our &s;elves with him, and be at Peace, to derive a peace from thence which the World cannot give; a Day to &s;eek and enjoy in the u&s;e of Divine Ordinances, His Spiritual and Eternal Ble&s;&s;ings, the be&s;t Com|munications of infinite Almighty Love.</P>
<P>The&s;e words which I have read, contain the &s;ub&s;tance of the Command: In &s;peaking to them, I &s;hall decline the falling into any of the Controver&s;ies about it; becau&s;e I cannot well acquit my &s;elf in medling with them with|out entring into a large, and entire Confide|ration of this Commandment, which would be too long a task for this place, and is re|&s;erv'd, if it may plea&s;e God, for Another. I purpo&s;e now, by Gods A&s;&s;i&s;tance, to in&s;i&s;t up|on the&s;e Two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To &s;hew what Ob&s;ervation of Sabbaths we mu&s;t Charge our &s;elves with, according to this Command.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="173">
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall with &s;ome fit Arguments endea|vour to urge and per&s;wade Men to it. And this I &s;hall do in compliance with tho&s;e wi&s;e and pious Injunctions of His Maje&s;ty lately Publi&s;h'd, One of which is this, <Q>That the Clergy do u&s;e their utmo&s;t Endeavour, that the Lords Day be Religiou&s;ly ob&s;erv'd, that they &s;et a good Example to the People, and exhort them frequently to their Duty herein.</Q></P>
<P>Let us &s;ee, Fir&s;t, what is contained and re|quired in this Command, concerning the Ob|&s;ervation of Sabbaths.</P>
<P>And we may take notice, that the word Sabbath in the Hebrew Language &s;ignifies Re&s;t or Ce&s;&s;ation: And &s;o the Command mu&s;t be un|der&s;tood to require a day of Re&s;t; of &s;eparati|on from all worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s; and whereon we &s;hould as much as is po&s;&s;ible lay it a&s;ide, and withdraw even our Thoughts, as well as our Hands from it.</P>
<P>But we mu&s;t further Ob&s;erve; It is not an idle &s;lothful Re&s;t which is the de&s;ign of the Command, or that we &s;hould do nothing el&s;e when we lay a&s;ide our common worldly Em|ployments. It is added therefore, that we mu&s;t <HI>Keep the Day Holy.</HI> Now we keep a Day Holy, when we &s;pend it in Contemplating, Prai&s;ing, and Wor&s;hiping of God. A Day is capable of Holine&s;s in no other &s;en&s;e, than as it is devoted to God for Religious Wor&s;hip: And when God by his Appointment &s;ets it apart for his Wor&s;hip, then does he Sanctifie or Hal|low it: And when we ob&s;erve it as &s;o &s;et a|part, then do we keep it Holy. In a word;
<PB N="30" REF="174">This Commandment requires &s;uch a Re&s;t on this Day as is con&s;i&s;tent with, and nece&s;&s;ary to, a due Performance of Religious Wor&s;hip; And &s;uch a performance of Religious Wor|&s;hip as is con&s;i&s;tent with a due and nece&s;&s;ary Refre&s;hment, and Re&s;t of our &s;elves. That we may the more di&s;tinctly under&s;tand this matter, I &s;hall &s;everally in&s;i&s;t a little both upon the Re&s;t, and upon the Imployment, or Wor|&s;hip which this Day is to be taken up with.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t Place; Let us con&s;ider the Re&s;t which it Requires. And here I &s;hall not in&s;i&s;t, as is u&s;ual, upon this; That we mu&s;t Re&s;t from the Works of Iniquity on this Day; be|cau&s;e this is required of us, not on this Day only but at all times. Tho we may reckon that we are e&s;pecially obliged to &s;uch a Re&s;t on this Day: Becau&s;e the Wickedne&s;s com|mitted on an Holy Day is attended with a double and more enormous Guilt; it has in it the profanation of a Sabbath, be&s;ides its Con|trariety to &s;ome other Command. But I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e two particulars following.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t Re&s;t from all Exerci&s;e of Body or Mind about our common and worldly Bu|&s;ine&s;s and Callings, on this Day. This we may &s;ee particularly mentioned in the Com|mandment; For it &s;ays to us of this Day, <HI>In it thou &s;halt do no manner of work.</HI> And God Him&s;elf by his Prophets thus explains the Ob|ligation of it. This he requires, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 58.13. In the&s;e words: <HI>If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy Plea&s;ure on my Holy Day;</HI> That is, from following thine own Bu&s;ine&s;s,
<PB N="31" REF="174">and worldly Calling; For that is what he means by our Plea&s;ure there. It appears in that Scripture that God requires &s;uch a Re&s;t, in that he makes it the condition of his be&s;tow|ing tho&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings which he had promi&s;ed the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> upon their keeping his Com|mandments. And we may find this Ob&s;ervation of Sabbaths again directed in <HI>Jer.</HI> 17.24. Where God by his Prophet requires, That <HI>no burden be brought through the Gates of the City on the Sabbath day;</HI> and that they &s;hould Hallow it, by <HI>doing no work therein.</HI> And that he might enforce this Direction, and per&s;wade them to Ob&s;erve it, he promi&s;es if they would do &s;o to afford them one of the greate&s;t Ble&s;&s;ings that a Nation can enjoy, in <HI>ver.</HI> 25. <HI>Then</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>&s;hall there enter into this City Kings and Princes, &s;itting upon the Throne of</HI> David, and their City he adds, &s;hould <HI>remain for ever.</HI> The meaning is, he would ble&s;s them with a long continu|ance of their Royal Family, and of the Domi|nion and Pro&s;perity of that, which is a thing of mighty Importance to the Welfare and Pro&s;perity of any Nation: For this would be to provide for the maintaining of their Uni|ty among them&s;elves, for their Peace and Settlement; and by con&s;equence for the Im|provement of their &s;trength again&s;t all For|reign Enemies: And this would be the likeli|e&s;t means to effect, that their City, or State &s;hould endure for ever. We mu&s;t re&s;t, then, from common worldly Employments on the&s;e days: And mu&s;t not only with-hold our Bo|dies, but withdraw our Minds al&s;o from &s;uch
<PB N="32" REF="175">Employments. As worldly Labour would di|vert and detain us from the proper work of the Day, &s;o the engaging of our minds in worldly Concerns would hinder the due per|formance of that Work. And certainly all &s;uch Application of Mind and Thought, or of the Di&s;cour&s;e and Conver&s;ation to &s;uch Bu&s;i|ne&s;s, as diverts us from Religious Wor&s;hip, or as di&s;tracts our Minds in the performance of it is unlawful on this Day. He that Wor&s;hips God, Our Saviour &s;ays, mu&s;t Wor&s;hip him in Spirit and in Truth; But this a Man can ne|ver do while his Heart is after his Covetou&s;|ne&s;s: And we may ob&s;erve, it is a matter of Rebuke, That Men <HI>drew nigh to God with their Lips, and Wor&s;hiped him with their Mouths, while their Hearts were far from him.</HI> This In&s;tance of Re&s;t we are directed to by the Wi&s;e and Pious Law of the Kingdom, and by the true Doctrine of our Church. The Law &s;ays (2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 29.) <Q>All Per&s;ons &s;hall on every Lords Day apply them&s;elves to the Ob&s;ervation of the &s;ame, by the Exerci&s;ing them&s;elves in the Duties of Piety and true Religion publickly and privately; and no Trade&s;man &s;hall do or Exerci&s;e any Worldly Labour.</Q> And the Doctrine of our Holy Church in the ca&s;e is, That <Q>by this Commandment we ought to have a time, as one Day in the Week, wherein we ought to re&s;t, yea, from our lawful and needful Works.</Q> And again it &s;ays; <Q>God has given expre&s;s Charge to all Men, that upon the Sabbath Day, which is now our Sunday, they &s;hould cea&s;e from all
<PB N="33" REF="175">weekly and work-day Labour.</Q> <HI>[Hom. of Place and Time of Prayer.]</HI> Yet I mu&s;t add, according to that Sermon referr'd to, That we are not bound to ob&s;erve the Re&s;t of this Day in the &s;ame &s;trictne&s;s as the Command &s;eems to have required it of the Jews: It may be &s;aid therefore, That a Man may, in a pre&s;|&s;ing Nece&s;&s;ity, do a &s;mall matter relating to his common worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s on this Day, to prevent a great Damage and Mi&s;chief. And the Works of an ordinary Calling may be fol|low'd, &s;o far as Nece&s;&s;ity and Charity require, that is, in tending and admini&s;tring to the Sick, or in the providing of Food for the Day. And, doubtle&s;s, we may labour hard, if &s;uch a &s;ad Occa&s;ion &s;hould call for it, to quench a raging Fire, or repel the A&s;&s;aults of an Ene|my in a lawful War, or to take or gain an Advantage again&s;t him.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Re&s;t requir'd on this Day, forbids all &s;uch Recreation as would hinder, or render us unfit for, the &s;anctifying of the Day in the due performance of Religious Wor&s;hip It for|bids that we let the Recreation and Refre&s;h|ment of the Body take up more of this Sacred Time than is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary to it: That we indulge our &s;elves to Ea&s;e and Plea&s;ure, and neglect the Wor&s;hip of God. And it for|bids the U&s;e of any &s;uch &s;orts of Recreations for the kind, as do contradict that &s;olemn and &s;erious Temper of Mind which becomes a Holy Day, and is nece&s;&s;ary to the reverent and &s;olemn performance of the Holy Duties of it. The main Bu&s;ine&s;s of the Day mu&s;t be chiefly
<PB N="34" REF="176">attended upon, that is, the Wor&s;hip of God; and whatever does needle&s;ly interrupt or pre|judice our performance of that, mu&s;t be a|voided on this Day. If a Day be dedicated to God, every part of it belongs to him; and no more of it than nece&s;&s;ity requires, can ju&s;t|ly be appropriated to our &s;elves. Tho', per|haps, &s;omewhat more, than is meerly nece&s;|&s;ary, of Recreation, for the refre&s;hment and &s;upport of our frail Body, may be u&s;ed at o|ther times; yet, certainly, we may allow our &s;elves no more than this on the Lord's Day. It is worth ob&s;erving, what a Learned and Pious Divine of our Church &s;ays, concerning Recreations on the Lord's Day, which I &s;hall therefore largely in&s;ert in this Di&s;cour&s;e. <Q>Recreation (&s;ays he) and Plea&s;ure on any part of this Day, does more dangerou&s;ly &s;teal away our Hearts from Holy Duties, and di&s;tract and unfit us for the due &s;ancti|fying of the Day, than the Works and La|bours of our Worldly Calling would do. Be|cau&s;e Men commonly perform the Bu&s;ine&s;s of their Worldly Callings, not &s;o much for it &s;elf, or out of love to that, as for the &s;ake of Worldly Profit and Plea&s;ure, which they hope to derive from it. But Plea&s;ure they love, and &s;eek for it &s;elf; and do of|ten &s;o adhere to and dote upon this, that for the &s;ake of it they neglect their World|ly Bu&s;ine&s;s and Profit, and al&s;o even the nece&s;&s;ary Care for the &s;alvation of their Souls. He &s;ays, therefore, to them who are wearied with the Labour of the Week,
<PB N="35" REF="176">the Re&s;t on the Lord's Day from Labour, is the be&s;t and fitte&s;t Recreation, for the re|fre&s;hing of their Bodies: And if they have a good &s;ence and reli&s;h of Divine Things, and can take the delight they ought in Religious Performances, the&s;e will be &s;ufficient Plea|&s;ure and Recreation to them. And who can rea&s;onably think, (as he &s;ays further) that, when a Man is tired with his Week's Labour, the violent Exerci&s;es which are required to many Recreations, and the Bodily Labour requi&s;ite to the mo&s;t, &s;hould recreate him more than Devout Prayers, hearing the Word of God, &s;inging his Prai&s;es, and hold|ing Religious Conferences with Fellow-Chri&s;tians. But if Servants and labouring People mu&s;t have their Time of Recreation, Why mu&s;t it be borrow'd from the Lord's Day? Rather &s;hould they, who employ them, &s;pare them &s;ome of their own time, than lay Sacrilegious Hands upon that which is con&s;ecrated and devoted to God.</Q> Thus far that excellent Author leads us in this mat|ter. (<HI>Downham</HI> in his <HI>Guide to Godline&s;s.</HI>) I doubt not therefore to &s;ay, That as the whole Day is con&s;ecrate to God, it ought to be im|ploy'd in Religious Wor&s;hip, either Publick or Private, &s;o far as this may be done without manife&s;t hurt, and too much wearine&s;s. And then, the U&s;e of Worldly Plea&s;ure and Re|creation on this Day, is as largely forbid as Worldly Labour and Bu&s;ine&s;s, that is, entire|ly; excepting what Nece&s;&s;ity or Mercy re|quires to be u&s;ed. Thus much may &s;uffice, to
<PB N="36" REF="177">&s;hew what Re&s;t and Ce&s;&s;ation is required on this Day.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the &s;econd thing propo|&s;ed, which is, To Repre&s;ent what Employ|ment or Work this Commandment requires for the due &s;anctifying of this Day: For as we may profane the Day by doing Evil, or COm|mon Works needle&s;ly; &s;o we may prophane it too, by doing Nothing. To &s;pend it in &s;loth and idlene&s;s, to &s;leep a great part of it away, is not to keep it Holy. We mu&s;t know then, that the Sabbath is to be &s;anctified or kept holy, e&s;pecially by &s;uch Offices and Works as are &s;trictly and properly religious; for tho' God may be honour'd by other good Works, yet the&s;e do more directly honour him. And therefore Religious Wor&s;hip is the only pro|per and due Employment of a Day which is dedicated to the Honour and Service of God. We mu&s;t adore and wor&s;hip God on other Days: But we may on them do &s;omewhat el&s;e too. But this Day is to be &s;et apart to this; this mu&s;t be the Main Bu&s;ine&s;s and Employ|ment of it. It mu&s;t therefore be ordinarily taken up in &s;uch Exerci&s;es as the&s;e following: In Reading and Hearing the Word of God; in offering devout Prai&s;es and Prayers to him: which things may be done in publick and in private, and ought to be &s;o. And we ought, as often as opportunity is afforded us, in the Congregation which we join with, to attend upon and receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Some time on this Day, too, &s;hould be &s;pent by Ma&s;ters of Families, and all others,
<PB N="37" REF="177">who have young Per&s;ons under their Govern|ment and Care, in the in&s;tructing Children and Servants in the Doctrins and Duties of our Religion, and in training them up in the way of Salvation.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now &s;ugge&s;t &s;ome General Rules, by by which our Religious Wor&s;hip, on this Day, mu&s;t be managed, that we may rightly and wi&s;ely &s;anctifie it. And the Rules to be ob|&s;erv'd in this Matter are the&s;e following:</P>
<P N="1">1. Such a Proportion of Time &s;hould be &s;pent in the Religious Performances of this Day, as is commonly employ'd in our World|ly Bu&s;ine&s;s on other Days. It would be a ve|ry unbecoming partiality, if we &s;hould make long Days in the Service of Our&s;elves, and but &s;hort ones in the Wor&s;hip of God. And a very fooli&s;h difference we &s;hould thus make between Sabbaths and other Days, with re|&s;pect to our own greate&s;t intere&s;t and advan|tage. How ab&s;urdly &s;hould we manage our &s;elves, if we &s;hould &s;pend &s;ix long Days in the Week in pur&s;uing our Worldly Temporal Intere&s;ts, and put off our Souls with but one, and that a very &s;hort one, employ'd to pro|mote the Eternal Intere&s;ts of them: If we late begin and &s;oon end the happy and advan|tageous Employment of a Sabbath, which would improve us in Grace and Vertue, in the glorious likene&s;s of God, and in fitne&s;s for Heaven. But to this Matter it mu&s;t be added, That if any do too eagerly follow their Worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s on other Days, and over-tire them&s;elves and their Servants with
<PB N="38" REF="178">it, this is not to be made a Rule for the Pro|portion of Time which they mu&s;t &s;pend in Re|ligious Exerci&s;es on the Sabbath Day. And if we take care to employ, as well as we can, the whole Day in Religious Duties: We may al&s;o take care not to make the proper Work of the Day a Toil or Burden to our &s;elves or o|thers.</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t always prefer the Publick Wor&s;hip, before that which is Private, and attend that, rather than this, when we can. We mu&s;t know, That the chief End of &s;et|ting apart this Day, for the performance of Religious Exerci&s;es, was, to promote and &s;erve the Publick Wor&s;hip of God: That an appointed certain Time being &s;etled, the mul|titude of People might &s;o order their Affairs, as to come together to Wor&s;hip, and know when to do &s;o. Our Saviour commands, That <HI>our Light &s;hould &s;o &s;hine before Men, that they, &s;eeing our good Works, might glorifie our Father which is in Heaven.</HI> Which certainly requires this, among other things, That we wor&s;hip God in Publick, and with the Congregation of Wor&s;hippers, as often as we can. This, as it is a more notorious and vi&s;ible way of pay|ing him due homage, and doing him honour, does therefore do him the more honour. The greate&s;t and mo&s;t important Ble&s;&s;ings of Hea|ven are very general and common ones; &s;uch as are either given or offer'd to us all: The&s;e, then, we &s;hould join to pray, or to give thanks for, and a&s;&s;emble our &s;elves to receive them. We be&s;t acknowledge the Creator's
<PB N="39" REF="178">Infinite Bounty, his Univer&s;al Providence, and the Riches of Redeeming Love, when many of us a&s;&s;emble to &s;eek or give thanks for the Favours and Ble&s;&s;ings of the&s;e. Further, In uniting of our Devotions, we be&s;t exerci&s;e, and &s;hew our mutual Charity and Concern for one anothers Happine&s;s; which is highly plea|&s;ing to the God of Love, and will render our Devotions the more acceptable to him. Private Devotion, e&s;pecially when this is unpropor|tionably u&s;ed, is apt to be tinctur'd too much with &s;elf-love, and to concern it &s;elf for o|thers only &s;o far as their welfare &s;eems nece&s;|&s;ary to our own. But Publick Wor&s;hip en|larges the Heart, and tends to po&s;&s;e&s;s us with a more Publick Concern: As the choice and preference of this &s;hews, that we have alrea|dy &s;omewhat of a Publick Spirit. Yet further, to recommend this, it may be added, This is more likely than Private Wor&s;hip to be advan|tageous to our &s;elves. For when in the Pub|lick A&s;&s;embly we unite our Hearts in the &s;ame Reque&s;ts, we help one another to &s;ucceed and prevail. Our Saviour intimates this, when he &s;ays, <HI>Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there will I be in the midst of them.</HI> While each one Prays, no only for him&s;elf, but for the re&s;t that are pre&s;ent, in &s;aying, not I, but We, to his Petitions, we do in the Language of a Devout Per&s;on, (<HI>Tertul.</HI> in <HI>Tower&s;on</HI>) make a Party, by which we be|&s;iege Heaven with our Prayers. We mu&s;t then, when we can, con&s;tantly attend upon the Pub|lick Wor&s;hip; and reckon the Private never
<PB N="40" REF="179">to be perform'd at the &s;ame time, but when we are unavoidably hindred from attending on that. The proper time for private Wor&s;hip on the Lord's Day, is, when that in Publick is at an end, or not yet begun.</P>
<P N="3">3. The la&s;t Rule I &s;hall mention is this: Any of tho&s;e Religious Exerei&s;es, which are the proper Work of this Day, may give place for a little while to tho&s;e Offices of Charity, and Mercy which call for a pre&s;ent attendance. St. <HI>Paul</HI> Ordain'd and Allow'd, the Collection of Charitable Contributions for the relief of the Poor, to be made in the Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> when the Congregation were A&s;&s;embled to Wor&s;hip; as he is commonly under&s;tood in what he &s;ays, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.2. We may &s;pend &s;ome of this Sacred time in Vi&s;iting the Sick, in Mini&s;tring to tho&s;e that need our atten|dance, in Comforting the Sad and Afflicted, and in Labouring to reconcile tho&s;e that are at Variance. And even the Jewi&s;h &s;trictne&s;s of Ob&s;erving this Day, did allow the feeding of Cattle; and the relieving any Bea&s;t in di&s;tre&s;s, and danger of life, on this Day. From our Saviours telling the <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> that the Sabbath was made for Man, not Man for the Sabbath; from his ju&s;tifying his Di&s;ciples in their pul|ling, and rubbing the Ears of Corn, as they went through the Corn Fields on the Sab|bath Day, to &s;atisfie their pre&s;ent hunger; and from his mo&s;t Excellent Example in Heal|ing all the Di&s;ea&s;ed Per&s;ons that pre&s;ented them&s;elves to him on that Day, we may learn and conclude, that the Religious Wor&s;hip of
<PB N="41" REF="179">the Sabbath may give place to the Exerci&s;es of Charity and Mercy, when the Exigence of our Selves or our Neighbour requires it: E&s;|pecially in all &s;uch ca&s;es as the&s;e which our Sa|viour has allowed, wherein but a &s;mall porti|on of time was diverted from the more proper bu&s;ine&s;s of the Day.</P>
<P>And thus I have repre&s;ented this matter al&s;o according to the excellent Doctrine of our Holy Church: Which I &s;hall therefore pro|duce, that I may the more enforce what I have &s;aid: And &s;ure-this will inforce it with all tho&s;e who have a due Reverence for the Autho|rity of the Church. This we find thus &s;peaking, according to the Tenour al&s;o of the fore-men|tioned Sermon, <HI>[Homily of Time, and Place, of Prayer]</HI> in the Thirteenth Cannon: <Q>Which requires, of all manner of Per&s;ons in the Church of <HI>England,</HI> that they Celebrate, and keep the Lord's Day, commonly call'd Sunday, and other Holy Days, according to God's Holy Will, and Plea&s;ure, and the Orders of the Church of <HI>England</HI> pre&s;crib'd in that behalf; That is, in hearing the Word of God Read, and Taught; in pri|vate, and publick Prayers; in acknowledg|ing their Offences to God, and amendment of the &s;ame; in reconciling them&s;elves charitably to their Neighbours, where di&s;|plea&s;ure hath been; in oftentimes receiving the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t; in vifiting of the Poor and Sick, and u&s;ing all good and &s;ober Conver&s;ation.</Q></P>
<PB N="42" REF="180">
<P>I have now fini&s;h'd the fir&s;t Head of Di&s;|cour&s;e: which was to &s;hew, What ob&s;ervati|on of Sabbaths we mu&s;t charge our &s;elves with according to this Command. I proceed, then, to the Second, which is to urge this by &s;ome fit Arguments and Motives; and I reckon the&s;e following to be &s;uch:</P>
<P N="1">1. We &s;hould con&s;ider, to this purpo&s;e, the very &s;evere and terrible Judgments which God has often remarkably inflicted on tho&s;e that have been wont to contemn and neglect his Sabbaths.</P>
<P>By the&s;e he has &s;ufficiently enforced his Command, and &s;hewn with Evidence enough, and which ought to be con&s;idered, that he is angry &s;till with tho&s;e who de&s;pi&s;e and break it. Many that have let them&s;elves be com|monly guilty of this Sin, have been remarka|bly overtaken with Puni&s;hment on this very Day; meeting with &s;ome very mi&s;chievous accident upon it, or with a &s;udden Death. Many that have thought their poor and &s;trait Circum&s;tances would allow them to encroach upon this Day with their Worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s, have been condemn'd to continual Poverty: And, on the contrary; it was the famous Ob|&s;ervation of a Great Man among&s;t us, and in our Age (Judge <HI>Hales</HI>) That his Affairs never pro&s;per'd better in the Week following, than when he had been mo&s;t punctual and exact in the due ob&s;ervation of the Sabbath. And I believe no one In&s;tance can be produced in Contradiction, if I &s;hould &s;ay, that never did any E&s;tate pro&s;per in the Hands of a Mans
<PB N="43" REF="180">Po&s;terity which he gained by letting his Worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s encroach upon the Lord's Day.</P>
<P>Great and terrible Di&s;plea&s;ure is exerci&s;ed again&s;t the Contemners of Sabbaths: When they fall under a Judicial Hardne&s;s of Heart, and are abandoned to the Corruption of the Times, the Temptations of the Devil, and the Exorbitant Power of their own Lu&s;ts. And this is a &s;ad Judgment which often befalls them: They are often for&s;aken of God who thus for&s;ake him, and his Wor&s;hip: and then <HI>They fall from one Wickedne&s;s to Another,</HI> they grow enormou&s;ly Wicked, and perhaps bring them&s;elves &s;oon to the ruine of all their Fe|licity in this World, perhaps to an untimely Death.</P>
<P>And tho Hand joyn in Hand in this Wick|edne&s;s it is not wont to go unpuni&s;h'd. God's terrible Judgments have fallen heavy upon other Nations and Churches, be&s;ides the Jew|i&s;h, when they neglected and de&s;pi&s;ed his Sab|baths: And we need not go far for In&s;tances of this. We &s;ee a Neighbouring Prote&s;tant Church in our days trod down by a Prefidious and Barbarous Tyrant; in which it was but too common to begin the Sabbath, perhaps, with Publick Wor&s;hip, and to end it with the Comedy. And it mu&s;t be &s;aid to us, that <HI>Except we repent, we &s;hall likewi&s;e peri&s;h:</HI> E&s;pe|cially &s;ince God has begun in very terrible &s;troaks to &s;hew his Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t us. And we may call to mind, that the greate&s;t, and mo&s;t formidable Di&s;advantages to our
<PB N="44" REF="181">own Nation, and which we &s;hall lie under, which are the Schi&s;ms and &s;eparate Communi|ons, the Divi&s;ion of us into &s;everal Factions, the Jealou&s;ies, and the Animo&s;ities among us, have their <HI>chief Date</HI> from the time when pub|lick &s;ports on the Lords Day were to have been allow'd by Publick Authority. And we know it was, Then, that it plea&s;ed God to let ill Men <HI>Kindle a Fire</HI> of Civil Di&s;&s;ention, <HI>in the Gates of</HI> our <HI>Jeru&s;alem, which devoured the Palaces thereof. (Jer.</HI> 17.27.) For our own pre|&s;ent Worldly Intere&s;t, then, both Publick and Private, we mu&s;t charge our &s;elves with a Re|ligious Ob&s;ervation of God's Holy Days.</P>
<P N="2">2. It may ju&s;tly induce us to this, to con&s;i|der the Nece&s;&s;ities of our Souls, and the Be|nefits which they &s;hall derive from a due Ob|&s;ervation of the&s;e Days. The approving our Souls to God, the promoting all Piety and Vertue in them, and the fitting them for Hea|ven do require this of us, as this is an Excel|lent Means to promote &s;uch good Effects. As the Sabbath was made for Man, &s;o 'tis not without great Advantage to him&s;elf, that he dedicates it to God. By the proper Employ|ments of this Day, as nece&s;&s;ary, and fit Means, We are to be clean&s;ed from our Sins, and freed from the Bondage of our Iniquities: By the&s;e we are to be advanced in every weak and de|fective Grace and Vertue, and to be inur'd to the noble&s;t Exerci&s;e of our Mind and Rea&s;on, the contemplating, Prai&s;ing, Adoring, and Loving of God. To conver&s;e much with God tends to make our Faces &s;hine like that of <HI>Mo|&s;es;</HI>
<PB N="45" REF="181">to transform us into the Divine Likene&s;s from Glory to Glory. He calls us to the pro|per Employments of this Day, that we may be wean'd from this vain World on which we are too apt to Dote; and that we may be|come acquainted with our true Happine&s;s; may come to ta&s;t, and reli&s;h tho&s;e things wherein it does chiefly lie; and &s;o may be fit|ted to po&s;&s;e&s;s and Enjoy it. To &s;pend this Day in Religious Wor&s;hip inures us to the Employment, and Happine&s;s of Heaven, and by con&s;equence makes us fit for the Eternal Holy Sabbath that is kept there. This is a Day, then, for the working out of our own Salvation, as well as for the Wor&s;hip and Ho|nour of God; and we &s;hall do the former by Con&s;equence, as we do the latter by De&s;ign, we have a great deal of Rea&s;on, then, to &s;pend the Day in &s;uch Duties, as entirely as we can.</P>
<P>And this requires, that we apply our &s;elves to Private Wor&s;hip when that of the Publick is over, as much as we can. For there will be great danger of loo&s;ing all the benefit of the Publick if we immediately return to the Plea&s;ures and Bu&s;ine&s;s of this World. <Q>As it is pernicious (&s;ays a Learned and Pious Father of our Church) after Exerci&s;e to go and wa&s;h in cold Water; &s;o it mu&s;t needs be extreamly noxious and hurtful to &s;ink our &s;elves immediately into Earthly Employ|ments, ju&s;t after our Souls have been war|med with Devotion, and the Exerci&s;es of the Love of God. And if it be not fit nor
<PB N="46" REF="182">&s;afe (&s;ays he) to return pre&s;ently to our Worldly Bu&s;ine&s;s, much le&s;s can it be to|lerable to go to merry Entertainments. (Bp. of <HI>Ely</HI> in his <HI>Men&s;a My&s;tica</HI>)</Q> Certainly, if the Cares of this World, and the deceitful|ne&s;s of Riches are things in their own nature apt to choak the Word, and to render it Un|fruitful, as our Saviour intimates, we give them the greate&s;t advantage, that can be, to do &s;o, when our Minds are immediately taken up with Worldly Affairs as &s;oon as we go from the Publick Wor&s;hip. And it will be no wonder, that Men are lovers of Plea&s;ures more then lovers of God, if they give them|&s;elves leave &s;o quickly to apply them&s;elves to the Plea&s;ures of this World.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Obligations which Men lie under to the In&s;tructing and Educating tho&s;e of their Family in the Knowledge and Practice of our Religion, require the &s;pending &s;ome time in Religious Wor&s;hip in the Family on the Lord's Day. Private Wor&s;hip I have &s;aid, after the Publick, is nece&s;&s;ary to &s;ecure, and improve the Benefit of the Publick. And that parti|cular Application in Private In&s;truction, and Di&s;cour&s;e, of things which were deliver'd to a whole Congregation in Publick, is very ne|ce&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful to give them a due and la&s;ting Impre&s;&s;ion: Be&s;ides, This may call to mind what they did not heed in Pub|lick, or what they have forgotten: Or may &s;erve to continue and improve the good Affections; to animate and &s;trength|en the good Re&s;olutions which were rais'd
<PB N="47" REF="182">before in their Minds by &s;ome other things pre&s;ented to them. Great will be the Be|nefit of this Private In&s;truction if it be well follow'd; And one may not doubt to &s;ay, that if it were &s;o, we &s;hould not hear &s;o frequent Complaints of undutiful and pro|fligate Children, and of unfaithful, contuma|cious and &s;lothful Servants. It cannot be que|&s;tion'd, but 'tis the Duty of tho&s;e who are Heads of Families, to endeavour the teaching of them, who are under their Authority, the Knowledge and Practice of Religion. Often are &s;uch commanded to take this Care of their Families in Scripture. And even this Com|mandment may be reckon'd to intimate this Obligation, in that it requires the Ma&s;ter of the Family to cau&s;e, that his Children and Servants do ob&s;erve this Commandment in particular. No Man can que&s;tion this Care and Endeavour to be a Duty, who believes him&s;elf bound to love God: For it is a nece&s;|&s;ary and in&s;eparable Character of that to en|deavour, that all others, whom we can influ|ence, may reverence and obey, and love him too. Nor can any Man que&s;tion the Obliga|tion to this, who believes him&s;elf bound to the Love of his Neighbour; for that Love will nece&s;&s;arily teach him, that he mu&s;t en|deavour to prevent the Ruine, and promote the Welfare of tho&s;e, e&s;pecially, who are un|der his Authority and Care; which is be&s;t done by teaching them Religion. That bar|barous Man, then, has no true Love to his Child, who takes no care about his Religion,
<PB N="48" REF="183">which more than any thing would promote his Pre&s;ent Welfare, be&s;ides his Eternal Hap|pine&s;s: And that Ma&s;ter is fir&s;t him&s;elf unfaithful to God and his Servant, who does not look after the Religion of his Servant.</P>
<P>But if the Religious In&s;truction of Families be due to them from their Head and Gover|nour, then there mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be &s;ome &s;it time &s;et apart for the performance of it. And certainly the fitte&s;t time for this is, or might be, with mo&s;t Families, the Evening of the Lord's Day, after Publick Wor&s;hip is over. O let not any plead for the allowing Servants that time to be &s;pent in Worldly Plea&s;ures and Recreations, while the deplo|rable Decay of Religion among&s;t us, and the frequent Ruine of Young Per&s;ons do &s;o loudly proclaim the common neglect of this nece&s;&s;a|ry and important Duty. If by a hard and con&s;tant Labour, and a great deal of Bu&s;ine&s;s, any Mens Servants are hinder'd from having any Recreation all the Week, they are al&s;o thereby hinder'd, without doubt, from recei|ving this In&s;truction too: And then 'tis more rea&s;onable, &s;ure, that &s;ome &s;uch time on the Lord's Day be &s;et apart for it, than that it &s;hould be &s;pent in Plea&s;ure and Recreation, and &s;o that they be never duly in&s;tructed in the Religion by which they mu&s;t be &s;av'd.</P>
<P>To conclude, He who thus endeavours to in&s;truct his Family, will in&s;truct him&s;elf in doing it; and while he endeavours to revive, continue or improve the good Impre&s;&s;ions which they receiv'd in publick, he will pro|mote
<PB N="49" REF="183">his own. And by this means, the Tran|quility and Peace of Families, the Ea&s;ine&s;s, the U&s;efulne&s;s, the Comfort of all in it to one another would be mightily encreas'd, as well as the mo&s;t De&s;irable Glory and Love of God in the World, and the Everla&s;ting Salvation of Souls. And now, I hope, we are all di&s;po|&s;ed to <HI>Remember and Keep Holy the Sabbath Day:</HI> And to &s;ay heartily, with our Holy Church, <HI>Lord, have Mercy upon us, and encline our Hearts to keep this Law.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Mo&s;t glorious and mo&s;t gracious God! Thou art good, and doe&s;t good: Thou ha&s;t exerci&s;ed abundant goodne&s;s to the Children of Men. We are bound to love thee and prai&s;e thee for our Creation. Thou ha&s;t given us a Noble Nature; made us little lower than the Angels, and plentifully furni&s;h'd this World with excellent Creatures, to &s;erve our u&s;e and delight, and ha&s;t given to Man dominion over the Fowls of the Air, the Bea&s;ts of the Earth, and the Fi&s;hes of the Sea. Every one of our Sen&s;es pre&s;ents us with the Exerci&s;es of thy Goodne&s;s, and with Obliga|tions and Admonitions to love thee. Every Moment of our Lives, declares it to us; for it is in thee, that we live, move and have our Being: Thou holde&s;t our Soul in Life, and we are beholden to thee, O Lord,
<PB N="50" REF="184">for our continual Pre&s;ervation. And it exceedingly magnifies thy Goodne&s;s, and mu&s;t improve our Prai|&s;es for it, that in this in&s;tance of it, thou art good to the unthankful and the evil. Thou art mindful of tho&s;e who forget thee, and exerci&s;e&s;t kindne&s;s to them that hate thee. Great and wonderful, O Lord, is thy Patience and Forbearance towards thy Rebellious Creatures. But, above all, we mu&s;t celebrate and prai&s;e that In&s;tance of thy glorious Love, the Re|demption of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t! This, O Lord, e&s;pecially, is a Favour that exceeds our highe&s;t Prai&s;es! It is equally wonderful and kind! Thou ha&s;t given thy Son to bear our Sins and be a Propitiation for them. We ble&s;s thee for his Meritorious Pa&s;&s;ion and Death. Thou ha&s;t given him to us, to be our Mediator and Advocate: We ble&s;s thee for his Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven. O Lord, we humble our &s;elves before thee, in a &s;en&s;e of thy great Goodne&s;s to us, and our vile and un|grateful Behaviour towards thee. We have abu&s;ed thy creating, pre&s;erving, redeeming Love, and mu&s;t acknowledge the guilt and vilene&s;s of our Sins to be encrea&s;ed with the encrea&s;e of thy Benefits and Good|ne&s;s towards us. O give us, we be&s;eech thee, a true and unfeigned Repentance of all our Wickedne&s;s: Give us a true and lively Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Let thy abundant Love and Goodne&s;s to us, inflame our Hearts with a mighty love to thee. Forgive us, our pa&s;t Sins, and clean&s;e us from all Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. Let thy Sabbaths be always a delight to us, that we may &s;et our &s;elves on them, to contemplate and prai&s;e thy glorious Nature, and wonderful Works and Good|ne&s;s. Fit us for the happine&s;s of Communion with thee, and let us enjoy it in the u&s;e of thine Ordinan|ces, that we may acquaint our &s;elves with thee and be at peace; that we may, while we behold thee, be transformed into thy likene&s;s, from glory to glory. Grant that we may flouri&s;h in the Courts of our God, and encrea&s;e in every Grace; be &s;trengthened with Might in the Inward Man again&s;t all Temptations,
<PB N="51" REF="184">and &s;o may run, with patience, the Race that is &s;et before us; and obtain, at length, the Re&s;t of an Eternal Sabbath with thee.</P>
<P>We humbly pray unto thee for all Mankind, that thy Way may be known upon Earth, thy &s;aving Health among all Nations. We pray e&s;pecially for the good E&s;tate of the Catholick Church: Favour it every where with the pure Admini&s;tration, the migh|ty Succe&s;s, and peaceable Enjoyment of thine Or|dinances. Let all true Piety and Vertue abound in it, and what may adorn and recommend our Re|ligion to the World. Ble&s;s abundantly that part of it which is planted in the&s;e Nations: And as thou ha&s;t favour'd us with the Means of Grace in great plenty, &s;o give us the Grace to bring forth an&s;werable Fruit to thy glory. Give our King, we pray thee, the choice&s;t Ble&s;&s;ings of this Life; continue him long to Rule over us, and make us happy in his Government of us: and, after all, ble&s;s and reward him with the Glories and Honours of thy Heavenly Kingdom. Ble&s;s the Royal Family with Long Continuance, with Abun|dant Grace, and all Worldly Honour and Felicity. We humbly recommend, in particular, all our Rela|tions; di&s;po&s;e of their Circum&s;tances in this World mercifully, and &s;anctifie all thy Dealings with them to the promoting their Everla&s;ting Salvation. Ac|cept our humble Prai&s;es and Thanks for the Mer|cies of this Day: Forgive the Iniquities of our Ho|ly Things: Let us lie down in thy Favour, and re&s;t in Safety; and rai&s;e us up again, if it plea&s;e thee, to &s;hew forth thy Prai&s;e with our Lips and in our Lives. All we humbly ask, in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son our Saviour.</P>
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="52" REF="185">
<HEAD>THE Bapti&s;mal Covenant REPRESENTED: WITH The Means to Ob&s;erve it.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Deut. 4.23.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Take heed to your &s;elves, le&s;t ye forget the Covenant of the Lord your God which he made with you.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE great Author of our Being, as he has therein right to Govern, &s;o he does exerci&s;e a Dominion over us. He has all along, ever &s;ince he made Mankind, given us a Law, to be the Rule of our Actions, and requir'd the Ob&s;ervance of it, as the Condition of his
<PB N="53" REF="185">Favour. This Method of dealing with us, is call'd, The Covenant of the Lord our God. Of the Ten Commandments pronounced from Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> and afterwards written by God on Tables of Stone, it is &s;aid, They were the words of the Covenant which God propo&s;ed to the People of <HI>I&s;rael, Exod.</HI> 34.28. And we may ob&s;erve, by the words next to tho&s;e which I have read for our pre&s;ent Text, That the &s;ame Law is the Covenant which <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;peaks of here: For the In&s;tance of forget|ting that Covenant which he particularly warns them again&s;t, is, The breaking one of tho&s;e Commands. Now, &s;ince this is God's Method of dealing with Mankind, if we would ever partake of the Exerci&s;es of his Favour to our Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s; we mu&s;t &s;ubmit to his Laws, and engage to perform the Terms and Conditions of his Favour, which he propo&s;es and requires of us. And when we do take this Engagement upon our &s;elves, and do remem|ber and perform it, then does the gracious Promi&s;e of God bind him too, and we come to have a right and claim to his Eternal Mer|cies. This is the thing which the Prophet ex|horts the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to in our Text, That they would remember and con&s;ider their Part of the Covenant which they had enter'd into with God, and would &s;et them&s;elves to ob&s;erve and do it. Which Exhortation we &s;hall do well to apply to our &s;elves, for that it certain|ly concerns us as much as them. Now the Cove|nant which we are at pre&s;ent under, and by which we mu&s;t be &s;av'd, is that which we en|ter
<PB N="54" REF="186">into at our Bapti&s;m: At which time we are Infants, and do not di&s;tinctly under&s;tand our part of the Engagement; as indeed, while we are Infants, we need not do, but may par|take of the Salvation, which is the Favour on God's part, without it, if we die in our in|fancy. Becau&s;e God requires of no Creature that, as nece&s;&s;ary to obtain his Favour, which it has not a natural power to do. And the Covenant which we enter into at Bapti&s;m, is not &s;o often call'd to Peoples minds in the Ad|mini&s;tration of that Sacrament, as our Church has excellently provided it &s;hould be, through many Di&s;orders that are among&s;t us: For which Rea&s;ons, I think this a Subject very ne|ce&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful to be in&s;i&s;ted on in this way. In &s;peaking to it, I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e fol|lowing Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To &s;hew, What is the Tenor of that Co|venant which we are at pre&s;ent under, and by which we mu&s;t expect to be &s;av'd.</P>
<P N="2">2. To &s;hew, That this is a Covenant which the Lord our God has made with us, and that at our Bapti&s;m.</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;hall &s;ugge&s;t, How we may be&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;t our &s;elves to remember and ob&s;erve this Co|venant, and &s;o &s;ecure to our &s;elves the Ever|la&s;ting Mercies on God's part of it.</P>
<P>I &s;hall, in the fir&s;t place, give an Account of the Nature and Tenor of that Covenant which we are now under; which, without knowing it di&s;tinctly, we cannot po&s;&s;ibly comply with or ob&s;erve it. But, to introduce an Account of this, I mu&s;t take notice, That all Mankind
<PB N="55" REF="186">are become Sinners before God, by the Sin and Fall of our Fir&s;t-Parents. By the Di&s;obedience of one, many were made &s;inners, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle; and God hath concluded all under Sin. From hence we de&s;erve the Eternal Wrath of God, and the Everla&s;ting Puni&s;h|ments of Sin: This is the &s;ad condition of our very Birth. Therefore the Scripture &s;ays, <HI>We are by Nature, Children of Wrath.</HI> Now to this &s;tate of our Ca&s;e is this gracious Cove|nant mo&s;t wi&s;ely and mercifully &s;uited: Both in what it demands and requires of us; and in what it offers and promi&s;es from God. I &s;hall repre&s;ent it in both the parts of it &s;eve|rally.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Let us &s;ee what it requires of us; and on what Terms and Conditions we mu&s;t now expect to recover the Favour of God and our Happine&s;s. The&s;e the Chri&s;tian Church has very anciently thought fit to repre&s;ent, as our Church does, under the three following Heads:</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t Renounce the Devil and all his Works; the Pomps and Vanity of this wick|ed World; and all the &s;inful Lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h.</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t believe all the Articles of the Chri&s;tian Faith.</P>
<P N="3">3. We mu&s;t keep God's Holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the &s;ame all the Days of our Life.</P>
<P>Let us a little con&s;ider the&s;e &s;everally, that we may under&s;tand what Particulars they con|tain; which is a thing that is too &s;eldom done.</P>
<PB N="56" REF="187">
<P>In the fir&s;t place, We are to Renounce, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Having all of us Revolted from God, the fir&s;t thing we have to do, that we may reco|ver his Favour is, very fitly, That we repent of our Wickedne&s;s, and abandon every Evil Cour&s;e; and &s;o we mu&s;t fall out with all the Cau&s;es of our Wickedne&s;s; we mu&s;t re&s;olve and engage, that they &s;hall never lead nor go|vern us any more; This is that which is meant by our <HI>Renouncing</HI> of them.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t thus <HI>Renounce the Devil and all his Works.</HI> This is he who drew our Fir&s;t-Parents into &s;in; who&s;e whole bu&s;ine&s;s it is to promote, and propagate Wickedne&s;s in the World. That he may not draw us into Sin, and becau&s;e he is an Enemy to God, we mu&s;t re&s;olve never to hold any Corre&s;pondence with him: That we will not con&s;ult him, nor &s;eek his A&s;&s;i&s;tance in any way; neither as Witches and Sorcerers do, who are in a formal compact with this Enemy of God; Nor as they do who go to &s;uch Wretches for their Coun&s;el or A&s;&s;i&s;tance in any Matters; for both the&s;e things are in|&s;tances of a guilty Corre&s;pondence with the Devil. In renouncing the <HI>Works</HI> of the De|vil we engage to for&s;ake and abandon tho&s;e &s;ins in particular, which do e&s;pecially bear the Black Characters of his Wickedne&s;s upon them. Such as Pride in all the u&s;ual Exerci&s;es of it, which is intimated to be his great &s;in, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6. And all Lying and Fal&s;hood, <HI>For the Devil is a Lier and the Father of Lies,</HI> John 8.44. And all Malice, and Envy, and ill Will; the de&s;iring of Mi&s;chief, and delighting in the
<PB N="57" REF="187">Hurt of any one which are eminently the Pro|perties of the Devil: For he is a Murderer from the beginning; <HI>(ib.) And goes about like a roaring Lion &s;eeking whom he may devour,</HI> or de&s;troy, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.8. We mu&s;t abhor al&s;o and for&s;ake that common practice of the Devil, the leading or tempting others into Wickedne&s;s; upon the account of which he is call'd a Tem|pter: To endeavour to Debauch and Corrupt others, and promote Wickedne&s;s in the World, is enormou&s;ly to do and cheri&s;h the works of the Devil, and a mon&s;trous in&s;tance of the Ha|tred both of God and our Neighbour.</P>
<P>In the next place, We mu&s;t <HI>Renounce</HI> too <HI>the pomps and vanities of this wicked World:</HI> This binds us to abhor and ab&s;tain from all that which is wicked in the World; and al&s;o from that which tends to Wickedne&s;s, in as much as it does &s;o. Even tho&s;e lawful things of this World, which we might otherwi&s;e &s;eek and enjoy when we cannot do the&s;e without &s;in, mu&s;t be quitted and for&s;aken. It includes, That we be ready to part with, or be con|tented to want any worldly Comforts and Po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ions whatever, when they &s;tand in compe|tition with our Duty to God. It requires, that we do not &s;eek what we cannot innocent|ly enjoy; and that we do not guiltily and in|ordinately &s;eek what we may lawfully enjoy. We mu&s;t engage, that the things of this World &s;hall not have the chief Intere&s;t in our Affections; nor be either our greate&s;t de&s;ire while we want, or our chief Delight and Sa|tisfaction while we have them. It is included
<PB N="58" REF="188">herein, That we mu&s;t Renounce the Society of the wicked World. That we do not make the Corrupt Maxims, or Evil Cu&s;toms of it our Rule to walk by, nor follow a Multitude to do Evil: And mu&s;t concern our &s;elves ra|ther to plea&s;e God than Men. Tho&s;e who have given them&s;elves up to any &s;ort of Wick|edne&s;s, are &s;uch as we mu&s;t &s;hun to conver&s;e with as much as we can: Unle&s;s we can have any hopes by our good Example before them, or by our Admonitions and Reproofs to Con|vert them from their Wickedne&s;s. We mu&s;t not make the &s;in of others our &s;port or enter|tainment; nor &s;et the Wickedne&s;s of other Men on work to promote our Ends and De|&s;igns, tho' they be lawful and ju&s;t in them&s;elves. We mu&s;t take no part in the wickedne&s;s of the World. By Renouncing the Pomps and Vanity of it, we engage to ab&s;tain from all that extravagancy in Dre&s;s and Ornament which Pride and Wantonne&s;s &s;ugge&s;t, and which are de&s;ign'd to be &s;erviceable to them: When the Adorning is intended to be an In|&s;trument of guilty allurement and temptation; when this is Prodigally co&s;tly, and beyond what can well be &s;pared from other nece&s;&s;ary Expences; when it is nicely endeavour'd, and is very Elaborate and Affected; as I doubt not to account painting of the Face to be, and the wearing of needle&s;s Patches; that is, &s;uch as are not put on to conceal an offen&s;ive De|fect, but only to Improve and Adorn the Beauty. And La&s;tly, &s;uch exce&s;s in this mat|ter mu&s;t be for&s;aken as con&s;ounds the di&s;tincti|ons
<PB N="59" REF="188">of Per&s;ons, and is above the Rank and Degree which the Providence of God has pla|ced us in.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place, <HI>We mu&s;t renounce</HI> too <HI>all &s;inful de&s;ires of the Fle&s;h:</HI> This chiefly re&s;pects &s;en&s;ual Sins, and the &s;ource and &s;pring of them. And &s;o we may reckon the Fle&s;h here &s;ignifies, the Natural Body which we carry about with us with all the Appetites, Sences, and Animal Faculties of that. Our Covenant with God does not require us to de&s;troy our Natural Appetites, but only to govern them. It requires that we &s;o regulate our &s;elves in our Gratifications of them, as not to break the Laws of God, nor contradict any of our Duties: We mu&s;t not be lovers of Plea&s;ures more than lovers of God. It is &s;aid we re|nounce the <HI>Sinful</HI> Lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h; tho&s;e De&s;ires and Motions of them which would lead us into any Sin: We renounce tho&s;e guilty Sen&s;ualities of Sloth and Idlene&s;s, of Gluttony and Drunkenne&s;s, Luxury or Un|cleanne&s;s. And indeed this requires that we do abridge the Fle&s;h, &s;ometimes, in &s;ome mea&s;ure of its lawful Gratifications; when this is nece&s;&s;ary to &s;ubdue the Appetites of it, to bring them into Subjection, and render them Governable; that we may keep them Innocent, and be our &s;elves always in a readi|ne&s;s to receive and comply with the good Motions of the Holy Spirit.</P>
<P>This is the fir&s;t main Branch in our part of the Covenant with God which we are now under.</P>
<PB N="60" REF="189">
<P>The Second is this; That we will believe all the Articles of the Chri&s;tian Faith. The&s;e the Church has been wont to reckon are &s;um|marily comprehended in that which is com|monly call'd the <HI>Apo&s;tles Creed.</HI> And it is in|cluded under this Head; That we will endea|vour to know, and under&s;tand what things are contained in the&s;e Articles: That we will ap|ply our &s;elves very &s;eriou&s;ly, as lei&s;ure from other nece&s;&s;ary and indi&s;pen&s;able Duties will allow, to make the be&s;t Improvement we can of the Means of getting Divine Knowledge which the Providence of God affords us; and to gain as full and as di&s;tinct a knowledge of Divine Truths as our Capacity and Opportu|nities will let us. That we will not through Negligence or Hatred of the Truth, be Ig|norant of any important Reveal'd Truth.</P>
<P>And when we know the&s;e things we mu&s;t firmly A&s;&s;ent to them, and acknowledge them for Truths, becau&s;e God has Reveal'd them: Who is infinitely Wi&s;e, and cannot err; and who is faithful and true, and therefore will not lead us into Error. We mu&s;t al&s;o rely upon the truth of the&s;e things, and &s;uffer our &s;elves to be govern'd by them; betaking our &s;elves to &s;uch a cour&s;e of Life as they require. For In&s;tance; Believing there is a God who is the Maker and Pre&s;erver of us all, we mu&s;t Reve|rence, and Wor&s;hip, and Obey Him: Belie|ving our &s;elves Sinners, and Unworthy to approach him, or expect any good thing from him, we mu&s;t Humble, and Aba&s;e, and Con|demn our &s;elves before him: And believing
<PB N="61" REF="189">that the Son of God is become a Propitiation for our Sins; and ever Lives to make Interce&s;|&s;ion for us as our Advocate with the Father, we mu&s;t relie upon the Merits of his Death and Sacrifice of him&s;elf, and come to God in his Name, hoping to &s;ucceed by his Interce&s;&s;ion in our Addre&s;&s;es to the Throne of Grace. And believing that all the Ble&s;&s;ings we &s;tand in need of to our Happine&s;s, are wrought in us, and conferr'd upon us by the Holy Gho&s;t, we mu&s;t &s;eek to him for them, and wait on him in the diligent u&s;e of appointed means of Grace to Obtain them.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, We are al&s;o required herein to make open Profe&s;&s;ion of the Religion contain'd in the&s;e Articles; to own it to the World, that we are, and will be Wor&s;hipers of the only True and Living God, by one Mediator Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And we mu&s;t rather &s;uffer any Lo&s;s, or die any kind of Death, than renounce or deny this True Faith.</P>
<P>The Third and la&s;t part of our Engagement is this, that we will keep God's Holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the &s;ame all the days of our Lives. This Obliges us to take the Laws of God for our Rule; to guide our Thoughts, our Words, and our Actions by them. We mu&s;t de&s;ire and endeavour to per|form an Univer&s;al Obedience of the whole Man to the whole Law of God. Tho' we are not able perfectly to keep the Commands of God, yet we mu&s;t de&s;ire this, and mu&s;t &s;trive to come as near it as we can: That is, we mu&s;t not let our &s;elves be guilty of any one
<PB N="62" REF="190">known, wilful, or deliberate Sin. This Cove|nant bears indeed with involuntary Sins, but with none but &s;uch: That is, with tho&s;e which we commit through Ignorance, when that Ignorance is not occa&s;ion'd by our neg|lect or refu&s;al to be Informed or Convinced: Or tho&s;e which we commit through incon&s;i|deration in a hurry, or by a &s;upri&s;e, which are but &s;ome &s;maller In&s;tances of Sin, and &s;uch as are pa&s;t over on a &s;udden.</P>
<P>Therefore it is al&s;o required, That we ap|ply our be&s;t Endeavours to &s;tudy and learn our Duty: That we be humble and teachable; ea&s;ie to be convinced of, and ea&s;ie to be per|&s;waded to it. It requires too, That we take heed to our Ways, and walk Circum&s;pectly; That we make it our great care and concern to avoid doing Evil, and to perform the Good that is required of us; That we do not need|le&s;ly and carele&s;ly throw our &s;elves into Temptation.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the Duties and Conditions re|quired of us by the Covenant we are now un|der: And does not this repre&s;entation of them make it appear to every one, That it is but too nece&s;&s;ary to call the&s;e things to our Minds? It is ea&s;ily ob&s;erv'd in others, that many among tho&s;e who call them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, do live wofully heedle&s;s and forgetful, that they are bound to &s;uch things as the&s;e; and in our &s;elves it is but too ea&s;ie for every one of us to ob&s;erve, that we are exceeding prone to neglect them.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the &s;econd Part of this
<PB N="63" REF="190">Covenant; to &s;hew what are the Favours and Ble&s;&s;ings which it offers and promi&s;es us from God. The repre&s;entation of which may &s;erve as an Argument to excite us to the performance of our Duties. And upon our &s;incere engagement and care according to our capacity to perform our part in this Covenant, the&s;e following Ble&s;&s;ings become due to us by the gracious and free Promi&s;e of God, and &s;hall be faithfully performed.</P>
<P N="1">1. We &s;hall obtain a full and free Pardon of all our Sins. He Pardons our Original Sin upon our entrance into this Covenant, &s;o that the Guilt which we deriv'd from our Fir&s;t-Pa|rents with our Nature, &s;hall not be remem|ber'd again&s;t us, nor condemn us. And he Pardons all the Actual Sins which we were before guilty of; tho' they were Wilful, tho' Deliberate and Habitual Sins. And if we have broken this Covenant by any Wilful Sin, it is &s;o gracious and conde&s;cending to our pre&s;ent Weakne&s;s, that we are allow'd to renew it again; and may hope for the Be|nefits of it, upon our hearty and &s;incere Re|pentance for that Sin, and our for&s;aking it for the time to come. And, having Pardon'd our Sins, the Righteous and Gracious God receives us into Favour, deals with us as Righteous Per&s;ons, and tho&s;e whom he Loves. We may with an humble Boldne&s;s make our Addre&s;&s;es to him for all things nece&s;&s;ary to the Comfort and Serviceablene&s;s of this pre&s;ent Life, and to our Everla&s;ting Salvation and Happine&s;s in the World to come.</P>
<PB N="64" REF="191">
<P N="2">2. Another Favour of this Covenant is our Sanctification. As he will Ju&s;tifie, he will Sanctifie us; he will both forgive our Sins, and clean&s;e us from all Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. We &s;hall, through the Spirit given to us, be ina|bled to mortifie the Deeds of the Body; to conquer and &s;ubdue the &s;inful Lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h. We &s;hall have Grace to with&s;tand the A&s;&s;aults of the Devil; For he that is born of God keepeth him&s;elf, and that Evil One toucheth him not, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.18. And the Faith which is in us &s;hall give us the Victory over the World. We &s;hall be &s;ufficiently for|tified again&s;t all our Spiritual Enemies; and be furni&s;h'd for every good Work. The Grace of God will teach us effectually to deny all Ungodline&s;s and Worldly Lu&s;ts, and to live Soberly, Rightiou&s;ly and Godly in this pre&s;ent World. God will write his Law in our Hearts, and put his Fear in our Inward Parts. And when we are come &s;incerely to de&s;ire, and heartily to will and purpo&s;e to keep the Commands of God, as it is his Grace which has thus far pre|vented us, &s;o he will al&s;o further us by his continual Help: He will inable us to do that which is good. This is that our Saviour in|timates, (<HI>Mat.</HI> 5.6.) when he &s;ays, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they which do hunger and thir&s;t after Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, for they &s;hall be filled.</HI> He that de&s;ires and endeavours to keep the Commands of God &s;hall be inabled to keep them; &s;o far as that he &s;hall be accepted with God through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. This Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks from his own happy Expe|rience,
<PB N="65" REF="191">when he &s;ays, <HI>I can do all things through Chri&s;t that &s;trengthens me.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. The Third Ble&s;&s;ing and Favour of this Covenant is, That God will advance us at la&s;t to an Everla&s;ting and Perfect Happine&s;s both of Soul and Body in Heaven. Tho' the good Man mu&s;t undergo Death as well as all Man|kind; yet has Chri&s;t promi&s;ed, that who&s;oever believes on him he &s;hall have Everla&s;ting Life, and he will rai&s;e him up again at the la&s;t Day. The Bodies of &s;uch, tho they be utterly di&s;&s;olv'd into &s;catter'd Du&s;t, &s;hall be gather'd together again and rais'd to Life, and be united again to the &s;ame Soul which they had before. And the&s;e vile Bodies &s;hall be very happily improv'd; they &s;hall be rais'd in great Beauty and Glory, and be fa&s;hioned like unto Chri&s;t's Glorified Body. We &s;hall if we keep our Covenant with God, be taken at the clo&s;e of the la&s;t Judgment, to inherit the Kingdom prepared for Mankind from the beginning of the World: To enjoy that Advanced and Ex|cellent Happine&s;s, to which it is likely our fir&s;t Parents &s;hould without Death have been tran&s;la|ted after a certain time &s;pent on Earth, if they had been &s;tedfa&s;t in their Duty, and Obedient to their Maker. We &s;hall be admitted to dwell in the mo&s;t Bli&s;sful Pre&s;ence of God; and where we &s;hall be perfectly free from all Evil and Affliction for ever; and &s;hall be &s;atisfied with the eternal Communications of infinite and bounteous Love.</P>
<P>Thus I have &s;hewn what is the Nature and Tenour of that Covenant which we are now
<PB N="66" REF="192">under, and by which we mu&s;t expect to be &s;aved. But to the De&s;cription of this Covenant, it is nece&s;&s;ary to add the Demon&s;tration that we are actually under it; which I propo&s;ed to do for a Second Head of Di&s;cour&s;e. I &s;hall make it appear then, That we are all of us actually engag'd to perform the&s;e Duties which have been mention'd; and thereupon were admitted to have Right to the&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings and Favours; and that this was done at our Bapti&s;m. This happy Right therefore we retain if we have faithfully kept to the performance of our Duties; or We may recover it upon the Re|newal of our engagement, and return to our Duty. And we mu&s;t reckon upon it, that we have no Right to the&s;e Mercies; we cannot expect ever to obtain them, if we do not re|member, that we are engaged to do tho&s;e Du|ties mentioned, and if we do not perform them.</P>
<P>I &s;hall fir&s;t make it appear, That we were engag'd to the performance of our part in this Covenant at our Bapti&s;m. And this will be &s;ufficiently prov'd if it appears in Scripture, that &s;uch things are required of them who are Bapti&s;ed; for then it follows, That who|ever receives Bapti&s;m, he does therein te&s;ti|fie, that he binds him&s;elf to do &s;uch things.</P>
<P>Now we &s;hall find <HI>Repentance</HI> requir'd of them who come to be Bapti&s;ed. <HI>John the Bapti&s;t,</HI> who was the Fir&s;t Mini&s;ter of this Sacrament, made Repentance a great part of the Subject of his Preaching. And then we may ju&s;tly be|lieve he Bapti&s;ed none without Profe&s;&s;ions and
<PB N="67" REF="192">Declarations of this, if they were capable to make them. E&s;pecially, &s;ince we are told of the Multitudes that came to him, that they were baptized of him in <HI>Jordan,</HI> confe&s;&s;ing their Sins, <HI>Matth.</HI> 3.6. Without doubt this Confe&s;&s;ion was in Terms expre&s;&s;ing their God|ly Sorrow for their Sins, and Re&s;olutions to for&s;ake them. Again, This appears to have been required afterwards by the Apo&s;tles of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in many places; but that one may &s;uffice, <HI>Acts</HI> 2.38. where St. <HI>Peter</HI> ex|horts the Jews to repent and be baptized. Now, in Repentance, is included &s;uch a Re|nunciation of all the Cau&s;es of Sin, as has been mention'd.</P>
<P>That <HI>a Re&s;olution to keep the Commands of God,</HI> is al&s;o requir'd to attend our taking of Bapti&s;m, may appear &s;ufficiently by that one Scripture, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.21. where the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>Bapti&s;m &s;aves us not by putting away the Filth of the Fle&s;h, but by the An&s;wer of a Good Con&s;cience towards God.</HI> By the An&s;wer of a Good Con&s;cience towards God, the Apo&s;tle is under&s;tood to allude to &s;ome Que&s;tions that were wont to be put to per&s;ons who came to be baptized. And then be means by it, The Profe&s;&s;ion or Declaration of a Good Con|&s;cience; An Engagement to keep a Con&s;cience void of Offence towards God, and towards Men; or a Re&s;olution to keep the Com|mands of God. Bapti&s;m &s;aves us by this: That is, Bapti&s;m gives us a Right to the Fa|vours and Ble&s;&s;ings of the Covenant; which are therein conferr'd upon a &s;incere and de|clar'd Re&s;olution of this.</P>
<PB N="68" REF="193">
<P>La&s;tly, We may ob&s;erve, That <HI>Faith in the Articles of Chri&s;tian Religion,</HI> is al&s;o requir'd of them who come to be baptized. It was one part of <HI>John the Bapti&s;t</HI>'s Preaching, That the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, or the Me&s;&s;iah was to be &s;hortly reveal'd: And there|fore we mu&s;t &s;uppo&s;e, that he exacted of tho&s;e he baptized, the belief of this. And this was very evidently required afterwards, as we may &s;ee in the Baptizing of the Eunuch, by <HI>Philip,</HI> mention'd <HI>Acts</HI> 8. After that this Evangeli&s;t had been preaching to him the Do|ctrin of the Go&s;pel, the Eunuch &s;ays, <HI>See, here is Water, What doth hinder me to be bapti|zed?</HI> (Ver&s;e 36.) <HI>Philip</HI> &s;ays to him, (Ver&s;e 37.) <HI>If thou believe&s;t with all thine Heart, thou maye&s;t. He an&s;wered and &s;aid, I believe, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the Son of God.</HI> And hereupon he was baptized. This Profe&s;&s;ion contain'd the Sum and Sub&s;tance of the Chri&s;tian Faith.</P>
<P>Now when the&s;e things are required of them who come to be baptized, it appears, that Bapti&s;m is appointed for a Token and Declaration of &s;uch an Engagement on our parts: And then the receiving of Bapti&s;m is a puting our &s;elves under &s;uch an Engage|ment.</P>
<P>Let us now &s;ee, in the &s;econd place, That the Favours and Ble&s;&s;ings which have been mention'd, are the things which God, on his part, be&s;tows in and by the Sacrament of Bapti&s;m. This Sacrament is intended by God to be a Means and In&s;trument to convey tho&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings, and never fails to do it effectually,
<PB N="69" REF="193">but when it is hindred by our own default. God, who is abundant in Goodne&s;s and Truth, has appointed this Sacrament as a Means to convey his Saving-Grace; and &s;uch an one will never mock us with empty Ceremonies; nor di&s;appoint our Expectations of his Mer|cies, by the re&s;erve of any &s;ecret Decree, when we &s;eek them in the way of his appoint|ment. Let us &s;ee then, if the Holy Scrip|ture gives us any intimations, that &s;uch Ble&s;|&s;ings are be&s;tow'd in and by our Bapti&s;m; for then we may, being baptized, if we perform our part of the Covenant, confidently expect them.</P>
<P><HI>The Forgivene&s;s of Sins,</HI> is conferr'd hereby, as the Scripture in many places te&s;tifies. It is &s;aid, <HI>John the Bapti&s;t</HI> preached the Bapti&s;m of Repentance for the Remi&s;&s;ion of Sins, <HI>Mark</HI> 1.4. intimating, that his Bapti&s;m did be&s;tow this Favour upon tho&s;e who came to it truly penitent. This is &s;ugge&s;ted al&s;o by tho&s;e words of <HI>Ananias</HI> to <HI>Saul, Ari&s;e</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>and be baptized, and wa&s;h away thy Sins,</HI> Acts 22.16. He &s;ays, <HI>Wa&s;h them away,</HI> with a plain allu|&s;ion to the Water which was to be u&s;ed in the baptizing him, and becau&s;e the Pardon of his Pa&s;t-&s;ins was to be conferr'd upon him in this.</P>
<P>We find al&s;o <HI>Sanctification</HI> mention'd, as conferr'd in and by this Sacrament. Hence our Saviour &s;peaks of this as the In&s;trument of our New Birth, and that by which the ble&s;&s;ed Influences that effect this are convey'd; in that he &s;ays, <HI>Except a Man be born of Water and of
<PB N="70" REF="194">the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God,</HI> John 3.5. If a Man mu&s;t be born of Water, this is an In&s;trument and Means of his New Birth. He puts together Water and the Holy Gho&s;t, to &s;ignifie, that the &s;anctify|ing Influences of the Holy Spirit are conferr'd in the Admini&s;tration of Bapti&s;m; for it is the Water of this Sacrament which he there &s;peaks of. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o &s;ays to &s;ome, after they had been baptized, and made Con|verts to Chri&s;tianity, <HI>But ye are wa&s;hed, but ye are &s;anctified;</HI> intimating, that they had re|ceiv'd this Sanctification in and by this Sacra|mental Wa&s;hing, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, There is herein convey'd al&s;o, <HI>A Right and Title to Everla&s;ting Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s.</HI> We find the Apo&s;tle expre&s;&s;ing this in <HI>Tit.</HI> 3.5, 6, 7. where, indeed, he &s;peaks of all the&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings, as conferred in and by our Bapti&s;m: His words are the&s;e, <HI>According to his Mercy, he &s;a|ved us, by the wa&s;hing of Regeneration, and re|newing of the Holy Gho&s;t, which he &s;hed on us abundantly, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour; that, being ju&s;tified by his Grace, we &s;hould be made Heirs, according to the Hope of Everla&s;ting Life.</HI> Here he plainly a&s;cribes it to the wa&s;hing of Regeneration; that is, this Sacrament, as the Means and In&s;trument of Conveyance; that we are renew'd by the Holy Gho&s;t, and &s;an|ctified; that we are ju&s;tified by the Grace of God; and are made Heirs of Everla&s;ting Life, as we hope to be.</P>
<P>Thus, I think, it does &s;ufficiently appear, that the Covenant, which has been now de|&s;crib'd,
<PB N="71" REF="194">is that which the Lord our God has made with us at our Bapti&s;m. We &s;ee what things we are engag'd to do, and what a migh|ty encouragement we have to perform them: We &s;ee what mu&s;t be the Care and Bu&s;ine&s;s of our Lives; or el&s;e we &s;hall be judg'd to re|nounce and di&s;own our Bapti&s;m: And then we mu&s;t never pretend to expect, that we &s;hall be partakers of the&s;e glorious Ble&s;&s;ings. Much might be &s;aid to per&s;wade Men to take heed to them&s;elves, that they forget not this Co|venant: But the thing it &s;elf &s;peaks for this. It appears, that we are engag'd, and &s;hall prove fal&s;e to God, if we do not perform our part; and it is certain, we &s;hall never par|take of the&s;e glorious and nece&s;&s;ary Favours, without doing &s;o. The&s;e are then a &s;trong In|vitation and Inducement to the Performance of our Duty.</P>
<P>I pa&s;s then to the la&s;t thing I propo&s;ed to do, which was, To &s;ugge&s;t and &s;hew, how we may be&s;t help our &s;elves to remember and ob&s;erve this Covenant; and &s;o may &s;ecure to our &s;elves the&s;e Everla&s;ting Mercies which are offer'd on God's part in it. To which pur|po&s;e I might urge the Praying earne&s;tly for the Grace of God; and the diligent and con|&s;tant Attendance on the Preaching of the Word of God: But I &s;hall rather in&s;i&s;t on what is, perhaps, more con&s;iderable, and yet more neglected, which is this: We mu&s;t, to this purpo&s;e, accu&s;tom our &s;elves frequently and &s;olemnly to renew this Covenant in a pre|par'd Celebration of the Sacrament of the
<PB N="72" REF="195">Lord's Supper. When we come to Years of capacity, to know and chu&s;e our own Actions, it is very ju&s;tly expected by Almighty God, that we &s;olemnly take upon our &s;elves this Covenant: That we make it our own Act and Deed, to devote our &s;elves to him, and &s;eek his offer'd Favour and Mercy. And &s;ince he has appointed this other Sacrament to be the Rite wherein this is to be done, we mu&s;t do it in the u&s;ing of this, if we would be ac|cepted with him. We mu&s;t prepare our &s;elves then for the Lord's Supper as &s;oon as we can, when we can under&s;tand what we do; by con|&s;idering the Tenor of the Bapti&s;mal Covenant; by po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing our &s;elves with a deep &s;en&s;e of the Nece&s;&s;ity and Excellency of tho&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings which it offers us; and by &s;tirring up in our &s;elves thereupon an earne&s;t De&s;ire to obtain them, and a firm Re&s;olution and Purpo&s;e to do our part of the Covenant, that &s;o we may obtain them. And being thus prepar'd, we mu&s;t, in taking this Sacrament, bind our &s;elves to tho&s;e things, and declare, that we &s;eek and hope for tho&s;e Mercies upon our performance of &s;uch gracious Conditions. Mo&s;t certainly, if we have ever contradicted and broken this Covenant, God him&s;elf will never reckon it rightly and duly renew'd, unle&s;s we renew it in the celebration of this Sacrament, if he affords us means and opportunity of doing &s;o. Be&s;ides, the more &s;olemnity this renewal of our Covenant is perform'd with, the more impre&s;&s;ion will the doing of it make upon us; and by con&s;equence, the more &s;trong and la&s;t|ing
<PB N="73" REF="195">it is likely to be. And this Sacrament is, in its own nature, very fit to a&s;&s;i&s;t us in the per|formance of our Duties, and &s;o to confirm our Covenant: It has &s;uch important Repre&s;enta|tions in it, as do of them&s;elves tend to the&s;e happy Effects. When we &s;ee there a lively Re|pre&s;entation of the Death of Chri&s;t, of his broken Body, and his Blood &s;hed for us, and mu&s;t con&s;ider, that this Sacrifice of his Death was the co&s;tly Price which procur'd the Fa|vour of this Covenant for us, will not this ef|fectually di&s;po&s;e us to value and comply with this Method of our Salvation? Will it not force us to think, we &s;hould be ba&s;ely ungrate|ful to the Dying Love of our Redeemer, if we &s;hould neglect this offer'd Mercy? When we &s;ee there, how great and precious a Sacri|fice our Sins requir'd to make atonement for them! Our Saviour and Friend put to Death, by our Wickedne&s;s and his own Love! Will not this make us mourn greatly for our Sins! Melt our very Hearts into Tears of Penitent Grief! And turn us to loath, abhor, and for|&s;ake every Evil Way! When we &s;ee there how much Je&s;us, the Son of God, has lov'd us, how much he has done to &s;ave us, may not this greatly encourage our Faith, to addre&s;s to him, and rely upon him for Salvation! And when it calls to our Minds, that we are bought with a Price, even with the Price of his mo&s;t precious Blood; he has made a Dear Purcha&s;e of us; this will &s;trongly &s;ugge&s;t to us, that we are not to think our &s;elves our own: We mu&s;t not live to our &s;elves, but henceforth live to
<PB N="74" REF="196">him, that died for us: We are under the greate&s;t Obligations to obey every Command, that &s;o kind and gracious a Ma&s;ter can think fit to lay upon us: We ought to mortifie and &s;ubdue all Corrupt Affections, and bani&s;h from our Hearts all Inordinate Lu&s;ts, all his Ene|mies and Competitors, and re&s;olve to be in|tirely his, and mind nothing &s;o much as to &s;tudy and do what will plea&s;e him in the whole Cour&s;e of our Lives. Be&s;ides all this, we may con&s;ider, That this Sacrament is ap|pointed by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, as a Means to con|vey Spiritual Strength and Grace to us, where|by we may be inabled to do what he requires of us. Here, he that Hungers and Thir&s;ts af|ter Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall be filled: Here, he will give the Holy Spirit abundantly to them that ask him: Here, he be&s;tows all the Happy Be|nefits of his Pa&s;&s;ion to the Meet Receivers; all that is promi&s;ed on God's part of this Co|venant; and Grace to perform what is re|quir'd on ours! Oh, that Men were &s;en&s;ible how great Advantages they lo&s;e, when they withdraw them&s;elves from this Sacrament! That they would con&s;ider and believe what the Scriptures &s;ays of it! That it is the <HI>Com|munication of the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t;</HI> A Conveyance of Divine Grace; It will make the frequent and &s;erious Attenders upon it, Partakers of the Spirit of God, to a&s;&s;i&s;t and &s;trengthen them again&s;t the &s;tronge&s;t Corrup|tions, again&s;t the greate&s;t Temptations, and all the Difficulties of their Duty; this would &s;ecure their Per&s;everance in Holine&s;s, and
<PB N="75" REF="196">their attainment of Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. Let us &s;uffer our &s;elves then to be per&s;waded to take as many Opportunities as we can have to pre|pare our &s;elves, and come to this Sacrament; that we may be &s;tedfa&s;t in this happy Cove|nant with God. And &s;o &s;hall we certainly find true, what the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ays, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 25.10. <HI>All the paths of the Lord are Mercy and Truth to &s;uch as keep his Covenant and his Te&s;timonies.</HI> Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Glory World without End. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Eternal God! Lord of Heaven and Earth; Crea|tor, and Owner, and Pre&s;erver, and rightful So|vereign over us. Thou ha&s;t made all things of thy &s;elf; and we ought to &s;et our &s;elves to live for thy Glory. Thou ha&s;t laid thy Laws upon us; and we ought to make them the &s;ole rule of our Actions. And it is very Ju&s;t and Righteous that thou ha&s;t always made our doing &s;o the nece&s;&s;ary condition of thy Favour, and of our Happine&s;s in the injoyment of it. Thou requi|re&s;t herein no more than what is naturally and indi&s;|pen&s;ably due to thee. We mu&s;t therefore condemn and abhor all the wickedne&s;s of the World, which contra|dicts that Honour and Obedience which is thy due; and is Rebellion, Ingratitude, and Inju&s;tice again&s;t thee, as well as affront to thy mo&s;t Glorious Perfecti|ons. And we mu&s;t needs admire and prai&s;e thy won|derful goodne&s;s to Mankind in that thou ha&s;t not for
<PB N="76" REF="197">this, pa&s;t an irrevocable &s;entence of Damnation upon us. Thou ha&s;t conde&s;cended to offer us again thy Favour upon Gracious and ea&s;ie terms: And ha&s;t propo&s;ed to us a New Covenant whereby we may be &s;aved. We give e&s;pecially mo&s;t humble and hearty thanks for the kind and nece&s;&s;ary Mediation of the Son of God: by who&s;e gracious undertaking, and by who&s;e mo&s;t precious Blood, this Favour was procur'd. And we have further rea&s;on to ble&s;s and prai&s;e thy mercy to|wards us in particular, who are here before thee, for that we were by the kind di&s;pen&s;ation of thy Provi|dence in our Bapti&s;m engag'd in this happy Covenant: We were then devoted to thee, and were admitted thereupon to a right to all thy Favour and Mercy to Sinners: And for this thy un&s;peakable goodne&s;s to us we do give thee mo&s;t hearty thanks. And in a deep fence of thy Favour herein, We lament O Lord, and we condemn our &s;elves for that we have not lived an|&s;werably to it: Alas in many In&s;tances have we broken thy Covenant, and follow'd and obey'd the Lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h, and Temptations of the Devil, and the corrupt Cu&s;toms and Practices of the World. We have too frequently done tho&s;e things which we ought not to have done. And to our &s;hame we mu&s;t confe&s;s too, that we have left undone tho&s;e things which we ought to have done. For we have been negligent of Divine Knowledge, we have not received the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel with that Love and Submi&s;&s;ion which we ought to have done, nor &s;uffer'd them to have &s;uch Influence upon us as they are worthy to have. Mo&s;t wretchedly we mu&s;t confe&s;s we have &s;lighted, and for&s;aken, and broken thy Holy Laws, which are in all things ju&s;t and good. We mu&s;t own, that we have hereby rendred our &s;elves utterly unworthy of thy Fa|vour and Mercy: But, O Lord, we are told, that to the Lord our God belong Mercy and Forgivene&s;s, tho we have rebell'd again&s;t thee. O Father of Mercies forgive us we pray thee all that is pa&s;t; and accept of us who de&s;ire to return to thee: Let us we be&s;eech
<PB N="77" REF="197">thee find favour with thee and live. We return to thee with full purpo&s;e of Soul, we heartily renew our Covenant with thee, and do de&s;ire that it may ever hereafter remain inviolate. O give us the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of thy Grace, that we may duly keep it, and walk before thee in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Holine&s;s all our days, and &s;o may be partakers of thy abundant Mercy and Truth:</P>
<P>Vi&s;it we humbly pray thee with the &s;aving Light of thy Go&s;pel, the dark corners of the World, let the works of the Devil be there de&s;troyed, and the wretched Creatures turn'd from the Power of Satan unto God. Grant thy Church to flouri&s;h in all Grace and to abound in every good Work; and in thy due time Redeem <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> O God, out of all his troubles. We pray thee ble&s;s the Nations to which we belong, with a long continuance of thy Go&s;pel in Power and Purity among&s;t us, and make us to bring forth an&s;werable Fruit to thy Glory, and our own Peace and Happi|ne&s;s. We pray thee let our King enjoy thy peculiar Favour: Make him a Glorious and Succe&s;sful Defen|der of thy Faith and True Religion, and help Him &s;o to profe&s;s and obey it Him&s;elf, as may be to His ever|la&s;ting Salvation: That He may at la&s;t change His Earthly Crown for a brighter Heavenly one. Ble&s;s the Royal Family with a great Encrea&s;e, pro&s;per it with all Happine&s;s, and let it be always In&s;trumental to ours. Be Gracious to all our Natural Relations: Oh let thy Grace make them &s;tedfa&s;t in the Duries of their Cove|nant with thee, that they may be Partakers of thy Everla&s;ting Mercies. We yeild thee humble thanks for the Mercies of this Day, e&s;pecially for the means of Grace, and all the good Impre&s;&s;ions they have made upon us: Grant that it may abide for ever, and bring forth much good Fruit. We humbly commit our &s;elves to thy Protection this Night, and we be&s;eech thee ac|cept us and all our Services which we offer to thee in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous: In who&s;e Name and Words we further pray, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c,</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="78" REF="198">
<HEAD>THE SACRAMENT OF THE <HI>Lord's Supper</HI> EXPLAINED; AND THE Attendance upon it Directed and Urg'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 Cor. 11.26.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For as often as ye Eat this Bread, and Drink this Cup, ye do &s;hew the Lord's Death till he come.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THere is very apparent in Man a wonder|ful di&s;agreement with him&s;elf: Which plainly &s;hews, that he is not now in his truly Natural and Original State; For he could ne|ver
<PB N="79" REF="198">come &s;uch as he is, from the Hands of a Wi&s;e and Good Creator.</P>
<P>For an In&s;tance of this we may take notice, That he is &s;trongly addicted to Religion, in|&s;omuch that he is hardly able, even when he &s;ets him&s;elf to endeavour this, to &s;atisfie him|&s;elf altogether to neglect it; &s;omething of Religion he mu&s;t needs practice: But yet in all his Applications to the Services of it, he is &s;o carele&s;s and negligent, &s;o &s;light and for|mal, that he &s;eems as it were drag'd to it; and it looks like a meer violence and impo&s;ition upon his Nature to do any thing it requires. We may ob&s;erve the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> in this Chapter charging the Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> with &s;uch a negligent and formal Application to their Religion; and that in the mo&s;t &s;olemn and chief Act of it, their Celebrating the Sa|crament of the Lord's Supper. The outward performance and &s;hew of this Sacrament they kept up in their A&s;&s;emblies; But, as they join'd with it their common Love Fea&s;ts, &s;o they &s;eem to have done by it as we too com|monly do by the other Sacrament of Bapti&s;m, that is, let the Fea&s;t and Entertainment which attended it divert them from the true nature and de&s;ign of it, and &s;o from that wherein the Religion of Celebrating it does chiefly con&s;i&s;t. They met indeed to eat Bread and drink Wine, but they did not di&s;cern the Lord's Body in do|ing this; they did not duly attend to, or regard the true Nature and Signification of this Action. To rectifie this di&s;order the Apo&s;tle puts them in mind, in <HI>ver</HI> 24, 25. That our Saviour
<PB N="80" REF="199">when he in&s;tituted this Sacrament, intended, that it &s;hould &s;erve for a Memorial of his Death: And in this 26th Ver&s;e, he tells them it was appointed for this purpo&s;e, That <HI>as oft as they did eat this Bread and drink this Cup, they &s;hould &s;hew the Lord's Death till he comes.</HI></P>
<P>In &s;peaking to the&s;e words, I &s;hall endea|vour to promote that de&s;ign for which they were &s;ent to the Church of <HI>Corinth;</HI> that is, the right under&s;tanding and due celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And this appears nece&s;&s;ary to be endeavour'd in our time, by the too common neglect, and the carele&s;s celebration of this Sacrament among&s;t us. To this purpo&s;e I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e four Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To give the Import of the&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle, that we may under&s;tand the Na|ture and De&s;ign of this Sacrament &s;o far as it is &s;ignified in them.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall &s;hew, what that Con&s;ideration or Notion of this Sacrament does intimate and &s;ugge&s;t to us to be under&s;tood, and acknow|ledged by us in the Celebration of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;hall intimate from thence, with what di&s;po&s;ition of Mind we &s;hould Celebrate it.</P>
<P N="4">4. I &s;hall deduce &s;ome Arguments from thence al&s;o, to per&s;wade Men to come to this Sacrament as frequently as they can.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;hall &s;hew you the Im|port of the Apo&s;tle's words here, concerning the Lord's Supper: He &s;ays, That in this, according to in&s;titution, we <HI>do &s;hew the Lord's Death.</HI> The word here, render'd to <HI>&s;hew,</HI> is
<PB N="81" REF="199">el&s;ewhere render'd to <HI>declare,</HI> and &s;ometimes it is applied to the Preaching of the Go&s;pel. It is well enough render'd here, if we add but one word more, to make the &s;ence of the Tran&s;lation equal with that of the Original: We may &s;ay then, this Sacrament is intended, to <HI>&s;hew forth</HI> the Lord's Death: <HI>to make a &s;o|lemn and lively repre&s;entation of this.</HI> And this &s;ignifies &s;omething more than a bare comme|moration or remembrance of his Death: It &s;ignifies the acting over again, as it were, the Sacrifice of the Death of Chri&s;t, and the re|pre&s;enting or &s;etting this before God the Fa|ther, as a means to find favour with him. As the Fathers of the World and the Jewi&s;h Na|tion were directed to repre&s;ent this only Pro|pitiatory Sacrifice, the Death of Chri&s;t upon the Cro&s;s, by their Offerings for Sin, &s;o the Chri&s;tian Church is directed to repre&s;ent it &s;till by the celebration of this Sacrament: We mu&s;t not &s;ay, with &s;ome in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> that Chri&s;t is <HI>per&s;onally</HI> offer'd by us in this Sacrament, but that he is <HI>repre&s;entatively</HI> offer'd herein. This Sacrament is not a true, real and propitiatory Sacrifice for Sin, but a lively Repre&s;entation of &s;uch a Sacrifice. That it does repre&s;ent the Death of Chri&s;t on the Cro&s;s, the Apo&s;tle further intimates, in <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.1. where he &s;ays to the <HI>Galatians,</HI> That <HI>Je|&s;us Chri&s;t had before their eyes been evidently &s;et forth crucified among them:</HI> which can only mean, that this had been repre&s;ented among them in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. This Sacrament then we may call the Chri|&s;tian
<PB N="82" REF="200">Sacrifice, as the ancient Fathers of the Church were wont to do. A Divine of our own &s;ays, The ancient Fathers u&s;ed to call the the Lord's Supper, a Sacrifice, becau&s;e it is a Commemoration and al&s;o a Repre&s;entation to God the Father, of Chri&s;t offer'd upon the Cro&s;s, <HI>(Perkins Demon&s;tr. Probl. tit. de Sacr. Mi&s;&s;ae.)</HI> Another &s;ays, <HI>(Mede)</HI> This Sacra|ment is not a bare remembring or putting our &s;elves only in mind of the Death of Chri&s;t, but a repre&s;enting this to God. For every Sacrifice (&s;ays he) is directed to God; and the Oblation therein, of what&s;oever it be, is made to God, and has him for its Object. And by this Sacrament we repre&s;ent the Ble&s;&s;ed Pa&s;|&s;ion of our Lord to the Father, &s;etting before him the Monuments thereof. And he produ|ces, be&s;ides other Te&s;timonies out of the An|cients, an Expre&s;&s;ion of <HI>Ju&s;tin Martyr (Dialog. cum Tryph)</HI> to this purpo&s;e: Who &s;ays, there is a two-fold Commemoration made in the Euchari&s;t; The Fir&s;t is of our Food, dry, and liquid, by ackowledging God the Creator and Giver thereof; The Second is of the Pa&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t the Son of God: Now the Fir&s;t of the&s;e is made to God (&s;ays he) therefore the Se|cond is. The Celebration then of this Supper is the Wor&s;hiping of God by a Sacrifice &s;till, and this is to continue to the end of the World, for the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, We mu&s;t thus <HI>&s;hew the Lord's Death till he comes.</HI> Thus we &s;ee the Import of the Apo&s;tle's Words is this, That the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper does repre|&s;ent, and as it were repeat the Sacrifice of the
<PB N="83" REF="200">Death of Chri&s;t, offering it up to God the Father. This, by his appointment, his Mini|&s;ters do thus on Earth; while he as a Prie&s;t for ever offers it in Heaven for us.</P>
<P>I come now in the Second place, to &s;hew what this Notion of this Sacrament does inti|mate and &s;ugge&s;t to us to be under&s;tood, and acknowledged by us when we Celebrate it. Which will be to &s;hew, what this way of Wor|&s;hiping God by a Sacrifice for Sin, does &s;igni|fie and mean: What he expects we &s;hould under&s;tand and acknowledge in our approa|ches to him, and does herein &s;ignifie and in|timate, that he expects &s;uch things, when he directs Mankind to Wor&s;hip him by Sacrifices. This Sacrament then, as it is a Repre&s;entation of the Sacrifice of the Death of Chri&s;t; does intimate and &s;ignifie the&s;e four things, as all Sacrifices for Sin did:</P>
<P N="1">1. That we are guilty before God, and de&s;erving only of Wrath and Puni&s;hment from him.</P>
<P N="2">2. That we are not to expect any favour from him, if the Honour of his Law and Au|thority be not repaired by &s;ome &s;uffering for Sin.</P>
<P N="3">3. That yet the Divine Compa&s;&s;ion to our &s;ad ca&s;e, allows the tranferring of our Guilt on &s;omething el&s;e, even to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is the Offering and Sacrifice for it.</P>
<P N="4">4. That the Offering and Sacrifice which we make to God, is allow'd and accounted to Suffer in our &s;tead, and the Death and De|&s;truction of that, does excu&s;e us from Death and De&s;truction.</P>
<PB N="84" REF="201">
<P>All the&s;e things are implied in &s;uch a way of Wor&s;hip, and mu&s;t be under&s;tood and at|tended to by him, that under&s;tands what he does, and minds the true nature and de&s;ign of his Wor&s;hip: The&s;e things then we mu&s;t under&s;tand and con&s;ider in Celebrating the Lord's Supper, that we may therein rightly and truly di&s;cern the Lord's Body. I &s;hall &s;peak to each of the&s;e in order.</P>
<P N="1">1. When God requires Men to Wor&s;hip him by &s;uch Sacrifices, as are de&s;troy'd upon their being offer'd to him, he &s;ignifies, that we ought, when we come before him, to ac|knowledge our &s;elves guilty, and de&s;erving of Wrath and Puni&s;hment. We mu&s;t bring what we offer to God, as a forfeited thing, as that which we have lo&s;t all Right to, and there|fore do re&s;tore it to the Grand Owner and Lord of all things. And when the thing is de&s;troy'd which we offer to God, this &s;ignifies what the offerer de&s;erves: It comes to Death and De|&s;truction as an accur&s;ed thing being reckon'd &s;o for his &s;ake who brings it; and &s;o an accur&s;ed and a devoted thing may be the &s;ame. How|ever the way of Wor&s;hiping by Sacrifices was performed before God cho&s;e the <HI>Jews</HI> for his peculiar People, we &s;hall find that he directed them to perform it with &s;uch Rites, as plainly &s;ignified and repre&s;ented all the&s;e things which have been mention'd. In particular he di|rected an acknowledgment of Guilt to be made with the&s;e Sacrifices, as appears in <HI>Lev.</HI> 5.5. which Scripture, the Jewi&s;h Doctors un|der&s;tand, as requiring a Confe&s;&s;ion of Sins to
<PB N="85" REF="201">be made with every Sacrifice for Sin. There|fore one of them &s;ays <HI>(Maimon in Outr.)</HI> un|le&s;s the Offerers practice Repentance, and make a Confe&s;&s;ion of their Sin in expre&s;s words, they are not purged by their Sacrifi|ces; for it is &s;aid in <HI>Lev.</HI> 5.5. <HI>He &s;hall confe&s;s that wherein he hath &s;inned.</HI> When a Sinner comes to Wor&s;hip God, he mu&s;t come before him as &s;uch, with humble and &s;elf-aba&s;ing ac|knowledgments of his Guilt. This acknow|ledgment al&s;o we ought to make when we Ce|lebrate the Lord's Supper; as the Apo&s;tle plainly &s;ignifies in this Di&s;cour&s;e: For he re|quires Men to examine them&s;elves before they come to it; which he appoints without doubt for this rea&s;on, that they may find out what Sins they are guilty of, and may confe&s;s them before God: And he al&s;o bids Men Judge them&s;elves, that they may not be judged of the Lord: We repre&s;ent in this Sacrament the Death of our Offering; therefore to do this rightly we mu&s;t join with it an acknowledg|ment of Sin, and of the de&s;ert of Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P N="2">2. In all Sacrifices there is intimated, and therefore mu&s;t be acknowledged at this Sacra|ment, that we are not to expect any Favour from God, unle&s;s &s;ome &s;atisfaction be made to the Authority of God, which is affronted in our &s;in. This is evidently &s;ignified in that the Offer|ing was brought to be kill'd and de&s;troy'd in or|der to the Offerers finding favour with God. He is a good and benign Being, and does not delight in the de&s;truction of Creatures that he has made: He does not require, nor is plea&s;ed
<PB N="86" REF="202">with it for it &s;elf: But as he is Judge and Gove|rnour of the World, and injur'd and affronted by the &s;ins of Men, &s;o it is become nece&s;&s;ary to the maintaining his Authority and Honour, that there be &s;ome Puni&s;hment inflicted for Sin.</P>
<P>And this is that which is intimated in the Death of Sacrifices, That <HI>without Blood there is no remi&s;&s;ion,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle plainly teaches, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.22. which he &s;hews al&s;o in the following Di&s;cour&s;e to be &s;ignified by the Death of Chri&s;t. When we celebrate this Sacrament therefore, which is a repre&s;entation of his Death, we mu&s;t con&s;ider and acknowledge, that there is no Peace with God to be ex|pected by Sinners; no Pardon to be obtain'd unle&s;s his Honour and Authority be &s;ecur'd by &s;ome &s;uffering for Sin. That as a Wi&s;e Go|vernour of the World, he will not give an ea&s;ie and cheap Pardon, le&s;t his Government &s;hould be de&s;pi&s;ed, and he &s;hould encourage Men to tran&s;gre&s;s. And as infinitely offended by the &s;ins of Men, he would not permit his well-be|loved Son to obtain the Pardon of them, with|out dying and &s;uffering &s;ome penalty for them.</P>
<P N="3">3. In all Sacrifices for Sin there was intima|ted, and to be under&s;tood a transferring of Guilt from the Offerer to his Sacrifice; that it was communicated to the Sacrifice, and remo|ved from the Offerer. There was &s;uch a Rite as this appointed; the Per&s;on who offer'd laid his hands upon the head of his Offering while he confe&s;t his Sins. This was done by the di|rection of God him&s;elf. It was order'd to be done by particular Per&s;ons when they offer'd,
<PB N="87" REF="202"><HI>Levit.</HI> 1.4. and el&s;ewhere. In Offerings for all the People, &s;ome of the Chief of them did this as Repre&s;entatives of the re&s;t. In &s;ome Ca&s;es the High Prie&s;t laid his Hands upon the Offering, as a Repre&s;entative of all the People, as we &s;ee particularly, <HI>Levit.</HI> 16.21. And the meaning and &s;ignificancy of this Rite is there expre&s;t to be this transferring of Guilt; for 'tis &s;aid that in doing this, He did <HI>put their trangre&s;&s;ions and &s;ins upon the head of that</HI> where|on he had laid his Hands while he confe&s;t them. That there was herein a guilt com|municated to the Offering, appears in this, that he who led the Scape-Goat into the Wilder|ne&s;s after this confe&s;&s;ion of the Peoples Sins over him, was reckon'd defiled by the Bea&s;t, and was order'd to wa&s;h his Clothes, and bathe him&s;elf before he might return among the Peo|ple. And he al&s;o who carried the Bea&s;t that was &s;lain, after &s;uch confe&s;&s;ion over it, to be burnt without the Camp was accounted defiled by that: The&s;e things we may &s;ee, <HI>Levit.</HI> 16.26, 28. And that the guilt was remov'd, as well as communicated, from the Offerer to the Offering, appears, in that the &s;lain Bea&s;t was carried away out of the Camp to be burnt; and it is expre&s;ly &s;aid of the Scape-Goat, who was to be let go alive into the Wilderne&s;s; That he &s;hould <HI>bear away upon him the Iniquity of the Children of I&s;rael to a Land not inhabited,</HI> Levit. 16.22. This then is that which we mu&s;t under&s;tand and acknowledge concerning Je&s;us Chri&s;t at this Sacrament, That the &s;ins of Mankind were transferr'd upon this our great
<PB N="88" REF="203">Sacrifice: And thus much the Scripture plainly tells us of him. For it &s;ays, <HI>He bare our Sins in his own Body on the Tree,</HI> that is on the Cro&s;s, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.24. The Prophet al&s;o &s;ays of him, <HI>God hath laid on him the Iniquity of us all,</HI> I&s;a. 53.6. becau&s;e this was then unalterably determined, that he &s;hould bear the &s;ins of Men, and it was operative even then to the Salvation of Good Men, tho' Chri&s;t was not then come in the Fle&s;h. Again, 'tis &s;aid, <HI>He was made &s;in for us who knew no &s;in,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.21. <HI>And he was offer'd to bear the &s;ins of many,</HI> Heb. 9.23. which things plainly expre&s;s and &s;hew, the transferring or imputation of the &s;ins of Mankind to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, our great and only true propitiatory Sacrifice.</P>
<P N="4">4. In all Sacrifices for &s;in, there was inti|mated, and might be under&s;tood the transfer|ring of the Puni&s;hment due from the Offerer to the Sacrifice: So as that the Sacrifice &s;uf|fer'd what was due to the Sinner, and &s;uf|fer'd in&s;tead of the Sinner, to excu&s;e him from &s;uffering. When the Blood of the Sacrifice was &s;prinkled on the Altar, or brought into the mo&s;t Holy Place, it was offer'd to God, being the Life of the Creature Sacrificed, in|&s;tead of the forfeited Life of the Offerer. And the Blood wherein is the Life of an Animal, as the Scripture &s;peaks, being thus re&s;erv'd to God to make atonement for &s;in, it was not permitted to any to eat the Blood of any Creature whil&s;t that way of Wor&s;hip la&s;ted, and for that rea&s;on; but when that way of Wor&s;hip is aboli&s;h'd, and the rea&s;on of that ab&s;tinence is remov'd, then is it no longer un|lawful
<PB N="89" REF="203">to eat the Blood, this by the Way. It is &s;aid in <HI>Levit.</HI> 17.11. That the Blood of the Sacrifice was to be &s;hed, and put upon the Al|tar <HI>to make an atonement for their Souls:</HI> And 'tis repeated again, <HI>that 'tis the Blood which maketh an Atonement for the Soul.</HI> Now to atone for the Soul is to atone for the Life; which can mean no le&s;s than to excu&s;e the forfeiture of it, to &s;ave the Life of the Offerer; and &s;o the Life of the Sacrifice was evidently offer'd in&s;tead of that. To be or make an atonement for the Soul, and to be its Ran&s;om, is the &s;ame thing in Scripture, as we may &s;ee, in <HI>Exod.</HI> 30. by comparing the 12th. with the 15th. and 16th. <HI>ver&s;es.</HI> And the <HI>Jews</HI> them&s;elves under&s;tood thus of this matter: For at the end of that Confe&s;&s;ion of &s;ins which they made, with their Hands upon the Head of the Sacrifice, we are told they added the&s;e words, <HI>And let this be my Expiation or Atonement.</HI> Which words they them&s;elves explain thus; Let this Victim be &s;ub&s;tituted in my place and &s;tead, &s;o that the Evil I have de&s;erv'd may fall upon the Head of my Sacrifice. (<HI>Outr. de &s;acr.</HI> p. 170.)</P>
<P>As this was intimated in the Sacrifices of the <HI>Jews,</HI> &s;o it is that which the Scripture plainly &s;ays of the Death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, That he &s;uffer'd Death for us, as our de&s;ert, and to excu&s;e us thereby from &s;uffering. A multi|tude of places &s;peak this, I &s;hall mention but &s;ome of them, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 20.28. He &s;ays of him|&s;elf, <HI>He came to give his life a ran&s;om for ma|ny.</HI> And <HI>He &s;uffer'd for our &s;ins,</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.18. The Prophet &s;ays, <HI>He
<PB N="90" REF="204">was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was brui&s;ed for our Iniquities, the Cha&s;ti&s;ement of our Peace was upon him, and with his &s;tripes we are healed,</HI> I&s;a. 53.5. which plainly &s;peaks his &s;uffering in our &s;tead. This, then, is what we are to under&s;tand and con&s;ider of his Death at the Celebration of this Sacrament. And that we are to do &s;o, is plainly &s;ignified in the very words our Saviour u&s;ed at the In&s;titution of it: For of the Bread, he &s;aid, <HI>This is my Body which is given for you,</HI> as St. <HI>Luke</HI> repre&s;ents it, <HI>Luke</HI> 22.19. <HI>which is broken for you,</HI> as St. <HI>Paul</HI> repre|&s;ents it, in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.24. And of the Wine he &s;aid, <HI>This is my Blood of the New Te&s;tament, which is &s;hed for many for the Remi&s;&s;ion of Sins,</HI> Mat. 26.28. Thus much I think may &s;uffice to &s;hew, what is intimated and &s;ignified in the repre&s;entation of the Death of Chri&s;t in the Sacrament, and what we are to attend to, and con&s;ider in the Celebration of it.</P>
<P>I come now in the Third place, to &s;ugge&s;t and gather from hence with what di&s;po&s;iti|on of mind we ought to celebrate this Repre|&s;entation of the Death of Chri&s;t. And this is &s;o evidently &s;ugge&s;ted in what has been &s;aid, that I need not in&s;i&s;t long upon it. With what temper and di&s;po&s;ition of mind does it become us to acknowledge our &s;elves &s;inners before God, but with a hearty Sorrow, and unfeigned Repentance for our Sins? It &s;hould grieve us certainly when we con&s;ider, that we have offer'd affront and di&s;honour to the Great God who is the Author of our Being, and the Fountain of all that Good which we
<PB N="91" REF="204">enjoy. And it &s;hould grieve us to think how much grief and pain it has co&s;t our Redeemer, to purcha&s;e the Pardon of our Sins. It &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s us with a very great &s;ence of the Evil of Sin, to &s;ee herein repre&s;ented, how odious and offen&s;ive it is to the Pure and Holy God, and how great a di&s;plea&s;ure he has conceived a|gain&s;t it. Herein we may learn, it is not &s;o &s;mall a matter to &s;in again&s;t God, as we com|monly account it; that he does not make a light matter of it; that he will not pardon it without &s;ome Te&s;timony of his Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t it: And thought it not for his Honour to accept a le&s;s Sacrifice, than the Blood and Death of his Son in our Nature: And this &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s us with an earne&s;t hatred and dete&s;tation of all Sin and Wickedne&s;s. And, then, as being truly fallen out with it, we mu&s;t make &s;trong and &s;tedfa&s;t re&s;olutions to for&s;ake our Sins for the future.</P>
<P>Again, Becau&s;e this Repre&s;entation of the Sacrifice of the Death of Chri&s;t, puts us in mind of a Remedy, as well as of our Di&s;ea&s;e, and of an Atonement for Sin as well as of our Sin: We may therefore rai&s;e our Hopes there|by in the Mercy of God through Je&s;us Chri&s;t. We may believe and rely upon the Sufficiency of this Sacrifice for Sin, be a&s;&s;ur'd of its accep|tance with the Father, and with an humble boldne&s;s repre&s;ent it to him to find favour with him: We may ask and hope for the Pardon of our Sins, the Sanctifying Influences of the Ho|ly Spirit, and an Intere&s;t in the Kingdom of Heaven. We may upon the account of this
<PB N="92" REF="205">Sacrifice, ask and expect the mo&s;t valuable, and the mo&s;t important Ble&s;&s;ings. And thus we are to exerci&s;e our Faith in God.</P>
<P>And when we con&s;ider the depth of Mi&s;ery into which we were plunged by our Sin, and from which we are redeem'd by the Death of Chri&s;t. This &s;hould affect our hearts with the highe&s;t thankfulne&s;s to him; who pitied us in our guilty State; who helped us in our helple&s;s Condition, who gave him&s;elf to die, that he might purcha&s;e Eternal Life for us. It &s;hould kindle a mo&s;t ardent and prevailing Love in us to him to con&s;ider, that he lov'd us, and gave him&s;elf for us! That he lov'd us freely, and redeem'd us at &s;o great a co&s;t to him&s;elf. It &s;hould make us devote our &s;elves to &s;erve him, and pre&s;ent our &s;elves a rea&s;on|able, holy, and lively Sacrifice to him. Rea|dy to do all things he commands, and to deny our &s;elves to Plea&s;e and Honour him. And then, in Obedience to his Commands, and in Conformity to his free Univer&s;al Love, we mu&s;t be in Charity with all Men; we &s;hould be ready to do good, far from &s;eeking to do any Evil to our Neighbour, and ea&s;ie to for|give tho&s;e that injure us. It is very evident, that this is the Temper and Di&s;po&s;ition of Mind, which is &s;uitable and becoming us in the Celebration of this Sacrament.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now in the la&s;t place urge Men from this Notion or Con&s;ideration of this Sacrament, to attend upon it, and u&s;e it as frequently as they can. And the foregoing Di&s;cour&s;e &s;eems to afford us very ea&s;ily the Three following Arguments to this Purpo&s;e.</P>
<PB N="93" REF="205">
<P N="1">1. That this In&s;tance and Way of Wor|&s;hip is mo&s;t exactly &s;uitable to the State of the Ca&s;e between God and us, and therefore very likely, if duly performed, to be accepta|ble with him. If we are at all concern'd to Wor&s;hip, we mu&s;t be concern'd to offer that &s;ort of Wor&s;hip, which is likely to be mo&s;t plea&s;ing to Almighty God: And if this be pe|culiarly &s;uitable to him and us, we cannot think of any that can be &s;o acceptable with him as this.</P>
<P>Now 'tis very ea&s;ie to &s;ee, if we look back upon what has been &s;aid, that this is mighti|ly &s;uitable to our Ca&s;e, &s;ince we are all be|come Sinners before God: What can be &s;o &s;uitable and fitting, as to own that we have forfeited all the Good that we enjoy, to bring him a part of it as a Confe&s;&s;ion of this? How &s;hould we approach the great offended God, but in the mo&s;t humble and abject manner? Owning that we de&s;erve Death and De&s;tructi|on: Depending, and declaring that we do depend upon the Atonement of a Sacrifice, and the Interce&s;&s;ion of a Prie&s;t and Mediator to find Favour with him: And pre&s;enting to him &s;uch a Sacrifice as he has declar'd him&s;elf well plea&s;ed with. Thus we own, and we duly Honour his ju&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t our Sins: We Honour his Holine&s;s and Ju&s;tice, tho we have before affronted both by our &s;ins: And certainly 'tis very requi&s;ite, that &s;ome a|mends, as we may &s;ay, &s;hould be made him for this, before we &s;hould be &s;o bold as to ask any Favours from him: And therefore that
<PB N="94" REF="206">we &s;hould offer and repre&s;ent to him a valua|ble and worthy Sacrifice: Without this, mo&s;t certainly we are not worthy to appear before him. It were &s;uch pre&s;umption to expect to be Accepted, or find Favour with him, that it were an new affront and injury, and would de|&s;erve and might procure greater Wrath and Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t us.</P>
<P N="2">2. We may con&s;ider farther, that this, as mo&s;t &s;uitable to our Ca&s;e, has been the Way of Wor&s;hip required and approved of God, and practi&s;ed by all Good Men in all Ages. Thus the Fathers of the World, without doubt by God's own direction Wor&s;hip'd him. And when he cho&s;e the <HI>Jews</HI> to be his peculiar Peo|ple, as the Ance&s;tors of their Nation had Wor&s;hiped him in this way, &s;o he &s;et them in the &s;ame way of Wor&s;hip; and he poli&s;h'd and adorn'd it with many Rites and Ceremo|nies, which al&s;o intimated to them the Rea|&s;on and Significations of this way. So that this may be reckon'd the Religion of the World, of all the right Wor&s;hipers of the True God; a way of Wor&s;hip, as Catholick or Univer&s;al as Wor&s;hip it &s;elf. We may ju&s;tly think, there is &s;omething very con&s;ide|rable in this; in that 'tis &s;o &s;teadily and con|&s;tantly required by Almighty God. It ap|pears very &s;teadily requir'd, when it was pra|cticed by his Direction from the beginning of the World; and is commanded in this way to be continued to the end of it. The Chri|&s;tian Church is not allow'd to approach God, without the repre&s;entation of a Sacrifice for
<PB N="95" REF="206">Sin, even the &s;ame which was repre&s;ented by all the Sacrifices of Ancient times; but we are favour'd to do this in a much more ea&s;ie and more plea&s;ant way. And this obliges us the rather to continue &s;tedfa&s;t in this Wor&s;hip, that 'tis now made more ea&s;ie to us, than it was before the coming of our Saviour. The con&s;tancy of former times in their co&s;tly, labou|rious and trouble&s;ome Sacrifices, will be a con|demnation of us in our great neglect of this &s;o ea&s;ie a Duty.</P>
<P>And if we &s;hould quite for&s;ake and lay a&s;ide this way of Wor&s;hiping God, as &s;ome pre|tended Chri&s;tians among us do, we &s;hould for|&s;ake the good Old Way which all the Saints now in Heaven have gone before us in; We &s;hould &s;eparate our &s;elves from all the Right Wor&s;hipers of the True God, that have ever been, and become Schi&s;maticks from the mo&s;t Catholick Church. And certainly a Man might very ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pect the Light within him to be meer Darkne&s;s, when it directs him to do &s;o contrary to the Command of the Holy Spi|rit by the Apo&s;tle, which is, that we &s;hould thus &s;hew forth the Death of Chri&s;t <HI>till his com|ing again.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, By what has been &s;aid, I think we have rea&s;on to conclude; That this is ab&s;o|lutely nece&s;&s;ary, and of great u&s;e to give ac|ceptance and &s;ucce&s;s to our Prayers. We may ju&s;tly fear, that no other Wor&s;hip will be of any avail to us without it; and this may be another Argument to move us as con|&s;tantly to attend this as we can. When God
<PB N="96" REF="207">has appointed this, we cannot rea&s;onably ex|pect, that he will ever hear our Prayers if we neglect it. To do thus is to live in Sin, in a guilty Omi&s;&s;ion of what he requires, and then &s;urely we &s;hall be in danger to have our Pray|ers rejected. If we live in Sin we are not fit for the forgivene&s;s of our Sins; if they are not forgiven, they are crying to Heaven a|gain&s;t us for vengeance, and will hinder our Prayers from being heard with God, and ob|&s;truct the way of Mercy towards us. But the joyning this Sacrament with our Prayers will be highly u&s;eful to us, and be very likely to give them the &s;ucce&s;s we de&s;ire. The nece&s;|&s;ity and u&s;efulne&s;s of this way of Wor&s;hip to give &s;ucce&s;s to Prayers, has been under&s;tood by all the Old Wor&s;hipers of God before the coming of Chri&s;t; who therefore joyn'd it to their Prayers to recommend and help them. Hence it is, that when we read of <HI>Abraham, I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> calling upon God, we read of their Building Altars too, and offering Sa|crifices. Hence it was, that <HI>Saul</HI> when he was afraid the <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> would come upon him be|fore he had made his Prayers for good &s;ucce&s;s, forced him&s;elf to offer a Burnt-offering, as he &s;ays, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 13.12. This al&s;o is &s;ignified and &s;hewn very evidently, in that of <HI>Ezra.</HI> 6.10. where 'tis &s;aid, the King of <HI>Per&s;ia</HI> had decreed the re&s;toring of the Temple Wor&s;hip; that the <HI>Jews</HI> might offer Sacrifices of &s;weet &s;avour to the God of Heaven, and pray for the Life of the King and his Sons. And what the&s;e Old Wor&s;hipers thought of their Sacrifices,
<PB N="97" REF="207">the &s;ame Opinion had the Pious and Learned Wor&s;hippers, &s;ince the coming of Chri&s;t con|cerning this Sacrament. We find in&s;everal of them <HI>(Mede)</HI> that they thought this nece&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful to give &s;ucce&s;s to their Prayers: Therefore after the Bread and Wine had been Con&s;ecrated by Prayer, to repre&s;ent the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t, then they made their mo&s;t important reque&s;ts to God, pleading in vertue of that Sacrifice which they then repre&s;ented; then al&s;o they remember'd all tho&s;e whom they reckon'd them&s;elves bound to pray for; and they did it with the&s;e words, <HI>We offer unto thee for &s;uch and &s;uch:</HI> Which was as much as to &s;ay, We be&s;eech thee for the &s;ake of that Sa|crifice, now repre&s;ented before thee, to hear our Prayers. But now, If God has appoint|ed, and good Men have been wont to add this to their Prayers, How can we expect to &s;ucceed without it? The <HI>Jews</HI> might not Sacrifice but in the Temple, but they had places of A&s;|&s;embling for Prayers in divers part of the Na|tion; and their daily Prayers were recommen|ded and a&s;&s;i&s;ted by the daily whole Burnt-Of|ferings at the Temple: And when any parti|cular Per&s;on had any extraordinary and par|ticular reque&s;t, he recommended it to God with an extraordinary and particular Sacrifice. The fir&s;t Chri&s;tians we find as con&s;tantly met together to <HI>break Bread</HI> as to Pray, and made the Celebration of this Sacrament, as con&s;tant a part of the Publick Wor&s;hip as any other. It were heartily to be wi&s;h'd, that our Peo|ple were &s;o generally po&s;&s;e&s;t with their Duty
<PB N="98" REF="208">in this ca&s;e, as that we might have this Sacra|ment Celebrated every Lord's Day, as our Church has provided it &s;hould be in every Congregation. I cannot chu&s;e but think, that we might hope to pray with the better &s;ucce&s;s, and hear Sermons with the more advantage, if we did this too. Since our Lord has required this as a part of our Wor&s;hip, our Wor&s;hip mu&s;t be defective without it; and then the re&s;t is not likely to be &s;o much ble&s;t to us, as if we perform'd his Will in u&s;ing this too. I think we may ju&s;tly look upon this as the chief part of our Wor&s;hip, as that which gives mo&s;t Honour to God, and will be of greate&s;t ad|vantage to us; and then we ought to endea|vour to be con&s;tantly fit for it, and to come to it as often as we have opportunity to do &s;o in the Congregation, where Order and Obedi|ence do require us to joyn in Wor&s;hip: Let us con&s;ider, that if there be any temporal Mercy greatly nece&s;&s;ary to us, this is the be&s;t way to obtain it: If we need the &s;trengthening and confirming any Grace and Vertue in us; if we de&s;ire to be deliver'd out of &s;trong temptation, out of any grievous Affliction, this is the be&s;t and likelie&s;t way to obtain it. And if ever we have for any time pray'd for any mercy truly nece&s;&s;ary to us, and have not yet receiv'd it; I believe there is no Man has done this, but what may accu&s;e him&s;elf of not coming to this Sacrament, with &s;erious preparation &s;o often as he might. This then let us all re&s;olve to do for the future, that we may be Partakers of the Divine Goodne&s;s.</P>
<PB N="99" REF="208">
<P><HI>Now to him that loved us, and wa&s;hed us from our Sins in his own Blood, and hath made us Kings and Prie&s;ts unto God and his Father: To him with</HI> the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>be Glory and Do|minion for ever, and ever.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>INfinite and Eternal God! The Author of our Being, and Lord of all Things. Thou art he to whom we owe the Homage and Obedience of Creatures; and the thankful Acknowledgment, that we derive all that we have and are from thee: We ought, O Lord, to &s;hew forth thy Prai&s;e, not only with our Lips but in our Lives; by giving up our &s;elves intirely to thy &s;ervice, making that our main bu&s;ine&s;s and concern in the World, and walking before thee in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Holine&s;s all our days. But alas, how &s;adly have we forgotten this our Duty! How greatly have we contradicted it; and how much have we fallen &s;hort of the Honour and Glory we ought to have paid. Lord we are a&s;hamed, we abhor our &s;elves at the remem|brance of our Sins; we own that we have provoked thy mo&s;t ju&s;t Wrath and Indignation again&s;t us: That we are le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all thy Mercies; have for|feited all which we have, and render'd our &s;elves ut|terly unworthy to ask what we want. In this deplora|ble ca&s;e we had been de&s;titute of all Hope, if thy Wi&s;|dom and Compa&s;&s;ion had not allow'd, and appointed us a Mediator: So that we have now an Advocate with the Father, Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our Sins. Oh we thank thee
<PB N="100" REF="209">with all our hearts, for thine Ine&s;timable Love in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And we hope, that having &s;o loved us, as to give thine only begotten Son to die a Sacrifice for our Sins. Thou wilt not deny us any thing that is nece&s;&s;ary to our Sal|vation. Behold and regard we pray thee thy Sons precious Blood; accept of his Death in&s;tead of ours; on that we rely: Oh let it always be interpo&s;ed be|tween us and thy ju&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ure. Upon the account of that, we be&s;eech thee, Pardon all our Sins: Purge us with Hy&s;op and we &s;hall be clean; wa&s;h and &s;prinkle us with that Blood, and we &s;hall be whiter than Snow. Teach us, that denying all ungodline&s;s and worldly Lu&s;ts, we may live Soberly, and Righteou&s;ly, and God|ly in this pre&s;ent World. Inable us by thy Grace to die unto Sin, and live unto Righteou&s;ne&s;s: Grant that through the Holy Spirit dwelling and ruling in us, we may mortifie the Deeds of the Body, and live a Holy Life, keeping a Con&s;cience void of Offence both to|wards God and towards Men. We pray thee O Lord, lift up the light of thy Countenance upon us; &s;atisfie us early with thy Mercy; let us know that thou art reconcil'd, and that we are receiv'd into Favour with thee; &s;o &s;hall we rejoyce and be glad all our Days; for thy loving kindne&s;s O Lord is better than Life. Be&s;tow upon us according to thy Wi&s;dom and Mercy, what thou &s;ee&s;t mo&s;t needful and convenient for us of the good things of this World; that we may to the more purpo&s;e live to thy Glory here, and may be a&s;&s;i&s;ted in working out our own Salvation.</P>
<P>We humbly remember before thee thy Son's pre|cious Death in the behalf of Mankind; praying that the Earth may be fill'd with a &s;aving Knowledge of the Lord as Waters cover the Sea. We humbly pray for the Welfare and Pro&s;perity of thy Church; give it every where Peace, and a great Encrea&s;e of all Grace and Vertue. Be Gracious to the Land of our Nati|vity, Pardon all our Sins, and let not our Iniquities withhold good things from us. Continue thy Word
<PB N="101" REF="209">and Sacraments in the pure Admini&s;trations of them among us; make us diligently to attend them, and let thy Ble&s;&s;ing make them always very profitable to the promoting of our Grace, and Comfort, and Sal|vation. We recommend to thy peculiar Favour our mo&s;t Gracious King: Give him long Health and Life, encrea&s;e of Riches and Honour, and great &s;ucce&s;s in his Endeavours to promote thy Glory, and our Happi|ne&s;s, as thou ha&s;t given Him a great de&s;ire to do both. Ble&s;s and pro&s;per the Royal Family; let it continue for ever, and for ever be great a Ble&s;&s;ing to the&s;e Na|tions. We pray for tho&s;e that Mini&s;ter in Holy Things, that they may be fill'd with true Wi&s;dom; may de|&s;pi&s;e the Temptations of this World, may be excel|lent Examples of Piety and Vertue; and &s;ave them|&s;elves, and tho&s;e committed to their Charge. We pray for all our Natural Relations; be thou a Father and a Friend to them; make them to Love, Fear and Honour thee, and diligently to live after thy Com|mandments, and do thou delight in them to do them Good. We give thanks for the Mercies of this Day, for thy Ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances, and all the happy Influ|ences of them: Let us live under &s;uch Influence all our days. Be thou our protection in the Night, the guide of our Ways, the end of our Race, and our Portion for ever, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="102" REF="210">
<HEAD>THE Right Hearing OF THE Word of God for our Profit, Stated and Urg'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 Cor. 1.21. Latter part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>It plea&s;ed God by the fooli&s;hne&s;s of Preaching to &s;ave them that Believe.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Declaration of the Revealed Will of God concerning the way of our Salvation, by Me&s;&s;engers appointed and call'd by him&s;elf to that Office, is that which the Apo&s;tle means by Preaching in the Text: This was the effectu|al
<PB N="103" REF="210">and prevailing means which Converted once, almo&s;t the whole World to the Chri&s;tian Faith and Practice. It prevail'd again&s;t &s;ettled and inveterate Prejudices: It drove away before it fal&s;e Religions which had long obtain'd and been reverenced in the World; It demoli&s;h'd the mo&s;t &s;tately Temples of fal&s;e Gods, and erected Glorious Churches to the true One: It brought ador'd Idols to be trampled under feet, and &s;et up the ju&s;t Adoration and Wor|&s;hip of the De&s;pi&s;ed, and Crucified Je&s;us. It prevail'd again&s;t the darling Lu&s;ts and Vices of Men, and effected a Glorious Reformation of Manners, at a time of Univer&s;al Corruption in the World. The fir&s;t attempt of it after our Saviour's A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, being made upon tho&s;e who had Per&s;ecuted and Cru|cified him, &s;o well &s;ucceeded, that it gain'd at once Three Thou&s;and Converts to his Religi|on from among&s;t his mo&s;t Malicious Ene|mies.</P>
<P>Such mighty Effects has this Ordinance for|merly had, which now &s;eems &s;o weak, and is commonly &s;o fruitle&s;s a thing: How few alas are now turn'd by it from Darkne&s;s to Light, and from the Power of Satan to God. Men continue to follow their beloved &s;ins, and ma|ny remain under a fatal and &s;hameful igno|rance of Divine Things; notwith&s;tanding, that the Providence of God favours us with much, and very excellent Preaching! How frequent rea&s;on, alas, have tho&s;e who Admini&s;ter it now to complain as the Prophet does of the Jews, <HI>Who has believ'd our report, and to whom
<PB N="104" REF="211">is the Arm of the Lord revealed.</HI> It has now &s;o little Effect commonly, as if he that makes nothing in vain had yet in vain appointed this.</P>
<P>In this unhappy condition of our Times, it would certainly be the mo&s;t u&s;eful and pro|fitable Performance, to find out the common Cau&s;es of this Mi&s;chief, and to propo&s;e proper and fit Remedies, and Antidotes again&s;t them. This is the important Ataempt which I de|&s;ign at pre&s;ent: God grant I may make it with good &s;ucce&s;s.</P>
<P>In &s;peaking to this Subject, I &s;hall follow this method of Di&s;cour&s;e. I &s;hall in the fir&s;t Place ob&s;erve, what intimations concerning Preaching the Word of God this Text affords us: Which are &s;uch as I reckon are fit to cure and remove the common Cau&s;es of the un&s;uc|ce&s;sfulne&s;s of it: And I &s;hall apply each of them &s;everally to the purpo&s;es it is fit to &s;erve for, and to the removal of tho&s;e Cau&s;es of this which it does mo&s;t directly oppo&s;e. And this will be the greate&s;t part of the Di&s;|cour&s;e: But I &s;hall briefly employ the latter end of it, to urge Men to a great concern and endeavour, that they may receive benefit by this means of Grace and Salvation.</P>
<P>Now the Intimations concerning Preaching the Word of God, which our Text affords us, are the&s;e Three.</P>
<P N="1">1. That it is a Divine Ordinance, and In|&s;titution.</P>
<P N="2">2. That the true End, and proper De&s;ign of it is to promote the Salvation of Mankind.</P>
<PB N="105" REF="211">
<P N="3">3. That the Efficacy and Effect of it is en|tirely due to the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon our &s;e|rious, and careful u&s;e of it. The&s;e I &s;hall &s;e|verally confirm, and apply them in their or|der.</P>
<P>I begin with the Fir&s;t; That Preaching the Word and Will of God to Men, is an Ordi|nance of his own Appointment; this we find intimated in the Text; For it is there &s;aid, That his Me&s;&s;engers had taken this Cour&s;e to bring Mankind into the right way of Salvation and Happine&s;s: They who brought along with them the Evidence of Miracles to ju&s;tifie what they did, and thereby prov'd, that they were directed and owned in it by Almighty God. And we may the rather allow this to be intimated in the Text, becau&s;e we have it very evidently and expre&s;ly taught us in other Places of Holy Scripture. As our Lord him|&s;elf began in this way to propagate the Do|ctrines of the Go&s;pel, &s;o he left behind him an Order of Men Commi&s;&s;ion'd, and &s;et apart to carry on the &s;ame Work in the &s;ame way: And he inabled and furni&s;h'd them to perform it in a Miraculous manner. They were im|mediately In&s;pired with Knowledge by the Holy Gho&s;t, and had the Gift of Speaking all Languages, that they might the more readily every where Communicate that Knowledge. He gives them Command to Preach the &s;aving Doctrines of the Go&s;pel, as we may &s;ee, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.15. <HI>Go ye into all the World, and Preach the Go&s;pel to every Creature.</HI> And they tell us, that, upon his Re&s;urrection, he commanded them
<PB N="106" REF="212">to Preach to the World, and te&s;tifie tho&s;e things which Men were to believe concerning him, <HI>Acts</HI> 10.42.</P>
<P>I may farther add, becau&s;e our Times require it, That this is an Ordinance of God, which the Holy Scripture &s;ufficiently intimates, is in|tended by him, to continue in his Church to the end of the World. It might ju&s;tly di&s;po&s;e Men to believe this, That we do &s;o evidently find it appointed by God, but do no where in Scripture find that the u&s;e of it is limited to a &s;horter date of time: And it may very well be accounted an arrogant pre&s;umption to &s;et limits to this, when God has &s;et none. But moreover we find, that the Apo&s;tles who were immediately directed by the Holy Gho&s;t, did plainly intend, that Preaching &s;hould continue after their times, in that they committed the Office to others whom they Ordain'd, and &s;et apart to the di&s;charge of it. And it appears, they intended, that tho&s;e whom they Ordain'd, &s;hould &s;ome of them Ordain others to the &s;ame Office, that it might be continued after them: Therefore the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> directs tho&s;e, who had Authority to Ordain in the Per&s;ons of <HI>Ti|mothy</HI> and <HI>Titus,</HI> what &s;ort of Per&s;ons they ought to commit that Sacred and Venerable Office to. An Ancient Bi&s;hop in the Church, who liv'd with the Apo&s;tles, and is mention'd by St. <HI>Paul</HI> in his Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Philippians</HI> (<HI>Phil.</HI> 4.3.) Writes thus of this matter: The Apo&s;tles (&s;ays he) appointed Bi&s;hops and Mi|ni&s;ters over &s;uch as &s;hould afterwards believe, out of tho&s;e who were the Fir&s;t Fruits of their
<PB N="107" REF="212">Conver&s;ions. (<HI>Clemens Rom.</HI> 1. <HI>Ep. ad Corinth.</HI>) From whence we may ob&s;erve, that this Of|fice was to be continued and exerci&s;ed in the Church, and was not only intended, as &s;ome would have us believe, to convert the Hea|thens and gather them into the Church: But to put this matter beyond di&s;pute, we may ob&s;erve, that our Saviour him&s;elf gives us ground to conclude, that he intended this Of|fice &s;hould continue, and this Work be carried on to the end of the World; in that he &s;ays, (<HI>Matth.</HI> 28.29.) to tho&s;e whom he had &s;et a|part for this purpo&s;e, <HI>Lo, I am with you to the end of the World.</HI> He could not mean, that they, in their per&s;ons, &s;hould continue to the end of the World, for they are long &s;ince dead; therefore he mu&s;t be under&s;tood to mean, that their Office &s;hould continue, and this di&s;charge of it be carried on to the end of the World: And he would be with tho&s;e who &s;hould con|tinue it, to give them good &s;ucce&s;s in their Work, or &s;upport and comfort them under &s;mall &s;ucce&s;s, if they were faithful and dili|gent in the di&s;charge of their Duty. And thus, I think, is this fir&s;t Intimation &s;uffici|ently prov'd: Let us now &s;ee what U&s;e we ought to make of it, and what Cau&s;es of the pre&s;ent Un&s;ucce&s;sfulne&s;s of Preaching it may and ought to remove.</P>
<P N="1">1. And, in the fir&s;t place, it may &s;ugge&s;t to us, that we mu&s;t not expect to be taught of God, without the u&s;e of this Ordinance, when he affords us the opportunities of u&s;ing it. 'Tis a very groundle&s;s, and without doubt will
<PB N="108" REF="213">prove a deceitful pre&s;umption for any to ex|pect, that the Spirit of God will teach them without this means of doing it, when the Spi|rit him&s;elf has appointed this to be the ordi|nary means of our in&s;truction. We may &s;ee God him&s;elf deferring &s;o much to this his own appointment, as to make it the ordinary means of converting Men to the true Religion, tho' he might have done it without &s;uch means: Of this we have &s;everal In&s;tances in Scripture: He might have in&s;pired the Apo&s;tles imme|diately with a belief of the true Me&s;&s;iah, and the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel, but he po&s;&s;e&s;s'd them with this by the Preaching of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. He might have converted the Eunuch to Chri&s;tianity, without the Preaching of the Evangeli&s;t <HI>Philip,</HI> by his reading alone the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah;</HI> but he directed <HI>Philip</HI> to meet and preach to him: And he might, by the Angel that appear'd to <HI>Cornelius,</HI> have gi|ven him a &s;ufficient knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the way of Salvation; but he directs him, by that Angel, to &s;end for his Mini&s;ter, <HI>Peter,</HI> that from his Preaching he might derive his nece&s;&s;ary Information. 'Tis true, God <HI>can</HI> teach us without this In&s;trument and Means, but no where has he given us leave to expect, that he <HI>will</HI> do &s;o: And we ought to be well a&s;&s;ur'd, that he <HI>will</HI> do it, before we depend upon it.</P>
<P N="2">2. We may learn and conclude from hence, That it is our Duty to give a diligent Atten|dance to the Preaching of the Word of God. Since God has &s;et up an Order of Men, to ad|mini&s;ter
<PB N="109" REF="213">this Ordinance in his Church, and re|quires them diligently to do &s;o, it is mo&s;t evi|dently included herein, that he requires the People to attend upon it. We mu&s;t look upon it then as a Duty, that we do u&s;e, as often as we can, the Opportunities of Hearing the Word of God, at the times appointed for Publick Wor&s;hip. It is not an indifferent Mat|ter, or that which we are left at liberty to do or not do; but it is a direct Sin again&s;t God, to allow our &s;elves in a needle&s;s ab&s;ence from it. We break his Laws in doing &s;o; and we break our own Solemn Vow and Covenant with God. We promi&s;ed in our Bapti&s;m, <HI>That we would keep God's Holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the &s;ame all the Days of our Life.</HI> He that neglects this In&s;tance of Obedience, then, and, to indulge his Ea&s;e or Plea&s;ure, does wilfully ab&s;ent him&s;elf on the Lord's Day from this Ordinance, he does contradict, and vertually di&s;own his Bapti&s;m; he thus far throws off the true and proper Badge and Mark of a Chri&s;tian, which is Obedience to the Commands of Chri&s;t, and bears the Name of a Chri&s;tian but to his &s;hame and &s;orer con|demnation.</P>
<P N="3">3. This Truth requires further, That this Ordinance be always regarded and u&s;ed with a great deal of Reverence. Men ought always to attend upon it with great Reverence and Seriou&s;ne&s;s, as being an Ordinance and Ap|pointment of the great God, by whom&s;oever it is admini&s;tred; it is an In&s;tance of Reve|rence to him to do &s;o; and we are ju&s;tly directed
<PB N="110" REF="214">always to approach and <HI>wor&s;hip him with reve|rence and godly fear,</HI> (<HI>Heb.</HI> 12 28) as that without which we cannot do this acceptably. Indeed this ought to have a great influence upon him who admini&s;ters, and po&s;&s;e&s;s him with a very &s;erious care and reverence him|&s;elf, that he may do this &s;o it as becomes the Oracles of God to be deliver'd, and as be|comes the Emba&s;&s;ador of Heaven to deliver the Me&s;&s;age of Heaven: But if the wretched Man forgets him&s;elf, and neglects to do his Work as he ought, this &s;hould not make the Hearers forget their Duty too. They may a&s;|&s;ure them&s;elves, that his Sin will not, in the &s;ight of God, excu&s;e theirs: They &s;hould con|&s;ider 'tis God whom they reverence in perform|ing their Duty, not the mean Per&s;on who ad|mini&s;ters the Ordinance. <HI>They</HI> &s;hould con&s;ider they are in the pre&s;ence of God, tho' <HI>he</HI> does not con&s;ider this as he ought; and that they are waiting for the greate&s;t Favours from God in the way that he has appointed. And they may expect, that their Reverence of his Or|dinance will be the more acceptable to him, and, by con&s;equence, the more advantageous to them&s;elves, when they pay this under &s;uch an unhappy Temptation to Irreverence, as they meet with when it is ab&s;urdly and irre|verently admini&s;tred.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the Second Intimation which we have in our pre&s;ent Text, concern|ing the Preaching of the Word of God, and that is this, That the True and Proper End and De&s;ign of God in appointing this Ordi|nance,
<PB N="111" REF="214">is, to promote thereby the Salvation of Mankind. Our Text tells us, It plea&s;ed God to make u&s;e of this as a Means to that end and effect: And we are very evidently taught, that this is the main end and de&s;ign of Preach|ing, according to God's appointment, in what our Saviour &s;aid to Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> at the time when he call'd him to this Office; which Saint <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf gives us this account of, <HI>Acts</HI> 26.18. <HI>I will &s;end thee</HI> (&s;aid he to him) <HI>to the Gentiles to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkne&s;s to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins, and inheritance among them which are &s;anctified by faith that is in me.</HI> In which words he plainly &s;hews, that the end of Preaching, is, to infu&s;e Divine Knowledge into the Minds of Men, to re&s;cue them from Wicked Living, which is, to be under the Power of Satan, and to convert them to Holine&s;s and Vertue, which is, to bring them to God: It is intended to beget in them &s;uch a Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as &s;hall purifie their Hearts, and work by Divine Love: And this is to be done upon us, that we may be qualified for, and may attain the Remi&s;&s;ion of our Sins, and the Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s of Heaven. Thus we &s;ee plainly what is the Main End and De&s;ign of Preach|ing. Let us now &s;ugge&s;t what U&s;e ought to be made of this.</P>
<P N="1">1. And, in the fir&s;t place, it requires, That Men do propo&s;e it to them&s;elves, as the Main End of their Attendance on this Ordinance, that they may be thereby advanced in the Way
<PB N="112" REF="215">of Salvation; We &s;hould de&s;ire and de&s;ign, in Hearing, That our Hearts and Lives may be made better: That the Evil which is in us may be di&s;cover'd and purg'd away: That the Good which is wanting may be &s;upplied, and that which is weak may be &s;trengthened: That we may encrea&s;e in every Grace, and become more fit for Heaven. We &s;hould come to it hungring and thir&s;ting after Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, &s;o we &s;hall be filled, as our Saviour pro|mi&s;es, <HI>Matth.</HI> 5.6. And, as the Apo&s;tle di|rects, we &s;hould <HI>de&s;ire the &s;incere Milk of the Word, that we may grow thereby.</HI> It is very probable, that one great Cau&s;e why Hearing the Word of God has now &s;o little good ef|fect, is, becau&s;e Men do not propo&s;e to them|&s;elves the right and due End in their Hearing: Some come to Hear without any End at all, to fulfil a Cu&s;tom, and do as their Neigh|bours do: Some come with Worldly or Evil Ends: Many do this only, that they may ap|pear to Men to have &s;ome regard to Religion, and &s;o may gain the better Credit in the World: Many Hear, that they may be able to talk, rather than that they may be direct|ed to live well. And Men &s;hew, that they are not &s;en&s;ible as they &s;hould be of the right Ends of this Ordinance in the Preaching, which they commonly mo&s;t value and &s;eek: They chu&s;e rather, that the Preacher &s;hould in&s;i&s;t upon tho&s;e Points which they think tend to &s;ecure or promote their Worldly Intere&s;ts, than upon &s;uch Di&s;cour&s;e as would tend to cure their Inordinate Love of the World, and in|duce
<PB N="113" REF="215">them to &s;et their Affections on things above: They had rather be entertain'd with Nice and U&s;ele&s;s Speculations, than have their Hearts &s;earched, their Vices di&s;cover'd, and their Con&s;ciences &s;et on work to accu&s;e and rebuke them till they for&s;ake their Sins: And &s;o &s;trangely mi&s;taken are &s;ome, that they would rather the Preacher &s;hould make o&s;ten|tation of his own Wit and Learning, than that he &s;hould endeavour to per&s;wade them to Piety and Vertue. And as Men propo&s;e to them&s;elves &s;uch wrong ends in Hearing, they will, even in the greate&s;t di&s;order, run after &s;uch Preaching as will gratifie their Humours, if they can any where find it; and &s;o the Edi|fication, which they commonly meet with, while they thus <HI>heap to them&s;elves Teachers, ha|ving itching Ears,</HI> amounts but to this, That they are encouraged in their Faults, are con|firm'd in their Errors, and have but their Damnation the more a&s;&s;ur'd, by that which might be a means of their Salvation. As the Salvation of the Soul is, to a Wonder, the lea&s;t Concern of mo&s;t Men, &s;o they mind this commonly the lea&s;t of any thing in this Action, as well as in the re&s;t of their Lives: And if but few come to hear the Word of God, that they may be &s;aved, 'tis no wonder at all, if but few are promoted in their fitne&s;s for &s;al|vation by it: While Men propo&s;e to them|&s;elves none, or but wrong ends in hearing, it is to be expected, that they &s;hall mi&s;s of at|taining the right ends of it, and tho&s;e good and happy effects which the goodne&s;s of God has ap|pointed it for.</P>
<PB N="114" REF="216">
<P N="2">2. This requires further, That Men &s;hould hear the Word of God with &s;erious applica|tion to them&s;elves of what they hear: As we ought to propo&s;e the right end in hearing, &s;o we &s;hould pro&s;ecute and endeavour the attain|ment of that end in the doing it: To which purpo&s;e we &s;hould very &s;eriou&s;ly examine our own Hearts and Lives, by what we hear, and apply it to our &s;elves. Every hearer &s;hould reflect upon what he hears, and bring it home to his own Heart; by con&s;idering with him|&s;elf of what concernment it is to him; what it requires him to be, or not to be; what neglected Vertue it calls upon him to acquire and practice, or what indulg'd Vice and Error it requires, him to for&s;ake: And as a Man may al|ways make &s;ome &s;uch good u&s;e of what he hears, as to admoni&s;h him&s;elf by it in what re&s;pects it is that he wants amendment or improve|ment, &s;o he may promote the right end of his Hearing, the &s;alvation of his Soul, even when the Preacher forgets to make this the main end of his Preaching. And here I may very &s;ea&s;onably in&s;ert a Caution again&s;t a very com|mon Error which does frequently cheat Men of all the advantage which they might make of their hearing; and that is, we &s;hould take care, that we do not let our &s;elves apply what we hear, rather to our Neighbour than our &s;elves. If Men think them&s;elves reprov'd in what they hear, they are angry; and, for the mo&s;t part, endeavour and are apt to think every thing that is condemned is in their Neighbours, and every thing that is com|mended
<PB N="115" REF="216">is in them&s;elves: They can ea&s;ier &s;ee their Neighbours Faults than their own, and &s;py a Mote in his Eye &s;ooner than a Beam in their own. And thus they rather encrea&s;e in Hatred or Contempt of their Neighbour, by what they hear, than in their own Piety and Vertue.</P>
<P>And &s;o much may &s;uffice to be &s;poken to the Second Intimation in the Text. I now pro|ceed to the Third, which I have &s;aid is this: That the Efficacy and good Effect of Preach|ing upon Men, is entirely due to the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon their &s;erious and careful u&s;e of it. This our Text does very plainly &s;ugge&s;t to us: The Apo&s;tle a&s;cribes it to God, that the <HI>Fooli&s;hne&s;s of Preaching</HI> was able to bring Men to Faith and Salvation. And I might confirm this from many places of Scripture, but that one, becau&s;e &s;o full and expre&s;s, &s;hall &s;uffice, which we have in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.5, 6, 7. where the Apo&s;tle de&s;ignedly &s;ets him&s;elf to teach the <HI>Corinthians</HI> this matter, who greatly needed to be po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with it. <HI>Who is Paul,</HI> (&s;ays he, &s;peaking of him&s;elf) <HI>and who is A|pollos, or what are they, but Mini&s;ters by whom ye believed, as God gave to every Man?</HI> They were but Mini&s;ters, but Servants to another, that is to God, in what had been done among them: They were the In&s;truments indeed of the Faith which the <HI>Corinthians</HI> had receiv'd; but he would have them know they were but In&s;truments, and the Faith which every Man had, was that which the Lord had given him. The Apo&s;tle adds therefore, in the 6th Ver&s;e,
<PB N="116" REF="217"><HI>I have Planted, Apollos watered: but God gave the increa&s;e.</HI> And he &s;itly concludes from thence in the 7th ver&s;e, <HI>So then, neither is he that plan|teth any thing, nor he that watereth: but God that giveth the increa&s;e.</HI> And this I think may &s;uf|fice to confirm this Truth; I proceed there|fore to &s;hew what u&s;e we ought to make of it, and what cau&s;e of un&s;ucce&s;sful hearing it is fit to cure and remove. This matter I &s;hall re|pre&s;ent in the following Particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t not de&s;pair of receiving Bene|fit by a weak In&s;trument, nor de&s;pi&s;e the Preaching which the Providence of God, and the Order of the Church confines us to. A Man &s;hould not needle&s;ly and voluntarily put him|&s;elf into &s;uch a place, where he can enjoy none but &s;uch: And when a Pari&s;h are de&s;ti|tute of a Mini&s;ter, they may make it their great Concern to be furni&s;h'd with the be&s;t they can procure: But if it plea&s;es God to di&s;po&s;e of any Per&s;ons unavoidably, where they mu&s;t attend to one of &s;mall qualifications, and if the Order of the Church confines any People to &s;uch an one; They ought to &s;ubmit and live orderly, and afford their Ordinary common attendance to his Admini&s;trations, endeavour|ing to make the be&s;t Improvement of him that they can. None are forbid an occa&s;ional at|tendance upon tho&s;e who are better qualified; but the common and ordinary attendance of all Men, &s;hould be where the Order of the Church directs and confines them. And Men &s;hould con&s;ider in this ca&s;e, that the Divine Power can work as effectually by weak means,
<PB N="117" REF="217">as by the able&s;t: And we may ob&s;erve the Apo&s;tle &s;ays in the Text, It had plea&s;ed God to bring many to Faith and Salvation even <HI>by the fooli&s;hne&s;s of Preaching:</HI> That is by that way of declaring the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel which the World accounted fooli&s;hne&s;s: For the Preaching of the Go&s;pel, as he intimates in this di&s;cour&s;e, was at fir&s;t perform'd in a naked, &s;imple, and inartificial Declaration of Divine Truths; and this was Fooli&s;h to the Philo&s;o|phers and Orators of the World, becau&s;e it was not attended with the &s;ubtle Arguings of the one, nor with the Eloquence of the other: And tho' it was de&s;titute of the&s;e admired Or|naments, the&s;e things which the World are apt to think &s;uch helps to its &s;ucce&s;s, yet it prevail'd in the World, it made its way with|out them; and not only &s;o, but it prevail'd again&s;t them too, while the Wi&s;dom of the World in the di&s;putes of the Philo&s;ophers, and the Eloquence of Orators, &s;et it &s;elf at fir&s;t to oppo&s;e that which they call'd the Fooli&s;hne&s;s of Preaching. We may con&s;ider that God &s;ometimes chu&s;es to work by weak means, ra|ther then by tho&s;e that &s;eem the mo&s;t able; and, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, in <HI>ver.</HI> 27. of this Chapter, <HI>He chu&s;es the fooli&s;h things of this World to confound the Wi&s;e, and the weak things to con|found the Mighty.</HI> With the Ble&s;&s;ing of God the meane&s;t, and lea&s;t able. In&s;trument &s;hall have mighty Effects; and without that, the a|ble&s;t that we can find &s;hall have none at all. And as God is a God of Order, as he requires of us Reverence, and Obedience to Govern|ment,
<PB N="118" REF="218">we &s;hall certainly mo&s;t plea&s;e him, and be mo&s;t likely to meet with his Ble&s;&s;ing, when we attend upon his Ordinance in a way of or|derly Obedience. We &s;hould con&s;ider, that if it be <HI>likely</HI> God will do us mo&s;t good by the able&s;t Means; yet it is not at all <HI>certain,</HI> or <HI>nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> that he mu&s;t do it. And if we could really find out, and by following our own choice &s;hould truly &s;ix upon the able&s;t, and be&s;t means, yet in the breach of the Churches Order, and when we are guilty of Di&s;obedi|ence, and e&s;pecially when to this is added the guilt of Schi&s;m, and the &s;etting up of &s;eparate Communions; then it is not at all likely, that God will ble&s;s the means we u&s;e, tho' it be ne|ver &s;o able in it &s;elf: But the contrary to this may be expected, as indeed it is too ea&s;ie to ob&s;erve it, We may &s;ee the&s;e irregular and di&s;obedient Per&s;ons, infatuated in their choice, and leaving far better Preaching for that which is really wor&s;e: We may &s;ee them chu&s;ing &s;uch as are mo&s;t like them&s;elves tho' not the be&s;t; and that the effect of this is, they retain all their mi&s;takes, they are gratified, and impro|ved in all the Di&s;tempers of their Minds, are hardned in their Sins, and perhaps fall from one Wickedne&s;s to another. Let us not then de&s;pi&s;e any Preaching, but attend upon that which the Providence of God, and the Order of the Church commits us to, expecting the good Effect and Succe&s;s of it from the good Spirit of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another u&s;e we ought to make of this Truth, is, that when we enjoy the mo&s;t able
<PB N="119" REF="218">means, we do &s;till expect the Efficacy and Good Effect of it only from God. As he works by the weake&s;t means when he plea&s;es, &s;o 'tis he that mu&s;t produce the good Effect by the able&s;t. And as we &s;hould di&s;plea&s;e him in de|&s;pi&s;ing that which is but weak means when 'tis the be&s;t he allows; &s;o we &s;hould highly di&s;|plea&s;e him too, if we &s;hould &s;ix our Expecta|tions intirely upon, even the able&s;t In&s;trument. God repre&s;ents him&s;elf to us as Jealous of his Honour, and as greatly di&s;pleas'd when his Glory is given to another. We mu&s;t not give our &s;elves leave then to run into exce&s;&s;ive Ad|mirations of any Per&s;on, nor make any Man, how well qualified &s;oever, the Idol of our Tru&s;t and Confidence. And &s;hould con&s;ider, it is not this or that Man, who is the power|ful Soul-&s;aving Preacher, but 'tis God who gives to every Man's Labour &s;uch &s;ucce&s;s as it has. To God therefore, let us always make our Humble Supplications when we go to hear, that his Ble&s;&s;ing may cau&s;e the Word Preach'd to have its good and happy Effects up|on us.</P>
<P N="3">3. Whatever Benefit we receive by any Man's Preaching, it ought to be a&s;cribed inti|rely to the Ble&s;&s;ing and Grace of God. It is not Man, but God that mu&s;t have the Glory of it. This the Apo&s;tle found nece&s;&s;ary to be &s;ugge&s;ted to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> who, becau&s;e they had &s;ome of them been converted by the Preaching of Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> and &s;ome by the Preaching of <HI>Apollos,</HI> they were pufft up, as he &s;peaks, one again&s;t another; and one &s;aid
<PB N="120" REF="219">I am of <HI>Paul,</HI> and another, I am of <HI>Apollos,</HI> and this cau&s;ed Contentions and Divi&s;ions among&s;t them. We are greatly mi&s;taken, and &s;in, when we attribute the Good we receive by the Ordi|nance of God to the Man that Admini&s;ters it. We mu&s;t neither de&s;pi&s;e, nor Idolize any of the Mini&s;ters which God has &s;et up in his Church, nor a&s;cribe his Benefits to the In&s;tru|ments which he u&s;es in be&s;towing them. As we our &s;elves fru&s;trate the Admini&s;trations and Endeavours of tho&s;e whom we de&s;pi&s;e, &s;o we provoke the Almighty to fru&s;trate theirs too, whom we exce&s;&s;ively admire, when the Divine Truths are of no reli&s;h with us, unle&s;s they be delivered by this or that Mini&s;ter, and we think no one can do us any good but he, it commonly comes to pa&s;s by the ju&s;t Judg|ment of God, that his Admini&s;trations are weak and vain too.</P>
<P>And thus I have fini&s;h'd the fir&s;t and chief part of this Di&s;cour&s;e. I come now in the Conclu&s;ion of it, as I promi&s;ed, to urge a lit|tle the making it our great concern and care, that the Preaching of the Word of God, may be profitable to us.</P>
<P N="1">1. And in the fir&s;t place, the Greatne&s;s, the Importance of the Benefits which may be re|ceiv'd by it, &s;hould awaken in us this care and concern: It is appointed and de&s;ign'd, and fitted to enlighten our dark Minds with the be&s;t, the mo&s;t Important, and the mo&s;t plea&s;ing Know|ledge; to rectifie all the Appetites and Motions of our &s;everal Faculties; to make us Wi&s;e, and Happy: It may make us wi&s;e to the Salvation
<PB N="121" REF="219">of our Souls. The re&s;ult of u&s;ing it diligently and rightly will be, that we &s;hall avoid the Everla&s;ting Mi&s;eries of Hell which we had de|&s;erv'd, and were Obnoxious to; and we &s;hall gain that Everla&s;ting, and Glorious Happine&s;s of Heaven which we are made for.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us con&s;ider, that our own Care and Endeavour are nece&s;&s;ary to our receiving the&s;e Benefits by this Ordinance. We mu&s;t diligent|ly attend upon it, or el&s;e mo&s;t certainly it can|not help us; and we mu&s;t u&s;e it according to the directions which have been intimated in the foregoing Di&s;cour&s;e. Our Saviour compares the Preaching of the Word to &s;owing, (<HI>Luke</HI> 8.) and intimates, that as the &s;ucce&s;s of Sowing is, according to the Nature of the Soil; &s;o the &s;uc|ce&s;s of Preaching is according to the di&s;po&s;ition, and qualification of the Hearers: And he there|fore adds with relation to this, that Admoniti|on, <HI>Take heed therefore how ye hear. (ver.</HI> 18.)</P>
<P N="3">3. It is very con&s;iderable to this purpo&s;e, That if men receive no Benefit, by the Preach|ing of the Word of God, they are commonly the wor&s;e for it. If it does not convert a Man from his &s;ins, he is u&s;ually the more har|dened and confirm'd in them by it: He is inur'd, and accu&s;tomed to &s;light and de&s;pi&s;e Admoni|tion and Reproof, and all the force of the Di|vine Promi&s;es and Threatnings. From a &s;light and carele&s;s u&s;e of this means of Grace, Men find but little or no effect that it has upon them, and then they grow indifferent whether they u&s;e it at all or not, and perhaps come at length utterly to throw off and de&s;pi&s;e the u&s;e of
<PB N="122" REF="220">it: and then they are for&s;aken by the Holy Spirit of God, and fall under the power and &s;educements of the Devil.</P>
<P N="4">4. Let us con&s;ider how great Guilt and Pro|vocation there mu&s;t needs be in our receiving this Divine Favour in vain. We may ju&s;tly believe, that nothing can be a greater Offence to God, than to &s;light and fru&s;trate the means of Grace and Salvation. This is to de&s;pi&s;e the greate&s;t Favours of Heaven; this &s;hews the greate&s;t ob&s;tinacy in Sin, and defiance of the Wrath and Threatnings of Almighty God. In this it appears we are not concern'd to enjoy his Favour, or to &s;hun his Wrath. He &s;eeks to be reconcil'd to us, but we refu&s;e a recon|ciliation; he &s;eeks to &s;ave us, and we refu&s;e to be &s;av'd. And what dreadful wrath may we rea&s;onably expect his rejected and de&s;pi&s;ed Mercy and Favour will turn to. This guilt more than any a&s;&s;ures our Damnation, as the Apo&s;tles intimates when he asks this unan&s;we|rable Que&s;tion (<HI>Heb.</HI> 2.) <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape if we neglect &s;o great Salvation?</HI> And our Saviour a&s;&s;ures us it will be puni&s;h'd at la&s;t with the greate&s;t &s;everity, and the &s;ore&s;t Condemnation. In that he &s;ays, <HI>It will be more tolerable in the day of Judgment,</HI> even <HI>for</HI> the vile Inhabitants of <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah</HI> than for &s;uch &s;inners, (<HI>Mat.</HI> 10.15.)</P>
<P>The&s;e things I think may ju&s;tly make us all very careful in this matter, that we may u&s;e this Divine Ordinance of Preaching to our Sal|vation: Which God of his Infinite Mercy Grant through Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="123" REF="220">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Mo&s;t merciful and gracious God! who art a|bundant in Goodne&s;s and in Truth. Thou, O Lord, we thank thee, do&s;t make it gloriou&s;ly appear, that thou delighte&s;t not in the death of &s;inners, but had rather that they &s;hould turn to thee and live. Tho&s;e whom thou mighte&s;t ju&s;tly de&s;troy, thou af|forde&s;t them means of attaining their &s;alvation: And to them who de&s;erve thy utmo&s;t Wrath and Di&s;plea|&s;ure, do&s;t thou offer thy Favour and Love, upon rea|&s;onable and ea&s;ie terms: Yea, &s;uch is thy incompa|rable Goodne&s;s, that thou art ready, if we will &s;eri|ou&s;ly u&s;e the appointed Means of Grace, to afford us the Grace which &s;hall inable us to perform the Con|ditions of thy Favour. We give thee thanks, O Lord, for this thy wonderful Goodne&s;s towards the Chil|dren of Men: And we ble&s;s thee for thy Favour to us in particular, in giving us, by the Preaching of thy Go&s;pel, the knowledge of this thy Grace and Favour. We admire and prai&s;e, O Lord, thy Mercy, for all thy Goodne&s;s and loving Kindne&s;s to us, and for thy great and tender Care for our Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. We utterly condemn and abhor our &s;elves for all our neglect of thee, for all the ingratitude and rebellion of our &s;ins again&s;t thee. We are a&s;ham'd to think, that ever we &s;hould do any thing contrary to the Ho|nour and Reverence which we owe thee: We hate our &s;elves for all that we have done offen&s;ive to the pure Eyes of thy Glory; and it e&s;pecially grieves us, O Lord, that we &s;hould &s;hew our &s;elves unwilling to be converted unto thee, that we &s;hould add Ob&s;tina|cy to our Wickedne&s;s; that we have not been &s;o rea|dy
<PB N="124" REF="221">as we &s;hould to comply with the gracious Terms of the Go&s;pel; we have not thankfully embraced the Of|fers of Reconciliation with thee, but have &s;lighted and refu&s;ed them. We acknowledge, O Lord, the greate&s;t Wrath to be due to us, who have &s;lighted the Means of Grace, and, by our Carele&s;ne&s;s, have render'd them weak and ineffectual upon us. O Lord, deal not with us as our Iniquities do de&s;erve. Pardon all our pa&s;t Offences, and accept our Humiliation and Repen|tance, which we humbly offer thee, through the Me|rits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. We purpo&s;e, for the future, to return unto thee; we will earne&s;tly &s;eek thy Grace in the diligent u&s;e of the Means which thou ha&s;t appointed. We pray thee, keep us &s;tedfa&s;t to &s;uch a Re&s;olution: And let thy Word, and all thy Ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances, by thy Ble&s;&s;ing, have a mighty Influence and Power upon us: Let them accompli&s;h in us all the good Purpo&s;es for which thou ha&s;t ap|pointed them: Grant that we may be thereby fur|ni&s;hed for every good Work, that we may derive from them Strength and Power, to &s;ubdue all our Corruptions, to re&s;i&s;t Temptations from the World and the Devil. Teach us, that denying all Ungod|line&s;s and Worldly Lu&s;ts, we may live &s;oberly, righ|teou&s;ly, and godly in this pre&s;ent World. Let us, by our attendance in thy Hou&s;e, be as Trees planted by the Rivers of Water, bringing forth our Fruit in due &s;ea&s;on. Grant us &s;o to live always, as that our Con|ver&s;ations may adorn the Doctrin of God our Savi|our, and our Light may &s;o &s;hine before Men, that they, &s;eeing our good Works, may glorifie our Fa|ther which is in Heaven. By a con&s;tant Commu|nion with thee here, in the A&s;&s;emblies of thy Saints, let us be fitted more and more for a nearer and more happy Communion with thee among the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made perfect in thy Heavenly King|dom.</P>
<P>We heartily pray, O Lord, that the Sound of thy glorious Go&s;pel may go out into all the World; that the Earth may be fill'd with the knowledge of the
<PB N="125" REF="221">Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. We pray, that thy Church may be always abundantly furni&s;h'd with faithful, able, and indu&s;trious Pa&s;tors; and let them be encourag'd with a teachable and obedient People, and with great &s;ucce&s;s in their Labours, in turning many to Righteou&s;ne&s;s. O Lord, be merciful to that part of thy Church to which we belong: Make us &s;en&s;ible how much we are oblig'd, who enjoy &s;o abundantly the Means of Grace and Salvation; &s;en|&s;ible, that to whom much is given, of them much will be required; and indu&s;trious, to bring forth Fruit an&s;werable to the Means afforded us. Ble&s;s, we pray thee, our mo&s;t gracious King with all Spiritual and Temporal Ble&s;&s;ings: Grant him always the Grace to be a zealous Defender of thy Truth and Wor&s;hip, a nur&s;ing Father to thy Church; and do thou al&s;o defend and pro&s;per him. Grant, that he may long reign over us: And that our Royal Family may for ever afford us &s;uch excellent Governors. Ble&s;s all our Relations and Friends, and forgive our Enemies and turn their Hearts. Grant, we be&s;eech thee, that the Words which we have heard this Day, may, by thy Grace, be &s;o ingrafted in our Hearts, as to bring forth the Fruit of good Living in our Conver&s;ations, to thy glory. Keep us, we be&s;eech thee in &s;afety this Night; give us comfortable Re&s;t, and let thy renew'd Mercies the next Morning fit us for all our Duties, for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: In who&s;e own words we &s;um up our Reque&s;ts, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="126" REF="222">
<HEAD>Publick, or Common Prayer, RECOMMENDED and URG'D.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 21.13.</HI></BIBL>
<P>It is written, My Hou&s;e &s;hall be call'd the Hou&s;e of Prayer.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>WE are told in the Ver&s;e before this, That <HI>Je&s;us went into the Temple of God, and ca&s;t out all them that &s;old and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the Tables of the Mony-changers, and the Seats of them that &s;old Doves.</HI> In the words of our Text, he ju&s;tifies him&s;elf to the <HI>Jews</HI> in what he had done, by a Pa&s;|&s;age of Holy Scripture, taken from <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 56.7. for there it is written, <HI>Mine Hou&s;e &s;hall be cal|led an Hou&s;e of Prayer for all People,</HI> as that which God &s;poke by his Prophet. For the
<PB N="127" REF="222">right under&s;tanding of our Saviour's action, and the rea&s;on given for it, and that we may from thence learn the In&s;truction afforded us, we mu&s;t take notice, that the place where the&s;e Traders were, was that Court adjoining to the Temple, in which the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> who had left their Idolatry, perform'd their Wor&s;hip of the true God. This place the <HI>Jews</HI> ac|counted to be without the Temple, and not to be an Holy Place: And therefore they per|mitted a Market to be held here, for the fur|ni&s;hing People with &s;uch things as they u&s;ed in their Offerings within the Temple. But our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour condemns this practice from that place of Scripture, and more than once he drove the buyers and &s;ellers out from hence. And by the&s;e things he evidently in&s;tructs us, That a Place dedicated and de&s;ign'd for the Wor&s;hip of God, tho' it be not the Jewi&s;h Temple, may be called and accounted the Hou&s;e of God: That it is agreeable to the Will of God, that other Places be dedicated and devoted to his Wor&s;hip, be&s;ides that in which the <HI>Jews</HI> were to offer their Sacrifices, and to perform their Ceremonious and Typi|cal Wor&s;hip: That when a Place is de&s;ign'd and dedicated to the Wor&s;hip of God, it ought to be appropriated to Religious Wor|&s;hip: And it is in the &s;ight of God a great Sin, to make u&s;e of &s;uch a Place for the tran&s;acting of Worldly Affairs in it; to make no di&s;tinction between Common and Holy Pla|ces; or to turn a Church into a Stable, or a Market-place.</P>
<PB N="128" REF="223">
<P>Having thus &s;hewn the Import of the Words from their Connexion, I &s;hall now propo&s;e the Method in which I intend to in&s;i&s;t upon them, which is this:</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall enquire and &s;hew, What the Phra&s;e or Name of an <HI>Hou&s;e of Prayer</HI> does im|ply and &s;ugge&s;t to us.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall urge and per&s;wade to a due Com|pliance with it.</P>
<P>I begin with the fir&s;t of the&s;e, To &s;hew what this Phra&s;e or Name of an Hou&s;e of Prayer does imply and &s;ugge&s;t to us. It is evi|dent, by our Saviour's applying this Name to a Place of Wor&s;hip, which was u&s;ed by tho&s;e who did not conform them&s;elves to the Jewi&s;h Ceremonies, That he allows the Erect|ing of Places for the Wor&s;hip of God, be&s;ides the Jewi&s;h Temple, and requires the appro|priating them to that u&s;e. We may therefore ea&s;ily learn from the words the&s;e two things: 1. That God requires of all People, who ac|knowledge him, the Homage of an Open and Publick Wor&s;hip. 2. That the Publick Wor|&s;hip of God is chiefly and eminently to con&s;i&s;t of Prayer to him, under&s;tanding Prayer in the full latitude and extent of it. I de&s;ire I may &s;peak to the&s;e in order what &s;hall be nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, it is evidently intimated herein, That God does expect of all Nations, who acknowledge him, the Homage of an Open or Publick Wor&s;hip. This the Prophet foretells would be paid to God by all Nations in the times of the Chri&s;tian Church: For a Com|mon
<PB N="129" REF="223">Hou&s;e for Wor&s;hip, &s;uppo&s;es Publick or Common Wor&s;hip. He foretells, and our Sa|viour allows, that others, be&s;ides the <HI>Jews,</HI> &s;hould have Places dedicated to the Wor&s;hip of God; and in this, both he and our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour do intimate, the continuance of Pub|lick Wor&s;hip, when that of the <HI>Jews</HI> &s;hould be at an end. That, as they perform'd Publick Wor&s;hip to God, the Chri&s;tians &s;hould do &s;o likewi&s;e: God &s;till requires, that Companies of People do joyn together in his Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>It is requi&s;ite, that I confirm this Intimation from the Text, by &s;ome other Proofs from Holy Scripture; becau&s;e our times have lo&s;t, in a great mea&s;ure, the due reverence and e&s;teem for Publick Wor&s;hip. Some de&s;pi&s;e it out of Prophanene&s;s, and &s;ome neglect it from Mi&s;take and ill Principles. They fancy they can wor&s;hip God at Home, as acceptably as at Church; and that becau&s;e God is every where pre&s;ent, and the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>I will, that every where Men lift up Holy Hands</HI> (in Praver) <HI>with|out Wrath or Doubting.</HI> Therefore 'tis a mat|ter very indifferent, whether we pray in Pub|lick, or in Private; and that a good Man &s;hall be accepted where-ever he prays. Again&s;t this mi&s;chievous Error, chiefly, will this Di&s;cour&s;e be directed.</P>
<P>To prove, then, That God requires of us the Homage of Publick Wor&s;hip, I &s;hall de|&s;ire the&s;e things following may be well ob|&s;erv'd.</P>
<P>Our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour requires, That we pub|lickly profe&s;s his Religion, and own him to
<PB N="130" REF="224">the view of the World, <HI>Matth.</HI> 10.32. And he threatens, if we will not do &s;o, in the 33d Ver&s;e, That he him&s;elf will <HI>di&s;own us before his Father, which is in Heaven:</HI> He will not be our Mediator with the Father, nor &s;hall we enjoy the benefit of his Patronage and Interce&s;&s;ion. Now this publick owning of Chri&s;t, and pro|fe&s;&s;ing of his Religion, mu&s;t needs include and require the Publick Wor&s;hip of him: That we do publickly and notoriou&s;ly pay him the Homage of our Lord and Sovereign Ruler and Mediator, in giving him &s;uch Wor&s;hip. It was in this way that the Heathens acknowledg'd their fal&s;e Gods and fal&s;e Mediators, and therefore, if we do truly acknowledge the one God, and one Mediator, it mu&s;t needs be meant, when we are commanded to do this before Men, that we &s;hould do it in a manner vi&s;ible to them, and in &s;uch a way as they were wont to acknowledge God; and there|fore we mu&s;t do this by Publick Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>Again, Without doubt, the In&s;titution and Nature of the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup|per, does plainly evidence, that Publick Wor|&s;hip is requir'd of the Chri&s;tian Church. In this we are commanded to <HI>&s;hew the Lord's Death till he comes:</HI> The word means, to declare it, or to make publick and &s;olemn Commemora|tions of it. But this mu&s;t be done in a com|mon place for Wor&s;hip, and by a Company a&s;&s;embled for that purpo&s;e. The Apo&s;tle, &s;peak|ing of this Ordinance, calls it, (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.6.) <HI>A Communion of the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t,</HI> which certainly &s;uppo&s;es &s;everal per&s;ons met
<PB N="131" REF="224">together to partake of it; and condemns the allowance of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> that the Prie&s;t may receive it alone, as well as it re|quires Publick Wor&s;hip. From the Context of the&s;e words we may ob&s;erve, That he ac|counts this Sacrament a Rite of the &s;ame na|ture with tho&s;e Publick Fea&s;ts which were wont to be held in Temples, in honour of the Gods which they wor&s;hipped there: Which was a Cu&s;tom u&s;ed not only by the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> but al&s;o by the <HI>Jews,</HI> and the&s;e u&s;ed it by the appointment of God him&s;elf. And in the par|ticipating of this Sacrament, he &s;ays, many Per&s;ons are united to one another, as into one Body, (Ver&s;e 17.) <HI>We being many,</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>are one Bread, and one Body, for we are all par|takers of that one Bread:</HI> Which is a very plain intimation, that they met together in a Pub|lick A&s;&s;embly to partake of this Sacrament.</P>
<P>And this leads me to mention another Evi|dence, That Publick Wor&s;hip is requir'd of the Chri&s;tian Church: We may ju&s;tly con|clude this from hence, That the Apo&s;tles and the fir&s;t Converts to Chri&s;tianity, did &s;o duly a&s;&s;emble for the Wor&s;hip of God. Tho&s;e who had been led out from <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> by our Saviour to be eye-witne&s;&s;es of his a&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, return'd immediately when he was gone, and made up a religious A&s;&s;embly for Prayer and Supplication, (<HI>Acts</HI> 1.13, 14.) The Number of the&s;e together were about an hundred and twenty, (Ver&s;e 15.) And by the Expre&s;&s;ion u&s;ed in the 14th Ver&s;e, which &s;ays, <HI>They continued with one accord</HI> in this practice,
<PB N="132" REF="225">we mu&s;t needs under&s;tand is meant, That they from thence-forth &s;et up a cour&s;e of holding Religious A&s;&s;emblies for the performance of Publick Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip. And tho this was done in &s;ome Private Hou&s;e, as the 13th Ver&s;e intimates, where 'tis &s;aid they a&s;&s;embled in <HI>an upper Room;</HI> yet we may ju&s;tly believe this Room was &s;et apart, and con&s;tantly u&s;ed for the&s;e A&s;|&s;emblies; and, many learned Men think, it was that very Room in which our Lord celebrated his la&s;t Pa&s;&s;over, and in&s;tituted the Sacrament of his Supper. Further, we may ob&s;erve it &s;aid, of the fir&s;t Converts to Chri&s;tianity, <HI>That they con|tinued &s;tedfa&s;tly in the Apo&s;tles Doctrine, and Fel|low&s;hip, and in breaking of Bread, and in Pray|ers,</HI> (Acts 2.42.) Which can mean no le&s;s, than their diligent attendance upon the Apo|&s;tles Preaching the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and their Common Prayers. Thus we &s;ee, the Apo&s;tles, who were conver&s;ant with our Lord while he liv'd on Earth, and who did certainly learn from him the Will of God in this particular, they &s;et up A&s;&s;emblies for Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip, and taught the Con|verts to Chri&s;tianity diligently to attend upon them. And we may find the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> who was in&s;pired and directed by the Holy Gho&s;t for the di&s;charge of his Office, char|ging the Jewi&s;h Converts not to for&s;ake, as it &s;eems &s;ome did, the&s;e religious Chri&s;tian A&s;|&s;emblies, (<HI>Heb.</HI> 10.25.)</P>
<P>Further, In that our Lord has in&s;tituted an Order of Men in his Church, to admit People into the Rank of his Di&s;ciples by Bapti&s;m; to
<PB N="133" REF="225">in&s;truct and teach them, &s;o admitted, his Sa|ving Religion; to offer up Prayers for them, and admini&s;ter the other Sacrament, and to ble&s;s them in his Name; this does evidently &s;hew, that he requires the continuance of Pub|lick Wor&s;hip in the Chri&s;tian Church. What u&s;e could there be of &s;uch an Order of Publick Mini&s;ters, if Publick Wor&s;hip were not in|tended to be &s;till paid to God in the World? And what need were there of the&s;e, if it were altogether as well for People to wor&s;hip God in private? And it appears he de&s;ign'd this Order of Men &s;hould continue to the end of the World, in that he has promi&s;ed to be with them &s;o long in the Exerci&s;e of their Office, <HI>Matth.</HI> 28.26. Which we mu&s;t reckon means, He would ble&s;s their Admini&s;trations to the advantage of tho&s;e who &s;hall diligently and &s;eriou&s;ly attend upon them: And then, &s;urely, he requires, that the People do diligently at|tend upon them. The Phra&s;e, <HI>to the end of the World,</HI> cannot, with any rea&s;on, be limi|ted, to mean only to the end of that particu|lar Age.</P>
<P>Now, from all this, it plainly appears, That Publick Wor&s;hip is &s;till required by God: And then it is a Sin to neglect the Publick Wor&s;hip at the time appointed for it, and when we may enjoy it, tho' a Man &s;hould follow his own humour, and &s;pend that time in Private Prayer and Meditation. And tho' God be every where pre&s;ent, yet we &s;hall cer|tainly be mo&s;t likely to meet with his Ble&s;|&s;ings and Favours there, where he has appoint|ed us to expect them.</P>
<PB N="134" REF="226">
<P>I proceed now to the Second Intimation in our Text, which I &s;aid is this, That the Pub|lick Wor&s;hip, which God requires, is chiefly and eminently to con&s;i&s;t in Prayers to him; under&s;tanding Prayer in the full latitude and extent of it. This &s;eems to be very manife&s;t|ly intimated, in that the Hou&s;e of God, or the Place of Publick Wor&s;hip, is call'd by this Name, <HI>An Hou&s;e of Prayer.</HI> This part of Pub|lick Wor&s;hip, is put for the whole, becau&s;e this is a main and chief part of it: And the Place is not called an Hou&s;e of Preaching for the &s;ake of that Ordinance there admini&s;tred, nor an Hou&s;e of Sacrificing, tho' in the Chri|&s;tian Church the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup|per, is a Rite which an&s;wers the Jewi&s;h Sacri|fices, and repre&s;ents the Me&s;&s;iah come, and his Sacrifice perform'd, as they repre&s;ented it future, and to be perform'd: But it is call'd an Hou&s;e of Prayer, as that which it is rather intended for, than Preaching, and as what is the more eminent, and therefore ought ordi|narily to be the greate&s;t part of our bu&s;ine&s;s there.</P>
<P>It is very nece&s;&s;ary to in&s;i&s;t upon this Parti|cular, becau&s;e of great Mi&s;takes and Di&s;orders among us, occa&s;ion'd by the want of con&s;ider|ing this. It is by many thought, That Preach|ing and Hearing of Sermons, is to be the chief and the greate&s;t part of Publick Wor|&s;hip: From whence many &s;pend the greate&s;t part of the time of Wor&s;hip u&s;ually in this: And think, that the Prayers &s;hould be &s;hort|ned, that the Sermon may be long: Yea, and
<PB N="135" REF="226">they may be ob&s;erv'd even to contrive their Place of Wor&s;hip more with relation to the Preaching, than to any other part of the Wor|&s;hip, and &s;o intirely to regard the convenien|cy of that, as to neglect the conveniency of Prayer, and make them inconvenient for the due performance of this. Many di&s;dain the Publick Wor&s;hip, when they &s;ay of it, <HI>There will be nothing but Prayers.</HI> And tho' there are but too few who will attend on the Publick Preaching, in proportion to the Numbers that might, and that ought to appear there; yet there are &s;till fewer that will come to the Pub|lick Wor&s;hip only for the &s;ake of the appoint|ed Prayers, and when they are not invited to it with the hopes of a Sermon, and that per|haps, too, from &s;ome &s;uch Preacher, whom the Vogue has, right or wrong, celebrated and extoll'd. The&s;e are very great and very perni|cious Di&s;orders, and proceed from the advan|cing this Ordinance of Preaching above its due place.</P>
<P>I doubt not, but Preaching and Hearing the Word of God, are Acts of Wor&s;hip; for in the doing of the&s;e rightly, both the Preacher and the Hearers do acknowledge and celebrate the Infinite Perfections of God, his Sovereign|ty over us, and his Benefits be&s;tow'd upon us. It is an Act of Homage and Wor&s;hip, to af|ford an obedient attentive Hearing to the De|clarations of the Divine Will. But when we place &s;o much of Religion in Hearing the Word of God, we are apt to let the doing of his Will want its due. And we &s;hould con&s;i|der,
<PB N="136" REF="227">that Prayer is the end of Preaching. We u&s;e Preaching as the appointed Means to work in us tho&s;e Graces and Vertues of the Holy Spirit, which mu&s;t be exerci&s;ed in Praying and Living Well, and which mu&s;t inable us to do both. Prayer is appointed for it &s;elf, Preach|ing but in order to &s;omewhat el&s;e. And then, that which is but a Means, and is appointed for the &s;ake of &s;omewhat el&s;e, mu&s;t not be accounted more excellent, than the end for which it is appointed: Neither may we neg|lect or &s;et by Prayer, that we may &s;pend the more time in Preaching and Hearing. That which is the mo&s;t noble and the chiefe&s;t part of Wor&s;hip, &s;hould be chiefly attended.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides we may con&s;ider, That as the Pub|lick Prayers are perform'd in our Church, they are always attended with that which is, perhaps, the be&s;t as well as the true&s;t Preaching, according to the Scripture Notion of this; I mean, the Reading of &s;everal Portions of Ho|ly Scripture. As a learned Father of our Church has demon&s;trated. (<HI>Bi&s;hop of</HI> London-derry, <HI>his Di&s;cour&s;e concerning Inventions of Men,</HI> &amp;c.) And the U&s;efulne&s;s of our Publick Prayers, to the promoting Plety and a Good Life, even without the con&s;tant addition of &s;uch Preach|ing to them, as &s;ome make the chief bu&s;ine&s;s of Publick Wor&s;hip, is found by the happy experience of tho&s;e who do frequently and &s;e|riou&s;ly attend upon them.</P>
<P>The Ob&s;ervation of a pious and learned Divine of our Church at pre&s;ent, concerning the Efficacy and good in&s;luence of our Method
<PB N="137" REF="227">of Prayers, even when it has been u&s;ed alone is very con&s;iderable.</P>
<P>He takes notice, <Q>That in the Reigns of King <HI>Edward</HI> the VI. and for &s;everal Years of Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> there was little or no Preaching in mo&s;t parts of the Kingdom, and very few People then could read their own Language: Yet by the con&s;tant gene|ral u&s;e of our Liturgy, and Gods Ble&s;&s;ing upon it, the whole Nation &s;o mightily im|prov'd in true Knowledge, that there was &s;carce one in an Hundered to be found, who did not for&s;ake and abhor the Errours, and Ab&s;urdities of Popery.</Q> (Dr. <HI>Beveridge,</HI> his Sermon on the <HI>Excel. &V;&s;ef. Com. Prayer.</HI>)</P>
<P>I confe&s;s, It is not to be wondred at, if they, who in their Religious A&s;&s;emblies are put off with the ra&s;h and unpremeditated Exerci&s;e of their Mini&s;ters Gifts in Extemporary Prayer, do require, that a greater part of the time of Publick Wor&s;hip &s;hould be &s;pent in the Ser|mon: That &s;o they may be entertain'd with that which is, perhaps, &s;omewhat better &s;tu|died and con&s;ider'd, and more fit to edifie and improve them. But in this Ca&s;e, it is one mi&s;take which has betray'd them into another. Their unhappy Opinion, that 'tis lawful or be&s;t for Mini&s;ters, who are not divinely and immediately In&s;pired, as the Apo&s;tles were, to pray in Publick without the u&s;e of a Form, is that which has led them to think, that the greate&s;t and the mo&s;t indi&s;pen&s;able part of Pub|lick Wor&s;hip ought to be the Preaching, and Hearing of a Sermon: Becau&s;e, indeed in their
<PB N="138" REF="228">way of Wor&s;hip, they find by experience, that this is that which they can be&s;t expect to re|ceive Advantage and Benefit by.</P>
<P>But when I &s;peak of Prayer as that which we &s;hould account the chief and main part of Publick Wor&s;hip: I would be under&s;tood to &s;peak of it as in its full Latitude, and extent: As it includes the Prai&s;e of God in P&s;alms, and Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: And as including al&s;o the Celebration of Sacraments which we know is done in Acts of Prayer. Now &s;ince the&s;e are appointed as well as Preaching; the Wor&s;hip is as truly defective when it wants the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, as when it wants a Sermon: And if the Circum&s;tances of the Congregation will allow without Guilt, the Omi&s;&s;ion of that Sacrament at &s;ome times of Publick Wor&s;hip; they will al&s;o allow the Omi&s;&s;ion of a Sermon. And if we come to|gether and Pray, and Celebrate the Lords Supper without a Sermon, we do then perform a main and chief part of Publick Wor&s;hip, tho we ought not at any time to neglect the other. A Sermon &s;hould be added to the Wor&s;hip at Extraordinary times, as when a Day is &s;et apart to the Wor&s;hip of God, or when ence&s;&s;ary Worldly Affairs will allow time enough for it on other days; but it needs not to be joyn'd to the Ordinary daily Prayers in Publick.</P>
<P>I have now fini&s;h'd the fir&s;t part of this Di&s;|cou&s;e, which was intended to inquire, and &s;hew what is Included or Implied in our Text by the Phra&s;e, or Name, of an <HI>Hou&s;e of Prayer.</HI> It in|timates, as I have &s;aid, thus much, that God ex|pects
<PB N="139" REF="228">to be wor&s;hipped by Publick Prayers: And this is that which he accounts, and requires, as the main and chief part of Publick Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the Second part of the di&s;|cour&s;e; in which I am to urge our diligent and con&s;tant attendance upon the Publick Prayer. I hope the former part of the Di&s;cour&s;e will be look'd upon, as &s;omewhat &s;erviceable to this purpo&s;e: And therefore I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t but upon the&s;e Three Arguments to promote it. 1. The Laws and Commands of the Governors of that Church in which we live. 2. The great Ho|nour which we therein do to Almighty God. 3. The great Advantages which will redound to our &s;elves from our diligent and &s;erious at|tendance on the Publick Prayers.</P>
<P N="1">1. In the fir&s;t place, It is con&s;iderable, that the Laws and Commands of the Church, in which we live, do require a diligent and fre|quent attendance upon the Publick Prayers. It is appointed in the Preface to our Publick Liturgy under the Title, concerning the &s;er|vice of the Church, that all Prie&s;ts are to &s;ay daily the Morning and Evening Prayer, either privately or openly, not being let or hindered by &s;ickne&s;s, or &s;ome other urgent cau&s;e. It is not to be doubted, but that this Rule ob|liges the Prie&s;ts of the Church to offer up the Churches Prayers in Publick every day, if they are not invincibly hindred from doing it: But then the &s;ame Rule implies an Obligation on the People to A&s;&s;emble diligently to the Publick Prayers. And this their Attendance on the Opportunities which they can have of
<PB N="140" REF="229">Publick Prayer, is expre&s;ly requir'd in the Fif|teenth <HI>Canon,</HI> where concerning the Litany, 'tis &s;aid particularly, that it &s;hall be u&s;ed in Publick on Wedne&s;days and Fridays Weekly, tho they be not Holidays. And that the Mi|ni&s;ter &s;hall at the accu&s;tomed Hour re&s;ort to the Church, and give notice to the People to A&s;&s;emble. And the <HI>Canon</HI> adds a de&s;ire, that every Family within a convenient di&s;tance would afford one, at lea&s;t, to joyn with the Mini&s;ter in Prayer. How &s;itting indeed is it, that one &s;hould be &s;pared to pray for the re&s;t, while they are engag'd in the Affairs of the World? That &s;o a Ble&s;&s;ing might be obtain'd, by Prayer, upon their Endeavours, to the ad|vantage of the whole Family. And how com|monly might one or more in a Family be &s;pa|red for this, if People would be mindful, and endeavour to do their Duty in this Ca&s;e? The&s;e Rules formention'd are afre&s;h enforced, by tho&s;e Excellent and Pious Injunctions, which His Maje&s;ty has lately given to the Arch-Bi|&s;hops of this Realm, in which it is directed (Injunct. 11.) <Q>That the Bi&s;hops do u&s;e their utmo&s;t endeavour to oblige their Clergy to have publick Prayers in the Church, not on|ly on Holidays and Litany-days, but as of|ten as may be.</Q> Thus we may evidently &s;ee, that the Laws, and Governors of the Church, do require the Peoples diligent attendance up|on the Publick Prayers.</P>
<P>And now may it not ju&s;tly be thought a &s;trange and lamentable thing, that it &s;hould be nece&s;&s;ary in a Chri&s;tian Church to Vindi|cate
<PB N="141" REF="229">this as a con&s;iderable Argument? Should not Chri&s;tianity teach Men Meekne&s;s, and Obedience, and a Reverence to Laws and Government? But alas, we have too many among us, who in words profe&s;s Chri&s;t, but in their Works do deny him; and who have indeed a Form of Godline&s;s, but appear great|ly wanting in the Power of it. And the need|le&s;s &s;cruples, and uncon&s;ider'd mi&s;takes of &s;ome have been &s;o manag'd, as to weaken the Au|thority of the Church, and to occa&s;ion the Prophane&s;s of others, by occa&s;ioning a too common contempt of &s;everal very excellent and whol&s;om Rules, which have a great ten|dency and u&s;efulne&s;s in them&s;elves towards the promoting of True Religion. Let us all con|&s;ider, to enforce this Argument; That if this be a Law of the Governors of the Church, it is a Law of Chri&s;t, &s;ince it is no way contra|dictory to any of his Written Laws. They deceive them&s;elves, who call the Commands of Governors in &s;uch a ca&s;e the Traditions, In|ventions, or Commands of Men, and let them|&s;elves de&s;pi&s;e them under &s;uch Names: For it is indeed Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the unque&s;tionable King, and Supream Head of the Church, who lays the&s;e Laws upon us by them. It is he who re|quires, that they who govern the Church un|der him be obey'd in their Lawful Commands. And he by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> enjoynes Obedience to Governors, <HI>Not only for wrath, but for con|&s;cience &s;ake:</HI> That is, not only to avoid the Wrath of him who has power to Puni&s;h, but to di&s;charge a good Con&s;cience in Obedience
<PB N="142" REF="230">to him who has Authority to Command. We do, then, certainly &s;in again&s;t God, when we neglect and de&s;pi&s;e the good Laws and Orders of the Church, which he him&s;elf plainly teaches us in his &s;aying, to tho&s;e whom he had appoint|ed the Governors of his Church, <HI>He that hear|eth you, heareth me, and he that receiveth you, re|ceiveth me, and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth me.</HI> And &s;ince the E&s;tabli&s;h'd way of Wor&s;hip is &s;uch, as that all good Souls, who &s;eriou&s;ly u&s;e it, do find great Advantage, and Edification from it: They who cannot do &s;o too, and would from thence excu&s;e their de&s;erting it, may more ju&s;tly a&s;cribe this to their not being ac|cu&s;tomed to it, or to the prejudices which they have conceiv'd again&s;t it, than to any fault or defect in the thing it &s;elf. But I mu&s;t pro|ceed to another Argument.</P>
<P N="2">2. Publick Wor&s;hip is more to the Honour of God, than that which is private. All the Exerci&s;es or Acts of Wor&s;hip Honour God; therefore he him&s;elf &s;ays, <HI>Who&s;o offereth Prai&s;e glorifieth me:</HI> And then the more publickly we do this, we do the more glorifie him. It is very evident, that Honour is always the grea|ter the more publick it is. He who has great and admiring Thoughts of God, and publi&s;hes this to the World, in the mo&s;t &s;olemn manner, does honour him a great deal more, than he who keeps the&s;e Thoughts to him&s;elf, and who Prai&s;es and Wor&s;hips God, &s;o as no one knows he does it but him&s;elf. God is to be con|&s;ider'd and own'd, in the be&s;t manner that we can, as a Publick Benefactor, as the Univer&s;al
<PB N="143" REF="230">Friend, and Parent of Mankind, and as the Common Sovereign and Lord of the World; And it is more Honour to Con&s;ider and Wor&s;hip him as &s;uch, than only as a Friend or Sove|reign to a particular Per&s;on; and there is no vi&s;ible Acknowledgment or Wor&s;hip of God, as &s;uch, unle&s;s by Publick Wor&s;hip: There|fore without this, God would want the great|e&s;t Honour and Glory that he ought to receive from us. And this too is certainly an Argu|ment very worthy to prevail with us. It is highly rea&s;onable and fitting, that we give to God the greate&s;t Honour we are able: Who is the mo&s;t Excellent Being, the mo&s;t Univer|&s;al, and the greate&s;t Benefactor, the Foun|tain Good on whom we depend for our Being, and for all that we enjoy. It is fit we give him the greate&s;t Honour that we can, when we can never pay him more than is due, and after all that we have done, his Infinite Excellency and Greatne&s;s exalts him above all Ble&s;&s;ing and Prai&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. The la&s;t Argument I &s;hall u&s;e is this, That Publick Wor&s;hip and Prayer, is that from whence we may expect mo&s;t advantage to our &s;elves. To give this the more force, I &s;hall a little in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e two particulars which it comprehends. 1. To Pray in Publick is of great advantage for the better performance of our Prayers. 2. This is of great advantage al&s;o for the better &s;ucce&s;s of our Prayers.</P>
<P N="1">1. To pray in Publick is a great Advan|tage for the better performance of our Prayers. This is a great help both to our Faith and al&s;o to the Fervency of our Prayers.</P>
<PB N="144" REF="231">
<P>It is a help to our Faith and Tru&s;t in God, to &s;ee that others put their tru&s;t in him, that he is the common refuge of di&s;tre&s;t and craving Souls: It is he to whom all Fle&s;h come with their Supplications: And many account him a God hearing Prayers. A multitude does in all ca&s;es give Encouragement: Be&s;ides, the hum|ble and good Chri&s;tian, who has a mean opini|on of him&s;elf, will be apt to think his Prayers more acceptable with God, when joyn'd with tho&s;e of an A&s;&s;embly of Saints, than when they are offer'd up by him&s;elf alone. Further, The place of Publick Wor&s;hip, being that where we are wont to Celebrate the Solemn Comme|moration of the Death of Chri&s;t in the Lords Supper, we &s;hall be apt to be put in mind of this by the place, when we pray there, tho' this Sacrament be not then Celebrated. And it will be a great advantage and help to our Faith, to have a fre&s;h remembrance of that Death, which was a compleat, and full attone|ment for our Sins, a perfect and accepted Pro|pitiation, that Death which was Meritorious of the Divine Favour to Guilty Rebellious Creatures; and to call to mind, that we have there been united to this Sacrifice, in that we have been partakers of it, and &s;o have been intere&s;ted in the Vertue and Merits of it. This Advantage we may derive in &s;ome mea&s;ure from the place, but I mu&s;t add it will be much more, when the Sacrament it &s;elf is Celebra|ted there.</P>
<P>And as it is a help to our Faith, &s;o it is al&s;o to our Devotion to pray in Publick. It tends
<PB N="145" REF="231">to di&s;po&s;e us to Reverence and Care, to con|&s;ider, that we are in the Hou&s;e of God, in the Place of his Special Re&s;idence and Pre&s;ence: And that here the Ho&s;ts of Glorious Angels at|tend, when the Saints meet to Wor&s;hip. Be|&s;ides, the Fervency and Devotion of other Pi|ous Souls, with whom we joyn in Publick, will encrea&s;e our Fervour and Devotion: Many warm hearts together will help to kindle each other into an Ardent Flame. Yea, the very outward ge&s;tures and &s;hews of Devotion in o|thers, will be u&s;eful to &s;tir up and encrea&s;e our Devotion. And to a good and devout Soul, it will be a &s;pur and incentive to the more Seri|ou&s;ne&s;s and Devotion, to &s;ee &s;ome others, it may be, too Irreverent and Carele&s;s; becau&s;e &s;uch an one will naturally fall into this thought, that his Reverence and Seriou&s;ne&s;s may per|haps influence the other to be &s;erious too, and may cure their Irreverence; as &s;uch a Soul will naturally de&s;ire, that all others were De|vout and Reverent in the Wor&s;hip of God. Thus is it a help to the better performance of our Prayers to pray in Publick.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is al&s;o an help to the better &s;ucce&s;s of our Prayers. This may be concluded from the former Argument; for as we do herein give God the greate&s;t Honour, we may expect, that we &s;hall al&s;o hereby receive from him the greate&s;t Ble&s;&s;ings. Again, If this be an Advan|tage for the better performance of our Pray|ers, it mu&s;t be &s;o for the better &s;ucce&s;s and ac|ceptance of them; for we may ju&s;tly &s;uppo&s;e, that the better they are perform'd, the more
<PB N="146" REF="232">they will &s;ucceed. Again, the P&s;almi&s;t teaches us this, when he &s;ays, <HI>God loves the Gates of Si|on, more than all the dwellings of</HI> Jacob, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 87.2. Intimating, that in the place of Publick Wor&s;hip, when an A&s;&s;embly of Saints meet, and pray to him together, he is chiefly wont to communicate his Favour and Ble&s;&s;ings. Let us con&s;ider to this purpo&s;e the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> whom we find often de&s;iring to be remembred in the Publick Prayers of the Church, as in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.11. and el&s;ewhere: But certainly, if any particular Per&s;on among&s;t us, might conceit, that his own Prayers offer'd up alone to God would prevail better with him, as being more pure than tho&s;e of a mingled Congregation, this great Apo&s;tle and Favourite of Heaven, might more rea&s;onably have had &s;uch a thought. And he certainly condemns the Pride of &s;uch an imagination, in that he thought the Common-Prayer of the Church more likely to &s;ucceed than his own private Prayer. Be&s;ides, we are to reckon, that the in&s;pired Apo&s;tle was di|rected by the Holy Gho&s;t, to give us a Rule in his Example in this ca&s;e: And we may ju&s;tly believe, That God him&s;elf teaches us by the Apo&s;tle, that Common or Publick Prayer is mo&s;t acceptable to him, and &s;hall have or|dinarily the greate&s;t &s;ucce&s;s. Let us con&s;ider la&s;tly, Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour's encouragement of Common-Prayer, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.19, 20. <HI>If two of you &s;hall agree on Earth as touching any thing that they &s;hall ask, it &s;hall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there
<PB N="147" REF="232">am I in the mid&s;t of them.</HI> The&s;e things may ju&s;tly make us highly value Publick Wor&s;hip, be plea&s;ed when we hear the Summons to it, and readily to u&s;e all the Opportunities we can of joyning in it. <HI>Now to God the Father, God the Son.</HI> &amp;c.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALmighty, Everla&s;ting God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and Pre&s;erver of all things. Thou art the Fountain Good, the Author and Giver of every good, and perfect Gift. To thee O Lord, is all our Adoration, and Wor&s;hip, and Homage due: And thou art worthy that we Adore and Reverence, and Prai&s;e thee in the be&s;t manner we can, both for the excellent Perfections of thy Nature, and for thy Won|derful Goodne&s;s to the Children of Men. And we mu&s;t own, we have great occa&s;ion and nece&s;&s;ity to ad|dre&s;s to thee our humble reque&s;ts and &s;upplications; for we have our continual dependance upon thee, we cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t one moment without thy upholding in|fluence, we derive our food and raiment, and all the &s;upports and comforts of our Life from thy Bounty, and the benefit and comfort of them from thy Ble&s;|&s;ing. Neither do we le&s;s depend, O Lord, upon thy powerful Grace for every good Thought, or Word, or Work: Without thee, alas, and thy con&s;tant A&s;&s;i&s;t|ance, we can do nothing that is good. We have al|ways need to &s;ay, prevent us, O Lord, with thy mo&s;t Gracious Favour, &s;tir up in our hearts at all times good de&s;ires, and further us with thy continual help,
<PB N="148" REF="233">and bring tho&s;e de&s;ires to good effect; Work in us to will and do that which is good. But when we con|&s;ider our Obligation, and the Occa&s;ion we have to Wor&s;hip and Seek to thee, We are forced to condemn our &s;elves for all our indifferency towards this duty, and for our negiect of Prayer. We have been fooli&s;h and negligent of our own Intere&s;t, when we have neglected our Prayers. We have rea&s;on to abhor our &s;elves, for having been at all forgetful of thee who art always mindful of us, and for that we have too often neglected to return thee our daily, and &s;olemn Prai&s;es for thy daily benefits heaped upon us. O Lord, we are a&s;hamed of all our neglects, and of the Sinful Omi&s;&s;ions of the good which we ought to have done. We pray thee pardon us what is pa&s;t, and accept of us now, de&s;iring and purpo&s;ing to return to our Duty. We will endeavour to perform it for the future in the be&s;t manner that we can. But we mu&s;t come unto thee O Lord, even with this reque&s;t, that thou would&s;t teach us to Pray. We therefore be&s;eech thee to pour upon us the Spirit of Grace and Supplication. Make us to encline to thy Wor&s;hip, to take delight in it, and to rejoyce at the happy opportunities which we have of paying thee the greate&s;t and mo&s;t Publick Ho|nour. Grant us the Grace to Wor&s;hip thee in Spirit and in Truth, with Reverence and Godly Fear, with Fervency and Devotion. Increa&s;e we pray thee, our too weak Faith: Help us to rely upon thy Mercy through the Merits, and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and grant us we pray thee at all times &s;uch encourage|ment in the gracious an&s;wer of our Prayers as may be mo&s;t expedient for us; Grant us in this World know|ledge of thy Truth, and in the World to come, Life Everla&s;ting.</P>
<P>We humbly pray unto thee for all Mankind, that thou woulde&s;t be plea&s;ed to reveal thy &s;elf to them that know thee not, that all the People may prai&s;e thee. Ble&s;s thy Church with great encrea&s;e of the Knowledge and Love of thee, and of thy Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and give it every where the happine&s;s of a
<PB N="149" REF="233">peaceable and quiet enjoyment of a pure Wor&s;hip and Ordinances. We pray thee look in mercy upon that part of it, which thy right Hand has planted a|mong&s;t us: Root up all the Tares of fal&s;e Doctrine, and dividing Principles which the Enemy has &s;own a|mong us, and unite us one to another again, that we may with one mind, and one mouth glorifie thee our God. We pray for thy abundant Ble&s;&s;ings upon our Sovereign Lord King <HI>William:</HI> Direct him in all his ways, that they may plea&s;e thee, and make thou his Enemies to be at peace with him: Give him a long Health and Happine&s;s, and upon his Head let his Crown long flouri&s;h. We pray thee continue, multi|ply, and ble&s;s the Royal Family, make all the Bran|ches of it Illu&s;trious in Piety, Wi&s;dom, and Vertue, as they are in Birth, and let it always be, as at pre&s;ent, the Glory and the Happine&s;s of the&s;e Kingdoms. Do good to all our Relations according to their &s;everal nece&s;&s;ities; Receive our Prayers which we have this day offer'd thee in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and be|&s;tow upon us all what is requi&s;ite to our living to thy Glory, and our obtaining Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s. We implore thy Gracious Protection this Night, and that we may have comfortable re&s;t, and yet continue to prai&s;e and &s;erve thee in this World, if it be thy good Plea&s;ure. All we humbly ask in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in who&s;e words we conclude our poor Ad|dre&s;&s;es, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="150" REF="234">
<HEAD>THE ASCENSION OF OUR Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, Repre&s;ented and Improv'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Mark 16.19.</HI></BIBL>
<P>So then, after the Lord had &s;poken unto them, he was received up into Hea|ven, and &s;at down on the right hand of God.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT is without doubt, that a great part of the Happine&s;s of Heaven, will lie in the Devout Contemplation, and Prai&s;e of the Infinitely Glorious God, and his Wonderful Works:
<PB N="151" REF="234">And among his Works, that, which 'tis likely will afford us the greate&s;t delight, and him the greate&s;t Prai&s;e, will be his mo&s;t kind Redem|ption and Salvation of Mankind by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And then it is &s;ome mea&s;ure of Hea|ven here, to be thus employ'd now; and to have devout Affections rai&s;ed in us, by the &s;e|rious Contemplation of the &s;everal &s;teps and advances of this great Affair; and this, like a lower degree of the &s;ame thing, will be a &s;ure way towards the higher Degrees, and the Per|fection of it. To require and command this practice, then, is but to impo&s;e Happine&s;s up|on us; to require us to acquaint our &s;elves with &s;ome degrees of Heaven now, and to be in the way to more. The Holy Church has con&s;ulted our Intere&s;t and Advantage in direct|ing a &s;olemn and deliberate Meditation, on what the loving Je&s;us has done for our Salva|tion, at &s;ome particular and fixed times. Other Nece&s;&s;ities, and other Duties will hin|der us, that we cannot at all times &s;o do this; and yet it will require &s;uch a Meditation on the&s;e things, to give them their due influence upon us, and to give us a true reli&s;h of the Plea|&s;ures which they afford. And if we do not &s;et our &s;elves with very &s;olemn application and care at &s;uch &s;et times to Meditate on them, it will be likely to happen to us, as it too commonly does to tho&s;e who &s;light this Practice, that un|der pretence of more frequent meditating on the&s;e things, we &s;hall never do it &s;eriou&s;ly at all; and in&s;tead of being, &s;en&s;ible always of and affected with them, we &s;hall never be duly
<PB N="152" REF="235">&s;o. We have good rea&s;on, to render &s;uch a &s;ort of Impo&s;itions, to be no Impo&s;itions at all, by chu&s;ing the things impo&s;ed our &s;elves, and by a ready compliance with the Com|mands of the Church.</P>
<P>At this Sea&s;on we are invited to a Solemn and Religious Commemoration of our Lord's A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, and his &s;itting down at the Right Hand of God. To promote which, I &s;hall at pre&s;ent in&s;i&s;t upon this Sub|ject, and in the following Method.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall endeavour to explain, as far as the Holy Scripture allows it, this Article of our Lord's A&s;cen&s;ion.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall make it appear, That the promi|&s;ed Me&s;&s;iah, was, according to the Prophecies concerning him, to a&s;cend into Heaven.</P>
<P N="3">3. I judge it proper, to produce briefly the Account and Proof which the Scriptures of the New Te&s;tament give us of the A&s;cen&s;ion of Je&s;us, and his Sitting at the Right Hand of God.</P>
<P N="4">4. I &s;hall apply the Di&s;cour&s;e to its proper U&s;e and Improvement. It will be convenient, in the fir&s;t place, to explain and &s;tate this Ar|ticle, as far as we may. In order to which, I mu&s;t give an Account of the&s;e following Mat|ters. 1. Who it was that the Text &s;ays did a&s;cend into Heaven. 2. What is meant by this, That <HI>he was received up into Heaven.</HI> 3. What by this, That <HI>he &s;ate down on the Right Hand of God.</HI> 4. What are the Rea|&s;ons and Ends of this his A&s;cen&s;ion into Hea|ven.</P>
<PB N="153" REF="235">
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t endeavour rightly to under|&s;tand who it was that a&s;cended into Heaven. The Text &s;ays, <HI>The Lord,</HI> when he had &s;po|ken to tho&s;e about him, did &s;o; that is, the Son of God, the Second Per&s;on in the glorious Trinity. He a&s;cended, that fir&s;t de&s;cended, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, (<HI>Eph.</HI> 4.10.) and that was the Son of God. He begun his de&s;cent, when <HI>the Word was made Fle&s;h;</HI> when <HI>he took upon him the Form of a Servant;</HI> being <HI>made un|der the Law:</HI> He carried it on further, when he &s;uffer'd Death upon the Cro&s;s; and fini&s;h'd that, when he was buried and de&s;cended into Hell. He begun his a&s;cent, when he ro&s;e from the dead; carried this on further, when he a&s;cended into Heaven; and compleated it, when he &s;ate down at the Right Hand of God; ad|vancing in this his Humane Nature to the Dignity and Glory of his Divine Per&s;on, as he had humbled and brought down the Divine Per&s;on before to the meanne&s;s and &s;ubjection of his Humane Nature. The Son of God was at the Right Hand of God in all the Dignity and Glory which this &s;ignifies before his In|carnation: In taking to him&s;elf the Humane Nature, he did in a manner leave that glo|rious &s;tation for a while, but was now exalted and re&s;tor'd to it again. He him&s;elf &s;peaks thus of this matter, he &s;ays, <HI>John</HI> 16.28. <HI>I came forth from the Father, and am come into the World; again, I leave the World, and go to the Father.</HI> He &s;ays to the Father, <HI>John</HI> 17.4, 5. <HI>I have glorified thee on Earth; I have fini&s;h'd the Work which thou gave&s;t me to do: And now, O
<PB N="154" REF="236">Father, glorifie thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the World was.</HI> He &s;ays to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>What and if ye &s;hall &s;ee the Son of Man a&s;cend up where he was before?</HI> John 6.62. All which Expre&s;&s;ions plainly &s;ignifie, that he was not in Heaven while he was on Earth, &s;o as he was before he came to dwell on Earth, and as he was going to be again upon his a&s;cen|&s;ion thither. 'Tis true, he &s;ays, <HI>John</HI> 3.13. of him&s;elf, that the Son of Man was in Hea|ven even while he was on Earth; but this mu&s;t be under&s;tood in a different re&s;pect: In his Divine Nature he is always in Heaven, becau&s;e he is every where: But the Per&s;on of the Son of God, did, for a while, in a peculiar manner make his abode on Earth with the Nature and in the Quality of a Man. He that was &s;uperior to the Law, and made it, be|came &s;ubject to it. But at length, a&s;cending again, he carried al&s;o his Humane Nature, which he a&s;&s;um'd here; and exalted that to the Dignity and Glory which belongs to him, as Son of God at the Right Hand of God. To this purpo&s;e, one of the Ancients &s;peaks of this matter, (to name no more) <HI>Angelici Spi|ritus</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>delectantur in eo, Quod Forma &s;ervi &s;it rever&s;a in Formam Dei: Et Exinanitio Humilitatis ad depo&s;itae Altitudinis redierit Maje|&s;tatem. (Tract. de Re&s;urrect. Ch. inter op. Cypr.)</HI> And a very learned Man of our own time &s;ays, with relation to the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, in <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.7. <HI>Nor does the Son of God &s;ave me, but by emptying him&s;elf in a manner for a while of his fir&s;t glory in Heaven. (Brevint Chri&s;t. &s;acr. p.</HI> 24.) We mu&s;t
<PB N="155" REF="236">thus &s;peak of this Matter, and &s;ay, The Per|&s;on of the Son of God de&s;cended and a&s;cend|ed; becau&s;e we mu&s;t not confound the Per&s;on and the Divine Nature, as is too frequently done; and from thence occa&s;ion is given to others, to &s;tart into the contrary extream, and, denying the Deity of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to confound the Per&s;on and the Humane Nature. This, then, is he that a&s;cended even the Se|cond Per&s;on of the Trinity, the Son of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us now ob&s;erve, what is meant by this in the Text, <HI>He was received up into Hea|ven.</HI> By Heaven, is here meant, the Place be|yond all that is vi&s;ible to us of this World. For 'tis the import of that Scripture, (<HI>Heb.</HI> 4.14. (<HI>Pear&s;on</HI> on the Creed) that he is pa&s;s'd through the Heavens; that is, through the vi&s;i|ble Heavens, which contain all the Stars. He is a&s;cended, and has carried the Human Nature in|to that place where the Angels chiefly re&s;ide, if they have all one dwelling place: Or where the highe&s;t and brighte&s;t Order of them dwells, if there be &s;everal and different Habitations for them; where the glory and maje&s;ty of the great God makes the greate&s;t di&s;coveries of him&s;elf; and where, from the large&s;t and mo&s;t bountiful Communications of the Divine Fulne&s;s, there is the greate&s;t Bli&s;s and Happine&s;s enjoy'd.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is &s;aid in the Text, <HI>He &s;ate down on the Right Hand of God:</HI> Which we mu&s;t un|der&s;tand is &s;poken after the manner of Men, and in allu&s;ion to what is cu&s;tomary among us. And, as among Men, the Right Hand is the chief In&s;trument of Action, and &s;o is reckon'd
<PB N="156" REF="237">the chief Seat of Active Power: and the Right Hand is the place we give to tho&s;e whom we honour; &s;o, when it is &s;aid, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is <HI>&s;at down at the Right Hand of God,</HI> this means, he is exalted to the highe&s;t Dignity and Au|thority; he is in&s;tated in an univer&s;al Domi|nion over all things; and he has the di&s;po&s;al of all the Exerci&s;es of Almighty Power. And the Holy Scripture &s;o &s;peaks of this matter, as to give us ground thus to interpret this Expre&s;&s;ion: For he &s;ays of him&s;elf (<HI>Matth.</HI> 26.64.) to the chief Prie&s;ts, That they &s;hould hereafter &s;ee him <HI>&s;itting on the Right Hand of Power;</HI> that is, exerci&s;ing the Divine Omni|potency; perhaps he means in rai&s;ing of the dead. And the Apo&s;tle &s;ays of him, <HI>God rai|&s;ed him from the dead, and &s;et him at his own Right Hand, far above all Principality, and Pow|er, and Might, and Dominion, and every Name that is named; not only in this World, but al&s;o in that to come, and hath put all things under his Feet,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.20, 21, 22. That is, he hath exalted his Authority above every other Au|thority and Dignity, whether in Heaven or Earth.</P>
<P N="4">4. For further Explication of this Article of our Faith, I mu&s;t produce what account the Holy Scripture gives us of the Rea&s;ons and Ends of this our Lord's A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven. It may be &s;aid, It was due to the Son of God to &s;it at the Right Hand of God, in all the Glory, Dignity, and Power, which that implies; and when he return'd to that, he was but re&s;tor'd to his natural eternal
<PB N="157" REF="237">Right, as Son of God; from which he had, for a while, receded for the Glory of the Fa|ther, and out of Love to Men. Therefore is this remarkably call'd, <HI>His Glory,</HI> which he is entered into upon his a&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, <HI>Luke</HI> 24.26. But yet even his a&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, and &s;itting down at the Right Hand of God, as well as his coming down from thence, was de&s;ign'd, and does turn to our benefit and advantage; this was done for our &s;akes, as well as for his own; he ro&s;e from the dead, for our ju&s;tification, becau&s;e as he died in the quality of a Mediator, &s;o he ro&s;e again in the &s;ame quality, and in the &s;ame he a&s;cended up into Heaven, and &s;at down at the Right Hand of God. The Apo&s;tle therefore &s;ays, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.10. <HI>He is a&s;cended up far above all Heavens, that he might fill all things.</HI> It might have been &s;aid fulfil; and &s;o the Text may, according to other Scriptures, be reckon'd to mean: He a&s;cended, that he might perfectly accompli&s;h and compleat the Work of our Salvation, and effectually bring many Sons to glory. How this A&s;cen&s;ion and Glorification of Je&s;us has an Efficacy towards this, the Scripture teaches us, in the following Particu|lars.</P>
<P N="1">1. He is a&s;cended into Heaven, to intercede with God the Father for us; and obtain, by his Prayer, all that Favour which is nece&s;&s;ary to our Eternal Happine&s;s. It is therefore &s;aid, (<HI>Heb.</HI> 9.24.) <HI>He is entred into Heaven it &s;elf, now to appear in the pre&s;ence of God for us.</HI> And, (<HI>Heb.</HI> 7.25.) <HI>He ever liveth to make interce&s;&s;ion
<PB N="158" REF="238">for us.</HI> There were two parts of the High-Prie&s;ts Office under the Jewi&s;h Di&s;pen&s;ation, de&s;ign'd to repre&s;ent the kind Offices of our Mediator: The fir&s;t was, To make Sacrifice or Oblation for the People: The &s;econd was, To Pray or Intercede for the Favour of God, by vertue and through the merit of the Sacri|fice. And the Holy Scripture a&s;cribes both the&s;e to Je&s;us, the Chri&s;t: Of the Me&s;&s;iah, the Prophet, foretells, he &s;hould <HI>bear the Sin of many,</HI> which is the Scripture-phra&s;e for &s;uf|fering for Sin; this expre&s;&s;es his &s;acrificing: That he would make him&s;elf the Great Propi|tiatory Sacrifice; and then the Prophet adds al&s;o, <HI>He &s;hall make Interce&s;&s;ion for the Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ors,</HI> I&s;a. 53.12. And the Apo&s;tle a&s;cribes the&s;e things to Je&s;us, 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.1, 2. where he &s;ays, <HI>If any Man &s;in, we have an Advocate with the Father Je&s;us Christ the righteous, and he is the Propitiation for our Sin.</HI></P>
<P>He intercedes to take our Prayers and pre|&s;ent them to the Father, that they may be ac|cepted with him. And very fitting it is, that God &s;hould honour him&s;elf &s;o far, as to keep the di&s;tance of a wronged Superiour, from his guilty, rebellious Creatures and Va&s;&s;als: That he &s;hould not &s;uffer them, at fir&s;t e&s;pecially, to approach him, without the Intervention and Interce&s;&s;ion of a very worthy Mediator. It is therefore &s;aid, That <HI>by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, we have acce&s;s to God the Father,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2.18.</P>
<P>Further, Tho' he had, by his meritorious Life and Death, fully &s;atisfied Divine Ju&s;tice, and purcha&s;ed for us all the Favour from God,
<PB N="159" REF="238">that we need towards our Salvation, yet is it appointed and very fitting, that he &s;hould pray for this, and obtain it by his interce&s;&s;ion, for this rea&s;on: It is by the free goodne&s;s of God to us, that this way of Salvation is al|low'd us; and that we have benefit by the Death and Sacrifice of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in our &s;tead. The way to Heaven is not open'd by Ju&s;tice alone, but by a very glorious Mercy and Com|pa&s;&s;ion to lo&s;t &s;inners. This Exerci&s;e of Free Goodne&s;s or Grace in all that is done by God in favour to us, is often expre&s;s'd in Scrip|ture: The Apo&s;tle for this &s;ays, We come to <HI>a Throne of Grace,</HI> when we make our Addre&s;|&s;es to God, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.16. And 'tis &s;aid, <HI>by Grace we are &s;aved,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2.5. <HI>And we are ju&s;tified freely by his Grace, through the redemption that is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> Rom. 3.24. Tho this is by Redemption, yet is it of Free Grace too, becau&s;e the allowance of a Redemption was from thence. Now, as the Sacrifice and Death of Chri&s;t acknowledg'd and honour'd the Ju|&s;tice of God, and confe&s;s'd the guilty Crea|tures de&s;ert of puni&s;hment; &s;o this Interce&s;|&s;ion acknowledges his Mercy and Free Good|ne&s;s: It &s;ignifies and owns, that we are be|holden to &s;uch an Attribute for all the Favour that we receive: And it is certainly due to God's goodne&s;s to be thus acknowledg'd.</P>
<P N="2">2. Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a&s;cended into Heaven. To take Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of that Happine&s;s in our Name, and for us. Therefore is he &s;aid to be entred into Heaven as our Harbinger or <HI>Forerunner,</HI> Heb. 6.20. And he him&s;elf, when he &s;poke of
<PB N="160" REF="239">going thither, tells his Di&s;ciples, He was go|ing <HI>to prepare a place for them,</HI> John 14.2. He had made &s;atisfaction for our Sins in his Death, and reconcil'd the Father to us; and it was ju&s;t, that he &s;hould thereupon be releas'd from Death, therefore he ro&s;e again on the third Day. And having merited the Favour of God for us, it was due to him even as Mediator, that he &s;hould take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of what he had merited. So that we may look upon his Ad|vancement into Heaven, as a Pledge and A&s;&s;u|rance of ours; as &s;hewing, and as de&s;ign'd to &s;hew, that we have, by him, a Right and Title to Everla&s;ting Joy and Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s in the pre&s;ence of God, if we do embrace and com|ply with the Terms of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P N="3">3. He is &s;at down at the Right Hand of God, partly for us too: In that he has therein Power and Authority to di&s;pen&s;e and be&s;tow the Favours which he has purcha&s;ed for us. The Apo&s;tle teaches us this, when he &s;ays, <HI>He is made Head over all Things to the Church,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.22. That is, for the &s;ake of that, and to the benefit of that. The Scripture al&s;o tells us, <HI>He is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give Repentance and Remi&s;&s;ion of Sins.</HI> 'Tis &s;aid of this his Mediatorial Kingdom, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15 25. That <HI>he mu&s;t reign till he hath put all Enemies under his Feet.</HI> The Enemies meant here, are the things that oppo&s;e and hinder his grand De&s;ign, the Salvation of Men. So that we may under&s;tand, hereby, he is exalted to this Dignity and Power, that he might give us Grace to overcome the Temptations
<PB N="161" REF="239">of the Devil, the wicked &s;olicitations of our own &s;inful Nature; and that he might rai&s;e us up again from Death at the La&s;t Day; for the la&s;t Enemy that &s;hall be de&s;troy'd is Death, <HI>ver.</HI> 26. It is very fitting, &s;ince by his deep Humiliation and Aba&s;ement he had purcha&s;ed the&s;e things, that he &s;hould have the Honour to be&s;tow them.</P>
<P>It may &s;eem indeed un&s;uitable to his Inter|ceding and Praying for the&s;e things, to &s;ay, that he is in&s;tated in the Authority to di&s;pence them: But the&s;e things very well con&s;i&s;t toge|ther. For God the Father, as the Ancients &s;peak, is the Fountain of the Deity. From him the Son and Holy Gho&s;t eternally derive their Divine Nature: And the Son him&s;elf confe&s;&s;es, that the Father had given to him to have Life in him&s;elf. Therefore al&s;o mu&s;t the Fir&s;t Per&s;on in the Trinity be accounted the fir&s;t &s;pring or &s;ource of all gracious and kind Communications to the Creatures: And the Grace that &s;aves us, is obtained of the Father by the Son, and is applied to us by the Holy Gho&s;t. For the &s;ake of the Son does the Fa|ther afford all good by the Operation of the Holy Gho&s;t. The Son of God, then, as Se|cond Per&s;on in the Trinity obtains from the Father, all favour for us by his Interce&s;&s;ion; and by pleading his own merits on our behalf. And he gives the good things thus obtain'd as Son of God too; that is as being of equal Authority and Power with the Father. And the&s;e things are repre&s;ented, in that he is &s;aid, to be a <HI>Prie&s;t for ever after the Order of</HI> Mel|chi&s;edek:
<PB N="162" REF="240">Who, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> tells us, was both King and Prie&s;t. As a Prie&s;t towards God, he intercedes for us, as a King towards us, he be&s;tows, as he plea&s;es, the Graces nece&s;&s;ary to our Salvation.</P>
<P>Thus are we taught to own, that we have all good given to us for his &s;ake alone, and not for any merit or worth in us: and are ad|moni&s;h'd thereby, as is very fitting, to have always an humble &s;ence of our own unworthi|ne&s;s, even when we are mo&s;t highly, and par|ticularly favour'd. And thus is the cour&s;e of this great tran&s;action, in all re&s;pects mo&s;t &s;ui|table to the Nature and State of the Beings coucern'd in it.</P>
<P>Thus much I think may &s;uffice for Explica|tion of this Great Article of our Faith: And &s;o I have fini&s;h'd the fir&s;t head of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>The Second I propo&s;ed to in&s;i&s;t upon is this, to make it appear, that the promi&s;ed Me&s;&s;iah was to a&s;cend into Heaven, and &s;it at the right hand of God, according to the Prophe&s;ies con|cerning him, which the Jewi&s;h Religion af|forded. And for proof of this, I think it may be &s;ufficient to produce the&s;e two places.</P>
<P>The Fir&s;t &s;hall be, that of <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68.18. where we have the&s;e words, <HI>Thou ha&s;t a&s;cended on high, thou ha&s;t led captivity captive, thou ha&s;t received gifts for Men, yea even for the Rebelli|ous al&s;o, that the Lord God might dwell among them.</HI> This place of Scripture the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> applies to Je&s;us, as fulfill'd in his A&s;cen&s;ion in|to Heaven, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.8. and that it does belong to this, and foretell it, will plainly appear, if
<PB N="163" REF="240">we con&s;ider, and rightly under&s;tand the Text. In the&s;e words the P&s;almi&s;t does indeed Cele|brate, according to the &s;cope and de&s;ign of the whole P&s;alm, tho&s;e glorious deliverances which it had plea&s;ed God to give the People of <HI>I&s;ra|el</HI> from their Enemies and his: But he &s;peaks of this, after the manner of Prophe&s;ies, in Terms that have a force and meaning, above the particular occa&s;ion which they refer to, and which do thereby appear to be a Predicti|on of far greater things. <HI>Thou ha&s;t a&s;cended on high;</HI> the word tran&s;lated on high is com|monly in the Hebrew Language u&s;ed for Hea|ven it &s;elf. And when he &s;peaks of a&s;cending into Heaven, he implies, that there was fir&s;t a de&s;cending; which can never be properly &s;po|ken of God the Father, but may be &s;aid of the Son of God, as the Jews did acknowledg the Me&s;&s;iah to be, <HI>Thou ha&s;t led captivity captive:</HI> This may referr to the deliverance of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> out of <HI>Egypt</HI> as pa&s;t; and foretell the delive|rance of &s;ome of the dead Saints from the Bonds of Death, at the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us; or el&s;e, that general Goal-delivery which he &s;hall give to all the Dead at the end of the World; or it may be de&s;ign'd to intimate that Spiritual deliverance which he would give the World, in <HI>Saving his People from their Sins;</HI> as 'tis &s;aid in the Go&s;pel Je&s;us would do.</P>
<P><HI>Thou ha&s;t received gifts for Men:</HI> The He|brew word which we render <HI>received,</HI> &s;ignifies a receiving to give, according to the Phra&s;e, not unu&s;ual in our own Language, take this to &s;uch an one; which means take this to give it
<PB N="164" REF="241">to him; thus in particular the word is u&s;ed, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 17.10, 13. The Apo&s;tle might there|fore well enough quote the words thus, <HI>Thou ha&s;t received Gifts for Men,</HI> as he does in that forementioned place: Under&s;tanding the P&s;al|mi&s;t, as meaning, thus much thou ha&s;t receiv|ed gifts to give to Men. And in that &s;ence this Scripture cannot be applied to God the Father, who is the Original Fountain of all things, and does not properly receive any thing from any one: But it may be applied to the Son of God, and particularly to his <HI>receiving the promi&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> as 'tis &s;aid, Je&s;us did, and that too upon his A&s;cend|ing; as the P&s;almi&s;t intimates this receiving &s;hould be granted upon the a&s;cending on high: And to that receiving of the Holy Gho&s;t, and &s;ending his wonderful gifts into the World, which is a&s;cribed to Je&s;us, the Apo&s;tle applies this expre&s;&s;ion of the P&s;almi&s;t.</P>
<P>He adds la&s;tly, <HI>Yea even for the Rebellious al&s;o, that the Lord God may dwell among them:</HI> which words may as fairly from the Original be render'd thus: <HI>Thou ha&s;t taken or brought the Rebellious al&s;o to God, that they might dwell with him:</HI> And &s;o we may judge the P&s;almi&s;t means, that the&s;e mighty deliverances had made &s;ome of the Gentile World become Pro&s;elites to the Jewi&s;h Religion, and Wor&s;hippers of the true God, as the thing that was pa&s;t; and did herein foretell the numerous Conver&s;ions of Heathens to the Faith of Je&s;us, which came to pa&s;s upon the Gift of the Holy Gho&s;t to the World, and was indeed brought to pa&s;s there|by.
<PB N="165" REF="241">Thus we may &s;ee this Scripture exactly &s;peaks what may be applied to Je&s;us; and therefore may be reckon'd to fortell the things which are &s;aid of his A&s;cen&s;ion, and the con|&s;equences thereof.</P>
<P>Another, and the la&s;t place I &s;hall point to for this purpo&s;e is, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110.1. where <HI>Da|vid</HI> &s;peaks thus, <HI>The Lord &s;aid unto my Lord, &s;it thou on my right hand untill I make thine Ene|mies thy Foot-&s;tool.</HI> It is evident, that <HI>David</HI> was the Compo&s;er of this P&s;alm; therefore he does not &s;peak the things herein contain'd of him&s;elf, but of &s;ome other Per&s;on: And that Per&s;on he calls his Lord. It is apparent al&s;o, that the Ancient Jews under&s;tood the&s;e Words, as &s;poken of the Me&s;&s;iah: For when Je&s;us asked them, how they under&s;tood it could be proper for <HI>David</HI> to call him Lord, as he does here, who was to be his Son (<HI>Mat.</HI> 22.43, 44, 45.) they could not &s;ay for an&s;wer, that <HI>David</HI> in this Ver&s;e means &s;ome other Per&s;on, becau&s;e indeed they under&s;tood the Me&s;&s;iah to be the Per&s;on &s;poke of here. And, if &s;o, then 'tis here Prophe&s;ied concerning him, that he &s;hould &s;it on the right hand of God. Accor|ding to this Opinion of the Jews in our Savi|ours time, &s;ome of the later ones do al&s;o un|der&s;tand the&s;e words to be &s;poken of the Me&s;|&s;iah, tho they ob&s;tinately refu&s;e to believe them fulfill'd in Je&s;us. One &s;ays, that in time to come, God &s;hall place Me&s;&s;iah the King at his right Hand, as it is witten in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110. Another &s;ays, hereafter God Holy and Ble&s;&s;ed, &s;hall &s;et the Me&s;&s;iah on his right
<PB N="166" REF="242">hand, as it is written in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110. <HI>The Lord &s;aid unto my Lord,</HI> &amp;c. (<HI>Pear&s;on</HI> on <HI>Creed</HI>) More then this I think need not be added to this matter.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the Third thing intended, which is to review and produce briefly the Hi&s;tory and Proof of the A&s;cen&s;ion of Je&s;us, and his &s;itting at the right hand of God.</P>
<P>When the time drew nigh, that he would A&s;cend into Heaven, he commanded his Di&s;ci|ples to return from <HI>Galilee,</HI> where he had cheif|ly conver&s;t with them &s;ince his Re&s;urrection; and to come to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> where we now find them (<HI>Acts</HI> 1.4.) from thence he lead them out as far as to <HI>Bethany;</HI> not to that Town, but to an equal di&s;tance with that from <HI>Jeru|&s;alem,</HI> on &s;ome part of the Mount <HI>Olivet (Luke</HI> 24.50. <HI>Act.</HI> 1.12.) Tho&s;e whom he thus led out, we may believe, were not all tho&s;e that believed on him; but tho&s;e e&s;pecially who were of his Kindred and Family, and whom he had cho&s;en to be the chief Witne&s;&s;es to the World of his Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion (<HI>Acts</HI> 1.14, 21.) It is rea&s;onably judg'd, that the Number of Per&s;ons mention'd in the 15th Ver&s;e of that Chapter, which were an Hundred and Twenty, were at lea&s;t the Company whom he A&s;&s;embled, and led out to be Eye-witne&s;&s;es of his A&s;cen&s;ion, When he was come to the place intended, and while he was taking his leave in a kind and gracious Ble&s;&s;ing of them (<HI>Luk.</HI> 24.50.) He was lifted up: They &s;aw him &s;en&s;ibly A&s;cend, and follow'd him with their Eyes, as long as they could, looking &s;tedfa&s;tly
<PB N="167" REF="242">towards Heaven as he went up (<HI>Acts.</HI> 1.10.) They look'd after him, till a Cloud receiv'd him out of their &s;ight (<HI>Acts</HI> 1.9.) and con|tinued gazing towards that, till two of his bright Retinue, the Angels, who attended his Triumphant A&s;cen&s;ion, awaked them, as we may &s;ay, out of their a&s;toni&s;hment, and &s;aid, <HI>Ye Men of</HI> Galilee, <HI>why &s;tand ye gazing up into Heaven? This &s;ame Je&s;us who is taken up from you into Heaven, &s;hall come again in like man|ner as ye have &s;een him go into Heaven, (Acts</HI> 1.10, 11.) Thus the&s;e Angels te&s;tified together with the intimation of their Sences, that Je|&s;us was A&s;cended into Heaven. As for his Sitting or Being at the right hand of God there; the be&s;t proof of that, is, his &s;ending the Ho|ly Gho&s;t at the time of <HI>Penteco&s;t,</HI> which was &s;oon after his A&s;cen&s;ion. Yet we have al&s;o one &s;aid to be an Eye-witne&s;s of this, and that is the Ble&s;&s;ed Fir&s;t Martyr St. <HI>Stephen;</HI> of whom we are told (<HI>Acts</HI> 7.55.) that as he &s;tood before the Council of the Jews, <HI>He being full of the Holy Gho&s;t looked up &s;tedfa&s;tly into Hea|ven, and &s;aw the Glory of God, and Je&s;us &s;tand|ing at the right hand of God;</HI> and he &s;aid this, in <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 56. the meaning of which words mu&s;t be, he &s;aw the Glorified Je&s;us attended with &s;uch Circum&s;tances, as evidently &s;hew'd his Supream and Univer&s;al Dominion. This may &s;uffice for Hi&s;tory and Proof of the matter of Fact of the A&s;cen&s;ion of Je&s;us.</P>
<P>I come in the la&s;t place, to apply the Di&s;|cour&s;e to its due U&s;e and Improvement; in do|ing which I &s;hall briefly repre&s;ent. (1.) What
<PB N="168" REF="243">hopes of our attaining the Happine&s;s of Hea|ven are herein afforded us. (2.) What things tho&s;e glorious hopes do oblige us to.</P>
<P N="1">1. In the fir&s;t place, Let us ob&s;erve what hopes of our attaining the Happine&s;s of Hea|ven are herein afforded us; which will yield us a very plea&s;ing and delightful pro&s;pect.</P>
<P>This &s;hews us that our Nature is actually admitted into Heaven; from whence we may conclude, this is a thing po&s;&s;ible to be; that our Nature is capable of the bli&s;sful pre&s;ence of God, and can dwell with joy and delight amid&s;t the Glory of Heaven.</P>
<P>And if we con&s;ider Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as having entred into that happy Place, as a reward of having plea&s;ed God on Earth: We may look upon it as the Reward and Advancement which was prepar'd for Man, at the fir&s;t Crea|tion of him; which our Saviour &s;peaks of, as <HI>the Kingdom prepar'd for us from the begining of the World;</HI> to which it was originally intended, if Man had remain'd Innocent, he &s;hould have been tran&s;lated after a time of Holy and Ver|tuous living on Earth: And this may help us to expect the &s;ame Advancement, as the reward of our well-doing.</P>
<P>If we con&s;ider Je&s;us as a Sacrifice for our Sins in his Death: Then his Re&s;urrection from the Grave, and A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven may a&s;&s;ure us, that he has made a full attonement for Sin; and &s;o the forfeiture of this Happine&s;s, which we lay under by our &s;in is remov'd: And thus the greate&s;t hindrance of our Hap|pine&s;s and Salvation is taken away.</P>
<PB N="169" REF="243">
<P>Further, when we con&s;ider that Happine&s;s po&s;&s;e&s;t by him in the Name, and for the &s;ake of his Followers; we may reckon, that it is po&s;&s;ible for us to have a Right, and Claim to it: To come to look upon it as an Inheritance and Portion purcha&s;ed for us; and which we may expect from the Ju&s;tice and Promi&s;e of God: This hopeful expectation of it we may entertain, if we are true to the Go&s;pel Cove|nant; the Covenant which we entered into at our Bapti&s;m. Hereby we maintain &s;uch an Union to him as that of Members to the Head, and may expect our A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven too, becau&s;e he has promi&s;ed, that where he is, there &s;uch Per&s;ons al&s;o &s;hall be.</P>
<P>And when from our own weakne&s;s, and the many temptations that &s;urround us, we might ju&s;tly doubt our &s;ufficiency to be &s;tedfa&s;t in that Covenant, and might fear le&s;t we &s;hould fall &s;hort of our Duty and this Glory: The A&s;cen&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Mediator gives us A&s;&s;urance, that we have a tender and Com|pa&s;&s;ionate Advocate with the Father; by whom we may hope to obtain Grace &s;ufficient to a&s;|&s;i&s;t us in all our Conflicts with the Fle&s;h, the World, and the Devil; and by whom we may obtain the Pardon of tho&s;e known defects and &s;ins, which we particularly repent of; and al&s;o of tho&s;e involuntary and unob&s;erved Er|rors which at any time we may be guilty of. The&s;e are the grounds of Hope which we have of attaining Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s in the A&s;|cen&s;ion of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t into Heaven.</P>
<PB N="170" REF="244">
<P N="2">2. In the next place, Let us take notice at pre&s;ent, and always remember, what Obligations tho&s;e glorious Hopes do lay upon us. And cer|tainly it is very fit, that we do often and &s;eriou&s;|ly con&s;ider what great and glorious things we may come to: We &s;hould frequently, and with great plea&s;ure, meditate on the Happine&s;s we may attain; reflect upon the po&s;&s;ibility of at|taining it, and con&s;ider this, as what we may reach, if we will. Every Man may &s;ay to him|&s;elf, Whatever I am in this low Earth, I may be hereafter an Inhabitant of Heaven. Tho I am one of the highe&s;t among Mankind, a Prince on Earth, yet I may be much more ad|vanced; I may attain the greater Honour, of being my &s;elf one of the Retinue of Je&s;us the King of Heaven. If I am poor on Earth, I may be rich above. If I am now mean and de&s;pi&s;ed, and mu&s;t herd with the lowe&s;t of Men, yet may I, hereafter, be a Companion of Angels and dwell in the pre&s;ence of God.</P>
<P>And then, Ought not &s;uch Thoughts to in|&s;pire us with earne&s;t De&s;ires to attain this Hap|pine&s;s? Shall we think of this, without wi&s;h|ing for it? Do I indeed love my &s;elf, (a Man might &s;ay hereupon) do I de&s;ire my own Hap|pine&s;s, and &s;hould I not de&s;ire and aim at the greate&s;t Happine&s;s that I may be advanced to? Are Plea&s;ures, Riches and Honours, alluring things; even the poor, low, tran&s;itory ones of this World; and are there not Charms enough to engage me in the high and eternal ones of Heaven?</P>
<PB N="171" REF="244">
<P>We &s;hould think of this glorious Happine&s;s to which Je&s;us is a&s;cended, and learn to de&s;pi&s;e the alluring Trifles of this World; and re|&s;olve, that nothing here &s;hall detain our Minds from the frequent thinking on that; nor di|vert our Endeavours from the diligent and ear|ne&s;t pur&s;uit of that.</P>
<P>It ought to be our chief Concern and Care, to attain that Happine&s;s, to be look'd upon as the mo&s;t Important Bu&s;ine&s;s of our Lives; and therefore every other Bu&s;ine&s;s &s;hould be &s;o fol|low'd as is con&s;i&s;tent with a due pur&s;uit, and with the hopes of that.</P>
<P>It ought to be every Man's great Enquiry, What Grounds he has to hope, that he &s;hall a&s;cend with Je&s;us to Heaven. And he that finds him&s;elf in &s;uch a condition, as that he cannot hope for this, &s;hould be very re&s;tle&s;s till he can hope for it. Every &s;uch Per&s;on ought, without delay, to break off his Sins by Repentance, and betake him&s;elf to the fol|lowing of Je&s;us in the Exerci&s;es of Piety and Vertue. When &s;uch a Happine&s;s may be had, we &s;hould be diligent to fit our &s;elves for it; be very careful to &s;ecure it, and very &s;olicitous to &s;ee, that our hopes of it are well grounded and a&s;&s;ured.</P>
<P>I &s;hall conclude with the Apo&s;tle's advice: Let us mo&s;t earne&s;tly de&s;ire, let us chiefly <HI>&s;eek</HI> and endeavour for <HI>tho&s;e things which are above, where Chri&s;t &s;itteth at the Right Hand of God.</HI></P>
<P>To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour and Glory, for ever and ever. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="172" REF="245">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>GReat God! Thou art Infinite and Bounteous Goodne&s;s, and from thence did&s;t make every thing at fir&s;t very good. All thy Works were perfect and plea&s;ing to thy &s;elf; And all things that were ca|pable of Happine&s;&s; were po&s;&s;e&s;t of it. A great an no|ble degree of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;s it plea&s;ed thee to de&s;ign Man|kind for, and make him capable to attain: Thou did&s;t originally de&s;ign <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> to dwell in thy Pre&s;ence, and to rejoyce for ever in the enjoyment of thy infinite Love. But, alas, we have wofully &s;inned again&s;t thee, and have depraved and deba&s;ed our &s;elves. And in&s;tead of the Happine&s;s and Kingdom prepared for us, we are de|&s;ervedly doom'd to the Everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment and Mi&s;ery which was prepar'd for the Devil and his An|gels. This is a very deplorable fall to our Nature, but we mu&s;t &s;ubmit to it, and mu&s;t needs &s;ay, Righ|teous art thou O Lord, and Ju&s;t are all thy Judgments. We fall down and aba&s;e our &s;elves before thee, in a &s;ence of our guilt, we condemn, we abhor our &s;elves. And we fly to the hope &s;et before us, to Je&s;us the Me|diator of the New Covenant: Who is the Propitiati|on for our Sins, and our Advocate with the Father; who &s;its at thy right Hand, and ever lives to make interce&s;&s;ion for us. We prai&s;e thee, O Lord, for thine Ine&s;timable Love, in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: We prai&s;e thee for his humble Incarnation, and Birth in our Nature, whereby he was made &s;ubject to the Law for us. We prai&s;e thee for the Meritorious Sacrifice of his Death, whereby he was a propitiation for the Sins of Men. We prai&s;e thee for his Re&s;urrection from the Dead, whereby
<PB N="173" REF="245">thou did&s;t graciou&s;ly declare the Acceptance of his Sa|crifice on our behalf, and do&s;t give us hopes to find favour with thee: We prai&s;e thee for his Glorious A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, and his fitting at the Right Hand of God, whereby he has taken po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Happine&s;s above for us, and is po&s;&s;e&s;t of full Pow|er and Authority to di&s;pence to us the purcha&s;es of his precious Death, and to bring us al&s;o to Glory, upon the Terms of the Go&s;pel. Oh Lord for the &s;ake of this Je&s;us, the Chri&s;t, Pardon to us all our pa&s;t Offences, remember not again&s;t us former Iniquities: Give us unfeigned Repentance, and receive us into Favour. And grant us, O Lord, the Grace to die unto Sin, and to live unto Righteou&s;ne&s;s. Help us to clean&s;e our &s;elves from all filthine&s;s both of Fle&s;h and Spirit, and to perfect Holine&s;s in thy Fear. Grant that as we do believe thy only begotten Son our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to have a&s;cended into the Heavens; &s;o we may in heart and mind thither a&s;cend, &s;etting our Affections on things above, not on things on the Earth. And &s;o guide us by thy Grace and good Spirit here, that we may &s;teadily follow him, and may come at length to be with him where he is, and may with him continually dwell, who Liveth and Reigneth with thee, and the Holy Gho&s;t, one God, World without end.</P>
<P>We heartily pray to thee, O Lord, that the King|dome of Je&s;us Chri&s;t may be extended over all the Earth, and that the Heathen may be given to him for his Inheritance, and the uttermo&s;t parts of the Earth for his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. We pray for the good E&s;tate of the Catholick Church, that it may be guided by thy good Spirit according to the Laws of the Go&s;pel, that it may flouri&s;h in all true Piety and Vertue, and may enjoy tranquility and Peace. We humbly recommend to thy Mercy the Land of our Nativity. Pardon, O Lord, our Iniquities, and let them not withhold good things from us: Grant us always to enjoy the ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances of thy Go&s;pel, and to find a &s;weet and mighty Influence of them upon our hearts, and to ex|pre&s;s
<PB N="174" REF="246">it in our Lives. And we pray thee be our de|fence again&s;t all the Enemies of thy true Religion E&s;tabli&s;hed among us. Ble&s;s, in particular, our mo&s;t Gracious King, and all the Royal Family, be&s;tow upon them all Temporal and Spiritual Ble&s;&s;ings, the happine&s;s of this Life on Earth, and that of a better whenever they remove hence; Let us be ble&s;t in their Wi&s;dom, Goodne&s;s, Clemency, Ju&s;tice; and let them be ble&s;t in our ready Duty and Obedience. Be mer|ciful to all that are related to us, and lead them in the way everla&s;ting. We give thee thanks. O Lord, for all the means of Grace which we enjoy, and for the hopes of Glory: Grant that we may be con&s;iderably advanced in all Grace, and in tho&s;e Glorious Hopes by the Ordinances, which we have this day enjoy'd, and that we may per&s;evere in both to the end of our Lives. We humbly commit our &s;elves to thy Care and merciful Protection this Night; keep we pray thee, both our Souls and Bodies both now and ever more from all Evil, and bring them at la&s;t to thy Heavenly Kingdom, for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour. In who&s;e Name we make all our reque&s;ts, and farther pray as he hath taught us.</P>
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="175" REF="246">
<HEAD>The Communion OF THE HOLY GHOST EXPLAIN'D; AND The Means to Obtain it REPRESENTED.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 Cor. 13, 14, later part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And the Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t be with you all.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Holy Church does at this &s;ea&s;on re|quire of us, to commemorate, with Joy and Thankfulne&s;s, the Coming of the Holy Gho&s;t, or Spirit, into this World, to carry on the Work of Man's Redemption and Salva|tion:
<PB N="176" REF="247">Becau&s;e it was at this &s;ea&s;on that he made his mo&s;t remarkable and con&s;iderable de&s;cent for this purpo&s;e. It was at the time of the Jewi&s;h Penteco&s;t, next after our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour's Pa&s;&s;ion and Death, that the Apo&s;tles and Witne&s;&s;es of his Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen|&s;ion, <HI>were all, with one accord, in one place,</HI> (Acts 2.1, &amp;c.) <HI>And &s;uddenly there came a &s;ound from Heaven, as of a ru&s;hing mighty Wind, and it filled all the Hou&s;e where they were &s;itting. And there appear'd unto them cloven Tongues, like as of Fire, and it &s;at upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Gho&s;t, and began to &s;peak with other Tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.</HI> When the Fame of this wonderful thing was noi&s;ed abroad in <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the Multitudes gather'd together to &s;ee and hear them, and were in a doubtful amazement at what they ob&s;erv'd, St. <HI>Peter</HI> gives them a large account of it: He tells them, it was what had been foretold by the Prophet <HI>Joel:</HI> Then he preaches to them concerning the Re|&s;urrection of Je&s;us; and after he had &s;hewn them, that this was foretold, he adds al&s;o, (Ver. 32, 33.) <HI>This Je&s;us hath God rai&s;ed up, whereof we are all witne&s;&s;es. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the Promi&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>he hath &s;hed forth this, which ye now &s;ee and hear.</HI> This de&s;cent of this Divine Per&s;on into our World, it is very fit we &s;hould particularly remember, &s;ince even we are greatly concern'd in it. For we have in this a glorious and mo&s;t comfortable a&s;&s;urance of our Saviour's a&s;cen|&s;ion
<PB N="177" REF="247">into Heaven, and of his &s;itting at the right hand of God: For this is it which he &s;aid he would obtain, and afford upon his Exalta|tion to that Dignity and Glory. And it proves him true and faithful to perform his Promi&s;es, and worthy that we believe, and rely upon all that he has &s;aid. It proves him kind &s;till too, and concern'd for our Salvation, tho he is gone into Heaven; &s;till mindful of our Inte|re&s;ts and Nece&s;&s;ities, and to promote our hap|pine&s;s. It &s;hews him al&s;o able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t, all that come unto God by him. Farther, it was by vertue of this de&s;cent of the Holy Gho&s;t, that the right knowledge of Salvation came to be di&s;per&s;t into all Nations of the Earth: And &s;o it came to pa&s;s that we, who are of the Race of the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> were made acquainted with the true happine&s;s of Man|kind, and the true and only way to obtain it. Thus were the Rebellious, and we among the re&s;t, made obedient, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Now the be&s;t and mo&s;t agreeable manner doubtle&s;s of our Cele|brating this Divine Per&s;on's mo&s;t &s;ignal de&s;cent, is to take notice of the ends of his coming in|to our World: To ob&s;erve what Gifts he comes chiefly to offer and be&s;tow; and to ex|cite our de&s;ires after them, and di&s;po&s;e our &s;elves to receive them, that &s;o we may duly comply with the end of his coming.</P>
<P>The&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> which I have read to you, are part of a Prayer which he made for the Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> and for all the Saints which were in all <HI>Achaia.</HI> He
<PB N="178" REF="248">makes this reque&s;t for the People, as well as for the Prie&s;ts of that Church. For we find them all concern'd in the Epi&s;tle, by the fir&s;t Chapter and Ver&s;e of it, which directs it to them all. He does in the&s;e words make a di|&s;tinct addre&s;s to each Per&s;on in the Sacred Tri|nity, and implores the Peculiar Favour of each: That Favour which each Divine Per&s;on is plea&s;ed to afford towards the Salvation of Man; and herein he allows, and ju&s;tifies &s;uch a way of addre&s;s. He beggs for tho&s;e Chri|&s;tians the Love of God the Father; and that they might attain this by the Grace of Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of God, by being Partakers in his merits, and by the Ble&s;&s;ed Communications of the Holy Spirit; for this is what he means by <HI>the Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> he prays that they might receive tho&s;e Gracious Opera|tions or Communications of that ever ble&s;&s;ed Spirit, which give Men an Intere&s;t in the pur|cha&s;ed Grace of Chri&s;t, and which fit us for, and bring us to the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Love of God the Father, which in its highe&s;t exerci&s;e and degree, is our final and compleat Salvation and Happine&s;s.</P>
<P>The&s;e Communications of the Holy Spirit I am at pre&s;ent to di&s;cour&s;e upon, becau&s;e 'tis requi&s;ite, that I confine my &s;elf to my Text: And &s;ince that relates to all tho&s;e of the Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> as well the People as the Pa&s;tors, we may conclude, that the Communications or Gifts, which the Apo&s;tle chiefly means here, are tho&s;e which are common to all Chri&s;tians, and are nece&s;&s;ary and u&s;eful to their Salvation.
<PB N="179" REF="248">The&s;e are u&s;ually call'd the <HI>Ordinary Gifts</HI> of the Spirit, to di&s;tingui&s;h them from tho&s;e which were given only during the times of the fir&s;t planting of Chri&s;tianity in the World, and for the better planting, and propagating of it; &s;uch as the gift of In&s;pired Knowledge of Divine things, the Gift of un&s;tudied Pray|er, the Gift of working Miracles, the Gift of Healing, the Gift of Speaking and Under&s;tand|ing divers Languages, and the like. The&s;e are ju&s;tly call'd <HI>Extraordinary Gifts,</HI> becau&s;e they were given for an extraordinary purpo&s;e, which was to Convert the World to Chri&s;tia|nity: And becau&s;e they are not the Common Gifts of the Spirit, which he came chiefly to be&s;tow, and which are nece&s;&s;ary and u&s;efull to the Salvation of tho&s;e who po&s;&s;e&s;s them. This our Saviour does evidently teach us, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.21, 22, 23. Where he tells us, that &s;ome of tho&s;e who had enjoy'd, and exerci&s;ed the&s;e Gifts, &s;hall be found among the Workers of Iniquity, at the great Day of Judgment and Tryal; and &s;hall be therefore rejected from the happine&s;s of his Favour and Pre&s;ence for ever. And they may be call'd extraordi|nary too, becau&s;e, as it is evident they are cea&s;ed, &s;o we may learn from the Apo&s;tle, that it was intended they &s;hould not continue al|ways in the Church. For it is very probable, that this is what he means, when he &s;ays, <HI>Whe|ther there be Prophe&s;ies they &s;hall fail,</HI> meaning the Gift of Un&s;tudied Prayer, and Prai&s;ing of God: <HI>Whether there be Tongues they &s;hall cea&s;e,</HI> the Gift of &s;peaking divers Languages: <HI>Whe|ther
<PB N="180" REF="249">there be Knowledge it &s;hall Vani&s;h away;</HI> that is, the Gift of In&s;pired Knowledge, &s;uch as was in tho&s;e times attain'd by &s;ome, without Education and Study, (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.8.) For we may &s;uppo&s;e him &s;peaking in the following words of the grown &s;tate of the Church on Earth, to which tho&s;e things would in &s;ome mea&s;ure belong, when it &s;hould be pa&s;t the weakne&s;s, and Childhood, of its fir&s;t planting, &s;hould abound in Knowledge, and be rooted and confirm'd in Faith and Love, and &s;o &s;hould no longer need tho&s;e extraordinary Gifts. And he mentions in the clo&s;e of his Di&s;cour&s;e tho&s;e Gifts, and Communications of the Spirit, which &s;hould for ever abide in the Church, when the other &s;hould be cea&s;ed. <HI>Now there remains,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the greatest of the&s;e is Charity.</HI> It is apparent that he does not de&s;ign to &s;peak only of the perfect Felicity of the Saints, tho his Thoughts carried him to hint at that, becau&s;e he mentions Faith and Hope as remaining, both which we know the final Fruition does put an end to.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now proceed in the following me|thod of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall expre&s;s &s;omewhat particularly, What Gifts, or Communications of the Holy Spirit they are, which may be commonly expect|ed by Chri&s;tians, and which we may &s;eek after.</P>
<P N="2">2. What are the Operations of this Divine Spirit about the&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. What we mu&s;t do to obtain tho&s;e Ble&s;|&s;ed Operations.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, I &s;hall &s;omewhat particu|larly
<PB N="181" REF="249">mention, what are tho&s;e Gifts or Com|munications of the Holy Spirit, which we may expect and receive from him, and which are afforded promi&s;cuou&s;ly to all Good Chri&s;tians, as being nece&s;&s;ary to our Salvation. The&s;e are, indeed, all the whole Catalogue of Glo|rious Graces which Con&s;titute, and Adorn an Excellent Chri&s;tian. But it would be too long a task to &s;peak of them all particularly in this Di&s;cour&s;e. I &s;hall therefore content my &s;elf to mention only two of the&s;e; but they &s;hall be &s;uch to which the re&s;t may be reduced, as included in the full Latitude of the&s;e; and the&s;e are Faith and Love. Under the&s;e two Names the Holy Scripture it &s;elf does &s;um up, and comprehend, all that which goes to the Con&s;tituting of a good Chri&s;tian: In &s;aying, That <HI>in Chri&s;t Je&s;us neither Circumci&s;ion avail|eth any thing, nor &V;ncircumci&s;ion, but Faith which worketh by Love, (Gal.</HI> 5.6.) And the&s;e are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to Mankind.</P>
<P N="1">1. Faith is the Gift of this Divine Per&s;on. By Faith I mean, a full, hearty, and power|ful per&s;wa&s;ion of tho&s;e things reveal'd in the Go&s;pel, the knowledge and belief of which is nece&s;&s;ary to our Salvation. As it was requi&s;ite the Holy Spirit &s;hould reveal to us what we are to believe, &s;o it was requi&s;ite al&s;o, that he &s;hould po&s;&s;e&s;s us with the belief of it. The mind of Man is in darkne&s;s, and Ignorant of the truths which &s;hould guide him to his Hap|pine&s;s. Whence 'tis &s;aid of us in general, <HI>There is none that under&s;tandeth; there is none that &s;eeketh after God: They are all gone out of
<PB N="182" REF="250">the way, Rom.</HI> 3.11: 12. And, be&s;ides our Ig|norance of the&s;e things, we have a wretched aver&s;ion to them: Whence it is given as the Character of wicked Men, That <HI>they &s;ay unto God depart from us, for we de&s;ire not the Know|ledge of thy ways. Job</HI> 21.14. And our Saviour &s;ays of the Revelations of the Go&s;pel, That <HI>altho light be come into the World, yet do Men love darkne&s;s rather than light, becau&s;e their deeds are evil, (John</HI> 3.19.) The Revelations of the Go&s;pel condemn, and forbid the common Pra|ctices of the World, and are therefore com|monly hated by Men. Thus we are di&s;po&s;ed to reject them when they are propos'd to us.</P>
<P>And from both the&s;e cau&s;es there is a com|mon carele&s;&s;ne&s;s among Men about the mat|ters which concern their Salvation. And we commonly neither do know, nor do we mind or endeavour to know, wherein our true hap|pine&s;s con&s;i&s;ts, or the way to attain it. But the Holy Spirit, in working this Grace in us, awakens us to a very &s;erious concern about the&s;e matters. He makes us &s;en&s;ible of our Guilt, and the Mi&s;ery we are liable to: &s;o he renders us humble and teachable, as they ap|peared at fir&s;t to be in <HI>Acts</HI> 2. who at St. <HI>Pe|ters</HI> Sermon <HI>Being pricked in their hearts, cried out to the Apo&s;tles, Men and Brethren, What &s;hall we do?</HI> Then he gives us a &s;ence of the Impor|tance of tho&s;e Truths which are propo&s;ed to us, &s;hews us how highly we are concerned in them, and convinces us, that we mu&s;t be gui|ded by, and obedient to them, if ever we would be &s;av'd. Then he makes us embrace tho&s;e
<PB N="183" REF="250">Truths, and value and &s;ubmit to them in the cour&s;e of our Lives. Thus he brings Men to a true, lively, and &s;aving Faith. And this Operation of the Holy Spirit, the Scripture means, when it &s;ays, <HI>The Lord opened the heart of Lydea, that &s;he attended to tho&s;e things which were &s;poken by St. Paul,</HI> Acts 16.14. That is, She receiv'd and believ'd them: For the next Ver&s;e &s;ays, &s;he was thereupon Bapti&s;ed. In expre&s;s terms does the Holy Scripture a&s;|cribe the Gift of Faith to this Divine Per&s;on, in calling it a Fruit of the Spirit, <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.22. And this al&s;o is meant, when 'tis &s;aid, as in <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2.8. <HI>By Grace ye are &s;aved through Faith, and that not of your &s;elves, it is the Gift of God.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Another Gift of the Holy Spirit is Love to God. This al&s;o we are to our Guilt and Mi&s;ery de&s;titute of, in the fallen and corrupt &s;tate of our Nature. Therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>The carnal mind is enmity to God, and is not &s;ubject to his Law,</HI> Rom. 8.7. We naturally care not to think of him, we live as without God in the World, and put him as far from our thoughts as we can, and do not concern our &s;elves to plea&s;e or honour him. But the Ho|ly Spirit cures this Mon&s;trous, and unhappy di&s;temper of our Minds. He di&s;covers God to us as our chief Good, and his Favour as our only true Happine&s;s. He makes us &s;ee and know the exerci&s;es of his Goodne&s;s, even in his Laws, and &s;o to con&s;ent unto the Law, that it is Good. And &s;o the Mind, that before cared not either for the Knowledge of God or his ways, now highly loves, and values both. And
<PB N="184" REF="251">it is the right &s;ence of the rectified Soul, what the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ays concerning God, <HI>Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none on Earth, that I can de&s;ire be&s;ides thee,</HI> (P&s;al. 73.25.) And concerning the Law of God it can &s;ay, with another, <HI>The Law of thy Mouth is better to me than thou&s;ands of Gold and Silver,</HI> (P&s;al. 119.72.) He will love God with all his Heart, with all his Soul, with all his Might, and with all his Strength. And this <HI>Love is the fulfilling of the Law.</HI> It produces many other Graces, and acts and exerci&s;es it &s;elf in and by them. And the working of this in us is al&s;o in Holy Scrip|ture attributed to the Holy Spirit, as we may &s;ee, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.5. where the Apo&s;tle &s;ays to &s;ome Chri&s;tians, That <HI>the Love of God had been &s;hed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Gho&s;t, who had been given to them.</HI> I doubt not, it is very a|greeable to the de&s;ign and &s;cope of the Apo&s;tle's Di&s;cour&s;e there, to under&s;tand him as &s;peaking tho&s;e words of our Love to God.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the two main Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are promi&s;cuou&s;ly given to good Chri&s;tians, and which we may &s;eek and expect to receive as nece&s;&s;ary to our Salvation. And thus I have fini&s;h'd the fir&s;t head of this Di&s;|cour&s;e. The &s;econd I am to in&s;i&s;t upon is this; to &s;hew, what are the Operations of the Holy Spirit about the&s;e Gifts or Graces: Which I think may at lea&s;t be reduced to the&s;e three Heads following.</P>
<P N="1">1. He Creates, or puts the&s;e Graces into us. He po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es us of them. The Holy Scripture &s;peaks of his giving, and putting into us both
<PB N="185" REF="251">the&s;e Graces, under the general terms of Wa&s;h|ing and Sanctifying us. So 'tis &s;aid of &s;ome Chri&s;tians, (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11.) They were <HI>Wa&s;hed, and Sanctified by the Spirit of our God,</HI> upon the account of his giving us the&s;e, we are &s;aid to be born of God. Hence the Apo&s;tle St. <HI>John</HI> &s;ays of tho&s;e that have Charity, they are <HI>born of God,</HI> (1 <HI>John</HI> 4.7.) And in the fifth Chapter of that Epi&s;tle, at the fir&s;t Ver&s;e, <HI>Who&s;oever believeth that Je&s;us is the Chri&s;t is born of God:</HI> So that the general term of Regeneration, or being born of God, may be reckon'd to in|clude the happy Operations which po&s;&s;e&s;s us of the&s;e Graces. And this work, the Rege|nerating of us, our Saviour a&s;cribes to the Holy Spirit, <HI>John</HI> 3.5. in &s;aying, <HI>Except a Man be born of Water and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdem of God.</HI> For the &s;ake of the&s;e Gifts, we are &s;aid to be <HI>renewed by the Holy Gho&s;t (Tit.</HI> 3.5.) And that renewing is &s;aid, to con&s;i&s;t in <HI>creating us in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s, (Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.24.) Holine&s;s is a general Term, which may be &s;ometimes un|der&s;tood to include all the Graces which be|long to a good Chri&s;tan. It is from this Per|&s;on's undertaking this Part and Office, towards the bringing us to Salvation, that he is call'd the Holy Gho&s;t or Spirit. As he is called Spi|rit, not &s;o much in regard to his Nature, as in regard to his manner of proceeding from the Father and the Son, &s;o al&s;o is he call'd Holy, not as being thereby di&s;tingui&s;h|ed from the Father and the Son, for they both are Holy too; but becau&s;e the San|ctifying,
<PB N="186" REF="252">and making us Holy is the part which he is plea&s;ed peculiarly to a&s;&s;ume and appropriate to him&s;elf in the Work of our Re|demption. Very fitly therefore, as a Learned Man ob&s;erves, do the Hebrews call him &s;ome|times, according to this Work and Office, the Spirit of Holine&s;s: By which Name, as being the common Phra&s;e and Speech of the <HI>Jews,</HI> the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> calls him, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.4. (<HI>Lightf.</HI> Vol. 1. p. 482.)</P>
<P N="2">2. Another Operation of the Holy Spirit a|bout the Graces which he puts into us is, that he does continually excite, and &s;tir up the Acts and Exerci&s;es of them: And thus does he maintain and increa&s;e them. It is for this, &s;aid, that <HI>God works in us both to will and to do,</HI> Phil. 2.13. And the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of good Chri&s;tians, &s;ays, <HI>They are led by the Spirit,</HI> (Rom. 8.14.) This is that which the P&s;almi&s;t prays for in &s;uch Petitions as the&s;e, <HI>Order my &s;teps in thy Word, and let no Iniquity have dominion over me: Oh that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes:</HI> And after a very grievous and horrid fall indeed, we find him praying to God thus, <HI>&V;phold me with thy free Spirit,</HI> P&s;al. 51.12. The Holy Spirit admoni&s;hes what is our duty in all circum&s;tances, tells us what Vertues and Graces they require to be exerci&s;ed, makes us willing and de&s;irous to exerci&s;e them, and inables us to do &s;o whenever they are exerci&s;|ed. He excites and &s;tirs up all the Exerci&s;e of Grace that is in us, both in our Holy and Vertuous Living, and in our devout and fervent Prayers. And to exerci&s;e Faith and Love,
<PB N="187" REF="252">Humility and Heavenly Mindedne&s;s, and the like gracious qualifications in our Prayers, is to pray by the Spirit as much as we can now do it: And this is the be&s;t way of doing it, if the&s;e are the be&s;t Gifts of the Spirit, as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays they are. The Holy Spirit by the continual Exerci&s;e of Grace maintains it; and unle&s;s he did thus excite it upon all occa|&s;ions it would langui&s;h and die, and the con|tinual oppo&s;ition which it meets with here from the World, the Fle&s;h and the Devil, would &s;oon oppre&s;s and de&s;troy it. The Holy Spirit by the continual exerci&s;e of our Grace, makes us grow and increa&s;e in it: According to what is promi&s;ed, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25.29. <HI>To him that hath &s;hall be given, and he &s;hall have abundance;</HI> and to what is &s;aid, in <HI>Job</HI> 17.9. <HI>The righte|ous &s;hall hold on his way, and he hath hath clean hands &s;hall grow &s;tronger and &s;tronger.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. The Holy Spirit a&s;&s;ures and evidences to us the Graces which he has put into us, and thus he is al&s;o a Comforter. This Operation of the Spirit when we truly enjoy it, does always follow the former: And he &s;hews the Graces which we have, by the Exerci&s;es of them. His con&s;olations are not ab&s;olute and groundle&s;s, but are built upon an evident and rational Foundation. It is the pre&s;umption and pride of a Man that deceives him&s;elf, when any one fancies him&s;elf very good without doing good, and living well. The Fruits or Exerci&s;es of Grace are in Holy Scripture given as the Evi|dences and Proofs of it. In 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.7, 10. the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>He that doth Righteou&s;ne&s;s is
<PB N="188" REF="253">Righteous, and the Children of God are Manife&s;t</HI> by their ab&s;taining from &s;in, and living well. So our Saviour &s;ays, <HI>A Tree is known by his fruit, Luk.</HI> 6.44. To &s;hew that Men mu&s;t judge of them&s;elves by the general cour&s;e of their Thoughts, and Words, and Actions. The Ho|ly Spirit evidences and a&s;&s;ures to Men the Gra|ces that are in them by the Te&s;timony of a good Con&s;cience; when they examine their cour&s;e of Life by the rule of God's Word and Law, and find it well agreeing thereto: there|fore it is &s;aid, <HI>The Spirit of God beareth witne&s;s with our Spirits, that we are the Children of God. (Rom.</HI> 8.16.) And then he helps us to conclude, as the Apo&s;tle adds in the next Ver&s;e, that <HI>If we are Children, then are we Heirs too, Heirs of God, and joynt Heirs with Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> With the Evidence of his Grace in us, he gives us hope and confidence in God as in a wi&s;e, ten|der, and compa&s;&s;ionate Father: And thus is he <HI>the Spirit of Adoption</HI> according to the 15th Ver&s;e of that Chapter. And with the Evidence of Grace, he gives us good hopes of Eternal Glory. The&s;e Sanctifying Gifts are therefore call'd <HI>the Earne&s;t of our Inheritance, Eph.</HI> 1.14. He po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es us with the comfortable expecta|tion, that he who has begun a good work in us will maintain and compleat it: That the ten|der kindne&s;s of our Heavenly Father will par|don our unwilling failings, will heal our in|firmities, and &s;upply our wants and defects: That <HI>he will guide us by his coun&s;el</HI> through this World, <HI>and after receive us to his Glory.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are the kind and happy Operations
<PB N="189" REF="253">of this Divine Per&s;on, the Holy Spirit, about tho&s;e Graces and Vertues which Con&s;titute a good Chri&s;tian. And this may &s;uffice to be &s;poken to the Second Head of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>I proceed now to the Third and La&s;t, which is, to &s;ugge&s;t what we have to do, that we may obtain, and con&s;tantly enjoy the&s;e Ble&s;|&s;ed Operations of the Holy Spirit. If any thing is to be done on our parts towards the obtain|ing or promoting the&s;e, 'tis very nece&s;&s;ary for us to know what it is, that we may do it. And very evident it is from Holy Scripture, that God requires and expects we &s;hould employ our own endeavour after tho&s;e &s;aving Graces which the Holy Spirit is given to work in us. Hence are we bid to <HI>Work out our own Salvation.</HI> And we may ob&s;erve, that altho' God pro|mi&s;es to tho&s;e who had &s;inned again&s;t him, and for&s;aken their Duty, that he would <HI>give them a new heart, and put a new &s;pirit into them, and cau&s;e them to walk in his Statutes, and keep his Judgments, (Ezek.</HI> 36.26, 27.) yet to the &s;ame &s;inful People he al&s;o &s;ays by the &s;ame Prophet, (<HI>Ezek.</HI> 18.31.) <HI>Ca&s;t away from you all your Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions whereby ye have tran&s;grest, and make you a new heart, and a new &s;pirit.</HI> He bids them do this for them&s;elves, meaning, no doubt, that their own endeavour and care mu&s;t be employ'd towards the accompli&s;hing of &s;uch happy ef|fects. There is &s;omething we mu&s;t do, which we have a Natural Power to do; therefore he &s;ays to Sinners, <HI>Wa&s;h ye, make ye clean, put a|way the evil of your doing, cea&s;e to do evil, learn to do well, I&s;a.</HI> 1.16, 17. and many &s;uch like
<PB N="190" REF="254">Expre&s;&s;ions and Exhortations the Scripture contains. The fir&s;t beginning of his Operati|on in us is, to excite in us good de&s;ires, and &s;ome motions of will towards tho&s;e Graces and Vertues. The&s;e he excites in us by repre&s;ent|ing and recomending the&s;e Graces to us, either by the good examples of other Men, or by the de&s;criptions of them, the Exhortations, Encou|ragements to practice them, which his Word and Sacraments pre&s;ent us with. And in this beginning he does indeed prevent us by his &s;pecial Grace. But we our &s;elves may con|tribute &s;omething towards this in applying our &s;elves to u&s;e the appointed means of Grace which he affords us. And after he has begun the good work in us, he carries it on by our &s;elves, by the exerci&s;e of our own thoughts, endeavours, and care towards the cheri&s;hing, maintaining and improving tho&s;e good Impre&s;|&s;ions, and the bringing them to fruit and per|fection: The&s;e things following, then, are what we mu&s;t do towards our enjoying the&s;e &s;aving Operations of the Holy Spirit upon us.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t diligently attend upon the Pub|lick Ordinances of the Go&s;pel, the Preaching of the Word and the Sacraments. The&s;e are the appointed means of conveying his Grace. 'Tis &s;aid, <HI>Faith comes by hearing, (Rom.</HI> 10.17.) And our Saviour a&s;cribes to Bapti&s;m the con|veyance of Regenerating Grace, <HI>John</HI> 3.5. when he &s;ays, a Man mu&s;t be <HI>born of Water, and of the Spirit.</HI> The &s;ame thing the Apo&s;tle in|timates too, when he calls this the <HI>wa&s;hing of
<PB N="191" REF="254">Regeneration,</HI> and &s;ays, we are <HI>&s;aved by this,</HI> and the <HI>renewing of the Holy Gho&s;t, Tit.</HI> 3.5. Of the Lord's Supper, St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays, It is <HI>the Communion of the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.16. by which he means, that in the u&s;e of this the Holy Spirit conveyes, and be&s;tows on Men the &s;aving renewing Graces which are the purcha&s;es of Chri&s;t's precious Death. Here then we mu&s;t wait, in the diligent u&s;e of the&s;e Ordinances and Means of Grace, that we may enjoy the Spirit's Operations upon us. And that is encourag'd in <HI>Prov.</HI> 8.34. where wi&s;|dom &s;ays, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he that heareth me watching daily at my gates, waiting at the po&s;ts of my doors:</HI> He that neglects no opportunity of u&s;ing the means of Wi&s;dom and Vertue.</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t earne&s;tly and patiently pray for the&s;e Operations of the Holy Spirit. This al&s;o does he him&s;elf direct us to do in Holy Scripture. In <HI>Luke</HI> 11.13. Our Saviour &s;ays, God will <HI>give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.</HI> Prayer for this is therein made nece&s;&s;a|ry; &s;o is it again, <HI>James</HI> 1.5. where the Apo|&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>If any Man lack Wi&s;dom, let him ask it of God, who gives to all Men liberally, and up|braids not, and it &s;hall be given him.</HI> The &s;ame thing is intimated too, in that our Saviour &s;ays, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that hunger and thir&s;t af|ter Righteou&s;ne&s;s, for they &s;hall be filled.</HI> Such ea|ger de&s;ire is nece&s;&s;ary to obtain, and &s;uch &s;hall obtain: And &s;uch de&s;ire mu&s;t needs be very importunate and craving. Till we obtain we &s;hould per&s;evere to ask. Our Saviour put forth a Parable, we are told, to teach, <HI>That
<PB N="192" REF="255">Men ought always to pray, and not to faint, (Luke</HI> 18.1.) So the Apo&s;tle bids us <HI>pray without cea|&s;ing,</HI> (1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.17.) which places may ju&s;tly encourage us to unwearied Supplications, at lea&s;t, for &s;piritual and &s;aving Graces.</P>
<P N="3">3. We mu&s;t &s;et our &s;elves frequently to a private, and deliberate Meditation on the things reveal'd to us in the Word of God. This is requi&s;ite and u&s;eful towards our living well, and therefore to our obtaining the Grace of God. <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> was commanded to <HI>meditate in the Law day and night,</HI> that he might do well, (<HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 1.8.) And the P&s;almi&s;t pronounces him ble&s;&s;ed, who frequently meditates on the Law of God, becau&s;e &s;uch an one, he &s;ays, &s;hall be <HI>like a Tree planted by the Rivers of Water, bring|ing forth Fruit in due &s;ea&s;on, (P&s;al.</HI> 1.) When we &s;eparate our &s;elves from worldly bu&s;ine&s;s, and invite good thoughts and motions by reading the Holy Scriptures, or &s;ome good Books, we di&s;po&s;e and prepare our &s;elves for the Holy Spirit; and he who waits, and de&s;ires to do us good, will not fail to meet us when we re|gularly &s;eek him, and are prepar'd to enter|tain him. Meditation cheri&s;hes the good mo|tions of the Spirit; in this we cooperate with him. Whenever he works in us, he does it by engaging, and employing our own thoughts about tho&s;e important matters, which ought to influence and govern us.</P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, Together with all that has been &s;aid, we mu&s;t make it our great care, that we do not by any thing, grieve or offend the good Spirit of God. He will not dwell with
<PB N="193" REF="255">us, if we do not u&s;e him with due Reverence and Re&s;pects. We mu&s;t not think it is no matter how we behave our &s;elves towards him, or that he will ble&s;s us with his &s;aving Opera|tions however we regard him. It is &s;ufficient caution again&s;t this which the Apo&s;tle gives, when he &s;ays, <HI>Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are &s;ealed unto the day of Redemption, (Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.30.) He may be &s;o offended as to for&s;ake us, and leave us to Wickedne&s;s and Perdition. Let us carefully ob&s;erve, then, what would &s;o offend him, and avoid it: which I &s;hall briefly repre&s;ent in the following particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t not li&s;ten, or yield to any temptations to Sin. The&s;e mu&s;t be carefully avoided as much as we may, and &s;teddily re|&s;i&s;ted when we cannot avoid them. It is a dan|gerous pre&s;umption to put our &s;elves wanton|ly and needle&s;ly into a &s;tate of Temptation, and gives him provocation to withdraw his Care and A&s;&s;i&s;tance. But e&s;pecially will it di&s;|plea&s;e him to yield to a Temptation, and let it draw us into Sin. The Holy Spirit is di&s;|plea&s;ed at our entertaining any &s;inful impu|rities; and when we defile his Temple we pro|voke him to for&s;ake it. The unhappy <HI>David</HI> did not well con&s;ider this, when he &s;inn'd in the matter of <HI>&V;riah.</HI> But we find him afterwards &s;en&s;ible of it, and afraid le&s;t the Holy Spirit &s;hould abandon him. And in his repentance for tho&s;e Sins, he particularly prays, that he might not &s;uffer this greate&s;t Puni&s;hment, (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.11.) <HI>Ca&s;t me not away from thy pre|&s;ence,</HI>
<PB N="194" REF="256">(&s;ays he) <HI>take not thy Holy Spirit from me.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t take a great deal of care, that we do not neglect the good Motions of the Holy Spirit, and let them pa&s;s unob&s;erv'd; and that we do not reject and refu&s;e them. And there is the more need of our watchful|ne&s;s and care in this ca&s;e, becau&s;e we are lia|ble to &s;light and refu&s;e his good motions when we are not &s;en&s;ible that we do &s;o. The Holy Spirit often moves upon our minds in &s;uch a way, that his operations are not be di&s;tingui&s;h|ed from the natural Operations of our own minds, and the Exerci&s;e of our own thoughts. Sometimes the&s;e are offer'd us under the cover, as we may &s;ay, of the Coun&s;el and Advice of a Friend: And perhaps even with the reproach|es and upbraidings of an Enemy. And they are u&s;ually offer'd in the Admini&s;trations of his Word and Sacraments. And the mi&s;ery and folly of Man is great by rea&s;on that he does not di&s;cern him often times in the&s;e things; and &s;o he &s;lights and refu&s;es his good motions, under the name of &s;omewhat el&s;e. This, then, &s;hould be a general Rule with us: To &s;light and refu&s;e no good motions, by what means or way &s;oever they may come to offer them|&s;elves to us.</P>
<P N="3">3. We mu&s;t not delay or put off our com|pliance with the good motions he offers to ex|cite in us. For to do this is to offend him to. He expects and requires a ready and &s;peedy compliance with him. To put off and delay this, is as much as to &s;ay, I will not at this
<PB N="195" REF="256">time obey him, I will not yet be good. And this has prov'd fatal to many Souls. They have put off the Holy Spirits Convictions till another time; and perhaps the di&s;plea&s;ure of God has not let them live till that time: Or if they have done &s;o, they have been by that time hardened in their Sins; the Holy Spirit often offended with their delay, is withdrawn; and now they have no will to amend and become Religious: And &s;o, after all, they die in their Sins unrepented of, which all along they pro|po&s;ed to them&s;elves they would take care not to do. Let us comply with the Holy Spirit's motions while they are offer'd, becau&s;e we know not if we delay to do &s;o, whether they will ever be offer'd us again or not. God has very plainly &s;aid, <HI>His Spirit &s;hall not always &s;trive with Man.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, we mu&s;t e&s;pecially take care, that we be never lifted up with Pride, when we re|flect upon the Grace we have received. We mu&s;t avoid the tru&s;ting in our own Strength, the undertaking any Duty, or any conflict with Temptation without earne&s;t addre&s;&s;es to Hea|ven for the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Holy Spirit; or without relying more upon that than our own &s;ufficiency. We mu&s;t al&s;o avoid the a&s;cribing to our &s;elves any good that we have done, the applauding and admiring our &s;elves. We mu&s;t always exerci&s;e the Apo&s;tles Humility, who a&s;|cribes all his Vertues and good Actions to the Grace of God, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.10. <HI>By the Grace of God I am what I am,</HI> (&s;ays he.) We mu&s;t, fur|ther, avoid the de&s;pi&s;ing or hating our Neigh|bour,
<PB N="196" REF="257">becau&s;e we think him not &s;o well in|&s;tructed in Religion, or not &s;o improv'd in Grace and Vertue as our &s;elves. We &s;hould con&s;ider, it is the free Grace of God, which has made any difference that there is between us. We mu&s;t exerci&s;e compa&s;&s;ion to him in his Errour, bear one anothers Infirmities: And <HI>if any one be overtaken with a fault, they which are Spiritual,</HI> mu&s;t not di&s;dain or hate him for this, but endeavour to <HI>re&s;tore</HI> and recover <HI>him with the Spirit of meekne&s;s con&s;idering our &s;elves, le&s;t we al&s;o be tempted,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle advi&s;es, (<HI>Gal.</HI> 6.1.) The&s;e are the &s;ymptoms and ex|erci&s;es of Pride in this ca&s;e which we mu&s;t a|void, if we would be &s;o happy our &s;elves as to enjoy the perpetual pre&s;ence, and good influ|ences of the Holy Spirit upon us. Let us con|&s;ider, the Scripture &s;ays of God, <HI>He knows the proud afar off:</HI> And <HI>God re&s;i&s;teth the proud, but giveth grace to the lowly,</HI> And when it is &s;aid, God <HI>regardeth the lowly,</HI> and <HI>the meek will he guide in Judgment, the meek he will teach his way:</HI> The&s;e expre&s;&s;ions may a&s;&s;ure us, that the Ho|ly Spirit requires a meek and humble di&s;po&s;i|tion and &s;tate of mind, where he will dwell and be&s;tow his Divine Gifts and Operations. We mu&s;t take great care, then, at all times, that no in&s;tance of Pride do di&s;plea&s;e him, and pro|voke him to abandon us.</P>
<P>This is the cour&s;e which we mu&s;t ob&s;erve, to enjoy the Ble&s;&s;ed &s;aving Operations of the Holy Spirit. And certainly for &s;o happy, &s;o important, and &s;o nece&s;&s;ary Favours it is high|ly worth our while to do all that we can. Which
<PB N="197" REF="257">God of his Infinite Mercy grant we may do, and with great &s;ucce&s;s, through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: To whom with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour, and Glory, World without End. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALmighty and mo&s;t Glorious God! Oh God the Holy Gho&s;t who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, have mercy upon us mi&s;erable Sinners. We mu&s;t with &s;hame before thee confe&s;s, that we are dark and ignorant, weak and fooli&s;h, polluted and guil|ty. We cannot of our &s;elves do any thing that is good, and we find a lamentable pronene&s;s in us to do Evil: Too often, and too ea&s;ily are we led captive by the Laws of Sin and Death. We condemn, we abhor our &s;elves before thee for the&s;e things, and are exceedingly griev'd and weary'd with the burthen of our Sins. We humbly pre&s;ent our &s;elves unto thee, who art, O Lord, the Lover, and the great Phy&s;itian of our Souls, who ha&s;t the words of Eternal Life. Oh quicken our dead Souls unto a New and Divine Life. Let us be transformed into what is mo&s;t plea&s;ing to thee by the renewing of our minds. O Lord, illumi|nate us with all nece&s;&s;ary and &s;aving Knowledge, grant us to have a right Judgment in all things, give us a lively and effectual Faith, &s;uch as may purifie our Hearts and govern our Lives: Shed abroad the Love of God in our Hearts; fill us we humbly be&s;eech thee with Love, Joy, Peace, Long-&s;uffering, Gentlene&s;s, Goodne&s;s, Faith, Meekne&s;s, Temperance, and what|ever thou delighte&s;t in: That we may ever be plea&s;|ing to thee, and may ever enjoy thy happy Pre&s;ence,
<PB N="198" REF="258">and Communion. Pardon, O Lord, we humbly be|&s;eech thee all our Affronts of thee, all our neglects of thy good Motions, our oppo&s;ition and re&s;i&s;tance to thy Grace, which we now mo&s;t heartily deplore; and with great indignation condemn our &s;elves for them. And from henceforth be thou plea&s;ed to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of us, to dwell in us: Chace out of us all thine Ene|mies, and what&s;oever is di&s;plea&s;ing to thee. Let no Iniquity have dominion over us. Inable us to morti|fie the deeds of the Body, that we may not obey the dictates and lu&s;ts of that, but may be always ready and di&s;po&s;ed to obey thy Godly Motions. Let us be fill'd with Righteou&s;ne&s;s, who hunger and thir&s;t af|ter it, while we diligently &s;eek and wait for it in at|tendance upon thy Sacred Ordinances.</P>
<P>Oh Adorable and Ble&s;&s;ed Spirit! We pray thee have pity upon the wretched World which lies in Wickedne&s;s, and find out ways effectually to turn them from Darkne&s;s to Light, and from the power of Satan unto God. Drive away every evil tyrannous Spirit, and rule thou in the Hearts of Men, that Or|der and Peace may flouri&s;h in the World, and Man|kind may Adore and Prai&s;e the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t; and love one another. Ble&s;s the Chri&s;tian Church with an abundant mea&s;ure of thy Grace; that all tho&s;e who call them&s;elves Chri&s;tians may adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things: Purge thy Church we pray thee from all fal&s;e Doctrine, Here&s;ie, and Schi&s;m, from Envy, Hatred, Malice, and all Uncharitablene&s;s. We pray thee ble&s;s the&s;e Nations unto which we belong, and pro&s;per that part of thy Church planted among us; Let the Gates of Hell never prevail again&s;t it. Let us ever plentifully enjoy thy pure Ordinances, and give them a mighty Influence, and Power among&s;t us to the promoting of all true Piety and Vertue: Grant us always to live in thy Love and Peace, that the God of Love and Peace may be with us. We pray thee dwell abun|dantly in our Sovereign Lord the King, and in all that are &s;et in Authority under him, that they may truly
<PB N="199" REF="258">and indifferently mini&s;ter Ju&s;tice to the puni&s;hment of Wickedne&s;s and Vice, and the maintenance and pro|moting of thy true Religion and Vertue. Dwell in the Bi&s;hops, and Pa&s;tors of our Church, that they may be burning and &s;hining Lights in their &s;everal Stations; Faithful, and Indu&s;trious in the di&s;charge of their Of|fice; in all things a good Example to the Flock, and In&s;trumental to turn many to Righteou&s;ne&s;s. We pray thee po&s;&s;e&s;s the Hearts of all our Relations, Friends, and Benefactors, and even of our Enemies; forgive them and turn their Hearts: Make us duly thankful for all thy Mercies, for tho&s;e of this day in particular: Grant us to make a right and good u&s;e of all. Keep us we pray thee in &s;afety this Night, and be our Guide and Coun&s;ellor all our Days; Let us rejoyce evermore in thy mo&s;t Holy Comfort. All we ask through the Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, be Honour, and Glory, Word without End.</P>
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="200" REF="259">
<HEAD>THE Future Puni&s;hments REPRESENTED.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 25.46. former part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And the&s;e &s;hall go away into Everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>OUR Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour having, from the 31&s;t Ver&s;e of this Chapter, given a large and particular account of the great Day of Uni|ver&s;al Judgment: He &s;ets down in this Ver&s;e, what will be the important I&s;&s;ue and Re&s;ult of it. This, he &s;ays, &s;hall be, that tho&s;e who are Wicked <HI>&s;hall go away into Everla&s;ting Puni&s;h|ment:</HI> And tho&s;e who &s;hall be found Righte|ous in that Day, &s;hall be received <HI>into Ever|lasting Life,</HI> or Happine&s;s. The&s;e two diffe|rent
<PB N="201" REF="259">Fates will be the event of the La&s;t Judg|ment, and will include all Mankind. To one or other of the&s;e do all Humane Actions tend, and every one of us mu&s;t be finally di&s;po&s;ed. In a few words has our Saviour here compre|hended, what all that we can &s;ay of them can|not fully expre&s;s. And tho the&s;e things are &s;oon &s;poken &s;o generally, yet it will require an eternity to gain any proportionable con|ception of them. But we may now, if we will con&s;ider the&s;e things well, under&s;tand and con|ceive &s;o much of them as to &s;ee, that the evils on the one &s;ide are incomparably greater, and more terrible than all the Afflictions and Ca|lamities of this Life; and that the good things on the other &s;ide do as much excel all the good things of this World: Which to know and con|&s;ider well is highly nece&s;&s;ary, and may be very u&s;eful to us. If we apprehend tho&s;e to be the greate&s;t evils, and good things which &s;hall finally and eternally reward our evil and good Actions in this Life (as upon a due con&s;idera|tion of them we cannot chu&s;e but do) then we &s;hall be mo&s;t concern'd to avoid the one &s;ort, and obtain the other of them; which is the true Wi&s;dom and Intere&s;t of this our pre&s;ent Life.</P>
<P>At pre&s;ent let us con&s;ider, that which is re|pre&s;ented in our Text, the final &s;ad Portion of wicked Men: <HI>The&s;e &s;hall go away into everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment.</HI> Which words pre&s;ent us with the&s;e two Heads of Meditation; the future Puni&s;h|ment of &s;inners, and the duration of that Pu|ni&s;hment; &s;o that, they require I &s;hould in&s;i&s;t
<PB N="102" REF="260">upon the&s;e two Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e on this Sub|ject.</P>
<P N="1">1. To repre&s;ent what will be the final Pu|ni&s;hment of wicked Men.</P>
<P N="2">2. To &s;hew the Importance and Truth of what is here &s;aid of it, That it will be Ever|la&s;ting.</P>
<P>At this time I &s;hall repre&s;ent, as fully as I can in a &s;hort Di&s;cour&s;e, what will be the final Puni&s;hment of Wicked Men. And I &s;hall leave out all that has been &s;aid to this matter, which &s;eems to have no Foundation, but uncertain conjecture, and keep to the Intimations of Ho|ly Scripture concerning it. But let us, I be|&s;eech you, apply very &s;erious and attentive Thoughts to &s;o important a Subject: We are going to enquire, what will be the certain end and con&s;equence of a life of Wickedne&s;s: To &s;ee what a di&s;mal Fate many thou&s;ands of carele&s;s, and ob&s;tinate &s;inners have already brought them&s;elves to; and what every wretched Man who lives in any known, will|ful, and pre&s;umptuous Sin is al&s;o tending to. We are now to look by Faith into the Eter|nal Pri&s;ons of the Damned, that we may by this view be deterr'd from following tho&s;e ways which lead to Perdition: That by &s;ee|ing the &s;ad end of other Mens Folly we may learn Wi&s;dom; and that their Mi&s;ery may occa&s;ion our Happine&s;s. Now from the Holy Scriptures, we are allow'd to repre&s;ent the future Puni&s;hments under the&s;e Three Heads.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Conditions or Nature of the Place of Puni&s;hment.</P>
<PB N="203" REF="260">
<P N="2">2. The &s;ad and uncomfortable Society which will be there.</P>
<P N="3">3. The State and Di&s;po&s;ition of Mind which every Damned Per&s;on will be for ever under.</P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider Fir&s;t, What is the Nature and Condition of the place of Puni&s;hment which is prepar'd for Sinners, according to what the Holy Scripture tells us concerning it. And &s;ince it is a place of Puni&s;hment, where Divine Al|mighty Ju&s;tice executes de&s;erved Wrath and Vengeance, we may ju&s;tly believe it mu&s;t needs be a very di&s;mal place. It was fir&s;t prepar'd we are told for the Devil and his Angels. When they rebell'd again&s;t their Maker, and Soveraign, and became unworthy to hold any longer the Honour and Happine&s;s of his Pre|&s;ence and Glory in Heaven, then was this place prepar'd to receive them; where they are to be puni&s;h'd as their Wickedne&s;s does de&s;erve. And without doubt, the nature and &s;tate of the Place is &s;uch, as to be very &s;uitable to &s;uch a De&s;ign. And there are two things, the mo&s;t certain and con&s;iderable, which the Holy Scrip|ture expre&s;ly, and particularly tells us concern|ing this Place.</P>
<P N="1">1. That it is a place of horrid Darkne&s;s. Our Saviour, &s;peaking of the final Puni&s;hment which the hardned unbelieving Jews &s;hould bring them&s;elves to, &s;ays, They &s;hould be ca&s;t into <HI>outer Darkne&s;s, (Mat.</HI> 8.12.) In the 30th Ver&s;e of this Chapter, He teaches us under the Per&s;on of the Wicked and Unprofitable Ser|vant, That Wicked Men &s;hall after the Trial of the La&s;t Judgment, be ca&s;t into <HI>outer Dark|ne&s;s.</HI>
<PB N="204" REF="261">St. <HI>Jude</HI> al&s;o &s;peaks of <HI>Darkne&s;s,</HI> as that which Puni&s;hes Apo&s;tate Angels, in the 6th Ver&s;e of his Epi&s;tle, and &s;hall puni&s;h Wicked Men, in the 13th Ver&s;e, <HI>To whom,</HI> he &s;ays, <HI>is re&s;erved the Blackne&s;s of Darkne&s;s for ever.</HI> If we under&s;tand the&s;e places literally it is but rea&s;onable; &s;ince they repre&s;ent the place but &s;uch as is very &s;uitable to the de&s;ign of it. 'Tis a place of Puni&s;hment, and Mi&s;ery; and Dark|ne&s;s, is &s;uitable to &s;uch a De&s;ign. Light is a chearful plea&s;ant thing; but Darkne&s;s is me|lancholy and &s;ad. Without doubt a very bright Light, or Glory, will Adorn the Hap|py Man&s;ions of Heaven, and make them the more happy: And &s;o a di&s;mal Darkne&s;s may be &s;uppos'd to fully the deep Caves of Hell. We may imagine it, then, a place which &s;hall never &s;ee the Light of this World's Sun or Moon: A horrid place which enjoys no other Light, than what may be afforded from &s;moaky Brim&s;tone Fires. If not, perhaps, an ab&s;olute Darkne&s;s: Tho, becau&s;e it is the darke&s;t place which God has made, it is therefore by St. <HI>Jude</HI> call'd, according to an Hebrew phra&s;e, the <HI>Blackne&s;s of Darkne&s;s.</HI> A gloomy dusky light we may &s;uppo&s;e it has, becau&s;e &s;uch an one &s;eems to conduce more to the Horror of it, than a a perfect Darkne&s;s would do. And be&s;ides, 'Tis more agreeable to that other property, which the Holy Scripture attributes to this &s;ad place, which I come next to mention.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is &s;aid to be &s;ill'd with Fire. Our Sa|viour, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.8. intimates, That the Pu|ni&s;hment of Sinners hereafter will be <HI>Ever|la&s;ting
<PB N="205" REF="261">Fire.</HI> In the 41th Ver&s;e of this Chapter, he &s;ays, The Judge (who will be him&s;elf) &s;hall at the la&s;t Judgment pronounce this &s;en|tence upon Wicked Men, <HI>Depart from me ye Cur&s;ed into Everla&s;ting Fire.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude</HI> &s;ays of tho&s;e Sinners who were de&s;troy'd in the Flames of <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrha,</HI> That they are <HI>Suffering the vengeance of Eternal Fire.</HI> (Ver&s;e 7.) Which expre&s;&s;ion mu&s;t be under|&s;tood of what they now endure in the other World, not of tho&s;e Flames which de&s;troy'd them long ago in this World, (<HI>Hammond in loc</HI> and <HI>Tract. Hell Torments</HI>) There are &s;ome Difficulties in under&s;tanding this Fire literal|ly; but yet ye may do it, I think, without any Impo&s;ition upon our Rea&s;on. What a &s;ort of Fire, indeed, it is, We mu&s;t not pre|tend to &s;ay: But that it is very different from that which we are here acquainted with, mu&s;t be allow'd from what is &s;aid of it. It is a Fire prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels; who we &s;uppo&s;e are meer Spirits, and therefore it is &s;uch, as is able to afflict a Spirit with a &s;ence of Torment and Pain. And &s;uch, too, it mu&s;t be, that it may affect and puni&s;h the &s;eperate Souls of Men, while their Bodies yet remain di&s;olved into Du&s;t: as St. <HI>Jude</HI> &s;ays, it does torment the Souls of the wretched People of <HI>Sodom.</HI> It is al&s;o a Fire which in its Nature is Everla&s;ting, and therefore is of a different Nature from ours. This is a tran&s;ient Peri&s;h|ing thing; wa&s;ts its own Fuel and then dies it &s;elf: But that terrible Fire, tho it will exceed|ingly torment, yet it will never wa&s;t the Fuel
<PB N="206" REF="262">it feeds upon, nor con&s;ume the Wicked Men and Devils, who &s;hall be thrown into it: Nor will it ever langui&s;h or go out. It is a pecu|liar Fire for a peculiar terrible purpo&s;e; It is &s;omething the Divine Wrath has made to be his In&s;trument to puni&s;h and torment his Re|bellious Creatures: to afflict the Bodies and Souls of Wicked Men, and even Spirits which have no Bodies. We mu&s;t &s;uppo&s;e, then, the Wretched Creatures, who are thrown into Hell, to be plung'd into a mighty Sea of Flame: The Scripture calls it <HI>a Lake of Fire and Brim|&s;tone.</HI> We may &s;uppo&s;e the Damned Wretches pierced through with Fire: Not only &s;corch'd on their out-&s;ide, but all within on Fire, as things that lie in a Furnace are. For this dreadful place is al&s;o called a <HI>Furnace of Fire, Mat.</HI> 13.42. Oh how terrible a Place, and Pu|ni&s;hment is prepar'd for Sinners! How <HI>fearful a thing is it to fall into the Hands of the Living God! Who</HI> of us <HI>can dwell with devouring Fire! Who can endure Everla&s;ting Burnings!</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e Conditions of this Place being, but &s;uch as are &s;uitable to the de&s;ign of it, we may under&s;tand them literally. But if any Ob&s;ti|nately refu&s;e to do &s;o, yet they mu&s;t grant thus much: That as the Holy Scripture &s;ets out to us the Joys and Felicities of Heaven, by things that are the mo&s;t plea&s;ant, and delight|ful of this World; and after all we are taught, that the Joys of Heaven do incomparably ex|cel tho&s;e things: So if it makes u&s;e of things which are the mo&s;t &s;ad and grievous in this World to repre&s;ent the Future Puni&s;hments
<PB N="207" REF="262">by; we may rea&s;onably &s;uppo&s;e tho&s;e Puni&s;h|ments will be much more grievous, than the things made u&s;e of to repre&s;ent them are. And then, from the Darkne&s;s and Fires which are &s;aid to be in Hell, we may conclude, that there will be a di&s;mal want of all Joy and Comfort there; that 'tis a &s;ad and melancholy place, al|together contriv'd for Horror: And that the unhappy Creatures there dwell in perpetual, and mo&s;t exqui&s;ite Tortures. The condemn'd Wretches, we mu&s;t believe, &s;hall enjoy nothing plea&s;ant there: Whatever they have to de|light them in this World, they &s;hall enjoy it no more for ever. And be&s;ides this, they &s;hall be vexed with torment and pain, which &s;hall univer&s;ally po&s;&s;e&s;s and afflict them: No part of the Body &s;hall be free from the &s;marting Puni&s;hment, and the whole Soul &s;hall be filled with Mi&s;ery. This will be the &s;ad end of guilty Mirth and Plea&s;ure! This will be the final re|ward of that which is now gawdy, pro&s;perous, and envied Wickedne&s;s. Thus we mu&s;t be|lieve concerning the Place of the future Pu|ni&s;hments: It is in the nature and condition of it, &s;uch as to be a &s;ad and terrible part of the Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>Let us now, in the &s;econd Place, con&s;ider the Qulifications of the wretched &s;ociety there: And this we &s;hall &s;ee is &s;uch a company as will extreamly add to the Mi&s;ery and Puni&s;hment of Hell. The Holy Scripture tells us, that Wicked Men &s;hall be condemned, and thrown into the Place of Puni&s;hment prepared for the Devil and his Angels; from whence we may
<PB N="208" REF="263">learn, that they are to dwell with them. And &s;o the Society of Hell is, that of Wicked Men and Devils. All the Angels that fell into Rebel|lion again&s;t their Maker, and all the Ob&s;tinate and Impenitent Wicked Men, that ever died &s;uch, in all Ages of the World, &s;hall be con|fin'd together in Hell. A rueful Company this! Such as no Comfort, no Plea&s;ure can be derived from it! No, they &s;hall rather great|ly encrea&s;e the unhappine&s;s of one another. This we mu&s;t needs conclude from the&s;e two common Qualifications of them: 1. That they are all of them extreamly Wicked and Malicious. 2. That they are all utterly mi|&s;erable.</P>
<P>All the Company there are extreamly Wick|ed and Malicious, Hateful, and hating one a|nother. All are Enemies to each other there, all is in a &s;tate of War: Perpetual Factions, and Combinations one again&s;t another, always bani&s;h Peace from thence; Eternal Di&s;cords, Furious Contentions, and Uncontroul'd <HI>Liber|ty</HI> to do Mi&s;chief reign there: And Love, and Order, and Government are things too good, too happy for Hell. The exqui&s;ite Pain and Torment which all endure, Tran&s;ports them with Rage and Cruelty one again&s;t another. We may &s;uppo&s;e them continually railing a|gain&s;t, and reviling one another. May we not believe that the Devils in&s;ult over Damned Men, and tell them what hopes of Happine&s;s they are fallen from, what offers of Favour and Mercy, and even of Heaven they have re|fus'd: How they fool'd away a precious &s;pace
<PB N="209" REF="263">of Life on Earth in which they might have gain'd an Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s: How through an Exce&s;&s;ive and Vain Care for their Bodies, they have lo&s;t their Immortal Souls. And may we not &s;uppo&s;e the Damned Men reveng|ing them&s;elves as well as they can upon the&s;e Apo&s;tate Spirits: Telling them of the Glory and Bli&s;s which they have thrown them&s;elves from, the Wrath and Vengeance which they, too, have pull'd upon them&s;elves: And cur&s;ing them for their fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions, for their Im|portunate Temptations, and for being greatly acce&s;&s;ary to the Ruine and Damnation of Men.</P>
<P>And we may well believe, that wicked Men will be but a very vexatious and unea&s;ie Com|pany to one another there. Tho&s;e Compa|nions in Wickedne&s;s, who were the mo&s;t plea|&s;ing to each other here, will be &s;ome of the mo&s;t odious and ungrateful there. This &s;eems to be &s;ugge&s;ted by our Saviour's Parable, con|cerning the rich Man thrown at his Death into Hell, (<HI>Luke</HI> 16.) whom he repre&s;ents, as concern'd, that his Brethren might not come into that place of torment. Tho&s;e who tempted and encourag'd one another to do wickedly, who harden'd each other into a contempt and defiance of all good In&s;truction and whol&s;om Reproof, will there hate and rage again&s;t one another, for the&s;e things, when they are all come to the &s;ad end of their wickedne&s;s, which before they de&s;pi&s;ed. Tho&s;e that were known to each other here, if they are known there too, as 'tis likely they are, may, upon many accounts, be very unea&s;ie and grievous to one
<PB N="210" REF="264">another. He, who by fair Pretences cover'd a fal&s;e and hypocritical Heart, and made a &s;hift to pa&s;s for a Saint among &s;ome on Earth, mu&s;t be &s;adly aba&s;h'd to be found at la&s;t among the damned Crue in Hell, by them who knew his Godly Pretences here. Some few of the Com|pany there will be &s;uch as have been Emperors and Kings on Earth, and renowned Captains and Commanders: Some of them have been va&s;tly rich, and &s;ome dignified and noble: But all the&s;e will be huddled and confounded a|mong the vulgar Fry of Mortals there: The&s;e will be levell'd with their Va&s;&s;als, with tho&s;e they have commanded or di&s;dain'd, yea, and be &s;ubject to their contempt and reproaches. No Order, no re&s;pect of Per&s;ons is ob&s;erv'd there; none will pity and compa&s;&s;ionate ano|ther in Hell; this &s;oft and kind Temper comes not there. Every one feels &s;o much mi&s;ery, as that no one is at lei&s;ure, neither is any one di&s;po&s;ed for love and condolence. Tho&s;e that made them&s;elves unea&s;ie to one another here, by their mutual Hatred, and frequent Provocations and Injuries, will continue Ene|mies, and continue to exerci&s;e all the Malice that they can again&s;t one another there.</P>
<P>The&s;e things are the natural Products and Effects of extream Wickedne&s;s, which is al|ways malicious and prone to mi&s;chief. But from hence the wretched Company in Hell mu&s;t needs be very vexatious to one another. What a torment may we ea&s;ily imagine it mu&s;t be, for implacable and furious Enemies to be con|fin'd together! for them to be &s;hut up in one
<PB N="211" REF="264">clo&s;e Pri&s;on, who are filled with Envy, Ma|lice and Rage again&s;t one another; who will only vex and torment one another. The &s;trait|ne&s;s of their Pri&s;on, perhaps, will not allow, that any of them may retire from the re&s;t, to lament his own Mi&s;eries alone, and be free from the Vexations of others.</P>
<P>Secondly, This Society will be very unea&s;ie to one another upon this account al&s;o, That they all are perfectly mi&s;erable. Every one there, dwells among&s;t a company of mi&s;erable and complaining Creatures. Every one is &s;ur|rounded with only &s;uch; which way &s;oever they look they can &s;ee none but &s;pectacles of Horror. It mu&s;t, &s;ure, be ea&s;ie for us to ap|prehend, that it is a terrible thing to dwell with tho&s;e who are in continual Torment. We are commonly infected with the Sorrows of tho&s;e whom we conver&s;e with; and it makes us &s;ad and Melancholy to &s;it among tho&s;e that are &s;o. Certainly, then, it will be a very di&s;|mal thing to be confin'd in this dark and gloo|my Hou&s;e of Mourning; amid&s;t eternal How|lings, rueful complaints of tortur'd and de|&s;pairing Creatures! What a har&s;h and fright|ful &s;ound will the mixture of their Shrieks, their Groans, and their Ravings make! What a ga&s;tly Spectacle will it be to &s;ee one another &s;urrounded with Flames, peirced through with Fire, and in all parts on a Flame! To &s;ee the woful di&s;torted looks by which each one is for|ced to betray the Torments that he feels! Thus the Damned Creatures, like burning Coals, burn all the more, and all are the more mi&s;e|rable
<PB N="212" REF="265">for their being con&s;in'd together in their Mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>I have &s;poken of &s;eeing and hearing and feeling in Hell, as what may agree even to the &s;eparate Souls of the Damned when they are without their Bodies: Becau&s;e, as external Objects here were brought to the notice of the Mind in &s;everal ways, by the &s;everal &s;ences, while the Soul liv'd in a Body, &s;o the Objects in that &s;ad place may be &s;o order'd, as that they may immediately make &s;uch Impre&s;&s;ions upon the Soul, without the bodily &s;ences, as were convey'd by the &s;ences, and thus make them&s;elves &s;en&s;ible and perceived. And &s;o it might be, that the &s;eparate Soul of the rich Man in the Parable might complain of the torment of Thir&s;t, and wi&s;h for a cool drop of Water; that is, his Soul might have &s;uch an unea&s;ie impre&s;&s;ion made upon it there, as would have been convey'd to it by a fea|vouri&s;h Thir&s;t of the Body, and might wi&s;h for an allay and refre&s;hment to be communi|cated in the &s;ame way. And while Humane Souls from their frame and con&s;titution do re|ceive the Impre&s;&s;ions or Notices of External Objects in tho&s;e &s;everal ways and manners by which our &s;ences convey them while we live in the Body; and other Spirits have perhaps &s;ome other way of receiving tho&s;e Notices, and it may be but one way of perceiving all things, or the properties of things, this may be &s;uppo&s;ed as a main difference between Hu|mane Souls and other created Spirits.</P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een the outward part of their
<PB N="213" REF="265">condition who are thrown into Hell: What external Woes and Mi&s;eries &s;hall afflict them. I come now to &s;peak to the Third Head of that Puni&s;hment which I mention'd. Which I &s;aid lies in the unhappy State and Di&s;po&s;ition of Mind which every Damned Wretch &s;hall be under. Let us now take notice of his internal Mi&s;eries. And the&s;e, I think, we may ju&s;tly believe, as they are more near, and intimate to him, &s;o they are more &s;en&s;ible, and yet more tormenting, than all that has yet been mention'd. And there are the&s;e three things which make up the unhappy State of his Mind, and do exceedingly add to his Mi&s;ery, and Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P N="1">1. His Violent and Tyrannous Lu&s;ts and Pa&s;&s;ions. The wretched hardned Sinner was abandon'd to his own Vices and Pa&s;&s;ions, and he went out of the World po&s;&s;e&s;t and govern'd by the&s;e; therefore he mu&s;t remain &s;ubject and en&s;lav'd to them for ever. And Wicked Lu&s;ts and Pa&s;&s;ions are the di&s;orders, the painful di|&s;tempers of the Soul: They di&s;compo&s;e its plea&s;ing Harmony and di&s;turb its ea&s;ie Peace; they deform it, and fill it with Di&s;cords and Confu&s;ions. In the Nature of them, they de|prive a Man of all Tranquillity and Peace, they make him even a Torment to him&s;elf, and he that is &s;ubject to them can have no en|joyment of him&s;elf. Hell, in a very &s;en&s;ible part of it, begins with Sin, and the Torments of it encrea&s;e upon a Man as his Soul is more, and more en&s;lav'd to Wickedne&s;s. It is a Tor|ment which attends every Lu&s;t and Pa&s;&s;ion, that
<PB N="224" REF="266">it fills the Wretched Soul with violent and un|&s;atiable De&s;ires: And there cannot well be a greater Torment, than Violent De&s;ire; But this the Damned Creatures are Condemn'd to endure for ever: To de&s;ire a multitude of things, with the whole force of the Soul too, but to be cro&s;t, and di&s;appointed of all that they de&s;ire. The Will remains and wi&s;hes for good, and pines, and langui&s;hes in the want of it; for it meets, alas, with nothing but evil. The Wretched Sinner had his Soul per|haps en&s;laved to &s;en&s;ual Plea&s;ure: And when it goes out of the Body it retains &s;till this &s;or|did and mean propen&s;ity. For tho' we may ob&s;erve that in &s;ome very mortifying di&s;tem|pers of the Body, the Appetites to &s;ome &s;en&s;u|al Plea&s;ures, and the reli&s;h of them &s;eem to be lo&s;t, yet in that ca&s;e we &s;hall find in the voluptuous Sinner, a di&s;content even for the lo&s;s of his Appetite to tho&s;e Plea&s;ures which he formerly doted on. This di&s;temper &s;eems to dwell &s;till in the mind, and may live there even when it decays and dies in the Body, with the Decay and Death of that. The Sinner, then, may even in Hell de&s;ire and wi&s;h for his &s;en&s;ual delights which are all pa&s;t and gone, and ne|ver &s;hall be repeated any more. He may up|on this account feel a torment like a Hunger never &s;atisfied, or an unquenchable Thir&s;t. And his Memory will afflict him, by calling to to mind pa&s;t Frolicks and Plea&s;ures which are now pa&s;t for ever. Tho he remembers his guilty Frolicks with remor&s;e, and the cau&s;es of his pre&s;ent Mi&s;ery, yet he cannot chu&s;e but
<PB N="215" REF="266">wi&s;h, as he did while he was in them, that they would have endured for ever. He thinks with regret and rage how &s;oon they were all gone: And mourns when he con&s;iders that &s;uch tran&s;ient, &s;uch &s;hort and fading delights, were all the Portion of good that he, an Immor|tal Being, &s;hall ever enjoy. From fru&s;trated and vain, yet violent de&s;ire, the Sinner mu&s;t needs conceive an un&s;peakable &s;orrow, and this like a heavy load will oppre&s;s him: He feels pure unmixed &s;orrow, &s;uch as has not the lea&s;t allay of comfort or Hope. This we may learn will be the &s;ad ca&s;e of Sinners in Hell, from our Saviours telling us often, <HI>That there is weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth.</HI> They live in doleful angui&s;h of mind, they can perceive, they can think of nothing but what gives them grief and &s;orrow. They mourn when they con&s;ider what they have been, and what they are: What they might have attain'd and en|joy'd, and what they mu&s;t now endure for e|ver. And it is very likely, that the Sinners in Hell are tran&s;ported with a vain rage a|gain&s;t Almighty God, who deals &s;o &s;everely with them; For we may ob&s;erve what rage, what defiance of Heaven will &s;ometimes po&s;|&s;e&s;s &s;uch Men here, when they meet with any con&s;iderable Affliction, or but a Contradiction to their unrea&s;onable Will and Humour. And if he is po&s;&s;e&s;t with &s;uch anger and rage, there it will mo&s;t exqui&s;itely torment him, becau&s;e it is vain and feeble. The Sinner in Hell cannot humbly &s;ubmit to his griefs, nor take his Afflictions patiently, and &s;o make
<PB N="216" REF="267">them the more ea&s;ie and tolerable to him&s;elf: He has never been wont to &s;ubmit his will to the will and di&s;po&s;al of God, and therefore, to be &s;ure, cannot do this now. He will there|fore be always in a vain conte&s;t with one that is too mighty for him; always &s;trugling with Adamantine Chains of Fate, which for all his &s;trugling hold him fa&s;t. He is tormented with Envy too, we may believe, again&s;t the happy Inhabitants of Heaven. And with Envy and Di&s;dain, &s;ees &s;ome honour'd whom he de|&s;pi&s;ed, &s;ome ju&s;tified whom he condemned, &s;ome applauded whom he &s;landered and re|proached: And &s;ome ble&s;t and happy whom he per&s;ecuted, yea ble&s;t for tho&s;e very per&s;e|cutions which they &s;uffered from him, while he is condemn'd, and tormented for inflicting them. Thus a pa&s;&s;ionate, and vicious mind may be a &s;evere torment to it &s;elf: And the Sinner in Hell will be a continual torment to him&s;elf, as he will continually de&s;ire to have what he &s;hall never obtain, and wi&s;h he could avoid what he is eternally confin'd to. This leads me to mention,</P>
<P N="2">2. Another torment of his mind which he &s;hall endure in Hell, and that is a very bitter De&s;pair. His own thoughts tell him there, that all the evils he meets with he mu&s;t endure for ever: And he lies continually thinking on the Eternity of his Mi&s;ery. Whatever grieves and vexes him, has this Additional &s;ting from his own de&s;pairing mind, that it &s;hall for e|ver &s;o grieve and vex him. Are all his lov'd Plea&s;ures and Joys gone? His own mind a&s;&s;ures
<PB N="217" REF="267">him they are gone for ever! Does he &s;ee him|&s;elf condemn'd to a di&s;mal place? Does he feel him&s;elf confin'd to a mo&s;t vexatious Socie|ty? Does he feel him&s;elf univer&s;ally afflicted with un&s;peakable Torment? All this his &s;ad thoughts tell him he mu&s;t endure for ever. As his condition is truly de&s;perate, and remedi|le&s;s; &s;o he knows this. And de&s;pair, accord|ingly, has got a full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his Soul, and afflicts him with all its bitterne&s;s: He is not a|ble to flatter, to deceive him&s;elf with hope: He cannot gain there &s;o much allay, and ea&s;e, as even a fal&s;e hope would afford: No, what|ever he believes now concerning the duration of tho&s;e Torments, he will then be a&s;&s;ur'd that they &s;hall la&s;t for ever: He will always re|member the terrible &s;entence of the Judge, which has doom'd him to everla&s;ting Fire. And by his thus continually thinking on the Eternity of his Mi&s;ery, he Afflicts him&s;elf with what is to come, as well as with what he actu|ally endures: And gathers as it were into e|very moment of his duration, the Terror and Torment of an Eternal Mi&s;ery. As hope can alleviate the heavie&s;t Griefs, and give &s;ome ea&s;e under the &s;marte&s;t Pains, &s;o De&s;pair will make the lighte&s;t evil heavy and intolerable: How much more, then, mu&s;t it needs aggra|vate the &s;evere Torments of Hell.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, There is another thing which will add yet much more to the Mi&s;ery of Hell, and that is, the Self-condemnations and Rebukes of the Sinners own Con&s;cience. This is what the Holy Scripture means by the <HI>Worm that never
<PB N="218" REF="268">dies,</HI> which it tells us will be part of the Tor|ment there. Tho the Condemn'd Sinner be angry with God, who, he thinks, deals unju&s;t|ly, or too &s;everely with him; yet he is angry with him&s;elf too, for expo&s;ing him&s;elf to the terrible Wrath of God, and for provoking a|gain&s;t him&s;elf, one that is too &s;trong for him; who has him now at his Mercy, and who, he is &s;ure, will &s;hew him no Mercy. He mu&s;t blame him&s;elf for his Mi&s;ery on the&s;e accounts, that he has pull'd it upon him&s;elf by chu&s;ing the cour&s;e which has brought him to it, and that he might have avoided it if he would. If any one could lay his mi&s;ery on the &s;core of an eternal Decree, which had determined him to it before he was born: This would exa&s;perate the proud Creature into a Bla&s;phemous rage again&s;t God under &s;o exqui&s;ite Torments. But it would al&s;o deliver him from the Rebukes of his own Con&s;cience. His Mi&s;ery then would be his De&s;tiny and Fate, not his own mad and fooli&s;h choice. But this is not the ca&s;e of any one. God determines none but Sinners to e|verla&s;ting Mi&s;ery, and never pa&s;&s;es an irrever|&s;ible Decree of Puni&s;hment on them till they die impenitent. So that this will be the Con|demnation which every Sinner will be liable to, that he has ruin'd and de&s;troy'd him&s;elf: And when he is in Hell, he will be ever tormented with &s;uch &s;tinging thoughts as the&s;e. What|ever I endure here I mu&s;t blame none but my &s;elf for it! I have brought my &s;elf to all this Mi&s;ery. I was ob&s;tinately &s;et upon the cour&s;e which brought me hither, And when I had
<PB N="219" REF="268">&s;inn'd and de&s;erv'd the&s;e things, there was Fa|vour and Mercy offer'd me, upon the conditi|tion of leaving my Sins, but I refus'd it. I have &s;old my Soul for nought! I have lo&s;t my &s;elf in the pur&s;uit of very Trifles! Oh how vain, how worthle&s;s are all tho&s;e Plea&s;ures, tho&s;e Profits, and tho&s;e Honours, for which I incurr'd my Damnation! If all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them had been offer'd me, and I could have enjoy'd them all for as many Millions of years, as there are Sands on the Sea &s;hore; yet I had been a Fool, if all this would have courted me to make my &s;elf everla&s;tingly mi&s;erable! O how much more am I &s;uch, who for a few moments tran&s;ient Enjoyments of a very &s;mall portion of the World, that is pa&s;t with me, have &s;old my &s;elf to everla&s;ting De&s;truction!</P>
<P>Thus will the Condemned Sinner's own mind la&s;h and torment him&s;elf. And a very grievous torment it is for a Man to be angry and quarrel with him&s;elf. It is e&s;pecially, a very &s;ad ca&s;e with the Sinner in Hell, who has God his very terrible Enemy; Is confin'd a|mong&s;t Devils and Wicked Men, his Cruel Ene|mies; and he is at the &s;ame time an Enemy to him&s;elf too. No one el&s;e will pity him, nor can he pity him&s;elf; and whatever Woes and Tor|ments he endures, he redoubles, and improves them all with this &s;piteful thought, all this have I brought upon my &s;elf. And in Hell the&s;e la&s;hes and rebukes will give him no intermi&s;&s;ion, be|cau&s;e they will continually be provok'd and edg'd with the Mi&s;eries, which he &s;hall there continually endure.</P>
<PB N="220" REF="269">
<P>Thus I have briefly repre&s;ented the future Puni&s;hments of Sinners: And I doubt not but it has been done very imperfectly: I believe they are &s;uch as we cannot now conceive what they will be. But if I have &s;aid too much of them, and if they are not &s;o terrible as they are repre&s;ented, it would be &s;afe&s;t to err on this hand, &s;ince the effect of this would be but to render us the more careful to avoid them. And without doubt it is better, that we &s;hould fear the wor&s;t that can be &s;aid, than that we feel the lea&s;t that can be true. Let us &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider what has been &s;aid, that it may beget in us &s;uch a fear of God, as to make us depart from all Iniquity. <HI>Which God of his infinite Mercy Grant through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>GReat and Glorious God! Thou art the Supream, and Rightful Judge and Governor of the World. Thou rule&s;t it with Wi&s;dom, and thou Judge&s;t it with Equity: Thou love&s;t Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and hate&s;t Ini|quity. We mu&s;t needs acknowledg, O Lord, that our Sins do de&s;erve to be exceeding vile and odious <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">n thy &s;ight. Oh what Enormity can we &s;ee in them! and much more of it mu&s;t be Obvious and Offen&s;ive to the pure Eyes of thy Glory, When we &s;eriou&s;ly
<PB N="221" REF="269">con&s;ider them, what Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s and Inju&s;tice ap|pears in them towards a Ju&s;t and Righteous God! What fal&s;hood and treachery is there in them again&s;t the God of Truth! What affront, and contempt of the Maje&s;ty of Heaven, whom the highe&s;t Orders of Glorious Angels Reverence and Adore! Oh what In|gratitude is there in them again&s;t the mo&s;t free, and the mo&s;t abundant Goodne&s;s! And how exceedingly are our Sins aggravated by their mighty number, by our frequent repetitions of them! By the very &s;mall and contemptible Inducements, which have drawn us to commit them! O Lord, we are even confounded to think how ea&s;ily we have been drawn into our Re|bellion again&s;t thee! How we have exerci&s;ed and de|&s;pi&s;ed thy Patience and Forbearance of us, and have encourag'd our &s;elves to do wickedly &s;till, by that which &s;hould have led us to Repentance. O Lord, we mu&s;t own thou art altogether ju&s;t in de&s;igning the mo&s;t terrible Puni&s;hments for &s;uch guilty Creatures. And we &s;hall de&s;erve to endure wor&s;e things than we can now conceive or imagine, if we will per&s;evere in our Wickedne&s;s to the end. O Lord, of thy infinite Mercy &s;pare us: Let thy mighty Grace prevent our Ruine. Pardon our pa&s;t Sins, and turn us from the way that leads to Perdition: From all Evil and Mi&s;|chief, from Sin, from the Crafts and A&s;&s;aults of the Devil, from thy Wrath, and from Everla&s;ting Damna|tion, good Lord deliver us. Ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name, thou ha&s;t been &s;o kind and gracious, as to reveal and di&s;cover to us the terrible Puni&s;hments de&s;ign'd for Sin|ners, that we might avoid them. O Lord, we pray thee, po&s;&s;e&s;s us with a due and whol&s;om fear of thee, and of thy Judgments: Make us, as we ought, to fear above all things, thy Wrath, that &s;o we may take care to avoid it, and may depart from all Iniquity. Let the &s;ad event, and end of Wickedne&s;s be much in our thoughts; that it may help us to mortifie our mo&s;t be|loved Sins. Let us always remember, that the wages of Sin is eternal Death, tho the Plea&s;ure and Profits of it, are all but for a very &s;hort &s;ea&s;on. Let us not
<PB N="222" REF="270">&s;o greedily pur&s;ue, nor &s;o exce&s;&s;ively enjoy the things of this World, as to provoke thee to put us off with the&s;e. Let us not follow a multitude to do evil, nor chu&s;e the broad road which leads down to Perdition: But direct us to find the narrow way, and a&s;&s;i&s;t us to enter in at the &s;trait Gate, which leads to Life Ever|la&s;ting. Direct us O Lord, in the wi&s;e, the &s;afe, and happy way of thy Commandments. Write thou thy Law in our Hearts, that we may never depart from it: And do thou graciou&s;ly pardon all our unwilling fail|ings and defects, and accept our &s;incere but poor &s;er|vices, through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>We humbly pray to thee, O Lord, for all Mankind, that they may all be brought from Darkne&s;s to Light, and from the power of Satan unto God. We pray thee look in Mercy upon thy Church, clean&s;e, and de|fend it from all Evil, and grant that every Member of it may &s;o di&s;charge the duties of his place and &s;ta|tion, as may be for the Honour of our Religion, for the Peace and Welfare of the whole Body of Chri&s;t, and to thy Glory. We earne&s;tly beg thy favour to the Land of our Nativity: Oh pardon our crying Sins, turn us from every evil way, make us to love and practice the True Religion, and be thou, we pray thee, our defence again&s;t all the Enemies of thy True Religion e&s;tabli&s;h'd among&s;t us. Ble&s;s, and direct, and a&s;&s;i&s;t thy Servant, and our Sovereign Lord the King; make him a glorious In&s;trument of thy Churches Pro&s;|perity and Peace, and give Him Pro&s;perity and Peace with it. Do good abundantly to the Royal Family, endue them plenteou&s;ly with Heavenly Gifts, pro&s;per them with all Happine&s;s, and let us be always ble&s;t in them. We pray for all that are related to us; Oh let them live in thy &s;ight, let their ways be directed to keep thy Statutes, and bring them at la&s;t to thy Heavenly Kingdom. We give thee thanks for all thy Mercy and Goodne&s;s towards us, particularly for the Means of Grace which we have this day enjoy'd; O let them become by thy Ble&s;&s;ing, the Effectual means
<PB N="223" REF="270">of our Salvation. We humbly commit our &s;elves to thy Gracious keeping this Night, we pray thee let no evil come near us. Let our Nights be &s;pent in tran|quility and &s;afety, and our days in thy excellent &s;er|vice, and do thou accept us in Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Medi|atour and Advocate, with who&s;e mo&s;t comprehen&s;ive Words, we conclude our poor Addre&s;&s;es, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="224" REF="271">
<HEAD>THE ETERNITY OF THE Future Puni&s;hments ILLUSTRATED and PROV'D.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 25.46. former part.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And the&s;e &s;hall go away into Everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT has pleas'd the Great Governour of the World, very ju&s;tly, to require our Homage and Obedience, as the Condition of enjoying his Favour, and our Happine&s;s thereby. And to enforce that Obedience, that we might en|joy his Favour and be ble&s;t in it, he has repre|&s;ented
<PB N="225" REF="271">to us the Terrors of his Anger, and de|clar'd how &s;everely he has determin'd to pu|ni&s;h Ob&s;tinate, and Impenitent Sinners. This he has &s;o fully reveal'd and declar'd, as is &s;uf|ficient, if we con&s;ider what he has &s;aid, to give us as full and compleat a conception of the Fu|ture Puni&s;hments as we can po&s;&s;ibly attain without feeling them.</P>
<P>This method of the Divine Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s is very fit to have a mighty force and power upon us. It is rea&s;onable we &s;hould fear what he threatens, and that it &s;hould re|&s;train or divert us from tho&s;e things which it is threatned again&s;t. But &s;o fooli&s;h we are and ea&s;ie to be deluded, that the adver&s;ary of our Souls finds out ways to hinder this. He who endeavours to bring us under the &s;ad evils that are threatned, is able in many Men to &s;tifle or weaken the Fear of them. This he does for the mo&s;t part, by keeping Men from a &s;ober con&s;ideration of the&s;e things. He fills their Minds with other thoughts, and In|du&s;triou&s;ly keeps them entertain'd with the Cares and Plea&s;ures of this World. And he ea&s;ily obtains the diverting of their Minds from the thoughts of &s;uch things as the&s;e: Becau&s;e, as the &s;ins of Men are very agreeable to their corrupt Inclinations they are of them&s;elves loth to con&s;ider or believe how di&s;plea&s;ing they are to Almighty God, and how mi&s;chievous they are likely to prove them&s;elves. But if he cannot always prevent a Man from looking forward, and bethinking him&s;elf, at lea&s;t in &s;ome &s;tarts of thought, what is likely to be the
<PB N="226" REF="272">Event and Con&s;equence of his Cour&s;e of Liv|ing: Then, that yet he may not be much a|larm'd, this Enemy endeavours to &s;often the future Puni&s;hments, and repre&s;ent them with as little terror as he can. He helps the bold wit of Man to find out plau&s;ible pretences to believe, that God does not mean to fulfil the utmo&s;t &s;everity of his Threatnings in this mat|ter: and by wit &s;o employ'd, he truly helps a Man certainly to befool him&s;elf, and perhaps &s;ome others.</P>
<P>This Di&s;cour&s;e is intended, if it may plea&s;e God, to fru&s;trate both the&s;e Arts of the Ad|ver&s;ary upon &s;ome. By calling to mind, and reviving the thoughts and con&s;ideration of the future Puni&s;hments in as many as it &s;hall be communicated to; and by repre&s;enting to them the&s;e Puni&s;hments in their true weight and terror, &s;o far as we may learn this from the Holy Scripture. It has therefore been &s;aid, that the words of our Text do afford us Two Heads of Meditation on this Subject. The Fir&s;t, Concerning the Nature and Kind of the Puni&s;hment which is prepar'd and de&s;ign'd for Wicked Men in the other World. The Se|cond, concerning the duration of that Puni&s;h|ment; for the Text &s;ays, they &s;hall go away from the Judgment of the Great Day into Pu|ni&s;hment, and that Puni&s;hment &s;hall be Ever|la&s;ting. The former of the&s;e I have already in&s;i&s;ted on and fini&s;h'd. And I thought fit to repre&s;ent the Future Puni&s;hment under the&s;e Three Heads.</P>
<P N="1">1. It con&s;i&s;ts partly in the Nature of the
<PB N="227" REF="272">Place: Which I &s;aid the Holy Scripture &s;peaks of, as &s;ullied with a gloomy Darkne&s;s, and as fill'd with Fire. It is certainly de&s;titute of all things comfortable and plea&s;ant, and al&s;o fur|ni&s;h'd with that which is exceedingly torment|ing and grievous.</P>
<P N="2">2. It con&s;i&s;ts in the Qualifications of the So|ciety which are met with there. The&s;e will be the Apo&s;tate Angels and Sinful Men: All very unea&s;ie and vexatious to one another, by their extream Wickedne&s;s and Malice, and by their common Mi&s;ery.</P>
<P N="3">3. It con&s;i&s;ts al&s;o partly in the Wretched State and Di&s;po&s;ition of the Sinners own mind there. Who will be vehemently tormented with the violence of his own Pa&s;&s;ions and Lu&s;ts, with his mo&s;t bitter and perfect de|&s;pair, and with the eternal rebukes of his own Con&s;cience, the gnawings of the never dying Worm.</P>
<P>I &s;hall make no more repitition of what was then &s;aid; But proceed to the &s;econd part of the Di&s;cour&s;e: To &s;ay what is nece&s;&s;ary con|cerning the duration of this terrible Puni&s;h|ment, which, if it be rightly &s;tated, it will add very much to the terror of the Puni&s;hment. And on this Head I purpo&s;e to Illu&s;trate a lit|tle the import and meaning of this Expre&s;&s;ion, that we may have the larger, and more effectu|al apprehen&s;ions concerning it: And to prove al&s;o the Truth of what &s;hall be repre&s;ented as the import and meaning of it.</P>
<P>We may, then, ob&s;erve that the&s;e Three things following may be reckon'd included in
<PB N="228" REF="273">this, that it is &s;aid to be Everla&s;ting. 1. That there will be no interval or intermi&s;&s;ion of the Torments of Hell. 2. That they will never a|bate or decay. 3. That they will never come to an end. The&s;e Three things I &s;hall a little in&s;i&s;t upon, but chiefly on the la&s;t of them.</P>
<P N="1">1. The future Mi&s;eries de&s;ign'd for the Pu|ni&s;hment of Sinners, will know no intervals or intermi&s;&s;ions. As they are to be Everla&s;ting, they will be continual. They will give the Con|demn'd Wretches no re&s;pite from vexation and torment, no moments of ea&s;e or repo&s;e. No beam of chearful Light can ever pierce in|to that dark World: And the &s;ad Night there is without any re&s;t or &s;leep. The Fire will con|tinually torment, and the Worm of Con&s;ci|ence continually gnaw; they will con&s;tantly de&s;pair all of them, and be con&s;tantly vexati|ous and unea&s;ie to one another. Never will the Ears be free from the loud &s;ounds of dole|ful complaints: Never will the Eyes cea&s;e to be afflicted with gha&s;tly and horrid &s;pectacles. In this Life tho&s;e that are mo&s;t unhappy, yet have &s;ome intervals of Good to allay the evils they meet with; and there is a mixture of &s;ome good in our Condition however evil it is: But there is nothing in Hell but pure unmixed and continual Mi&s;ery: So the wretches there can at no time entertain them&s;elves with any thing that can divert or deceive their Woes and Sorrows. This the Holy Scripture very plainly teaches us. St. <HI>John</HI> &s;peaking of tho&s;e who &s;hall be thrown into that di&s;mal place of Puni&s;hment, &s;ays, (<HI>Rev.</HI> 14.10, 11.) <HI>They &s;hall
<PB N="229" REF="273">drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, and &s;hall be tormented with Fire and Brim&s;tone: And they &s;hall have no re&s;t day nor night.</HI> He means their Torment &s;hall be ince&s;&s;ant: And as day and night do perfectly mea&s;ure the time of this World, and without any interval &s;ucceed each other, &s;o their Torments &s;hall without any intermi&s;&s;ion or re&s;pite, mea&s;ure out their long abode in this place of Puni&s;hment. Our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour al&s;o may be under&s;tood to &s;ugge&s;t the &s;ame thing in his Parable of the Luxurious and Un|merciful Rich Man, who was thrown into Hell. Whom he repre&s;ents as in great Tor|ment, and begging for a little refre&s;hment but could obtain none. No, he could not ob|tain &s;o &s;hort and &s;mall a Refre&s;hment, as that of one poor drop of Water, to cool his Tongue for a Moment: as we &s;ee, <HI>Luke</HI> 16.24. There will not be any intermi&s;&s;ions of Torment, then, as the fooli&s;h <HI>Jews</HI> imagine: Who have a fan|cy among them, that when they begin their Sabbath on Earth, there is a &s;ignal given in Hell, and the wretched Creatures there are relea&s;ed from their Tortures; but when their Sabbath is ended they mu&s;t return to them a|gain. This is a very vain imagination, and has no Ground or Foundation in Holy Scripture, nor does need a Confutation.</P>
<P N="2">2 We mu&s;t under&s;tand from the Word Everla&s;ting in the Text, that the Torments of Hell will continue without any abatement or decay. As that Fire will never go out, we are to believe it will never langui&s;h or decay.
<PB N="230" REF="274">It is made of a more la&s;ting Nature, than that which we are acquainted with. This is a Temporary World, and all things here are &s;ubject to alterations: But that is an eternal one, and all things in it are &s;teddy and un|changeable. The Wrath of God towards the Condemned Wretches will not abate; there will be nothing to dimini&s;h that: Which is that Breath of the Lord, as the Prophet &s;peaks, that kindles the infernal Flames. The behaviour of the abandon'd Sinners under their Mi&s;ery, is more likely to inflame and increa&s;e, than abate it. The Almighty can never be aweary of Pu|ni&s;hing. The Divine Wrath, then, will keep up the everla&s;ting Fire continually in all its Vigour and Fury: And as long as their Mi&s;ery endures their own &s;elf-tormenting thoughts will conti|nue to afflict them too. And the Sinners &s;ence of their Mi&s;eries will not grow le&s;s by their continuance; they will not in Hell acquire any &s;uch Vertue, as Patience to fortifie, and com|po&s;e their minds under their Afflictions. Nor will they ever gain the lea&s;t glimp&s;e of hope to allay their &s;orrows. They never have the le&s;s to endure for any thing which they have alrea|dy endured, and therefore they have not the thoughts of that to comfort them. Since their Puni&s;hment is Everla&s;ting, it will never be near to an end, therefore will never either the hopes, or the approach of that abate their &s;orrows. Tho the weary Travellor is mo&s;t tired at his Journeys end, yet he is comforted and forgets his wearine&s;s, when he is come within a &s;hort pro&s;pect of his home. But it is not &s;o with
<PB N="231" REF="274">the Damned, they have never any pro&s;pect of an end of their Mi&s;eries to abate their &s;ence of them. They expect nothing but their conti|nuance, and that they will continue in all their extremity, as well as in their duration. We may ob&s;erve our Saviour repre&s;ents the Wick|ed Rich Man in Hell as denied the lea&s;t refre&s;h|ment, and even the mo&s;t tran&s;ient one that could be imagin'd. As the Damned &s;hall never be favour'd with one Moments ab&s;olute and perfect Re&s;t, &s;o they &s;hall neither have any degrees of re&s;t, or any refre&s;hment to abate or relax their un&s;peakable Torments.</P>
<P N="3">3. The la&s;t thing mentioned as included in the Word Everla&s;ting is, That the Torment and Mi&s;ery of the Damned in Hell &s;hall never come to an end. On this I &s;hall &s;omewhat lon|ger in&s;i&s;t, to Illu&s;trate and Prove it.</P>
<P>And how con&s;iderable! How terrible is this! The Torment and Mi&s;eries of the Damned &s;hall never come to an end! We &s;hould often and deliberatly con&s;ider &s;o weighty a thing, that it might have its due and &s;uitable impre&s;|&s;ion upon us. It is what nearly concerns us all; for this is what we have de&s;erv'd by our Sins; and what we are in great danger of fall|ing into, as we are &s;urrounded with tempta|tions to Sin. That which will never end when it is once begun, and which will quickly begin with us, if it be not prevented by a &s;peedy Re|pentance de&s;erves to be very &s;oberly thought upon. Let us, then, fix our thoughts a while upon this matter at pre&s;ent, the rather if any of us have never yet &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider'd this
<PB N="232" REF="275">important matter. Let us con&s;ider a little the va&s;tne&s;s of an endle&s;s Duration. Oh unmea&s;u|rable! Oh amazing Eternity! While we &s;trive to fathom it with our thoughts it is &s;till va&s;tly deeper than they can reach: While we &s;trive to expre&s;s it in words all, tho words that we can &s;ay be&s;ide can never exhau&s;t the full mean|ing of this one Word Eternity. No &s;pace of time, not even the longe&s;t that we can imagine is able to mea&s;ure this duration. If we &s;hould compute, and reckon up how many grains of Sand there are in the whole Earth, and &s;hould put together &s;o many Millions of Years, all that mighty Number would not be able near to reach Eternity. If we &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e the whole &s;pace between the Earth, and the highe&s;t Skies, con&s;i&s;ting of many Thou&s;and Miles in Diameter, all fill'd with grains of the &s;malle&s;t Sand: And an Angel were appointed to take from this heap one grain of Sand in an Hun|dred Thou&s;and Years, it would be a very long &s;pace of time, we mu&s;t think before that whole heap would be removed: Yet would not this long &s;pace of time be able near to reach the duration of the Sinners Torments in Hell. Yea, if we &s;uppo&s;e that whole &s;pace of time, how great &s;oever it is to be repeated, and multi|plied as often as there would be &s;ingle grains in that large heap: Yet would not all this be able to mea&s;ure out the duration of the Sinners Torments in Hell. Neither can we &s;uppo&s;e all this to be the one half of Eternity; no nor a quarter, nor an Hundredth part of it! All this would bear no proportion to it! When
<PB N="233" REF="275">the wretched Sinners have lien thus long in Mi&s;ery, they have &s;till as long to lie there as ever they had, as even at the fir&s;t moment of their falling into it. Eternity does not wa&s;t at all as time does: There is not the le&s;s duration to come for all that is pa&s;t, becau&s;e the duration will never be at an end. The Sinners are not at all nearer an end of their Puni&s;hment after all this, nor will ever be nea|rer an end of it, than they were when they fir&s;t fell into it! They will always have an Eternity of Torments to expect and endure! And this is the very Hell of Hell, this is that which is mo&s;t terrible in it! Oh how &s;hould this at pre&s;ent amaze, and affect us!</P>
<P>But this is that which Men are mo&s;t loth to believe of the Future Puni&s;hments: And tho it be mo&s;t evidently and expre&s;ly taught us in Holy Scripture yet they find out Cavils again&s;t it: As indeed it is ea&s;ie for the wit of Men to do, &s;o as to baffle and confound it &s;elf, even in the mo&s;t evident, and cleare&s;t matters. I &s;hall therefore endeavour the confirmation of this Truth, that the future Puni&s;hment of Sin|ners &s;hall never come to an end. This, for method &s;ake, I &s;hall attempt under the&s;e Three Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e. 1. I &s;hall make it appear, that the Per&s;ons of the Damned &s;hall endure for ever. 2. That their Puni&s;hment &s;hall al|&s;o continue for ever. 3. I &s;hall an&s;wer &s;ome of the chief Objections again&s;t this Truth.</P>
<P>I begin with the fir&s;t of the&s;e; To prove that the Per&s;ons of the Damned &s;hall endure for ever. This I do becau&s;e &s;ome would per|&s;wade
<PB N="234" REF="276">them&s;elves and others, that the condem|ned Wretches &s;hall be con&s;um'd in the Fire of Hell, and be turn'd into nothing. Again&s;t which vain imagination the&s;e things may be urg'd.</P>
<P>It is evident that Mankind were in their Original Con&s;titution de&s;igned to endure for ever; we were made with immortal Souls for this purpo&s;e: And this is the Excellency and Dignity of our Natures. It is therefore hard to imagine, that God &s;hould ever turn to nothing again any &s;uch Creatures, and cer|tainly is not to be believ'd, unle&s;s he has ex|pre&s;ly &s;aid it, as we &s;hall find he has not. It is not &s;uitable to the Wi&s;dom and Power of God to alter and change his de&s;igns and pur|po&s;es.</P>
<P>Further; According to this de&s;ign of our endle&s;s Duration, the Holy Scripture plainly tells us, there &s;hall be a Re&s;urrection both of the Ju&s;t, and of the Unju&s;t. The Bodies of Wicked Men &s;hall be rai&s;ed again, and reuni|ted to their Immortal Souls. And it is the common condition of the Re&s;urrection, that what before was Corruptible &s;hall then become Incorruptible, and the Mortal Bodies of Men, &s;hall become Immortal. All &s;hall ri&s;e again with &s;piritual Bodies, and in that re&s;pect be as the Angels in Heaven, as our Saviour intimates in his di&s;cour&s;e on this Subject with the <HI>Sadducees.</HI> But what can we imagine this is for, but that they &s;hall endure for ever? Can we think that the Bodies of Wicked Men are rais'd Im|mortal, only to appear before the Tribunal,
<PB N="235" REF="276">where they &s;hall be Judg'd, and then immedi|ately, or after a little while, to be con&s;um'd in the Flames of Hell?</P>
<P>But farther, The place of Puni&s;hment, and the In&s;truments of their Torment, are every where in Scripture &s;aid to be &s;uch as endure for ever. The Fire is everla&s;ting Fire: The Black|ne&s;s of Darkne&s;s that &s;hall endure for ever: And the Worm dieth not. But can we ima|gine that, he who prepar'd not Hell but for &s;inful Creatures &s;hould continue that when they are con&s;um'd and are no more? Is it to be ima|gin'd, that an everla&s;ting Fire is prepared to con&s;ume, and not rather to torment for ever without con&s;uming? And let us ob&s;erve what is meant by the Worm which dieth not: This mu&s;t be allow'd to &s;ignifie the Sharp rebukes and upbraidings of the Sinners own Con&s;cience, blaming him&s;elf for his own de&s;truction. But can this Worm live when the Sinner dies? Or has he any Con&s;cience to torment him, or can he be &s;en&s;ible of any &s;uch Torment as &s;elf-re|buke who cea&s;es to be?</P>
<P>But they who would be of this Opinion pre|tend to defend it from Scripture; and they urge, that the Scripture &s;peaks of the Damned as de&s;troy'd, and peri&s;hing, and as falling un|der a &s;econd Death. To which it mu&s;t be &s;aid, if we would rightly under&s;tand the Holy Scrip|ture, we mu&s;t let it interpret it &s;elf. And that affords the&s;e ju&s;t prejudices again&s;t their Inter|pretation of tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P>The Scripture &s;peaks of the Puni&s;hment of Sinners as everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment, particular|ly
<PB N="236" REF="277">in our Text; But everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment mu&s;t be founded in everla&s;ting being; for that which is not, cannot any longer be &s;aid to be puni&s;h'd. And it is &s;aid of Ungodly Men, (2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1.8, 9.) They <HI>Shall be puni&s;hed with everla&s;ting De&s;truction.</HI> This were a very im|proper way of &s;peaking, if it means only, that they &s;hall be everla&s;tingly de&s;troyed; for &s;uch cannot be &s;aid to be puni&s;h'd with everla&s;ting De&s;tru&s;tion. And it is well enough known, that in all Languages it is very u&s;ual to &s;ay of &s;ome, that they are utterly undone, and pe|ri&s;h when they continue &s;till to be, but are fallen into a de&s;perate &s;tate of Mi&s;ery, from whence they have no hopes to recover. It is ob&s;ervable to our purpo&s;e al&s;o, that the Holy Scripture u&s;es the Word Life alone for happy Being very frequently, as in <HI>Mat.</HI> 19.17. where our Saviours &s;ays to one. <HI>If thou wilt en|ter into Life keep the Commandments?</HI> and again, in the latter clau&s;e of this ver&s;e in connexion, with our Text. Which certainly leads us to under&s;tand the Word Death in Holy Scripture of mi&s;erable Being.</P>
<P>As for the Second Death which Sinners &s;hall fall under it is apparent, that this is &s;poken of as a Puni&s;hment. Therefore of good Men, it is &s;aid, They <HI>&s;hall not be hurt by the &s;econd death,</HI> Rev. 2.11. And <HI>the &s;econd death &s;hall have no power over &s;uch,</HI> 'tis &s;aid, <HI>Rev.</HI> 20.6. But if this be a Puni&s;hment, it cannot mean, that tho&s;e who are thrown into the Everla&s;ting Fire, are con&s;um'd by it and turn'd to no|thing: For by this Death they would be re|lea&s;ed
<PB N="237" REF="277">from their Torments. Is it not very evident, that Puni&s;hment mu&s;t rather lie in the enduring of Torment, than in being relea&s;ed from it? Do not the&s;e Men fall into this ima|gination, that Sinners &s;hall be con&s;um'd and cea&s;e to be, as thinking it too &s;evere, that they &s;hould be endle&s;ly tormented? And yet will they &s;ay, 'tis a Puni&s;hment to be con&s;um'd in the Fire of Hell, and to be deliver'd from that Torment? But the Scripture it &s;elf plainly interprets this Phra&s;e, the &s;econd Death, of endle&s;s Torment and Mi&s;ery. In <HI>Rev.</HI> 20.10. the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, of tho&s;e who &s;hould be ca&s;t into the Lake of Fire and Brim&s;tone, That <HI>they &s;hall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.</HI> And in the 14th Ver&s;e of that Chapter, he &s;ays of that Lake of Fire, <HI>This is the &s;econd death.</HI> Again of &s;everal &s;orts of Sinners, he &s;ays, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.8. They &s;hall have <HI>Their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brim&s;tone, which is the &s;econd death,</HI> wherein he plainly calls their Torment and Mi&s;ery, the &s;econd Death.</P>
<P>So much I think may &s;uffice to prove the fir&s;t A&s;&s;ertion, That the Per&s;ons of the Dam|ned &s;hall endure for ever. The &s;econd thing to be prov'd is this, that their Puni&s;hment al|&s;o &s;hall endure for ever: Or they &s;hall always be confin'd to a State, and Place of Torment and Mi&s;ery. For &s;ome would fain believe, that the damned after the enduring a great deal of Mi&s;ery in Hell, &s;hall be relea&s;ed from their tortures, and tran&s;lated to Happine&s;s: Which vain Opinion has no Foundation in
<PB N="238" REF="278">Scripture, but we &s;hall meet with much there again&s;t it. Let the&s;e things following be con|&s;ider'd.</P>
<P>We may ob&s;erve, That the word which the Holy Scripture makes u&s;e of to expre&s;s the duration of the&s;e mi&s;eries by, is al&s;o often u&s;ed there, to expre&s;s the duration of God him&s;elf. Thus the Ancient Greek Tran&s;lation, which our Saviour, and his Apo&s;tles refer to, applies the very word which is u&s;ed in our Text, par|ticularly, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 40.28. where 'tis &s;aid of God <HI>He is the everla&s;ting God.</HI> By which it appears, that the Holy Scripture does &s;ometimes mean by this word a duration which is without end; and a Learned Critick &s;ays, there is not one place in the New Te&s;tament, where the word in the Text mu&s;t be under&s;tood of a le&s;s dura|tion. <HI>(Hammonds Tract. Hell Torments.)</HI></P>
<P>Again, It is to our purpo&s;e to ob&s;erve, That the &s;ame word is made u&s;e of in the other part of the Ver&s;e, where our Text is, to expre&s;s the Duration of the Future Happine&s;s which &s;hall reward good Men. If that mu&s;t be un|der&s;tood to be Eternal, then, we have good rea&s;on to believe this will be &s;o too. Our Sa|viour &s;peaks of both exactly in the &s;ame man|ner, and does not give the lea&s;t intimation of any difference in the duration of them.</P>
<P>Further, The Word which we render Ever|la&s;ting does, where it is u&s;ed to &s;ignifie a le&s;s than endle&s;s duration, yet &s;ignifie, that the thing &s;poken of, &s;hall endure as long as the &s;ubject of it does endure. For in&s;tance, when the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> threatned <HI>Gehazi</HI> (2 <HI>Kings</HI>
<PB N="239" REF="278">5.27.) That the Lepro&s;ie of <HI>Naaman</HI> &s;hould cleave to him, and his Po&s;terity for ever. It means, That he &s;hould be infected with that Lepro&s;ie as long as he &s;hould live, and his Race or Po&s;terity as long as they &s;hould endure. So that the word according to the lowe&s;t &s;ignifica|tion which ever belongs to it, mu&s;t mean in our Text, at lea&s;t, that the damned Per&s;ons &s;hall be tormented, and &s;uffer as long as they continue to be. If then I have prov'd that they &s;hall be for ever; it follows, that they &s;hall be tormented for ever, &s;ince our Text &s;ays, their Puni&s;hment &s;hall be Everla&s;ting.</P>
<P>Further, Our Saviour forces us to believe thus of the Future Puni&s;hment of Sinners, in that large and &s;ignificant expre&s;&s;ion concerning it, which we have, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 20.10. where he &s;ays of &s;ome wicked Men, that <HI>They &s;hall be tormented for ever and ever:</HI> Which is an Expre&s;&s;ion often u&s;ed in this Book, to &s;ignifie the Eternity of God, and &s;everal times to &s;ignifie the Duration of the Future Torments of Sinners, and is no where u&s;ed in any expre&s;&s;ion where it may be under|&s;tood to mean le&s;s than an endle&s;s Duration. In that Expre&s;&s;ion then, our Saviour plainly means, that the Condemned Sinners &s;hall &s;uf|fer endle&s;s Affliction and Torment by the ever|la&s;ting Fire of Hell. And this is al&s;o evident|ly taught us, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.11. Where 'tis &s;aid of them, <HI>The &s;moak of their torment &s;hall a&s;cend up for ever and ever.</HI> But it cannot be, that the &s;moak of their Torment &s;hould a&s;cend for ever and ever, and yet their Torment &s;hould not &s;o endure. And when the Scripture &s;ays of
<PB N="240" REF="279">them, <HI>Their Worm dieth not, and their Fire &s;hall not be quenched,</HI> as <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 66.24. And three times in the Ninth Chapter of <HI>Mark,</HI> We mu&s;t needs under&s;tand it, as meaning, that the Condem|ned Wretches &s;hall always feel the rebukes of their own Con&s;ciences, and the pains of Hell. And thus I think is this matter al&s;o &s;ufficient|ly prov'd: For it cannot well be imagin'd, how the Eternity of the future Torments, could be expre&s;t in more full, plain, and &s;igni|ficant terms than the Scripture u&s;es, in tho&s;e places which have been produced: So that the Adver&s;aries of this Opinion cannot devi&s;e any expre&s;&s;ions which the Scripture &s;hould have u&s;ed to teach us this, if it were intended we &s;hould believe it, and which it has not u&s;ed, or el&s;e has u&s;ed others with as much &s;ignifican|cy as they.</P>
<P>I proceed now in the la&s;t place to endeavour the confirmation of this, by an&s;wering the chief Objections which are urg'd again&s;t it: And there are &s;ome who urge, that to puni&s;h Wick|ed Men with Everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery and Torment, does not well agree with the Ju&s;tice, or with the goodne&s;s of God. Again&s;t which Objecti|ons we have the&s;e things following to &s;ay, which I &s;uppo&s;e will fully an&s;wer them: But at lea&s;t they will de&s;erve, that no Man &s;hould &s;uffer him&s;elf to be influenced by them, or pre|&s;ume that they are true.</P>
<P>And in the fir&s;t place it is worthy to be con|&s;ider'd, That a thing may, well enough accord with the Divine Attributes, which we cannot well apprehend to do &s;o. As we cannot <HI>by
<PB N="241" REF="279">&s;earching find out God,</HI> we cannot <HI>find out the Almighty to Perfection;</HI> &s;o 'tis hard for us to de|termine what does well agree with the Divine Attributes, and what does not. Certainly we mu&s;t always reckon upon this, that he knows better what it becomes him to do than we can know it.</P>
<P>Again, Whatever God does re&s;olve and de|termine to do is certainly well enough agreeing with the Excellencies and Perfections of his Nature: For he will do nothing that is not &s;o. And what he has very manife&s;tly decla|red, he will do, we may rea&s;onably believe does agree to him: And then, &s;ince there is &s;o much ground in Scripture to believe, that God has determin'd and declar'd this thing. It is a very bold and unrea&s;onable pre&s;umption to think it does not &s;uit well with any of his Attributes to do it.</P>
<P>Further, Whereas &s;ome pretend, it is un|&s;uitable to the exact Ju&s;tice of God to puni&s;h the &s;hort, and tran&s;ient Sins of Men in this Mortal Life, with Endle&s;s Torments in ano|ther: It may &s;erve to an&s;wer this, that no Go|vernment in the World ever thought it a Rule to be ob&s;erved in Puni&s;hing, as required by Equity and Ju&s;tice, that the Pain and Penalty inflicted &s;hould la&s;t no longer, than that &s;pace of time which the Crime took up in the Com|mi&s;&s;ion of it. Therefore have &s;ome been put to Death from whence they can never be re|&s;tor'd, and &s;ome have been Bani&s;h'd or Impri|&s;oned for a long time in Puni&s;hment of Crimes, which were committed in a very &s;mall &s;pace of
<PB N="242" REF="280">time. And there is good rea&s;on for this; becau&s;e there are other things to be con&s;ider'd in the Crimes which are puni&s;h'd be&s;ides that: Other Circum&s;tances may greatly heighten and ag|gravate the evil of them. And &s;ince Ju&s;tice does require, that the Puni&s;hment be proportionate to the Nature of the Crime; it does by con&s;e|quence require, that this circum&s;tance alone &s;hould not be the Rule of Puni&s;hing. But if Men would &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider the vile and hei|nous Nature of Sin, which it derives from the excellency of the Per&s;on again&s;t whom it is committed; from the meanne&s;s of us who op|po&s;e, and affront him in all our Wickedne&s;s; from the many Obligations which we lie un|der to love and obey him; and from the &s;light and trivial inducements which draw us into Sin: I &s;ay if the&s;e things were well con&s;idered, we could not chu&s;e but think, that an eternal Puni&s;hment might be ju&s;tly enough inflicted for &s;o vile and enormous a thing. And it is becau&s;e Men have a very &s;light opinion of the Nature of Sin, that they fancy the Puni&s;hment of it, may be le&s;s &s;evere, than the Divine Threatnings do import.</P>
<P>We may con&s;ider again; That it is very ju&s;t with God, who is an Eternal Being, to retain an eternal Hatred and Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t him, who has ju&s;tly provoked and de&s;erv'd his di&s;plea&s;ure. And this is acknowledg'd by tho&s;e who &s;uppo&s;e, that the future Puni&s;hment of Sinners does &s;oon con&s;ume them, and turn them into nothing. Again, It mu&s;t be allow'd to be ju&s;t, that God &s;hould give a Creature
<PB N="243" REF="280">&s;uch a duration of being, as he has made it ca|pable of, or de&s;ign'd it for. Since then he has given Man a being capable of Eternal du|ration, and &s;eems to have de&s;ign'd him for it, in the fir&s;t forming of him, he may ju&s;tly con|tinue his Being for ever. And then &s;ince he may ju&s;tly be eternally di&s;plea&s;ed with this everla&s;ting Creature he may ju&s;tly exerci&s;e his di&s;plea&s;ure, and puni&s;h him.</P>
<P>The Objection from the infinite Goodne&s;s of God, is very weak and frivolous upon the&s;e accounts.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t not &s;ay, That God exerci&s;es his Goodne&s;s nece&s;&s;arily: He is a free Agent tho he is good: And from thence can, as he plea|&s;es, exerci&s;e his goodne&s;s differently, and make &s;ome in a greater, &s;ome in a le&s;s degree par|takers of it. And he can chu&s;e the Objects of Goodne&s;s; &s;o as to exerci&s;e it towards &s;ome while he does no more exerci&s;e it towards o|thers. And this Objection is of no force at all, unle&s;s we could &s;uppo&s;e, that God as he is good, mu&s;t needs exerci&s;e his Goodne&s;s for ever to wards all that are capable to partake of his Goodne&s;s. This is not to be &s;aid, and there|fore it may be, that &s;ome Men may lie under eternal Mi&s;eries not with&s;tanding the Goodne&s;s of God.</P>
<P>Further, Such Beings as are naturally capa|ble to partake of the Divine Goodne&s;s, may be legally uncapable of it: They may be con|demn'd and put into &s;uch a State, as the great Governour of the World has determined &s;hall not partake of his Goodne&s;s. According to
<PB N="244" REF="281">the &s;etled and fixed Order of Government they may fall into &s;uch a condition. And this is the ca&s;e of condemn'd Sinners in another Life. It is determin'd very ju&s;tly that the Favours of the other Life &s;hall be &s;ecur'd in this, or be lo&s;t for ever: And that they &s;hall be of|fer'd in this, but not in the other. Hence 'tis &s;aid in Scripture of the time of this Life, <HI>Now is the accepted time, this is the day of Salvation.</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.2. But if it be con&s;i&s;tent with the Di|vine Goodne&s;s to pre&s;cribe &s;uch Rules to it &s;elf, and &s;uch Rules are fixed and &s;etled, then he who refu&s;es or neglects to &s;ecure the Ever|la&s;ting Favours of God, during all that time in which they are offer'd, and may be &s;ecur'd, he mu&s;t notwith&s;tanding the Divine Goodne&s;s, after that eternally want them. And he is be|come legally, and Judicially uncapable to re|ceive them.</P>
<P>Again; 'Tis true, Puni&s;hment is not an Ex|erci&s;e of Goodne&s;s: But when it comes from God, it is always an exerci&s;e of Ju&s;tice. And God may, as being both good and ju&s;t, chu&s;e which of the&s;e Attributes, he will exerci&s;e to|wards any Beings which are capable of being the Objects of tho&s;e Exerci&s;es. He may <HI>have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will,</HI> if it be ju&s;t, <HI>he may harden,</HI> and puni&s;h, and with-hold his Mercy from them. And it were ab&s;urd to imagine, that God, who is in|&s;initely ju&s;t as well as good, mu&s;t be partial to either of the&s;e Attributes, and exerci&s;e with|out any limits his Goodne&s;s, &s;o as to deny him&s;elf the opportunity to Exerci&s;e or Glori|&s;ie
<PB N="245" REF="281">his Ju&s;tice. He may as well be &s;uppo&s;ed in &s;ome in&s;tances, to let his Goodne&s;s give way to his Ju&s;tice in the Eternal Puni&s;hment of &s;ome Sinners, as to let his Ju&s;tice give way to his Goodne&s;s in &s;aving others, and making them eternally happy. The former of the&s;e is as &s;uitable, as agreeing to the Divine Na|ture and Attributes as the latter: Everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment of &s;ome Sinners is as agreeing to him, as the Everla&s;ting Happine&s;s of others. He Exerci&s;es and Glorifies his Goodne&s;s on &s;ome while they dwell in Life Everla&s;ting; and the everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment of others for their &s;ins greatly magnifies that Goodne&s;s, and adds a mighty lu&s;tre to it; as it makes it ap|pear from how great mi&s;ery the happy Saints are deliver'd, which they were liable to, and had de&s;erv'd: It makes the Exerci&s;e of his Goodne&s;s to others the more Glorious; tho it be not an Exerci&s;e of Goodne&s;s to them.</P>
<P>And thus I think the main Objections again&s;t this Truth are &s;ufficiently an&s;wer'd; and it is &s;ufficiently confirm'd, that the Puni&s;hment of condemn'd Sinners in Hell &s;hall be without End.</P>
<P>It remains now, That we do very &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider this matter. Oh what an important thing is it that both the Rewards, and Puni&s;h|ment of our Life on Earth &s;hall be without end! What &s;olicitude and concern &s;hould we be po&s;&s;e&s;t with to know what we mu&s;t do to be &s;aved: In what cour&s;e we may avoid the&s;e ever|la&s;ting Mi&s;eries! And what care &s;hould this make us take of our Life, and Actions! That
<PB N="246" REF="282">we might always do well, and ab&s;tain from doing Evil; take the way that leads to Life, and avoid the Paths of Perdition! How &s;hould it quicken us to a &s;peedy Repentance of our evil ways, and the for&s;aking of them! To con&s;ider, how much Mi&s;ery it is which, till we repent, we are obnoxious to: To con&s;ider that there is nothing but the uncertain re|mainder of a Frail Life between us and end|le&s;s Mi&s;ery! That we know not but the next moment may be our la&s;t; and if it &s;hould be &s;o, and we &s;hould die impenitent, we were ir|recoverably undone! We &s;hould con&s;ider, we are by our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions become obnoxious and liable to the&s;e eternal Puni&s;hments: But by the favourable Patience of God we have yet time allow'd us to avoid them if we will. As yet is Life propos'd to us; we have Life and Death &s;et before us, and are at liberty to chu&s;e: We are told, that Wicked Men &s;hall <HI>go away into everla&s;ting Puni&s;hment, but the Righteous into Life Everla&s;ting,</HI> on purpo&s;e that we might fear the fate of the former and avoid it, and de|&s;ire the Happine&s;s of the latter, and &s;eek, and obtain it. And as we have it herein evident|ly &s;hown us what is our main Intere&s;t and Concern, &s;o we mu&s;t reckon, that we &s;hall peri&s;h with great and &s;ore Aggravation if we neglect it. Which God of his infinite Mer|cy forbid for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="247" REF="282">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Eternal, Infinite, and Incomprehen&s;ible Lord our God! Thou art mo&s;t Glorious and Excel|lent in thy Nature, and in all thy Works: In all things like thy &s;elf, and there is none be&s;ides thee like unto thee. Wonderful, O Lord, and glorious are the ex|erci&s;es of thy Favour and Goodne&s;s; and mo&s;t terri|ble, yet Ju&s;t and Righteous are thy Judgments. Thy favour is Eternal Life, and Un&s;peakable Happine&s;s: And thy Wrath is Eternal Death and Un&s;peakable Mi&s;ery. O Lord, when we con&s;ider the terrors of thy Wrath, we are afraid: We cannot chu&s;e but be troubled and a&s;ham'd to think how extravagantly carele&s;s we have been of offending thee! How little heed we have taken to our ways! And e&s;pecially how frequently; how ea&s;ily we have been drawn into known Sin, and how &s;light inducements have been a|ble to make us provoke thy ju&s;t Wrath and Indignati|on again&s;t our &s;elves. O Lord, we abhor, we con|demn our &s;elves for this our folly and madne&s;s. We admire, we prai&s;e, and thank thee for that glorious patience and long-&s;uffering of thine, which has hither|to &s;par'd us. It is of the Lord's Mercy, that we are not con&s;umed, and becau&s;e thy compa&s;&s;ions fail not. It is becau&s;e thou art &s;low to Anger, and of great Mercy, and thou waite&s;t to be gracious. We give thee thanks for that we have yet time allow'd us to con|&s;ider our ways, and be wi&s;e to our advantage: To reflect upon our doings, and repent of, and for&s;ake the evil of them. O Lord, we be&s;eech thee add to thy Mercy towards us the gift of an unfeigned Repentance,
<PB N="248" REF="283">that we may be qualified to receive the Remi&s;&s;ion of our Sins. Give us &s;uch a lively, and &s;ound Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as that we may &s;hare in the propitiation which he made for Sin, by the &s;hedding of his Blood for us. And when we repent and return unto thee, as thou ha&s;t &s;pared, do thou pardon us. O let it plea&s;e thee to receive us graciou&s;ly: For thou ha&s;t &s;aid thou delighte&s;t not in the Death of a Sinner, but had rather that he &s;hould turn to thee and Live. O Lord write thy Law in our hearts, that we may never depart from it. Make us to fear thee and to depart from all ini|quity: To take heed to our ways, and walk circum|&s;pectly, aad to avoid, as we can, the Occa&s;ions and Temptations to Sin. Grant us grace to &s;ubdue and mortifie all the Corrupt Inclinations of our Nature, to re&s;i&s;t the Temptations we &s;hall meet with from the World, or the Devil: To oppo&s;e all our Spiritu|al Enemies with &s;uch &s;ucce&s;s, that being final Con|querors of them, the &s;econd Death may never have power over us.</P>
<P>We pray to thee O Father of Mercies for the Wel|fare, and Happine&s;s of all Mankind: And e&s;pecially, that they may know thee, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent, whom to know is Life Eternal. We pray for the good e&s;tate of the Catholick Church. O let a plentiful effu&s;ion of thy Holy Spirit upon it, fill it with Divine Light and Knowledge, and bring into the way of Truth, all &s;uch as have erred, and are de|ceived. Promote in it all true and acceptable Piety, every glorious Vertue, together with Union and Peace. We be&s;eech thee to be merciful to the Land of our Nativity. O Lord continue the Light of thy Go&s;pel among us, and make us to abound in all good works, diligently performing our &s;everal duties towards thee and towards one another: And give us the Ble&s;&s;ings of Health, and Plenty, and Peace. We pray thee, abundantly ble&s;s our gracious King: Give him long Life, Health, and Happine&s;s, and a long and pro&s;pe|rous Reign among us. Make the Royal Family always
<PB N="249" REF="283">a Ble&s;&s;ing to us in affording us &s;uch as are Wi&s;e, and Pious, and Good to Rule over us. Ble&s;s all our Relations and Friends with all Spiritual Ble&s;&s;ings: And grant that whatever their outward Circum&s;tan|ces are, all may work together for their good, and may promote their Salvation. We give thee thanks for the Mercies of this day e&s;pecially for the means of Grace: O grant that we may u&s;e them always &s;o as may be to our Salvation, not our &s;orer De&s;truction. Keep us we pray thee in peace and &s;afety this Night; make us to acknowledge thee in all our ways, and do thou direct our &s;teps. All we humbly ask in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord and only Mediator: In who&s;e words we conclude our Prayers, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="250" REF="284">
<HEAD>THE <HI>Separate State</HI> OF GOOD SOULS, Repre&s;ented and Improv'd.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Rev. 14.13.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And I heard a Voice from Heaven, &s;ay|ing unto me, write, Ble&s;&s;ed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, &s;aith the Spirit, that they may re&s;t from their Labours, and their works do follow them.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT is a very grievous, and afflicting train of Thoughts, which our pre&s;ent wretched Mortality expo&s;es us to: And it damps all our
<PB N="251" REF="284">Joy, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es us with a gloomy pen&s;ivene&s;s, and makes us even di&s;dain our Being to con&s;i|der &s;oberly, that there is no man that liveth, and &s;hall not &s;ee Death. It troubles us to think of tho&s;e whom we mo&s;t dearly love, that the time will come when they mu&s;t be &s;truck by the rude Hand of Death, be ravi&s;h'd from all that they love and enjoy of this World, and the Lov'd Creature mu&s;t be turn'd into rottenne&s;s and undi&s;tingui&s;hable Du&s;t. The time will come that we mu&s;t be parted from them either by their death or our own. We our &s;elves mu&s;t inevitably go the way of all fle&s;h, and leave them if they do not leave us: Within a little while we mu&s;t be &s;eparated from all that is mo&s;t dear and comfortable to us of this World. Again&s;t the&s;e griefs our Religion affords us the be&s;t, and mo&s;t effectu|al Con&s;olations, that ever the World had. And a very plea&s;ant remedy again&s;t them it is, to be a&s;&s;ur'd, as we are by it, of a general Re&s;urrection of the Dead; when all that are in the Graves, or &s;tate of the Dead, &s;hall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and &s;hall come forth, and live again: And after that, all &s;hall live for ever; and all Religious and good Per&s;ons, who&s;e lo&s;s from this World we are apt chie&s;ly to lament, &s;hall ri&s;e all Glori|ous and Perfect, and &s;o &s;hall live in perfect Bli&s;s, and Happine&s;s for ever.</P>
<P>The&s;e are indeed very comfortable expecta|tions. But methinks there is &s;omething more yet nece&s;&s;ary to &s;upport us under the expecta|tion of our own Death, or the Affliction which
<PB N="252" REF="285">we feel for the Death of tho&s;e whom we love. And it will &s;omewhat allay the Plea&s;ure of the&s;e expectations to con&s;ider, that the&s;e things may for ought we know be very far off. It may be many Hundreds, perhaps &s;ome Thou|&s;ands of Years before they &s;hall come, <HI>The days of darkne&s;s,</HI> as the Wi&s;e Man &s;ays, <HI>are many.</HI> We mu&s;t needs, therefore, be very &s;olicitous to know, what &s;hall become of us immediately at our death; and how we &s;hall pa&s;s tho&s;e ma|ny days of Darkne&s;s, before the bright dawn|ings of the Re&s;urrection day &s;hall ari&s;e upon us. We cannot chu&s;e but wi&s;h we could know, that it &s;hall be well with us and our dear Friends immediately upon our departure hence, and without this a&s;&s;urance it would be &s;till with great grief and reluctancy, that we &s;hould think of dying, and e&s;pecially receive the Sum|mons to it. But in this ca&s;e too, the Holy Scripture, the Fountain of our Religion, affords us very effectual Con&s;olations. It gives us a very good, and &s;atisfying account of our &s;epa|rate State, the State of Death; it a&s;&s;ures us, that it &s;hall be well with all Good and Holy Per&s;ons, even in the &s;pace between their Death, and their Re&s;urrection: And informs us of &s;e|veral very comfortable particulars concerning that State.</P>
<P>Among the many places of Holy Scrip|ture which &s;peak of it, and which I &s;hall have occa&s;ion to mention in the &s;everal parts of the following di&s;cour&s;e; I have thought fit to chu&s;e this, which I have now read, for our prefent Text, becau&s;e 'tis one of the mo&s;t
<PB N="253" REF="285">comprehen&s;ive ones. St. <HI>John</HI> tells here, that he <HI>Heard a voice from Heaven, &s;aying, write, ble&s;&s;ed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, &s;aith the Spirit, that they may re&s;t from their labours, and their works do follow them.</HI> By tho&s;e that <HI>die in the Lord,</HI> the Apo&s;tle means all Good and Holy Per&s;ons; among whom I doubt not to reckon the Infants of Religious and Chri&s;tian Parents; e&s;pecially &s;uch as have been Bapti&s;ed, or were intended to be Bapti&s;ed. All &s;uch he pronounces <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> immediately upon their departure out of this World. He &s;ays, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the dead;</HI> even tho&s;e who are in the &s;tate of Death. And he gives &s;uch rea&s;ons for their Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s as may belong to that State: In that he &s;ays, <HI>They re&s;t from their labours, and their Works do follow them.</HI> Which &s;ugge&s;ts to us, that they are then freed from all the Evils and Inconveniences of this Life, and &s;hall not meet with any other to give them any Labour or Exerci&s;e; and their Goodne&s;s and Religion &s;hall be ble&s;t with &s;ome very &s;en&s;ible and com|fortable reward. If their Works follow them in this &s;ence, and it can have no other, then they do not cea&s;e to be when they die. And then al|&s;o they have not a meer re&s;t, as in a &s;encele&s;s &s;leepy State, but they have &s;ome actual fruition of Good: They are happy and &s;en&s;ible that they are &s;o, for no being can ju&s;tly be &s;aid to be happy without being &s;en&s;ible of its Happine&s;s. the words, <HI>from henceforth,</HI> in the Text, refer it to the particular occa&s;ion, on which the Spirit communicated this matter to St. <HI>John.</HI> He had told him, as we &s;ee in the Ver&s;es before the
<PB N="254" REF="286">Text, That there would be a time of very great Affliction, which would befall the Chri|&s;tian Church: Such a time as would &s;everely try the Faith and Patience of the Saints: And <HI>henceforth,</HI> &s;ays he, or when ever this time comes it will be, and will be thought a great Advan|tage to be remov'd from this World by a Reli|gious Death. Happy is the good Chri&s;tian that is dead, and does not live to &s;ee the&s;e mi&s;eries, and to endure the&s;e Temptations and Trials.</P>
<P>In &s;peaking to this Subject, I &s;hall endea|vour to prove the Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of Good Souls, immediately upon their departure out of this World; and then &s;ugge&s;t &s;ome u&s;e which may be made of this Truth. For the proof of it, to perform this in the &s;horte&s;t and mo&s;t effectual method that I can, I &s;hall repre&s;ent in &s;everal particulars, gather'd evidently from Holy Scripture, wherein this Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s does con&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P N="1">1. All good Souls, upon their departure out of this World, are at the end of their La|bours, and enter upon a State of Peace and Re&s;t. This our Text expre&s;ly a&s;&s;ures. It &s;ays, <HI>They re&s;t from their Labours.</HI> The time of Work is now in this Life, the time of Reward is in the next. And when the good Soul is gone from hence, the Works and Labours of his Particular Office and Calling, are all at an end. The Ruler has no more the Burden or trouble of Ruling, and the Teacher has no more the Labour of teaching upon him, the Labourer lays his wea|ry limbs to re&s;t, and <HI>the Servant is free from his Ma&s;ter.</HI> The labour and care which was nece&s;&s;a|ry to provide for and &s;upport the poor cra&s;ie
<PB N="255" REF="286">Tabernacle of this Mortal Body, will now be at an end for ever. The happy Soul is &s;et out of the reach of all Trouble and Affliction, and &s;o is deliver'd from the labour of bearing them with patience and per&s;everance in his Duty. No &s;ufferings &s;hall come where he is; there is no Eye that weeps, no Tongue that complains, no Brea&s;t that &s;wells with di&s;con&s;olate &s;ighs. He mu&s;t be deliver'd from pains and di&s;ea&s;es of his Body, becau&s;e he lives at pre&s;ent with|out that: He &s;hall not be troubled with the treachery of &s;eeming Friends, nor with the Death or alteration of real ones: Nor &s;hall he be ever afflicted any more with the Per&s;ecu|tions of weak and imperfect Friends, or of Ene|mies. To that State we may apply what the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.4. <HI>God &s;hall wipe away all tears from their Eyes, and there &s;hall be no more Death, neither &s;orrow nor crying, neither &s;hall there be any more Pain.</HI> The Saint is indeed uncloath'd, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, he has left his Body in the Du&s;t, he has parted at the &s;ame time with its importunate Appetites too, with all its backwardne&s;s to do good, and with all its inclination to do evil. He has parted with a very perver&s;e Bya&s;s, as we may &s;peak, which often made him move wrong when he had aimed right. He is deliver'd from that which co&s;t him a great deal of pains to watch, to deny, to mortifie, that he might govern it, and keep him&s;elf innocent. He is now no more conver&s;ant with this World; all the plea&s;ant things here he for&s;akes for ever. But then, he for&s;akes tho&s;e things too, which were
<PB N="256" REF="287">apt to &s;teal away his Heart from God, his chiefe&s;t Good, to make him negligent, and forgetful of his true intere&s;ts: Things which might indeed plea&s;e his Body, but at the &s;ame time were dangerous to his Soul: Now he is deliver'd from all the Allurements, and Temp|tations to Sin, which this World is furni&s;h'd with, and has no more War, or Oppo&s;ition a|gain&s;t them to Maintain. The happy Saint in his removal from this World, is taken out of the reach of his Adver&s;ary the Devil; who here, indeed, goes about like a roaring Lion, &s;eeking whom he may devour, but &s;hall never come near him there, nor give him the trou|ble to watch, or fight again&s;t him any more. The happy Soul has now no more to do for the working out of his Salvation. He is already in a good mea&s;ure po&s;&s;e&s;t of it, and is now infallibly a&s;&s;ur'd of the re&s;t. His Happine&s;s is now infallibly fixt, and he &s;hall never know a fear, or be in danger of lo&s;ing it. He has <HI>Fought the good fight of Faith, has fini&s;hed his</HI> La|borious <HI>Cour&s;e, and henceforth is laid up for him a Crown of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which God the Righte|ous Judge &s;hall give him at the la&s;t Day.</HI> And we mu&s;t needs believe, this Re&s;t will be extream|ly plea&s;ant after a great deal of labour; and his &s;afety be much the more plea&s;ing for the dangers which he has pa&s;t and avoided. When he remembers what terrible conflicts he &s;u&s;t|ained again&s;t the Enemies of his Salvation, how weak he was in him&s;elf; how often he was foil'd and overcome, and yet did get a final Victory at length; this reflection highly
<PB N="257" REF="287">plea&s;es, this adds abundant &s;atisfaction and joy to the re&s;t and &s;afety of his pre&s;ent condition.</P>
<P N="2">2. We may believe, that all good Souls at their departure out of the Body, do find them|&s;elves attended by kind, and good Angels. We are told, the&s;e are all Mini&s;tring Spririts &s;ent forth to Mini&s;ter for them who are Heirs of Sal|vation, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.14. which intimates, that they are often employ'd in doing good Offices to good Men. We may therefore believe they will be commanded, and ready, to do this nece&s;&s;ary and kind Office, and to receive into their care and charge, the departing Souls of &s;uch Men. And this we may reckon is taught us by our Saviour, <HI>Luke</HI> 16.22. Where he &s;ays in a Pa|rable concerning a good Man, That when he died, <HI>He was carried by Angels into Abraham</HI>'s <HI>bo&s;om,</HI> or a place of Bli&s;s. He de&s;ign'd to teach us herein, that this is a priviledge common to good Souls to be attended by Holy Angels at their departure out of the Body. The depart|ing Saint does not find him&s;elf de&s;olate and a|lone, in this new and unknown &s;tate, which would nece&s;&s;arily po&s;&s;e&s;s him with &s;adne&s;s and perplexity, while he mu&s;t remain in doubt whither to go, and what mu&s;t now become of him. No, he immediately finds he is among&s;t the kind and happy Inhabitants of Heaven, a|mong tho&s;e who care&s;s and &s;ooth him, and prove better Lovers and Friends than ever he met with before, and in this re&s;pect Heaven even comes to him before that he can be tran|&s;lated thither. The&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Spirits we may believe are not &s;ilent at their meeting him.
<PB N="258" REF="288">We may rea&s;onably &s;uppo&s;e they deliver a kind and encouraging Me&s;&s;age from the King of Heaven: They let the anxious Soul know, that it is a Favourite of his, and they are come to conduct it to the Lord Je&s;us, its Kind Me|diatour and Saviour. We may &s;uppo&s;e them &s;peaking the kinde&s;t things imaginable, com|forting the weary Soul, and entertaining it with applau&s;es for pa&s;t diligence in well-doing, for invincible Patience in &s;uffering, for bold and &s;teaddy oppo&s;ition to the Enemies of its Salvation, and a&s;&s;uring him that his <HI>Labour &s;hall not be in vain in the Lord.</HI> They let him know that his Labours and &s;ufferings are now for ever at an end; that his former contempt &s;hall be now his Honour, his former Poverty &s;hall redound to his Wealth, and all his pains and &s;ufferings turn to everla&s;ting Joys and Plea&s;ures. And by what they appear to him, and by what they tell him he will ea&s;ily be|lieve, that he &s;hall be tran&s;lated quickly to a place and &s;tate, where he &s;hall &s;oon forget all his Sorrows and Afflictions: He begins alrea|dy not to regret his departure from this World.</P>
<P N="3">3. The&s;e kind and glorious Guides, and Companions of his Journey, conduct the glad Saint in a very little &s;pace of time, to a place of Bli&s;s and Happine&s;s. Scarce can he think over what they promi&s;e him, before he finds him&s;elf already in it. Our Saviour, we may ob&s;erve, promi&s;ed the penitent Thief, that he &s;hould be that very day with him in Paradi&s;e, and that, when it was now towards the end of the day. We may &s;uppo&s;e, then, that they
<PB N="259" REF="288">pa&s;s with their beloved charge through all the Regions of the vi&s;ible Heavens, with a moti|on &s;o quick, as none in the material World can equal it. This Paradi&s;e St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks of, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. and intimates, that he had been tran&s;lated to it for &s;ome &s;hort &s;pace of time, in the 4th Ver&s;e of that Chapter: And he &s;ays it is in the Third Heaven, for in the 2d Ver&s;e, he had &s;aid, He was <HI>caught up into the third Heaven.</HI> There is not the lea&s;t ground in the Text to interpret him, as &s;peaking of two di|&s;tinct places under the&s;e two Names. And we have yet further ground to remove this place from all the vi&s;ible material World, in what St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays again in the Fifth Chapter of this Epi&s;tle, at the fir&s;t Ver&s;e: Where he &s;peaks of the Habitation which receives the Souls of good Men, when the Tabernacles of their Bo|dies are di&s;&s;olv'd, and calls it, <HI>An hou&s;e not made with Hands Eternal,</HI> and <HI>in the Heavens.</HI> He &s;ays, it is in the Heavens, and is an Eternal Hou&s;e: And therefore teaches us to conclude, that it is above tho&s;e Heavens which &s;hall at the la&s;t day be di&s;&s;olv'd, as the Scripture tells us the vi&s;ible Heavens and the Earth &s;hall be. And &s;ince this their Habitation is call'd by the Apo&s;tle an Eternal Hou&s;e, I think this ren|ders it very probable, that the place where the &s;eparate Souls of good Men dwell, is the &s;ame with that, which they &s;hall dwell again in after the Re&s;urrection of their Bodies. This place is all &s;erene and calm, all Beauti|ful and Harmonious. A bright, eternal Day con&s;tantly there &s;hines with a very great but a
<PB N="260" REF="289">very plea&s;ing Glory. Of this, perhaps, the Apo|&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.23. When he &s;ays, of what he calls the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> That <HI>it had no need of the Sun, neither of the Moon to &s;hine in it. For the Glory of God did enlighten it, and the Lamb was the Light thereof,</HI> meaning hereby the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. This Place is certainly furni&s;h'd with all that the Inhabitants can de&s;ire it to have for their Convenience and Plea&s;ure. It has, as we may &s;ay, the beauty of an Eter|nal Spring, and the Wealth and Plenty too of an Eternal Autumn. Since God has furni&s;h'd this World we live in now, which is common to Men and Bea&s;ts, and which bad as well as good Men enjoy, with &s;o great abun|dance, and with &s;o admirable a varity of good things, &s;ince he cau&s;es this Sun to &s;hine, and fertile &s;howers to fall now on the Ju&s;t, and on the Unju&s;t; what a Glory, mu&s;t we believe, will adorn, and what plenty of good mu&s;t fill that better World, which is de&s;ign'd only for good of Men, and the peculiar Favou|rites of Heaven. Tho&s;e who are there we may be &s;ure will have no need of any of the good things which they left below, and there|fore we need not doubt but they have lo&s;t e|ven the de&s;ire to them too. If I or my depar|ted Friend, a Man may &s;ay, mu&s;t in Death for&s;ake the mo&s;t glorious Palaces, the mo&s;t Delightful Pro&s;pect, the mo&s;t delicious Gardens, the riche&s;t Furniture, and all that can make a Habitation Commodious, Plea&s;ant, and Glori|ous; yet to come to this place, we may be &s;ure will &s;oon teach us to di&s;dain all that we have
<PB N="261" REF="289">left below. This is the happy Kingdom pre|pared for good Men from the Foundation of the World of which the earthly Paradi&s;e, in which <HI>Adam</HI> in his Innocency dwelt, was but a poor Type, and a &s;hady Repre&s;entation. The Saint arriv'd here will &s;oon &s;ay, it is good to be here, and will not at all de&s;ire to return to the low, dark, mi&s;erable Earth again. He will certainly be un&s;peakably glad, to think, that he &s;hall make his eternal abode here.</P>
<P N="4">4. The &s;eparate Soul of a good Man is happy, even immediately upon his departure hence, in its own mo&s;t excellent Qualifications. His Graces and Vertues like Plants in an un|kind climate, could not thrive &s;o well in this adver&s;e World as to attain their ju&s;t growth and maturity. The Appetites of the Body, the Allurements of this World, the Temptations of the Devil did all oppo&s;e them here. But as &s;oon as he is &s;et free from the Body, and out of the reach of other Enemies, they begin to flouri&s;h. The Divine Life, the Principle of the&s;e, finds all clog and oppre&s;&s;ion now taken off, and exerts it &s;elf freely, and acts more per|fectly than it could do before. So that, the Inhabitants of this plea&s;ant World are &s;aid to be <HI>The Spirits of ju&s;t Men made perfect, Heb.</HI> 12.13. Now the Under&s;tanding is perfectly enlightned, and the happy Saint &s;ees clearly and di&s;tinctly the wonderful truths of our Re|ligion. If he had receiv'd any wrong Impre&s;|&s;ions before in the&s;e matters, they are now perfectly remov'd. There is no uncomforta|ble doubt, no di&s;paraging errour remaining
<PB N="262" REF="290">in his mind. And the di&s;covery of former mi&s;takes, or the finding that he had none, by this bright light which is now &s;hed into him, are both of them things which will be highly plea&s;ing to the Soul. Divine Knowledge is ac|counted a rich Trea&s;ure, and a noble glorious Ornament among the Inhabitants of Heaven. Again, the Will of the Good Men is now per|fectly rectified and cur'd. It has regain'd all its plea&s;ing Liberty, it is no longer &s;ubject to a fal&s;e Bya&s;s. It &s;teadily &s;ixes upon the Chief Good, the center of Happine&s;s and Re&s;t. It is no longer wavering or undetermin'd between God and this World, which if it were it mu&s;t needs be &s;till unhappy. It has found the Chief Good, is come to &s;ome enjoyment of him, and in him it re&s;ts with perfect &s;atisfaction and content. Now, too, all the affections of the Soul are well order'd and regular; all is, then, compos'd and at peace within him, there are no di&s;agreeing conte&s;t|ing Principles to di&s;turb him. He &s;hall never more have rea&s;on to complain, that the good which he would he does not, and the evil which he would not that he does, he will never fall out with nor rebuke him&s;elf for any thing any more. Now the happy Saint enjoys greater manife&s;tations of the Divine Glory, and is ble&s;t and favour'd with greater exerci&s;es of the Love of God, than ever he receiv'd before: And the&s;e things do, to a higher degree, kin|dle and inflame his Love to God; now he may better than ever be &s;aid to dwell in Love. The Beauty and the Goodne&s;s of the chief good, tho not yet di&s;cover'd in the be&s;t and highe&s;t
<PB N="263" REF="290">degree, do now appear to him &s;o glorious as does even transform him into Love, all his Powers become &s;ubject to Love, this is the hap|py principle of all his actions, and this makes all his pre&s;ent employment incomparably plea|&s;ant: He contemplates, prai&s;es, adores the great God, whom he loves, and con&s;iders the wonderful works in that glorious World with un&s;peakable delight. Every thing moves and plea&s;es his Love, and he is continually ra|vi&s;hed in the plea&s;ing Ardours of Divine Love. Now the Saint perfectly &s;ubmits and re&s;igns him&s;elf without the lea&s;t reluctancy to the good Plea&s;ure of God: And therefore he is perfectly ea&s;ie and contented with his conditi|on, tho that be not yet perfectly happy. He repo&s;es a firm tru&s;t and confidence in God; whom he now, more than ever, believes to be God Abundant in Goodne&s;s, and in Truth, and without any doubt expects, in God's due time, to &s;ee the happy and de&s;ir'd Redemption of his Body. And with all this Rectitude and Ho|line&s;s, he cannot chu&s;e but be highly plea&s;ed in him&s;elf: This is that he groan'd, and long'd, and labour'd after during his abode on Earth, and he mu&s;t needs be very joyful to receive the accompli&s;hment of long and ardent de&s;ires. And it is the more plea&s;ing to him to be thus compleatly &s;anctified, in con&s;ideration, that all the company which he is to dwell with for ever are &s;o too. Hence he knows he &s;hall here|by be the more plea&s;ing to them; He reckons, indeed, that he &s;hould be &s;adly a&s;ham'd, and could have no enjoyment of him&s;elf, if he were
<PB N="264" REF="291">unlike to all the Company there. But now knowing and finding him&s;elf &s;uch as they, he believes him&s;elf the more acceptable to them, and therefore he is al&s;o the more ea&s;ie, and the more plea&s;ing to him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="5">5. The excellent &s;ociety which the Saint &s;hall there enjoy of his Fellow Creatures, &s;hall add much to his Happine&s;s. He &s;hall not &s;pend his long abode there in an uncomfortable So|litude: Even in this Paradi&s;e it would <HI>not be good for Man to be alone.</HI> He &s;hall therefore here enjoy much, and that very excellent So|ciety. He, then, meets and &s;hall dwell for ever with, all tho&s;e excellent Per&s;ons, tho&s;e brave examples of Piety and Vertue whom he has &s;een, or, heard or read of in this World: With the goodly fellow&s;hip of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, the Noble Army of Martyrs and Confe&s;&s;ors. There he &s;hall meet perhaps ma|ny dear Relations, and intimate Friends, and perhaps &s;ome Enemies, who &s;hall then, to his great joy and &s;atisfaction, be perfectly recon|cil'd to him; which was that he mo&s;t pa&s;&s;io|nately de&s;ired before, but it may be could not find means to accompli&s;h it. Souls joyn'd be|low in vertuous Love, and &s;ad at parting here, &s;hall meet again there, and love again, and dwell together for ever. He &s;hall dwell with the Souls of all the good Men that have ever liv'd in this World: And the Company there is <HI>a great multitude, which no Man can number, of all Nations, and Kindred, and People, and Languages,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;eems to repre&s;ent it, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7.9. That mighty number is render'd
<PB N="265" REF="291">Beautiful by Order, and kept in perfect Peace and Concord, by Reverence to the King of Hea|ven, and Love to one another. No Pride nor Envy, no Malice nor Treachery, no Ambiti|on, nor Covetou&s;ne&s;s ever come there to di|&s;turb the Peace. To that Holy Place no un|clean thing can come: Which the Apo&s;tle &s;eems to tell us, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.27. where he &s;ays of the Heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem, There &s;hall in no wi&s;e en|ter into it any thing that defileth, neither what&s;oever loveth or maketh a Lie.</HI> All the Company there are perfected Saints; and all wickedne&s;s of Men and Devils is for ever bani&s;h'd thence, and by con&s;equence all tho&s;e Pa&s;&s;ions and Vices which di&s;quiet this World, and &s;poil the Plea&s;ures of Society and Conver&s;ation, &s;hall be Stran|gers there. All the Company of Heaven are &s;atisfied with their own Happine&s;s, and by mutual Love are plea&s;ed with the Happine&s;s and Glory of each other; it may be &s;aid, every one does in a manner enjoy the Happine&s;s of all, &s;ince that is a delight to every one. And with what ravi&s;hing Conver&s;ation, with what Indearments, with what charming Di&s;cour&s;e may we ju&s;tly &s;uppo&s;e &s;o excellent Per&s;ons do entertain one another! How plea&s;ant and de|lightful mu&s;t they, who are &s;o wi&s;e, and &s;o full of Love, make them&s;elves to one another! How plea&s;ant too is their unanimous concur|rence in the high Prai&s;es of God! None there di&s;&s;ent from, or de&s;pi&s;e what others honour God by: Nor will purcha&s;e to them&s;elves a fancied mi&s;taken Purity at the boa&s;t of Di&s;obe|dience: But all the company do chearfully
<PB N="266" REF="292">joyn in the Common Prai&s;es, of the mo&s;t High God, and his Wonderful Works. O happy World! O Ble&s;&s;ed Peaceful Society! How much might the &s;trifes, the contentions, and the con&s;u&s;ions of this World ju&s;tly make one long to be there!</P>
<P>Further, To the Society of the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made perfect, the Holy Scripture adds, as Inhabitants of the World above, <HI>an innumerable company of Angels.</HI> The Souls of good Men in that Happy place; &s;hall be ble&s;t with the frequent vi&s;its, and conver&s;es of tho&s;e Kind and Glorious Spirits. They view the brighter Glories of the Deity, and &s;uch as are yet undi&s;cover'd to the Saints: And render their Conver&s;ation very charming, when they tell what they know of the Greatne&s;s and Goodne&s;s of God: What their high capaci|ty, and long experience, and great opportuni|ty of Learning has taught them, of the Nature, the Love, and the Works of God! And to find them &s;o full of Love, and &s;o abundant in expre&s;&s;ions of Kindne&s;s, who dwell in the Ho|lie&s;t of all, and are admitted to the immedi|ate pre&s;ence of the King of Heaven, mu&s;t needs be a very joyous and comfortable thing to the Souls of good Men, e&s;pecially as it will a&s;&s;ure them of the favour and good will of God him|&s;elf to them.</P>
<P>This is the Society to whom the departing Souls of good Men go, and with whom they mu&s;t dwell for ever! And with &s;uch as the&s;e, how kindly, how chearfully mu&s;t a good Soul be receiv'd at his fir&s;t coming among&s;t them!
<PB N="267" REF="292">What welcomes, what applau&s;es, what con|gratulations will they give him! If there be Joy in Heaven at the Conver&s;ion of a Sinner, how much rather will there be great Joy at his Salvation, when he has conquer'd all his Ene|mies, e&s;caped all Danger, and is landed &s;afe at the Haven of Bli&s;s! And, then, it mu&s;t be great and un&s;peakable Joy to the Saint him&s;elf to be brought among tho&s;e who receive him with &s;o much joy and kindne&s;s.</P>
<P N="6">6. The highe&s;t point of the Felicity which departed Saints enjoy in their &s;eparate State, is, that they dwell with Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf; they rejoyce in his Glory, and partake of his Love. This the Holy Scripture abundantly teaches us. He him&s;elf intimates this, in his &s;aying to the Penitent Thief, <HI>This day &s;halt thou be with me in Paradi&s;e:</HI> And in that kind Prayer for his Followers, <HI>John</HI> 17.24. <HI>Father, I will that they whom thou ha&s;t given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> a&s;&s;ures us this may be expect|ed in his &s;aying, <HI>I have a de&s;ire to depart, and to be with Chri&s;t, Phil.</HI> 1.23. And be &s;peaks of being <HI>Ab&s;ent from the Body, and pre&s;ent with the Lord,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.8. He evidently &s;peaks of the &s;tate of the &s;eparate Soul, when it is without its Body, and teaches that even then it dwells in the Bli&s;sful Pre&s;ence of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. To him, then, the happy Soul of a good Man is &s;oon conducted upon its departure hence: To the Mighty Je&s;us, the Glorious King of Heaven, and the great Lover of Souls. And without doubt he will receive it with the mo&s;t ravi&s;h|ing
<PB N="268" REF="293">demon&s;trations of Kindne&s;s. He who lov'd it &s;o well as to come him&s;elf from Heaven, and to die, that he might Redeem and Save it: Who has lov'd it &s;o well as to &s;anctifie, and to guide it by his Good Spirit; with great Patience to bear with many Infirmities and Offences, and to continue &s;till his care of it, while it abode in this World. He will doubt|le&s;s receive with great kindne&s;s the purcha&s;e of his Blood, and of his Care. And by him the good Soul &s;hall hear all its excellent Vertues applauded; and the good Works he has done on Earth to the Glory of God, and the Good, but e&s;pecially the Salvation of Mankind high|ly commended. It &s;hall hear with joy the Lov|ing Je&s;us &s;ay, <HI>Well done good and faithful Ser|vant, enter thou into thy Ma&s;ters Joy.</HI> And the Saints Kind and Gracious Ma&s;ter and Lord now heaps Un&s;peakable Favours and Glorious Honours upon him. He is always communi|cating &s;ome ine&s;timable expre&s;&s;ions of his Love. And now, more than ever before, will the Saint have rea&s;on to &s;ay as the Spou&s;e in that matchle&s;s Song of Loves, <HI>As the Apple-tree a|mong the Trees of the Wood, &s;o is my beloved a|mong the Sons; I fit under his &s;hadow with great delight,</HI> and <HI>O how &s;weet is his Fruit to my ta&s;t. He has brought me now into his banquetting Hou&s;e</HI> indeed, and <HI>his banner over me is Love.</HI> O I am almo&s;t overcome with Love, the tyrannous plea&s;ure is too much for me to bear; and be|cau&s;e it is &s;o, <HI>His left hand is under my head, while his right hand doth embrace me.</HI> He, that I may be able to &s;u&s;tain my joy, kindly &s;u|&s;tains
<PB N="269" REF="293">me. No Words certainly can expre&s;s, no Thought can conceive, the Raptures, the Exta&s;ies of Joy, which the happy Saints in Heaven feel, when they receive the ravi&s;hing Loves of the Loving Je&s;us. The Saint is re|joyced at the Dignity and Honour of Je&s;us, whom he ardently loves, to &s;ee him at God's right Hand, inve&s;ted with Authority and Pow|er over all things in Heaven. He is glad of this for his own &s;ake, becau&s;e he can from thence with great a&s;&s;urance expect, that in due time his di&s;&s;olv'd Body &s;hall be rai&s;ed up from the Du&s;t. He is rejoyced to &s;ee in the glorified Body of Je&s;us a certain pledge, and a&s;&s;urance of the Re&s;urrection of his own: And e&s;pecially to &s;ee al&s;o therein a Pattern of his own rai&s;ed Body: To con&s;ider that the poor, vile, contemptible, mortal Body, which he dwelt in on Earth, &s;hall when 'tis rai&s;ed again, be Cloathed with Glory, and Adorn'd with Ce|le&s;tial Beauty, and be fa&s;hioned like to Chri&s;t's Glorious Body.</P>
<P>Thus far, I doubt not, we may go in re|pre&s;enting the Ble&s;&s;ed &s;tate of tho&s;e who are Dead in the Lord: For thus far the Holy Scrip|ture it &s;elf does Evidently lead us. And the Scripture leaves us to believe, that the Depar|ted Saints have not yet attained their utmo&s;t degree of Bli&s;s in the Beatifick Vi&s;ion of God. They remain in their &s;eparate &s;tate, under an effect of Sin, and a mark of the Divine Di&s;|plea&s;ure again&s;t it. And &s;o long it may &s;eem very fit and agreeable, that the great Judge and Governor of the World do keep them at
<PB N="270" REF="294">&s;ome di&s;tance from him&s;elf, and treat with them by the intervention of their Mediator. But all this while they enjoy, in this Sacred Temple where they dwell, the happy pre&s;ence of Je&s;us their High Prie&s;t: And when the time of the general Re&s;urrection is come, and the la&s;t Judgment is over, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, &s;hall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father, his Mediation &s;hall be at an end, and the Father, who is eminently call'd God, &s;hall be all in all. Then &s;hall the vail be taken away, the way into the Holie&s;t of all &s;hall be open'd; and the happy Saints &s;hall be admitted to the immediate Fruition, and the happy Vi&s;ion of God: Which is more than, either in this World or that above, they have enjoy'd before.</P>
<P>I come now to &s;ugge&s;t what Improvement may be made of what has been &s;aid: Which I &s;hall do very briefly in the following particu|lars.</P>
<P>The&s;e things &s;hould excite men to an earne&s;t endeavour to prepare them&s;elves for their de|parture hence. They require, that we take a great deal of care to put our &s;elves into &s;uch a po&s;ture, that whenever our Death overtakes us, we may <HI>die in the Lord.</HI> To which purpo&s;e we mu&s;t break off from all manner of Wick|edne&s;s, and betake our &s;elves to all Holine&s;s, and Vertuous Living. It is only the Religious and Good Man who is Ble&s;&s;ed in his Death, be|cau&s;e <HI>He re&s;ts from his Labours and his Works follow him.</HI></P>
<P>And having taken care to put our &s;elves in|to this happy po&s;ture, the frequent thoughts
<PB N="271" REF="294">of this Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s &s;hould reconcile us to the thoughts of our own Death; they &s;hould make us willing to die. Why &s;hould we be &s;till fond of living amid&s;t the Mi&s;eries, the Labours, the Dangers, and the Temptations of this World, when we &s;hall in Death be tran&s;lated to Re&s;t, and Safety, and Happine&s;s. It would become all Chri&s;tians, what he &s;ays of him&s;elf and &s;ome others, to be <HI>willing rather to be ab&s;ent from the Body,</HI> that they might be <HI>pre&s;ent with the Lord.</HI> Should a man that has indeed been indu&s;trious to prepare for a happy departure hence, be after all that he has done unwilling to depart? Should we be loth to lay down this Fle&s;h, when we have often denied it, have learnt to contradict its Appetites, and have well mortified it? Have we truly renounced this World, and yet are unwilling to leave it? And truly &s;et our Affections on things a|bove, and yet would not go to them? It is greatly to be fear'd, that our unwillingne&s;s to depart, proceeds in a great mea&s;ure from our unfitne&s;s for it, and becau&s;e we have neglected the&s;e preparations of our &s;elves. Let us, then, diligently apply our &s;elves to &s;uch preparati|on, that we may be willing to undergo what we cannot avoid, that we may have hope in Death, and be contented to leave temporal good things, by vertue of an a&s;&s;urance, that we &s;hall go to enjoy eternal Ones.</P>
<P>The&s;e things &s;hould al&s;o excite in Men a great concern and endeavour to promote Pie|ty and Vertue, as much as they may among their Relations and Acquaintance, and e&s;peci|ally
<PB N="272" REF="295">in tho&s;e who are peculiarly dear to them. We may ju&s;tly think, that to have been in|du&s;trious towards the bringing others to Hea|ven, is a thing very Honourable, and of great e&s;teem in that kind and happy World: And that the Company of any &s;uch as we have been in&s;trumental to bring thither, &s;hall be the mo&s;t plea&s;ant and acceptable of any. To po&s;&s;e&s;s them with Piety and Vertue who are very dear to us, is to provide for our great comfort in their Death, if it plea&s;ed God to call them a|way before us. When, if they are religious here, we might a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves they are gone to Happine&s;s; and are indeed become more happy by their departure than all our mo&s;t prodigal wi&s;hes, or kinde&s;t de&s;igns for them could have made them here.</P>
<P>And it &s;hould comfort us in the death of Re|ligious and Excellent Per&s;ons, to con&s;ider, that they are &s;till, tho they are gone hence. They are tran&s;lated to Bli&s;s. They are deliver'd from the mi&s;eries of this &s;inful World, are entered into Re&s;t, and made partakers of Heaven's eternal Joys. Could I look into the Cele&s;tial Paradi&s;e, a mourning Per&s;on may &s;ay, I might there &s;ee my Faithful Friend, or my tender Parent, my loving Con&s;ort, or my dear Child amid&s;t throngs of bright rejoycing Spirits, him|&s;elf all bright, and all joyous too; care&s;&s;ed by the Prince of Love the Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us, and joyn'd with other glad Souls in the Harmoni|ous Prai&s;es of Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t. We may comfort our &s;elves too with hopes of meeting them again in that Happine&s;s, if we
<PB N="273" REF="295">will take care to get thither our &s;elves, and promi&s;e our &s;elves the content and &s;atisfacti|on of enjoying them again, within a little while, more lovely and more happy than here; and to meet to dwell with them for ever. Let us con&s;ider this very comfortable Truth in our Text that, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the dead which die in the Lord, becau&s;e they re&s;t from their Labours and their Works do follow them:</HI> And <HI>let us comfort</HI> our &s;elves and <HI>one Another with the&s;e words.</HI></P>
<P>Now to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALmighty and mo&s;t merciful God, who art abun|dant in Goodne&s;s, and delighte&s;t to be&s;tow Ble&s;|&s;ings and Favours upon thy Creatures. It is thou that ha&s;t made, us and not we our &s;elves, and thy Wi&s;|dom and Goodne&s;s de&s;ign'd and fitted us, in our Cre|ation, to be perfectly and perpetually happy. But alas, we fooli&s;h and guilty Creatures have by our Sin and Perver&s;ene&s;s oppo&s;ed, and contradicted thy gra|cious De&s;ign, to our own great Hurt and Damage. We have incurred thy mo&s;t ju&s;t Wrath and Di&s;plea|&s;ure, and &s;o have pull'd down great Mi&s;ery and Affliction upon our &s;elves. We &s;ee, O Lord, and ac|knowledge thy great Di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t our Sins, in that thou ha&s;t doomed the&s;e Bodies of ours, which thy infinite Wi&s;dom has curiou&s;ly fram'd, to be di&s;|&s;olv'd and turn'd to Du&s;t, and ha&s;t condemn'd our Souls to abide long in a preternatural and a &s;eparate
<PB N="274" REF="296">State: Long mu&s;t our wretched Bodies be di&s;&s;olved into Du&s;t, and be de&s;titute and uncapable of any Sen&s;e of thy Goodne&s;s. O Lord, we fear thy Wrath, we tremble at thy Di&s;plea&s;ure, and from thy Hatred again&s;t our Sins we will learn to hate them and to for&s;ake all that is evil. We de&s;ire with a hearty Re|pentance, and a true Faith to turn unto thee. We fly O Lord, from thy ju&s;t Di&s;plea&s;ure to thy glorious Mercy in Chri&s;t, by who&s;e Mediation thou wilt for|give Iniquity, Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion and Sin. We pray thee, for his &s;ake, to pardon all our pa&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and receive us into thy Favour: And then we &s;hall hope, that even this Cur&s;e which our Sins have brought up|on us, &s;hall be turned into a Ble&s;&s;ing. And as all things &s;hall work together for good to them that love God; &s;o even our Death &s;hall be Life to us, our Lo&s;s of this World the gaining of a better, and the Fall of our mortal Bodies &s;hall redound to the Advantage of our Souls. Ble&s;&s;ed be thy Name, that we may have Hope in our Death. O Lord &s;anctifie us we be&s;eech thee, and clean&s;e us from all Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, that we may be fit for that holy Place, that Paradi&s;e above, where no unclean thing can come. And let us have to for|tifie us again&s;t the Threatnings of our Mortality, the comfortable and a&s;&s;ured Expectations, that when the earthly Tabernacles of our Bodies &s;hall be di&s;&s;olved, we &s;hall be received into an Hou&s;e not made with Hands, eternal in the Heavens; while our Bodies lie dead, yet our Souls &s;hall live, and that a more free, more active, and &s;en&s;ible and happy Life than what they now enjoy; that when we are called away from all our kind Friends, and comfortable Enjoyments in this World, we &s;hall be tran&s;lated to the happy Abode and Society of the Spirits of ju&s;t Men made perfect, to an innumerable Company of Angels, and when we are ab&s;ent from the Body, that we &s;hall be pre&s;ent with the Lord, and &s;hall enjoy the Happine&s;s of a near and intimate Communion with our mo&s;t kind Saviour and Redeemer. Let this Hope encourage us in our Duty,
<PB N="275" REF="296" MS="y">and make us &s;tedfa&s;t, unmoveable, always abounding in the Work of the Lord, as knowing that our Labour &s;hall not be in vain in the Lord.</P>
<P>We humbly recommend to thy infinite Mercy, all &s;orts and Conditions of Men. Let the wretched World, O Lord, partake of thy Favour and Goodne&s;s according to their &s;everal Nece&s;&s;ities in temporal and &s;piritual Mercies. Pour down thy good Spirit plenti|fully upon thy Church, and encrea&s;e in it thereby all true Piety and Vertue: And grant that all Chri&s;tians may live &s;o as becomes the Citizens of the Heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI> We pray thee ble&s;s in particular that Part of thy Church which thou ha&s;t planted in the&s;e Nations. O make it to bring forth Fruit abundantly to thy Glo|ry, according to the Plenty of the means of Grace af|forded us, and do thou long continue tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Dews of Heaven upon us. Ble&s;s in particular our mo&s;t gracious King, grant him in Health and Pro&s;pe|rity, long to live, and reign over us; and grant that under him we may enjoy Tranquility and Peace: Ble&s;s the Royal Family with a great Encrea&s;e, and with Plenty of all Noble and Royal Endowments, and grant that we may be happy in it, and duely obedient to it for ever. Be plea&s;ed to look in Mercy upon our Friends, and Relations, and Benefactors, to lead them in the Ways of Truth, Peace, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and bring them at la&s;t to thy Heavenly Kingdom. We thank thee for all the Mercies of our Lives, for tho&s;e of this Day in particular, and e&s;pecially for the Means of Grace, and the Hopes of Glory. Let us not receive any In&s;tance of thy Favour in vain, but to thy Glory and our Salvation. We pray thee let us be thy Care this Night, give us &s;afe and comfortable Re&s;t, and re|newed Strength thereby to &s;erve and glorifie thee in our &s;everal Bu&s;ine&s;&s;es and Duties. All we humbly ask in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in who&s;e Words al|&s;o we &s;um up and conclude our Reque&s;ts, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father, which art in Heaven,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="276" REF="297">
<HEAD>THE Final and Compleat HAPPINESS OF GOOD MEN REPRESENTED.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The fir&s;t Part.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 16.11.</HI></BIBL>
<P>In thy Pre&s;ence is Fulne&s;s of Joy, at thy Right Hand are Plea&s;ures for evermore.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IT plea&s;ed the Great Soveraign of the World, in making &s;everal &s;orts of Creatures capa|ble of Happine&s;s, to &s;et &s;ome of them at fir&s;t in the highe&s;t &s;tate of it, which they were ca|pable
<PB N="277" REF="297">to enjoy. Thus he di&s;pos'd of the An|gels above, and the Animals below us, if we may reckon the&s;e capable of Happine&s;s. And as for Mankind, he did make them indeed very happy at fir&s;t, but not in that highe&s;t degree which he intended they &s;hould obtain. He or|der'd they &s;hould arrive to this, but upon the condition, and in the way of behaving them|&s;elves well, and doing their Duty to him in a lower &s;tate of Happine&s;s: And there was ano|ther and a higher de&s;ign'd them, to which all Men &s;hould, without Death have been tran&s;la|ted if we had not &s;inned, after a time &s;pent in pi|ous and vertuous living on Earth; which is that &s;tate our Saviour means when he &s;peaks of a <HI>King|dom prepared</HI> for good Men <HI>from the Foundation of the World.</HI> It is, then according to the Original De&s;ign of our Creation, That our perfect com|pleat Felicity is not to be attained in this Life: Even in our be&s;t Condition on Earth, we had &s;till a better to aim at, and &s;eek after; Much rather have we this to do now, when our Sin has pulled a Cur&s;e upon this World, and made the Creature &s;ubject to Vanity, and brought upon us a great deal of Mi&s;ery and Vexation. And it is al&s;o, we mu&s;t know, according to the Creator's original De&s;ign, That this Life is a Time of work and and well-doing, and the other is chiefly the Time of Rewards. Now we mu&s;t procure our highe&s;t State of Felicity by good, and vertuous living, and hereafter chiefly, mu&s;t we receive the Rewards of this in the Attain|ment of that Felicity.</P>
<PB N="278" REF="298">
<P>It &s;hall be the Bu&s;ine&s;s of this Di&s;cour&s;e to gather together, and repre&s;ent, in the be&s;t Method that I can, what the holy Scripture tells us of the final, and con&s;ummate Happine&s;s of good Men; the glorious Rewards prepared for our pre&s;ent Piety and Vertue. We have a &s;ummary and comprehen&s;ive Account of this Matter in our pre&s;ent Text, where the P&s;al|mi&s;t &s;ays to God, <HI>In thy Pre&s;ence is Fullne&s;s of Joy, at thy Right Hand are Plea&s;ures for ever|more.</HI> I &s;hall not &s;pend any Time in taking notice of the Connexion of the&s;e Words, but at pre&s;ent con&s;ider them ab&s;olutely and alone. And the P&s;almi&s;t here, as a learned Man well ob&s;erves, <HI>(Muis in loc.)</HI> &s;eems to repre&s;ent Almighty God as a Bounteous, Munificent Prince, calling his Favourites into his Pre&s;ence, and with a full Hand largely be&s;towing upon them con&s;iderable Favours, the Te&s;timonies, and Expre&s;&s;ions of his Love and E&s;teem. He expre&s;&s;es, too, the Plea&s;ure and Joy which this &s;hall be to them, even <HI>Fulne&s;s of Joy:</HI> and the long Duration of the Happine&s;s, In <HI>Plea|&s;ures for evermore.</HI> I &s;hall therefore, from the&s;e Words, repre&s;ent the final, perfect Happine&s;s of Man, as well as I can, under the&s;e three general Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;hall ob&s;erve, what they are to be who &s;hall attain this Happine&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. I &s;hall repre&s;ent what it is that they &s;hall enjoy.</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;hall illu&s;trate a little the Import of this general Qualification of the Happine&s;s menti|oned, which is, That it &s;hall continue for evermore.</P>
<PB N="279" REF="298">
<P>I begin with the fir&s;t of the&s;e: To repre&s;ent what the Scripture teaches us they &s;hall be who &s;hall attain the final, perfect Happine&s;s of Mankind, for even this is a great Part of that Happine&s;s. The holy Scripture teaches us there will be granted in Heaven, mighty Im|provements of our &s;elves. And this, we may &s;uppo&s;e, is what the P&s;almi&s;t chiefly meant, under the Name of the Plea&s;ures at God's Right Hand. This Head contains tho&s;e bounteous Gifts which he will be&s;tow upon the ble&s;&s;ed Saints when they are advanced to Heaven. To repre&s;ent this matter the more di&s;tinctly, I mu&s;t &s;hew what will be the Condition, and Im|provement of the Bodies of the Saints in Hea|ven: And what al&s;o will be the Advantages and Improvement of their Souls.</P>
<P>Let us &s;ee, in the fir&s;t place, what will be the Excellencies and Improvements of the Bo|dies of the Saints in that glorious, exalted State. As their dead Bodies &s;hall be rai&s;ed to Life again, &s;o they mu&s;t, indeed of nece&s;&s;ity, be mightily improved; that they may be fit Ha|bitations, and In&s;truments for their exalted Souls to dwell in, and may be capable to &s;erve the excellent Operations of &s;uch, and perform the high Employments of Heaven: That they may be fit to dwell in a much more beautiful and glorious World, and be &s;uitable Compa|nions to the glorious Angels. The Apo&s;tle therefore &s;ays, <HI>Fle&s;h and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven:</HI> To &s;ignifie, that this dull Lump of Earth is not a fit Inhabitant for tho&s;e glorious Man&s;ions and Enjoyments which the
<PB N="280" REF="299">Saints are advanced to in Heaven. And he &s;ays of tho&s;e who &s;hall be found living upon Earth at the la&s;t day, that although they &s;hall not die, yet they &s;hall all be changed in a moment; and we may believe, that, as all Mankind &s;hould have been tran&s;lated to Heaven without dying, as <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Elias</HI> were, &s;o they al&s;o &s;hould have been changed upon that Tran&s;lation. But, to make us the more &s;en&s;i|ble of the Improvement of the Bodies of the Saints: The holy Scripture acquaints us with the&s;e following Particulars concerning it.</P>
<P N="1">1. They &s;hall at their Re&s;urrection and Ad|mi&s;&s;ion into Heaven, become very beautiful and glorious. When the Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> had &s;poken of the Re&s;urrection of the Dead (<HI>Dan.</HI> 12.2.) He goes on, and &s;ays (in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 3.) <HI>They that be wi&s;e,</HI> meaning good Men, <HI>&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> So that he intimates, their Bodies &s;hall be endowed in Heaven with a very glori|ous Splendour and Brightne&s;s. Our Saviour again, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.43. &s;peaking of the &s;ame matter &s;ays, <HI>Then &s;hall the Righteous &s;hine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father.</HI> And, <HI>the&s;e vile Bodies</HI> the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, &s;hall be fa&s;hi|oned like unto Chri&s;t's glorious Body (<HI>Phil.</HI> 3.2.) which certainly &s;peaks, that they &s;hall be cloath'd with a very wonderful Brightne&s;s: They in their Mea&s;ure too &s;hall be cloath'd with Light as with a Garment.</P>
<P>Further, If the Bodies of the Saints &s;hall have the Beauty of &s;uch Glory and Brightne&s;s,
<PB N="281" REF="299">we cannot imagin that they will want the Beau|ty of a Compleatne&s;s, and Perfection of their Parts, and of an exact Proportion between them. All Defects of Members, all Deformity &s;hall be there perfectly removed; there &s;hall be no Uncomeline&s;s of Vi&s;age, no mean and con|temptible Appearance, no Weakne&s;s or want of any Part to di&s;parage their Bodies in Heaven.</P>
<P>But when the Saints receive them, thus im|proved from the poor, homely, contemptible Du&s;t; how glad, how joyful will they be! How willingly mu&s;t the Soul enter its former Habitation, which it did de&s;ire to return to, when it finds the poor Tabernacle or Cottage, improved into a Pallace. The ble&s;&s;ed Saints will be ju&s;tly pleas'd with their Ornament then, becau&s;e 'tis in a manner their own: They are fine, not with the Spoils of other Creatures, but with their innate adorning, and their cloathing is indeed their Beauty, for it dwells in them&s;elves. By vertue of this they are &s;uit|ed to the glorious Place which they dwell in, and to the beautiful &s;plendid Company of An|gels, and to the Glory of the Divine Pre&s;ence. And &s;o they can enjoy the Glory of Heaven, whereas without their own Glory and Bright|ne&s;s they mu&s;t have been utterly a&s;hamed and confounded there.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Bodies of the Saints in Heaven &s;hall be endowed with great Activity, and Vigor. The Apo&s;tle calls them <HI>Spiritual Bodies,</HI> and in they &s;hall put on a Property of Spirits. They &s;hall act without Wearine&s;s what they have to do, and &s;hall never need any Refrefre&s;hment or
<PB N="282" REF="300">Re&s;t: They &s;hall act without Difficulty, and Labour, and therefore without any Wearine&s;s. The gro&s;s and heavy Body we now live in does in|cline towards this Earth, but the Cele&s;tial Body lo&s;es all its Weight, and Inclination one way, and therefore freely moves it &s;elf any way; and &s;o traver&s;es perhaps the va&s;t Spaces of that glorious World, viewing with great Delight the various plea&s;ing Wonders there, and this without any Fatigue or Trouble. This corruptible Body which we now have, as a wife Man &s;aid, pre&s;&s;eth down the Soul. It hangs like a Clog and Load upon the Faculties of the Mind, which made &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peak of it as a <HI>Burden,</HI> (2 Cor. 5.4.) But then it is &s;o ad|vantageou&s;ly changed, that it &s;hall be no more a Burden to the Soul, than Wings to a Bird, or Sails to a Ship. It will always be ready to &s;erve the mo&s;t &s;pritely, and noble Operations of the Soul, &s;o far as this has occa&s;ion to em|ploy it. The Saints are therefore capable to entertain them&s;elves continually with the Plea|&s;ures of their Condition, and no Plea&s;ure they enjoy &s;hall ever become flat or ta&s;tele&s;s, when the Faculty that enjoys them never tires. And, then, the Plea&s;ures of Divine Cotemplation, the Plea&s;ures of ardent Devotion, and thankful Prai&s;e will be con&s;tantly, and yet unweariedly enjoy|ed. Therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ays of the Inhabi|tants of Heaven, <HI>They re&s;t not Day and Night &s;aying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come,</HI> (Rev. 4.8.)</P>
<P N="3">3. Whatever Sen&s;es remain, they &s;hall be exerci&s;ed too, and &s;hall be plea&s;ed with very
<PB N="283" REF="300">agreeable and delightful Objects. Some Sen&s;a|tions &s;hall not remain, becau&s;e they would ra|ther encumber and le&s;&s;en that Happine&s;s than promote it. 'Tis the real Advantage of that State to be without the pre&s;ent Plea&s;ures of eating and drinking: For thereby 'tis freed al|&s;o from the Pain and Inconvenience of Hunger and Thir&s;t, and from all the Care and Labour to &s;atisfie the&s;e. The Apo&s;tle therefore, in Commendation of that State &s;ays, <HI>They,</HI> who are there, <HI>&s;hall hunger no more, neither thirst any more,</HI> (Rev. 7.16.) Our Saviour &s;ays too, that <HI>they &s;hall be like the Angels in Heaven.</HI> What Sen&s;ations they &s;hall have no u&s;e of &s;hall not re|main there, becau&s;e they may be happy enough without them, and becau&s;e the De&s;ires, which heighten the Plea&s;ure of them now, are real|ly &s;uch an Inconvenience as Heaven &s;hall not be acduainted with.</P>
<P>Perhaps the Sen&s;e of feeling in general may remain, and &s;o be plea&s;ed with the ea&s;ie Tem|perature of that kind World, which will be al|ways agreeable to this Sence, and will never afflict it with the Summers parching Heat, or the Winters pinching Cold; which the Apo|&s;tle &s;eems to &s;ugge&s;t when he &s;ays, in the fore|mentioned Place, <HI>Neither &s;hall the Sun light upon them, nor the Heat</HI> incommode tho&s;e who dwell there.</P>
<P>But the nobler Sen&s;ations will without doubt remain in Heaven; and the Faculties of &s;eeing and hearing we may ea&s;ily believe will be exer|ci&s;ed and plea&s;ed there. Many things may be there delightful to the Eye which we cannot now
<PB N="284" REF="301">conceive: And whatever does now plea&s;e this Sen&s;e, we may ju&s;tly think will be in a far more excellent &s;ort there. That Beauty, and Or|der, Proportion, and Light, Variety, and Ex|tent which is &s;o plea&s;ing to the Eye now, will be in much greater Perfection, and therefore much more plea&s;e it in Heaven. We may ex|pect, this Sen&s;e &s;hall be plea&s;ed with the Beauty and Splendor which is put upon them|&s;elves: And al&s;o, with that excellent Beauty which they &s;hall &s;ee their happy Friends adorn|ed with, &s;uch as &s;hall render them incompara|bly more amiable and lovely than ever they were before. It &s;hall doubtle&s;s be highly plea|&s;ed to view their glorified Saviour: To &s;ee him out-&s;hining the mo&s;t glorious Angels, and in Ex|cellency, and Dignity advanc'd above tho&s;e Thrones, and Principalities, and Powers. And, as that is a much more glorious World than this, the Faculty mu&s;t be mightily &s;trength|ned and improved: For that which cannot now bear the direct Beams of this Sun, &s;hall there conver&s;e with an innumerable Company of much brighter Lights than he: And mu&s;t be|hold without being dazled or confounded, that unconceivable Glory of God which &s;hall there be di&s;covered.</P>
<P>Further, as we may ju&s;tly believe, that the Inhabitants of that ble&s;&s;ed World are not a ful|len, &s;ilent Company, &s;o we may expect that the hearing Faculty will be very plea&s;antly en|tertained there too. This will convey to each Saint the Subjects of their plea&s;ing Conver&s;ations with each other. And as they are all va&s;tly im|proved
<PB N="285" REF="301">both in Knowledge and Love, their Conver&s;ation mu&s;t be mightily improved too, and the Plea&s;ure of it mu&s;t be mu&s;t unconceiva|bly great. And as they are to &s;pend an Eter|nity in the joint Prai&s;es of the great Author of their Being and Happine&s;s, &s;o without doubt there will be an admirable Harmony in their Prai&s;es: They will not utter them in any har&s;h di&s;cordant Sounds, nor in a wild Confu&s;ion: But we may ju&s;tly believe they will be &s;ounded forth in the exacte&s;t Mea&s;ure, and &s;weete&s;t Concord that can be, and will create to each of the glad &s;aints a Plea&s;ure far excelling that which the mo&s;t charming Mu&s;ick can give to any of us here.</P>
<P N="4">4. In the la&s;t place, the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven &s;hall be ble&s;t with a happy Immor|tallity. This excellent Property of Spirits they &s;hall put on too. The Apo&s;tle &s;ays of our Bo|dies, <HI>They are &s;own in Corruption, they &s;hall be rai&s;ed in Incorruption, and this Mortal &s;hall put on Immortality,</HI> and <HI>Death &s;hall be &s;wallowed up in Victory.</HI> Death it &s;elf &s;hall then die, and cea&s;e to tyrannize any more over the wretched Sons of Men. In this our pre&s;ent dying Life our poor frail Bodies are &s;ubject to the Decays of Age, and the Infirmities of Sickne&s;s; which bla&s;t our Beauty, and abate our Strength and Vigour; which le&s;&s;en and deprive us of Plea|&s;ure, and afflict us with grievous Pain, and at length di&s;&s;olve the Mortal Body into Du&s;t. But when they are brought to Heaven they are for ever freed from all the&s;e things. As they &s;hall die no more, they &s;hall no more decay, nor be
<PB N="286" REF="302">&s;ick, or in Pain. They &s;hall enjoy there a per-Petual Health and Soundne&s;s, a perpetual Vi|gor and Activity, and a perfect perpetual Beau|ty. They &s;hall be for ever free from either the Care to live, or the Fear of dying. And this Advantage of Immortality greatly heigh|thens all the other: This a&s;&s;ures the Enjoyment of them all for ever.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the happy Improvements which the Bodies of the Saints &s;hall gain in Heaven. Oh how joyful will they be to con&s;ider all the&s;e Excellencies and Advantages of them! How thankful mu&s;t they needs be to the infinite Bounty of God? Which communicates Lu&s;ter and Glory to a dark Clod of Earth! And mighty Activity, Sen&s;e and Power to a dull, heavy, weak thing! And the Honour of Eternity, and Unchangeablene&s;s to a poor Mortal Compo&s;iti|on! If a good Man could &s;ee Rea&s;on to prai&s;e Almighty God for the Mortal Body in which he dwelt on Earth, becau&s;e that was very curiou&s;|ly wrought and wonderfully framed, much more rea&s;on will every Saint have to magnifie and prai&s;e the Divine Bounty and Goodne&s;s for his Heavenly and Glorified Body.</P>
<P>I proceed in the &s;econd place to con&s;ider, and repre&s;ent the happy and glorious Improvement which the Souls of the Saints &s;hall al&s;o obtain in Heaven: For they &s;hall be exceedingly advan|ced in that which is their greate&s;t Excellency. I may repre&s;ent this Matter in this general and &s;hort account of it: The Saints in Heaven &s;hall be made perfect in Holine&s;s, and advanced in this to the highe&s;t Mea&s;ures and Degrees which
<PB N="271" REF="302">&s;uch Creatures are capable to receive. This is an Advantage they cannot reach till they come to Heaven, but there they do attain to it, and it is a great Part of the Happine&s;s there. The holy Scripture teaches us that this will be ob|tained in Heaven. It may be concluded from hence, that, of Good Men departed this Life, it is &s;aid, <HI>they re&s;t from their Labours,</HI> which in|timates that the Labour to improve in Holine&s;s &s;hall with them be at an end, as well as other Labours. Again, the Saints in Heaven are called by the Apo&s;tle, <HI>The Spirit of Just Men made perfect,</HI> (Heb. 12.23.) And the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaking of his Admi&s;&s;ion into Heaven &s;ays, <HI>I &s;hall be &s;atisfied when I awake with thy Likene&s;s,</HI> P&s;al. 17.15.) When I am delivered from this &s;tupid, &s;leepy Life into that more &s;en&s;ible, and lively, and active one above, then &s;hall I be &s;a|tisfied with thy Likene&s;s: Then will the Di|vine Image in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s be compleat in me. It is of this State of the Church mo&s;t true, and perhaps of this chiefly meant, what her heavenly Lover the ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us is re|pre&s;ented &s;aying, (<HI>Cant.</HI> 4.9.) <HI>Thou art all fair my Love, there is no Spot in thee.</HI> Every thing conceivable under the Notion of a Moral Ex|cellency which the humane Nature is capable of, is there to be found with the happy Saints, and they have it deep wrought into their Na|ture and Being. And when the Saints, by be|ing &s;o near to God as they are in Heaven, do the better know what the Perfection of the Di|vine Image requires, and wherein it con&s;i&s;ts, and do al&s;o find every Lineament and Character
<PB N="288" REF="303">of that Glory appearing in them&s;elves, this mu&s;t needs be exceeding great Joy and Plea&s;ure to them.</P>
<P>But to make the Happine&s;s of this advanc'd and perfect Holine&s;s of the Saints in Heaven, the more di&s;tinctly appear: I think fit to re|pre&s;ent it under the&s;e three different A&s;pects. (1.) As it regards the Saint him&s;elf in whom it dwells. (2.) As it regards Almighty God. (3.) As it regards the other happy Inhabitants of Heaven.</P>
<P>Let us fir&s;t con&s;ider this, as it regards the Saint him&s;elf, and we &s;hall ea&s;ily &s;ee there are very joyful Advantages in it in this re&s;pect.</P>
<P>And this State of Mind, we mu&s;t know, is perfectly agreeing to the original and e&s;&s;ential Frame and Con&s;titution of the humane Nature: Our very Nature was de&s;ign'd and fitted for it in our Creation: A &s;inful State is preternatural, but this is natural to Mankind. All Sin and Wickedne&s;s is the Sickne&s;s and Di&s;ea&s;e of the Soul, and the Di&s;order of our Faculties: By con&s;equence this mu&s;t needs be very unea&s;ie and full of Pain; and the Scripture rightly &s;ays, a wicked Man can <HI>never</HI> be <HI>at re&s;t,</HI> and <HI>there is no Peace to the Wicked.</HI> Every thing in the Soul out of due place and order, is unea&s;ie as well as in the Body. But this happy State of Mind is the peaceful rectitude, the orderly Compo&s;ure of it: This re&s;tores the Soul to it &s;elf, to its original and natural Frame and Con&s;titution: Hence are the Practi&s;es of Piety and Vertue cal|led by the wi&s;e Man, the <HI>Ways of Plea&s;antne&s;s and Peace.</HI> To improve in Holine&s;s is to in|crea&s;e
<PB N="289" REF="303">in the Health and Soundne&s;s of the Soul, and to be compleat and perfect in that is, to be in perfect Health, and therefore al&s;o in perfect Peace. The Soul has now no inward Torment or Vexation, feels no more &s;elf-rebukes, is no longer liable to an unea&s;ie &s;elf-loathing Di&s;con|tent: She is now perfectly well, and finds her &s;elf &s;o, and cannot chu&s;e but rejoyce in the Ea&s;e, the Tranquility, and Peacefulne&s;s of her pre&s;ent Condition.</P>
<P>This State of Mind is the perfecting of the Man, as Wickedne&s;s is the wretched and di&s;|paraging Corruption and Depravation of the humane Nature. In the Perfection of Holine&s;s he is advanced to the greate&s;t Degrees of Worth and Excellency which he was de&s;ign'd for, and is capable of: This is <HI>the Fulne&s;s of the Stature of a perfect Man.</HI> A di&s;ea&s;ed unnatu|ral State of Mind &s;tints the Growth, as well as it is painful and unea&s;ie; and under it a Man can never attain the true Dignity and Excel|lency of a rational Creature. But with this Health and Rectitude of Mind, he gains al&s;o the due Dimen&s;ions, as we may &s;peak, of &s;piritual Excellency; he now truly becomes little low|er than the Angels, who had before made him|&s;elf almo&s;t of an equal Rank with the poor Brutes.</P>
<P>This State of Mind re&s;tores and rai&s;es all the Faculties of the Soul to their utmo&s;t Vigour and and Ability. In Sickne&s;s there is Weakne&s;s too, and in Health there is Strength and Vigour. And &s;o the Soul has now the happy Advantage of being able and ready for all the Exerci&s;es of
<PB N="290" REF="304">Holine&s;s, for the noble&s;t Operations of a rea|&s;onable Nature. As it is now in its mo&s;t perfect State, it is al&s;o capable of, and di&s;po&s;ed for its mo&s;t excellent and perfect Operations. In a State of Wickedne&s;s the Soul is under the Ty|ranny of divers Lu&s;ts, which exhau&s;t its Vi|gour, and weaken its Strength; and bow it down to a low animal Life, and to very mean and contemptible Operations; too many &s;uch as the Wretch him&s;elf is even a&s;hamed of at &s;ome Fla&s;hes of Rea&s;on, or of Divine Light into his Mind. And how little acquainted is he with the Divine Life! how much a Stran|ger to the Acts, the Sen&s;ations, and the Plea|&s;ures of this! How in&s;ipid, how void of Plea|&s;ure are the Thoughts of God, the chiefe&s;t good, to him! Yea, the&s;e are even unplea|&s;ant, and he <HI>cares not for the Knowledge</HI> of God or <HI>of his Ways.</HI> The very Fountain of Joy and Plea&s;ure is unplea&s;ant and di&s;ta&s;tful to him, and he can &s;ee no Loveline&s;s or Beauty in the &s;u|pream, and mo&s;t glorious Beauty and Loveli|ne&s;s. And how irk&s;ome too, are all the Du|ties of Holine&s;s! Alas, he is not able to per|form them with any Reli&s;h or Delight; the Contemplation, Prai&s;e and Wor&s;hip of the great God, and all In&s;tances of Obedience are things he finds him&s;elf unfit and not ready for; his Faculties are indi&s;po&s;ed for &s;uch things. But when a Man is renewed after the Image of God in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s, and this Image is become perfect and compleat in Glory; then the Man is perfectly di&s;po&s;ed for, and able to perform the noble Actions of the
<PB N="291" REF="304">Divine Life, and then, too, are they highly plea&s;ant to him. It is then his greate&s;t Delight to contemplate, love, prai&s;e, and adore the great God: It is no matter of Labour or &s;elf|denyal, no Violence nor Impo&s;ition upon any thing within him. It is never a Grievance or Burden to perform the Dictates of &s;ound and vigorous Nature, which always flow ea&s;ily and freely from their Principles. Since all the In|&s;tances of Duty are agreeable, and natural to us in our right and perfect State, and we are by them oblig'd to nothing but to be happy; it mu&s;t be altogether plea&s;ant to the perfect Saints to do &s;uch things. And with great Joy and Satisfaction it mu&s;t be that they find them|&s;elves ready, and inclin'd, and able to do &s;o great and excellent things. The&s;e are the hap|py Advantages of this State of Mind con&s;idered as it re&s;pects the Soul it &s;elf.</P>
<P>In the &s;econd place, let us con&s;ider it as it regards Almighty God, and we &s;hall &s;ee much Happine&s;s in it in that re&s;pect too.</P>
<P>This State of Mind is a State of perfect <HI>Re|&s;ignation</HI> and <HI>Submi&s;&s;ion</HI> to the Will and Di&s;po|&s;al of Almighty God. The great God is &s;ove|reign Lord, and Owner of all his Creatures, and he does always exerci&s;e a Dominion over them, and govern and di&s;po&s;e of them as he plea&s;es. How nece&s;&s;ary then is it to the Hap|pine&s;s and Tranquility of a Creature to be en|tirely re&s;igned to the Di&s;po&s;al of him who will, whether we will or no, di&s;po&s;e of us as he plea|&s;es! And how happy a thing mu&s;t it be to have no relucting Wi&s;hes again&s;t what he does with
<PB N="292" REF="305">us! To de&s;ire nothing to our &s;elves, but what his holy, and ju&s;t, and good Will allots to us. And this makes it ea&s;ie and plea&s;ant to the hap|py Saints above, that they know they are di&s;|po&s;ed of by infinite Wi&s;dom and Goodne&s;s and Ju&s;tice. This entire Re&s;ignation is the Foun|dation of a perfect Contentment in the diffe|rent Degrees and Mea&s;ures of Glory which &s;hall be di&s;tributed in Heaven; for as one Star differs from another Star in Glory, &s;o will it be among the Saints in Heaven: And though it be &s;o, yet &s;hall all be contented, and all per|fectly happy.</P>
<P>And this State of Mind di&s;po&s;es to a perfect Subjection and Obedience, as well as to a per|fect Re&s;ignation: As they do not in the de&s;ire of their Wills contradict his Actions and Dealing with them; &s;o they do not in their Actions contradict any Part of his Will concerning their Behaviour towards him: They have no Reluctancy at any of the Commands of God, nor Unwillingne&s;s to do what he requires of them. There is a perfect Agreement of Will between God and them: And as he kindly wills nothing concerning them but what is good and happy, &s;o while they obediently will the &s;ame things, they mu&s;t needs be very happy. And what they mu&s;t do, what they ought to do, they are now mo&s;t perfectly willing and ready to do, their own Will and Inclination carries them to it. Their Duty then, is in Heaven, their Inclination; their Bu&s;ine&s;s is their great Delight and Plea&s;ure; and their very Work is Wages and Reward.</P>
<PB N="293" REF="305">
<P>The Plea&s;ure of this Re&s;ignation and Sub|jection is further heightned in the apparent Fit|ne&s;s and Rea&s;onablene&s;s of &s;uch a Temper of Mind, which does more perfectly and fully ap|pear than ever it did before. By how much nearer the Saint comes to God, by &s;o much the more is he &s;en&s;ible of his Di&s;tance from him: And the better he knows God, the more is he di&s;po&s;ed to an humble Reverence and Submi&s;&s;i|on, the more di&s;po&s;ed he is to love him, and to obey all the Laws of Love. And when this holy Di&s;po&s;ition is perfect, the Saint does joyfully find him&s;elf di&s;po&s;ed to pay all that is due from him to God, and to acknowledge as he ought, what Excellencies he &s;ees to be in God. He finds him&s;elf mo&s;t perfectly &s;uch as he ought to be, and therefore mu&s;t be at a perfect Agree|ment, and highly plea&s;ed with him&s;elf.</P>
<P>But there is yet another thing very happy and plea&s;ant in this perfect Holine&s;s as it regards Almighty God, and that is, that it is a glori|ous and honourable <HI>Likene&s;s</HI> and <HI>Re&s;emblance</HI> to the excellent and glorious Deity. This Ho|nour the holy Scripture does evidently a&s;cribe to it. Upon this account it was that the P&s;al|mi&s;t &s;poke of the State of Perfection in the&s;e Words, <HI>When I awake I &s;hall be &s;atisfied with thy Likene&s;s.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> &s;peaking of this exalted State &s;ays of good Men, <HI>Now we are the Sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we &s;hall be, but we know that when he &s;hall appear we &s;hall be like him,</HI> (1 Joh. 3.1.) God has made us capable, as we are rea&s;onable Creatures, of tho&s;e we call Moral Excellencies, which al&s;o
<PB N="294" REF="306">are infinitely in him&s;elf; to bear the&s;e then, is to bear his glorious Re&s;emblance and Likene&s;s: Therefore when we are merciful, 'tis &s;aid this is to be as our Father in Heaven, who is merci|ful. The happy Saints in Heaven do each of them advance to the utmo&s;t Likene&s;s to him which they are capable of in the&s;e matchle&s;s Beauties and Glories. The&s;e are the Beauties of the Soul, and the&s;e render the Saints all glo|rious within, as the Improvement of their Bo|dies renders them &s;o in their outward Appear|ance. And the&s;e things being the Glory of the Divine Nature, they mu&s;t needs be al&s;o very honourable to us. Oh what an Honour mu&s;t this &s;eem to a Man's &s;elf, and oh what E&s;teem mu&s;t it be with all the Company of Heaven, who &s;ee God and dwell in his immediate Pre&s;ence! Certainly there the greate&s;t Likene&s;s to God mu&s;t be accounted the greate&s;t and the mo&s;t honourable Accompli&s;hment. And &s;urely there cannot be a happier thing than to be like the happie&s;t and mo&s;t perfect Being that is. As the divine Excellencies, being in God in an in|finite unmea&s;urable Fulne&s;s, are to him an in|finite Bli&s;s, for he is his own Happine&s;s, &s;o this Participation of them in the glorified Saints mu&s;t needs make them proportionably happy too; and when they have the&s;e in as great per|fection as they are capable of, they mu&s;t needs be as happy as 'tis po&s;&s;ible for them to be. And what ravi&s;hing Tran&s;ports of Joy and Wonder will it rai&s;e in them to view and com|pare the Glories of God, and tho&s;e Re&s;em|blances of them which are in them&s;elves!
<PB N="295" REF="306">They will be delighted and plea&s;ed to view &s;uch Excellencies in God, they will be delighted to &s;ee them in them&s;elves, and this Agreement and Likene&s;s between the great God and them will add yet more Delight. It will be very joyful to the Saints to think they are now &s;uch as to be perfectly plea&s;ing to God, and as he can take a Complacency and Delight in. And with great Plea&s;ure and Joy they will reflect and con&s;ider from how vile and contemptible and wretched a Condition they are advanced to this Glory and Happine&s;s: This will in&s;pire them with eternal Thankfulne&s;s and Prai&s;e, to the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t, the united Authors of this mighty Change.</P>
<P>In the third place, let us briefly con&s;ider this Perfection in Holine&s;s, as it regards the other ble&s;&s;ed Inhabitants of Heaven. The Saint ad|vanced thither dwells with <HI>an innumerable Com|pany of Angels, and the general A&s;&s;embly and Church of the fir&s;t born, the Spirits of ju&s;t Men made per|fect,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks (<HI>Heb.</HI> 12.22, 23.) And by this Perfection of Holine&s;s he is perfect|ly &s;uited to that bright Society, &s;uited to tho&s;e with whom he mu&s;t live for ever, and by con&s;e|quence is the more acceptable and ea&s;ie to them, as they al&s;o are to him. By this Perfection in Holine&s;s there is a perfect Agreement, and Concord among the ble&s;&s;ed Inhabitants of Hea|ven: They conver&s;e together with an entire Confidence in each other, without any Jealou|&s;ie or Su&s;picion; without Fraud or Envy; with|out Malice or ill De&s;ign: They are all of them ea&s;ie and plea&s;ing to one another. Every one
<PB N="296" REF="307">there is very wi&s;e and very kind, full of Love to all the re&s;t, and they are full of Love to him. By this Perfection in Holine&s;s every one knows and values true Worth and true Love, and &s;ee|ing the&s;e in all the Company, he takes the more Delight in them whom he finds &s;o emi|nently po&s;&s;e&s;t of both. Every Saint loves all the re&s;t for the &s;ake of that Love which they all appear to have to God the great Authour of their Being, and the kind Contriver and Ac|compli&s;her of their Redemption from Mi&s;ery, and the Fountain of their Happine&s;s. Becau&s;e they are all plea&s;ing to him, they are the more plea&s;ing to one another. 'Tis delightful to every one to &s;ee all the re&s;t &s;uch as he would have them to be. And then with one Mind and one Mouth they joyn, and offer harmonious and agreeing Prai&s;es to God for what he is in him|&s;elf, and for his Bounty and Goodne&s;s to one another, and to them&s;elves. Oh happy World! Oh ble&s;&s;ed Union! There <HI>Brethren dwell together in</HI> the mo&s;t perfect <HI>&V;nity,</HI> and there e&s;pecially is it experienced <HI>how good and plea&s;ant a thing this is:</HI> And there, therefore e&s;pecially, does <HI>God,</HI> the Authour of Peace and Lover of Con|cord, <HI>Shower down his Ble&s;&s;ings</HI> upon the whole Society, <HI>even Life for evermore.</HI></P>
<P>Thus far is the utmo&s;t, that it is convenient for us to go at pre&s;ent in di&s;playing the Riches of the Glory of the Inheritance of the Saints. And what has been &s;aid does de&s;erve our deliberate Meditation. Here then let us &s;top for the pre|&s;ent, and look back and &s;eriou&s;ly meditate on the&s;e things, till Opportunity &s;hall be afforded
<PB N="297" REF="307">us to hear the re&s;t. Oh let us &s;eriou&s;ly bethink our &s;elves what we now are, how weak and poor, and how mi&s;erable by the Effects of Sin upon us. And let us con&s;ider too, what we may be! What glorious Bodies we may attain, and how much more glorious Souls! That we, the vile &s;inful Inhabitants of this low Earth, may be|come the pure, glorious, and happy Inhabitants of Heaven! The Companions of glorious Angels and fit for the mo&s;t glorious Pre&s;ence of God. Let us con&s;ider the&s;e things till we re&s;olve to pro&s;ecute with utmo&s;t Diligence this Dignity, and Advancement; and con&s;ider them &s;till, that we may put &s;uch a Re&s;olution into vigorous Practice and Endeavour. If we would hearti|ly re&s;olve thus, and &s;teddily follow &s;uch a Re&s;olution, how wi&s;e &s;hould we be! How well &s;hould we con&s;ult our Intere&s;t and Happi|ne&s;s: We &s;hould con&s;ult and pur&s;ue the high|e&s;t, and the everla&s;ting Intere&s;t both of Soul and Body. And what incomparable Content and Plea&s;ure might a Man even now take in &s;uch a Cour&s;e, when he might tell him&s;elf: In my Endeavours to be pious and vertuous I endeavour but to be happy: I aim at the re|ctifying of my Nature, at the Health, and Soundne&s;s, and Perfection of it! In all my Ad|vances in Grace, and Vertue I advance towards the Glory, and the Happine&s;s of Heaven. In this way I &s;hall grow up at la&s;t to a glorious Likene&s;s to the infinite and perfect Deity. This a&s;piring Cour&s;e will lift me at length above all that is mean and poor, above all that is little and contemptible, above all that is uncertain and
<PB N="298" REF="308">Peri&s;hing, above all that is vexatious and hurt|ful, and will bring me to the greate&s;t Attain|ments of Glory, and Happine&s;s, which my Na|ture is capable to receive. Thus let us think and do accordingly, and <HI>may God of his infinite Mercy bring us all to this Happine&s;s, through the Merits and Mediation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t be all Honour, Glory and Prai&s;e, World without End.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<HEAD>THE PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Infinite, and Glorious! Good and Gracious God! Thou art abundant in Goodne&s;s! O how great is the Goodne&s;s which thou ha&s;t exerci&s;ed and &s;hewn to the Children of Men! And how much greater is that which thou ha&s;t prepar'd for them that love thee! Eye has not &s;een, neither hath the Ear heard, nor can the Heart of Man conceive the Riches and Glories of tho&s;e Rewards which thou ha&s;t prepared for thy faithful Ser|vants. We adore, we prai&s;e thee O God, for making us with &s;uch excellent Natures as we have; and we thank thee for de&s;igning us to, and making us capable of &s;o va&s;t Improvements of our Nature as thy Word gives us leave to expect, and invites us to &s;eek. O Lord we are utterly a&s;hamed, we abhor our &s;elves when we con&s;ider how much we are fallen below what thou did&s;t make us: That we who bore thine Image in Righteou&s;ne&s;s and true Holine&s;s, have born the Image of the Devil in Sin and Wickedne&s;s: We who were made little lower than the Angels, have ranked our &s;elves among the brute Bea&s;ts, and made our &s;elves more vile than they, We mu&s;t needs condemn our
<PB N="299" REF="308">&s;elves, for that we have neglected the Dignity, and Ho|nour, and Happine&s;s for which thy Goodne&s;s de&s;ign'd us; we have had little or no Concern to advance and improve even our corrupted and depraved Natures. We condemn our &s;elves before thee as fooli&s;h and guil|ty Creatures. We acknowledge our De&s;truction is of our &s;elves, and only in thee is our Help. We humbly fly to thy Mercy in Je&s;us Chri&s;t: We be&s;eech thee for the &s;ake of that Propitiation which he has made for Sin to pardon all our pa&s;t Iniquity; to heal our di&s;temper|ed Souls to enlighten our dark Minds, to rectifie our fooli&s;h and perver&s;e Wills, to &s;anctifie us throughout in Body, Soul, and Spirit, and to clean&s;e us from all Unrighteou&s;nes. Help us through the Spirit to morti|fie the Deeds of the Body that we may live: To re&s;i&s;t the Temptations of the World and the Devil. Make us indu&s;trious to clean&s;e our &s;elves from all Filthine&s;s of Fle&s;h and Spirit, and to perfect Holine&s;s in thy Fear: And do thou, we pray thee, &s;o ble&s;s our Endeavours, that we may continually grow in Grace, and may per|&s;evere in Holine&s;s to the End of our Lives. Let us no more exce&s;&s;ively dote on this vain World, but &s;et our Affections on things above, and with pure Hearts and Minds follow and &s;eek the Enjoyment of thee who art our only Happine&s;s.</P>
<P>Have Mercy we pray thee upon all Mankind, and let them be taught to know and be per&s;waded to pur|&s;ue the true Happine&s;s. Ble&s;s thy Church with a great Encrea&s;e of all Piety and Vertue, and with Abundance of Peace. O that we might &s;ee the Time when there &s;hall be no hurting nor de&s;troying in all thy holy Moun|tain. Lord be merciful we be&s;eech thee to the&s;e unhap|py Nations in which we live. O let us all &s;ee and know the things that belong to our Peace, that our Lu&s;ts and Pa&s;&s;ions, our Humours and private Intere&s;ts may not &s;o divide and di&s;tract us, &s;o di&s;turb and weaken us as they do. Make as all joyn together in the Reverence, and Love and Wor&s;hip of thee, in due Obedience and Subjection to our Governours, and in mutual Endea|vours for one anothers welfare. Ble&s;s our King we
<PB N="300" REF="309">pray thee with the choice&s;t Ble&s;&s;ings, protect his Per|&s;on, direct his Coun&s;els, pro&s;per his mighty Labours and Endeavours to the promoting thy Glory and our Peace and Welfare, and the Happine&s;s of much People. Continue our Royal Family as long as the Sun and Moon &s;hall endure; endue them plenteou&s;ly with Hea|venly Gifts, pro&s;per them with all Happine&s;s, make us an Honour to them, and them a Ble&s;&s;ing to us. Do good to all our Relations, Benefactours and Friends, and forgive our Enemies. Accept our humble and hear|ty Thanks for thine ine&s;timable Love in the Redemp|tion of the World by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: For the means of Grace we &s;o abundantly enjoy, particularly for tho&s;e of this Day: Let them always O Lord have &s;uch Influence upon us, that they may beget and main|tain in us the well-grounded Hope of Glory. We im|plore thy gracious Protection this Night, and be&s;eech thee to grant us Re&s;t and Refre&s;hment, that we may ari&s;e the next Morning with renewed Strength for all our Work and Duty. All we ask in the Name of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in who&s;e mo&s;t comprehen&s;ive Words we &s;um up our De&s;ires, &s;aying:
<Q><HI>O&V;R Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;s against us. And lead us not into temptati|on, but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever, and ever,</HI> Amen.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="301" REF="309">
<HEAD>THE Final and Compleat HAPPINESS OF GOOD MEN REPRESENTED.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The &s;econd Part.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="opening prayer">
<HEAD>Let us Pray.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PRevent us, O Lord, in all our Doings, with thy mo&s;t graci|ous Favour, and further us with thy continual Help, that in all our Works begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorifie thy Holy Name, and finally, by thy Mercy, obtain Everla&s;ting Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon proper">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 16.11.</HI></BIBL>
<P>In thy Pre&s;ence is Fulne&s;s of Joy, at thy Right Hand are Plea&s;ures for evermore.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>AS we cannot in this our pre&s;ent Life enjoy our perfect and con&s;ummate Felicity, &s;o neither can we now fully know what it is; as the holy Scripture it &s;elf tells us. One Apo&s;tle
<PB N="302" REF="310">&s;ays, <HI>We now know but as by a Gla&s;s:</HI> Another &s;ays, <HI>It does not yet appear what we &s;hall be.</HI> The Mind of Man indeed is not at pre&s;ent &s;uited, nor are our Faculties capable to entertain a full and adequate Conception or Idea of that Ble&s;|&s;edne&s;s: Therefore the holy Scripture &s;ays, <HI>It cannot enter into the Heart of Man what things God hath prepared for them that love him.</HI></P>
<P>But yet: As very much is, by the Favour of God, reveal'd to us concerning that excellent Happine&s;s in his Word, and we may from thence derive a good Mea&s;ure of the Knowledge of it, though not a perfect one; &s;o there may be &s;o much &s;aid of this from the Intimations of holy Scripture concerning it, as may by the Ble&s;&s;ing of God po&s;&s;e&s;s us with the De&s;ires of knowing more, and of attaining the perfect Fruition of this Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s. Ju&s;t as the Queen of <HI>Sheba,</HI> could not have an adequate and full Conception of the Glory of <HI>Solomon,</HI> by all that &s;he had heard of it, in her own Country: But yet &s;uch Repre&s;entations might be made of it to her, and were &s;o effectually made, that &s;he might be, and was po&s;&s;e&s;t with an earne&s;t De|&s;ire to go her &s;elf to it, and to know by &s;eeing what it was.</P>
<P>I have therefore begun to repre&s;ent this Hap|pine&s;s, as well as I can, from the Revelations concerning it in holy Scripture: That I might thereby, if it may plea&s;e God, po&s;&s;e&s;s &s;ome worldly and and carele&s;s Hearts, with &s;ome Sen&s;e of its Excellency, and with &s;ome warm and vigorous De&s;ires to attain it; which things are the nece&s;&s;ary and fir&s;t Steps towards the At|tainment
<PB N="303" REF="310">of it, I have taken notice, that in the&s;e Words of the P&s;almi&s;t we have a very large and comprehen&s;ive account of this final and perfect Happine&s;s. And from this account of it I pro|pos'd to in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e three general Heads of Di&s;cour&s;e concerning it.</P>
<P N="1">1. To repre&s;ent what they are to be who &s;hall enjoy that Happine&s;s, for even what they are is a great Part of it.</P>
<P N="2">2. To &s;hew what the Saints in Heaven &s;hall enjoy.</P>
<P N="3">3. To ob&s;erve and illu&s;trate the Import of the general Qualification of that Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s mentioned in the Text, which is, that it &s;hall en|dure for evermore. The fir&s;t of the&s;e Heads I have &s;ufficiently &s;poken to, and &s;hall now, with the Divine A&s;&s;i&s;tance, proceed to what remains.</P>
<P>The next thing then which I am to do is, to &s;hew what it is that the Saints in Heaven &s;hall enjoy.</P>
<P>It may be &s;aid indeed, that I have done this in &s;ome mea&s;ure already, in the two Di&s;cour&s;es foregoing this. For it has been &s;aid, They &s;hall have a very happy Enjoyment of the glo|rious Place which they dwell in, and of the Fel|low&s;hip and Conver&s;ation of perfect Saints, and the glorious and kind Angels, and al&s;o of their own Excellencies and Improvements of Body and Soul&punc; They &s;hall enjoy the&s;e, that is, all all the&s;e things &s;hall be matter of great Delight and Plea&s;ure to them. But be&s;ides all the&s;e things, there is &s;o much more of Bli&s;s yet re|maining which &s;hall be immediately deriv'd from God him&s;elf, and the Enjoyment of him,
<PB N="304" REF="311">that all the re&s;t is as nothing in compari&s;on to this. That therefore, which &s;till remains to be &s;poken to, being our mo&s;t eminent and con&s;i|derable Enjoyment, and much the mo&s;t con&s;i|derable Part of our final Happine&s;s, I thought I might fitly enough di&s;tingui&s;h this from the re&s;t under the Name of what the Saints &s;hall enjoy in Heaven. That (whatever it is) will not on|ly va&s;tly exceed and tran&s;cend all other Parti|culars, but even comprehend them too, or, as we may &s;ay, will &s;wallow them up. The other things are as the Streams, and God is the Oce|an of Delight and Joy: They are as the Stars, he as the Sun of Glory. His Glory will com|prehend, and even conceal theirs as the Light of the Sun does that of the Stars; and the De|light and Plea&s;ure which all things el&s;e afford will be &s;carce ob&s;ervable with the Enjoyment of him, as Rivers lo&s;e all their Di&s;tinction when they fall into the Sea of Waters. Thus God <HI>becomes all in all,</HI> as the Scripture &s;peaks. It will be his Glory which the Saints &s;hall chiefly admire, and be plea&s;ed with, in every other Glory, and his Goodne&s;s and Plea&s;antne&s;s will be chiefly minded, and delighted in, in every other Goodne&s;s, when the Saints come to this perfect and con&s;ummate Bli&s;s in &s;eeing and en|joying of him.</P>
<P>Let us now &s;ee what the holy Scripture tells us concerning this matter: And that &s;eems to repre&s;ent it to us under this general and com|prehen&s;ive Notion of it, the Admi&s;&s;ion into an immediate and &s;pecial Pre&s;ence of God. Thus the P&s;almi&s;t in our Text &s;peaks of it. <HI>In thy
<PB N="305" REF="311">Pre&s;ence is Fulne&s;s of Joy,</HI> &s;ays he to God. So in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 140.13. he &s;ays, <HI>The &V;pright &s;hall dwell in thy Pre&s;ence.</HI> Now the <HI>Pre&s;ence</HI> of God (accor|ding to the u&s;e of the Word in the Hebrew Language) &s;eems to include two things; the &s;eeing him, and the partaking of &s;ome In&s;tan|ces and Expre&s;&s;ions of his &s;pecial and peculiar Favour. So when 'tis &s;aid in the Hebrew, in <HI>Prov.</HI> 29.26. Many &s;eek the Face of the Ruler, we tran&s;late it, <HI>Many &s;eek the Ruler's Favour,</HI> be|cau&s;e without doubt it means &s;o much. And a learned Father of our Church fitly interprets it thus, Many are ambitious to be known to their Prince, and to obtain his Favour for Ho|nour and Preferment. (Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ely</HI> Paraph. in loc.) So when 'tis &s;aid <HI>Cain went out from the Pre&s;ence of the Lord,</HI> (Gen. 4.16.) The &s;ame Father teaches us to under&s;tand it thus; there was a divine Glory made vi&s;ible (which by the Jews was called the <HI>Shechinah</HI>) which appear'd from the beginning to tho&s;e of Mankind whom it plea&s;ed God to conver&s;e with; the Sight of which <HI>Cain</HI> never after this enjoy'd, but by the Divine Cur&s;e was bani&s;hed from it. And God withdrawing his gracious Pre&s;ence from <HI>Cain,</HI> he was for&s;aken by God, and put out of his &s;pe|cial Protection; (Ib. in loc.) &s;o that he had no more granted any Tokens or Expre&s;&s;ions of the Divine Favour to him, but rather knew him&s;elf an abject, abhorr'd of God as well as hated of all Men. This general Notion then of an Ad|mi&s;&s;ion into the Pre&s;ence of God in Heaven we may reckon affords two di&s;tinct particulars to|wards the Happine&s;s there, which are the&s;e.
<PB N="306" REF="312">(1.) An immediate Manife&s;tation of the Divine Excellencies and Glories. (2.) Immediate Communications or Expre&s;&s;ions of his Good|ne&s;s, the endearing Care&s;&s;es of his Love. For doubtle&s;s we are not to think, that all the Hap|pine&s;s of Heaven is fitly and adequately repre|&s;ented under the Name of Vi&s;ion alone, or that it con&s;i&s;ts in a meer gazing upon, and admiring the Divine Glories. And &s;ince even tho&s;e who call it by that general Name do think them|&s;elves oblig'd to explain that Vi&s;ion as includ|ing al&s;o the Communications of Divine Love, I think it more fit and proper to &s;peak of the&s;e things di&s;tinctly and &s;everally. For though the&s;e are indeed never &s;eparated, yet they may be di&s;tingui&s;ht.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place then, we may learn, that the Saints in Heaven &s;hall receive, and enjoy the immediate Manife&s;tations of the Divine Ex|cellency and Glory. The&s;e in holy Scripture are repre&s;ented under the Name of the <HI>Face of God.</HI> Of this, I doubt not, <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaks, <HI>Job</HI> 33.26, when he &s;ays of a true Penitent, <HI>He &s;hall &s;ee his Face with Joy:</HI> For tho&s;e Words may be under&s;tood as &s;poken of what &s;hall be afforded &s;uch a Per&s;on in the other World. (<HI>Greg. Mag. Expo&s;. Moral in Job l.</HI> 24. <HI>Cap.</HI> 7.) This al&s;o is what the P&s;almi&s;t means when in hopes of at|taining this Happine&s;s at la&s;t he &s;ays (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 17.15.) <HI>I &s;hall behold thy Face in Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> calls it a &s;eeing God <HI>Face to Face,</HI> 1 Cor. 13.12. The Face of God is in Scripture put for any Manife&s;tation of him&s;elf to Men: But this which &s;hall be enjoy'd in Hea|ven
<PB N="307" REF="312">we have rea&s;on to believe will con&s;i&s;t in very peculiar Manife&s;tations of the Glory and Ex|cellency of God. The holy Scripture inter|prets this Face, by the Glory of God and &s;ays, it cannot be &s;een with mortal Eyes. There|fore when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> reque&s;ted that he might &s;ee this in <HI>Exod.</HI> 33.18. in tho&s;e Words, <HI>I be&s;eech thee &s;hew me thy Glory.</HI> We have God's An&s;wer to his Reque&s;t in <HI>v.</HI> 20. in the&s;e Words. <HI>Thou can&s;t not &s;ee my Face, for there is no Man &s;hall &s;ee me and live.</HI> This is a Manife&s;tation of the Di|vine Glory which is re&s;erv'd for the perfect Happine&s;s of Heaven. It is the Glory and Excel|lency of the Divine Nature immediately ma|nife&s;ted, and &s;hewn to his Creatures. The ble&s;&s;ed Saints in Heaven enjoy this: They have their Under&s;tandings elevated, and &s;trength|ned by the heavenly Glory, and they &s;teddily fix their Minds upon God, and immediately view him. They <HI>&s;ee the Glory of the Lord, and the Excellency of our God,</HI> as the Prophet &s;peaks (<HI>I&s;a.</HI> 35.2.) It is a Manife&s;tation of the e&s;&s;en|tial Being or perfect Maje&s;ty of God. Hence the Scripture &s;ays, that when it is afforded to the ble&s;&s;ed Saints in Heaven, they <HI>&s;ee him as he is,</HI> 1 Joh. 3.2. He is not now vail'd or conceal'd from them by any thing, nor is he repre&s;ented by any thing but him&s;elf. In his Light they &s;ee Light. They have &s;uch an Apprehen&s;ion of his Excellencies, and Glories, as we now have of things which we &s;ee, and which are pre&s;ented to an open immediate View. The Beati&s;ick Vi|&s;ion is Intuition or intellectual Sight.</P>
<PB N="308" REF="313">
<P>But who can expre&s;s, who can po&s;&s;ibly con|ceive the Plea&s;ure and Happine&s;s which this will afford! If it be wonderful and plea&s;ing to ob&s;erve and contemplate the Divine Perfections as they are now repre&s;ented in the Word of God; this mu&s;t be yet much more plea&s;ing and delightful. They are indeed very bright and charming things which our Faith now receives, by hearing, concerning him; but if we come to the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and there &s;ee the King of Glory immediately manife&s;ted in his incompre|hen&s;ible Brightne&s;s and Glory, how much more joyful and plea&s;ant may we ea&s;ily imagine this mu&s;t needs be. We know by ordinary experi|ence, that what the Eye &s;ees does affect us much more, whether it be with Plea&s;ure or Vexation, than what we only hear of by the Ear. It is &s;omewhat more to &s;ee God in his wonderful and glorious Works than only to know him by what we hear: And yet, after that the Saints have con&s;idered and admired the glorious Works of God which appear in this World, and have viewed and con&s;idered with great Wonder and Delight, the much more glorious Works which will appear in that far more glorious World above, &s;till will this immediate Manife&s;tation of the divine Nature, wherein all tho&s;e Excel|lencies center and dwell which &s;hew them&s;elves in tho&s;e Works, be incomparably more delight|ful and plea&s;ant to the Saints.</P>
<P>This Manife&s;tation of the divine Nature and Attributes, will give the Saint a ravi&s;hing Ap|prehen&s;ion of further Effects yet po&s;&s;ible to be produced. And will occa&s;ion the active Mind
<PB N="309" REF="313">to entertain it &s;elf with the Trea&s;ures of Di|vine Wi&s;dom, Power, and Goodne&s;s not yet drawn forth into Exerci&s;e; with the unexhau|&s;tible, unbounded Wealth of the Deity! It will awaken him to conceive innumerable Worlds yet po&s;&s;ible, and to &s;uppo&s;e things in|comparably more excellent and glorious than a|ny that are yet produced. This will very brightly demon&s;trate that the divine Perfections are infi|nite, and extend them&s;elves far beyond the Reach of utmo&s;t and mo&s;t inlarged Thought, as well as beyond all the pa&s;t and actual Exerci&s;e of them|&s;elves. So will the happy Saints be plea&s;ed to find that the&s;e Perfections have no Bounds nor Limits. And they have a mo&s;t &s;ublime and ra|vi&s;hing Joy to imagine Worlds of unknown Beauties and Glories in the Deity: To think that if their Capacity were infinitely larger than it is, yet could the infinitely glorious Ob|ject enlighten it all, and fill it with Light and Glory: To think that the mo&s;t excellent and capable Creatures, though they know mo&s;t of God, yet cannot know all, but indeed do fall in|finitely &s;hort of him, nor can he be known fully, and perfectly by any one but him&s;elf. And with va&s;t Plea&s;ure do they multiply in their Thoughts all that they know of the glorious Deity, they &s;uppo&s;e endle&s;s Additions to it, and after all the Additions to it in their Thoughts, they know he infinitely &s;urpa&s;&s;es all. And with this the Mind in Heaven is delighted and plea|&s;ed, the infinite Glories of the Deity do not a|maze nor di&s;courage it: The Saint can enter|tain him&s;elf &s;till with the unmea&s;urable Object,
<PB N="310" REF="314">and with va&s;t unwearied delight plunges &s;till his ad|miring Thoughts into an Aby&s;s of Glory.</P>
<P>By this Manife&s;tation of the divine Excellencies and Glories in them&s;elves, the Saints will better apprehend them in the Marks and Characters which they have left of them&s;elves upon their wonderful Effects, they will much the better know them again where|ever they meet them. And &s;o this bright Light will il|luminate all that was dark in the Works of God be|fore: And will inable the happy Saints with Wonder and Joy, to call to mind even tho&s;e very Operations of God which were &s;ome time grievous to them, becau&s;e they did not under&s;tand them. They now &s;ee and prai&s;e that infinite Goodne&s;s, and admirable Wi&s;dom, and Almighty Power which have exerci&s;ed them&s;elves in the Creation and Government of the World: And the&s;e evidently appear to them upon many things where they could not &s;ee them before: They &s;ee the Glory of the&s;e &s;hining particularly in the Dealings of God with Mankind, and in all tho&s;e Di&s;pen&s;ations by which they them&s;elves have been brought to everla&s;ting Hap|pine&s;s. Thus will the Memory of pa&s;t things refre&s;h and plea&s;e them, as in them they will now very plain|ly &s;ee the charming Impre&s;&s;es and Characters of the divine Perfections.</P>
<P>This Manife&s;tation of the great God gives at once a very large and comprehen&s;ive Knowledge of him. The Saints do not now gather this by a tedious and labori|ous Train of Rea&s;oning and Di&s;cour&s;e which gains Knowledge, as we may &s;ay, but by Sparkles, and gives, too commonly, but very partial and imperfect Notions of the Deity. This makes him intirely known, as far as they are capable, and that by one, ea&s;ie, per|petual View, by full Beams of divine Glory always re&s;ting upon the Mind: And thus mu&s;t he needs be more perfectly known in Heaven than ever he was be|fore, and therefore with more Plea&s;ure too. The Saints there know more of God than ever they could before, and they know it all more evidently and certainly than ever. And as Light is plea&s;ant to the Eye, &s;o
<PB N="311" REF="314">is Knowledge to the Mind, and this is always &s;o much the more plea&s;ant as it is more important, full, and clear: This Manife&s;tation, then, mu&s;t give the happy Saints the highe&s;t Plea&s;ure as it gives them the cleare&s;t and the fulle&s;t Knowledge of him who is the mo&s;t ex|cellent and perfect Being, and in whom every thing that can be known is admirable, glorious and plea&s;ing.</P>
<P>This Manife&s;tation of the divine Glories fills the Mind with Light and Glory. As the perfect Sanctification of Heaven leaves no Spot of Corruption, &s;o this leaves no Shadows of Ignorance or Darkne&s;s: All the enlarged Capacity is filled with the Light of a clear and di&s;tinct Knowledge: And of the happy Soul it may now be &s;aid that it &s;elf al&s;o is Light, and in it is no Darkne&s;s at all; the Soul it &s;elf is even transformed into Light and Glory: Now is that mo&s;t perfectly fulfill'd which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks (2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.18.) &s;aying, <HI>We all as with open Face beholding the Glory of the Lord are changed into the &s;ame Image from Glory to Glory.</HI> And as the Light of this Knowledge thus fills and transforms the Mind, it mu&s;t be mo&s;t inwardly and intirely po&s;&s;e&s;t and &s;en&s;ible of un|&s;peakable Joy and Plea&s;ure too.</P>
<P N="2">2. To the&s;e immediate Manife&s;tations of the divine Excellency and Glory are joyn'd in Heaven, the imme|diate Expre&s;&s;ions and Communications of his Goodne&s;s and Love. And this Addition is what does properly add Fruition to Vi&s;ion, and gives the Saints an intire and a bli&s;sful Enjoyment of God. It is ea&s;ie to conceive there would be very little Plea&s;ure in having &s;uch bright and glorious Manife&s;tations of the divine Excellency and Greatne&s;s made to them without &s;uitable Expre&s;&s;ions, and Evidences of Goodne&s;s and Love. Yea, we may ju&s;tly &s;uppo&s;e they would render him even terrible to poor mean Creatures, and overwhelm them with A&s;to|ni&s;hment, rather than give them Delight and Plea&s;ure. But the great Happine&s;s of Heaven is, that all tho&s;e Excellencies and Glories which &s;hall be manife&s;ted &s;hall appear as kind as great. They &s;hall mightily adorn his Love, and his Love &s;hall &s;weeten them: His Love makes them appear good and kind, and they make his Love appear great and glorious.</P>
<PB N="312" REF="315">
<P>Such Communications and Expre&s;&s;ions of divine Love the holy Scripture gives us leave to expect, will be af|forded in Heaven. Our Text intimates this in &s;aying, that the Pre&s;ence which is manife&s;ted there will afford <HI>Fulne&s;s of Joy, and Plea&s;ures for evermore.</HI> It mu&s;t be a favourable Pre&s;ence which &s;hall do this, and &s;o be attend|ed with Exerci&s;es and Expre&s;&s;ions of divine Love. The P&s;almi&s;t mu&s;t be reckoned to mean the&s;e e&s;pecially when he &s;ays, <HI>Oh how great is the Goodne&s;s which thou ha&s;t prepar'd for them that fear thee!</HI> P&s;al. 31.19. In the &s;ame admiring manner he &s;peaks of them again in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36.7. where he &s;ays, <HI>How excellent is thy loving Kindne&s;s O God!</HI> And to &s;hew that he had his Thoughts chiefly upon the&s;e Communications of divine Love, he tells, in Ver&s;. 8, 9. where the loving Kindne&s;s which he celebrates is chiefly to be enjoy'd, and &s;ays, <HI>They,</HI> that is tho&s;e good Men who would wor&s;hip and put their Tru&s;t in him, <HI>&s;hall be abundantly &s;atisfied with the Fatne&s;s of thy Hou&s;e, even of thy holy Temple, and thou &s;halt make them drink of the River of thy Plea&s;ures, for with thee is the Fountain of Life:</HI> By which Expre&s;&s;ions we may ju&s;tly believe that he chiefly means Heaven, and that Pre&s;ence of of God which will be afforded there. The immediate Care&s;&s;es and Expre&s;&s;ions of divine Love may be expect|ed by holy Souls, as appears by that Wi&s;h which <HI>Solomon</HI> puts into the Mouth of the Spou&s;e, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1.4. <HI>Let him ki&s;s me with the Ki&s;&s;es of his Mouth, thy Love is better than Wine.</HI> But &s;urely the&s;e are to be enjoy'd in Heaven if any where, and if any where, then e&s;pecially, and in the &s;weete&s;t manner there.</P>
<P>There indeed will he mo&s;t abundantly and immedi|ately make the Saints &s;en&s;ible of his Love to them. There they &s;hall to the greate&s;t Purpo&s;e know that <HI>God is Love.</HI> They &s;hall perceive and partake of his Goodne&s;s, not only in his Gifts or Works, but even in him&s;elf. As his Glory &s;hall be repre&s;ented to them by its own Light, &s;o his Love &s;hall be made &s;en&s;ible by its own immediate Sweetne&s;s and Goodne&s;s. They &s;hall always &s;ee him regarding them, as we may &s;ay, with a kind and gra|cious A&s;pect. He will never turn away his Face from
<PB N="313" REF="315">them, nor ever make it unea&s;ie or terrible by Frowns and Di&s;plea&s;ure. He will make his Love apparent and &s;en&s;ible by the mo&s;t charming Endearments and Con&s;o|lations, and di&s;play it in all its Magnificence and Glory: But how great Joy, how unconceivable Plea&s;ure mu&s;t it needs create in the happy Saints, to enjoy the Love of a God! To have Infinite Perfections exerci&s;ed in Expre&s;&s;ions of Kindne&s;s and Love to them!</P>
<P>The&s;e Communications and Expre&s;&s;ions of the divine Love do nece&s;&s;arily kindle a mighty Flame of Love in the Saints to him. It is not po&s;&s;ible that they can dwell and conver&s;e with &s;o much Love without be|ing them&s;elves even transformed into Love. As his Glo|ry communicates and fills them with Glory, &s;o his Love communicates and fills them with Love. They now mo&s;t perfectly love him with all their Soul, and with all their Strength; with all the Strength of rai&s;ed and im|proved Faculties of Mind and Soul. And Love and Plea|&s;ure are things that always go together; all the Exerci|&s;es of Love are highly plea&s;ing. Love is &s;o plea&s;ant a thing it can &s;weeten tho&s;e that are bitter, it can &s;weeten Labour and Pain, and make even the long Delays of ling|ring Expectation tolerable. But more mu&s;t it be plea|&s;ant to the happy Saints in Heaven, where they are po&s;&s;e&s;t of him they &s;upreamly love, and do enjoy from his Love all that their own can de&s;ire.</P>
<P>This mutual Love produces a &s;ort of Union between God and the Saints in Heaven; a very intimate, and without doubt, a very &s;en&s;ible Union, of which we may believe St. <HI>John</HI> &s;peaks when he &s;ays, <HI>He that dwells in Love dwells in God, and God in him,</HI> 1 Joh. 4.16. And &s;urely this cannot chu&s;e but be an un&s;peakable Happine&s;s. To be united to God, and to dwell in him is to be united to infinite Glory and Love. And they that could dwell in the Sun we may be &s;ure would not want Light, nor they that dwell in the Sea Water: Much rather mu&s;t they who dwell in God and are united to him, be filled with Glory and Love and Happine&s;s. As the Under&s;tan|ding of the Saints immediately views and apprehends the Glory of God, &s;o their Will is intimately and imme|diately
<PB N="314" REF="316">joyn'd to his Goodne&s;s by mutual Love; and it perceives the chiefe&s;t Good, God him&s;elf, embracing and care&s;&s;ing the Saint with ineffable Love. In Love, God com|municates even him&s;elf to them, and they have in a &s;ort a Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of him. All the happy Company of the Saints can &s;ay, this great, this glorious God is our God for ever and ever! And each happy Saint can there with mo&s;t Rea&s;on and mo&s;t Plea&s;ure &s;ay of him, <HI>My beloved is mine and I am his:</HI> Since he is an infinite Good, every one may &s;ay he is mine, though they be an innumerable Company. All the Riches, all the Glories of the divine Nature are by his conde&s;cending Love their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and &s;hall be their Felicity for ever. God him&s;elf is their Portion, and he &s;urely mu&s;t be an <HI>exceeding great Reward.</HI> God is the univer&s;al Good; he contains in him&s;elf the Perfection and Goodne&s;s of all other things, and that in the highe&s;t Eminency. And he affords to the Saints, and they enjoy in him, the Love of all other the kinde&s;t Relations, and the Goodne&s;s of all other the be&s;t things, and much more than all this. The Riches of ten thou&s;and Worlds were a di&s;mal Poverty to what they po&s;&s;e&s;s and enjoy. In mutual Love, he freely communicates him&s;elf to them, with overflowing Bli&s;s; they wholly apply them&s;elves to prai&s;e and honour him.</P>
<P>For this mutual Love and Union is attended with &s;uitable Actions between them, and with very intimate and friendly Communion and Conver&s;e. As Friends em|brace with mutual Endearments, and with great Plea|&s;ure and Delight conver&s;e together, &s;o it is between God and the happy Saints in Heaven. God delights in them and they in him; and in the kinde&s;t ways they expre&s;s their mutual Satisfaction and Delight in each other. The Communications of his Love and Goodne&s;s excite and inable them for very high and tran&s;porting Expre&s;&s;ions of their Love to him: And the more he gives to them, the more they render and repay to him: The more he loves, the more they return of Love. He is al|ways delighting over them, to do them good, and make them happy; and they are always plea&s;ed to make the be&s;t Returns of Love and thankful Prai&s;es to him. The
<PB N="315" REF="316">whole Company of Heaven laud and magnifie him: They joyn together, and they a&s;&s;i&s;t one another to love and prai&s;e him, for what he is in kim&s;elf, and for his Goodne&s;s to them.</P>
<P>The&s;e Communications of the divine Goodne&s;s mu&s;t needs give the happy Saints in Heaven a perfect Con|tentment and full Satisfaction; and they &s;hall feel what the P&s;almi&s;t expre&s;&s;es, <HI>a Fullne&s;s of Joy.</HI> They are now po&s;&s;e&s;t of the chiefe&s;t, the univer&s;al Good, beyond whom there is nothing more that they can de&s;ire, and they have the fulle&s;t and mo&s;t perfect Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and Enjoyment of him which they can de&s;ire. They have gained now, all that they have to wi&s;h for, and are now perfectly at re&s;t: They are in the Center of Joy and Bli&s;s. Oh how great a Felicity is this! May not our wretched craving Minds, which are &s;till thir&s;ting after Happine&s;s whatever it is that we can enjoy of this World, and &s;till un&s;atisfied while we remain here, ea&s;ily make us &s;en&s;ible of the Plea&s;ure and Felicity of Satisfaction and Re&s;t? The Saints po&s;&s;e&s;t of God and heavenly Bli&s;s are no longer bound to labour and toil, no longer vexed with unea&s;ie Cares, and uncertain Solicitudes, that they may provide for them&s;elves what they want or de&s;ire. They ea&s;ily and continually derive from the infinite Fountain of Goodne&s;s a full Satisfaction to all their De&s;ires: They de|rive from his everflowing Fulne&s;s without asking or a|ny patient waiting for his Communications. He gives continually and they receive: They fea&s;t continually up|on the Cele&s;tial Entertainments of his Love, and with all the Plea&s;ure but without the Pain of Hunger and Thir&s;t: They always reli&s;h with incomparable Plea&s;ure what they receive, and always are filled with Bli&s;s and Joy.</P>
<P>But this brings me to the third and la&s;t Head of Di&s;|cour&s;e which I am to in&s;i&s;t upon: And that is, to illu&s;trate a little the Import of that general Qualification of this Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, mentioned in the Text, That it &s;hall continue for evermore. <HI>In thy Pre&s;ence is Fulne&s;s of Joy,</HI> &s;ays the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>at thy right hand are Plea&s;ures for evermore.</HI> This the holy Scripture frequently a&s;&s;ures us of. That ble&s;&s;ed State above is the <HI>enduring City.</HI> What will be there en|joy'd
<PB N="316" REF="317">is the <HI>Trea&s;ure which neither Moth nor Ru&s;t can cor|rupt, Thieves break through and &s;teal:</HI> It is a Felicity made up of things which will neither fail of them&s;elves, and &s;hall never be taken from us. It is an <HI>Inheritance that &s;hall never fade away.</HI> And <HI>Life eternal,</HI> or everla&s;ting. Oh happy and mo&s;t comfortable A&s;&s;urance! It is indeed ne|ce&s;&s;ary to the Perfection of this Happine&s;s that it &s;hould be everla&s;ting: And it is this which makes it compleat and ab&s;olute Bli&s;s, that it &s;hall endure for ever. The grea|ter our Happine&s;s were there, the greater would our Trouble be if we mu&s;t fear or expect that it would have a Period. And it would embitter the Plea&s;ures even of Heaven it &s;elf to know that they &s;hould come to an end, though that End were at never &s;o great a Di&s;tance. But this is not the State of the heavenly bli&s;s: That &s;hall be everla&s;ting. And this includes the&s;e three very comfor|table Particulars which are worth our Meditation.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Happine&s;s of Heaven &s;hall never be, for the &s;hor|te&s;t Space, interrupted. There &s;hall no Sin enter there to cloud the Face of God, or hinder the Communicati|ons of his Love; the one &s;hall perpetually &s;hine, and make a Day without any Night, the other like an eternal Ri|ver of Delights and Plea&s;ures &s;hall continually flow. The Faculties &s;hall continue for ever, and the Objects of Hap|pine&s;s and the Union between them &s;hall endure for e|ver, without the lea&s;t Intermi&s;&s;ion. The &s;piritual Body, and immortal Soul &s;hall be able to act with unwearied Vigor, and &s;hall never cea&s;e to feel their ta&s;teful Plea&s;ures. There will be no Spaces wherein they &s;hall do nothing or be doing &s;omewhat el&s;e; nothing but bli&s;sful and plea|&s;ant Action &s;hall &s;pend their Eternity. Oh how de&s;irable is this State, where they &s;hall have nothing to do but to be happy! And which is not mingled with Labour and Enioyment, with Toil or Pain and Plea&s;ure, but is only an uninterrupted, unintermitted Plea&s;ure and Enjoyment.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Happine&s;s of Heaven &s;hall never &s;uffer any Di|minution or Decay. The&s;e are not fading or tran&s;itory Plea&s;ures which Heaven affords the Saints, but la&s;ting and abiding ones. That which is eternal can never decay: For, to decay is to draw nearer to an End, but that which
<PB N="317" REF="317">&s;hall never end can never approach nearer to an End. The divine Glory Manife&s;ted &s;hall never fade, nor &s;hall the Fountain of Love, then fully opened, ever be exhau|&s;ted or run low. The Good enjoy'd there is an unchang|able, as well as an infinite Good: And the happy Saints them&s;elves in the mighty Improvement of their Facul|ties are made capable to enjoy perpetually the highe&s;t Plea&s;ures. All the Capacities indeed which we have now are &s;o weak that they cannot long bear even a high Plea&s;ure: But the &s;weeter, and the more delicious it is, the &s;ooner are we &s;atiated, and cloy'd with it; then it grows flat and in&s;ipid, and it becomes a Drudgery and Burden to continue in it; and we are forced to lay it a&s;ide awhile that we may reli&s;h it again. But it is not thus with the Cele&s;tial Plea&s;ures. The improved Faculties of the Saints &s;hall there enjoy the rich Delights without Wearine&s;s, there they are rather improved than tired by Exerci&s;e and Motion. They are capable of perpetual Tran&s;ports and Exta&s;ies of Joy and delight. They &s;hall always then be happy, and always enjoy the highe&s;t Happine&s;s they can de&s;ire: They &s;hall always be perfectly and com|pleatly happy.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Happine&s;s of Heaven &s;hall continue without End. The Saints &s;hall have there an endle&s;s perfect En|joyment of the eternal Good. No Number of Ages &s;hall ever put an End to an eternal Life. This Felicity will en|dure after &s;o many thou&s;ands or Millions of Years as there are Stars in the Heavens, and Drops of Water have fallen in Rain &s;ince the Creation, and as there are Sands upon the Sea-&s;hore. And after all this it will continue as much longer; yea, as long as all this repeated a great ma|ny times! Oh va&s;t Eternity! All the Words which we can &s;peak be&s;ides can never exhau&s;t the rich Sence and Meaning, or mea&s;ure the Duration of Eternity! To &s;ay the mo&s;t that can be &s;aid towards this in one amazing Expre&s;&s;ion, we may &s;ay: The Happine&s;s of the Saints in Heaven &s;hall continue as long as the eternal, unchanga|ble God him&s;elf &s;hall endure! O joyful Thought! O va&s;t Expectation! An Eternity of Bli&s;s! What Plea&s;ure does it po&s;&s;e&s;s us with now to think of it! And how much more
<PB N="318" REF="318">Plea&s;ure will it be to enjoy this! It will add yet more De|light to every other rich Delight in Heaven, and make every other Plea&s;ure there the more plea&s;ant. This brings the Joy and Sweetne&s;s of an Eternity of Bli&s;s into eve|ry Plea&s;ure they enjoy.</P>
<P>Thus I have briefly repre&s;ented the final Happine&s;s of Mankind according to what the holy Scripture teaches us of it. And now, what remains for us to do, who are &s;till the wretched Inhabitants of Time, and this mi&s;erable World? But to think often of the great and glorious, the delightful and eternal Happine&s;s which waits to receive us hereafter: Which is offer'd to us now, and which we may &s;ecure to our &s;elves, or which we may forfeit, and lo&s;e for ever. It becomes us certainly to &s;tudy in what way we may come thither, and to make our &s;elves dili|gent and &s;tedfa&s;t in that way by con&s;idering this incom|parable Happine&s;s. In the Ways of Piety and Vertue which lead to Life everla&s;ting, we ought to be &s;tedfa&s;t and unmovable: No pre&s;ent Wants or Afflictions, no Threatnings or Per&s;ecutions, no Labours which are but for a moment &s;hould ever be able to divert us from the way to eternal Bli&s;s and Re&s;t. And on the other hand, no pre&s;ent Profits or Honours, no worldly Plea&s;ures or Al|lurements which are things but for a Sea&s;on, &s;hould be able to allure us from the Ways of Piety and Vertue; which lead to the true&s;t Riches, the highe&s;t Dignities and Honours, and to the &s;weete&s;t and mo&s;t abiding Plea&s;ures. Oh let us be very careful and earne&s;tly endeavour &s;o to run this Race as that we may obtain the eternal Crown and Reward: So to fight the good Fight of Faith as that we may fini&s;h our Cour&s;e with Joy: So to govern our &s;elves always here, as that we may grow up to a due Fitne&s;s for the holy and &s;piritual Happine&s;s of Heaven, and for that pure Place where no unclean thing can come: And &s;o we may be at la&s;t admitted to the <HI>Pre&s;ence</HI> of God where <HI>is Fulne&s;s of Joy,</HI> and to <HI>his Right Hand where are Plea&s;ures for evermore. Through the Merits and Me|diation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, be all Honour, Glory, and Prai&s;e World with|out End.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="closing prayer">
<PB N="319" REF="318">
<HEAD>The PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>OH mo&s;t glorious, bounteous and merciful God. Thou delighte&s;t in doing good, and waite&s;t to be gracious. We cannot chu&s;e but admire the Riches, the Conde&s;cen&s;i|ons, and the Patience of thy Goodne&s;s and Love towards the Children of Men. Thou loade&s;t us with the Ble&s;&s;ings of this Life, who commonly abu&s;e them in the Service of divers Lu&s;ts, and do affront and injure thee as far as we can. And e&s;pecially are we moved to admire thee, and prai&s;e thy glorious Goodne&s;s when we con&s;ider the great and glo|rious Happine&s;s, which thou ha&s;t de&s;ign'd us for and made us capable of: And which, though we have render'd our &s;elves utterly unfit for and unworthy of it, yet thou kindly invite&s;t us to &s;eek it, thou art ready to help us obtain it. We who are unworthy to enjoy the Comfort of thy meane&s;t Creatures do&s;t thou invite to thy glorious and unconceiva|ble Felicity of enjoying thy &s;elf: Who art an infinite, eternal Good, in whom all Fulne&s;s dwells, who wilt enlarge and fill the Capacities of tho&s;e that enjoy thee and abundantly &s;atisfie them with the Joys and Plea&s;ures of thy Pre&s;ence for ever. Lord what Rewards ha&s;t thou prepared for them that will love and &s;erve thee! How great is thy Goodne&s;s which will recompence the &s;hort, tran&s;itory Labours and Sufferings of this Life in thy Service with an Eternity of Re&s;t and Peace and Happine&s;s. We are a&s;hamed to think O Lord, that thy rich and bounteous Rewards have had &s;o lit|le Influence upon us, that we have lived carele&s;s and for|getful of them. O pardon our Folly and make us wi&s;er for the future. Let us be made deeply &s;en&s;ible that our true Happine&s;s lies only in the Enjoyment of thee, that thou art our chief Good, thou alone can&s;t make us perfectly and eternally happy. Convince us effectually of the Emptine&s;s and Vanity of this World, that it is cur&s;ed by rea&s;on of Sin, and was never intended for our chiefe&s;t Happine&s;s. And let our Hearts and Affections be therefore rai&s;ed from the&s;e low things, and &s;et upon the things above. Make us to love mo&s;t, and de&s;ire above all things the glorious Happine&s;s which thou ha&s;t promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that love and &s;erve thee. And let thy great Mercy O God, teach us thy Statutes, lead us in the Way of thy Commandments, make us to love
<PB N="320" REF="319">and chu&s;e that which thou ha&s;t commanded, to be diligent and &s;tedfa&s;t here in all the Practice of Piety and Vertue which thou require&s;t. Pardon we be&s;eech thee all our pa&s;t Iniquity to our unfeigned Repentance of it; for we do earne&s;tly re|pent and are heartily &s;orry for all our Mi&s;doings, we hate our &s;elves for our unrea&s;onuble Enmity to thee, and are an|gry with our &s;elves for di&s;plea&s;ing thee. O turn us from eve|ry evil way, and &s;hew thy &s;elf reconciled to us, and grant us the comfortable Hopes of the future Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s now to en|courage us in our Duty, that we may per&s;evere in it to the End of our Lives. Giude thou us we pray thee by thy Coun&s;el till thou ha&s;t brought us to thy Glory.</P>
<P>Have mercy we be&s;eech thee upon all Mankind. Let thy Way be known upon Earth, thy &s;aving Health among all Nations. Let thy glorious Go&s;pel run and be glorified, give it every where &s;uch Influence and Power, that all tho&s;e who profe&s;s to believe it may for&s;ake all that is evil, and walk as Children of the Light, and as having their Conver&s;ation in in Heaven. We pray thee ble&s;s the&s;e Nations in which we live: Give us Peace and Plenty of all good things, e&s;pecially e&s;tabli&s;h Truth, and promote all true Piety and Vertue, that we may duely honour and glorifie thee, and may be mutu|ally comfortable to one another. We pray thee ble&s;s abun|dantly our mo&s;t gracious King, ble&s;s him in his Per&s;on, and in his Government, with long Health of Body, great En|crea&s;e of all Vertues, with great Succe&s;s in his Affairs, and with much Honour and Obedience from his People. We pray thee ble&s;s, pro&s;per and continue our Royal Family: Let it always afford the&s;e Nations &s;uch a Per&s;on as will rule o|ver us in thy Fear, as will love and practi&s;e thy true Religi|on e&s;tabli&s;h'd among us, and &s;tudy to pre&s;erve the People in Wealth, Peace, and Godline&s;s. Ble&s;s all our Relations and Friends with all temporal and &s;piritual Mercies in this Life, and with the eternal Favours of Heaven in the next. We give thee hearty Thanks O Lord, for all thy gracious Revelations to us, of thy &s;elf, and of thy Will and Law, and of our true Happine&s;s Let them by thy ble&s;&s;ing make us wi&s;e to our Salvation by Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t. We humbly commit our &s;elves to thy gracious Protection this Night, and for all the Remainder of our Days, imploring thy merciful Regard to us for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son our Mediator and Ad|vocate, for whom we ble&s;s thee, and in who&s;e Words we &s;um up and conclude our Reque&s;ts, &s;aying,
<Q><HI>Our Father,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</GROUP>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's note">
<PB REF="319">
<HEAD>A Catalogue of Books, Printed for and Sold by <HI>J. Wyat,</HI> at the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>Books Publi&s;hed by Mr.</HI> Theophilus Dorrington.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>FAmily Devotions for Sunday-Evenings throughout the Year, in four Volumes. Each containing Thirteen Practical Di&s;|cour&s;es, with &s;uitable Prayers, for the Four Quarters of the Year.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Con&s;olations to a Friend upon the Death of his Excellent and Pious Con&s;ort: Appli|cable al&s;o to a Re&s;entment of the Death of our late Gracious and Incomparable Queen. <HI>This Di&s;cour&s;e may be u&s;eful in the Lo&s;s of other dear Relations and Friends.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="320">
<ITEM>A Familiar Guide to the right and profitable Receiving of the Lord's Supper: Where|in al&s;o the Way and Method of our Sal|vation is briefly and plainly declared.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Reformed Devotions in Meditations, Hymns and Petitions for every Day in the Week, and for every Holy-Day in the Year.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Excellent Woman, de&s;cribed by her true Characters and their Oppo&s;ites; being a Ju&s;t and In&s;tructive Repre&s;enta|tion of the Virtues and Vices of the Sex; and illu&s;trated with the mo&s;t remarkable In&s;tances in Ancient and Modern Hi&s;to|ry: in Two Parts compleat: Done out of <HI>French.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<ITEM>An Enquiry into &s;everal remarkable Texts of the Old and New Te&s;tament, which contain &s;ome Difficulty in them; with a probable Re&s;olution of them: in Two Volumes, <HI>Octavo.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A Di&s;cour&s;e concerning the Authority, Style and Perfection of the Books of the Old and New Te&s;tament: in Three Vo|lumes, in <HI>Octavo.</HI> Wherein the Author's former Undertaking is further pro&s;ecu|ted, <HI>Viz.</HI> An Enquiry into &s;everal re|markable Texts, which contain &s;ome
<PB REF="320">Difficulty in them: All by <HI>John Edwards,</HI> B. D. &s;ometime Fellow of St. <HI>John</HI>'s College, <HI>Cambridge.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A Vindication of the Truth of Chri&s;tian Re|ligion, again&s;t the Objections of all Mo|dern Oppo&s;ers; written in <HI>French</HI> by <HI>James Abbadie,</HI> D. D. one of the French Preachers at the <HI>Savoy.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Compleat Mother: or an Earne&s;t Per|&s;ua&s;ive to all Mothers; e&s;pecially tho&s;e of Rank and Quality, to nur&s;e their own Children. By <HI>Henry Newcome,</HI> A.M. Re|ctor of <HI>Tattenhall</HI> in the County Palatine of <HI>Che&s;ter.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Con&s;titution, Di&s;cipline, Government, Unity and Wor&s;hip of the Primitive Church, that flouri&s;hed within the fir&s;t three Hundred Years after Chri&s;t. Faith|fully collected out of the Extant Writings of tho&s;e Ages: By an impartial Hand: in Two Parts.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A Practical Expo&s;ition of the Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments, with other Sermons: in Two Volumes, <HI>Quarto.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sermons or Di&s;cour&s;es on &s;everal Subjects: in Three Volumes, in <HI>Octavo.</HI> All by the
<PB REF="321">Right Reverend Father in God <HI>Ezekiel Hopkins,</HI> Late Lord Bi&s;hop of <HI>London-Derry.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Chri&s;tian <HI>Virtuo&s;o,</HI> &s;hewing that by being addicted to Experimental Philo&s;o|phy, a Man is rather a&s;&s;i&s;ted than indi&s;|po&s;ed to be a good Chri&s;tian.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Experimenta &amp; Ob&s;ervationes Phy&s;icae:</HI> Wherein are briefly treated of &s;everal Sub|jects relating to Natural Philo&s;ophy in an Experimental Way; to which is added a &s;mall Collection of &s;trange Reports: in Two Parts. Both by the Late Honoura|ble <HI>Robert Boyle,</HI> E&s;quire.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Hi&s;tory of <HI>Catharine de Medicis,</HI> Queen-Mother and Regent of <HI>France,</HI> or an Exact Pattern of the Pre&s;ent French King's Policy.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
